Blood, Sweat and Cheers Campaign - Part 2

Read Part 1 HERE. If only because it tells you how this is all set up and run.

Round 3 would be the first round that would see skilled gladiators in action, so had interesting possibilities.

Tertius had to select first, and had to put forward a medium gladiator. They only had one; the thraex, Bremusa. Primus went next, selecting Memnon as their requested heavy gladiator. And finally Secundus had to select their most experienced fighter - their only option was the unlucky Vocorix.

The pairings ended up as follows:

Bremusa (Thraex) vs Hero (Myrmillo)
Memnon (Myrmillo) vs Gracchus (Retiarius)
Vocorix (Dimacherius) vs Artemisia (Thraex)

Round 3 - Bout 1 - Bremusa (Thraex) vs Hero (Myrmillo)

Hero opted for a static defence at the start, waiting to see what Bremusa would do.

What she did was dart in and, to the cheers of the mob, wound Hero.

She continued to attack aggressively, driving Hero back ...

.. but he rallied and slipped a strike past her guard to wound her.

She responded with an attack that left Hero down on the ground. He tried to struggle to his feet, but a swift stab saw him defeated.

The crowd were not with Hero, who died in his first fight. Bremusa earned two Prestige for Tertius. In addition, having survived two bouts, Bremusa got to upgrade a trait, adding 1 to her Armour.

Round 3 - Bout 2 - Memnon (Myrmillo) vs Gracchus (Retiarius)

Both gladiators cautiously circled each other at the start, looking for an opening.

Memnon moved in first, with a crowd-pleasing attack, but Gracchus outsmarted him, and Memnon fell back with a light wound. The crowd were behind Memnon, though, so Gracchus dodged until their enthusiasm died down.

This went of for a while, with Gracchus evading Memnon's advances, waiting for the right moment. Of course both gladiators now had strong hands to play.

Gracchus kept evading ...

... again and again.

And again.

But the time was now right. He closed rapidly and swung his lasso. Memnon skillfully evaded it and countered with a skilful attack. Graccus dodged it and tried a sneaky attack with his dagger. The crowd went wild at this display of brilliance.

Memnon managed to knock Gracchus down ...

... but he got up nd went back on the offensive. Memnon held the attacks, slipped past Gracchus's defences and downed the retiarius for a long and hard-fought win.

The crowd spared Gracchus, who earned 1 Prestige for Tertius, and enough fame to pick up a +1 to his Speed. Memnon scored 2 Prestige for Primus.

Round 3 - Bout 3 - Vocorix (Dimacherius) vs Artemisia (Thraex)

Having learned from the last fight not to rush in, Vocorix went for a more cautious start in this bout against the nimble thraex Artemisia. 

Artemisia saw an opening, and attacked, but Vocorix dodged it and caught her off-balance.

Another blow and Artemisia was deafeted. The fight lasted two turns.

Vocrix earned 2 Prestige for Secundus for this quick victory. The crowd spared Artemisia, who gained 1 Prestige for Primus, and who picked up +1 Speed.

At the end of Round 3 the Prestige totals were:

Primus - 8 Prestige

Secundus - 5 Prestige

Tertius - 10 Prestige

The dead Hero was replaced by another myrmillo, Achillia.

On to Round 4.

Tertius was asked to provide their most-experienced gladiator, so went for Syphax. Primus provided Culex when asked for a light gladiator and Secundus put Achillia forward as a heavy gladiator.

The pairings for Round 4 ended up as:

Syphax (Crupellarius) vs Hippolytus (Retiarius)

Culex (Veles) vs Bremusa (Thraex)

Achillia (Myrmillo) vs Philus (Dimacherius)

Each bout was a novice gladiator vs a skilled one, so had extra Prestige at stake.

Round 4 - Bout 1 - Hippolytus (Retiarius) vs Syphax (Crupellarius)

Hippolytus was the underdog in this fight, as Syphax had not only his strong armour but a strengthened attack.

Syphax went straight on the offensive with a shield rush, looking to knock down Hippolytus and prevent him from evading attacks. Hippolytus stepped back from the attack.

Hipppolytus then went on the offensive, hoping to drain Syphax of defensive cards. Syphax blocked each one ...

.. but his luck ran out when Hippolytus attacked with his net.

Trapped in the net Syphax fought back desperately, but as the crowd went wild Hippolytus went in with his dagger, stabbing furiously. Syphax was quickly defeated.

Crazed by the fighting spirit displayed by Hippolytus, the mob gave Syphax short shrift, and Tertius was dismayed to see one of his top gladiators dispatched.

Hippolytus earned 3 Prestige for Secundus.

Round 4 - Bout 2 - Culex (Veles) vs Bremusa (Thraex)

The next bout saw the novice veles Culex take on the thraex Bremusa.

Culex evaded, looking to keep the range open for a javelin throw, and prevent the thraex getting in close with her knife. His first throw missed.

Bremusa closed rapidly and attacked, but Culex dodged and tripped Bremusa.

He closed to exploit her disadvantage, and she lashed out, wounding him.

He stepped back as she attacked again, but stumbled.

This gave Bremusa time to regain her footing, but Culex still had enough speed to get up as well and duck away. He threw another javelin, and wounded Bremusa.

Despite her injury she closed again, and inflicted another hit on the veles.

He dodged and stumbled.

Bremusa attacked again, and inflicted another wound. Culex was now badly hurt.

She continued to press him ...

... and when he fell for a third time he didn't have the strength to get up. Bremusa was the victor.

Bremusa earned 2 Prestige for Tertius, and was now the most experienced gladiator around. She'd also had three wins. Culex was spared by the crowd and earned 1 Prestige for Primus.

Round 4 - Bout 3 - Achillia (Myrmillo) vs Philus (Dimacherius)

The final bout of the day was somewhat anti-climactic. 

Achillia advanced, Philus attacked her and she fell. 

From that point onwards it was all over for the myrmillo, as the experieced dimacherius rained down blow after blow. However she put up a superb defence, and got the crowd fully on her side, despite losing the bout. There was no question that she wouldn't be spared. 

She earned 1 Prestige for Secundus. Meanwhile Philus picked up an easy 2 Prestige for Primus.

So after four rounds the schools stand as follows:

Primus - 11 Prestige

Artemisia (Thraex) - 2 Bouts, +1 Speed

Philus (Dimacherius) - 3 Bouts, +1 Attack

Memnon (Myrmillo) - 1 Bout
Culex (Veles) - 1 Bout

Secundus - 9 Prestige

Hippolytus (Retiarius) - 1 Bout
Vocorix (Dimacherius) - 2 Bouts, +1 Attack

Alumnus (Hoplomachus - No Bouts

Achillia (Myrmillo) - 1 Bout

Tertius - 12 Prestige

Baccibus (Veles) - No Bouts

Gracchus (Retiarius) - 2 Bouts, +1 Speed

Bremusa (Thraex) - 3 Bouts, +1 Armour

Mordax (Scissor*) - No Bouts

*The Scissor will have the stat profiles of a Myrmillo, so is a heavy gladiator, but the Glory abilities of a Dimacherius.

The next round could be the final one, with all three school potentially able to reach 15 prestige this time. Tertius is a strong favourite, since he ony has to win one bout and survive the other to do it, but even Secundus can come out on top if he can win two fights where novices are pitted against experienced gladiators. Who gets to fight who could be very important.