LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
For the second time in the Societas Via Romana, we proudly present:
!!!!!!!!!! Gladiator Combat !!!!!!!!!!
Every participant must submit three gladiators to take part in the combats. Each gladiator must have a unique name. Participants must also choose what type their gladiator will be, chosen from this list:
1. Dimachaerus: he fights with two swords.
2. Eques: he fights on horseback against an other Eques; armed with and sword and small shield.
3. Hoplomachus: he fights with a spear and a semi-round shield, also holds a sword to use if necessary.
4. Murmillo: he fights with a long sword (spatha) and a round or rectangular shield; wears a helmet with a fish on top.
5. Retiarius: he fights with a net and trident, has a dagger to use if necessary; wears only light protection.
6. Secutor: he fights with a sword, wears a large round or rectangular shield and a plumed helmet.
7. Thraex: he fights with a small round shield and a scimitar/sabre.
Note: in these Ludi also female gladiators are allowed. In the future a special female gladiator type will be developed, but until then they can fight as one of the standard gladiator types. They will fight male gladiators, but can be distinguished by their female names. Note that the maximum gladiators you can submit remains at three: males, females, or mixed.
Participants can choose three gladiators of the same type, or three different types, or two of the same type, etc.
In choosing the types of your gladiators, the following should be taken into account:
• Each gladiator type has its own specific ‘moves’ (see further).
• Each gladiator type has different hit points (see further).
Like in the Ludi Circenses, each gladiator also has four features, and eight points should be divided among them by the participant (please not that ‘force’ already has a certain value according to the weapons of the gladiator type – see further). The four features are: ‘force’, ‘speed’, ‘dexterity’ and ‘tactics’. Please note that the hit points and features of some of the gladiator types have changed because they were too strong or too weak.
The combat will be as follows: Gladiators are drawn by lots to form fighting pairs, taking into account that certain gladiator types can only fight some specific other types (see further). If no opponent is available, a random fighter will be created. Then the dice is thrown to determine which fighter begins the fight.
And then the actual combat starts. At every turn (one move) the dice is thrown and the appropriate action (see further) is executed. Thus six actions are possible for each gladiator type. Then hit points are extracted, if appropriate. And then the turn goes to the opponent. The gladiator who first loses all his hit points, loses the combat.
These are the gladiator types who are limited in their possible opponent types (otherwise almost all combinations are possible):
1. Eques: only against Eques
2. Retiarius: never against Retiarius
3. Thraex: never against Retiarius
And here are the gladiator types, with their hit points, their standard ‘force’ points, and their six moves, plus the amount of ‘force’ (F), ‘speed’ (S), ‘dexterity’ (D) and ‘tactics’ (T) needed for each move.
1. Dimachaerus: 30 hit points -- force: 4 (2 gladii)
1: attack with one sword to breast (5 hit points damage to opponent) F3
2: defend with two swords against coming attack (-5 hit points damage at next turn) T3 D3
3: hold off opponent with one sword whilst attacking with the other (10 hit points damage to opponent) D4 F2 T2
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: attack opponent sword arm (5 hit points damage to opponent - opponent loses 1 force in rest of combat) F2 T4
6: use two swords to chop off opponent head (immediate death if not defended) F5 S4 D5
2. Eques: 25 hit points -- force: 2 (gladius)
1: attack with sword to breast (5 hit points damage to opponent) F3
2: hit opponent with shield (opponent dizzy so gladiator moves again) F3 S2 T4
3: defend with shield and sword against next move (-5 hit points damage next turn) D3 T3
4: kick opponent off his horse (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: attack opponent sword arm (5 hit points damage to opponent - opponent loses 1 force in rest of combat) F2 T4
6: jump off horse and kill opponent horse (10 hit points damage to opponent) S2 F3 T2
3. Hoplomachus: 30 hit points -- force: 4 (spear – gladius)
1: attack with sword to breast (5 hit points damage to opponent) F3
2: thrust forward with spear (10 hit points damage to opponent) F6 S3
3: defend with spear and attack with sword (10 hit points damage to opponent) F2 D3 T4
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: attack opponent sword arm (5 hit points damage to opponent - opponent loses 1 force in rest of combat) F2 T4
6: legionary’s attack with fast moving sword (10 hit points damage to opponent) F4 S5 T3
4. Murmillo: 30 hit points -- force: 3 (spatha)
1: attack with sword to breast (10 hit points damage to opponent) F3
2: hit opponent with shield (opponent dizzy so gladiator moves again) F3 S2 T4
3: defend with shield and sword against next move (-5 hit points damage next turn) D3 T3
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: attack opponent sword arm (5 hit points damage to opponent - opponent loses 2 force in rest of combat) F2 T4
6: heavy slashing move with spatha (10 hit points damage to opponent) F5 D4
5. Retiarius: 25 hit points -- force: 4 (trident – dagger)
1: attack with dagger to breast (opponent loses 1 speed in rest of combat) F2
2: throw net over opponent (two extra turns for gladiator) S2 D4 T3
3: distract with net and attack with trident (5 hit points damage to opponent) F3 D3 T3
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: thrust forward with trident (10 hit points damage to opponent) F4 S4
6: throw trident from a distance (10 hit points damage to opponent) F6 S6 D4
6. Secutor: 30 hit points -- force: 2 (gladius)
1: attack with sword to breast (5 hit points damage to opponent) F3
2: cut net if trapped (see retiarius nr. 2) F3 D4
3: hit opponent with shield (opponent dizzy so gladiator moves again) F3 S2 T4
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F5 S3
5: defend with shield and attack with sword (10 hit points damage to opponent) F2 D3 T4
6: legionary’s attack with fast moving sword (15 hit points damage to opponent) F4 S5 T3
7. Thraex: 25 hit points -- force: 2 (sword)
1: attack with sword to breast (5 hit points damage to opponent) F2
2: complete defence (no hit points lost in next turn) D3 T2
3: throw shield (opponent dizzy so move again) F3 D4
4: kick opponent to the ground (turn stays with gladiator, can perform other action) F4 S3
5: Thracian “flashing sword” attack (15 hit points damage to opponent) S4 D4
6: cut opponent’s throat (immediate death if not defended) S4 D5 T3
AFTER THE FIGHT
The gladiators who won their fight, will be awarded a prize. According to the hit points they have left, the prize will be more valuable. In the next fight these gladiators start again in their original ‘configuration’, of course with their possible prize added. I will send messages to all participants with all necessary information. The most valuable prize this time, for those with most hit points left and for the winner of the hoplomachus-combat (see earlier), is the creation of a unique gladiator type. Lanistae may develop their own gladiator type, which only they can use. Of course they should send me the type and stats before the Ludi commence, so their type can be tested and adapted if necessary. Curio has already sent me such a gladiator type (but he can not yet participate with it), and you can see it here (scroll down to the last message).
The gladiators who lost their fight, can be replaced by their lanista with another gladiator, or the lanista may also choose to keep them and give them another chance.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE?
Send me a pm or an email (pudionmus@yahoo.com) with the following information:
• Your SVR-name
• Your three gladiators, with their name, type and the points you divided among the features ‘force’, ‘speed’, ‘dexterity’ and ‘tactics’.
Those who participated in the previous gladiator combat, don't need to subscribe again. I will send them all a pm.
FOR NEW PARTICIPANTS: PLEASE SEND IN YOUR GLADIATORS BEFORE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 !!
Enjoy the Ludi!!