Morturi: Battle Design

Morturi Te Salutant: Main Page -> Morturi: Battle Design

This page describes how to design battles. It isn't intended as a definitive ruleset, but rather is meant to inspire Imperator players in making fun and memorable battles.

Entry Fee and Prizes

In Campaign Games, Schools participate in battles only if the reward of doing so is worth the risk of losing their gladiators. Imperators should bear this in mind, and set prizes appropriately.

The "default" battle assumes the following:

• No Entry Cost.
• Two teams
• X Gladiators per team.
• Prize only to the winner.
• Schools can surrender.

As a general guideline, for a battle of this size and sort, its recommended that the Denarii prize be around X multiplied by 1500. So, for example, if the battle has four gladiators per team, then 6000 Denarii is a reasonable prize.

However, the situation will rarely be that simple. The Imperator may want to mix things up a bit by varying the conditions and the prize.

• Entry Fee

If the game has an Entry Fee, then it is recommended that the prize be increased by an amount equal to the Entry Fee multiplied by the number of teams. For example, in a four team game with an entry fee of 1000 Denarii, add 4000 Denarii to the prize.

• More than two teams

If a battle has more than two teams, it is recommended that +25% is added to the prize for each additional team beyond two. For example, for a 4 team battle, add +50% to the prize.

• Fee for participation.

If the game pays an amount to the losers, it is recommended that the total payout to runners up is taken out of the main prize. For example, if in a three team battle, each losing school gains 1500 Denarii, then deduct -3000 Denarii from the prize.

• No surrender

If a battle is tagged as being "no escape" or "to the death", then it is suggested the Imperator increase the prize by 50%.

• Uneven Teams

If the battle has uneven sides, then offer a proportionally higher prize to the smaller side, with the average equalling the prize before. For example, if the prize would normally be 12000 Denarii, but Team A is twice the size of Team B, then the prize for Team A would be 8000 Denarii, and the prize for Team B would be 16000 Denarii.

• Low lethality battle

If the conditions of the battle tend away from all out lethality, then reduce the prize by 25-50%. For example, in a battle where the win condition is to capture the flag rather than slaughter the enemy, you might reduce the prize by 25%.

• High lethality battle.

If the conditions of the battle are extremely lethal, then increase the prize by 25-50%. For example, in a battle where all gladiators start with half life points (perhaps because they are purposefully starved beforehand), you increase the prize by 25%.

Credits

This page created by Asklepios.