Gladiator Skills

Boobs are always a crowd-pleaser.
As is a big spear.

Since I wrote yesterday's post I have run a few more gladiators of different types through the semi-campaign structure and I think I have the basics sorted now. The only major change I have made is to change how skills are acquired, something that will certainly filter through to the rules as well. I felt that gladiators gained skills too quickly - I managed to get one through nine bouts, and she had five of the six possible skills by the end of it. So I have made the following change:

A gladiator who defeats an opponent with as many, or more, skills than they themselves have rolls a D6. If the score is greater than their own current number of skill, then they may select a new one. There is a +1 to the roll if their opponent has more skills than they do.

So, acquiring the first two or three skills isn't too hard, but to get the last few you really need to defeat the superstars of the arena or be very lucky.

In addition the 'Celebrity' skill, which gives you a +2 bonus when appealing to the crowd, can only be purchased if you have at least one other skill. You need some reputation to be a Celebrity. Crowd-Pleaser is a skill any gladiator can have, as its effects represent something more ephemeral.

For a campaign style of game I now need some rolls between the bouts to see if there are any complications from wounds, and some kind of prestige or money system similar to that in the game Victus. But that's a project for another day.

Oh, and I've played out over 30 bouts this weekend - 'Munera Sine Missione' gives a quick game.