<![CDATA[
2.4 An article on Gladiator design by Elric
hi everyone.
in this text, i'll be revealing some of the secrets of good gladiator design.
[...]
first of all, do not give yourself a real weak spot. never, ever. 'weak spots'
can be anything. you can bet your grandma that anything you do not put any
points on during character creating will be a weak spot unless you cover it up
with another advantage.
elric has the default 15 wounds, which would qualify for a very weak spot if it
weren't for the fact that he currently has the best armour of all the fighters
around, a sturdy chain mail. the idea is that i won't take much wounds through
that kind of armour, so i don't need that many wounds. and wounds get very
expensive very fast. i have no idea where the guys with 18 wounds got the
points, however, some of them are doing quite well.
even more important than the 'no weak spots' rule is that you *do* need a strong
point. good all-around fighters are rare, but they are impressive. the shadow
and yim ving chun are of this kind, i guess from what i've seen. they are among
the best fighters around, but i don't think you should go for this kind of
gladiator. too many have tried and failed miserably.
there are two kinds of 'strong points'. one is of the kind another very good
fighter, brutus, features. he must be incredibly strong, i guess he started with
18 and must have 19 or 20 by now, because he nearly killed another fighter
*unarmed*! he also is armed with a spear, which i believe is probably the best
choice he could make. the spear is not as dangerous as a two-handed sword or the
might battle axe, but it is easier to handle, cheaper and brings less weight.
don't underestimate the importance of weight! bonecrusher, another fighter, went
from losing to winning after he dropped the battle axe and got himself a long
sword. his problem seemed to be fast exhaustion (due to the heavy axe) and that
if he hit the fight was almost over, but he didn't get that chance that often
(due to the bad parry with the axe). both problems were solved with a switch in
equipment.
elrics 'strong point' is of another kind. everything, and i do mean *everything*
in this fighter is geared towards one goal. that is maximum defense. i have the
toughest armour in all the league, i have defensive fighting style and a weapon
that one can parry with. if it weren't two-handed, i would even have a shield.
my fatigue is among the higher values and that does it. how do you defeat me? i
just hide behind my defense and wait till you are exhausted or make a mistake,
then i attack. you would have to score a number of good, wounding hits to bring
me down. now try that against someone geared for defense and with this good an
armour.
this is not the only way to do it. brutus is about the opposite, he has this
really dangerous weapon together with his impressive strength and his aggressive
fighting style. he's very dangerous, and has been at the top of this league long
before i entered.
and even that is not all there is. as i said, there are good all-around
fighters. actually, some of the best are of this kind. so what i am giving you
is not an exact recipe, and i don't think that trying to copy me will do you any
good, but rather an *attitude*. the secret to a good gladiator is that you
*think* before you put in your stuff. don't try to get everything, because you
won't. instead, think what you will really need. and think of the side-effects.
an example of this is that i went for the chain mail instead of the scale mail
because of its weight. i couldn't afford too much strength, so i put out a few
extra points on gold and bought the lighter chain mail. on the other hand, my
tactics really sucks, but hey, what do i need it for? i hide behind my parries
and wait for my chance, you don't need much tactics for this i thought, and
looks like i was right.
for everyone who is still with me i have another secret, probably the one to
elrics outstanding success: choose your enemies very, very carefully and prepare
for them like a real gladiator would if he went on a fight that may well cost
his life.
elric attacked yim ving chun first, then fought brutus and bonecrusher. all
these fighters are among the most experienced in the league, and that gave me an
incredible boost in experience. thus i was prepared for more fights. i knew i
could win these fights because nobody was prepared for me and my fighting style.
i watched them to make sure. the only unsure factor in this was if brutus would
be able to pierce my chain mail with his spear. it turned out he couldn't (at
least not enough to wound me seriously) and thus i won. this whole thing was a
risky gamble, but it turned out to be a breakthrough.
i have heard, the shadow had a similiar tactic in the beginnings of this league.
by fighting every newcomer as soon as possible - and defeating him - he earned
himself more respect than his true abilities might justify, plus he got a lot of
easy victories. still he was good enough a fighter to ward of the occasional
attacks on his title, but it speaks for itself that as long as i have been in
the league, only one challenge to his title has been issued.
what do both of us have in common? we have a *reputation*. people fear to fight
us, because of what we have done in the past and this enables us to pick our
fights. if someone challenges one of us, we can refuse his challenge with
something like "i don't fight natural born losers".
and even if that's not possible, there's a way out. the shadow refused to fight
me - he said he were afraid of me. now the trick is that he can do so without
losing face. from his mouth, this is a compliment to me, not a statement of
submission.
and i guess if my words above are your way to the creation of a good fighter,
then this is your way to going to and staying at the top. put yourself in a
position where you can choose your opponents, and then use that to your
advantage.
[ note from Commissioner: Elric is the only Gladiator ever to retire undefeated
after a straight 15-wins streak, some of the most experienced Gladiators among
those. His second Gladiator is currently exceptionally successful, too. ]
]]>
Click here to get back to the Player's Guide
