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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6067215" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 303: January 2003</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 3/9</p><p></p><p></p><p>Campaign components: The modular treatment of Knights and Swashbucklers turned out to be surprisingly dull. However, that is not the case for gladiators, which turn out to be very well suited to the 3e ruleset. Building characters on equal point buys, levels and amounts of money, and then seeing which is the deadliest is an entirely valid and well supported way of playing the game, with all the different fiddly parts for you to optimise. This is further helped by the fact that the real world history of gladiatorial fighting reads like a particularly gonzo fantasy campaign in itself. From humble beginnings, it became a huge sprawling commercial monstrosity, with increasingly over the top new novelties introduced on a regular basis to keep the attention of an increasingly jaded population. Lions, tigers, midgets and mini naval battles, oh my. Adding demihumans, magic and weirder monsters doesn't hurt the mood at all. So this time, they manage to sell me pretty effectively on their game model, as it allows not only for easy pickup fights with whoever is around at the time, but also a ton of roleplaying centred around the backstage politics, with plot hooks like being sent out to capture a particularly impressive monster for the arena and the usual cheating shenanigans that take place in any competitive sport. They're relatively light on the new crunch this time as well, with just a few new feats, and a system for tracking your fame in the ring. (and it amuses me to think about them having an office leaderboard. ) So this is more applicable to other games than many of their articles as well. Let's hope they can find some more alternative playstyles that actually fit the system well. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Piffany saves the day in Nodwick. And how. Why should wizards get all the inventive uses for their spells?</p><p></p><p></p><p>Class acts: Looks like the tendency for longer prestige class write-ups with more fluff attached is catching on. We have three different gladiator based 5 level prestige classes this month, each showcasing a different combat style. </p><p></p><p>The invisible blade becomes a deadly feinter and sneak attacker, taking the enemy down before they even realize they've been hit. Combine that with some stage magician-esque antics, and the audience won't be seeing your enemies for long, but they'll still love you for it. </p><p></p><p>The occult slayer is of course designed specifically to fight spellcasters. Never an easy task for a warrior in D&D. But they do have resistance to most of the common screwage effects, which will hopefully work well enough to slice them into ribbons. </p><p></p><p>The reaping mauler is the coolest of them all, a brutal grappling specialist that can lock down their opponents, rendering them vulnerable to their teammates, and really show off in the ring without having to kill their enemies. You really don't want to get in a one-on one fight with them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 6067215, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 303: January 2003[/U][/B] part 3/9 Campaign components: The modular treatment of Knights and Swashbucklers turned out to be surprisingly dull. However, that is not the case for gladiators, which turn out to be very well suited to the 3e ruleset. Building characters on equal point buys, levels and amounts of money, and then seeing which is the deadliest is an entirely valid and well supported way of playing the game, with all the different fiddly parts for you to optimise. This is further helped by the fact that the real world history of gladiatorial fighting reads like a particularly gonzo fantasy campaign in itself. From humble beginnings, it became a huge sprawling commercial monstrosity, with increasingly over the top new novelties introduced on a regular basis to keep the attention of an increasingly jaded population. Lions, tigers, midgets and mini naval battles, oh my. Adding demihumans, magic and weirder monsters doesn't hurt the mood at all. So this time, they manage to sell me pretty effectively on their game model, as it allows not only for easy pickup fights with whoever is around at the time, but also a ton of roleplaying centred around the backstage politics, with plot hooks like being sent out to capture a particularly impressive monster for the arena and the usual cheating shenanigans that take place in any competitive sport. They're relatively light on the new crunch this time as well, with just a few new feats, and a system for tracking your fame in the ring. (and it amuses me to think about them having an office leaderboard. ) So this is more applicable to other games than many of their articles as well. Let's hope they can find some more alternative playstyles that actually fit the system well. Piffany saves the day in Nodwick. And how. Why should wizards get all the inventive uses for their spells? Class acts: Looks like the tendency for longer prestige class write-ups with more fluff attached is catching on. We have three different gladiator based 5 level prestige classes this month, each showcasing a different combat style. The invisible blade becomes a deadly feinter and sneak attacker, taking the enemy down before they even realize they've been hit. Combine that with some stage magician-esque antics, and the audience won't be seeing your enemies for long, but they'll still love you for it. The occult slayer is of course designed specifically to fight spellcasters. Never an easy task for a warrior in D&D. But they do have resistance to most of the common screwage effects, which will hopefully work well enough to slice them into ribbons. The reaping mauler is the coolest of them all, a brutal grappling specialist that can lock down their opponents, rendering them vulnerable to their teammates, and really show off in the ring without having to kill their enemies. You really don't want to get in a one-on one fight with them. [/QUOTE]
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