Blood on the Sands **NEW** Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...

[Mister Rab]

This looks grand!  I'm happy with this aesthetic direction 

[Justin Buck]

The new sheet does look sweet!  I've been following this thread for a while now and thanks to all the gladiators popping up I'm taking the plunge....again.  Any idea when the rules would be ready for sale?  They look like they would be fun and bloody, the way gladiator fights should be 

Justin

[Furt]

Thanks for the comments and interest. 

@ Elbows and Dr De'Ath: Your thoughts and suggestions have been passed onto the good Dr. I'm sure we will be able to accommodate the info on the sheet.

@Elbows: Fame is basically a crowd favour marker so yes with crowd favour.

The rules are still being written and thoroughly playtested. I am reluctant to release anything that is not 100%. I am working hard to finish them but real life keeps getting in the way. I intend to make them available for purchase as soon as I am able. I hope in the end it will be worth the wait.

[Malamute]

The rules are still being written and thoroughly playtested. I am reluctant to release anything that is not 100%. I am working hard to finish them but real life keeps getting in the way. I intend to make them available for purchase as soon as I am able. I hope in the end it will be worth the wait.

They will certainly be worth the wait. So far they are effing brilliant

[Elbows]

Agreed...having minimal experience with:

Arena Games
Sine Missione
Warhammer Historical Gladiator
Invictus
Red sand, blue sky

...none of them really accomplish what Furt has done.  The only reason to game something else would be if you want huge battles or elephants stomping around.  I will say that Red Sand, Blue Sky and Invictus both have some decent development charts/tables, ideas for ludus creation etc.  So all of the games above have merit, even just for information and some campaign ideas.

I hope to have more playtests done in the near future!

[Furt]

Thanks gents - your "blood" is worth bottling - denarii in the mail. 

[Elbows]

Wait, about the house slave from Aegyptus you promised me...

[Furt]

Wait, about the house slave from Aegyptus you promised me...

Oh - forgot about her or was it him... 

In regards to the armatura sheets, Dr Mathias will be undertaking these next. They will prove to be the biggest challenge by far. I think the look of them will make or break the whole playsheet and counters thing. Nervously awaiting...

[Elbows]

I was even wondering about doing the armature figures in a kind of tiled look?  (similar to the logo box on your new sheets). Either way, it's making good progress...looking forward to it all!

[Furt]

The sheet has now been updated by Dr Mathias to reflect the suggestions made.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=51608.msg676092#msg676092

Any other thoughts or concerns about the playsheet?

[Dr Mathias]

Just noticed I still need to put the text 'Arena Dice' under the Arena Dice boxes 

[Furt]

Just noticed I still need to put the text 'Arena Dice' under the Arena Dice boxes 

  Just when you think you might be done...

[Elbows]

WARNING: Despite constant attempts...Photobucket refuses to rotate the photos...so...tough!

Rise of Negrix

I swung by my brother's house tonight to attempt a game or two of BOTS.  My brother and I had abandoned trying the game sometime a few weeks ago.  He's not a gamer, and reading the rules he had started to glaze...since then I'd learned the proper rules.  We tried it again.

Rolling up characters my brother rolled a Skill 5 (!) Hoplomachus, named Negrix.  My first Myrmillo Vipus...met an end nearly instantly.



Yep...that's four skulls and an actual decapitation.  Before the end of turn two, Negrix swiped the head off of Vipus with his spear.  Immediately victory.  Oddly enough Negrix has the Loath ability, meaning he hates being a Gladiator and is generally a dick...a very skilled dick.

The next game was a four-player game...Negrix (Hoplomachus), and Turo (Thraex) vs. Cyax and Volumo - both of my Myrmillos.  The fight went well, with me rolling at least Cyax as a Skill 4 gladiator.  The game started with Negrix charging and running Volumo all the way up against a wall with an unending barrage of blows and strikes.  Cyax moved to assist while Turo closed in on the melee.  Volumo struck back valiantly but Negrix eventually dispatched him with a series of brutal strikes to his legs...



Cyax was surrounded by Turo and Negrix.



Taking advantage of several skulls and luck, Cyax dispatched Turo the Thraex with a similar leg attack, chopping one of his legs till it was hanging by a few tendons.  Negrix assaulted Cyax, knocking him into the wall, then knocking him off his feet with a flurry of blows.  Cyax struck back as best he could from the ground, swinging wildly, hiding under his large scutum shield.  Eventually Cyax stood and began to swing wildly at Negrix, turning the tables - forcing him back across the arena.

A series of lightning quick cuts began to stream blood all over Cyax.  Negrix deftly struck leg and arm, torso and head.  Eventually as the heat of the day wore on Cyax began to suffocate in his helmet, the weight of his shield increased, and he collapsed.  Negrix stood towering above him...but the crowd cried mercy.  Negrix left the arena, having fought in two games, slaying two opponents and defeating a third.

Turo and Cyax both left the arena alive...while Volumo was dragged out on hooks.

Verdict: My brother, the non-gamer, had a great time.  The final fight between Cyax and Negrix was borderline legendary.  Negrix, much more skilled than his opponents was truly the class of the field, proving the lethality of the Hoplomachus (personally my favorite type...).  The two-vs.-two game lasted perhaps 1.5 hours and went at least 5-6 turns which is pushing it.  One turn even resulted in both gladiators standing put and taking a breather, both of us choosing to recover as best we could as the fatigue set in.

Still great stuff.  We came up with some more questions for Furt too...questions my brother asked, so it was good to get non-gamer opinion and views of the stuff.  Terms, and mechanics that we gamers really take for granted, my brother was able to highlight for me.  Good stuff. This was at my brother's house, so I only had my cell phone for pictures, and some others didn't turn out!  

[Furt]

Rolling up characters my brother rolled a Skill 5 (!) Hoplomachus, named Negrix.  My first Myrmillo Vipus...met an end nearly instantly.

Yep...that's four skulls and an actual decapitation.  Before the end of turn two, Negrix swiped the head off of Vipus with his spear.  Immediately victory.  Oddly enough Negrix has the Loath ability, meaning he hates being a Gladiator and is generally a dick...a very skilled dick.

Negrix is a dick     I'm assuming your poor murmillo Vipus was just an average joe, and one that had some bad luck rolling dice as well! The campaign rules should prevent a killer like Negrix being paired with a Vipus most times.

It sounds like the multi-gladiator rules worked again and you had a lot of fun with that battle.

Verdict: My brother, the non-gamer, had a great time.  The final fight between Cyax and Negrix was borderline legendary.  Negrix, much more skilled than his opponents was truly the class of the field, proving the lethality of the Hoplomachus (personally my favorite type...).  The two-vs.-two game lasted perhaps 1.5 hours and went at least 5-6 turns which is pushing it.  One turn even resulted in both gladiators standing put and taking a breather, both of us choosing to recover as best we could as the fatigue set in.

Great to hear your brother enjoyed the game and beat you in his first game. It is good to see the response of non-gamers, and obviously with your guidance he grasped the rules. Thanks again Elbows.

[Elbows]

Yeah, we know they shouldn't have really paired...but I didn't mind.  Adds more amusement to the game.  Same kind of thing I do in my Old West game...the teams often end up very lopsided, but that's what makes it's a fun challenge.  I agree that the rank rules will keep it from happening when players are doing some proper games etc.

I also kept track of the gladiators who survived, so I'll be trying to see how they develop over the course of more games.  We even debated pitting Negrix against two Tiro gladiators...and may still try that.