The Grandmaster looked over the recently revamped Ghetto Blasters. His crew had been operating with deadly efficiency for some time, so much that their main rival, the Praetorian Guard, had been squealing like pigs to try to get other teams to gang up on the Blasters. He grinned as he noted that the other teams who had bothered to respond had said "Hell, no!"

The only weak point was that the Guard occupied the top position in the arena, while his warriors occupied most of the positions immediately below. His top warrior, a nimble Halfling master of Movement Magic, couldn't seem to dislodge Nero, the number one ranked individual. Now, his deadliest warrior, a martial artist named Li Ping, had lost her life at Nero's hand. To further complicate things, the Quiet Company had just returned, knocking Nero out of number one, and the Ghetto Blasters out of the number one team spot.

"No matter," thought the Grandmaster. There was still Gambit, who continued to improve and win. There was his huge, powerful, great word-swinging Troll terror, the Incredible Hulk. Next was Storm, his powerful Elemental mage. She took some time to hit her stride, but now, she leisurely shattered her opponents with lightning bolts, hurricanes, other elemental summonings. Mr. P, a deadly goblin Necromancer, rounded out the veterans.

The Grandmaster turned his attention to the newbies. There was Li Ping, a budding female martial artist who was a dead ringer for her predecessor, both in her looks, and the way she pummeled her first opponent. Following her was Silver Dancer, an Elf skilled in Combat Magic. Finally, there was McHammer, a dwarven mercenary who favored caving his opponents skulls in. Yes, the number one position should soon be theirs again....it was only a matter of time.

A Manly Sport

This is the promise of Gladiators of Death: You are the manager of a neophyte gladiator team. Custom design your five initial warriors from the ground up, decide on strategies, then send your guys and gals into the arena for fortune, glory, or possibly, failure and grisly death.

Gladiator games are becoming increasingly more common. Duelmasters, and the now-defunct Arena Combat were the first. Then there was Blood Pit which eventually added a magic system, as well as many different races. After that came Adventures Guild, which featured numerous areas to train in, gods, magic items, both sorcery and divine magic, and dungeon expeditions outside the arena.

It was following this that Gladiators of Death was released. Why should you spend your hard-earned cash on it? Well, read on...

Hey, Kid, Ya Wanna Fight in the Arena?

You get your setup packet in the mail, which includes a well-organized, easy to understand rulebook and a self-explanatory set of setup sheets and a strategy sheet. Your warriors are completely custom created from the ground up. You choose the race which will vary your cost in setup points. For example, Humans cost zero points, lizardmen cost four points (the most expensive), and Orcs cost - 2 (1 e. you get two more points to spend elsewhere).

Next, it's time to select your traits. These are part of what will really individualize your warriors and is one of the features that makes this game unique. There are quite a number of traits to choose from. Some enhance your characters, such as Toughness or Luck; some can be detrimental, such as One-armed or Eunuch; and some are purely cosmetic, like Beard or Bald. I you want a mage, you must take the Magic-User trait. Any points not used for these traits are divided amongst your "permanent" (i.e. unalterable) traits, which are IQ, Size, Magical Talent and Charisma.

After all twenty points have been spent there, it's down here to Alterable Stats, which can be improved through training. They include Strength, Dexterity, Health, and Cunning. Both sets of stats have a base value of eight, which you add points to. Keep in mind that your stats are subject to bonuses and penalties, depending on your race. You also have the option of giving your character something to say during a battle, namely, a Primary, Opportunity, and Emergency Remark.

It's Show Time!

Okay, so your characters are created, and now it's time to go to the fights. That is where the strategy sheet comes in. You choose primary, secondary, and in-belt weapons; select Single, Group Battle, or Death Test (where your unwanted fighters go); and Primary (when fighting with no clear advantage), Opportunity (when wining), and Emergency (when losing) strategies. You must also choose Range (contact, close, or long), Exertion (1-20), Aim (what you want to hit), and Defend (what portion of your fighter he will protect). The fighting style you will use is referred to as the tactic, and your choice here will have great bearing on the outcome.

The turns describe the fights in colorful, violent prose, and if you are squeamish (wuss), this may not be your game. But if a bit of spattering gore and guts doesn't bother you, come on down. It is especially interesting to watch the magicians in combat, in my opinion, as their various spell effects come into play. The action is blow-by-blow, (but not minute-by-minute), and the Emperor acts as a referee of sorts.

Hit Da Lockers!

If you like gladiator games, or sports games, you should be playing already, and you should be ashamed of yourself if you aren't. For you other gamers, if you want an atmospheric fantasy game with rich and gory combat reports, lots of options to play with (including gold awards to fighters for training), a fun and descriptive magic system, no mandatory diplomacy, and no number crunching, get on in here.

The GM, Michael Wetzlich, is attentive, communicative, friendly, and obviously cares about his game. Each kill a team achieves earns that team another warrior, up to ten warriors per team. I personally intend on sticking to seven.

Rules, setup, and three turns are available for $20. Further turns are $5 each. For more information, contact Fantasy & Futuristic Simulations, PO Box 122068, Chula Vista, CA 91912. I'll see you in the arena.

Post Marque: Editorial
Welcome to Play-By-Mail (PBM) Gaming
Ship Ahoy! - New PBM Games Spotted
The Accidental Recruit
Maiden Voyage