Tymon
This settlement is a walled town on the banks of the Sellen River. All of the major landmarks of the kingdom are within the city’s walls. The rest of the land is held by the various “bloodied” arena warriors who earned enough gold to establish their own holdings, though they remain extremely loyal to the Champion. Because of the closeness of Razmiran, Tymon landowners build fortified manors and employ their own warriors for protection; these warriors often form arena teams. Competition among the teams is strong, and the annual Belt of Aroden tournament is the most prestigious team award in the kingdom.
Most of the businesses in Tymon cater to either the warriors of the arena or the visitors who flock to this distant city- state to see some of the best gladiators in Avistan do battle. A smaller secondary business caters to travelers moving up the Sellen River or traveling the River Road toward Numeria and the Worldwound. Tymon is the last provisioning stop until Castle Urion to the north, so all manner of pilgrims and crusaders stop here for a day or two to rest, reprovision, and perhaps catch some blood sport.
Arena of Aroden
The Arena of Aroden dwarfs the surrounding buildings and is the centerpiece of the town. Able to seat 2,000 patrons at capacity, the arena was built in the style popular in Taldor almost 2,700 years ago. A labyrinthine series of passageways under the arena allows for the storage of weapons, beasts, and props used in the various battle formats. Each official team has its own area where its members can change, practice, and plot their way to the year’s championship. Currently, there are 10 official teams, each with its own official color and insignia. Arena fight manager Barven Freth lives in a grand apartment attached to the arena and can be found in his offices working late into the night.
Fans that attend the various festivities at the arena have their pick of various seating choices, from the grand box seats with catered dining and the best view of the carnage, to the premium seats down close to the action, to the grandstand bleacher seats where fight fans cram onto stone benches and elbow each other to get a better view. Vendors weave their way through the crowds selling ale, turkey legs, and rotten fruit and vegetables which fans can use to show their displeasure with a certain gladiator. In the Grand Concourse, other vendors sell banners with the colors of the official teams, and children can buy wooden replicas of the armor and weapons that their favorite warriors use in the arena.
The Champion’s Fortress
The Champion lives in a fortress within the walls of the city proper. The large structure is overshadowed only by the arena, but stands up well even in comparison to that structure. Built around the same time as the arena, the design would f it well in Oppara’s Imperial Square. By law, the current Champion owns the Champion’s Fortress until he relinquishes his reign. Because Maldar in his various incarnations has been the Champion for several millennia, a certain style has been maintained through the ages. The time has also afforded Maldar the opportunity to dig an extensive network of rooms and tunnels beneath his home where he keeps his most secret and treasured possessions guarded by wicked traps and guardians. A long tunnel leads from the fortress to the Arena of Aroden and the Champion’s private sanctum there. The Champion’s personal visitors can stay in the spacious suites on the top f loor of the fortress and roam the vast gardens within its walls, but guests are told to stick to the main corridors for their own safety.
Smine’s Weaponworks
One of the most important shops in all of Tymon is the weaponworks of Holgarin Smine, the dwarven master smith. Holgarin set up shop in a large forge near the arena over 40 years ago, and since then, wielding one of his weapons (colloquially called a “smine”) is considered not just good luck, but a must for the serious gladiator. The dwarf has three undersmiths working with him, but spends most of his time creating master weapons for which an insatiable demand has arisen as a result of his fame. Holgarin loves to hear tales of adventure and valor, and plies his customers for stories of forgotten artifacts, hidden tombs, and other lost secrets.
What most locals don’t know is that Smine’s Weaponworks is really a front for the Pathfinder Society’s lodge in the region. Smine is the second venture-captain to work here, and set up the smithy as a means to finance various expeditions in the area and also as a way to ply his customers for information that may be valuable to the Society. Many are the tidbits of information that Holgarin has uncovered in the last 44 years he has been a citizen of Tymon. Visiting Pathfinders can sleep in the apartments over the smithy for the price of a tale.
The Temple of Gorum
After the rise of Razmiran and the loss of the Exalted Wood, Maldar realized that he needed access to more divine magic if he was to keep his holdings from becoming part of the growing kingdom of the Living God. Because of his love of war and battle, he approached the high priests of the Lord in Iron with a mutually beneficial proposition. If they would set up a temple in Tymon and administer to his troops and gladiators as needed, he would make theirs the official religion of Tymon and allow them to preside over the arena’s battles, which he would dedicate in their god’s name. In addition to tending to the ripe f lock residing in Tymon, the priests of Gorum find ready converts in those heading to battle in the Worldwound, Ustalav, and other dangerous places farther north. In return, they have buoyed the Champion’s forces, and a cleric of Gorum can always be found with an official military patrol. Mercenary groups that sell their services to other governments in the River Kingdoms and beyond often hire temple priests to tend to them while they are on their missions.
Valknar Gladiatorial College
Founded by the second Champion, the elf Karth Valknar, the Gladiatorial College is one of the best outside of Oppara and draws from all over northern Avistan those who want to test their mettle in the arena. Students at the college bunk in dorm rooms attached to the campus. Only 40 students reside at the College at any one time, with 10 in each class going through the 4-year program. While attending the Valknar Gladiatorial College, students are encouraged to gain real- world experience in the Arena of Aroden against other students and sometimes summoned monsters, but always under much more controlled circumstances than are in place during normal bouts.
The current Dean of the College is Erevil Antelo, the son of the second Champion. In addition to being one of the few who know the secret of the Champion and his longevity, Erevil watches over a staff of 10 of the best teachers one can find in such fields as swordplay, battlefield tactics, monster biology, armor and weapon care, fitness, and others areas of interest to future gladiators. The College also has one of the most extensive libraries of militaristic lore in northern Avistan and military officers come from far lands to seek permission to plumb its treasured shelves.