Urik's Pit of Black Death (CGH)

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Urik is home to the Pit of Black Death, the great obsidian arena. Formerly the city's first obsidian mine, it was abandoned when higher grade obsidian was found not far from the burgeoning town. The excavation was soon turned into the gladiatorial arena of Urik, and given the name "Pit of Black Death."
The pit is the only irregularly shaped combat field in the Tablelands. The pit remains in the same distorted oval shape as when it was abandoned from quarrying. Stepped excavation has added viewing tiers along the outside of the pit. Wooden rails have been placed near the edge of these tiers for standing spectators. Stairways are located only on the corners, which makes getting to the preferred viewing areas of the arena difficult.
The upper standing platforms are larger than usual to accommodate half-giants who attend the games. There is no seating at the arena, lirik is unique in this type of arrangement.
The arena itself is almost as deadly as the gladiators. The black obsidian heats in the midday sun, causing temperatures in the pit to rise to over 170 degrees.
Gladiators loathe fighting in Urik's arena for still another reason. The bright Athasian sun can reflect off the mirror like obsidian surface and temporarily blind a fighter, giving the opposing combatant the chance to strike a killing blow.
To make matters worse, the walls are covered with thousands of razor sharp ridges. The fractured obsidian sticks out from the pit's walls, each point a potential instrument of death. Scattered indiscriminately throughout the arena are the "Staves of Hamanu." The staves are, in reality, large black pillars with thousands and thousands of sharp obsidian points chipped from the stone, named for the sorcerer-king of Urik. The staves are moved periodically to new positions within the arena. They are removed if damaged, or, in some cases, to be sharpened.
The number of staves varies on each gladiatorial combat day. Some days, there may be twenty or thirty smaller rock outcroppings that create a dangerous gauntlet in which the gladiators fight. Other times, one or two huge monoliths of sharpened ebony stone dominate the arena. It is said that the number and placement of the staves is at the whim of the king. Others say it is the work of the templars, creating a favorable fighting environment for their gladiators to battle.
Because of the intense temperature in the pit during the midday sun, games begin at dawn. Fans make their way under cover of darkness to the stadium. The stadium and aisles are lit by torches and vessels of burning oil. As the first light heralds the dawn of a new day, the first match begins. As the sun rises, so does the heat in the arena. Match games and executions are held early, before the arena heats to its maximum intensity.
Special matches called "Dragon Matches" are held at the very end of the gladiatorial card. The dragon matches are often held at high noon, when the arena is at peak temperature. This not only taxes the combatants' fighting ability, but the endurance and stamina of the crowd as well. Fighting under these conditions, a combatant loses twice as much water than normal in combat. In addition, the obsidian walls are so hot that when a combatant's bare skin brushes up against the walls, he suffers 1d4 points of burn damage.
Urik is one of the few stadiums that once held night games in the cool of the evening. Great oil burning lamps, 12 feet in height, were brought in and mounted on pedestals at the upper portions of the arena. Great magical glass lenses were placed in front of the lamps to make the light brighter. The pit was always packed for the night games. They were known as "rogue" games, because the stands were thick with thieves, out to filch purses in the dark of the night.