Three Galdiator Pairs

Myrmillo vs Cruppellarius

 

 Retiarus vs Secutor

 Myrmillo vs Retiarius

Tried a new set of gladiator rules: Are You Not Entertained.

These can be downloaded for free.

They have the opposite problem to Forge World's Gladiator, where it can all end rather quickly. A gladiator has two 'wounds' and a trident can inflict three in a single strike. Gladiators in AYNE have 20 wounds. The atacker chooses an attack type from three options and the defender has two options BUT the attack/defence options do not interact. Shaun and I fought about a dozen rounds of combat between two gladiators without conclusion  before we got bored and gave up. It was largely a die rolling contest.

Still looking for a set of rules.

Gladiator

The retiarius with his net is one of the key gladiator types. Shaun and I had some problems working out how the net worked, so I after the game I reread the rules. Throwing the net is fine but the problems come after the opponent is entangled. Part of our confusion had been caused because there are two entanglement charts in different parts of the rules that are almost, but not quite, the same. This is a general comment incidentally, the rules are badly disorganised.

OK, so we ignore the first table differences as they appear to be a typo and focus on the second. You entangle your opponent and then roll a die and consult the table. A 1 or 2 seems clear enough but how about a 3-5? The victim can only 'defend himself'. What does that mean? Not use an offensive weapon? Not charge? And is the entanglement permanent? How does the victim free himself? Can he free himself? The explanation of a die roll of 6 hardly helps. The victim can't use his weapon? How does this differ from 3-5?  The victim can only be disentangled by a mate? Does this mean that a 3-5 should be treated as a 1-2 for this purpose?

Problems, problems.

Gladiator is typically Forge World. Nice production values but is there no one in Forge World that speaks English well enough to edit?

Incidentally, the idea of a 'fisherman' dragging a victim 3 or more metres towards him with a rope are not realistic. The gladiator had a trident in his other hand and the net has to be 'spun' to spread out and entangle a victim.

Gladiator has gone to 50% discount within weeks of publication. At ten pounds it is a good deal as a source book.


ADDITION

I reckon this would work and be within the spirit of the rules.

A. Throw net as per usual rules except that it is a one-shot weapon.

B. If you get a hit, i.e. entanglement, roll a result die:
1 or 2 - net cast results in harmless entanglement
3, 4 & 5 - net cast inhibits victim's movement: -1 to all model stats (including weapon)
6 - as above but -2

C. At the start of the entangled model's movement the player MAY roll a die to try to remove the net.
1 - model stumbles, roll on stumble table, model still entangled
2-5 - model still entangled
6 - model slips out of net

A Day at the Games

My regular opponent, Shaun, and I tried out Gladiator. This is a first try, probably with a dodgy understanding of the rukles [health warning].

A real match would have taken at most 15 minutes to resolve but would have involved brief clashes, mostly resulting in light (or no) wounds with victory going to the gladiator least affected by exhaustion and blood loss. The duelists were seperated after each wound inflicted. This was a sport; it had rules.

In Gladiator, the combatants only have two wounds before incapacity so the end can be very quick, given that a trident can inflict three wounds. Shaun's net and trident men massacred my swordsmen in double quck time, or it would have been double-quick time if we were not learning the rules.

Interesting game. I definitely want to try it more. My gut feeling is that it is better with multiple fights rather than single duels. It does have a 'choose target' table as a bolt on but I don't think it will add much to a single duel.

This definitely lends itself to a 'campaign', which could be played in a single night.

The models here are Shaun's.