Morituri Te
Salutamus
(We who are about
to die salute you)
Created by Scott
Miller
Object : To move your
gladiator around the board on your way to Roma fighting in arenas, gaining hit
points, weapons and armor, then compete in the Flavian
Amphitheater against other players to win the Rudis
(the wooden sword of freedom).
Game Components: -
Game Board - 69 Armor/Weapon
Cards - 60 Hit Point Cards - Pawns - Rules -Two 6-sided dice -2
Tabulae Gladiator
Setup:
1- Players choose pawns then
receive one (1) Tabula Gladiator (if they wish) and
two (2) Hit Point Cards each.
-As this game may be easily played by more
people than the number of pawns that come with it, any available substitutes
may be used for additional players (coins, stones, marbles, playing pieces from
other games, etc.).-
2- The Armor/Weapon Cards
are shuffled and placed on the space provided on the game board.
3- One (1) Hit Point Card is placed on each space on the board that
has “The first player to land on this
square gains 1 Hit Point” printed on it (there are 6). These Hit Points are
taken by the first player to land on that space. They are not replaced once
they have been taken.
4- Each player rolls one
die. High roller moves first and play continues clockwise.
Sequence of Play :
1- On their
turn, each player rolls one die (1d6), moves that number of spaces and performs
the action printed on the space, if possible. If, as a
result, a card is drawn that calls for a specific action, it must be preformed
immediately, if possible.
2- If a player lands on any
arena space other than Roma, he must
fight. If there is another player already on the space, they must fight each
other (see below for specific rules). In any arena other than Roma where there are no other players present, the player
must fight as a Bestiarius (animal fighter). In Roma, the player may
choose whether to fight as a Bestiarius or not for
each turn he remains there alone.
3- Any cards and Hit Points
gained from combat are distributed.
4- If multiple combats occur,
each is decided separately and any loss of Hit Points due to combat is restored
before the next combat. Also, any Armor/Weapon Cards or Hit Point Cards won are
taken as soon as the combat is over and before any subsequent combat.
5- Play then moves to the next player.
Tabulae
Gladiator: These hold basic information regarding weapons, armor and combat. They
are not necessary for game play, but are intended as a handy reference for new
players. Players that want or need it receive one (1) at the start of the game to
use as a reference card. Players may place any cards gained on the appropriate
spaces on their Tabula to keep track of them, if they
wish.
Hit Points: - Each player starts the game with two
(2) Hit Point Cards.
-
If a player is reduced to zero (0)
Hit Points, he has died and is out of the game.
-
Certain cards and spaces in the
game will give a player more Hit Points, as will winning a combat against
another player.
-
Hit Point gains are permanent as
are losses incurred from Flux Cards.
-
Hit Points lost in an arena are
automatically regained after the combat if the player survives. This is true
whether he wins or loses the combat.
Weapon/Armor Cards: Consist of weapons, armor,
bonuses and penalties.
- At most, a player may have 1
Helmet, 1 Arm/Torso Armor, 1 Leg Armor, 1 Attack
Weapon and 1 Shield or the Casses at a time. This
means that a player can only retain a maximum of five (5) cards at any given
time. If a player draws a card that is incompatible with a card he already
possesses, he gets to choose which card he keeps.
- Certain cards disallow the use of
others.
- Cards may not be stockpiled and
must be used immediately or discarded. Unplayable or unwanted cards go
immediately into the discard pile.
Weapons: - Aside from
when using the Casses (net), players may retain only one
weapon card at a time.
- All players are equipped with a Pugio (dagger) if they do not draw any other weapon cards.
The pugio has an Attack Value of one (1). This is listed on the Tabula
Gladiator.
- There are basically two types of weapons:
One-Handed and Two-Handed. If a weapon is used Two-Handed, the player may not
use a shield. Attack Values for each weapon are listed on the cards.
- Certain
weapons have special properties as listed below:
-Casses
(net): The Casses
is considered a weapon with an Attack Value of one (1) for purposes of Bandits
and Pirates. Otherwise, the Casses has no true Attack Value, does no damage and is the only
weapon that can be used in conjunction with other weapons.
- The Casses
is always used in conjunction with another (One-Handed) weapon. If no other
weapon cards have been drawn, the player’s Pugio (dagger)
is the other weapon.
- If a player uses the Casses, he may not use a shield.
- Note that the Secutor Galea (helmet) does
provide a bonus against the Casses.
- The Casses
is used as follows:
1- If a player is using the
Casses, both combatants (whether the opponent is a
player or beast) roll 1d6 at the beginning of each combat round before the combat rolls are made.
2- If the player with the Casses rolls higher, his opponent is netted. The player who
is netted has his defense reduced by ½ (round down) for that single combat round.
If the combat goes more than one round, the players roll for the Casses each successive round. One successful roll does not
carry over into the next combat round.
3- If the player with the Casses rolls lower or the rolls are equal, his opponent is
not netted and combat is resolved normally for that combat round.
-Trident and Hasta: Both can be used as either a One-Handed or Two-Handed
weapon.
- They
are always Two-Handed weapons unless used with a Shield or the Casses.
-Dual Gladius:
Can only be used as a Two-Handed weapon.
- Players
may not use a Shield or the Casses in conjunction
with the Dual Gladius.
- Using the Dual Gladius gives a player two attacks per combat round, both
with an Attack Value of two (2).
Armor: - If a player doesn’t draw any armor
cards, he has no armor and has a Defense and Encumbrance Value of zero (0).
-
A player can have only one piece
of armor for each of four areas; Head, Torso, Legs and Shield.
-
All Armor has two factors
associated with it which are listed on each card; Defense Value and
Encumbrance. Both are cumulative as a player gains more armor.
-
Shields can only be used with
One-Handed weapons.
Other Cards: Follow any instructions possible on cards drawn
(if you have no armor, the armor Thief! Card has no effect, etc.). Remember, gladiators were slaves, so they had
to play the cards dealt to them.
-
Hit Points may never be reduced to zero (0) by a Flux Card.
-
If the Owner in Debt Card! is drawn, the player
immediately moves his pawn to the
Arenas: Arena
spaces are denoted on the board by a red star (the actual, physical location of
the city) and an Arena graphic with 1 – 3 pennants flying above it. The Flavian Amphitheater in Roma has 4 pennants.
-
Combats can only occur in Arenas.
-
If the combat is as a Bestiarius, the number of pennants above the Arena is the
Attack/Defense Value of the beast (i.e. 1
pennant means the beasts there have an Attack Value of 1 and a Defense Value of
1).
Combat Against Other Players:
1- The players involved add up their cumulative Defense and Encumbrance
Values.
2- Players compare Encumbrance Values. If they are the same, continue to
step 3. If they are different, the player with the lower Encumbrance Value receives
a bonus to compensate for the fatigue of his opponent due to armor as follows:
a- The difference between Encumbrance Values is determined.
b- The player with the lower value will receive a cumulative +1on his
attack roll for each combat round up to the total number of the difference
between the two Encumbrance Values, if the combat lasts that long.
c- Bonuses remain the same after the difference has been reached.
Example: The difference
between the Encumbrance Values of two players is 3. On the first round of
combat, the player with the lower Encumbrance Value receives a +1 to his attack
roll. On the second round (if it goes that far), he receives a +2 to his attack
roll. On the third round, he receives a +3 to his attack roll. Every round
thereafter, he receives a +3 to his attack roll.
3- If a player involved in the combat has the Casses,
the rolls to determine if his opponent is netted are made before each combat
round, as per the Casses rule above.
4- Each player’s attack target number is: 7 + (his
opponent’s total Defense Value) – (his own Attack value). Players must roll
equal to or higher than this number to score a successful hit.
Example: A player has an Attack Value of 2. His opponent has a
cumulative Defense Value of 3. Their cumulative Encumbrance Values are equal
for this example. Therefore, the player’s target number to hit his opponent is:
7 + 3 – 2 = 8. The player would have
to roll an eight (8) or higher to score a successful hit.
5- Attacks are made by rolling 2d6
(any encumbrance bonuses are added at this time). Attacks are simultaneous, so
both players roll at the same time. This does mean that both can die at the
same time, as well. A natural roll of 2 always misses and a natural roll of 12
always hits, regardless of bonuses or actual “to hit” target number (if it is
lower than 2 or higher than12).
6- For each successful attack made by a player, his opponent loses 1 Hit
Point (only for that combat, not permanently unless the player dies as a result
of the combat). If a player is reduced to zero hit points, he has died and is
out of the game. If victory conditions (see 7 and 8 below) are
not met, combat continues.
7- In all arenas other than Roma, combats between
players may go to the death, but not necessarily.
a- If both players are at 1 Hit Point after any combat round, combat ends
and neither wins.
b- If only one of the players involved in a combat is reduced to 1 Hit
point, the crowd will decide if he fought well or poorly. To determine this, the
player thus reduced will roll 1d6.
On a roll of 1 or 2, the crowd is in the mood for blood and combat goes one additional
round (one round only), which may or may not result in the death of the player.
On a roll of 3-6, the crowd shows mercy, the combat is over and the opposing
player wins. If the player reduced to 1 Hit Point wishes it, he may disregard
the mercy of the crowd and fight that single turn anyway.
8- If in Roma, all combats are to the death.
9- In any arena other than in Roma, the winning gladiator of each combat receives
one (1) additional Hit Point Card and
draws one (1) Weapon/Armor Card from the deck (even if the combat was not on
their turn and they had already had previous combats where they had won Weapon/Armor
Cards and Hit Points).
10- If a player lands on an arena space occupied by more than one other
player, he must fight each, one at a time. Full Hit Points are restored for
each combat. Winnings are granted between combats as well, so a player may
actually be able to upgrade armor, weapons and/or Hit Points from one fight to
the next on a single turn.
11- If the combat is in Roma, the winner does take one (1)
Weapon/Armor Card, but does not receive any additional Hit Points. If
the card drawn is the Owner in Debt!
Card, the player must go immediately to the
Combat as a Bestiarius:
If a player lands on an unoccupied arena space other
than Roma, he must fight as a Bestiarius. In
Roma, he may choose whether to fight as a Bestiarius
or not. The rolls for beasts are made by any other player wishing to do so.
1- The player adds up his cumulative Defense Value. Encumbrance does not
count in a Bestiarius combat.
2- The beast fought always has an Attack and Defense Value equal to the
number of pennants flying above the Arena the combat is fought in. All beasts
have only one (1) Hit Point, regardless of location.
Example: a player lands on
3- If the player involved has the Casses, the
rolls to determine if the beast is netted are made before each combat round, as
per the Casses rule above.
4- Combat is determined as in steps 4-6 above in the Combat against other
players section.
5- The outcome in a Bestiarius combat is always
the death of one or both of the combatants.
6- If the player is reduced to zero (0) Hit Points, he dies and is removed
from play (who’s going to pull that lion off of you anyway?). If he wins, he
draws one (1) Weapon/Armor Card from the deck, but does not receive a
Roma and Winning the game: The Flavian
Amphitheater in Roma is your destination. The game is not over until all surviving
players reach Roma and fight each other. If there is only one player left, use Alternate
Rule below.
-
Each player that makes it to Roma
automatically gets to draw one (1) Weapon/Armor Card before any combat.
-
Any player that is in Roma alone, waiting on
another player to fight, may opt to fight a Bestiarius
combat against a 4 Attack Value, 4 Defense Value, 1
Hit Point beast. This is not required, however. Players that win these combats
draw a card as in normal Bestiarius combat.
-
The first player to get to Roma
simply waits for the second player to arrive (aside from any voluntary Bestiarius combat). They then fight to the death. The
winner then waits for the next player to arrive. They fight to the death. This
continues until there is only one player left, who is declared the winner and
wins the Rudis (the wooden sword of freedom) and the
game.
-
Since both combatants can die at
the same time, there can actually be games with no winner.
Alternate Rule 1 - A player can win by having
the last living gladiator on the board, advancing to Roma in the normal fashion
and winning a bestiarius combat there. Of course,
there are always bandits and pirates and beasts (oh my) to contend with on the
way to Roma.
Alternate Rule 2 – If so desired and agreed upon by all, players
that “die” anywhere other than Roma can rejoin the game as a fresh gladiator
(no weapons or armor and only 2 Hit Points) at the Start space after sitting
out 1 round of play. Players that “die”
at Roma in either Bestiarius or player vs. player
combat are permanently out of the game.