paints a legend from the Trojan Wars.
Wargaming for Grown Ups Publications have just published their most recent set of innovative wargame rules. In a break from the previous two publications, these are written by long-time wargamer Derek Henderson, and instead of being at army level, are for the more low-key combats that took place in the Roman arenas.
Yes, Dicing with Death is a set of simple, fast-play gladiatorial combat rules. They are suitable for all scales of gladiator figures, and make use of either an offset-square or hex grid.
In developing the rules, the writer and publisher went back to basics, with the aim of producing a game that was simple and exciting, and also different from sets of rules that had gone before. Treading the narrow line between over-simplification and stultifying complexity, the rules cover all of the types of gladiators who fought one another in the arena for the honor of being awarded the rudis. Gladiator types include the secutor, dimachaerus, and murmillo, as well as the retiarius and laquerarius (that's a man with a whip or lasso!), and many more. Simple adjustments to the level of armor, weapon types, and speed of movement mean that the nuances of each type of fighter can be brought out without over-complicating the system.
The combat system uses five dice per player, which are rolled in secret (we've gone for a dice-based system, as the Romans invented dice but didn't develop the playing card). Each player gets a number of options to hold and re-roll dice, based on their skill level and circumstances, as they try to achieve a winning outcome through a combination of luck, skill and bluff.
The rules also include a career/campaign progression system, to enable fighters to develop in their career over a series of games. Do they gamble on fighting the next round whilst still recovering from wounds, or hang on until fully fit? The aim is also to simulate more of what actually happened – only about 10% of gladiators died in the arena, so the opportunity to submit and live to fight another day is there – but will you get the thumbs-up or thumbs-down?
The rules are written in our normal easy-to-read style, with a comprehensive contents listing so you can find what you want to know easily, and loads of examples accompanied by clear diagrams to make learning the game straightforward. And to round it off, there's our usual QRS on the back cover. Plus, although the rules include player-record sheets for you to copy, we'll be posting downloadable files over on the Wargaming for Grown Ups blog page for you to download too.
Suitable for two or more players (we've tested with up to six, but more would probably work), the 45-page color rulebook is available for £8.99 GBP now, from both Amazon, worldwide as hardcopy, or from Wargame Vault as a PDF.
Or if you want some really nice figures as well, CP Models are doing an offer of the rules plus a pack of their really nice Champions of the Arena pack for £12.00 GBP (that's the rules plus four really nice 25mm figures for just an extra £3.00 GBP). He's taking pre-orders now. Pack at half price! Details are here.
