Hmmm, let me see. I've finished converting the kid's air hockey set to a Roman arena. What's next? Oh yeah, need rules. I've tried 3 different sets of commercial gladiator rules over the years, but none gave me the quick moving game I was looking for. The last set, Circus Maximus, had my opponent and I hopping from chart to chart determining the possible effects of a single sword blow. Not at all the right feel for me.

Here's a set of homemade rules that will provide a quick game. Not too deep, so I intend to supplement them at some point with lots of 'chrome'. Maybe teams and leagues of gladiators, with each player assuming the role of high stakes gambler, betting on the success of his 'stable' of fighters.

The Game

There are 4 types of gladiators:

Heavy
Medium
Light
Retarius

The Retarius is a special kind of medium gladiator with a net and trident. All others have a sword and shield, and various amounts of armor.

The arena consists of your kid's old air hockey arena painted up to look right. Add some plastic ancient figures glued around the rim and painted white or bronze to look like statues, and you are in business. The actual fighting area must be a hexagon sheet.

Each gladiator figure must have a hex shaped base of the same size as the hexes in the arena. Make sure it is clear which of the 6 hex faces is the direct front face of the figure. The hex face to his right is the sword (or trident) side, and the hex face directly to the left of front is the shield (or net) side. The remaining 3 hex faces are the back side. Give each gladiator a funny Latin sounding name. The host should punish political correctness here. Each gladiator has a strength rating which you establish by rolling 2d6. The sequence is move/counter move. When it is your turn to move, you roll 1d6 and add or subtract the modifiers listed below. The resulting number is your action points (AP) for the turn. You can spend your action points doing the things on the list below.

AP list

1 AP to move directly forward.
2 AP to move into any of the other 5 surrounding hexes without changing facing.
1 AP to pivot 1 hex face left or right.
1 AP to strike at opponent (Max 1 strike per turn).
2 AP for the Retarius to cast his net.

AP modifiers

-1 for heavy gladiators (all that armor, you see).
+1 for light gladiators.
-1 if lightly wounded.
-2 if badly wounded.
-3 if ensnared in net.

Zones of control

Only 1 gladiator per hex. Gladiators must be in adjacent hexes to strike at each other. The exception is the retarius, who can cast his net with one intervening hex between him and his target. Once the gladiators are next to each other, they can't move around each other without stepping back, ie each man has a zone of control. For example, to go from directly in front of your opponent to his sword side, you must first step back so there is an empty hex between you.

Swordplay

When the attacker strikes, both he* and the defender roll 1d6. If both roll the same number, a 'special event' occurs. See special event table below. If anything but a double occcurs, then add or subtract the modifiers from the combat modifier table below. Subtract the defender's roll from the attacker's. If the remainer is a positive number, then heavy and medium gladiators get to make a saving throw. A 5 or 6 on 1d6 means a heavy gladiator's armor protected him, the medium gladiator has to make due with a saving throw of 6, and the poor light gladiator gets nothing at all. If the saving throw doesn't work, then subtract the difference from the combat dieroll from the defender's strength. When the defender's strength drops to 0 through -2, he is alive but helpless and awaiting the thumbs up or down from the mob. If strength drops below -2, he is dead.

*Yes, I said 'he'. No girls allowed! Violators should be reported to the editor of SAGA. [Ed. And what, dear Caesar, am I supposed to say to that?]

Combat modifier table

+1 if attacker strikes defender 'shield' hexside.
+1 if target ensnared in net.
+2 if attacker strikes defender 'sword' hexside.
+3 if attacker strikes any of the defender's 3 back hexsides.

Special event table (when both players roll same number)

Double 6- Defender is killed outright.
Double 5- Defender loses shield or net. Can't be regained. No net means no net casts for Retarius. No shield makes heavy gladiator save like a medium, medium gets no save, and attacks on the hex side where shield or net is missing now count as attack on the rear. Double 4- Defender is knocked off balance. -2 ap from next move.
Double 3- Attacker off balance. -2 ap from next move.
Double 2- Defender is decked. Fight is over and he is at the mercy of the other gladiator and the mob. If there are several people participating in a tournament, let them turn thumbs up or down.
Double 1- One of the fighter's weapon breaks. Roll 1d6 to determine who. 1, 2, 3 it is the defender. 4, 5, 6 it is the attacker. He can still fight during his turn, but at a minus 3 (knuckle sandwich). In addition, attacks on the sword (or trident) side of a disarmed fighter count as attacks on the rear.

Retarius

The Retarius, or net and trident man, is a special case. For simplicity's sake his trident counts just like a sword. The net is a different matter. He can cast it 1 hex distant or adjacent. To cast, roll 1d6. A 5 or 6 ensnares the target when there is a 1 hex gap and a 6 does it when the target is adjacent.

The retarius is a medium gladiator, saving throw and movement as such, but when opponent attacks from the 'net' side, it counts like the sword side for combat modifiers.

Well, that's it. Give it a try and have a good time.