Stables (CGH)

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Any group of enslaved gladiators is defined as a stable. Some stables are quite large, while others boast only two or three gladiators. The majority of stables, however, are owned by nobles or merchant houses, who use them to increase their already vast stores of wealth. Owning a stable is not all profit, though it might seem that 'way. After all, the owners must feed and house their slaves, not to mention making sure they are fit for the arena.
Each stable has a champion (though the wealthier houses can have several), the gladiator or gladiators who can best most or all the others of the stable. The champions vary in ability from 5th to 20th level, depending on the stable. Typically, the more powerful the house, the more powerful the stable, and thus the more powerful the champion. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between. For example, a minor slaveowner might have only two gladiators, but one could be of exceptional prowess. Likewise, a huge stable might not have made provisions for the necessary training, and so its gladiators suffer from inexperience.
Occasionally, rivalries between gladiators in the same stable develop, but these are never encouraged. The owner never arranges public matches between two combative gladiators, for they are both assets. If the rivalry grows too intense, the owner may opt to have the two fight a nonlethal combat in the privacy of his personal grounds. With guards standing at the ready all around, few of these matches ever get too out of hand, and only rarely do they prove deadly. The house s healer stands ready to prevent serious and permanent injury to either side.
Aside from these personal matches to vent their frustrations (and for the amusement of the owner), the two rivals are unlikely to be able to get their hands on each other. However, if one of the rivals is traded to another owner, chances are that they will meet in the arena someday. If this happens, the crowd is truly in for one of the best fights on Athas; the two gladiators do not have to whip themselves into a killing hatred, for the sparks are already there. Even a nonlethal match will result in one of the gladiators being carried from the arena on a stretcher, for the two rivals will pummel each other mercilessly.
==Private Stables==
For the majority of enslaved gladiators, the food and housing is better than that of the average slave. However, they remain slaves, and are therefore dependent on their master's will. No matter how pleasant the rest of their lives, the one immutable fact of their existence is that their happiness is dependent on their master's pleasure.
For the most part, their lives are pleasurable; at least, they are pleasurable compared to the conditions under which most citizens, whether free or slave, must survive. Not only are their food and lodging provided for, these necessities are better than average. After all, if a gladiator is malnourished and exhausted, his performance suffers.
Most gladiators, while they are not try nature complainers, are anxious to improve their lot by whatever means possible, and claim that the fare they receive is not good enough, that their beds are unfit for true sleep. Their owners, eager to keep the gladiators happy, provide these as long as the gladiators prove themselves useful. The better and more profitable the gladiator, the better the living conditions in which he finds himself.
However, when the gladiators become careless or fail to bring profit to the owner, he invariably returns them to the spartan conditions in which they lived previously. If they have brought disaster, financial or otherwise, to his house, he often has them killed outright or traded to one of his rivals, in the hope that a similar fate will befall his rival.
In addition to food and lodging, all slave gladiators also receive free training. This accounts, in large part, for the gladiator's proficiency with all weapons. They have nothing to do all day but train, eat, train, eat, tram, eat, and sleep. Many gladiators actively look forward to a Game Day, if only to break this monotonous routine. When a slave gladiator is able to advance a level, he always has training available to him. For more on this subject, refer to the "Training" section later in this chapter.
If a gladiator suffers injury m the brutal training, the owner nearly always has healers available to deal with the injuries. It profits the owner nothing if the gladiator is not well enough to fight and win. Skilled healers hover constantly near the training arenas of private owners.
Finally, in addition to healing, privately-owned gladiators often have masseuses to tend to their aching muscles and bruised bodies. With a skilled pair of hands working the knots and sore muscles to easy relaxation at the end of each day, these gladiators can train longer and harder than most others. Some owners provide slaves who can perform this service, while others require stablemates with the Massage nonweapon proficiency to perform this beneficial task.
==The City's Stables==
Gladiators owned by the city, on the other hand, generally suffer less-than-perfect handling by their overseers. The city cares nothing for their comfort; the warriors exist only to provide entertainment for the masses. Skilled gladiators receive marginally better treatment than new or inept ones. Poor and complaining gladiators can always be replaced by new recruits fresh-picked from the streets of the city.
The food for these gladiators is nutritious, if not enjoyable; the bedding in the dormitories can be slept on, though it is no featherbed by any stretch of the imagination. Still, though these two amenities are not perfect, they are seen as far better than starving and sleeping on rocks. Nonetheless, one nagging fact remains in the back of every city gladiator s mind: freedom is better than slavery.
Most city-owned gladiators are not lucky enough to have healers. If they are wounded in training, they are expected to recuperate in time for the big battles. If they prove to be a liability in this regard, they are either turned out on the streets, sold to a new owner, or simply disposed of. Unless a city-owned gladiator is fortunate enough to have someone keeping a special eye on him, he must do his best to stay hale and healthy on his own.
After the games, of course, the city is obligated to either heal their gladiators or eliminate them entirely. Those who fought well (even though they might not have won) earn their healing; those who did not are either sold or killed. They are never set free, despite rumors to the contrary.