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____________________________ ____________________ ____________ ____ GLADIATOR Barn Yard Entertainment ____ ____________ ____________________ ____________________________ Thursday December 31, 1992 Copyright (c) 1992 Barney Blankenship. All rights reserved. PAGE 1 Table of Contents Introduction..............................................2 Player Characters Attributes..........................................3 Weapons.............................................4 Armor...............................................7 Facing..............................................7 Race................................................9 Experience.........................................11 Spells.............................................12 Fighter Spells.....................................17 Robot Characters.........................................18 Terrain..................................................22 Playing Starting...........................................24 Menus..............................................25 Game Turn Phases...................................27 Incentive Phase....................................27 Movement Phase.....................................28 Action Phase.......................................30 Wounds.............................................35 Rolls/Dice Odds....................................35 Strategy Who Moves First....................................37 Who Attacks First..................................37 Evading............................................37 Missiles...........................................37 Hand Combat........................................38 Pole Arms..........................................40 Shield Attacks.....................................40 Dual Attacks.......................................41 Example Characters.......................................41 Hi-Scores................................................44 Cheats!..................................................44 PAGE 2 Introduction The setting of Gladiator is personal combat in an ancient Rome arena. In addition, some science fantasy elements will be recognized (such as magic, Elves, and Dwarves). Medieval weapons such as swords are used to destroy the enemy. The level of detail is high such as choosing which character attacks with what weapon. Enemies start at opposing ends of the arena and combat continues until only one side remains. Experience is attributed to the survivors and the defeated lose any experience. Experience allows a successful player character to become more strong, more agile, and able to withstand more damage. Gladiator is a simulation of a boardgame or war game. A war game can work well using simple text graphics and does not require animation. Gladiator allows each character a turn one at a time while everyone else waits. Therefore gladiator is not a "real time" hand-eye coordination game but a turn-by-turn strategy game. Simulated six-sided dice contribute the random factor needed to determine the outcome of events (just like a boardgame, but automated). Here are some estimates on the time involved for learning and excelling at Gladiator. Game time for a learning game: 5-20 minutes To learn the game: play 10 games (and read the manual) To excel at the game: play 100 games or more Games to make a "super hero": about 250 games Game time for an advanced game: about 1-3 hours A "super hero" is a player character that has achieved an experience level that gives him or her the ability to use the most powerful weapons, armor, and spells. Since the game is balanced automatically, playing a game with a "super hero" requires killing many more monsters (or more advanced monsters) and extends the time required to finish a game. Disclaimer I will not be responsible for any damage incurred to your computer hardware or software while using my software. The Manual This user's manual is intended to be used solely for the Gladiator game and may not be modified. Permission is given to copy or distribute hard copies of the user's manual (use the original compressed Gladiator1.lzh if you wish to distribute the software package). It is recommended you print out this manual as it is fairly large (40+ pages). PAGE 3 Player Characters Attributes Player characters are made up of what they carry (armor and weapons) their race (such as Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc, or Mage) and their attributes. The attributes SH and AG are adjustable when creating a character to achieve a certain mix of weapons carrying ability (SH) versus accuracy (AG) for a particular strategy (such as the "human tank" character who has high AG to offset massive amounts of armor, or the "Hulk" character who has high SH to carry the biggest weapons and is too clumsy for armor). SH = Strength / Health SH determines which weapons can be carried. Higher SH allows the heavier and deadlier weapons to be used. Enemy damage is accrued directly to SH. When SH is zero, the character dies. AG = Agility AG determines what the basic odds are for successfully damaging an opponent. The higher the AG the better. The AG number must be equaled or less on three dice in the normal instance for a successful attack. IQ = Intelligence Quotient This is the last of three "skill" attributes. Skill attributes can change as the character gains skill in combat whereas movement speed and armor are constant regardless of experience. IQ is only applicable in combat that deals with magic. IQ determines what spells a Mage can use and determines how easily a character can "see through" a magical illusion. MP = Movement Points Maximum number of squares moved per turn. Armor and possibly race have an effect on MP (usually 10 squares). AR = Armor The number of points subtracted from each incoming hit before applying damage to SH. Armor typically consists of a suit of armor and possibly a shield. Some creatures have natural armor that is always applied in addition to worn armor. Shields are only effective on the side they are on. If a shield is ready it applies to frontal armor, if it is slung it applies to rear armor. AR 6/4 means the player has a front armor that absorbs 6 damage points and a side and rear armor that absorbs 4 damage points. PAGE 4 Weapons Weapon SH Pole Slash Bow Throw Hammer/Axe 2H No Shield Damage ------ --- ---- ----- --- ----- ---------- --- --------- -------- Buckler 10 . . . . . . . 1d - 3 Shield 11 . . . . . . . 1d - 2 Spike Shield 12 . . . . . . . 1d Large Shield 13 . . . . . . . 1d - 1 War Shield 14 . . . . . . . 1d + 1 Small Bow 8 . . B . . 2 . 1d - 2 Horse Bow 9 . . B . . 2 . 1d - 1 Short Bow 10 . . B . . 2 . 1d Long Bow 11 . . B . . 2 . 1d + 1 War Bow 12 . . B . . 2 . 1d + 2 Horn Bow 14 . . B . . 2 . 1d + 3 Steel Bow 15 . . B . . 2 . 1d + 4 Crossbow 11 . . B1 . . 2 . 2d Heavy Crossbow 13 . . B2 . . 2 . 3d Giant Bow 18 . . B . . 2 . 2d + 2 Giant Crossbow 18 . . B1 . . 2 . 4d Hammer 9 . . . T H . . 1d + 1 Axe 10 . . . T H . . 1d + 2 War Hammer 11 . . . T H . . 1d + 3 War Axe 12 . . . T H . . 1d + 4 Battle Hammer 13 . . . T H . . 2d + 1 Battle Axe 14 . S . T H . . 2d + 2 Great Axe 15 . S . T H 2 . 3d + 2 Giant Hammer 18 . . . T H . . 2d + 3 Giant Axe 20 . S . T H . . 3d + 2 Dagger 8 . . . T . . . 1d - 1 Staff 9 . . . . . . . 2d - 3 Short Sword 10 . . . . . . . 2d - 2 Caltrops 11 . . . T . . . 1d - 2(*) Mace 11 . . . T . . . 2d - 1 Broadsword 12 . . . . . . . 2d Flail 12 . . . . . 2 N 2d Morning Star 13 . . . . . . N 2d Longsword 13 . S . . . . . 3d - 2 War Sword 14 . S . . . 2 . 4d - 1 Great Sword 15 . S . . . 2 . 4d Giant Saber 18 . S . . . . . 4d - 3 Great Cutlass 20 . S . . . . . 4d - 1 Great Glaive 22 . S . . . . . 4d + 1 Javelin 9 P . . T . . . 1d - 1 Trident 10 P . . T . . . 1d Spear 11 P . . T . 2 . 1d + 1 War Spear 12 P! . . . . 2 . 1d + 2 Halberd 13 P! . . . . 2 . 1d + 3 Bardiche 14 P! . . . . 2 . 2d + 1 Pike 15 P! . . . . 2 . 2d + 2 War Pike 16 P! . . . . 2 . 2d + 3 Giant Spear 18 P! . . . . 2 . 3d + 1 Giant Halberd 20 P! . . . . 2 . 3d + 3 Giant Pike 22 P! . . . . 2 . 4d + 1 PAGE 5 Weapons Table Legend SH : Minimum Strength/Health to carry or use a weapon. The Goblin race SH is 4 points higher in strength than health. The Goblin ability to carry weapons is 4 points greater than their recorded SH value. The displayed Goblin SH reflects their ability to receive wounds. Pole Arm : If the item is allowed pole arm bonuses. Pole arms get double damage when giving or receiving a charge. Receiving a charge also gives a +2 "to hit" bonus to the charging player. To give a charge the charger must have moved 2 or more squares. To receive a charge the receiver must have moved 1 square or less and his opponent must have moved 2 or more squares. Pole arms that cannot be thrown are denoted with a "P!" and are especially long. These weapons can attack the square behind the direct front square if an enemy is not in the direct front. See Strategy. Slash : Large bladed weapons such as axes and swords are allowed a special type of attack called a "slashing" attack. This attack targets everyone in the front squares of the attacker in clockwise order. The first target is -2 to hit and following targets are -4 to hit. Bow : If the item is a long range weapon. Some bows have to be reloaded. "B1" takes a turn to reload. "B2" takes two turns to reload. Elves get a +1 bonus to hit and damage with bow weapons. Throw : If the weapon can be thrown. Elves get a +1 bonus to hit and damage with thrown weapons. Dwarves get a +1 bonus to hit and damage for thrown hammers and axes. Hammer/Axe : If the weapon is a hammer or axe. Dwarves get a +1 bonus to hit and damage with hammers and axes. 2H : A two-handed weapon. A secondary weapon or shield may not be held when this weapon is being used. No Shield : This weapon is not affected by an enemy's shield. Damage against a foe caused by a morning star for example will not be reduced by the foe's shield. The morning star has a chain which carries a spiked ball over and around a shield to hit the opponent directly. The scorpion sting and flail weapon also work this way. PAGE 6 Damage : The number of dice and modifier that will be accrued to the target if a successful hit is achieved. After the target's armor is applied the remaining damage is applied to the target's strength. The damage taken by a shield hitting a foe with leather armor is determined by rolling one die and subtracting 4 points (1d - 2 for the shield damage and -2 for the leather armor). Thus the attack would do from 0 to 2 points of damage. (*) Caltrops become a form of terrain when dropped. These are four spike anti-personnel obstacles about the size of a softball. A single "Caltrops" weapon is actually made up of two or more of the devilish devices. See Terrain. As wounds are accrued to a character's SH his AG is affected but his weapons carrying ability remains the same. When your strength is reduced it reflects ill health (not weakness) and does not mean you will have to drop your current weapon. Weapon Capacity Each character can carry four items which may be any combination of weapons and shields. If a two handed weapon is readied then the second hand will drop or sling (if possible) whatever was secondary. In other words, if you wish to start the game with a bow ready (a two handed weapon) then you will only be able to bring a total of three weapons into the game. Armor Each player character may wear one suit of armor. Armor absorbs incoming weapon damage so it does not hurt the character. The amount of damage absorbed is determined by the type of armor worn. Some blows are too great for armor to completely absorb and some damage is applied to the character. Armor reduces the wearer's agility due to the armor's bulk and weight. Suits of heavy armor are a dubious proposition usually left to those who have accumulated mounds of experience (and therefore have lots of AG). Start out with a suit of plate and you will be spending a lot of time swinging at air. In addition, armor limits your movement. PAGE 7 Armor MP Min SH AG Modifier Damage Taken ----- ---- ------ ----------- ------------ Buckler - 10 - 1 (Except scorpion, flail, morning star) Shield - 11 -1 2 (ditto) Spike Shield - 12 -1 2 (ditto) Large Shield - 13 -1 3 (ditto) War Shield - 14 -1 3 (ditto) Leather Tunic - - -1 1 Leather 8 - -2 2 Chain Mail 8 - -3 3 Splint Mail 8 - -4 4 Plate Mail 6 - -6 6 Full Plate 6 14 -9 8 Heavy Plate 4 16 -14 12 Helmet - - -1 1 War Helmet - 18 -2 2 Heavy Helmet - 20 -3 3 MP : This is the base movement points for a human wearing the armor. A "-" is a "no effect." Race can enhance or reduce MP in addition to armor. Min SH : The minimum SH needed to use or wear. AG Modifier : Applied to the wearer's AG this penalty effects all agility tasks including action turn order. Shield AG penalties only apply if the shield is "ready." Damage Taken : Amount subtracted from incoming damage before applied to the character's SH. Shield damage taken applies to the side the shield is worn on. A shield may be in front (ready) or in back (slung). Facing For the purposes of explaining the character positioning in this manual, characters are shown here as a letter and a pointer (indicating their facing, instead of a graphic representation that points in the appropriate direction as in the game). The letter is the first letter of the player character's name (a "C" is used for the character "Conan"). The pointer denotes which way the character is facing: Facing North Facing East Facing South Facing West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C^. . . . . C>. . . . . vC. . . . . <C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 8 The player is marked with a "C" and is facing towards the East. The squares marked with "f" are front squares. The player can engage and attack opponents in the front squares. The squares marked "s" are side squares. Opponents attacking the player from the side are have a +2 "to hit" bonus. The square marked "r" is the rear square. An opponent attacking the player from the rear has a +3 "to hit" bonus. Prone players are +4 to hit. Missile and thrown weapons do not get facing "to hit" bonuses. In addition, missile and thrown weapons can be used to attack distant opponents in the frontal area of the player. | | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s f f . . . . . . Rear Area . . . . . . r C>f . . . . . . Frontal Area (no shooting . . . . . . s f f . . . . . . (Bow or Throw targets back here) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in this area) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | If a player is in the front square of a standing enemy he is engaged. Engaged players must remain adjacent or next to all engaging enemy characters during movement. In addition, players may attack only those enemies which are in their adjacent front squares (they may attack targets farther away if they are using a bow or thrown weapon). Example: Conan and Draco are fighting Tarna and Garth. Conan "C" is in Tarna's "T" front area and Draco "D" is in Tarna's side square. Draco can attack Tarna at +2 AG without Tarna being able to attack Draco back. In addition, Draco is in Garth's "G" front area and Conan is in Garth's side square. Conan can attack Garth at +2 AG without Garth being able to attack Conan back. Conan decides to attack Garth instead of Tarna and Draco decides to attack Tarna instead of Garth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C>T^. . . . . . . . . . . . . D>vG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 9 Race Character race can have an effect on many facets of the Gladiator game. Some effects of the race modifiers are subtle. The minimum SH and AG only come into play when creating the character. The maximum SH, AG, and IQ only come into play when the character reaches super-hero experience. SH/AG/IQ SH/AG SH/AG/IQ Race Base Min Max AR/MP Notes ------- ----- ---- ------- ----- --------------------------- Human 12/12/8 8/8 40/40/14 -/10 Dwarf 12/11/8 9/7 38/35/13 -/8 A) MP is usually 8, even with plate mail. B) +1 to hit, +1 damage with axes and hammers. C) Daze at 6 SH damage. Elf 11/12/9 7/12 35/38/15 -/12 A) MP is armor MP + 2 except for heavy armors. B) +1 to hit, +1 damage with missile or thrown weapons. Orc 11/12/7 8/8 35/35/12 1/10 A) Light hyde natural armor. B) Daze at 6, knock down at 9. C) Disengage 2 squares Goblin 6/13/8 4/10 31/34/14 -/10 A) Have a +4 weapon strength. Mage 9/12/11 8/8 40/40/40 -/10 A) Cast spells B) Regenerate 1 SH every 3 turns. Snake 4/13/6 Creature 1/10 A) Snake fangs: 1d-1 B) Hard to hit... -2 AG to hit Giant Beetle 7/12/6 Creature 4/6 A) Two pincers: 1d each Wolf 9/14/6 Creature 2/14 A) Wolf byte: 1d+1 Giant Scorpion 8/13/6 Creature 2/16 A) Sting: 1d+3 B) Sting strikes around shields Troll 17/11/7 Creature 1/10 A) Two fists: 1d+2 each B) Regenerate 1 SH every turn C) Invisible in Pits D) Moves through pits, no damage E) Daze at 6, knock down at 10. Gargoyle 20/12/6 Creature 3/14 A) Gargoyle Claws: 2d B) Daze at 7, knock down at 12 Bear 30/11/6 Creature 2/8 A) Bear Paws: 3d B) Daze at 10, knock down at 15 PAGE 10 SH/AG/IQ Base Attributes given to a new character. In the case of the fighter types (Human, Dwarf, Elf, Orc, and Goblin) the SH and AG may be adjusted (by trading points between them). In the case of the Mage race all three may be adjusted. SH/AG Min The minimum allowed during adjustment. This keeps Dwarves strong and Elves agile. SH/AG/IQ Max The maximum limits encountered by experienced characters. The attributes may increase only so far. AR/MP AR: Any "skin" natural armor the race may have. MP: the base movement for the race. Elves and Dwarves have unusual movement changes in that Elves are quick except in plate mail and Dwarves are always the same moderate speed regardless of armor worn. Creatures Non-intelligent beings. Cannot carry or use weapons or armor. Do not accrue experience points. Character races other than Humans (Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, and Goblins) have a variety of advantages and disadvantages that include improved combat prowess to natural armor. All non-human races pay for their advantages initially in terms of a modified attribute total (Agility + Strength/Health + IQ is different). PAGE 11 Experience Humanoids (not creatures) may accrue experience. Experience points (EXPs) reflect skill in combat. Experience is awarded for damage inflicted on the enemy and winning battles. One half experience point is awarded to the attacking humanoid for each point of damage he inflicts on an enemy. A bonus of half the total of the enemy's AG and IQ is awarded to the attacker that deals the death blow. One experience point is awarded for each SH spent casting successful spells. In addition, 20 experience points are awarded to each character that is on the team that wins. Killed characters loose any experience they have acquired (exception: see Altar Of Life). Experience can increase a humanoid's SH and AG. Every 50 EXPs is worth one SH or AG point experience bonus (Humans). The extra points are alternately awarded to the SH and AG (fighters). When a Human accrues 50 EXPs his SH will increase by one. When a Human accrues 50 more points to a 100 EXP total his AG will increase by one also. The point increases alternate in this manner. Race has an effect on the advancement rate. This helps to balance the races. Especially gifted races are penalized with high experience point bonus levels to limit their dominance of the game. On the other hand, Goblins have a reduced level to encourage their advancement. Race Experience Points Advancement Bonus Level (How many EXP points per SH or AG increase) ----------- ------------------------------------------- Goblin 30 ( 60% ) Human or Mage 50 ( 100% ) Orc 55 ( 110% ) Dwarf 65 ( 130% ) Elf 70 ( 140% ) Magi increase slightly differently than the other races. Fighters (Orcs, Goblins, Dwarves, Elves, and Humans) increase one IQ point in lieu of a SH or AG increase every 5 increases. Magi alternately increase between all three attributes equally, starting with AG. PAGE 12 Mage Weapons Magi may only pick up or obtain certain weapons. This reflects the Mage discipline. Magi can only use the following weapons: Dagger Staff Caltrops Mace Flail Spells Spell casting is achieved by expending a predetermined amount of SH points and making a successful AG roll (similar to an attack). The caster "uses" his strength as "mana" to give the spell power and effect. The more powerful the spell, the more strength is required. The "to hit" roll becomes a "to succeed" roll. When rolling to succeed, a roll of 4 results in only half the SH cost being applied, and a roll of 3 results in no SH cost being applied (a free spell). Magi have the ability to regenerate one SH point every three turns. A Mage will heal up to his full SH if possible. There are three types of spells... 1) missile spells, 2) thrown spells, and 3) special spells. Missile spells are long range spells, thrown spells are short range spells, and special spells are weird. Missile Spells Missile Spells are long-range high-cost spells. The SH cost for missile spells can be adjusted by the casting Mage. The Mage may choose to "pump up" the spell with a lot of SH to make it more effective. Missile spells do the number of dice damage per increase in allotted SH. This is risky because all allotted SH points are spent even if the spell misses. Missile spells are subject to terrain modifiers just like bows. In contrast, missile spells may be cast at invisible targets, unlike normal bow or thrown weapons. All missile spells have a maximum SH spending limit. Missile Spell IQ SH Cost Max SH Effect or Damage Per ---------------- -- ------ ------ -------------------- Magic Bolt 8 1+ 7 1d-2 Magic Missile 10 1+ 6 1d-1 Fireball 12 1+ 5 1d Drain Life 13 2+ 4 1d no armor, Heals(+) Drain Life II 20 2+ 6 1d no armor, Heals(+) Lightning 14 1+ 4 1d+1 Lightning II 16 1+ 5 1d+1 Lightning III 18 1+ 6 1d+1 PAGE 13 (+) Drain Life is unusual in three ways. The first is that the damage accrued to the target is not affected by armor. The second is that the casting mage will receive in return the amount of damage he does to the enemy as Healing SH points. Healing spells are limited so that a character can only heal above his normal SH by two points (Drain Life and Heal-Strength). The third is that the cost per die damage is 2 SH. The SH cost is applied before the healing SH from the target, and could leave the mage prone if he visits 1 SH left. Thrown Spells Most thrown spells come in two flavors... "bulk" and "per turn" SH cost. "Bulk" spells cost a large amount up front and "per turn" spells cost a little but have to be paid for on a turn by turn basis to keep the spell in effect. Some thrown spells are similar to missile spells in that the spell may be "pumped up" at the time of casting. A "nice" spell may only be cast on friends of the Mage. Spells that are not "nice" may only be cast on enemies of the Mage (exception: "teleport away" and "ESP stats" can be cast on anyone). Thrown spells are subject to range and obstacle "to hit" penalties the same as thrown weapons. Missing a thrown spell only costs 1 SH point no matter how much SH had been allotted. Turn Duration | Adjustable Name IQ Cost | | Nice Notes ----------- -- ---- ---- ---- ---- -------------------------------------- Drop Weapon 8 1 - - - Enemy drops his ready weapon Magic Speed 8 1+ 2+ Yes Nice Friend MP becomes 16 Clumsiness 8 1+ 4 Yes - Enemy AG -1 per SH put into spell Stone Flesh 9 1+ 2+ Yes Nice Friend Armor + 3 Lose Weapon 9 1 - - - Enemy drops weapon 4 to 8 squares away Heal-Strength 9 1+ - Yes Nice Friend SH +1 Invisibility 9 2 1+ - Nice Friend is invisible. 1 SH Per turn Agility Magic 10 2+ - Yes Nice Friend AG +1 (*) Iron Flesh 11 1+ 2+ Yes Nice Friend Armor + 4 Missile Return 12 2 4 - Nice Friend is missile repellent (+) Curse Armor 12 1+ 4 Yes - Enemy armor is -1 AR Steel Flesh 13 1+ 2+ Yes Nice Friend Armor + 5 Teleport Away 13 2 - - - Enemy teleported randomly 15+ squares Teleport 14 2 - - Nice Friend is teleported as mage wishes Ring of Fire 15 4 - - Nice Creates ring of fire around friend (-) (*) Agility Magic's effect lasts the entire game. (+) Missile Return causes a friend to become missile repellent. All missile or thrown attacks (including spells) are sent back to the caster. This doubles the range to hit. If the enemy rolls a 5 or less the missile weapon hits the missile repellent friend anyway but the weapon will not do double or triple damage. If the enemy rolls 6 or greater and hits, he hits himself. (-) Ring of Fire will not create fire squares on friends but will create fire squares on enemies. Magic fire lasts the entire game. PAGE 14 Adjustable Spells Spells with a "+" modifier in Cost are adjustable and increase in the Cost increment. For example, "pumping up" an Iron Flesh spell is in increments of 1 SH but "pumping up" an Agility Magic spell is in increments of 2 SH. Spell Duration Spells with a "+" modifier in Turn Duration last a number of turns in this increment determined by the number of times the spell is "pumped up". Special Spells All other spells fall into this category. These spells are quite varied and are broken down here by functional groups. All special spells cost the spell cost -1 point when they fail. Special spells that have a cost of 1 SH or zero SH and fail do not cost anything. Summon Spells These spells summon a creature to be controlled by the Mage. The spell has to be renewed (costing 1 SH point) or cancelled at the beginning of the Mage's action every so many turns. Summoned creatures are real in all regards but will vanish when the Mage dies or cancels the summon. The creature will appear at a random location around the Mage facing the direction the mage is facing. Name IQ Cost Renew Every How Many Turns ----------- -- ---- -------------------------- Summon Beetle 8 2 4 Summon Goblin 8 2 3 Summon Wolf 9 2 3 Summon Scorp 10 2 3 Summon Orc 10 2 3 Summon Elf 11 2 2 Summon Dwarf 11 2 2 Summon Human 11 2 2 Summon Mage 12 3 2 Summon Troll 12 3 2 Summon Gargoyle 13 4 2 Summon Bear 14 4 1 Illusion Spells Illusions are identical to summon spells except that the illusion creature may be "disbelieved" and that the illusion does not have to be renewed (they do not require any SH to maintain). PAGE 15 Name IQ Cost ----------- -- ---- Illus. Beetle 10 2 Illus. Goblin 10 2 Illus. Wolf 10 2 Illus. Scorp 12 3 Illus. Orc 12 3 Illus. Human 13 3 Illus. Dwarf 13 3 Illus. Elf 13 3 Illus. Mage 14 3 Illus. Troll 14 3 Illus. Gargoyle 15 4 Illus. Bear 16 4 Terrain Spells The following terrain spells create one terrain item in a location on or around the mage. The target location is chosen by the mage and may be in any unoccupied square (friendly squares are permitted when creating Shadow or Exit). Spell cost for terrain is a fixed cost up front like illusion spells. Name IQ Cost ----------- -- ---- Create Fire 8 1 Create Pit 10 1 Create Shadow 11 2 Create Exit 11 2 Create Wall 12 2 The following terrain spells create an area of terrain. The area and orientation of the terrain depends on the particular spell. Name IQ Cost Size Shape Location ----------- -- ---- ---- ----- --------------------------------- Pit Trench 14 4 7 row Trench in front of mage Shadow Wall 15 4 3 row On top of mage, to left and right Wall of Fire 16 4 7 row Wall in front of mage Wall Line 16 4 7 row Wall in front of mage Pit Fortress 17 5 10 L Angle between mage and map center Wall Fortress 18 5 10 L Angle between mage and map center Row or Trench L or Angle L or Angle (Wall) (Fortress) (Fortress) South West North West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . M>] . . . . . . ] . . . ] ] ] ] . . . ] ] ] ] . . . . . M>] . . . . . M>] . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 16 Terrain blocked by walls or off the map will not be created. The size shown is the absolute maximum. The spell will tend to fit the area it is in and "flow" out to create the size shown. Fire and shadow will pile on top of themselves making dense terrain. Fire terrain will not be created on friends. Other Special Spells Dazzle IQ: 11 Cost: 3 Duration: 3 turns This spell is a bright flash emanating from the mage. All enemies able to see the Mage are -3 AG for 3 turns after this spell goes into effect. Characters able to see the mage are characters that are not prone, have the mage in their front side, and are not behind a wall. Psychic Blast IQ: 11 Cost: 3 This spell does 1d damage to all enemies within 5 squares (inclusive) of the mage. The mage and his friends are not hurt. The psychic quality of the spell causes the damage to be imparted without any armor effect (like terrain and Drain Life damage). Snake Staff IQ: 8 Cost: 1xN Duration: 5 turns This spell requires a ready staff to work. The staff may be turned into 1 to 3 snakes depending on the SH put into the spell. The snakes are controlled by the mage and last five turns. Image IQ: 9 Cost: 2 Duration: 4 turns This spell creates two duplicates of the Mage around the Mage and moves the mage in one random square. The two images are insubstantial and will vanish when a successful attack or spell is carried out on them. This spell is purely defensive and works like the "shell game" if played well. Images last four turns. ESP Stats IQ: 8 Cost: 0 ESP Stats is unlike any other spell. ESP Stats can be used to determine the location of an invisible enemy, or to determine the actual attributes or wounds of an enemy. ESP Stats is rolled for like a Special Spell. If successful, the casting mage will be able to view his choice of up to three enemies. The number of enemies to view is a random number between one and three. Because the cost is 0 SH, ESP Stats may not be aborted by adjusting spell cost to 0 (the spell cost adjustment step is skipped). PAGE 17 Fighter Spells After attaining an IQ of 10 or higher fighters may use spells. The mix of spells is random and provided when fighting starts. A fighter will have roughly half of the spells available to his IQ. The odds of getting any one spell is 50%. In addition, when a fighter casts a spell he has a reduced agility as a penalty. The agility of a fighter casting a spell is the average of his AG and IQ. Keep in mind that fighters DO NOT REGENERATE and each SH point lost to spell casting is permanent for the duration of the game. These are the spells fighters can use: Name---------------------IQ---Type------Race Limitation----- ESP Stats................8....Special | | | Create Fire..............8....Special | | | Lose Weapon..............9....Thrown Orc | | Heal-Strength............9....Thrown | Dwarf | Create Pit...............10...Special | Goblin | Agility Magic............10...Thrown | Human | Create Exit..............11...Special | | Elf Create Shadow............11...Special | | | Create Wall..............12...Special --' | | Teleport Away............13...Thrown -------' | Ring of Fire.............15...Thrown ---------------' PAGE 18 Robot Characters Certain races cannot be controlled by the players and are played solely by the computer. These are the robots. These characters are added to even the East and West sides arbitrarily when the game starts. Robots will tend to out number the player controlled counterparts as they are not as flexible in strategy, weapons, or spells. Race SH/AG/IQ AR MP Notes ------- -------- -- -- ------------------------------ Needler Bush 8/13/4 1 8 A) Thrown needles 1d-1 B) Can throw after charge Giant Amoeba 10/12/4 - 10 A) Amoeba Acid 1d+1 B) Can attempt hand combat Fire Spirit 15/13/5 - 10 A) Fire attack 3 points B) Makes fire terrain during attack C) Can attempt hand combat Phase Spider 11/14/7 - 10* A) Spider bite 1d B) Thrown spider web 1d-2 C) Can dual attack D) Phase shifts (teleports) Imp 13/15/9 - 10 A) Two fists 1d-2 each B) Permanently invisible C) Can dual attack D) Can steal your ready weapon E) Can disbelieve illusions F) Regenerates 1 SH per turn Slayer 12/13/10 2 12 A) Krill Pole Arm 1d+3 B) Krill missile weapon 2d C) Can disbelieve illusions D) Can dual attack E) SH 14 Fist (1d-1) Behemoth 35/12/6 2 8 A) Cavenous Craw 2d+4 B) Crush 3d+1 C) Can dual attack D) Can attempt hand combat Evil Mage 20/18/15 - 6* A) Casts spells B) Has permanent "Missile Return" C) Regenerates 1 SH per turn (*) Phase Spider and Evil Mage movement is a teleport of limited range. The teleport or phase shift may be done at any time (when engaged, for example). PAGE 19 Needler Bush Tactics Basically, these bushes are stupid. They will come at you and pelt you with their needles until they are killed. Once they get within firing range they will slow down their movement (no more running). They will always avoid fire terrain, and will avoid caltrops if wounded. They will first shoot at whoever engages them, or failing that, the closest target (even if it is evading). They do not evade unless they have nothing to attack. Occasionally they will become wounded badly enough where they will start charging for the exit to escape (unless they are engaged). Giant Amoeba Tactics Another simple, brainless race. The Amoeba will come at you full steam and attack you until it is killed. Like the Needler, they will always avoid fire terrain and will avoid caltrops if wounded. Occasionally it will try to jump you (attempt hand combat). They usually do not repel anyone that attempts hand combat with them. They do not evade unless they have nothing to attack. These too will make for the exit if severely wounded (unless they are engaged). Fire Spirit Tactics Similar to Amoebas, Fire Spirits will come at you full steam. They will never avoid fire terrain (they are immune to it) and will only avoid caltrops if they are worse than half dead. They have but one thought: envelope you with flame. It's a barbecue, and you're the meat. When they get up to you they will continually try to get you into hand combat. Once in hand combat, you will be in for a hot time as the Fire Spirit's attack becomes 6 points damage and the fire terrain he creates will do an additional 3 points of damage, for a total of 9 points per turn. If they charge up to you, they will attack that turn with fire as they cannot attempt hand combat unless they shift (like everyone else). If you are strong enough to consistently repel their hand combat attempts, you can ignore them and the fire terrain they create (one per turn, where they are standing) can help you toast other foes. They are smart enough to evade when threatened with a death blow, and will make for the exit when severely damaged (unless they are engaged). PAGE 20 Phase Spider Tactics Things get tougher when you start seeing the Phase Spiders. They move quite differently from virtually all other robots. They have a limited range teleport they use to move (a "phase shift") and they do not have to stay engaged when they move. The exception to this is when they are in hand combat during which they cannot "phase shift". The "phase shift" movement makes them hard to corner, and they have a tendency to get behind you. They will generally avoid caltrops and fire terrain. Once suffering from heavy wounds they will make a "bee line" for the exit (although they will only be able to move 4 squares per turn). If they have no adjacent enemy, they will throw a caustic stream of web material at the closest target (even if it is evading). If they have an adjacent enemy they will generally attack it with their deadlier weapon (the bite), but will occasionally attack using only the web, or attack with both the web and the bite. They are smart enough to evade when threatened with a death blow, and will evade if they have no targets within range. Imp Tactics Imps can be deadly, but are generally a nuisance. The Imp's invisibility coupled with its regeneration makes it fairly difficult to kill (nearly an impossible task for a low experience character). The Imp will come at you full steam, and will not avoid fire terrain or caltrops unless it is suffering from wounds. The Imp has an annoying habit of stealing weapons. If you have enough armor (where the Imp's fists won't do much) or are just plain unlucky (about 1 turn out of 3) the Imp will try and swipe your ready weapon. If he succeeds in his attack, he will take your weapon and sling it (he won't be able to use it on you). If he has a weapon and is engaged, he will disengage if he can get out of all enemy front squares. He will attempt to take the weapon away (generally toward the exit) during movement and he will drop it as soon as he has an attack turn in which he is disengaged. If he does not try and take a weapon or get away with one, he will dual attack an adjacent target with both fists. The Imp is smart enough to evade when threatened with a death blow, and it will head for the exit when severely damaged (although it may regenerate and return to the fight). For Magi, the Imp may disbelieve illusions depending on how many there are present (1 illusion will be ignored, more illusions increase the chances of disbelief). PAGE 21 Slayer Tactics The Slayer can be very deadly, as he has a pole arm and knows how to charge and receive charge for double damage. The Slayer will come at you full steam until he is within shooting distance (about 25 squares), then slow down. He will then generally charge or shift. If he shifts and is disengaged he will use his Krill as a missile weapon and shoot the nearest target (even if it is evading). If he shifts and has a foe who charged up to him in his front, he will receive charge. If he charges up to a foe, he will impale the foe. If he shifts and does not have a charging foe, he will generally attack with either the Krill Bolt or Krill Stab (50% chance of either). The Slayer may dual attack if the conditions are favorable (the target is neither invisible, evasive, or a snake). The slayer will head for the exit if heavily damaged, and is smart enough to disengage if necessary to get there. The Krill weapon can be dropped, and if the Slayer losses his Krill he will make an effort to recover it (including disengaging if necessary). If he has no Krill and cannot disengage or pick one up, the Slayer will attack with a right cross (his fist). Like Imps, the Slayer may disbelieve illusions depending on how many there are present (1 illusion will be ignored, more illusions increase the chances of disbelief). Behemoth Tactics Behemoths are simple but effective. They always come at you full steam, and plan on eating you for lunch. They only evade if they have no enemy to attack. They only avoid fire terrain or caltrops if they are mostly dead. They will usually attack with their craw, but will occasionally (1 out of 3) attack with their crush. Behemoths will sometimes (1 out of 6) dual attack using the craw and crush provided the target is not hard to hit. In addition, Behemoths will sometimes attempt hand combat with their target. If severely wounded, a Behemoth will make for the exit, although they have been known to wander around it without exiting, serving as a guard. PAGE 22 Evil Mage Tactics The Evil Mage is the most deadly and most cunning of the robots. As such, his tactics are far more varied than the other robots. Therefore, this paragraph will attempt to define only the basics, and not the total package as it would become too complicated (and detract from the challenge of the game). The Evil Mage moves in a manner similar to the Phase Spider, but instead of heading for you the Evil Mage heads for the nearest strongest robot (typically a Behemoth). The Evil Mage's primary function is to boost the Behemoths capability. It can do this by (1) giving the Behemoth additional agility points (see Agility Magic spell), (2) speeding the Behemoth (see Magic Speed spell), and (3) give the Behemoth a Death Sword (a SH:30 5d+5 slashing weapon which you can have provided you can get it away from the Behemoth). Secondary to boosting the Behemoth is killing you. This can be accomplished by a couple of ways: Psychic Blast and Drain Life (which is limited to 2d damage). Which one the Evil Mage chooses will depend on how many are close to death and how close they are. In addition, the Evil Mage will attempt to thwart you. He does this by using Dazzle, Lose Weapon, Clumsiness, or Curse Armor spells. He will dazzle if three or more of your party can see him and are not already dazzled. Lastly, he will attempt to keep himself alive. This will sometimes require a Drain Life to boost his SH back up. For self preservation he can (1) armor himself with Steel Flesh, (2) Teleport, or (3) Teleport you Away (remember that he has constant Missile Return which makes him immune to being targeted by spells, missile weapons, and thrown weapons, and he regenerates 1 SH every turn). He is smart enough to evade when threatened with a death blow, and will head for the exit when severely wounded. In addition, the Evil Mage has much better target selection than the other robots. The Evil Mage will target someone he can kill AND hit and will generally NOT target the closest enemy, or an enemy that is evading. Terrain Eight types of terrain exist: open, fire, pit, caltrops, wall, shadow, exit, and the Altar Of Life. Open terrain is shown as a patch of dots. Fire terrain is shown as spiked waves. Pit terrain is shown as a rounded box with lines in one corner. Caltrops are shown as three spiked stars. Wall terrain is shown as brick. Shadow terrain is shown as a sponge. The exit is shown as a door. The Altar Of Life is shown as a box with a cross on it. Some types of terrain make you harder to see or can hurt you. All terrain damage and "to hit" penalties are cumulative. A character standing in two fires will be harder to shoot at and will take twice the normal fire damage at the end of the turn. Armor does not protect against terrain damage. Fire : Fires may be crossed or entered. A character ending the turn standing on a fire will take 3 points of damage. In addition, missile attacks obstructed by fire are penalized for the lack of visibility... -1 to hit per fire. PAGE 23 Pit : May not be crossed or entered. The exception to this is the troll, who may move freely in and out of pits without falling down. Another exception is the shield rush which may be used to force an enemy to fall into a pit. Falling down in a pit causes 4 points of damage. Going into hand combat with a troll causes pit damage also, as both parties will be going "prone" or falling down. Caltrops : Like fire, the caltrops terrain can be crossed or entered. A character ending the turn on caltrops takes damage (2 points). Caltrops do not obstruct missile attacks (bow shots). Wall : Walls are impervious... they cannot be entered, passed through, or shot through. Walls are not a natural form of terrain and are created by magic users. If a Wall is created on a square with a pit the Wall and Pit cancel each other, leaving open terrain. Shadow : This form of terrain is a magical enchantment. The purpose of Shadow is purely defensive. Shadow may be entered or passed through. Anyone standing in Shadow is invisible and may not be targeted by bow or thrown weapons. In addition, attacks against a person in Shadow are -2 to hit. Shooting through Shadow receives a -4 to hit penalty per shadow. Shadow does not cause damage. Exit : Using the exit can allow you to escape death (and keep your accumulated experience). Ending the turn standing on an exit will get the character out of the game. The game starts with one exit along the center North or South wall of the map. Being forced onto an exit will also cause the character to leave the game. Altar Of Life : When a player character is killed he becomes a pile of bones. The bones may be picked up by another player character and dropped on the Altar Of Life to resurrect the dead character. To drop the bones on the Altar, get adjacent to the Altar with a shift or shuffle move holding the "bones" in your ready hand and use the "throw" option. Respond with a "n" to the query to throw the bones at a target until all targets are exhausted and the query "Do you wish to drop the bones..." appears. Answer "y" to start the selection of the adjacent square to drop the bones in. Answer "y" when the bones are shown over the Altar. The resurrected player will have a 20% penalty applied to his experience points for having died (the resurrection process is imperfect). The resurrected character will appear in a random location near the Altar with no weapons, no armor, and little strength (SH 3). Also note that you do not have to resurrect the dead character the game he or she is killed: the bones will keep returning to the arena in future games until they are resurrected. PAGE 24 Starting The following is a representation of the Gladiator display just after hitting a key to get past the welcome message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Make character Load character switch to East View hi-scores view mY scores Your choice? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The area with dots in it is the arena and the bottom five lines are used for menus (as above), messages, and simulated dice throwing. The arena area is a top view: you are looking down onto the arena from a vantage point in the sky. The arena consists of a grid of squares (denoted with one dot per square above, but in the game each square is a patch of dots). Each square holds one character or item of terrain. PAGE 25 Menus The primary Gladiator user interface is by multiple-choice menus in the message area (the area below the arena). Each menu choice has a single capitalized letter which selects it. This letter is high-lighted for easy reading. A menu choice is confirmed with an "enter" or "return" key press. To negate a selection during "Confirm" any keys but the menu letter for that selection and return will result in the selection being aborted. In this way you can type the menu letter (such as V for View hi-scores) many times and then confirm with a return key press. Here is the initial menu once again: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Make character Load character View hi-scores Restore game Quit | - - - - - | | | Your choice? | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------' The player then presses the "m" key... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Make character Load character View hi-scores Restore game Quit | - - - - - | | | Confirm "Make character"? (return) | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------' The player then presses the enter or return key... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Name: 000 SH: (12) 12 Ready: Broadsword ___On Ground___ | Race: Human AG: (12) 11 Also : Spike Shield | Team: West 0> IQ: 8 Slung: Crossbow | Exp : 0 MP: 10 - Slung: | AR: 2 / 0 Armor: Clothes <more>| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------' At this point, a new character has been created. The starting character created is a Human with average attributes, weapons, and armor. In addition, the character will have to be named as the default name (the 000 above) will not be accepted. PAGE 26 More Interface In most gladiator messages the information on the screen will be displayed until the player is done looking at it. In this case the "<more>" box will appear in the bottom right corner indicating that Gladiator is waiting for you to finish reading. When you have finished reading press a key. In some instances, special keys may be used to determine what is displayed next (like the "weapon info", "spell info", and "look around" menu choices). In these cases the space bar causes the information to cycle. The return key or 'q' will usually terminate a cycling set of messages. Plus, minus, or tab will usually work, with the minus key going backwards, the plus key going one forwards, and the tab key advancing five ahead. View Stats Display This message display is shown when you use the "show character" or "view stats" menu options. Unless you use magic, you may only view your own characters. The cursor is placed on the character being featured. --------------------------------------------------------------------. Name: Grim SH: (11) 9 Ready: Mace ___On Ground___| Race: Human AG: (13) 12 Also : Shield Shadow | Team: West G> IQ: 8 Slung: Dagger ... | Exp : 0 MP: 10 - Slung: Short Bow | AR: 0 / 0 Armor: Clothes Spear | --------------------------------------------------------------------' This display is private because it shows exact status which would not be apparent from just looking at the character. The numbers in parenthesis are the normal values and the numbers to the right are the current adjusted values. The current values reflect the effects of wounds, armor, and magic. In the example Grim has taken 2 SH (strength/health) points of wound damage. Grim's AG (agility) is reduced by one because he is wearing his shield. Set up One character at a time is created or loaded and is to be set up for combat. A choice of available weapons and armor is given and the player may arrange those to prepare for the start of combat. Any time a character is not being created or loaded the characters currently set up may be viewed or removed from the team (using the "dump character" option). PAGE 27 Phases Once you select "Begin Game" the game will start. The computer will lay out random fire terrain, pit terrain, and locate an exit. The computer will create a group of robots for you to fight. Each game turn consists of three phases: Incentive Phase : Someone gets to decide who moves first Movement Phase : First team moves, Second team moves Actions Phase : Each character takes action in AG order The first phase is skipped if one team (East or West) cannot move (either prone or unconscious). In addition, terrain effects are applied immediately after the last phase (actions). Incentive Phase You and the computer will each "roll" a die for incentive. Whichever team gets the higher number gets to choose who moves their players first. If the numbers are equal Gladiator arbitrates which team gets the incentive. Gladiator gives the incentive to West on even turns, East on odd turns (when the rolls tie). The computer always chooses to move last (provided it wins the incentive). Dice Simulated six-sided die throwing is common in Gladiator. Gladiator "rolls" the die on the screen and the user presses a key to stop the rolling. The die is actually rolled one last time after a key is pressed so the outcome cannot be anticipated. ------------------------------------------------------------------. Roll WEST team incentive <space bar> .-----. | |* *| | | * | | |* *| | `-----' | ------------------------------------------------------------------' Looking Around This message display is shown when you select the "look around" menu option. Looking Around is available in both the Movement and Action phases and can help you plan your moves and actions. The cursor is placed on the character being featured. Hitting the space bar or plus key will cycle through all the characters in the arena (or you can select the one you want by left mouse button clicking it). Press the enter or return key when done. PAGE 28 --------------------------------------------------------------------. Grim Ready: Mace Slung: #Crossbow Shadow | West Also : Shield Slung: Dagger ... | Human Armor: Clothes Short Bow | Charged Spear | Space, +, -, Tab, Return: done | --------------------------------------------------------------------' Ready refers to the weapon that the character has ready to use. Also refers to a weapon that the character has in addition to his primary or Ready weapon that may be used in some special cases. Slung weapons are two weapon holsters that are used to hold weapons not ready for use. The option to change weapons allows the character to switch from a long bow for attacking at a distance to a sword for close-in hacking. The numbers 1 and 2 for the "Slung" items are used to distinguish between the slung items when changing weapons. The top "Slung" is number 1, and the bottom is number 2. #Crossbow shows that the crossbow has been fired and needs to be reloaded. Crossbows must be loaded to be fired and take a turn or more to reload. The "#" in front of the crossbow shows that the crossbow is unloaded and may not be used to attack. The stuff along the right margin indicates that the player is standing in a square that has items or terrain in it. The terrain or top weapon is shown on the arena in the event there is more than a single item in the square. When a character is standing on a square with terrain or weapons the items will show up in the "looking around" display. A maximum of three items are shown on the display although more may be in the square. The top item in the square is shown on the top. The bottom item is shown on the bottom. If more than three items are in the square the items between the top and bottom items are represented by dots in the middle. In the example above, the character is standing in shadow terrain and a Short Bow and Spear are on the bottom of the pile. Three unknown items are between the Short Bow and the Shadow (the three dots). In addition to the above displayed items, the words "Prone," "HandC," or "Dazed" may be displayed. These indicate the following: Prone : the character is flat on the ground or otherwise disabled. HandC : the character is in Hand Combat with an enemy or enemies. Dazed : the character is suffering a reduced agility due to wounds. Movement Phase Each player character is moved one at a time in the order of the fastest player to the slowest player (highest MP to lowest MP). All of one team is moved before the other team moves (which team moves first is based on who won the incentive). A player is given movement choices based on whether or not he is prone, engaged with an enemy, or out in the open. The distance a character moves will determine which options are open... the shorter distance a character moves the more he will be able to do during the actions phase. PAGE 29 Movement Interface -----------------------------------------------------------------. Moves Left[10] ^C < Conan > | Arrows = Move Player 'R' = Rotate (change facing) | 'J' = Jump Esc = Start Over Return = Finished | | -----------------------------------------------------------------' As an arrow key is pressed the player is moved on the arena and the number of moves is reduced. When the number of moves is zero the arrow keys will have no effect. At this point the player may 'R' rotate, 'ESC' escape (start over), or 'Return'. Rotate and escape may be used at any time. Rotate will change the character's facing. If the character is invisible or prone the character's facing may be determined by looking at the character graphic shown between the "moves left" and the character's name. Hitting the escape key will put the character back in his original position and facing so the move can be started again. Pressing the return or enter key confirms the move and ends the character's movement. Every square is counted as it is entered. Stepping forward and then back will reduce the moves left by 2 (as opposed to not reducing the moves left at all). Moves left will also be affected by entering an enemy's front square (becoming "engaged"). In this case, moves left is reduced immediately to zero indicating the character's attention is riveted on the enemy at this point. In this case, the player may wish to start the move over and side-step the enemy to get around his front squares. It is generally a good idea to use the escape key and try-out several moves. Jump Movement Option Movement has the option 'J' for jumping (theoretically to be used to jump over pits or jump over people but any square may be jumped). The Jump can be useful for bypassing obstacles. The jump moves the character the direction he is facing two squares costing three movement points. The first square is jumped over and may contain "unenterable" terrain such as a wall or another player. The option works provided you have at least 3 moves left to expend and the landing square is enterable. The direction jumped is the direction the character is currently facing. The next or adjacent square is "jumped over" and the character lands in the second square away. Moves left is decremented by 3 for every jump. Jumping a pit will save one movement point compared to running around a pit (the "#" character): . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Going . . C># 4 . . . . . Jumping . . C># 3 . . . . Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 30 Action Phase Actions are done in current agility order regardless of side. Current or adjusted agility means the AG after the effects of wounds, armor, and magic. Agile characters get to act first, and slow characters act last. What action can be taken is determined by how little time was used moving. If the player moved a great distance (running) then no time is left for an action. If the player waits then all actions are available (unless prone). Keeping this in mind the player will only go as far as a charge when he wants to attack with a hand weapon, as far as a shuffle when he wants to change weapons or throw a weapon, and up to a shift when he wants to shoot a bow or cast a spell. .--------. .----------------------. |TYPE OF | |Maximum Number of | AVAILABLE ACTION OPTIONS |MOVEMENT| | Squares Moved | ______________________________ `--------' `----------------------' / \ WAIT No movement. | STAND |(*) | ___________________________ SHIFT 1 square and 1 Facing(+) | / \ | | CAST MAGIC SPELL | | | DISENGAGE | | | SHOOT BOW | | | SHOOT CROSSBOW |(*) | | RECEIVE CHARGE |(=) | | TRY HAND COMBAT | | | _________________________ SHUFFLE 2 squares | | / \ | | | THROW WEAPON/DROP NEARBY| | | | IMPALE |(=) | | | SHIELD RUSH | | | | CHANGE WEAPON/SHIELD | | | | RELOAD CROSSBOW |(*) | | | _______________________ CHARGE 1/2 MP squares | | | / \ | | | | ATTACK |($) | | | | EVADE |(~) | | | | DROP/PICKUP WEAPON | | | | |DISBELIEVE/ZAP ILLUSION| | | | | GO PRONE | | | | | _____________________ | | | | / \ RUN MP squares | | | | | DO NOTHING |(*) \___\__\__\__\_____________________/ (*) When you are prone this is all you can do. (+) Changing your facing is limited on a SHIFT when you are engaged. ($) Attack also includes the options of Slash, Shield Attack, Dual Attack, Impale, and Shield Rush. (~) Evasion causes all incoming attacks to be rolled on four dice instead of three (making it more difficult to be hit). (=) Receiving a charge or impale only applies to those players that have a ready pole arm. With Impale the player must move 2+ squares. With Receive the player must Shift or less. These options do double damage. Receive is +2 to hit a charging enemy. PAGE 31 Movement Explained WAIT or SHIFT (Always) During this turn the player did not move at all or moved one square during movement phase. During a SHIFT an engaged player will not be allowed to "about face" his facing. During actions phase the player has the full range of options open. This does not mean he may do any option he chooses. The player will be presented with only those options that make sense for his given situation (for example: no shooting unless you have a loaded bow of some kind). This is true at all times. SHUFFLE (when not engaged) During this turn the player could have changed facing and moved up to two squares. During actions phase the player will have a reduced range of options if he moved the full two squares. On the other hand he must move the full two squares if he wishes to establish "charging" status. Charging is required for the "shield rush" and "impale" options. Moving two squares (the minimum for "charging" status) will also entitle an enemy to the "receive charge" option (provided they choose to face you, have done no more than a shift, and have a ready pole arm). If the two squares are moved, the player will not be able to shoot, disengage, cast, or attempt hand combat. CHARGE (when not engaged) During this turn the player could have moved up to one-half his MP in squares. During actions phase the player will have a reduced range of options depending on how many squares he travels. If he travels none or one square, the move is considered a SHIFT (see above). If he travels two squares the move is considered a SHUFFLE (see above). If he travels more than two squares, he will have the reduced options of a SHUFFLE plus he may no longer reload, get a slung weapon, or throw a weapon. He is able to swap "ready" and "also" weapons and or pickup or drop weapons with the DROP/PICKUP WEAPON option. RUN (when not engaged) During this turn the player could have moved up to his full MP in squares. During actions phase the player will have a reduced range of options depending on how far he actually moved. If he moves less than or equal to half his movement see CHARGE above. Moving more than half of your MP allowance consumes your turn completely and no options will be available in the actions phase. Engaged : A player is engaged when he is standing in an enemy's front square. When engaged, a player must remain adjacent to all engaging enemies and may only use Shift or Wait moves. PAGE 32 Actions Explained STAND (Always) This action is a "do nothing" provided the character is not "prone." If he is prone, he will "stand up" by taking this option. If he is not prone he "waits" with this option. Standing up from a prone position will allow the character to change his facing with the restrictions of a SHIFT (if engaged, no "about face"). CAST MAGIC SPELL (shift or less) This action requires a shift or wait move. A spell is successful if you roll your AG or less on the dice with any "to hit" modifications applied. In addition, a spell cannot be attempted without sacrificing some strength points. See Spells. DISENGAGE (shift or less) This option is open to those that have shifted or waited. This option is used to retreat (and stand up if prone) from combat. For a successful disengage from hand combat the player must make a roll of his AG or less. If successful the player is allowed to move one square (exception: Orcs can disengage 2 squares). SHOOT BOW or SHOOT CROSSBOW (shift or less) This action is open to those characters that have moved one square or no squares and have a ready bow weapon. A crossbow must be loaded to shoot (no "#" in front of the name "Crossbow"). In addition, an enemy target must be to the front of the firing character. Crossbows may be fired and loaded while prone. Firing a crossbow prone gives a +2 to hit bonus for added accuracy. When selecting a bow target, you will be given a message "shoot at ..." for each possible target on the map. Enter "y" for your desired target. Enter "n" or hit the space bar to go to the next target. You may also select your target by clicking it with the left mouse button. If you enter "n" to the last target (the bottom right one) then the shot will be aborted and the action menu will be redisplayed. RECEIVE CHARGE (shift or less) This option is open to players that have an enemy that charges them and the player is holding a pole arm. This option reflects bracing the pole arm butt against the ground and receiving the enemy charge with the pole arm blade. If the enemy moves 2+ squares he is considered to be going fast enough. Receive charge gives the player +2 to hit bonus and does double damage on a hit. TRY HAND COMBAT (shift or less) Hand combat (a deadly form of wrestling) is initiated by this option and is successful if the defender chooses to be in hand combat or fails a roll to repel the attacker. The roll made to repel a hand combat attempt is against the defender's AG modified by the difference in strengths of the attacker and defender. When hand combat is initiated any weapons in "ready" or "also" are dropped. See Hand Combat. PAGE 33 THROW WEAPON/DROP NEARBY (shuffle or less) This option allows the player to throw his ready weapon at a target he is facing. Range affects the ability to hit by -1 to hit per square. Another single handed weapon will automatically be readied after a throw. The new weapon will be the first found in the order of "slung" (top), "slung" (bottom), and "also". If you do not throw (say "n" to all targets) you can place the ready item on an adjacent square (see Caltrops). IMPALE (shuffle or more) This option is open is to players with a ready pole arm that move 2 or more squares. Similar to Receive Charge, the attack does double damage if it hits. This reflects the ability of a piercing weapon to do great damage when enough momentum is applied. SHIELD RUSH (shuffle or more) This option is open to players that have a ready shield. The Shield Rush is just like a Shield Attack except the player has a +2 to hit bonus and the defender has a -2 fall down penalty. If the player hits, the defender must roll to keep from falling down. The roll is his agility or less modified by the difference of the attacker and defender's strength. If the defender falls down the attacker is allowed to choose the adjacent square the defender falls in (possibly a pit or fire terrain). CHANGE WEAPON/SHIELD (shuffle or less) This option allows the player to move his weapons around, pick weapons up, or drop weapons. Shields are treated as weapons. RELOAD CROSSBOW (shuffle or less) This options allows the player to reload a unloaded crossbow. This may be done while prone. ATTACK (charge or less) This option is open to a player with a ready hand weapon (or natural weapon such as Fists). An attack will hit if the total of three dice equals to or is less than the attacker's agility. This "to hit" roll may be adjusted by a variety of modifiers such as facing (attacking from the rear or a prone opponent), being dazed, attacking an invisible target, or attacking in hand combat. The purpose of Attack is to damage or kill the enemy. If the to hit roll is successful, the attacking weapon damage is applied to the enemy's SH minus enemy armor (see Wounds). Slash Attack (charge or less) Slashing is a form of attack in which the attacker can attack all enemies in his front squares. The attacker must have a slashing type weapon (sword or axe) ready. The defenders are attacked in clockwise order. The first defender is attacked at -2 to hit. The following defenders (up to five total targets) are attacked at -4 to hit. Shield Attack (shift or less) This is identical to a Shield Rush but is less effective (no +2 to hit bonus and no -2 fall down penalty). When moving more than a square this option becomes the Shield Rush. PAGE 34 Dual Attack (charge or less) This option is open to players that are not holding a two handed weapon. Any two opponents in the frontal area can be attacked (or an opponent can be attacked twice). The attacker chooses which enemy is attacked in what order. The first attack is with the ready weapon and is -2 to hit. The second attack uses the "also" weapon at -3 to hit. EVADE (charge or less) This option makes the player harder to hit by causing incoming attacks to roll "to hit" on four dice instead of three. This option reflects a defensive posture such as parrying or dodging. DROP/PICK UP WEAPON (charge or less) This becomes the Change Weapon option if the player moves 2 squares or less. Moving more than two squares limits the change weapon ability so that weapons cannot be slung. Any unslung weapon must be readied or left on the ground. Items can still be picked up or dropped. You must empty both hands (drop everything) before you will be able to unsling a weapon. DISBELIEVE/ZAP ILLUSION (charge or less) If a magical illusion is present and the "disbelieving" character successfully rolls his IQ or less on three dice the illusion is dispelled (removed from play). When multiple illusions are present the closest illusion is dispelled. If no illusions are present this action has no effect. GO PRONE (charge or less) This option is generally reserved for players with crossbows that want the prone +2 to hit bonus with a crossbow. Being prone is a disadvantage as it limits your options and makes you easy to hit. VIEW STATS (Always) This option costs nothing in terms of time or options. The stats display can be used to see how your weapons are situated or what your wounds are. LOOK AROUND (Always) Like "view-stats" this is free and may be used repeatedly before making your action. Looking around can tell you if someone has moved, has attacked, or when someone is going to move or attack. The order people are shown is the order they will take their turn in. See Looking Around. Gladiator will only offer the options available to the player at the time so it is not possible to break the rules. This makes Gladiator easier to play but does not relieve the need for written rules. Gladiator has many subtle strategies which become apparent only after careful observation. This is especially true in the actions phase when the options available are based on what has gone before. PAGE 35 Missile Obstacles Currently obstacles for missile weapons (bow shot or thrown objects) are characters, shadow squares, fires, walls, and the Altar Of Life. Each character or fire in the missile track is a -1 to hit penalty. Each shadow in the missile track is a -4 to hit penalty. Walls and the Altar Of Life block missile shots completely. Remember, you can only shoot at enemies you are facing. Wounds The following describes the effects of wounds. These effects are for most races (such as Humans). Other races can withstand more damage before being effected. Some races are immune to these effects. All the wound effects are cumulative but not additive. In other words a knocked down player will be dazed but additional 5 point or greater hits will not make the humanoid "dazed dazed" and will not further reduce his AG. Knocked Down : A single blow of 8 or more SH points will knock down a character. Prone characters may only WAIT, SHOOT CROSSBOW, or RELOAD. Some creatures cannot be knocked down (such as Amoebas). Dazed : A single blow of 5 or more SH points will "daze" a character. A dazed character will have a -2 AG penalty for his next action (be it this turn if he has not acted yet, or next turn if he has already acted). Permanently Dazed : A character that has his SH reduced to 3 or less is always dazed. In addition, the character will not be able to RUN. Unconscious : A character that has his SH reduced to 1 is virtually dead. He will collapse every turn until killed or the game ends. Some races regenerate SH points and will be able to return to play. Dead : A character that has his SH reduced to 0 or less is dead and is removed from play. This character loses any gained experience. Agility Rolls All agility rolls are limited so any attack may hit and may miss. This is done to avoid "automatic kills" and "automatic misses." A roll of 5 or less always hits. A roll of 16 or better always misses. In addition, a roll of 4 does double damage, a roll of 3 does triple damage, and a roll of 17 or 18 causes the attacker to drop his weapon (if the ready weapon is a hand weapon). PAGE 36 Dice Odds A test was done that involved duplicating the Gladiator die rolling for 10,000 rolls and recording the results to see the odds of making various agility rolls. The totals of each number was kept and the number of rolls required to make a certain AG "or less" roll calculated. The numbers reflect the number of rolls needed on average to make a specific AG roll. For example, a 5 or less is typically rolled once every 21 throws (3 dice). A 7 or less is rolled once every 6 rolls (3 dice). The exception to the reading method are the values above 15 which are numbers to miss due to the fact 16 or greater always misses. For example, a 16 or greater is rolled every 23 rolls and an 18 is rolled every 250 rolls causing the attacker to drop his weapon (3 dice). 1 in how 1 in how many rolls many rolls AG or less with 3 Dice with 4 Dice ----------- ----------- ------------ 3 200.00 4 49.26 1250.00 5 21.46 263.16 6 10.54 90.09 7 5.98 34.48 8 3.81 18.42 9 2.62 10.18 10 1.99 6.26 11 1.59 4.15 12 1.34 2.97 13 1.19 2.26 14 1.10 1.81 15 1.05 1.51 Miss or more 3 Dice 4 Dice ------------ -------- -------- 16 23.09 2.95 17 61.35 4.12 18 250.00 6.14 19 10.14 20 17.89 21 35.97 22 90.91 23 243.90 24 909.09 PAGE 37 Strategy Who Moves First Wining the choice of who moves first with the movement incentive roll can be significant. In most cases it is a good idea to let the enemy move first. This allows you to 1) see their final position before you make your move and 2) possibly run around behind them. Choosing to move first is generally reserved for catching enemies that are running away, running away, or charging attacks. Who Attacks First Attacks are in agility order but you can DECLINE and wait for the remaining characters to take an action. The last character in the "turn" is not allowed to decline. When the action turn is over the "declined" characters get to take actions in agility order. This is sometimes desirable to see what the other characters do, or to ensure that a possible daze or knock down will carry over into next turn. Evading Each character may act only once each turn and will typically act in adjusted AG order as stated above. The exception to this is the evade action. A character that is attacked may make a preemptive action to evade. In other words, any character that has not yet acted will be able to evade if he is capable of evading (movement and prone restrictions) at any time he is attacked and he wishes to do so. If he chooses to evade his action is "spent" and he will not be able to take other action. Evading is a good idea when you are the target of a pole arm double damage attack (impale or receive charge enemy actions). Evading can also be used to charge through enemy bow shots. Missiles Higher AG types are more effective with missiles as range and evasion can have a dramatic effect on the success of a missile attack. The range penalty for bows is -1 per 5 squares. The range penalty for thrown weapons is -1 per square. In addition thrown weapon range is limited to your SH in squares. Using a arrow type bow weapon is simple... stand and shoot as long as possible. Shuffle and switch weapons to a hand weapon that does your maximum SH bracket damage when the enemy is within charging distance. Arrows can be used against an enemy at any distance effectively but do less damage than hand weapons in the same SH bracket. PAGE 38 Crossbows do reasonable damage but have to be reloaded and can leave the user foolishly reloading or changing weapons when the enemy attacks. Careful planning and luck are needed to use a crossbow effectively. Generally, a character will only have time for one shot with a crossbow and will not take the time to reload it. If this is true the character will probably want to charge and go prone the first turn to close with the enemy and get the +2 "to hit" AG bonus for firing a crossbow prone. The character will then spend the next two turns after firing standing and changing weapons. When the character is ready to attack with his hand weapon the enemy has had a total of four turns to close the distance and attack. Crossbows cannot be relied on and will only occasionally hit. That hit however can deliver a telling blow and will help decide the fate of the combat. Thrown weapons are a dubious proposition indeed. These are generally reserved for disengaging enemies who keep stepping back before we can get a swing in. Two squares is about as far away as you want to get with a thrown weapon. In addition, throwing a weapon can leave you in a bad way if you have no secondary or slung one-handed weapons. Throwing will automatically ready a one-handed non-shield weapon from top "slung", bottom "slung", and the "also" weapon, in that order of precedence. If no weapons are left then the attacker will have to go pick something up. If only two-handed weapons or shields are left the attacker will have to take a turn to change weapons or pick something up. The attacker of course can always duke it out with fists but this is only effective for very high SH types (SH=17 fist does 1d+2, SH=11 or less does 1d-4). Hand Combat When an enemy can be attacked and the character moved none or one square (WAIT or SHIFT) then "try hand combat" is an option. Hand Combat is when two or more enemy characters are battling it out on the ground with fists or daggers. The prone bonus of +4 to hit is gained so all attacks are likely to hit (except in extremely poor AG cases). In addition, all damage inflicted is +3 points of damage. Hand Combat tends to do more damage in less time to both parties than in regular combat. Getting into hand combat with a creature is generally a mistake, especially with a bear. The bear will miss often swinging from a distance but he will likely tear your face off the first time he attacks in Hand Combat. PAGE 39 Hand Combat Attempt This option will always check to see if the opponent will repel you. The enemy may also choose not to repel you (in which case you may have made a mistake). If he does attempt to repel you, he will have to roll his AG or less on three dice with the additional modifier of the difference of his and your strengths. For example, "Thor" SH:16 AG:8 "June" SH:10 AG:14. Thor trys Hand Combat with June. June chooses to repel and has to roll a 14-(16-10) or 14-6 or 8 or less. If June attempted Hand Combat with Thor then Thor would have to roll an 8-(10-16) or 8+6 or 14 or less. The ability to enter or repel Hand Combat is heavily biased toward the strong. Bears often prefer Hand Combat and there is little humans can do to keep them off. The repel check does not cost the enemy his action and the enemy may attack, evade, or disengage in the same turn Hand Combat was started. In the event that you come on the opponent from the side or the rear, the facing bonus to hit is applied (+2 from the side and +3 from the rear). The bonus is applied as a penalty to the opponents repel roll. A hand combat attempt is automatic if the defender is already prone. Hand Combat Weapons When Hand Combat is successful the attacker as well as the defender drop any weapons they have in their ready or secondary hands. The exception to this is the dagger, which is kept. In addition, if a dagger is slung it will be readied. It is important then to remember if your strength gives you greater damage when using a fist than a dagger, DO NOT carry a dagger. It will jump into your hand irritatingly whenever someone enters Hand Combat with you. SH Fist Damage Dagger Damage Use ---- ------------- --------------- ------ 11 or less 1d-4 . dagger 12 1d-3 . dagger 13 1d-2 . dagger 14 ----- 1d-1 ----- 1d-1 either 15 1d . fist 16 1d+1 . fist 17 or more 1d+2 . fist Remember that damage in Hand Combat has 3 added to the above values. Hand Combat Disengage This option is available during Hand Combat when the character has not moved or evaded. The character will successfully disengage on a roll of his AG or less. If successful, the disengaging player will be able to stand up in an adjacent square. PAGE 40 Pole Arms These do less apparent damage than other weapons if you consider the weapons chart alone. In actuality the pole arms allow a character to do more damage in a single hit than any other type of weapon in the same SH bracket. This is possible with the IMPALE and RECEIVE_CHARGE actions which do double damage. On the other hand, the character will have to be particularly sly to take advantage of the double damage attacks on a regular basis. He will have to disengage often to get charging room or disengage and run so the enemy charges after him. The latter is more desirable as standing to receive a charge (a shift move) not only does double damage but gets a +2 "to hit" AG bonus. Note also that the larger pole arms can attack an opponent from a distance of two squares. This aids the "hit and run" pole arm strategy, making a very potent combination. Shield Attacks Shields can be used to damage an opponent and/or knock him down. If a shield hits it does damage to the defender (see the weapons table) and the defender has to roll to keep from falling down. The roll is against the defender's AG just like an attack roll but is adjusted by the difference in strengths of the attacker and defender. If the attacker is 2 SH stronger than the defender then the defender has a -2 AG penalty. If the attacker is 1 SH weaker than the defender the defender has a +1 AG bonus when rolling to keep standing. In addition, a shield rush (a shield only attack from a charge) gets a +2 AG "to hit" bonus for the attacker to hit with the shield and the defender gets a -2 AG penalty when rolling to keep standing. The attacker gets to move the defender one square (like a shift move) indicating the direction of the desired push. If the defender falls down he will fall down in that square. If not, the defender stays in his original square. Knocking down an opponent is useful in two cases in particular. 1) Gang attack scenario... one attacker knocks the defender down and other attackers pummel the prone defender at +4 AG "to hit". 2) Forced retreat scenario... the attacker uses the shield push to land the defender on inhospitable terrain... a fire or a pit. This is the only way someone can get into a pit (see Terrain for pit damage). PAGE 41 Dual Attacks The "Dual Attack" option is available when you do not have a two-handed weapon ready and you can attack. The second weapon attack is the "also ready" weapon which is a weapon, a shield, or a fist (no weapon in hand). This is generally the only way to use a shield to attack besides doing a shield rush. This is a way for a high AG type "black belt" to do a good bit of damage in a single turn. The first attack of a dual attack (which is the main weapon "ready") has a -2 AG penalty to hit. The second attack of a dual attack (which is the second weapon "also ready") has a -3 AG penalty to hit. This method is not to be used by low AG type "barbarians" unless they are getting a facing bonus such as attacking the defender from the rear. Also to be avoided against creatures that do not have enough SH left to warrant both weapons. Of course, this is only an issue provided the difference between a single attack and a dual attack is the difference between maybe hitting (10 or less) and missing twice (7 and 6 or less). If the AG is reduced to 5 or less the attacker may as well dual attack due to the fact the AG penalties are nullified by the "5 or less always hits" limit. Example Characters .--------------------------. | KHAN the HUN | `--------------------------' Human SH: 11 AR: - / - Long Bow 1d+1 AG: 13 Spear 1d+1 MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 Hit and run tactics. Shoot from afar as long as possible, switch to spear when the enemy closes. Stand and receive enemy charge or charge enemy for double damage with spear. Disengage enemy to get distance for another charge. Continue spear charge and disengage in alternating turns. Moving first after disengaging is the key to success because Khan must move at least 2 squares (back up then charge forward) to get the double damage pole arm bonus. This will not be possible if the enemy moves first and steps forward one to engage Khan again. PAGE 42 Khan as an Orc... SH: 11 AR: 1 / 1 Spear 1d+1 AG: 12 Long Bow 1d+1 MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 Emphasize the spear attack as the reduced agility will make the bow tactic suffer. Natural armor supports this also. Khan as an Elf... SH: 11 AR: - / - Long Bow 1d+1+1 AG: 12(13) Spear 1d+1 MP: 12 Dagger 1d-1 Emphasize bow attack. If the enemy is slow enough consider running from arena side to arena side to keep out of engagement. If the enemy is in plate mail and his MP is 6, running across the arena will leave Khan two turns to fire before the enemy catches up. In addition, avoiding the spear will make an Elven Khan as good as a Human one as far as AG and better in terms of damage. Khan as a Goblin... SH: 7 AR: - / - Long Bow 1d+1 AG: 12 Spear 1d+1 MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 Stick with the bow and don't risk closing with the enemy (in other words, don't get hit). Evade when attacked. Winning your first combat will likely advance the Goblin Khan a point of SH and AG at once. At this point he could have a variety of options... 1. Get a flail instead of the spear. No x2 pole arm damage but it negates an opponents shield. Wear a leather tunic to help fend off the opponents blows. 2. Get a crossbow in place of the dagger. Fire once then switch back to the long bow. .--------------------------. | SLAYER the GLADIATOR | `--------------------------' Human SH: 10 AR: 1 / - Trident 1d AG: 14 Buckler 1d-3 MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 In and out charge attacks. Similar to Khan when he uses his spear but able to make up for the lack of double damage on turns when the enemy gets to move first by making a dual attack. In addition, the shield attack will occasionally knock an opponent down and possibly into a fire or a pit (see SHIELD RUSH). Slayer is better equipped to handle close fighting as the shield's protection will make Slayer's SH look inflated by one point every hit when compared to Khan in the same situation. PAGE 43 Slayer as an Orc... SH: 10 AR: 2 / 1 Trident 1d AG: 13 Buckler 1d-3 MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 The Orc's natural armor will make the Orc Slayer better than a Human one if the incoming attacks are many and light damage (such as another Slayer character as an enemy). .--------------------------. | GIMLI the DWARF | `--------------------------' Dwarf SH: 14 AR: - / - Battle Axe 2d+2+1 AG: 9 (10) Battle Axe 2d+2+1 MP: 8 Battle Axe 2d+2+1 Three Battle Axes? That's because a dwarf gets +1 to hit and +1 damage with hammers and axes even if they are thrown. So don't be afraid to SHUFFLE / THROW one turn and SHIFT / TRY-HAND-COMBAT the next. With a SH of 14 Gimli's fists are as good as daggers. He can dual attack in Hand Combat with AG: 11 and AG: 10 for 1d-1+3 or 1d+2 per fist (2d+4 per turn if he gets lucky). .--------------------------. | THUNDAR the BARBARIAN | `--------------------------' Human SH: 13 AR: 3 / - Morning Star 2d AG: 11(10) Large Shield MP: 10 Dagger 1d-1 Thundar is a gladiator killer. He likes to close with weak shield carrying types. The morning star negates the effect of the enemy shield and the resulting damage can knock the enemy down spelling his doom. He also likes to shield rush weak enemies or weak creatures into pits and fire. Thundar CHARGEs Slayer and does a SHIELD-RUSH... AG: 12 or less to hit, if he hits Slayer has to roll an 8 or less to stay upright and out of the pit. PAGE 44 Hi-Scores The high scores listing shows the characters in order of highest experience points. The character name and current attributes are shown. Additional columns show if the character has been killed (RIP) or how long the character has been without playing a game (relative to the other characters that played last). The high scores list will drop characters who have a "games rested" count of 50 or more. This allows characters that go into retirement to fade from the picture. In addition, characters that have "break outs" are exempt from being included in the high scores list. A "break out" happens when a player does not complete a game (such as quitting). This could also happen if you save a game and start another with the character who is in the saved game. Be sure and finish any saved games before starting new ones unless you are absolutely sure the characters you will use in the new game are not in the saved game. The break out status shows as a "B#" in the right margin of a character's stats. If you wish to reset the break out status on a character, look for an extra text file in the "Gladiator!" directory for instructions. Cheats! With a little experience with Gladiator, you will certainly learn how to succeed. If you are not patient, then read the following for a recipe that will ensure victory (sounds like cheating, doesn't it?). For starters: Make a Goblin with Agility 13 and the biggest single handed weapons he can carry (four Axes would be perfect). Make a couple of snakes. Use the snakes to tie up the enemy while you charge around behind them and dual attack. Stay safe and disengage to keep from getting hit if an enemy manages to face you. When starting the turn adjacent to the enemy, move first to back away. When starting the turn away from the enemy, let the enemy move first and charge in behind them. Have any snake that is attacked evade. Goblins advance so quickly that you will be able to carry bigger axes and have a greater agility after winning your first battle. Repeat this strategy for one more battle. To get ready for bigger things: You will need a Mage to help your Goblin do battle with the truly nasty things (Evil Magi). Make a mage, set his SH to 9, his agility to 13, and his IQ to 10. Load him up with staffs. Get the spells "Illus. Wolf" and "Snake Staff" in addition to any others you want. Keep using "Illus. Wolf" until you run out of SH for the spell. By this time you should have a pack of wolves. Beware of Imps and Slayers, as they can disbelieve. If this happens, either wait until they are close (they rather fight than disbelieve, usually), or make snakes to cover a retreat to the exit. Repeat this strategy until Slayers and Imps keep showing up. PAGE 45 Teaming up: When you team up your Goblin and Mage you will probably be seeing one or more Behemoths. These you treat with respect. Load up the Goblin with a big slashing weapon, a big pole arm, and a bow. Start the game with the Goblin shooting the bow and the Mage making wolves or snakes. If a Behemoth shows, have the Goblin switch to the pole arm when the Behemoth gets half way to you. If not, have the Goblin switch to the slashing weapon when they get close. Have your Mage put magic armor on the Goblin if the Goblin is going to be slashing. Do not engage a Behemoth: use the pole arm to impale him from two squares distance. Want more hints? Questions? Suggestions? Send me some GEnie mail, I am addressed as BLANKENSHI (internet mail: blankenshi@genie.geis.com). PAGE 46 APPENDIX #Crossbow.........................................28 2H................................................5 AG................................................3 AG Modifier.......................................7 AR................................................3 AR/MP.............................................10 ATTACK............................................33 Action Phase......................................30 Actions Explained.................................32 Adjustable Spells.................................14 Agility Magic.....................................13 Agility Rolls.....................................35 Also..............................................28 Altar Of Life.....................................23 Armor.............................................6 Attributes........................................3 Bear..............................................9 Behemoth..........................................18,21 Bow...............................................5 CAST MAGIC SPELL..................................32 CHANGE WEAPON/SHIELD..............................33 CHARGE............................................30,31 Caltrops..........................................23 Cheats!...........................................44 Clumsiness........................................13 Create Exit.......................................15 Create Fire.......................................15 Create Pit........................................15 Create Shadow.....................................15 Create Wall.......................................15 Creatures.........................................10 Curse Armor.......................................13 DISBELIEVE/ZAP ILLUSION...........................34 DISENGAGE.........................................32 DROP/PICK UP WEAPON...............................34 Damage............................................6 Damage Taken......................................7 Dazed.............................................28,35 Dazzle............................................16 Dead..............................................35 Dice..............................................27 Dice Odds.........................................36 Disclaimer........................................2 Drain Life........................................12 Drain Life II.....................................12 Drop Weapon.......................................13 Dual Attack.......................................34 Dual Attacks......................................41 Dwarf.............................................9 ESP Stats.........................................16 PAGE 47 EVADE.............................................34 Elf...............................................9 Engaged...........................................31 Evading...........................................37 Evil Mage.........................................18,22 Example Characters................................41 Exit..............................................23 Experience........................................11 Facing............................................7 Fighter Spells....................................17 Fire..............................................22 Fire Spirit.......................................18,19 Fireball..........................................12 GO PRONE..........................................34 Gargoyle..........................................9 Giant Amoeba......................................18,19 Giant Beetle......................................9 Giant Scorpion....................................9 Goblin............................................9 Hammer/Axe........................................5 Hand Combat.......................................38 Hand Combat Attempt...............................39 Hand Combat Disengage.............................39 Hand Combat Weapons...............................39 HandC.............................................28 Heal-Strength.....................................13 Hi-Scores.........................................44 Human.............................................9 IMPALE............................................33 IQ................................................3 Illusion Spells...................................14 Image.............................................16 Imp...............................................20,18 Incentive Phase...................................27 Introduction......................................2 Invisibility......................................13 Iron Flesh........................................13 Jump..............................................29 Knocked Down......................................35 LOOK AROUND.......................................34 Lightning.........................................12 Lightning II......................................12 Lightning III.....................................12 Looking Around....................................27 Lose Weapon.......................................13 MP................................................7,3 Mage..............................................9 Mage Weapons......................................12 Magic Bolt........................................12 Magic Missile.....................................12 Magic Speed.......................................13 Menus.............................................25 Min SH............................................7 PAGE 48 Missile Obstacles.................................35 Missile Return....................................13 Missile Spells....................................12 Missiles..........................................37 More Interface....................................26 Movement Explained................................31 Movement Interface................................29 Movement Phase....................................28 Needler Bush......................................18,19 No Shield.........................................5 Orc...............................................9 Other Special Spells..............................16 Permanently Dazed.................................35 Phase Spider......................................20,18 Phases............................................27 Pit...............................................23 Pit Fortress......................................15 Pit Trench........................................15 Player Characters.................................3 Pole Arm..........................................5 Pole Arms.........................................40 Prone.............................................28 Psychic Blast.....................................16 RECEIVE CHARGE....................................32 RELOAD CROSSBOW...................................33 RUN...............................................31,30 Race..............................................9 Ready.............................................28 Ring of Fire......................................13 Robot Characters..................................18 SH................................................3,5 SH/AG Min.........................................10 SH/AG/IQ Base.....................................10 SH/AG/IQ Max......................................10 SHIELD RUSH.......................................33 SHIFT.............................................30,31 SHOOT BOW.........................................32 SHOOT CROSSBOW....................................32 SHUFFLE...........................................31,30 STAND.............................................32 Set up............................................26 Shadow............................................23 Shadow Wall.......................................15 Shield Attack.....................................33 Shield Attacks....................................40 Slash.............................................5 Slash Attack......................................33 Slayer............................................21,18 Slung.............................................28 Snake.............................................9 Snake Staff.......................................16 Special Spells....................................14 Spell Duration....................................14 PAGE 49 Spells............................................12 Starting..........................................24 Steel Flesh.......................................13 Stone Flesh.......................................13 Strategy..........................................37 Summon Spells.....................................14 THROW WEAPON/DROP NEARBY..........................33 TRY HAND COMBAT...................................32 Teleport..........................................13 Teleport Away.....................................13 Terrain...........................................22 Terrain Spells....................................15 The Manual........................................2 Throw.............................................5 Thrown Spells.....................................13 Troll.............................................9 Unconscious.......................................35 VIEW STATS........................................34 View Stats........................................26 WAIT..............................................30,31 Wall..............................................23 Wall Fortress.....................................15 Wall Line.........................................15 Wall of Fire......................................15 Weapon Capacity...................................6 Weapons...........................................4 Who Attacks First.................................37 Who Moves First...................................37 Wolf..............................................9 Wounds............................................35