Introduction
What follows is more of a game mechanism than a complete rule set. I wanted to come up with something that had some of the slash and parry flavor of arena combat. The system that emerged produces some nasty, brutal encounters that are more flail than finesse. The sample combat at the end will show you what I mean. I tried to keep things simple, and I am pleased with the tight and balanced system that developed. As you will see, the system is designed more for one-on-one encounters than a massive free for all, but I'm sure it could be adapted without too much trouble.
The System
(blare of trumpets and rumble of kettle drums)
Take the A-6 of each suit from a deck of cards. Deal each Gladiator 5 cards. The Gladiator then chooses three cards to use in the next round of combat. Roll a die to see which Gladiator starts with initiative. The Gladiator with initiative plays the first card. The other Gladiator responds with one of the three cards in his hand. Crossreference the result on the chart below. The Gladiator who has kept or has taken away initiative plays the next card. If a wound is caused, find the location and deduct the wound value from the point total after factoring in all modifiers. All 1/2 modifiers are rounded down and all 1/2 modifiers are cumulative. Record the result. After all three cards have been played, return them to the deck, shuffle and deal out 5 more cards. Continue combat rounds until 1 Gladiator is dead or breaks off the melee. A Gladiator not engaged in combat can move 1d6".
Wound Location- (roll 1d6)
- 1-Head- can take 6 points of damage- loss fatal
2-Torso- can take 8 points of damage- loss fatal
3-Right Arm- can take 6 points of damage- loss of weapon or shield in that hand
4-Left Arm- can take 6 points of damage- loss of weapon or shield in that hand
5-Right Leg- can take 6 points of damage- loss reduces movement card to 1/2 value
6-Left Leg- can take 6 points of damage- loss reduces movement card to 1/2 value
Wound Modifiers
- Bare-Handed Off-Hand Attack -2
Off-Hand Attack with Shield -1
Wound Location Armored -1
Wound Location on Arm with Shield -2
Dirty Tricks
The Ace of any suit allow a gladiator to pull a dirty trick on his or her opponent. Aces can only be countered by the 64 or 6+. If two aces are played against each other, the second ace takes the initiative. An ace played with initiative takes effect immediately, halving the effect of the response
A (spades) - kick in the groin- effect: victim loses initiative, 112 on all card values for the rest of the round, 1 point wound to torso, cannot be used against Gladiators with body armor A (hearts) - sand in the eyes- effect: victim loses initiative, 1/2 on attack and parry for the rest of the round A (diamonds) - head butt- effect: victim loses initiative, 1 point wound to the head, cannot be used against Gladiators with helmets A (clubs) - eye gouge- effect: victim loses initiative, 1/2 on attack and parry for the rest of the round, 1 point wound to the head, cannot be used against Gladiators with face shields
Optional Rules/Random Ideas
Special Weapons:
Spear/Trident- +1 vs. movement cards
- Net- used as off-hand attack. A successful net attack causes no damage but entangles the opponent. The victim suffers 1/2 value on all cards. Any aces played have no value and the victim can never take the initiative. The victim can disentangle themselves by playing 4 points worth of movement cards (remember all cards are 1/2 value.) Any further off-hand attacks on an entangled victim count as bare-handed attacks.
Three-Way Combat
- Deal 3 5-card hands to each of the three Gladiators, from which they choose a 3 card hand. Then deal another 3 cards face down. Roll to see who has initiative. The Gladiator with initiative plays on card against one of the other Gladiators and takes the top face-down card and plays it against the other. Continue until the round is finished. If two Gladiators both take away initiative in the same exchange of cards, roll to see who keeps it.
Sample Combat
2 Gladiators with sword and shield, no helmet:
- Gladiator 1 (Maximus)
Gladiator 2 (Spartacus)
Round 1
Maximus A (spades),A (hearts),6 (diamonds) . Spartacus 5 (diamonds) ,A (diamonds) ,6 (hearts). Spartacus dances around his opponent (5 (diamonds) ) who promptly throws sand in his eyes (A (hearts)). Cannubus then circles for advantage (6 (diamonds) ), staying out of the way of Spartacus' sword (6 (hearts)). Cannubus then kicks Spartacus in the tender bits (A (spades)) causing 1 damage. Spartacus responds with a quick head butt (A (diamonds) ) and takes the initiative.
Round 2
Maximus 4 (spades),A (spades),5 (diamonds) . Spartacus 5 (hearts),6 (spades),6 (hearts). Spartacus takes a massive swipe with his shield (6 (spades)), Cannubus avoided most of the blow (5 (diamonds) ) but took a slight wound on the right leg. Spartacus counters with a powerful slash (6 (hearts)) and Maximus deflected some of the attack (4 (spades)) and caught the rest of its force on his shield. Spartacus swipes again with his sword (5 (hearts)), opening a huge gash in Maximus' left leg. Maximus kicks Spartacus in the nether region again (A (spades)) and regains initiative.
Round 3
Maximus A (hearts),6 (diamonds) ,A (spades). Spartacus A (diamonds) ,4 (spades),3 (diamonds) . Maximus moves around looking for an opening (6 (diamonds) ). Spartacus shifts warily (3 (diamonds) ). Maximus whips out with his leg and catches Spartacus in the jewels for a third time (A (spades)). Spartacus responds by smashing Maximus' wounded left leg with his shield (4 (spades)). Maximus is reduced to half movement for the rest of the match. Maximus angrily hurls sand in Spartacus' eyes (A (hearts)), but not fast enough to avoid Spartacus' head butt (A (diamonds) ).
Round 4
Maximus 6 (hearts),5 (hearts),A (clubs) . Spartacus 5 (clubs) ,6 (spades),A (hearts). Spartacus tries to hit Maximus again with his shield (6 (spades)), but Maximus parries the blow with his sword (6 (hearts)). Spartacus then tries the dust in the eyes trick (A (hearts)). Maximus flails with his sword (5 (hearts) down to 2 (hearts)) but Spartacus takes the blow on the shield. Spartacus then tries to parry (5 (clubs) ). Maximus jabs him in the eye (A (clubs) ), and takes initiative.
Round 5 Maximus A (clubs) ,6 (hearts),6 (clubs) . Spartacus A (diamonds) ,4 (clubs) ,5 (hearts). Maximus comes at Spartacus with his sword (6 (hearts)) who tries to parry (4 (clubs) ), but takes a wound to the torso. Maximus then pokes Spartacus in the eye again (A (clubs) ) and takes his return blow (5 (hearts) down to 2 (hearts)) on the shield. Maximus loses initiative with a massive parry (6 (clubs) .), but manages to block Spartacus' head butt (A (diamonds) ).
Round 6 Maximus A (diamonds) ,A (clubs) ,6 (hearts). Spartacus 4 (spades),4 (clubs) ,6 (clubs) . Spartacus swings his shield (4 (spades)) and Maximus meets the attack with a quick sword thrust (6 (hearts)) that the shield knocks away. Maximus takes the initiative and tries to gouge Spartacus in the eyes a third time (A (clubs) ). Spartacus is ready for it and blocks the jab (6 (clubs) ). Maximus follows with a head butt (A (diamonds) ), which gets past Spartacus' parry (4 (clubs) ).
Round 7
Maximus 4 (hearts) ,3 (clubs) ,A (spades) . Spartacus 6 (spades) ,5 (spades) ,A (hearts) . Maximus leads with his sword (4 (hearts) ), which Spartacus easily blocks (5 (spades) ). Spartacus punches Maximus with his shield (6 (spades) ). Maximus slows the blow but still takes a hard hit to the torso (3 (clubs) ). Spartacus then throws sand in Maximus' face (A (hearts) ) and gets kicked in the nuts a fourth time (A (spades)).
Round 8
Maximus A (diamonds) ,6 (hearts) ,3 (spades) . Spartacus 5 (hearts) ,6 (spades) ,A (clubs) . Maximus slashes again (6 (hearts) ), and is blocked by (Spartacus 6 (spades) ). He tries to strike with his shield (3 (spades) ), but is beaten by Spartacus' sword (5 (hearts) ) and is wounded in his good leg. Spartacus then gets an eye jab in (A (clubs) ) and takes a head butt (A (diamonds) ) in return.
Round 9
Maximus 5 (spades) ,5 (clubs) ,A (spades) . Spartacus 6 (diamonds) ,5 (diamonds) ,4 (hearts) . Maximus opens with a parry (5 (clubs) ), which Spartacus dances around (5 (diamonds) ). Maximus then tries to hit Spartacus with his shield (5 (spades) ) but he dodges the blow (6 (diamonds) ). Maximus connects with Spartacus abused scrotum for the fifth time (A (spades) ). Spartacus has now had enough and takes out Maximus' remaining leg (4 (hearts) ). It is now up to the Emperor to decide his fate.
Aftermath
Both our gladiators are pretty mangled by this encounter. Besides losing the use of both his legs, Maximus has 3 wound points to the head and another 3 to the torso. Spartacus has 4 wound points to the head, only 1 shy of a mortal wound. He also has 7 wound points to the torso, also only 1 less than a lethal dose. It is somewhat surprising to note that of Spartacus's total of 11 wound points, 9 were caused by dirty tricks. Will the Emperor be impressed by Maximus's valiant effort and let him live, or will he be disgusted by his unwillingness to fight fair?
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© Copyright 2002 Hal Thinglum
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