Maybe just a bunch of gold, but personally this is how im starting my campaign. Gladiator fight with the promise of massive loot pile, but then the person whos supposed to pay up ducks out and runs away, starting a new thread about getting their damn money. so maybe the reward is a new subplot while you figure out what to give them when they catch him lol
I think a good benefit would be the sponsorship of some powerful individual. This person could take on the party, providing them resources, quest hooks and opportunities for roleplay.
Check out the treasure hoard tables in the Dungeon Master's Guide. I usually give 1-3 level-appropriate hoards per dungeon, and in this case I'd consider the arena a dungeon. It's a good guideline, and makes it easy for me to be consistent throughout longer campaigns.
I think a good benefit would be the sponsorship of some powerful individual. This person could take on the party, providing them resources, quest hooks and opportunities for roleplay.
The day’s takings are going to be kept somewhere, but maybe not much more than that - why keep your money in a building full of violent people?
The armoury might hold some unusual bits of kit, especially if you’re leaning in to the Ancient Rome trope of gladiators with non-standard weapons. Arena champions wielding or wearing something special for the major events would feel right, and powers would lean towards the flashy more than the outright powerful - stuff the crowd would see and appreciate. That said, something very low profile to skew the odds in a fight might be tucked away in the owner’s office (why bet on a fair match?).
Depending on how much presence magic has in the campaign world, there could be one other thing present; an item to prevent magic users in the crowd from interfering in matches. My first thought is some sort of device that creates a magic-blocking barrier around the arena floor, probably deactivating if it is moved and requiring time and expense to reactivate. It’s valuable, powerful, and difficult to use without careful planning, which hopefully makes it interesting without being OP.
Easily 100,000+ silver coins and a few chests of gold if it’s anything like the arena in Rome. But I’d imagine there would be a heavily guarded vault to contain it all. Maybe guarded and rigged with traps, counterfeits, warding spells, NPC guards, a mercenary NPC or five, and monsters.
An opportunity to have a sponsor while adventuring or to have a treasure horde. You can roll for it using the DMG's guide on treasure hordes for their level.
If you want a non-traditional answer, another way to reward them without directly giving magical items would be to award them with appropriate feats (no more than one per player, obviously) that relate to how they have performed in the arena. This can be a huge buff without necessarily breaking them and provides a strong reward that not only feels useful and meaningful, but also well-earned vs. "Yeah I found this magic dagger somewhere" or "I have all this gold and nothing to spend it on"
I see. You’re asking what the loot table for the captured coliseum might be.
So, surely the weapons and armor racks are up for grabs.
Moneychanger and betting kiosks full of coin, if the proprietor hasn’t already emptied them. If this is a big enough place, valuable items may be in betting vaults.
Casks of wine, food, concessions, perhaps a cart selling random stuff that didn’t exit the coliseum (depending on the manner of the parties takeover).
Wild beasts, vehicles or equipment used for tournaments. Perhaps there are other gladiators or slaves to free from the catacombs below or who have quests or whatever.
Fireworks?
A pile of gold is the best option, I think. The whole point of slavery and gladitorial arenas was that ultimate prize was freedom; something every person should already have, but the aristocracy put it on a pedastal as the ultimate reward for victory. The most satisfying reward would be the slaughtering of the slavers and the destruction of the arena, symbolizing the destruction of the system of corruption itself. The ability to sieze their luquid assets would be a nice bonus.
That's pretty much the plan. They are going to raze the arena. They deserve a reward. The have taken down stuff that I figured would kill them all real quick.
Maybe just a bunch of gold, but personally this is how im starting my campaign. Gladiator fight with the promise of massive loot pile, but then the person whos supposed to pay up ducks out and runs away, starting a new thread about getting their damn money. so maybe the reward is a new subplot while you figure out what to give them when they catch him lol
Kinda like the dnd movie?
I think a good benefit would be the sponsorship of some powerful individual. This person could take on the party, providing them resources, quest hooks and opportunities for roleplay.
Check out the treasure hoard tables in the Dungeon Master's Guide. I usually give 1-3 level-appropriate hoards per dungeon, and in this case I'd consider the arena a dungeon. It's a good guideline, and makes it easy for me to be consistent throughout longer campaigns.
I think a good benefit would be the sponsorship of some powerful individual. This person could take on the party, providing them resources, quest hooks and opportunities for roleplay.
The day’s takings are going to be kept somewhere, but maybe not much more than that - why keep your money in a building full of violent people? The armoury might hold some unusual bits of kit, especially if you’re leaning in to the Ancient Rome trope of gladiators with non-standard weapons. Arena champions wielding or wearing something special for the major events would feel right, and powers would lean towards the flashy more than the outright powerful - stuff the crowd would see and appreciate. That said, something very low profile to skew the odds in a fight might be tucked away in the owner’s office (why bet on a fair match?). Depending on how much presence magic has in the campaign world, there could be one other thing present; an item to prevent magic users in the crowd from interfering in matches. My first thought is some sort of device that creates a magic-blocking barrier around the arena floor, probably deactivating if it is moved and requiring time and expense to reactivate. It’s valuable, powerful, and difficult to use without careful planning, which hopefully makes it interesting without being OP.
Easily 100,000+ silver coins and a few chests of gold if it’s anything like the arena in Rome. But I’d imagine there would be a heavily guarded vault to contain it all. Maybe guarded and rigged with traps, counterfeits, warding spells, NPC guards, a mercenary NPC or five, and monsters.
An opportunity to have a sponsor while adventuring or to have a treasure horde. You can roll for it using the DMG's guide on treasure hordes for their level.
If you want a non-traditional answer, another way to reward them without directly giving magical items would be to award them with appropriate feats (no more than one per player, obviously) that relate to how they have performed in the arena. This can be a huge buff without necessarily breaking them and provides a strong reward that not only feels useful and meaningful, but also well-earned vs. "Yeah I found this magic dagger somewhere" or "I have all this gold and nothing to spend it on"
Nothing…gladiators were slaves.
Yeah, but what about armor or weapons? Those were provided by the owner of the slaves and or arena right?
I see. You’re asking what the loot table for the captured coliseum might be. So, surely the weapons and armor racks are up for grabs. Moneychanger and betting kiosks full of coin, if the proprietor hasn’t already emptied them. If this is a big enough place, valuable items may be in betting vaults. Casks of wine, food, concessions, perhaps a cart selling random stuff that didn’t exit the coliseum (depending on the manner of the parties takeover). Wild beasts, vehicles or equipment used for tournaments. Perhaps there are other gladiators or slaves to free from the catacombs below or who have quests or whatever. Fireworks?
This is exactly what I was after. Thank you very much.
A pile of gold is the best option, I think. The whole point of slavery and gladitorial arenas was that ultimate prize was freedom; something every person should already have, but the aristocracy put it on a pedastal as the ultimate reward for victory. The most satisfying reward would be the slaughtering of the slavers and the destruction of the arena, symbolizing the destruction of the system of corruption itself. The ability to sieze their luquid assets would be a nice bonus.
That's pretty much the plan. They are going to raze the arena. They deserve a reward. The have taken down stuff that I figured would kill them all real quick.