Gladiator Arena

A combat RPG
By Thomas Sapp

Table of Contents
Forward 3
Required Equipment to Play 3
Background 3
Character Creation Information 4
Determining Attributes 4
Determining Characteristics 5
Determining Skill Points 5
Determining Wealth 6
Character Creation Summary 6
Skill Information 7
Weapon Skills 7
Armor Skills 7
Combat Skills 8
Combat Information 8
Initiative 8
Attacking 8
Damage 9
Dual Wielding 9
Durability 10
Defeat 10
Victory 10
Combat Summary 10
Character Advancement 11
Skill Points 12
Attribute Points 12
Item Information 12
Weapons 12
Armor 13
Repairing 13
Selling 13
Item Lists 14

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​Forward
I created this role playing game because I did not want to have to lug around a bunch of
rule-books every where I went and to have an easy way to pass the time. This game can
be played by any number of people and does not require a game master to be present.

​Required Equipment to Play

All you need to play this game is a pencil, a way to generate a number between 1 and 100
(i.e. two ten sided dice, one 100 side dice, a computer program, etc…), at least one six
sided dice (or a way to generate a number between 1 and 6) and a character sheet or
piece of paper. I recommend a piece of scrap paper as well to keep track of the battles but
it is not needed.

​Background
The game is set in a world where entertainment rules. What better entertainment is there
than to watch two, or more, people battle to the death? Gladiators reign supreme in the
entertainment of the mass public. If they survive long enough, they may even be able to
retire wealthy and with all their limbs intact.

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​Character Creation Information
Characters in this game are very simple and there is not a lot involved in creating them.
All characters in this game are considered to be Human and, aside from a few skills that
allow for special moves, they have no special abilities.

​Determining Attributes
There are four main attributes that each character has. They are Strength (STR),
Dexterity (DEX), Stamina (STA), and Intelligence (INT).
​ Strength is a measure of how strong your character is. It determines how much
extra damage they can do and what type of armor they can wear.
​ Dexterity is a measure of how nimble, or quick, your character is. It determines how
hard it is for another character to hit them and how quickly they can attack.
​ Stamina is a measure of how tough your character is. It determines how much
damage they can take before being defeated.
​ Intelligence is a measure of how smart your character is. It determines how many
skills they start with and how many skill points they receive at each level.
Each attribute can be expressed as a number from 1 to 100. The higher the number, the
better the attribute is considered to be. Both the STR and DEX attributes are exceptions
to the 100 point limit. Depending on which gender you choose, one or the other will be
able to be raised to 105 points. Male characters get a +5 bonus to their STR score and
female characters get a +5 bonus to their DEX score. This bonus is to account for male
characters being slightly stronger and for female characters being more nimble.
To determine your characters attributes, you will need to roll a number between 1 and 100
and consult the Attribute table for each attribute.

Score Result
1-10 30
11-20 35
21-35 40
36-55 45
56-70 50
71-80 55
81-90 60
91-95 65
96-100 70

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 Attribute Table

Once you have determined all four attributes, and modified the STR for a male character
or the DEX for a female character, you can then move on to determining the rest of your
characters information.

​Determining Characteristics
The next four pieces of information you will need to determine are your characters Health,
Damage Modifier, Chance to Hit (ToHit), and Initiative values.
Health is determined by your characters STA score. Each point your character has in STA
is equivalent to one point of health. For example, a character that has a 45 in STA will
have 45 health points. Each time a character takes damage it is subtracted from their total
health. Once a character reaches 0 health, they die and lose the battle. Be careful not to
reach 0 health because there is no coming back in this game, once your character dies
they cannot be used again.
The damage modifier is determined by dividing your characters STR by 10 and rounding
up. For example, a character that has a 65 in STR will have a damage modifier of 7 (65 /
10 = 6.5). This number will be added to the amount of damage your character does on a
successful hit.
The ToHit score is determined by subtracting your characters DEX from 100. For
example, a character that has a 35 in DEX will have a ToHit score of 65 (100 – 35). This
will determine your characters ability to hit another character. See the Combat section for
more information.
The initiative score is determined by dividing your characters DEX by 10 and rounding up.
For example, a character that has a 55 in DEX will have an initiative of 6 (55 / 10 = 5.5).
This score will determine if your character gets to attack first or not. See the Combat
section for more information.

​Determining Skill Points

The next step in creating your character is to determine the skills that they will start with.
Each character gets a certain amount of skill points during creation and at each level. The
amount of skill points a character receives is determined by dividing their INT by 10 and
rounding down. For example, a character with a 65 in INT will receive 6 (65 / 10 = 6.5)
skill points during character creation and every level.
Skill points are spent on acquiring skills that will allow your characters to use different
types of weapons and armor, and allow them to perform special moves. Each skill has 4
levels and each level will require a character to spend skill points to advance. The
following table will allow you to determine the exact amount of skill points needed to
advance a skill to the next level.

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 Level Cost
1 3
2 6
3 9
4 18
Skill Point Cost Table

As you can see from the table above it would take 36 (3 + 6 + 9 + 18) skill points to raise
one skill to level 4. This would take a character with an average INT score, of 45 points, 9
levels to attain. See the Skills section for more information.

​Determining Wealth
Now that you have determined what skills your character has, you are ready to determine
how much money your character starts with. This step will determine what equipment they
will start with.
Money in this game comes in three forms. They are the Gold piece, the Silver piece, and
the Copper piece. Each gold piece is worth 100 silver pieces and each silver piece is
worth 100 copper pieces. If your character is lucky enough to survive long enough to
obtain more than 1 Gold piece then they can consider themselves to be one of the
wealthy.
To determine how much money your character starts with, you will need to roll a number
between 1 and 100 and add 50 to it. This number will be how many copper pieces your
character starts with. Once you determine how much money your character has you can
purchase weapons and armor to equip them with. Consult the Items section for more
information.

​Character Creation Summary

Creating a character is a fairly straight forward and easy task. Just follow these steps to
get started:
1. Decide on a gender (male or female), a name, and if your character will be right or
left handed.
2. Roll 1d100 for each attribute and consult the attribute table to determine the score.
3. Apply the gender specific attribute adjustment.
A. Add 5 points to STR if you chose a male character.
B. Add 5 points to DEX if you chose a female character.

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 4. Record your Damage Modifier, ToHit, and Initiative scores.
5. Determine your skill points and choose your skills from the Skill table located in the
Skills section.
6. Roll a 1d100 and add 50 to determine how many copper coins your character starts
with.
7. Use the tables in the Items section to buy your starting equipment and record it on
your character sheet.

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​Skill Information
Skills are what determine the types of weapons and armor a character can use. There are
also skills that allow a character to perform special actions.
Each skill has 4 levels and can be obtained by any character once they have sufficient skill
points and meet the required attribute levels. Skill levels can not be skipped over unless
the corresponding amount of skill points is spent. See the Character Advancement section
for more information on obtaining skill points.
Each skill description is divided in to four sections. The sections are Name, Description,
Bonuses, and Requirements. The name and description sections are self explanatory, but,
the bonuses section lists any bonuses that learning the skill provides and the requirements
section lists any attribute requirements needed to learn the skill.

​Weapon Skills
Name Description Bonuses Requirements
Axes Allows for the use of Axes. +1 to ToHit score per None
level
Blades Allows for the use of +1 to ToHit score per None
bladed weapons. level
Hammers Allows for the use of war +1 to ToHit score per None
hammers. level
Maces Allows for the use of +1 to ToHit score per None
maces. level
Staves Allows for the use of +1 to ToHit score per None
staves. level
Unarmed Allows for the use of hand +1 to ToHit score per None
coverings as weapons. level
Whips Allows for the use of whips. +1 to ToHit score per None
level

Armor Skills
Name Description Bonuses Requirements
Light Armor Allows for the use of +2% to light armor STR of 30 or greater.
light armors. durability per level.
Medium Armor Allows for the use of +2% to medium STR of 50 or greater.
medium armors. armor durability per
level.
Heavy Armor Allows for the use of +2% to heavy armor STR of 70 or greater.
heavy armors. durability per level.

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Shields Allows for the use of +1 protection point Level 1: DEX of 40 or
shields. per level. greater.
Level 2: DEX of 50 or
greater.
Level 3: DEX of 60 or
greater.
Level 4 DEX of 70 or
greater.

Combat Skills
Name Description Bonuses Requirements
Dual Wield Axes Reduces the penalty -2 from ToHit penalty DEX of 50 or greater.
for dual wielding per level.
axes.
Dual Wield Blades Reduces the penalty -2 from ToHit penalty DEX of 50 or greater.
for dual wielding per level.
bladed weapons.
Dual Wield Hammers Reduces the penalty -2 from ToHit penalty DEX of 50 or greater.
for dual wielding war per level.
hammers.
Dual Wield Maces Reduces the penalty -2 from ToHit penalty DEX of 50 or greater.
for dual wielding per level.
maces.

​Combat Information
Combat is what this game is all about. The rules are simple and the battles are quick.
The main factors in combat are the characters Initiative, ToHit, Damage Modifier, Weapon
Damage, Armor Protection, and Health.

​Initiative
Initiative determines which character gets to attack first. To determine the combat order,
take each characters base Initiative and subtract their weapons speed score. The
character with the highest score goes first.
If there are more than two characters battling at once, then the combat order is determined
by a descending numerical order until all combatants have attacked. Once everyone as
attacked the combat order is reset at the highest initiative and continues until only one
combatant is left.
If there is a tie in initiative, each of the tied characters will determine who goes first. If an
agreement cannot be reached, then the character with the most experience attacks first. If

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the characters experience levels are the same then they can each roll 1d6 and the highest
number attacks first.

​Attacking
The winner of the initiative will determine who they are going to attack, in case there are
multiple opponents, and then determine what score they need to land a hit. To determine
the score that is needed to hit their opponent, the attacker will divide the opponents
dexterity score by 2, rounding up, and add the attackers weapon speed. The resulting
number will then be added to the attackers ToHit score to determine the chance to hit their
opponent.
Once the modified ToHit score is determined, the attacker will roll 1d100, and if the score
is greater than the modified ToHit score, they have successfully hit their opponent.
For example, if the opponent has a DEX of 45, the attacker has a ToHit of 55, and their
weapon speed is 1, then the attacker would need to roll higher than a 79 (45 / 2 = 22.5, 23
+ 1 = 24, 55 + 24 = 79) in order to hit their opponent.

​Damage
If a successful hit was landed, the attacker will need to determine where the hit landed on
the opponent. The attacker will roll a 1d100 and consult the Body Hit Location table to
determine where the blow lands.

Score Location
1-15 Head
16-70 Torso
71-85 Arms
86-100 Legs
Body Hit Location Table

Once the location of the successful hit is determined, you can determine how much
damage is done. Damage is determined by rolling the required about of dice for the
weapon being wielding (see the Items section for more information), then add the
attackers damage modifier, and subtract the amount of armor the opponent has on the
area hit.
If a shield is used by the opponent then the shields protection points are added to the
armor score of the area it is protecting (see the Items section for more information)
If a character’s health is reduced to 0 points during combat, they are eliminated from the
battle and are considered dead. Characters that have died cannot be used again.

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For example, a dagger does 1d6 points of damage, the attacker has a Damage Modifier of
4, and the defending character has no armor on. If the attacker rolls a 1d6 and gets a
result of 4, the attacker would then add their damage modifier of 4 and the opponent would
take 8 (4 + 4 = 8) damage.

​Dual Wielding
Characters are permitted to dual wield 1 handed weapons. Dual wielding weapons allows
for characters to make two attack attempts during their turn. If they decide to use one
weapon in each hand, then they will suffer a +15 ToHit penalty for each attack made with
the weapon in their non-primary hand. This penalty can be offset with the dual wielding
skills for the specific weapon classes.

​Durability
Each weapon and piece of armor that a character is using has a durability score. The
durability score determines how many times an item can be used to hit, if it is a weapon, or
how many hits it can take, if it is a piece of armor.
Each time a successful hit is made the attacker will need to subtract 1 durability point from
the weapon that was used. The opponent will also need to subtract 1 durability point from
the piece of armor and/or shield that was hit as well. Once an items durability is reduced
to 0 it is no longer usable and is damaged beyond repair. See the Items section for more
information.

​Defeat
Defeating a character in battle will allow a character to obtain experience and items.
Additionally at the end of each battle the victor is award a monetary reward.
Experience gained from the defeat of a character is determined by dividing the defeated
characters experience by 2 and adding 10. For example, if a character with 10 experience
points is defeated then the attacker will receive 15 (10 / 2 = 5, 5 + 10 = 15) experience
points.
The experience goes to the person that lands the killing blow regardless of how many
people were attacking the defeated character. The character that the experience reward
goes to is determined after each defeat which allows for a better experience reward for
each surviving character in large battles. Regardless of the amount of experience gained,
a character can not gain a level until after the battle is over.
The items a character was using in battle will got to the person that lands the killing blow
regardless of how many people were attacking the defeated character. These items can
be used during the current battle or they can be sold or repaired once the battle is over.
See the Items section for more information.

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​Victory
The battle is over once all characters are defeated. The last character to survive takes
home the money. The amount of money that the character receives is equal to the total of
the levels of all defeated characters plus 10. The resulting number will be the number of
copper pieces that the surviving player will receive.
For example, if there are three level 2 characters participating in the battle, then the last
character left alive would receive 14 (2 + 2 = 4, 4 + 10 = 14) Copper pieces.

​Combat Summary
The following steps summarize a normal combat round:
1. Determine the attack order by subtracting the character’s weapon speed from their
initiative. Combat proceeds in order from the highest to lowest score.
2. The attacking character determines who they are attacking.
3. The attacker determines the score needed to hit their opponent.
A. Divide opponents DEX score by 2, rounding up.
B. Add attackers ToHit score and weapon speed to the result.
1. If the attacker is attacking with a weapon from their non-primary hand, add
+15.
2. If the attacker has the appropriate Dual Wielding skill for the weapon being
used in the non-primary hand, subtract the appropriate amount based on the
skills level.
4. The attacked rolls 1d100 and if the score is higher than the result obtained in step
3, they hit.
A. If a hit was scored, proceed to step 5.
B. If a hit was not scored, the next attacker starts at step 2.
5. The attacker rolls 1d100 and consults the Body Location Table to determine where
the blow landed.
6. The attacker rolls for damage according to the weapon that they are wielding.
A. The attackers Damage Modifier is added to the result.
B. The opponents armor points are subtracted from the result.
7. The opponent loses an amount of Health equal to the result from step 6.
8. The attacker removes 1 durability from the weapon that was used to attack.
9. The opponent removes 1 durability from the armor that was hit by the attack.

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 10. If the attacker is dual wielding weapons and has not attacked a second time, return
to step 3.
11. If the opponent’s health drops to 0, continue to step 12. Otherwise the next attacker
continues from step 2.
12. The attacker receives an amount of experience equal to 10 plus the defeated
characters experience divided by 2, rounded up. The attacked also receives all of
the opponents equipment.
13. If only one character is left, proceed to step 14. Otherwise the next attacked
continues from step 2.
14. The last character left alive receives an amount of Copper pieces equal to 10 plus
all defeated characters levels added together.

​Character Advancement
Once a character gains enough experience, they are able to advance levels. Gaining
levels allows the character to learn new skills or improve the skills they already have.
They are also able to improve their main attributes to reflect all their hard work.
Consult the Experience Per Level table to determine if a character has enough experience
points to advance to the next level.
Points Level
100 2
250 3
500 4
750 5
1000 6
+500 +1
Experience Per Level
The first column on this chart shows the amount of experience that is needed for a
character to reach a certain level. Experience points are cumulative, which means that the
amount of points needed to reach the next level includes the amount that was already
obtained from the previous level.
For example, a level 1 character would need 100 experience points to advance to level 2.
They would then need to gain an additional 150 experience points to advance to level 3.
Once a character reaches level 6, they would need to obtain 500 experience points for any
subsequent levels.

​Skill Points
Once it has been determined that a character has gained a level, they will need to
determine how many skill points they will receive. For each level gained a character will
get an amount of skill points equal to their INT divided by 10, rounded down. For example,
a character with an INT of 45 will receive 4 (45 / 10 = 4.5) skill points.

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They can use these points to advance their current skills or purchase new ones. Any skill
points that are not spent will carry over to the next level.

​Attribute Points
Characters that gain a level are also awarded 1 skill point for each level gained. This point
can be used to advance any one attribute by 1. Once their attribute scores are adjusted,
the character will need to adjust any modifiers that are determined by the attribute they
increased.
Any attribute points gained must be spent after the character determines their skill points.
Any unspent attribute points do not carry over to the next level, they are simply lost if not
used.
The STA and INT attributes cannot be advanced beyond 100. The STR attribute can be
advanced to 105 if the character is a male and the DEX attribute can be advanced to 105 if
the character is a female.

​Item Information
All items in this game belong to one of two categories; they are either weapons or armor.

​Weapons
Weapons are used to attack other characters and are broken down in to seven categories.
The categories are Axes, Blades, Fist Weapons, Hammers, Maces, Staves, and Whips.

​Armor
Armor is used to protect the characters from damage inflicted when they are attacked.
There are four different categories of armor. The categories are Light Armor, Medium
Armor, Heavy Armor, and Shields.
Light, Medium, and Heavy armors each have four different pieces that protect different
areas of the body. The areas protected are the Head, Torso, Arms, and Legs. Each area
requires the corresponding piece of armor to be worn in order for protection to be
provided. Only one piece of armor may be worn on each area.
Shields provide protection mainly to the Torso, but if a character has learned the Shield
skill, they will also provide some protection to the arms. See the Skills section for more
information. Characters using shields are unable to dual wield weapons.

​Repairing
Weapons and armor can also be repaired after each battle. The cost to repair an item is 1
Copper piece for each durability point repaired. Items can not be repaired beyond their
maximum durability. For most items, the maximum durability is 100, however, characters

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that possess the correct armor skill can increase the corresponding category of armors
durability beyond 100.

​Selling
Weapons and armor can also be sold. The amount of money received from selling an item
is equal to the original cost of buying the item divided by 2, rounded down, minus the
amount of durability used on the item. If this result is 0 or less then the item can not be
sold until it is repaired to a state that creates a result greater than 0.
For example, a dagger costs 50 Copper pieces. If a character wants to seel back a
dagger they own that has a durability of 90, they would receive a total of 15 (50 / 2 = 25,
100 – 90 = 10, 25 – 10 = 15) Copper pieces. If the daggers durability had been 75 or
lower, the character would not be able to sell the dagger as the result would be 0 or less.

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​Item Lists
Weapon Damage Speed Durability Skill Cost
Axes
Hatchet 1d6 1 100 Axes 1 50c
Axe 1d10 2 100 Axes 2 1s
War Axe 2d6 3 100 Axes 3 50s
Great Axe 2d10 4 100 Axes 4 1g
Blades
Dagger 1d6 1 100 Blades 1 50c
Sword 1d10 2 100 Blades 2 1s
Bastard Sword 2d6 3 100 Blades 3 50s
2-Handed Sword 2d10 4 100 Blades 4 1g
Maces
Club 1d6 1 100 Maces 1 50c
Mace 1d10 2 100 Maces 2 1s
Scepter 2d6 3 100 Maces 3 50s
2-Handed Mace 2d10 4 100 Maces 4 1g
Hammers
5 lb Sledge 1d6 1 100 Hammers 1 50c
10 lb Sledge 1d10 2 100 Hammers 2 1s
25 lb Sledge 2d6 3 100 Hammers 3 50s
50 lb Sledge 2d10 4 100 Hammers 4 1g
Staves
Spear 1d6 1 100 Staves 1 50c
Pike 1d10 2 100 Staves 2 1s
Halberd 2d6 3 100 Staves 3 50s
Scythe 2d10 4 100 Staves 4 1g
Unarmed
Brass Knuckles 1d6 1 100 Unarmed 1 50c
Spiked Brass Knuckles 1d10 2 100 Unarmed 2 1s
Gauntlets 2d6 3 100 Unarmed 3 50s
Spiked Gauntlets 2d10 4 100 Unarmed 4 1g

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Whips
Whip 1d6 1 100 Whips 1 50c
Spiked Whip 1d10 2 100 Whips 2 1s
Cat-O-Nine-Tails 2d6 3 100 Whips 3 50s
Spiked 2d10 4 100 Whips 4 1g
Cat-O-Nine-Tails

Armor Protection Location Durability Skill Cost

Light Armor
Leather Coif 1 Head 100 Light Armor 7s 50c
Leather Cuirass 3 Torso 100 Light Armor 20s
Leather 2 Arms 100 Light Armor 15s
Spaulder
Leather 3 Legs 100 Light Armor 15s
Greaves
Medium Armor
Mail Coif 2 Head 100 Medium 15s
Armor
Mail Hauberk 4 Torso 100 Medium 40s
Armor
Mail Pauldron 3 Arms 100 Medium 30s
Armor
Mail Greaves 4 Legs 100 Medium 30s
Armor
Heavy Armor
Plate Helmet 3 Head 100 Heavy Armor 70s
Plate Cuirass 5 Torso 100 Heavy Armor 2g
Plate Pauldron 4 Arms 100 Heavy Armor 1g 40s
Plate Greaves 5 Legs 100 Heavy Armor 1g 40s
Shields
Wooden Shield 1 Torso 100 Shields 1 10s
Iron Shield 2 Torso 100 Shields 2 25s
Steel Shield 3 Torso 100 Shields 3 50s
Tower Shield 4 Torso, Arms, 100 Shields 4 1g
Legs

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