I don't know if this is technically General Discussion or Off-topic, but if you have about 4 hours to spare I strongly recommend you listen to this episode of Hardcore History:
https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardc ... otainment/
It discusses the reasons and history behind public torture and execution, including burning, hanging, braking on the wheel and lots of other stuff that can make you more thematic in your role play the next time you are summoned to River Square. My personal favorite is throwing stones at executioners that take more than three strokes to behead someone.
