The Rules of the Arena

Gladiator combat PbP action

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Longman
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The Rules of the Arena

Post by Longman »

Character Generation

- You can have one character in play at any time.
- Go to the Unseen Servant (http://www.unseenservant.com/) and create a character by rolling the statistics. Use 3d6 from the drop down menu provided.
- You may swap 2 statistics. That's all.
- You may roll your hit point roll twice and take the highest number.
- Don't worry about fleshing out your character sheet on the Unseen Servant. Just use that for rolling dice.
- Enter the campaign ID 458 to your character, which will link it with the campaign I have set up on Unseen Servant so I can see all your dice rolls.
The campaign dice log is here:http://unseenservant.com/default.asp?do ... mpaign=458.
- Post your character here, in a play-thread I will start for you. Post statistics, hit points, and abilities.
- I will give you background, languages, and equipment.


- Permitted races - any, provided you qualify
- Permitted classes - Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian, Cleric, Assassin, Thief, Great Way Adept. Provided you qualify.
- Fighters (only) get combat specializations. See this document:
download/file.php?id=1799
- Do not use the 'Combat Options' supplement.
- Otherwise, use Core Rules and the appropriate supplements when making characters and when fighting.
Last edited by Longman on Tue Aug 02, 2016 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Longman
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Basic Fighting Rules

Post by Longman »

- Please state your moves by stating a specific square to move into.
- Squares are always 5'. Character moves are expressed in squares (40' = 8 squares, etc).
- A round is 10 seconds.
- Diagonal moves are allowed, with no limit.
- In this time a character can move their full move and attack, or vice versa.
- 'Attacking' includes any action that isn't moving or looking around. This is called a 'combat' action.
- If you move and then shoot, ranges applies after your move has been made, not before.
- The character may also move twice, but in some arenas a Dexterity roll (roll under) will be required to avoid falling over while doing this.
- Bear in mind that who ever wins initiative moves his or her whole move and attack before their opponent gets to anything.
- If you win initiative, you can delay your action until after the other person moves and acts. You can't delay if you lose initiative.
You can't delay part of your action - i.e. you can't say "I move up and wait for him to get close and then throw my spear."
- A character may retreat from an enemy by moving their move rate. That is their only action in the round.
- In most situations, retreating is a waste of time because the opponent will simply move after them and attack them. You have been warned.
- Fleeing from melee combat (attacking and then moving, or moving twice) will attract a single parting shot at +2.
- Defending is holding off the attacker for a round. It grants a +4 AC bonus, plus any bonus for weapon specialization to AC as well.
- Charging is an attack made in a fairly straight line, where the opponent can be seen at the start of the attack, where the move covers more than 10 feet, and up to twice the attacker's full move. It is at +2 to hit, but the attacker's AC is at -2. It can be made with any weapon.
- Pole arms may be set against a charge provided the defender has the better initiative. Double damage is dealt to the charging person on a hit, but the attacks are simultaneous.

- A roll of 20 is a critical Hit threat. Another successful attack roll indicates a critical hit for double damage. Two dice are rolled, and any damage bonus is also doubled.
- A roll of 1 requires a Save vs Death Ray to avoid a fumble. The GM will decide the results of a fumble. In most cases they are dropping a weapon, or falling over.

- Changing from any weapon to any other weapon counts as a combat action, if either of the weapons does a d8 damage, or if both do a d6 damage.

- PIcking up a dropped weapon is a combat action.
- Standing up from being being prone is a full action.
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Advanced Fighting

Post by Longman »

Called Shots

Anyone may make a called shot as their combat action. These acts do no hit points, and are always made at -4 to hit, unless the character is specialized in that type of called shot. A further rank of specialization in that type of attack means the required saving throw will be at -6.

Trip: A successful trip attack does no damage, but forces the opponent to make a save vs. Paralyzation or fall to the ground. Such attacks can be made even against creatures who could not normally be hit by the character’s type of weapon. Once down, the opponent is prone, and therefore at an AC penalty of -4, until they return to their feet. Standing up again from being tripped counts as an entire round, during which the opponent cannot move, fight or cast spells. It also triggers a parting shot.

Disarm: A character wishing to acquire a weapon or object from an opponent and succeeding in an attack roll forces a save vs. Paralysation. If the result is a fail, the item has dropped to the floor, and the victim must spend a full round retrieving it, as though they were prone. If the result fails by more then 10, item ends up in the possession of the attacker.

Subdue: As noted in the BRFPG Core Rules, dealing subduing dame is also at a -4 penalty. An expert ‘subduer’ may ignore that penalty.

Blind: A dirty fighting tactic involving aiming for the opponent's eyes, with sand, fists, or with a weapon. It is made at -4 and a save vs. Paralysation avoids the effect. Blinded characters fight at -4 for -4 melee rounds.

Intimidate: A successful Charisma roll triggers the need for a morale roll by the defender. (Morale begins at 7 and is tracked by the GM). If the roll is failed, the defender loses nerve for 1 round for every 2 full points the roll failed by (minimum of 1) and may not attack in that round.

(I may add to this list.)
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INJURY and DEATH

Post by Longman »

- All wounds are assumed to be regular hit points unless the attacker calls for subduing damage. This is at -4 with regular weapons, but can be done with no penalty with hand to hand attacks.
- Upon reaching zero hit points, a fighter must Save vs Death. If this is failed, they die. If the save succeeds, another save must be made to see if the character is conscious. A third save is made to see if the character is bleeding (1 hit point per minute). If the save is failed by more than 5 points, it is one hit point per round (10 seconds).

These saves are all at -1 for every hit point that the character is below zero when the saves are made.

- Characters who are conscious and at zero or lower hp may not fight, or engage in physical activity, but can speak, and move at half their normal rate per round.

Bleeding characters die when they reach the negative opposite of their class maximum for 1st level, plus constitution. For example, a fighter with a 13 cha dies when he reaches minus 9.

A character may also surrender if they have been injured - or they may pretend to have been injured and surrender. This act may save the character's life, but it risks the arena judge deciding to put the character to death.

Once one character has reached zero or surrendered, fighting will normally cease. At this point a roll is made to see if the arena judge decides to put the loser to death. The exact mechanic of this is not known to the players, but having a high charisma and a good reputation won't hurt.
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Ability Rolls

Post by Longman »

In this game I am using 'Roll Under' ability rolls. That means a d20, rolling on or under your score for a success. (This differs from Core Rules, which has a target number to roll higher.)

I am making some of these rolls for you, off-screen, specifically Intelligence, to see if you notice something about the conditions in the arena you are fighting in.

Charisma rolls will become particularly important if you are a slave, a captive or a criminal, and have completed two fights. After this point, the arena judges may decide to have you put to death for the entertainment of the crowd, if you are no longer of any use to them.

Using a reputation point will gain you a minus 4 bonus on this roll.

Other abilities may be used from time to time.
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Reputation points

Post by Longman »

These are given after winning a fight or collecting treasure in the arenas.

They can be spent on:

- Getting better food from guards (hp increase of 1-2 for the next fight)
- Getting a hint from the guards about the next fight
- Getting a choice of weapon from the guards for the next fight
- Having someone in the crowd cheat in your favor (possible +4 bonus in one situation)
- Getting the arena judges to go easy on you, if you lose and are about to be put to death (-4 Charisma roll modifier)

More options will be added once players get free of slavery / are no longer owned by the almighty Arko. That all depends on your background.
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