Who Rules: Sir Raddik the Billhook (CG, Human Male, F18) is a retired gladiator whose favored weapon was a billhook. He wasn't the most skilled warrior with weapons, but he was a brilliant tactician in the arena. He actually started out as a slave and earned his freedom after several years of combat. Once free, though, he continued to fight and furthered his education that he had started in secret as a slave. Now in his early 60's, he is a skilled politician and his refusal to use bodyguards along with several dead assassins left in his wake attests to his fighting skills.

Who Really Rules: Sir Raddik rules completely and thoroughly, though he listens and considers the advice given to him by his councilors.

Population: 37,000 (45% human, 28% dwarf, 14% gnome, 9% elf, 4% other).

Major Products: Gladiators, weapons, armor, mercenaries, horses, harness-ware, Gladiator's Gloom Ale, and Spiked Glove, a very powerful, very expensive, and highly sought after brandy which is illegal to export out of Reth.

Armed Forces: 700 mixed infantry, 350 mixed cavalry, 250 archers, 150 artillerists, and 150 marines who are stationed on a fleet of 10 warships of various types. The local mercenary school can field about 500 infantry and 200 cavalry at any given time. The gladiators, be they active or retired, can turn out as a 4,500 strong militia unit.

Notable Mages: Anton Luvchenko (CN, Elf Male, F6/W17) started his career as strictly a gladiator, but he soon grew bored with steel weapons and started studying magic. He was soon a champion of the arena who only used spells to defeat his opponents. He soon grew bored with this and gave up the arena to study and do research into offensive and defensive spells. He still does research but also spends a lot of time helping to train wizards who wish to fight in the arena.

Lillian Goldenflax (LG, Human Female, W16) is true pacifist. She hates violence in all forms and specializes in spells that render victims helpless. She is a tireless protester who is constantly trying to get the arenas shut down and the military disbanded.

Kasden Suna (CG, Human Male, W11) spent time as an adventurer but gave it up to pursue the study of psychology, specifically that of adventurers who feel they have something to prove in the arena, and who usually lose.

Notable Churches: Tempus, Torm, Gond, Ilmater, Tymora, and Waukeen.

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: The Bloody Shards is a particularly ruthless guild. The reason for this is that they hire a lot of the less reputable washed-out gladiators to provide muscle for their organization. Leadership turnover is quite high in Reth and at present there are five separate factions vying for power. The city actually turns a blind eye to most of the activities of the guild. They figure that the cost of cleaning up and disposing of dead thieves is a fair trade off for actually having a relatively low crime rate because the thieves are spending most of their time killing each other. A small number of independent thieves are playing a dangerous game of promoting this secret warfare so they can have better pickings.

Equipment Shops: Full, with gladiatorial and military equipment being quite cheap.

Adventurers' Quarters: Adventurers are welcome throughout town and tend to favor establishments located near any of the arenas.

Important Characters: Lord Samual (NG, Halfling Male, F28) is the master of The Grand Arena, which is the largest of the five arenas in Reth. The arena is located in the main section of the city and Lord Samual can often be found personally overseeing gladiators while they train, and he will often provide useful advice and help. He is a well respected member of the community and in the arena his word is the law. Whatever decision he makes is final and no one would ever dare to question it.

Milli Foxmaster (LN, Human Female, I3) runs a small organization of concession stands that sell food to the fans of the arena. She has an exclusive deal at The Grand Arena and one other to be the soul seller of refreshments within those arenas, and she has several booths at each of the other arenas. While she doesn't gamble she makes sure that all of her employees know the odds on every fight, a free service which has earned her many a loyal customer, and a few enemies from the bookie community who try to fix the odds in their favor.

Faihdar Mithrilheart (CG, Dwarf Male, F8) is considered to be one of the finest blacksmiths in the Regions of Rossak, if not the entire Realms. He works exclusively in mithril and only makes items of the highest quality. His prices are naturally higher than normal (x25, excluding the base cost of the mithril) and he specializes in gladiatorial weapons and armor, though he will make anything for the right price. One of the items he is most proud of is a set of toy gladiators he made for Sir Raddik Billhook's young daughter who even at an age of 6 is training for a career in the arenas.

Darren Burning Bright (LN, Human Male, W12) specializes in evocation/invocation and abjuration spells. He is a semi-retired adventurer who frequently hires out his services to merchant ships. When he isn't adventuring or crafting scrolls and magic items he can be found at the local arenas taking in the games. He is an astute judge of ability and he makes a tidy profit on the betting circuit. From time to time he will even enter into the arena to fight a match.

Important Features in Town: Reth is an oddly shaped city that is laid out around an odd shaped harbor and also follows the contour of a winding river. The town is continually growing and currently has 8 different walled sections. There are five arenas located throughout town with The Grand Arena being the largest and most popular. All gladiatorial games are strictly regulated to try to keep everything fair, and it is rare for novices to go up against experts. Gambling is pretty much a free for all so long as the city gets its percentage, though underground gambling is starting to be a problem. Most of the local monsters (orcs, gnolls, ogres, and crab-men) have moved out of the area as the local populace is more than adept at defending itself. Giants, though, have moved in and are starting to be a real nuisance.

Local Lore: There is not much in the way of local lore as most of the populace cares only about one thing, The Games. The five arenas, listed in order of size, are The Grand Arena, The Pit, Wendall's Hall of Combat, Honor and Skill, and The Circus. With the exception of The Grand Arena the competition is fierce to draw in the crowds with spectacular games.