Gladiatorial Combat: The Pit Fights

Gladiatorial combat is the foremost spectator sport in Kraylin. Over the years, it has developed into an entity possessing a complicated set of rules of how it is arranged and conducted. As standard practice, the fights can only occur on the last day of each week, they must begin at dawn, and they will finish within three hours after high noon at which time the jousting lists begin if on the docket. In Kraylin, these fights are referred to as ‘Pit Fights’ regardless of the actual arena used.
This strict observance to the times is largely for the local populace as they plan their days. With every fight following the same formula, even the illiterate know and understand when to show up for the fights.
The rules of pit fighting have evolved to the point where fourteen forms of combat now exist. The first and most common is the Fight of Equals. This is when equal numbers face off against each other and are evenly matched with weapons. Most fights are one on one and rarely more than four on four.
The second is the Fight of History. This is a reenactment of a historical event involving massive amounts of bloodshed as can be arranged. Fights of History tend to be theatrical in nature and usually have accompanying music played by local bands.
Fight of History relates strongly to the third type, the Fight of Massacre. The same idea, except the historical event is one heavily weighted to one side winning. The losing usually consists of condemned criminals and the indebted attempting to pay off family debts. The local Judges generally provided the ‘actors’ for this fight.
Other forms of combat include Fight of the Beast, Flight of Prey, Gauntlet for Freedom, Fight to Survive, Fight of the Last Standing, and the ever popular Race of the Damned.

The final form is the Carnage Match. The Carnage Match’s sole purpose is to take a group of able-bodied warriors, equip them with sub-par weapons, and through a series of three unfair events, slowly and spectacularly kill them all off. The cost for a Carnage Match is the greatest, as the standard number making up the losing side is thirty, and no matter how a Pit Lord works it, thirty able-bodied warriors cost a considerable sum of money. Despite the popularity of a Carnage Match among the masses, a Pit Lord will seldom hold more than one such match a year. - from “The Broken Land” by Torim Rae, traveler of worlds