"Seeking Opinions on Best Gladiator Rules Set " Topic
10 Posts
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 chicklewis  | 26 Dec 2004 8:22 a.m. PST |
Hi, knowlegeable gamers, my favorite painter did an excellent job on all of Foundry's gladiator minis (minus the dwarves and females which I don't need) and now I want to run a gladiator campaign for the Bengal Club. After collecting Gladiator rules for 30 years I finally got them all out and am reading through them carefully, in sequence, taking notes. I've collected: "Gladiator" by Avalon Hill
"Morituri te Salutant!" by Gladiator Games
"Gladiator Wars" by West Wind (?)
"Hail Caesar!" by Melees Gloriosus
"Gladiators" by Fantasy Games Unlimited
"Rudis, the Wooden Sword" by Ian Beck
"Habet, Hoc Habet!" by Flagship games If you have played any of the above, and particularly if you have used more than one set: Which is the best rules set, and why,exactly, do you like it? What DON'T you like about any of the above? Is there another set which I don't own which is superior? Please help me figure out which set I should use. Thanks in advance for any opinions or advice from personal experience. |
| Cpt Arexu | 26 Dec 2004 8:37 a.m. PST |
You might look at Red Sand, Blue Sky, by Two Hour Wargames. I have several (5) other games by this company, and all are good, quick, easy to learn. I have not played this game, but the others are all fun. Avalon Hill Gladiator was fun, but I haven't played it for 2 decades. Liked the simple rules, not sure anymore that I like hex-based miniatures at this scale. |
| WillieB | 26 Dec 2004 1:34 p.m. PST |
I'm afraid I only tried Morituri Te Salutant and Gladiator Wars. MTS is easily the winner however. It can lead to a drawn out affair between evenly matched opponenets but that must have been the same in real life a |
| WillieB | 26 Dec 2004 2:17 p.m. PST |
Ever known a cat to hit "Enter" ? My Scully just did... As I said it must have been the same thing in real life.
Easy to get a campaign going with these rules.
Realistic results and not limited to one on one. Some of the more exotic types are not included but if you want to, I can send you some sheets I've made up.
My favourite ruleset as you might have guessed by now. Gladiator Wars is somewhat hopeless. Very basic and inacurate. Not much fun either.
On the other hand the Westwind range has some nice figures in it.
WillieB
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| iceaxe | 26 Dec 2004 3:18 p.m. PST |
I haven't seen any of the above sets but my vote for any man-on-man ancient/medieval combat is still Runequest. I'm not sure if the newer Heroquest uses the same combat rules, but Basic Roleplaying does, although......they're more basic. RQ even has a 'Monster Collesium' suppliment about, you'll have to Ebay for that. As the ownwer of RQ & that suppliment, and a handful of Foundry Gladiators, that's what I'll use. One Day. I find they give a realistic flavour of what (I imagine) it would have been like. Having done some fencing and a little re-enactment combat, that still holds true. Being an RPG, the campaign stuff is written in there already. |
| Vosper | 27 Dec 2004 2:52 a.m. PST |
I've played the old AH Gladiators and recall very little about it in specifics. However, I know I enjoyed it a lot. I remember having my gladiator (thracian, perhaps?) fighting against time, running low on endurance and options, heh. I really don't know how good it would be for a campaign, and as mentioned, it's hex-based. As for Gladiator Wars, I have the rules but never played it. It does, IIRC, have a campaign however (it's packed up right now, or I'd go double-check). YMMV |
| akudjinn | 27 Dec 2004 6:49 a.m. PST |
deiker.net/tft Melee by Fantasy Trip (for free!) Not historically based but very good rules set for gladatorial games, designed as such in first Melee set. |
| Chris von Fahnestock | 27 Dec 2004 7:03 a.m. PST |
Rules all depend on what you want to get out of them. I offer a free set of Gladator rules, and would be happy to email them to you. Just let me know:
chris@outlandgames.net |
| RoosterMan | 27 Dec 2004 11:31 a.m. PST |
I would suggest HHH. The rules were designed as gladiator rules and they acomplish this very well. The rules are simple and elegant and the game plays very fast. Personally, I would stay away from RPG rules. Their strength lies in the fact that they're detailed, and their weakness lies in the fact that they're detailed. As a miniature game (my personal opinion here) you're better off going with a ruleset that promotes fun and is fast playing. Games that move slow are simply not fun at all. |
| Flamma | 25 Jan 2005 10:34 a.m. PST |
Has anyone tried Steve Barber's rules? I too am looking for a good set of rules for Gladiator combat. I just used Arena Games' rules, which I picked up at Historicon two years ago. We had a mini-con here in Arizona the other day, and the gladiator combat using those rules was a big hit. However, they are very "beer and pretzels" rules. One nice thing is each figure is what it is, and by that I mean you pick out a gladiator and then fight with those weapons and armor. Fun game, but I do not think you can get the rules online. A good excuse to go to Historicon! |
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