"Gladiator game variant [Morituri te Salutant]" Topic

Nullus Recessus, Nulla Deditio (No Retreat, No Surrender)

Game Setup: in the center hex place The Golden Arrow of Athena. Each side has a 5 gladiator team made up of any mix desired so long as there are at least 4 types of gladiators on the team (ergo a max of two of any type.) Each gladiator is placed no closer than 6 hexes towards the enemy or 3 hexes towards the arrow. (A standard set up is 3 forward and 2 in the rear.) A reserve of 2 gladiators can be of any type but there can never be more than 5 gladiators on the field. Once a gladiator retires from the field (or is permanently retired!) they may not return later (like the pinch hitter rule in American Baseball).

Behind each team, in a line bisected by the placement of the Arrow are barrels, mounted on their sides, opening facing the center of the arena.

The object of the game is to retrieve the arrow and place it in the barrel. It is possible to use a Sagitarius to shoot the arrow into the barrel assuming:

1. The shooter is within the forward 60 degree arc of the barrel
2. A clear line of site exists between the shooter and the barrel. If there are friendly or opposing gladiators in the way treat them as being attacked in order with misses continuing on to the barrel and hits as the arrow becoming lodged in some poor bastich.

The arrow can be retrieved from anyone shot by it. Anyone shot by it and not killed can continue to operate and move on toward their target barrel however they must check for a Fair Light (unarmored line) wound when pulling it out or having it pulled out!

A gladiator directly in front of the barrel with the arrow my simply place it in there to score. A gladiator within the forward 60 degrees and no more than 2 hexes away may attempt to throw the arrow. Use the javalin rules to determine success.

The arrow may be passed by the holder using any movement or stand action and the receiver using a retrieve action while in an adjacent hex.

There is no quarter given in this game. No mercy.

May possibly work with other rulesets. I prefer Morituri te Salutant but your mileage may vary.

Hmmm, sounds interesting – I'm about to start painting some Crusader gladiators. They're temp-based as I was thinking of going with hexes. BTW, maybe the arrow should be called Minerva's? Dean

Hexes everytime for them there Gladiators!

Variations are always a winner, because the formula can get pretty repetetive unless you put some imagination in.

We use 'Red Sand, Blue Sky', from 2-HW… the Golden Arrow scenario should work just fine with that.