Coliseum of Kord

process again. During this period of occupation, the anvil must be set up again and the entire area must be cleared of debris.

Once the area is clean, a flame ignites within the forge and grows brighter and hotter every hour. The heat never becomes unbearable, but anyone standing in the room can feel its warmth and smell the odor of smelting ore.

As soon as the required occupation period is over, the anvil begins to glow with a golden light. Each of the characters who participated in cleansing the area can touch one weapon (or 50 pieces of ammunition) to the anvil. For 1 week thereafter, that weapon gains properties that enhance its abilities when wielded by the character who imbued it with power here.

Recharge: A cold forge of Moradin usually works only once, but if it is part of a larger complex (perhaps an abandoned dwarf city overrun by humanoids and dragons), Moradin might choose to "touch" it multiple times, allowing its power to be used once a week. In such a case, characters wishing to reuse the cold forge of Moradin must have made progress toward reclaiming more of the complex each time they return, or it will not function.

Special Ability (Su): A weapon touched to the anvil by a qualified creature gains the ability to overcome damage reduction as if it were silvered and made of both adamantine and cold iron. It gains none of the other properties of those substances, however, so it doesn't automatically defeat hardness, isn't more costly to make magical, and doesn't have a -1 penalty on damage rolls.

Special: Sometimes Moradin touches several forges in close proximity to each other. If PCs reclaim more than one of these sites in a week's time, their weapons might gain additional properties, as given below. The benefits of each additional weapon property stack with those applied before.

• Bane (usually against dragons, goblinoids, or some other creature dwarves normally despise) • Holy • Axiomatic

Duration: A weapon retains all the special abilities gained from a cold forge of Moradin for 1 week after the last time it was touched to the anvil, or until it is no longer in the possession of a creature that helped cleanse the forge. Thus, if a character cleanses two cold forges of Moradin, gaining the special materials property and then the bane property, the weapon retains both those properties for 1 week after the weapon touched the second anvil. If the weapon is taken from a qualified character and recovered during the 1-week period, the lost properties return, but any lost duration is not recovered.

Aura: Moderate evocation and transmutation [good].

Ability Value: 1, 500 gp (special materials property), 1, 000 gp per additional property.

Adaptation: A cold forge of Moradin can be adapted as a site dedicated to any non-evil dwarf deity, or even to any deity patronizing smiths or weaponcrafters. It works best as a holy site for a racial deity, however, since such deities usually have natural enemies of other races. Some of the older arenas in the world have played host to more conflict, contests of strength, and athletic events than any field of battle—and a few have stood for centuries or millennia. Many followers of Kord choose to participate in such games to test themselves against others. Scattered throughout the world are the arenas in which the greatest heroes of Kord have tested their mettle, often with the Brawler himself looking down from the heavens and blessing the contests and contestants. These sites, known as coliseums of Kord, have acquired some of the god's divine power.

Lore: Characters can gain the following pieces of information about a coliseum of Kord by making Knowledge (religion) checks at the appropriate DCs, as given below.

DC 10: Kord's followers often test themselves in contests of strength and athletics. The arenas where some of his legendary priests and heroes competed have become holy sites.

DC 15: A follower of Kord, or any other mighty athlete, can earn Kord's blessing by performing rites and participating in trials within these arenas.

DC 25: Kord smiles on those who would test themselves, but he demands constant and continued effort. Each additional use of a coliseum of Kord by the same individual has tougher requirements, and the benefits fade more swiftly.

Description: Each coliseum of Kord looks different, in keeping with its location, culture, and history. However, each is an arena or amphitheater of some sort, typically with a holy symbol of Kord displayed prominently within.

Prerequisite: Any character who is willing and able to undergo the necessary trials can gain the benefits of a coliseum

of Kord.

Location Activation: To gain the benefits of a coliseum of Kord, a character must first spend 1 full round uttering a prayer to Kord. She must then prove victorious in some sort of physical challenge against one or more opponents in the arena. This contest might be an actual combat, a race, a sporting event of some sort, or some other physical trial. The precise details are up to the DM, but some examples are given below. No spells or magic items of any kind are permitted in this contest—it is a trial of physical prowess only. A coliseum of Kord can boost the abilities of only one individual at a time, even if more than one contestant participates on each side.

Obstacle Course: The character must race one or more rivals through a course peppered with walls, pits, rope bridges, and the like. While overcoming most of these obstacles requires sheer physical prowess, some require creative thinking as well. For instance, the last 10 to 15 feet of a climbing wall might lack handholds of any sort. Though it appears impassible, a strong and quick competitor might be able to climb the hack of his rival and thus gain sufficient height to jump the rest of the way.

Scavenger Hunt: In this contest, viable only in the largest of coliseums, the arena is set up as a maze, a series of scaffolds, or even a wilderness area such as a jungle. Hidden throughout the area are a number of prizes that the contestants must recover, as well as various hurdles—including traps, hostile combatants, and minor monsters—that they must overcome. Some scavenger hunts require a contestant to recover every object, while others require only finding a certain number