Below is a suggestion I've been working on for a while.. Thoughts are appreciated!
The House Gladiator Sect
These are gladiators from the Noble Houses. The way they work is that there are no buy-ins and no mehrial rewards. Instead, House Gladiators are allowed to use their House-tags while fighting. Their points go towards honor for their House as well as their own personal record, to be House Champion. Every four months there is a large tournament that is for all House Champions to compete in the Championship known as Champions of the Empire, to gain the prestigious title of Imperial Champion, and the chance for various awards by donation. There will also be a single tournament each year for anyone who's ever held the title of Imperial Champion.
1) House Gladiators do not have buy-ins nor are they awarded mehrial for their wins. They earn points.
2) Just participating earns one point for their House and one point for them personally. Winning earns two points respectively. An officiate may reward bonus points for extraordinary maximized/good luck rolls, honorable behavior, and other gladiatorial virtues.
3) House members cannot fight others of their own House, save for the exception of the Championship. A House can have more than one House Champion, such as in the event of a different House Gladiator winning the Championship for their House each month. House Champion titles only reset after the Champions of the Empire.
4) At no time can any House Gladiator face the same opponent twice in a row. They may not fight any opponent more than three times a month.
5) At the end of the month when points are tallied, the Arena will fly the banner/colors/flag of the winning House. Each House Champion will have their portraits displayed as well. Houses have the option of rewarding their fighters at their own discretion. During this time, all points are reset to 0 until the next month's tally.
6) Only Arena officiates can oversee a match, the same as normal gladiators.
7) Modified CLAW is required. As such, stat enchantments do NOT count in evening the playing field, allowing CLAW to go off of level stats alone rather than integrating the enchantments that characters have bought with coin. This allows them to keep the advantages they have paid for while evening the levels.
8) ICly poisons are not allowed and can result in loss of House points, gladiator dismissal or suspension, or in the case of death, banning. OOCly, poisons are permitted, just be aware of the consequences should you be caught.
9) There are NO level requirements. Due to the use of modified CLAW, any level is welcome.
10) A player can enter as many characters as they want. If it comes down to one player's two chars facing each other, there will be no roleplay, but rather a session where just rolls are done and overseen by an officiate AND an OP.
11) Healing spells and potions are permitted if the caster/holder is the one fighting. Using a potion from someone beyond the fighting pit or being the recipient of a spell is cause for gladiatorial dismissal and possibly point deduction, if they're caught. The person who's participating in breaking rules can as well be banned from future events.
OOC Note:
This gives House workers a new avenue to work, allowing fighters to get paid to bring their House glory and honor and healers to watch and be on call to heal them, alongside Arena healers, and entertainers to act as cheerleaders and more. This may also encourage Nobles to hire more workers, as there is no cap on the amount of House Gladiators per House. They may even be encouraged to help outfit their fighters to give them better fighting chances, which is good for new characters. House Gladiators can be anyone (except the Noble themselves) who represents the House, so even a gladiator slave on payroll can compete, opening a new avenue for those slaves who are eager to serve even beyond sexual ways. Bards and House Bards are encouraged to work during these times to gain fodder for their stories and songs to boast about the prowess of the House they serve, and help to stir some competition between Houses.
As for modified CLAW, I've toyed around with this in great detail, and truly don't think a character's purchased advantages should be nerfed for the sake of balance. They were bought and paid for, for the advantage they give. This is one of those things that helps balance magical and physical fighters as well, seeing a magical fighter may not only have stat enchants, but +15 for rolls due to spells.. and physical fighters only have their given stats and bought enchants to rely on for their bonus.
Another point of note is that officiates will have rolls that go towards them "noticing" things characters are trying to get away with, such as healing someone else, dosing them with poison, or sneaking a healing potion.
Officiating
Any arena worker can officiate if they are approved to do such.
Officiates are responsible for keeping track of the life and stam of opponents (over seeing) and seeing to it that rules are abided by. OOCly they must also post to the House Threads (which will be created on the MB in the Arena section) and post the outcome of fights and who won which points.
In the chance someone is trying something underhanded, an officiate can either outright observe such (within means of the play, proper spells etc..) or at their own discretion and option roll !choice or a stat roll against the other person. An officiate is not bound to make the optional rolls if they feel their char would notice what was going on, and their say is final.
FAQs
Q: Can I poison my opponent?
A: ICly it's against gladiator rules, but OOCly, yes. You just need to abide by the rules of poisons and be aware and accepting of the potential consequences that can come of such. The magical wrist bands gladiators wear to even out the fights have no affect on poison and therefore cannot save a gladiator's life.
Q: I got caught! Can I bribe the officiate?
A: Sure you can, but it's up to them if they accept, don't accept, or accept and screw you over anyways. If they do accept, they're also putting their reputation and job on the line.
Q: Won't using CLAW make my bad ass char look bad if they lose to some level 1?
A: Possibly, though ICly the modified CLAW is incorporated through use of magical wrist bands, which are known to even the levels and make sense of the power restrictions.
Q: How does death work in these fights?
A: Killing your opponent can get you removed from competing. For this reason, the magical wrist bands stop death, even if the damage impact goes over the character's remaining life points. Instead, the opponent is rendered knocked out. But any blow after that, will kill them. This means the opponent is making a conscious choice and effort to kill their target.
Q: My character is a cook (or other non-military position) but I want to compete, can I?
A: As long as your Noble says you can, you can. Any and all House workers are welcome to join. Keep in mind though, that while participating will earn your House a point, losing earns your opponent two for defeating you. If you lose too much, your Noble may not see your participation as an asset.
Q: My Noble said I can't fight for them!
A: Sorry to hear, but their say is final. If you are found to be participating when you should not be, your Noble will be notified and you will be handed over to the Imperial Guard for fraud and messing with an Imperial Event. OOCly, you'll also be in some shit for knowingly screwing up the numbers and will be banned from participating in any future House Gladiator events under any character, possibly more if OPs or the Arena Master deems so.
Q: I'm low level, what if I get killed?! What if no one can afford my rez?!
A: In the case of any death, seeing as it is purposeful and NOT accidental, the opponent who did the deed is expected to pay for the rez. If they cannot, their House Noble is then expected. But seriously.. anyone who dies and can't afford the rez, and for some reason the opponent or Noble can't or whatnot.. do not worry. Many characters (and players) are usually willing to donate for the rez. Use it as development. Many characters will react to what has happened and no doubt the opponent will get a bad reputation from it, since these fights are about honor and not killing for glory. In any case, OOCly and ICly you WILL be taken care of. Do not fret. Do not whine. This is for fun and we've got your back.