Trading Gladiators (CGH)

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When a gladiator earns the notice of a city through his daring exploits, chances are that his master is receiving countless offers to trade for or buy the gladiator. Some of the offers are pitiful, while others can be hugely profitable to the owner. Whether or not he accepts depends on his financial situation, how much he relies on the gladiator to maintain his stable, and how the gladiator is likely to perform in the future.
This last reason is one that potential owners often try to capitalize on. By sending a gift of a bard troupe to the owner's house, they can practically guarantee that the gladiator will fall sick (but not fatally so) in a matter of hours. Of course, to avoid suspicion, they make the offer well after the troupe has left the house, so that the owner will not suspect foul play. Indeed, if many houses make an offer at the same time, it is nearly impossible to tell who the true culprit might be.
Oddly, most of the nobles and merchant houses have a strange code of honor regarding the poisoning of rival gladiators, even ones that they have no chance of acquiring. The code forbids the houses to fatally poison the gladiators, instructing them instead to let the gladiators die in the arena through their own skill or lack thereof.
Part of this stems, perhaps, from the fact that if the commoners ever found out that their favorite gladiators had been killed because of a bidding war, they would exact some sort of retribution against the houses involved. They might boycott the products of one, or secretly contaminate the well of another.
Though the great houses, both merchant and noble, do not hold the peasants in high regard, they recognize that the cunning rabble could conceivably devise a plot that would make them all suffer. Of course, if the nobles could find a poison that would kill and leave no trace of its passing, they might not be so honorable.
The houses also recognize the stupidity of simply raiding the stables of rivals for the prized gladiator; he would be instantly recognizable in the ring. While the laws for nobles and other wealthy people apply much more loosely than they do to the common folk, they do not reward blatant stupidity.
Of course, if the house or estate could ship them off in a slave caravan to another city-state, the theft might be workable. Depending on how quickly they could mobilize this caravan, they could conceivably get away with it. Of course, the owner could distribute some enormous bribes to have every caravan searched for the next few days, thus spoiling the plan. Any templar PCs involved in such a thing could become very rick very suddenly as the two sides play off against one another.
Aside from the intrigues and politics involved with obtaining a gladiator, there are also business-like methods. One house might offer another the pick of the stable, or a trade of two inexperienced gladiators for one tested one. The variations on these themes are practically endless.
Any owner of a good gladiator should therefore be prepared to fend off all sorts of outrageous attempts to obtain the gladiator. There are the subtle approaches, the attempted kidnappings and poisonings; and then there are the more direct approaches, such as obvious bribe attempts.
An intelligent owner always keeps track of precisely how much money his gladiator brings in, and how much he is likely to gain from potential trades. He therefore also keeps track of how nearly every other gladiator in the city-state performs, so that he might evaluate possible trades more wisely.
Then, of course, there is the offer from the sorcerer-king. No matter how little he offers, all owners would best be advised to give him the gladiator for the asking price. Haggling with the sorcerer-king could earn his amusement and a reward, or, more likely, it could earn instant destruction of the impudent slaveowner for daring to argue against the will of the king. They can expect no gratitude from the king for giving him the gladiator, sorcerer-kings are notoriously inconsiderate.
All this usually means for the gladiator is a change of scenery, and a new stable to befriend or antagonize. Living conditions could be better or worse, depending on the wealth of the master, and how much he or she spent in acquiring the new gladiator. More expensive gladiators can expect to suffer a bit more than they have been used to, for the new owner will want to make sure the gladiator was a good deal.
Another practical change for the gladiator is the fact that they can now fight against the members of their former stable. For some, this is a curse, because they have developed strong friendships with their former comrades-in-arms. For others, this is a blessing, because they now have a chance to avenge the weeks, months, or even years of hatred for their old stablemates. 
Other than these paltry changes, a gladiator is usually likely to find that one stable is much like another, though the personalities inside each are radically different. The vast number of trades that occur are one of the reasons that few gladiators hold a burning hatred for their foes in the ring. They know that any day, they could be traded to the stable of their most hated rival, and fighting partners simply should not have such animosity between them.
Indeed, it is far more common for rivalries to develop only when it appears certain that one of the gladiators will be traded to another stable; they can finally give vent to the emotions they felt for their companions for so long.