Gladiator: Sands of Death

Gladiator: Sands of Death is a departure from Mongoose Publishing's established lines of Slayer's Guide and Encyclopaedia Arcane series. Mongoose as a whole are starting to branch out into quite a wide range of different areas within the d20 industry, as a cursory glance at their website will indicate.

This book presents background information and rules on how to drop a gladiatorial arena straight into your game. Of course, by gladiatorial arena, Mongoose don't mean to include only Romanesque settings, and take pains to point out that various fantasy cultures have their own forms of this bloodthirsty sport.

That said, the book does tend to concentrate on the Roman stereotype, briefly digressing on occasion to the arenas of other cultures (it gives examples of five such alternative arenas). Also, given its stated intention of providing arena rules for fantasy games, it does very much gloss over the influence of magic in such a situation, mainly by stipulating that magic is usually outlawed in the arena unless the battle is set up specifically to be a 'mage killer' style affair. One thing that did jar with me was the inclusion of the quote Those of us who are about to die, salute you! in large type, which is quintessentially Roman in orgin.

Unlike previous Slayer's Guides, this book concentrates more on 'crunchy bits'. I observed in my review of Necromancy: Beyond the Grave that Mongoose appeared to be addressing the complaints of many fans due to the high level of 'fluff' in their Slayer's Guides - and Gladiator certainly backs up that observation. From gladiatorial feats to new prestige classes, form random tables with which to roll a random gladiatorial match to rules on chariot combat, the book certainly adds meat to your game. Some of this is very gladiator-specific (such as the prestige classes), and some can be easily utilised elsewhere (such as the feats, which consist mainly of combat techniques). One interesting little addition in the Slave core class - if a PC takes this class at 1st level but then multiclassed at 2nd level, the Slave class is considered forgotten and does not affect his level total of multiclassing options (although the PC retains any skills, feats etc. gained form that class). In effect, it's almost a 'freebie' given to those players willing to spend their first level playing a slave for the sake of the story. It's easy to imagine a party composed entirely of slaves at the beginning of the campaign and is a mechanic that fits well.

The prestige classes, Gladiator Champion, Animal Handler, and Charioteer didn't really do anything for me, but I recognise them as necessary staples of a gladiatorial setting. They aren't particularly useful once when leaves the arena - although I imagine that once that happens the whole flavour of the campaign is changing, and thus the PCs should be looking to branch out and multiclass elsewhere as they learn to adjust to their new lives. The prestige classes are solidly written, however, and Mongoose cover all the bases. I wonder, hwoever, whether they need to exist as prestige classes - I tend to feel that prestige classes should be few and far between and that the core rules are flexible enough to handle most character concepts.

The backgound information in Gladiator also seems more useful than that in early Slayer's Guides. It talks about how arenas are run, the role of the 'stablemaster', the different types of contest fought etc. in detail, making it easy for any DM to run such a campaign. It's all very well written and interspersed with short stories, and Matthew Sprange manages to make the whole thing come alive. Even if you have no intention of running a gladiator-style campaign, the book makes a great read.

At the end of the book is d20 game called Sands of Death. It's basically the gladiator equivalent of Bloodbowl or Necromunda - each player takes the role of a 'stable master' and spends his stating money on a number of gladiators. Different fights are rolled for each day (including starting conditions, allowed armour and weapons etc.) and battle ensues (using the standard D&D combat rules). The stablemasters (and their gladiators) gain Fame and, of course, money (their Fame score affects the performance of their gladiators in the arena), and the gladiators (if they survive) increase in level just like normal PCs. When I first heard of this, I thought it was a bit pointless - but when I actually sat down and read it, I found myself looking forward to a game with my players. It's the sort of thing you'd play as a one-off, as a break from your regular campaign. Somewhat unfortunately, however, I found that the mini-game doesn't seem to work. There isn't really space here to go into detail, but it seemed that it really wasn't balanced correctly - players are often forced into win-or-lose-everything style conflicts early on when they have few resources, and are drummed quickly out of the game; and those who spend all their gold on a single powerful gladiator tend to run the others into the ground in rapid time.

I generally like this book. It has flaws, as mentioned above, and I seriously doubt that I'll ever actually run a gladiator-style campaign - but it made for a good read and contains plenty of materal that can - and will - be pulled out and used in my regular game.

Gladiator: Sands of Death
by Matthew Sprange
Cover art by Anne Stokes
$16.95 80-page d20 sourcebook for DM`s and players alike.

Gladiator is an encompassing sourcebook loaded with game sustaining ideas, campaign focuses, and combat coolness.

Gladiator: Sands of Death is the latest rules sourcebook from Mongoose Publishing, the folks who brought us the DM-inspiring Slayer`s Guides and the very professional Encyclopedia Arcane series. In this book, they explore the deadly and brutal world of the Gladiatorial Games and Arena. You`ll want to purchase this book if you are interested in adding any part of Gladiator-style themes in your d20 fantasy campaign, get a load of campaign enhancing tips, and supply your players with some great moves and a chance for a different style of game. You`ll also be interested if you want to enjoy D&D in a whole new way: the Sands of Death game which is included...read on.

This 80 page sourcebook, Mongoose`s largest so far, was again penned by the articulate and attentive Matthew Sprange, a writer whose passion for the D&D game is evident in all these works. Anne Stokes produced another excellent cover, showing a gladiator eerily watching for the lord of the arena to give thumbs up or down for the kill of a fallen foe.

The book has three basic sections which are then broken up into detailed subsections. First up is the gladiator and arena in your campaign. Second is rules for gladiators and their combats in the d20 system. Last comes a new game based off of the d20 combat system, Sands of Death.

Arenas and Campaigns: This section is more like the Slayers Guides, giving solid advice and numerous examples an how adding a Gladiator theme to your campaign can be a great thrill and add a change of pace. The history and purpose of the Arena in a fantasy campaign is given. The different fantasy races and their role in gladiatorial combat is explored, finally shattering the whole “Gladiator = Roman Empire” style. This opens up the fantasy race cultures to a Gladiator campaign and their individual roles and outlook on the whole genre. Five specific arenas are provided to show off the wide variety and number of campaign purposes, giving the history behind them and describing them in detail. These can be dropped into practically any locale with minimal effort of the DM.
As in other Mongoose products, there are interspaced short stories highlighting the subject at hand, and are always a fascinating look into the rules in play in a fantasy world from the character`s own points of view. Those in Gladiator are no exception, highlighting the brutal, cold, and quite deadly life the combatants lead as well as the politics surrounding the stable master and his gladiators.
For the DM there is advice-a-plenty on integrating arena combat into your game, either as a site of interest and plot complication in an ongoing game, or as the basis for the start of one. Imagine this scenario, as I did:

DM: “Okay, I`ve heard from all of you what you`d like to play in this new campaign. Roll up your characters! Oh, one more thing, you all have the same NPC class, Slave.”
Players: “Whaaa!?”
DM: “Oh, didn`t I tell you? Your village of Drenshire was always one to advance its young folk by supporting their interests in apprenticing. However, that was before Kailok the warlord sacked it, dispersing your family and friends and cutting short your future goals. You all stand in chains before the Noble Falthmire, watching as Kailok rides off with a sack of gold. `You better be worth the price I just paid for you in the arena, you lot. You debut tomorrow!`”

Talk about an incredible start to a campaign! If that doesn`t sound like your cup of tea, there`s plenty other ideas included. You can use the arena as the backdrop of a campaign where the PC`s get involved with the politics and atmosphere of the games. The characters themselves could even be the stable masters for a while, training and leading young gladiators to victory.

Gladiatorial Combat: Here`s where we enter the rules section of the book. The “player`s section”, if you will. First up is the previously mentioned Slave NPC class. It`s not much of a start to a character`s life, but it`s a fascinating gaming tool! They figure by the time you reach second level, you`ll multiclass into a regular class with none of the regular penalties. This is also useful to show the starting condition of NPC`s that fill out a stable of gladiators the characters get involved with. Next come a few prestige classes, including the Gladiator Champion (the brutal performance machine), Animal Handler (prepping the monsters and beasts of the arena), and Charioteer (master of the horse-drawn dueling cart). The Animal Handler and Charioteer contain a number of unique and cool abilities to help them in their jobs, increasing the animal`s potency in the ring and performing special maneuvers in the chariots. The Gladiator Champion isn`t the answer to everyone`s dreams of the “Uber fighter”. It`s a combination of combat prowess and perform-ability with the crowd, garnering favor and winning accolades, earning a reputation while still attaining cool abilities like Devastating Attack and Improved Death Move!
Following the new Prestige Classes are a host of new feats to help the poor Gladiator, nine in all. Armor Penetration, Armor Specialization, Chariot Control, Death Move, Distract, Fame & Glory, Fearsome Display, Improved Chariot, Sideswipe, and Taunt. Some of these are nice reworking of obscure non-weapon proficiencies from 2nd Edition while others are brand-new. In all, the prestige classes and feats are very well done from a mechanics perspective, balanced and following the rules.

Sands of Death: This is actually a game within a game. Sands of Death game turns simulate a single day of arena combats. Players in the game take on the role of stable masters. They spend starting gold on buying and equipping their own stable of gladiators to fight in the arena! Unique rules and charts (easily understood and not cumbersome) help detail gaining fame, using chariots in combat, and rewards and experience for gladiators.
Each day four special combats are set up (either rolled randomly or chosen). These can vary from one-on-one combat, many against a creature, king-of-the-hill style, even waterborne combat or just an all-out fray to the death! Each player chooses one of their gladiators to compete in each of the combats. Death means death. Success means an increase in fame (which can effect a number of other aspects of gladiatorial combat), gold in your private purse (i.e. one step closer to buying your freedom) and experience, possibly meaning gaining a level!
In the end, it`s a wonderful excuse to enjoy the D&D combat rules to the fullest by putting unique feats, weapons and moves to the test while enjoying some healthy competition with the other stable masters in gaining glory, money and fame. It`s a perfect replacement for a night when someone can`t make it or a change of pace is desired by all. An ongoing campaign can be built around such a schedule too!

Conclusion: Gladiator: Sands of Death captures the best feel of cinematic gladiator stories (with between-the-lines homage to Ben-Hur, Conan, and of course Gladiator) and mixes them seamlessly with fantasy-oriented campaigns. The deadly and brutal life of the gladiator is examined on many different angles. It gives the DM loads of tools to integrate gladiatorial games into her campaign, either as a side interest or as it`s entire focus. The d20 mechanics are reliable and well done, and the rules and roleplaying material mix perfectly to give the arena new respect from players and DM`s alike. Both a fascinating read and a thorough sourcebook, Gladiator is well worth checking out!

-Jeff Ibach

First of all I have to say that I do not realy need this book. Chances are, most of you do not realy need it either. That said, in what it sets out to do it succedes as brilliantly as my favourite Demonology or as any other d20 book.

What it does is provide setting, rules and justification for gladiatorial games within the d20 system. This continues the tradition of Mongoose publishing in developing the hithero untouched (rules-wise) but fertile fiction and fantasy concepts. Outside the context of the gladiatorial games the book is flat out useless. Even the "crunchy bits", prestige classes and feats are geared almost exclusively towards the gladiatorial setting. Therefore my 5/5 stars rating applies only if you intend to use it for what it was designed - introducing the gladiatorial combat into your campaign.

If that is what you intend to do then the book realy delivers. No aspect of the arena fighting has been left unexplored: from the possible shapes and sizes of the arena's themselves and the "behind the scenes" politics to the three gladiatorial prestige classes, feats to be used in the arena, gladiatorial equipment, even the dirty tricks. My personal favourites are charioteering rules (simple and yet better then what I have previously thought of myself) and the "fame" rating.

As is usual with the Mongoose, there is much more description the rules and the later tend to be simple and concise. First half or do of the book hardly has any game material in it but s still very usefull as it sets up the stage for the entire concept of gladiatorial combat and gives the valuable ideas as to how to include it into a campaign. Writing style is excellent, much better then that in the "Seas of Blood" and on par with the best of Mongoose, or with best of d20 for that matter. It inspires the DMing ideas which is always a good thing. Flavour text is actualy interesting and relevant.

Artwork varies from superb to sub-par. Inner side of the front cover is a computer generated chariot which, once in black in white, looks appaling. Fortunately it is one of the very few computer drawn pictures in the book. Some of the other pictures are however excellent including some very successfull (and appropriate) babe-art.

All in all this is a very sucessfull niche product even if it fills a rather smallish niche. If you are even remotely interested in the subject matter (from the game standpoint) then, by all means, get it. If you are looking for some fighter matierial to use in your non-gladiatorial campaign then you are best to let this one go.

It is not yet mid-morning and yet the air of excitement around the grand arena is palpable. You have arrived two hours before the first matches are due to commence for the seats will fill up quickly and you have no wish to endure the sun-blasted stone benches on the south side of the arena for the whole afternoon. The crowds mill about you, all streaming for the grand arena, some mute with trepidation, other proclaiming loudly which gladiator will triumph in the matches. It has been a month since the last games day and you, along with everyone else in the city, are eager to leave behind the concerns of your everyday life, replacing it with an afternoon of fun, excitement and sheer passion.

Gladiator: Sands of Death is a sourcebook for arena-based campaigns. Although there are some references to real life Roman Empire's gladiators, the book discusses the impact of gladiators fight in a standard D&D fantasy campaign. There are descriptions of arenas, the gladiator lifestyle, as well as new feats and rules for charioting. Finally a new game, Sands of Death, is introduced in which the players take the role of stable masters acquiring and managing gladiators to fight in the arena. Production values are average to good. The cover by Anne Stokes is adequate, although not her best. Internal illustrations are most of average quality, even if there are a few very good. The layout is good and, unlike some early Mongoose products, there aren?t many spaces left.

The first part of the book describes the personnel involved in gladiator games: gladiators, stable masters (gladiators' owners and managers), arena managers, support staff, and the mob. Also, a few arenas are described, although no maps are provided. Finally, a gladiatorial campaign is discussed, either as a full campaign or as part of a bigger one. The second part covers new rules. Most of them, such as the new prestige classes, fame, and charioting is very specific to the arena and are hardly useful in the outside world. However, a few, such as most of the new feats and equipment might be useful in a regular campaign. The final part of the book describes a d20-based wargame in which the players manage their teams of gladiators in order to gain money and fame.

The book is divided in three chapters. The first detail the gladiator lifestyle, the personal and scenario involved as well as discuss the possibilities of a gladiator campaign. This chapter is very superficial. Very little is discussed about a common gladiator day. It appears that the author assume that gladiators will learn their trade in the arena. A little bit or research would reveal that the Romans had a higher concern for their propriety. A Roman gladiator would frequent a gladiator academy and spend most of his time training, as he would fight in the arena only three to five times per year. The discussion of the stable masters is a little better, although, a little of research about their Roman counterparts, the lanistas, would reveal interesting bits such as gladiator insurance (a very important deal in this business), size of the familias, as the gladiatoral staff was known (most lanistas would have small business with only about half-dozen gladiators), and so on. The arena managers, supporting cast, and mob description are adequate. However, the book fails to make any discussion about the game patron. His absence is really disturbing, as it would be adequate to discuss why someone would finance such activity, what would be his intentions and which benefits he could gain. Several arenas of different sizes are described, including their owner, history, and so on. As usual, the text is very well written and the material is good. However, a major absence is a map of each arena. Although everybody have a good idea of what an arena field looks like, I would like to have a description of the extensive dungeon complexes which are usually found in big arenas. The last part of this chapter discuss the possibility of meshing gladiators in a regular campaign, perhaps with the players been held in captivity and forced to the games, or full gladiator campaigns. This part is good save for a major absence, there is no reference to the possibility of slave revolts, as held sometimes in Rome, and portrayed in the movie Spartacus.

The second chapter refers to the gaming aspects of the book. A few new prestige classes and feats are introduced as well as special rules for charioting and a fame score. They are all very good, though most are very limited outside the arena, which is not a weakness but rather a characteristic of the book. The type of matches' section reveals several kinds of fight that are possibly held in the arena, most of them are very interesting. Although not necessarily a must in a fantasy supplement, I would expect a discussion of the Roman gladiator classes. In Imperial Rome, gladiators would be classified based in armour and weapons used, many of them inspired in traditional Rome enemies. Usually, the matches were planned to confront some specific classes one against the other. Not surprising, the new equipment list is quite limited, not providing the DM the possibility of recreate the Roman gladiators. Finally there is a nice part in dirty tricks, including the use of blood bags to fake the games. Not surprising, the Romans usually smashed the heads of the fallen gladiators with a hammer to guarantee the reality of the game to the audience.

The last part of the book, the Sands of Death, is a d20-based wargame in which the players take the position of stable masters, purchasing and managing their gladiators in the arena. Usually the players will be allowed an amount of money sufficient to purchase first-level gladiators, which eventually will grow in level as the game proceeds. There is a table of costs on acquiring gladiators. Perhaps some tweaking is necessary, as it is a good strategy to purchase an Ogre, which will easily destroy most fist-level adversaries, or a half-orc. A random match table will provide the kind of matches and order that they will be taken in a day. Special rules for healing between the matches are provided as well as payment rate. Finally, sample gladiators of different level are provided. Although I may point that a pointless contest between high levels characters under d20 rules may be a little boring, this is a point of personal opinion. A problem I have with this game is that experience is only achieved in the arena, which will slow down the character improvement a lot. Also, it became pointless to keep training between the games, which is, at least, consistent with the lack of upkeep costs in between the games days.

There are some major absences in the book. Some were already pointed previously in this review. A few others include the costs of sponsoring a game or what to expect visiting an arena in a day of games. By omission, the sourcebook suggests that gladiator matches, chariot races, and beast handler fights are the only activities in the arena. Would that take a full day or just an afternoon? How much this would costs? A Roman average day of games would include full day activities such as executions, beast-to-beast fighting followed by survivals slaying by beastiarii, lottery, theatre, musicians, rodeo like activities, and of course, gladiators match. Not only all these performers, as well as the arena staff, needed to be paid, but also it would be necessary to purchase the animals and pay advertising. Except for the gladiators, none of these activities are cited, much less their costs, in this sourcebook. Although briefly discussed in this book, roman gladiators were disputed among noble women as lovers, as a matter of fact it was customary to the patron to hold orgies in the night before the games with his invited guests as well as the major gladiators. It is pity that this book did not touch such social intricacies; they would be particularly interesting in a multiracial society such as the standard D&D campaign.

As clearly admitted by the author is his design notes, this sourcebook was written inspired in Hollywood's portrait of Gladiator, particularly the recent movie by Ridley Scott with the same name. This appears to be a fair assessment of the book, as it fails to demonstrate any deep in real life gladiators or to create something new as it should be expected from a fantasy game. Perhaps the readers would judge me too rigorous in my criticism of this game and point me that a fantasy sourcebook should not be considered a history book. I partly agree with that, although I should argue that gladiators are a special case as this modality of events was particularly of Rome alone. My problem with this book is that not only it fails to represent in game terms their source of inspiration but also fail to develop a complete setting for gladiators, being much less creative than their real world counterparts.

Much has been said about what is inside this sourcebook. I would like to add what is missing: FANTASY & IMAGINATION.
When I bought it at my local store I was allready disappointed about the amount of pages and the large typesetting. But because of some enthusiastic reviews on these pages I bought it anyway. Skipping through it I didn't find anything that seemed to be worth the price. Reading through it wasn't getting much better. The amount of imformation that you wouldn't though of by your own is sparse. Imagination triggers are few in between. And what I'm missing the most is some kind like a storry line which guides a reader through the pages of this book. Something that want you to know more about gladiatorial contests and stuff like this.
What I could use for myself are the rules and sample characters (but just because I'm normaly lacking the time to design them by myself).
It may be that I'm a little bit more severe then normal with this product because I went to the remains of the arena of catarghe (spelling?), which was the second largest arena in the roman empire, so I new what an arena would look like. And I read a little bit about arena fighting in history books, not only watching Gladiator in the cinema. But even with this in mind it's still a poorly designed product. Mongoose can do better (as they have shown is various products).
I just hoped for more.

How can everyone be so harsh on this book?

The other reviews do a good job of summarizing the content, so I'll skip straight to the contrasts.

There are better values out there, but every time I flip through this book it makes me want to start a gladiatorial campaign. The Sands of Death game in the last part of the book can be easily adapted as a campaign structure (you handle different schools, not the PC's) that promises all the roiling politics and dirty dealings you could ever want.

Mongoose has a habit of making a lot of "crunchy bits", and ever time I pick up a new Mongoose book I feel afraid that they'll start making stupid PrC's (if it's better off as a feat path, don't make it a PrC!), but they continue to keep their stuff together well in this respect.

The different event types and guidelines for arena logistics are really helpful to those of us who haven't spent hundreds of hours studying the subject in real life, especially if we could care less about ancient civilizations. Who gets paid, where the money goes, and suggestions for betrayal and mayhem outside the arena were a lot of help for me.

The sample arena were a real treat, complete with back-stories and easily dropped into a campaign site.

Arena combat, at first glance, sounds like a last-resort throwback in RPG's. You kill stuff. You don't have to worry about anything else. This book really got my attention with loads and loads of material to the contrary. I actually liked the Sands of Death game as a nice little integrated tool to run ongoing campaigns, even if I only had minimal interest in playing it as a seperate game. The two could feasibly be combined (players play Sands of Death and then duke it out in the arena with actual D&D play), and the book doesn't suffer for its addition.

New skill uses and appropriate Dirty Tricks were another nifty treat niblet, but I'm hesitant to use many of them outside the arena. Then again (as has been said before) this book isn't meant for "outside the arena" use. This could be construed as a shortcoming of the book, but I tend to think of it as "sticking to the point."

So what's the problem? I may not be the final authority on gaming material, but I loved it and I recommend it highly.

Did we mention it's only ten bucks brand new? Great.