Designing An Effective Set Of Rules For Gladiator Games

Okay, long story short: the protagonist has been abducted and forced into the arena by a rogue AI. The basic rules for the matches are as follows:

• There is no time limit
• Combatants may use any weapons or tools available to them, whether given or improvised
• The match continues until one of the combatants is either incapacitated or dead

What I'm having a hard time settling on is the weapons. The way I see it, I have a few options available to me. They are:

• Weapons are provided at the start of each match. Both combatants are given a knife and a single-shot flintlock dueling pistol. Any other weapons are to be improvised by the combatants using the resources available to them (like making a slingshot out of your clothing)
• Weapons are provided in a Weapon Of Choice manner. Each combatant is allowed to select either a knife, shield, or a flintlock dueling pistol with a total backup ammo count of five additional shots, no more and no less
• Weapons are not provided at all. All matches are to be conducted bare-handed or with improvised melee weapons
• The basic weapons (knife, pistol, shield) are given to everyone. Combatants with more consecutive victories under their belts accumulate a form of credit, which can be used either to buy creature comforts like richer food, better living quarters or even old personal items or to "upgrade" their weapons in shockingly lethal ways. These benefits are permanent and carry over between matches as long as the combatant does not suffer a defeat and live, upon which all credits and anything bought with them will be reclaimed. This system is detrimental to newer combatants, but rewards skill in the arena

I'm having a hard time deciding which is best. What are your opinions?

edited 10th Jul '11 9:05:39 PM by KSPAM

How about this: each combatant starts with a knife and a certain number of credits towards better weapons. More credits are earned from winning quickly, winning stylishly, killing opponents rather than letting them live, etc. Weapons can be upgraded or replaced with better models of the same type, but cannot be resold to regain credits. The more credits you spend on weapons, the higher your "upkeep," paid at regular intervals. If you cannot afford the upkeep, all weapons except the knife will be confiscated. Thus, the better your weapons, the better you need to do in order to keep them.

You could have a selection of weapons festooning the arena, or perhaps at a central point. The fighters have to rush to grab a weapon before the other guy does. If they get disarmed they have to scramble to get another weapon. Since it is basically random as to what weapon you get, it makes it difficult to specialize in a particular style or combination of weapons.

Otherwise, if you have a credit system for how much iron you can carry into the arena.

Yes, Thunderdome, weapons scattered around the arena. Champion with power armour and alien death ray versus noobie with pointed stick will be over too quick.

1000 quatloos on the Newcomer.

Or else they start unarmed and unarmoured. Weapons, shields and bits of armour get tossed into the arena or dropped from the ceiling at random intervals over time based on how aggressive the fighters are. The more aggressive, the more and faster the items will appear, and the more aggressive relative to your opponent, the more likely they will drop nearer to you rather than him.

Or the weapons could be hidden in the arena, and you have two options, either to waste time looking for weapons and potentially not finding anything, or to just charge in with the knife, hoping to catch the other guy off guard.

Make the arena a maze rather than an open field. Scatter weapons, shield and armour bits thriughout the maze. The fighters go off looking for equipment, until they find each other. If they get caufht unprepared then they run and try to lose the other guy within the maze until they are ready. Would be more interesting as, say, 5-way free for all.