Gladiatorial Games for 4e?

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

coyote_hood

Feb 08, 2008 1:23:41
I've been running a bronze age style fantasy game for a while, with homebrew 3.5 rules, and got to thinking about making a spin-off game with just gladiatorial combat (roll-play, not roleplay).

My question to everyone is Do you think 4e's rules system (what we know of it so far) would be a good fit (with tweaking) for a gladiatorial combat game?

I would want the game to have some sort of ranking system, as well as Fame or Glory (maybe just re-naming and expanding Action Points?).

I would have to tweak the classes to focus on the arena only (or their Talent trees), and use only combat-applicable magic.

To compensate for lack of 'adventuring' and roleplaying, I'm thinking about expanding (if needed?) the rules for armor/weapons-possibly including armor as DR with opposed rolls- and adding a reward mechanic that grants limited use things (like action points, token pools, temporary abilities, etc.)

Again, I'm just curious as to whether anyone thinks 4e might be worth tweaking for this, or whether I should just make it from scratch, as it will be a little more combat-intensive and simulationist.

Thanks.
#2

coyote_hood

Feb 29, 2008 3:00:21
After reading the more recent descriptions of class powers, some of the rules, etc., i feel that 4e is a perfect fit for a tactical combat game (and little else?).

I will wait 'til june, and use some of the info for my gladiatorial game. If I like the system as a whole, I'll use it for roleplaying, but it's unlikely from what I've seen so far.

I love the potential for tactical miniatures combat presented so far, though!
#3

lost_hybrid

Mar 05, 2008 22:49:56
After playing some gladiator-related games on the PS2 (Gladius and Colosseum: the Road to Freedom), I got the yen for doing gladiatorial stuff in an p&p RPG too.

I'm in the planning stages of a game, using d20 Modern's rules, because the PCs are going to be dumped from the real world into a Romanesque setting part way through the game. I've been cooking up gladiator prestige classes based on the aforementioned game Gladius. But since 4th is apparently right around the corner, I may just slam the brakes on my current thing and wait for the new rules.