Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we look at the collection efforts of the Cabal with the Cabal Pit.
Cabal Pit
Everyone has heard stories of underground fighting rings, where fortunes are won and lost, and lives hang in the balance. But only the Cabal Pit has the scope and size to pit armies against each other, in orgies of blood and gore that satisfy even the most bloodthirsty (and rich) patrons.
It is located underground, inside a huge stone arena built by slaves and undead servitors — all of whom were subsequently killed or destroyed, so that its hidden secrets could never be revealed by those who made them, and that they, therefore, were only available to the masters of the Cabal. And now it serves them well, to fill their coffers and direct souls to strengthen their powerful master. And not only that, but it also provides them with easily accessible manpower, once the fights are over.
Lay of the Land
The Cabal Pit is basically a giant arena, surrounded by a deep trench where the bodies of the dead can be dumped. Smaller fights are scheduled weekly and monthly, usually pitting individuals or mercenary groups against various monsters or each other. However, once per year, two mercenary companies are hired, numbering in the hundreds. They take to the battlefield of the Cabal Pit, and when the signal is given, they tear into each other. Sometimes this is a straight-up pitched battle, but usually, there will be some sort of objective, and illusionary terrain introduced, meaning that the stronger tactical and strategic side will usually emerge as the winner. The survivors are paid extremely well for their services, and the bodies of the dead are dumped into the trenches around the field.
Surrounding the field and the trenches are thousands upon thousands of seats, all of which observe the battlefield below them, arranged as they would be in a colosseum. There are even some booths where rich patrons can observe the action while surrounded by their cronies. From here they can use either spyglasses or magical means of observation to get a close-up view of what is happening.
Underneath the Pit is a series of facilities, barracks that can house the enormous armies for up to a month, with all the facilities that this requires such as kitchen and latrines. Buried in secret tunnels beneath that are magical laboratories from where there is access to the Pit’s trenches. From there, the members of the Cabal drag in the corpses for use in necromantic rituals — easy access to armies and a workforce of their own. In effect, the Cabal has managed to make the entertainment revenue generated by the Cabal Pit pay for their army. And no one even knows that it is there.
Dangers
The Cabal Pit’s dangers depend on where you are. In the arena, it’s the opposing side, whatever that other side may be: monster, man, or something else. Stepping into the Pit usually means that there are only three ways of getting out: alive (a victor), alive (someone who surrendered), or dead — all depending on the fighting scenario.
Outside the arena, the dangers are different, as there are dangerous bodyguards guarding the rich who sit in the booths on the stands. The tunnels are the most dangerous place, filled with Cabal cultists, and all kinds of undead. The most common of which are simple zombies, but the favorite undead servitors of the Cabal are the mummies (PF 2 / 5e )that they have managed to create, as these are more powerful and more reliable (and intelligent) than normal zombies.
And with that, we hope to see you next week. 😊
Kim Frandsen
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