Munera Sine Missione - Version 2.0

I have finally finished the changes to my gladiator rules, 'Munera Sine Missione' and have posted Version 2.0 to Google Docs. You can find them HERE.

The incorporate lots of changes developed by the Southern Battle Gamers (SBG) in Sydney, and I can't thank them enough for the work they've put into them. In fact their own version has heaps more stuff in it; they have developed rules for larger battle, beasts, referees and so on. However I wanted to publish something that was as close to the original concept I had for the game when I first put these rules together ten years ago (albeit that I basically added to a game that someone else had written).

So what do you get in Version 2.0?

Well, firstly, the SBG have solved the problems I was having balancing how many Action Points (AP) gladiators got with how much armour they wear. Essentially gladiators will tend to get slightly more AP than before, but the cost of some actions has been increased. This means that you probably can't do much more in a turn than you could before, but that heavier gladiators can almost certainly do something; in previous editions it was possible for them to be stuck with no AP for several turns in a row. Penalties for wounds and fatigue have been simplified so that the 'death spiral' effect isn't so pronounced. Light gladiators can gets lots of AP, but using them now costs fatigue.

Some elements of combat have been simplified. The rules for attacking a gladiator from the side were much more complicated than they needed to be, and have been drastically cut. However there is now more variation in the way various weapons work. 'Off Balance' has been replaced by 'Knock Down', and as a combat result it plays a greater part in the game. Failed attacks cause fatigue. Net and lasso attacks now use the basic attack mechanism to determine if they hit, rather than a special rules of their own. This allows the effects of position, fatigue and wounds to be incorporated, as well as the variety of potential results offered by the special hits.

If you've played, and liked, 'Munera Sine Missione' in the past then you should find that Version 2.0 offers a more satisfying game, but still plays as quickly as the earlier versions. And if you've not played it before, then why not give it a try?

Extra: This is the 100th post since I started this blog. So that's about five posts a week, on average. Blimey.

Update (30/12/2012) - The link now goes to v2.1 of the rules.
Update (29/05/2013) - The link now goes to v2.2 of the rules.