Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Herbeldorf Feb 02, 2011 15:53:44	I am going to be starting a new Arena-themed game.  More than arena themed, actually, we are playing the first 10 and possibly more levels as Gladiator slaves.  Players know this going into the game. I have a few rules I want to set out for them.  For example, each arena match is a skill challange as well as a combat and the crowd influences how the game goes. Each team, of which there are sometimes two, three, even four, all have a “favor” rating (FP), which measures how entertained the crowd is during the battle.  The more entertaining the combat, the happier the crowd is.  Having a high favor rating is beneficial as the crowd cheers you on, chants your name or teams name, etc. It is a 20 point scale, and each team is given a rating as a whole.  Individual characters do not receive separate ratings unless they are fighting alone.  All teams begin their match at zero and receive bonuses or debuffs depending on their actions.  You cannot have more than 10 FP nor less than -10 FP.  Teams share favor ratings -10 Unsure: Unable to gain a critical strike, lose  move action (cowering from rotten tomatoes), unable to spend second wind -9 -8 -7 -2 to all defenses. -6 -5 -4 -3 -1 to attack and damage rolls. -2 -1 0 No Bonuses 1 2 3 4 +1 to two defenses. 5 6 7 +2 to attack or damage rolls. 8 9 10 First time you reach 10 you receive a an action point or may regain HP as if you spent a healing surge.  If you gain an AP you must spend it this encounter.  This AP over rules the “1 AP per encounter” rule.  Still no more than 1 per turn.  After the first round an FP of "10" grants you +3 to all defenses. There are multiple ways for your “favor” rating to go up or down.  The most common are as follows. Each round, at the top of initiative, all teams move 1 closer to 0. If you score a critical hit, gain 1d2 FP. If your roll a natural 1 you lose 1d2 FP. You use  your “signature move.”  Once per encounter, gain 1d2 FP. Your signature move is a single encounter or daily power (or specific augmentation of an augmentable at-will) power that requires a roll. If your “signature move” is unsuccessful, you instead lose 1d4 FP. You bloody a foe, gain 1 FP First time you are bloodied, lose 1 FP. Once per encounter each character may use one of the following skills can be used, as a standard action to affect the crowd.  Moderate DC for your level.  If you are successful, you gain 1d4 FP, if unsuccessful, you lose 1d4.  May not be done more than once per turn. Acrobatics (You may also move your speed as a part of this action) Arcana (must be able to case arcane spells) Athletics (You may also move your speed as a part of this action) Bluff (Must be adjacent to a target) Diplomacy (Must not be within 5 squares of anything that will block the crowds view of you) Intimidate (Must be within 5 squares of an enemy OR it must be the first round of combat) Thievery (must be adjacent to a target) If you kill an opponent out-right, you gain 1d6 FP (that is, you attack the opponent after it is below 0 HP). Also, all characters have 1 AP per arena encounter (but not encounters outside of the arena, of which there will be some.)  If you end an encounter, for whatever reason, at negative FP, you cannot use your Second Wind until you get a citical hit in the next encounter. What do y'all think?  Is this fair and balanced?  Any other rules you would suggest? Also, do you have any encounter ideas for the Arena?  Also, as I am new to Dark Sun, do you have any recommndations as to where in the world they should be?  What arena do you think is the most interesting? Thanks so much.
#2 RalofTyr Feb 02, 2011 16:59:36	Read, "Athas Gladiator" a 2e book that covers the arena and Athasian gladiators. Also, watch Sparticus: Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena. There's more to being a gladiator than just fighting in the arena.  First off, the right to be a gladiator is earned not by virtue of the class; the players must train and pass a test before the other gladiators in the stable will accept them and before they can fight in the arena. Gladiators are also useful as thugs and in intrigues. Gladiator-assassins are used against other noble houses and Gladiators can be used as concubines to please bored noble women or men. I'd also recommend going to your local library and reading a book about Roman-Gladiators.
#3 fugitive_unknown Feb 10, 2011 6:23:36	I am going to be starting a new Arena-themed game.  More than arena themed, actually, we are playing the first 10 and possibly more levels as Gladiator slaves.  Players know this going into the game. I have a few rules I want to set out for them.  For example, each arena match is a skill challange as well as a combat and the crowd influences how the game goes. Each team, of which there are sometimes two, three, even four, all have a “favor” rating (FP), which measures how entertained the crowd is during the battle.  The more entertaining the combat, the happier the crowd is.  Having a high favor rating is beneficial as the crowd cheers you on, chants your name or teams name, etc. It is a 20 point scale, and each team is given a rating as a whole.  Individual characters do not receive separate ratings unless they are fighting alone.  All teams begin their match at zero and receive bonuses or debuffs depending on their actions.  You cannot have more than 10 FP nor less than -10 FP.  Teams share favor ratings Honestly, I don't know that I recommend this. There's already a lot of stuff to keep track of in 4th edition, and adding a substantial new mechanic like this is another set of rules you have to keep track of, particualrly for the GM, who will have to keep track of all the skills and powers that get used. Its generally a good peice of advice in 4th edition not to screw around too much with an untested rules set.    -10 Unsure: Unable to gain a critical strike, lose  move action (cowering from rotten tomatoes), unable to spend second wind ALL of those?? That's HARSH. I can't see it coming up anyway. -3 -1 to attack and damage rolls. Hurts minions... A LOT.   7 +2 to attack or damage rolls. If they are smart they'll pick attack. 10 - Free AP, or Heal Surge, +3 to defences Heal surges for solo's/elites will get REAL ugly, real fast. +3 to defences on a high level soldier could make games drag on forever. The Free AP will make humans and warlords VERY powerful. (Hell, imagine an all human warlord party using these rules!) Each round, at the top of initiative, all teams move 1 closer to 0. If you score a critical hit, gain 1d2 FP. If your roll a natural 1 you lose 1d2 FP. These should balance out. You use  your “signature move.”  Once per encounter, gain 1d2 FP. Your signature move is a single encounter or daily power (or specific augmentation of an augmentable at-will) power that requires a roll. If your “signature move” is unsuccessful, you instead lose 1d4 FP. Smart players will take encounter signiture moves that hit multiple targets or get multiple attack rolls. Assuming a 5 player game, you can pretty much assume that those 5 encounter powers will be used right at the start, potentially boosting initial favor to 20 in round 1. You bloody a foe, gain 1 FP First time you are bloodied, lose 1 FP. The crowd boos you if you take damage? Have you ever seen a WWE/MMA match? If you kill an opponent out-right, you gain 1d6 FP (that is, you attack the opponent after it is below 0 HP). Yeah, I'm pretty sure the PC's are going to be capping at 20 for this a LOT. Also, all characters have 1 AP per arena encounter (but not encounters outside of the arena, of which there will be some.)  If you end an encounter, for whatever reason, at negative FP, you cannot use your Second Wind until you get a citical hit in the next encounter. What do y'all think?  Is this fair and balanced?  Any other rules you would suggest? I'm sorry, but I can't recommend anything this complicated. It's difficult to gague the totaly effect of your rules, but I'd wager that this system is fairly easy to game, and could potentially break many encounters as players will instantly climb to 20 in the first round, or (if they aren't really system savvy) it'll just confuse em. If you want to use special rules, remember to keep them simple. I just made all crits occur on a a 19-20 in gladiator combat (justified with breakable but SHARP obsidian bladed weapons combined with armor that shows off the physique). It gives a slight edge to the players (once they have crit effect magical weapons), but nothing too overwhelming. Its easy to remember and makes the game go faster. If your going to use custom rules, try and keep them simple and easily implamented, and ensure they won't slow the game down or change the balance of fights significantly. If you really want a set of complicated rules for the crowd, I'd run an increasing boredom meter that goes down every time someone dies/gets bloodied, or if a player does something epic (involving page 42, super clever use of powers, critical with a striker daily). As boredom increases, the arena master throws in twists to make things more deadly for both sides (new terrain appears, monsters are relased into the arena, weapons get more deadly..), anything you can justify really. Also, do you have any encounter ideas for the Arena?  Also, as I am new to Dark Sun, do you have any recommndations as to where in the world they should be?  What arena do you think is the most interesting? Thanks so much. It's late (hell, it's almost early), so I'll skip on the encounter ideas for now, but as for location... Tyr works well if you don't want them to be slaves but free gladiators instead. It gives them a lot more power over what they want to do and if they want to see the world. If you do, you can always say the rebellion hasn't happened yet (that's what I did). It's big and easily remembered.