Gladiator X: There will be blood

[DrSpike]

Sent.

[EPW]

[Theben]

Worked like a charm.

[Theben]

so sleepy...

[EPW]

The Doctor was pissed. That is all.

Theben vs. The Doctor

The moment Theben entered the ring The Doctor stormed up to him and slashed at his head. Theben managed to move down and inch just before the blade struck: so instead of cutting off his head it hit the bottom edge of his helmet, ricocheted downward and penetrate deeply right above his scapula(shoulder) bones.(1:Hit!(37)) Before he had time to fell the pain, Theben jabbed his sword into The Doctor's unprotected left leg penetrating to the femur. (1:Hit!(23)) The Doctor pounded Theben in the head with the hilt of his rapier until Theben removed it. (2:Hit!(9)) But Theben did an uppercut with his sword when he removed it, and cut off a the skin on the right side of The Doctor's face!(2:Hit!(22)) The flap of skin that was removed was carried off by the winds and never to be seen again. The Doctor was enraged and entered a military trance. Theben saw the fire in the Doctor's eyes and was afraid. He stepped back and began to tremble. Suddenly the Doctor pounced and stabbed Theben through the abdomen, penetrating all the way through.(3:Hit!(37)) Amazingly, no vital organs were hit. Theben managed to twirl around with the sword still in him, and slashed The Doctor across his own abdomen with the tip of The Doctor's rapier as he spun!(3:Hit!(9)) The round ended with no clear leader.

Theben:42 HP The Doctor: 44 HP

[EPW]

Your inbox is full Theben.

And the results are correct

[DrSpike]

Game on.

[EPW]

There is a high probability of a double knockout: I know DrSpike would call for a rematch, but there is precedent to not have a winner in such a case. What does teh Theben think?

[DrSpike]

There was only one such incident as precedent, from people that had odd views on role playing versus sensible gaming philosophy.

Every other time we've replayed semis and finals.

In any case Theben isn't going to KO me.

[snoopy369]

I'm all for double KO being a draw... but what do I matter I suppose.

[Theben]

Leave it at a draw.

Something needs to be done to speed this game up some more, or garner more interest.

I'll send orders later today.

[EPW]

The only way to speed it up, without changing the fundamentals, is to have default orders that are used when the time limit is violated. And it would have to be strictly enforced; if the orders are late and the GM has not updated, the default orders should be used out of fairness. As for interest, I hope the betting system might attract more players for next game. And I'll post my strat guide after this tournament is over.

[EPW]

I propose the following rule change for next game:

Concerning Time limits, late orders, and default orders.

(i)Players must send in their orders for the next round(s) within 48 hours after the posting of the previous round results. The GM may extend the time limit at his discretion depending on external circumstances.

(2)If the GM does not receive the gladiator's orders within the allotted time, his default orders are used for that round.

(3) Default orders are submitted by every gladiator before the start of the first round. Default orders may be changed at any time during the tournament.

[EPW]

I do not think the time issue is relevant to the double KO issue. The main argument is realism: these are fights to the death, 0 HP means you are dead! Well, by that logic, a double KO in the semis would mean no final! I think a better solution is to have a rematch, and halve the starting HP, rounded down to the nearest 5th. From a realism perspective, you could describe that the fighters were injured in the previous matches, hence the lower starting HPs.

Hopefully this will not be an issue this game.

[Theben]

Death orders sent to El Dopetor.

[DrSpike]

Orders tomorrow, when I am sobre.

On the rematch issue, it must be totally clear to any sane person that ending with a draw on double KOs is a complete mockery of the tourney that has preceded it. The 'realism' argument is retarded on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.

Replaying is the only decent outcome for any double KO match in the phase of tourney where there aren't a finite number of rounds. Even if one was to disagree, changing rules mid-tourney when the final participants have around 40 HP each is rather unfair to said participants.

The issue around speed of the game I agree with, but it is quite clearly a distinct issue.

[Theben]

The speed of the game is an issue wrt players becoming disinterested, which I had temporarily fallen prey to. I have recovered somewhat.

[EPW]

1/2

[DrSpike]

I'm cogitating right now. Stick around, you can update soon.

[DrSpike]

Got distracted - but in now.

[EPW]

The powers that be decided to give the gladiators an extra day's rest after the last round. They hoped for a better fight and better weather conditions as a result. The 2nd part come to fruition as the rig entered the eye of the storm on the day of the 3rd round. No one could not hear the eerie silence that was heard.

As a consequence, the mob could watch the match outside again, and they did so.

The announcer took his place under the canopy, and the crowd cheered when they heard his booming voice:

"Welcome everyone!, it has been a battle not just for the gladiators this tournament!. You have overcome a hurricane(at least for now), cramped quarters, arabs and texans, and worst of all no internet for the last three days!"

"But now, finally, we are nearing the end of our epic journey, as the two Gladiators fight for honor and glory in what could be their last fight. We have Theben beat the reigning Champion in the preliminaries, and counter his every move. But we have also seen..."

"Too much of!" One of the roustabouts shouted. The others jeered their approval.

"...The Doctor fall behind early only to come back the next round."

"Let us reintroduce them now: for this may be the last time they enter the ring together"

"There is Theben entering new, known by some as the "Dancing Tiger", because of his quick footedness and ability to pounce unexpectedly on his opponent"

"And here comes The glorious Doctor!. Some think he is Divine, though we have all seen that he is quite human. But he is nevertheless a master with his rapier. Some have said that the sword yields The Doctor, and not the other way around, whatever that means."

"And now let the fight begin!"

Theben vs. The Doctor

Both gladiators were cautious at first, knowing that their health was in ill repair. Theben made a move that could be described as an attack: he approached The Doctor and jabbed his shield at his face. The Doctor reacted instinctively and stepped back, but it was not necessary, for Theben was two arm lengths away. (1:Miss!) The Doctor did not try to counter immediately, for he did not want to give away his tactic to soon. (1:Miss!) This thought passed through The Doctor's mind fleetingly, for he saw Theben rushing at him with his shield outstretched! For an instant The Doctor froze, wondering why Theben was so intent on using his shield instead of his sword as a weapon. The second's delay was all Theben needed, and with a crash his sword rammed into The Doctor's rib cage knocking him off his feet! (2:Hit!(15)) Theben and the audience laughed at The Doctor as he lay prone on the ground. While they mocked him, The Doctor stealthily removed his rapier from his sheath, lifted it over his head and threw it at Theben! The sword spun end over end and sliced clean through Theben's out stretch arm! (2:Hit!(33)) The crowd gasped: Theben's arm remained fixed in space for a moment after the blade passed through, and then with a loud squelch it fell to the ground. Theben new he had no time to anguish: he had to end the round quickly so the doctors could stop the bleeding. He still had his sword arm, and he immediately brought it upon The Doctor. But the Doctor was prepared, and dodged everyone of his jabs. (3:Miss!) Theben knew the end was near, The Doctor only had to poke him in order to finish him off. But the final attack did not come,(3:Miss!) and the round ended with both contestants still alive.

Theben:9 HP The Doctor: 29 HP

[DrSpike]

Even if there's a double KO we should give the title to me for the pure ownage the last 2 rounds.

[DrSpike]

Sent.

[Theben]

sent away!

[EPW]

Results are forthcoming.

[EPW]

The winds grew stronger as Round 4 approached. Nevertheless, no one was about to stay below decks to watch the match in relative safety.

Theben's arm was lost, but the surgeon managed to solder the wound shut with weldor. Theben killed the pain with a good dosage of heroin(which he was fond of anyways) and was in relatively high spirits before the match.

The Doctor was high on his own exuberance, and partied the night away. Not until the hour before the match did he begin to calm; and he went into his compartment to meditate.(In the nude of course)

Now the match was upon them, and both made their way slowly but confidently to the ring. As they waited in the starting pit, the wind howled even more loudly, and they could barely here the announcer:

"Here we....Final Matccch....one will live....the other will die!....place your bets...."

The strenght of the rain and hail was increasing...Finally they each heard there names over the thunder:

"Enter....Theben....and The Doctor!"

They both stepped into the ring.

Spoiler:

They could barely see each other through the rain and hail standing at the opposite side of the ring. They could see the great shadow of the rig swaying dangerously by the light of the lightening.

The Doctor was growing nervous, he liked to be able to see his opponent. As the sky grew even darker, The Doctor could only make out the silhouette of Theben when there was a flash of lightening. The Doctor thought he saw movement in front of him - was Theben attacking? There was another flash, and Theben was no were to be seen!

There was creaking sound coming from above, like the sound of metal fatigue.

Another flash, The Doctor caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The creaking sound grew louder, piercing the air. The Doctor looked up saw the impossible: the mighty derrick was leaning over at an impossible angle. He thought he heard the screams of falling men....

Suddenly, without warning, cold steal fell upon The Doctor's back! Apparently Theben had stuck around him in the darkness. The Doctor felt the blade penetrate an inch thick and he fell to the ground; his screams could be heard even over the storm! (1:Hit!(18))

Theben saw the strewed body of The Doctor on the ground, he had won, or so he thought. He lifted his arms in triumph over head and looked towards the heavens. It was only then that he noticed that the derrick appeared to be directly over head...but that was impossible he thought! He began to back away in fear...

The Doctor had recovered from the initial shock and was studying the situation carefully while still sprawled out on the ground. There were only moments before the derrick would crash down upon them. He calculated his next move carefully...

Theben was almost in a state of panick, the flaming top of the derrick was growing bigger and bigger. Then there was a crack, and he saw the base of the derrick had snapped, he had only seconds! He started to run...

But he tripped! He looked at his feet and saw someone had tied his shoelaces together; he looked up and only saw flame. His last thought was of The Doctor laughing...(1:Hit!(9))

The Doctor watched from a safe distance as his opponent was crushed. He did not laugh, his opponent had fought valiantly.

He thought he heard the the voice of the announcer in the wind. He did not care, for he new he was champion once again.

And that concludes Gladiator X.

[DrSpike]

[DrSpike]

Thanks to EPW for GMing, and apologies to my opponents for crushing everyone so badly.

Best Gladiator since Gladiator 5 in my view.

[EPW]

The biggest problem was of course the dropouts, hopefully default orders will mitigate that problem next game.

[Theben]

Good fight, and consider yourself lucky. But personally I think Glad 4 was the best, with the double-double KOs.