Sometimes when I am running my table, the players have traveled faster than I intended, while the destination isn't fully prepped as much as I would like. Sometimes, I've even had to postpone a session because of this, but I really don't like doing that, getting a group of six people with full time jobs together can be a real struggle, so if we're all free I like to have at least something happen at the table.
The last time this happened I came up with the idea for Torm's Holy Arena. Back then we were running a weird improv version of Hoard of the Dragon Queen that I plan to go over at a later date.
On a side note, I really love buying premade campaigns and adventures, but I never run them very close to the intended story line. I improv around the story. I like them because they create a good context for what could be happening around the world during the campaign. I usually start the way the book intends, but then I give the players absolute freedom to go off in whatever direction they want. My players right now are on the run because they slaughtered a group of dragon cultists when they weren't supposed to, and the witnesses saw them as cold-blooded murderers. I also enjoy buying the books because I like to read the story, get ideas for encounters, and just feel immersed in someone else's lore for once.
Torm's Holy Arena
Invented to fill a session in that campaign. The party had entered Elturel, a town filled with many paladins and worshipers of Torm. It had been a slow previous session, so I wanted to include some fun combat for them, but without going on too big of a tangent from their current path.A very hedonistic paladin who mentored one of the players introduced them to the arena. He had had it built years before as an attempt to turn adventuring into a sort of spectator sport. Many before him had attempted to create a coliseum-style arena for the common folk to watch adventurers hack and slash at each other, but it had never quite worked out. The problem was these adventurers were too unwilling to fight each other in such a high-risk, low-reward scenario. Why would an adventurer fight to the death against other highly-skilled adventurers to get fame and wealth, when he can achieve those goals fighting badly organized goblins, or saving a farmer's daughter from a cluster of Owlbears?
Attempts were made to create a non-lethal arena, using dull swords and flat-tipped arrows. But this prevented the magic-users from participating. It is difficult to remove the lethality from a lightning bolt, or fireball.
The paladin, despite his hedonism, was a very pious man. He knew of many resurrection spells, granted to him from his god Torm. Many paladins and clerics from across the region came together to imbue an arena with intrinsic resurrection abilities, and Torm's Holy Arena was born.
When an adventurer dies in the arena, right before their living essence were to leave their body, the holy power of Torm returns the spirit to the body, mends and issues, and transports the adventurer to just outside of the field. Such a feat is very expensive and difficult, and adventurers need to be blessed before hand by local clerics, and fight without anger or hate in their hearts. Elturel is proud to proclaim that the arena has a nearly perfect success rate.
The arena sometimes releases monsters for the adventurers to fight, but the most popular style of event is large Battle Royales, featuring anywhere from 5 to 20 skilled adventurers. People flock from all over the country to witness the event, and the last man standing is usually given some gold, gems, and even a magic item (like the Chalk of the Demiplane Retreat)
