tags	content_type	audience	visibility	created	updated
arena documentation readme	readme	all	public	2025-11-21	2025-11-23

The Arena

A D&D 2024 5e gladiatorial campaign set in Tarsus, where spectacle shapes survival and showmanship matters as much as steel.

Campaign Overview

The Arena is a theatrical, high-stakes gladiatorial campaign inspired by the hunger-games format—repeatable, deadly combat encounters where participants fight for glory, patronage, and their lives. Set in the massive coliseum at the heart of Tarsus, capital of a vast and ancient empire, players take on the roles of gladiators who must:

• Survive brutal arena battles against monsters, condemned criminals, and other gladiators
• Entertain the crowd through dramatic combat and showmanship—style matters as much as victory
• Earn fame and patronage from wealthy nobles and powerful benefactors
• Navigate dangerous politics between bouts, making allies and enemies among Tarsus's elite
• Fight for freedom by becoming too valuable, too famous, or too beloved to remain enslaved

The Premise

You've been thrown into The Arena—whether as a prisoner of war, a criminal, a volunteer seeking glory, or someone with nowhere else to go. The Arena is Tarsus's largest structure, a massive 200-foot coliseum that serves as both execution ground and entertainment venue. It's where the empire processes its unwanted and refines a rare few into celebrities.

Survival isn't enough. You must perform. The crowd, the patrons, the sponsors—they decide your fate as much as your blade does. Win with flair, earn their favor, and you might live to fight another day. Win enough times, with enough style, and you might even earn your freedom.

Session Structure (Repeatable Format)

Each session follows a hunger-games-inspired cycle:

1. Between Bouts - Downtime, NPC interactions, patron meetings, injuries healing, rumors spreading
2. The Announcement - Theatrical introduction with announcer flair and crowd reactions
3. The Battle - Deadly combat (balanced for 4-6 PCs) featuring unique arena layouts, monsters, hazards, and objectives
4. The Aftermath - Consequences, rewards, patron interest, reputation shifts, injuries, deaths

The format is repeatable but never repetitive—each bout features different terrain, different foes, different stakes, and different opportunities for dramatic moments.

Key Campaign Features

• Active Roster System: ~6 player characters rotate, typically 4 per session, allowing for realistic consequences (injuries, deaths) without ending the campaign
• Real Stakes: Death is permanent; injuries have consequences; choices matter
• Showmanship Mechanics: Custom systems reward dramatic combat and crowd engagement
• Path to Freedom: Fame, patronage, and reputation create multiple routes out of the arena
• Theatrical Tone: Announcer interludes, crowd reactions, and high-drama moments shape every bout

Custom Mechanics

The campaign features homebrew systems that reinforce the theatrical, consequence-driven gameplay:

• [[panache|Panache]] (mechanics/panache.md) - Mechanical rewards for showmanship and style in combat
• [[crowds_favor|Crowd's Favor]] (mechanics/crowds_favor.md) - The audience becomes an active participant, influencing outcomes
• [[last_stand|Last Stand]] (mechanics/last_stand.md) - Dramatic final moments with mechanical benefits when a gladiator falls

These mechanics ensure that how you fight matters as much as whether you win.

AI Support for GMs

See AI Support for GMs

Publishing Public Documentation

This repository can publish markdown files as a public documentation website. Files marked with visibility: public in their frontmatter are automatically published.

Features:

• 🔍 Full-text search across all published content
• 📊 Sortable tables
• 🔗 Automatic wiki-link conversion
• 🎨 Dark/light mode toggle
• 📱 Responsive mobile design

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For comprehensive context and detailed instructions, see AGENTS.md and the folder-specific agent guides throughout the repository.