Gisk Member

Just go with the fight for now. But Xander, both characters are unarmored. And the Coliseum doesn't really care what weapon you're "used to," but there's a big enough selection that he could pick up the one he likes most.

Oh, yes as a character he is accepted. Tell me about the civilization he comes from. You said it's under Anaxan rule, but it is a different culture, yes?

[Thread.](http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75574/posts/ic) Pardon my lateness. The first fight is Angelo and Alexander. Those not fighting spectate from the lowest ring of seats, which is cut off from the rest of the crowd, and exits only back into the Coliseum barracks.

 Anaxus Prime is the capitol of the Anaxan empire. The government is a functioning republic, with bureaucratic and military outposts throughout a large portion of the known world. The Prime Coliseum is owned by Cymede, a wealthy aristocrat and daughter of the current chairperson of the senate. Though she is the owner, Auldus Vull is the Master. He organizes the fights, arranges for training and armament, and chooses whether or not to show mercy on arena losers. Auldus is a veteran of t he Coliseum. He started as a slave but bought his own freedom with his winnings. Despite his high position of power, he is something of an inspiration to those slaves sold to Cymede for arena fights. Hispania: To the North-West of Anax. It's a culture that's very concerned with beauty and aesthetic. The leaders of the country surrendered willingly to Anaxan rule, but when Anaxan soldiers started hauling away their art to take back to Anaxus Prime, sects of Hispania's limited military sprung to defend the creations that they considered to be rightfully Hispanian. Because of Hispania's official status as a vassal state to Anax, these actions were taken as crime rather than war, and captured soldiers were punished in various ways. Many ended up in the Coliseum. Helmfirth: A city-state in ore-rich mountains north of Anax. When Anaxan forces came to set up mining camps, Helmfirth sprung to defend their territory. They lost the ensuing battle and are currently under direct military occupation. Fleeing civilians were captured forcibly by slavers who were following the Anaxan campaigns. Many Helmfirth slaves have come through Anaxus Prime, but that was eleven years ago and now many have died or been freed. Unknown: A race of dark skinned wanderers pass through Anax territory fairly often, but their homeland is kept secret from the empire. It is somewhere far to the south, and attempts to find it by Anaxan explorers have come to nothing, as many die in the desert that apparently surrounds their civilization. Though dangerous, the Prime Coliseum is the most likely route for a slave to earn their own freedom, and being sold to Cymede can be seen as either a curse or a blessing. CS Name: Age: Appearance: Bio: Strength: Speed: Skill: You have three points to distribute in the beginning between the three basic stats. Speed and Strength are obvious, and skill is basically your finesse and dexterity with your weapons. Remember, there are slaves, and there are willing athletes. Athletes are responsible for arming themselves, and slaves use the weapons they are given. There will also be money, which I will keep track of here on the first page for all characters. Even slaves earn money, aiming to earn enough to free themselves. But there will be expenses for both free men and slaves alike.

A sea of spectators, hungry for blood and sport, gaze eagerly down upon the sand circle of the arena. The games run all day, and many of those in the stands intend to stay for every fight, to get their silver's worth. Pacing about the sands of the battleground is a crowd favorite, Orun the Wanderer. His bronze armor shines, and his cape wafts behind him as he lifts his spear to the cheers of the crowd. He has been allowed a great honor today, and with pleasure he addresses the crowds on behalf of the Coliseum's Master. "Auldus Vull runs late today," he announces in his deep, booming voice. "But he will not disappoint you, dear people, by postponing the games and cheating you out of your rightful entertainment! There will be no further ado! Release the beasts! My spear is hungry for blood!" The crowd roared, and so did the creatures behind the gates that clanked open. As soon as the metal lowered to the ground, a triplet of lionesses were coaxed out with torches, and the gates were brought closed again. Orun roared back at them, and raises his spear as the first charged. The spear's tip caught the she-beast on the flank, and she recoiled back as Orun pulled the spear free. The second of the three flanked him on the left side, and he flared his cape in her direction to block his body from view. She swiped through the cape with her claws. The clothe tore, and her strike drew blood from Orun's arm. It dripped into the arena, baptizing it for the day. Orun turned his spear and plunged it into her mouth. The beast fell with a pitiful groan, and Orun pulled the spear free and flung it at the furthest of the creatures. It struck her in the throat, leaving only the one with a wounded flank. His sword was already in his hand, and he kept his cape over his left arm and crouched low as she stalked him. When she pounced, he flared his cape again, throwing it over her head as she tackled him to the ground. There was a tense moment of silence from the crowd, but it broke as Orun pushed the lioness off of him, pulling his blade from out of it's chest. He raised the bloodstained blade to the cheers of the crowd, and called back to them again. "But a taste! Next, come two new combatants. From the mountains of Ironthorn, a recent acquisition of the Coliseum, Alexander! And, facing him, a condemned man from the outskirts of the Anaxan empire, Angelo! Raise your voices in support! Place your coins for wager! Get ready to see some new blood!" With that, Orun turned with a swish of his cape and made his way back to the great wooden doors set in the side wall. They opened for him, and he stepped in to look at the two about to fight their first fight. They had been untethered, and were unarmored and unarmed. Racks on the wall had shields, spears, swords axes nets and ropes. "Alright, boys. Grab yourself a good piece of steel and get out there. Bit of advice," he raised his left arm to show the gash, "They love them some blood. Don't walk away without shedding at least a drop. I hear you both can fight, so go show them. Good luck."

Xander speaks truth. We'll start after I get off of work today(four hour shift, so I'll be back around 4PM eastern US time). So I think I'm just going to trust you guys to fight it out without being jerkwads. We'll use the stats as guidelines, but there shall be no dice rolling unless deciding victors becomes a problem.

The shield's size is a little too fantastic. Should I understand that Garvus is Anaxan by birth?

Go right ahead. Here's the civs in the world at present: Anax, the ruling empire at present. Hispania: To the North-West of Anax. It's a culture that's very concerned with beauty and aesthetic. The leaders of the country surrendered willingly to Anaxan rule, but when Anaxan soldiers started hauling away their art to take back to Anaxus Prime, sects of Hispania's limited military sprung to defend the creations that they considered to be rightfully Hispanian. Because of Hispania's official status as a vassal state to Anax, these actions were taken as crime rather than war, and captured soldiers were punished in various ways. Many ended up in the Coliseum. Helmfirth: A city-state in ore-rich mountains north of Anax. When Anaxan forces came to set up mining camps, Helmfirth sprung to defend their territory. They lost the ensuing battle and are currently under direct military occupation. Fleeing civilians were captured forcibly by slavers who were following the Anaxan campaigns. Many Helmfirth slaves have come through Anaxus Prime, but that was eleven years ago and now many have died or been freed. Unknown: A race of dark skinned wanderers pass through Anax territory fairly often, but their homeland is kept secret from the empire. It is somewhere far to the south, and attempts to find it by Anaxan explorers have come to nothing, as many die in the desert that apparently surrounds their civilization. Though dangerous, the Prime Coliseum is the most likely route for a slave to earn their own freedom, and being sold to Cymede can be seen as either a curse or a blessing.

I've considered just using stats, and just letting players duke it out like they might in any RP fight, but keeping the stats in mind. But I'm afraid people will argue over things, or refuse to let their characters lose. I want a way to determine the winner fairly. I've also considered just flipping a coin and choosing the winner outright, then letting the players write the narrative part. I guess it would amount to the same.

Eeeeh, the stats are far from set in stone. Here's how combat works in my current prototype system. Character A and Character B, let's actually just use the two I just made, pretend they're fighting. Orun swings at Vran. You roll a die for each(let's say a d6) and add the dexterity stat for the attacker, and the speed stat for the defender. Higher roll wins. If the speed wins out, the defender successfully blocks/dodges, otherwise the attacker lands a hit. Then you roll with their armor, 2d6(that's two six sided dice) and add the defender's armor stat. You get ten and above and the armor saves you. Otherwise, you take damage based on the attacker's strength. This is pretty clunky, though. I don't know if any of you have experience with tabletop playing, but I'd really like to trash this and use something else, but I can't find anything online that doesn't require a rulebook. All I want is a basic combat system.