Ludi rules

The rules for Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes

There will be two classes of combats: Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes. The Munera Gladiatoria are between gladiators and the Venationes is between gladiators vs animals or animal vs animal. The players can choose one or two gladiators for Munera Gladiatoria, one gladiator ( optional ) and one or two animals for Venationes.

1. Gladiators' types

There are six types of gladiators, inspired by the gladiators of the imperial epoch. Inspired because nowadays we don´t know all the types of gladiators who existed due to the lack of information and the confusion about the armament and protections.

• RETIARIUS: His weapon is the net, the trident and a dagger. His defenses are a protection of arm (manica), that includes the shoulder.

• HOPLOMACHUS: His weapons are a lance and a dagger. His defenses are a closed crest hull, circular small shield and metallic shin pads. His defenses are protection of right arm and he can take a pectoral plate.

• MURMILLO: His weapon is a short sword (gladius). His defenses are a closed great crest hull, rectangular big shield (scutum), protection in right arm and shin pad in left leg.

• THRAEX: His weapon is a curved sword (sicca). His defenses are a closed hull, the crest of the hull has the shape of faucet, a quadrangular small shield (parmula), long metallic shin pads up to the thigh and protection in right arm.

• SECUTOR: His weapon is a short sword (gladius). His defenses are closed smooth hull, rectangular big shield (scutum), protection in right arm and legs. Normally fight only against retiarii.

• DIMACHAERUS: His weapons are two curved swords (siccae). His defenses are protections in arms and legs.

2. Animals´ Types

They are six, as the gladiators.

• LION: An african beast of very bad character. Always hungry. Its bite is mortal and its claws are a very sharp threat.

• LEOPARD: More skilful and beautiful than the lion. Nevertheless it has the same character and is very agile.

• WILD BOAR: Pure force of the forest. If it gets angry, nobody is saved. It uses its fangs with lethal trickery.

• BEAR: The bear fasts for months while they are hibernating. Then its hunger is enormous and it is very likely that they like the sweaty meat of the gladiators.

• TIGER: It only thinks of eating people. It is stronger and hungrier than the lion, but it is afraid to the wild boar.

• HYENA: Is very artful , perfidious and dangerous when is hungry. It use many tricks to attain.

3. Rules of the Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes.

3.1. The players will complete the application form for Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes with his complete nova roman name and his e-mail adress.

3.2. The player will have to check in the application form the tactics, that he will choose among these three:

• 1."Defensive" tactics. It adds one point, but the gladiator or animal has 40 % of probabilities of surviving in case of defeat, because the public does not like these tactics.
• 2."Yourself" tactics. It neither adds nor take points. 50 % of probabilities of which the public asks for the death in case of defeat.
• 3."Total attack" tactics. It reduced one point, but the gladiator or animal has 65 % of probabilities of surviving in case of defeat, because the public likes these tactics.

The tactics 1 is troublesome for the public, the 2 is normal and the 3 is flattering for the public. The tactics of every player are secret and only the aedilis and the player must know it. The aedilis and the player will not publicize it before or after the combats.

3.4. The player will have to write in the application form a short description ( about trainings, abilities, skills and others, to impresse the peoples ) of his gladiators and animals. His description will be voted by the peoples and that will increase or decrease his" popularity". In the fight time the number of votes add one point to the gladiator or animal who have more votes.

3.5. The fitting will be always according to the order of arrival of the messages to the aedilis (first vs second, etc ..).

4. Classifications

The maximum accepted participants are 32. The Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes are separated. In the morning the Venationes and Munera Gladiatoria in the evening. But their rules and calculations are the same. The fights will be pairs and the eliminating will be constant up to the great final in each section, Venationes and Munera Gladiatoria.

5. Calculations of the Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes.

5.1. A 1-10 dice is roll for every gladiator or animal. The result is the number of combat (CN). Then points are added or reduced on the CN according to the chosen tactics.

5.2. The CN is modified according to the type of opponent gladiator or animal:

Retiarius versus: Retiarius (0); Thraex (-2); Murmillo (-1); Dimachaerus (+2); Homoplachus (+1); Secutor (0); leopard (+1); lion (+1); tiger (-1); bear (-2); wild boar (-1); hyena (-2).

Thraex versus: Retiarius (+2); Thraex (0); Murmillo (0); Dimachaerus (+1); Homoplachus (-1); Secutor (-2); leopard (+1); lion (+1); tiger (-2); bear (-1); wild boar (-1); hyena (+1).

Murmillo versus: Retiarius (+1); Thraex (0); Murmillo (0); Dimachaerus (-2); Homoplacus (+2); Secutor (-1); leopard (+1); lion (0); tiger (0); bear (-1); wild boar (+1); hyena (0).

Dimachaerus versus: Retiarius (-2); Thraex (-1); Murmillo (+2); Dimachaerus (0); Homoplacus (0); Secutor (+1); leopard (-1); lion (-2); tiger (0); bear (0); wild boar (+1); hyena (+1).

Homoplachus versus: Retiarius (-1); Thraex (+1); Murmillo (-2); Dimachaerus (0); Homoplachus (0); Secutor (+2); leopard (-1); lion (+1); tiger (-1); bear (+1); wild boar (0);hyena (-1).

Secutor versus: Retiarius (0); Thraex (+2); Murmillo (+1); Dimachaerus (-1); Homoplachus (-2); Secutor (0); leopard (-2); lion (-1); tiger (+1); bear (+2); wild boar (-1); hyena (0).

Lion vs: Retiarius (-1); Thraex (-1); Murmillo (0); Dimachaerus (+2); Homoplachus (-1); Secutor (+1); leopard (+1); lion (0); tiger (-2); bear (-1); wild boar (+2); hyena ( -2).

Leopard vs: Retiarius (-1); Thraex (-1); Murmillo (-1); Dimachaerus (+1); Homoplachus (+1); Secutor (+2); leopard (0); lion (-1); tiger (-2); bear (+1); wild boar (+2); hyena (0).

Wild Boar: Retiarius (+1); Thraex (+1); Murmillo (-1); Dimachaerus (-1); Homoplachus (0); Secutor (+1); leopard (-2); lion (-2); tiger (+2); bear (-2); wild boar (0); hyena ( +1).

Bear: Retiarius (+2); Thraex (+1); Murmillo (+1); Dimachaerus (0); Homoplachus (-1); Secutor (-2); leopard (-1); lion (-2); tiger (+1); bear (0); wild boar (+2); hyena ( +1).

Tiger: Retiarius (+1); Thraex (+2); Murmillo (0); Dimachaerus (0); Homoplachus (+1); Secutor (-1); leopard (+2); lion (+2); tiger (0); bear (-1); wild boar (-2); hyena (-1).

Hyena : Retiarius (+2); Thraex (-1); Murmillo (0);Dimacherus (-1); Homoplachus (+1 ); Secutor (0); leopard (0); lion (+2); tiger (+1); bear (-1); wild boar (-1); hyena (0).

5.3. The gladiator or animal whose CN modified by the type of his opponent is the highest is the winner of the combat. If there is a tie then nobody wins the combat.

5.4. The spectators of the amphitheatre choose the destiny of the loser: A 1-100 dice is rolled. If the defeated one has chosen tactics 1, he has 40 % of probabilities of surviving (1-40). If his tactics was the 2, he has 50 % (1-50). If his tactics was the 3 he has 65 % (1-65). His level of "popularity" is important here, too.

The Rules for Ludi Circenses follow the edictum given by past Curule Aediles:

EDICTUM AEDILICIUM DE RATIONE LUDORUM CIRCENSUM

I. Any Nova Roman citizen or socius who is not under aedilician sanction may take part in the Ludi Circenses organised by the Aediles curules. Each citizen may enter no more than one chariot per ludus circensis.

II. An entrant who wishes to participate in the Ludi Circenses must send a subscription to the aedilitas, specially to the officer appointed by the aedilis curulis in charge of the concerned Ludi. Each subscription must bear the subject header "Ludi Circenses" and include the following information:

A. His/her name in Nova Roma;

B. The name of his/her driver;

C. The name of his/her chariot;

D. His/her tactics for the Quarter and Semifinals;

E. His/her tactics for the Finals;

F. The name of his/her "factio" or team :

• Albata
• Praesina
• Russata
• Veneta

G. Dirty actions against another factio in a specific round (quarter-final, semi-final, or final) and amount of sesterces paid in support of it (an entrant does not have to pay sesterces to commission a dirty action, but doing so increases the chances of success);

H. Defence against dirty actions in a specific round (quarter-final, semi-final, or final) and amount of sesterces paid in support of it (an entrant does not have to pay sesterces to defend against a dirty action, but doing so decreases the chances of success of the dirty action);

I. If sesterces from multiple entrants are pooled to take a dirty action or defend against a dirty action, the subscription of each entrant of the pool must so indicate.

III. Tactics: Six (6) race tactics are possible:

• A. To hurry in the last laps
• B. To pass the curves closely the "spina" of the circus.
• C. To support a constant pace
• D. To lash the rivals
• E. To push the rivals to the wall of the circus
• F. To hurry in the straight lines

IV. Dirty actions.

A. An entrant can try the assassination of the driver of a rival factio or the sabotage of his/her chariot.

1. Assassination of the driver of a rival factio. The entrant must specify which factio he/she attacks. The base chance of success is 30 %. If the attempt fails it is is discovered and the name of the entrant who commissioned the assassination and those who contributed sesterces in support of the assassination will be announced and subject to disciplinary action by the Aediles Curules. Such disciplinary action may include disqualification from the current ludi, banning from future ludi for a specified period of time, or banning from participation in the ludi for the remainder of the year. The decision of the Aediles Curules in such matters is final. If the attempt is successful, the player with the murdered driver cannot take part in the race and the murderer remains undiscovered.

2. Sabotage of a chariot. The entrant must specify which factio he/she attacks. The base chance is 45 %. If the attempt is unsuccessful, it is discovered and the name of the entrant who commissioned the assassination and those who contributed sesterces in support of the sabotage will be announced and subject to disciplinary action by the Aediles Curules. Such disciplinary action may include disqualification from the current ludi, banning from future ludi for a specified period of time, or banning from participation in the ludi for the remainder of the year. The decision of the Aediles Curules in such matters is final. If the attempt is successful, the player with the broken chariot will have an accident in the race.

B. Defence against and support for dirty actions. Each entrant shall receive one hundred sesterces for each ludi. These sesterces may be used in any round of any race, accumulated from race to race, or accumulated from other entertainments (e.g., official-sponsored wagering on munera). These sesterces are not redeemable in Nova Roman or any other currency and may not be used outside the ways specified in this edictum. The Aediles Curules shall record the number of sesterces held and expended by each entrant and their computations shall be final and unappealable. The sesterces may be expended in any of the following ways:

1. Application of one hundred sesterces by any entrant to defence of his/her driver and chariot will render the driver and chariot immune for one round in the ludi;

2. Entrants from the same factio may pool their sesterces for defence in a round; for every one hundred sesterces pooled, the chance of success of a dirty action against that factio is reduced by 5% in that round.

3. Entrants may pool their sesterces for offence in a round; for every one hundred sesterces pooled, the chance of success of a dirty action against the targeted factio is increased by 5% in that round.

V. Organisation of the ludus

A. As far as the number of subscribed competitors allows it, there will be three rounds to each competition: quarter, semi-finals, and final.

B. The competition will be for elimination in each round.

C. In the Quarter rounds there will be one entrant from each factio in each race, unless there are too few entrants from a factio to make this possible. The first two first place entrants shall advance to the semi-final round; the remaining two entrants will be eliminated.

D. In the Semifinal round the winners of the Quarter rounds shall compete. The winning entrants of the Semi-final rounds shall advance to the final.

E. In the Final round the four best players race; the first place entrant shall be the winner of the ludi.

F. If the scheme quarters-semi-final cannot be applied, the aedilis curulis or the officer appointed by her/him decides the most appropriate scheme to conduct the competition.

VI. Race, tactics, accidents and victory conditions

A. Accidents.

1. Before doing the calculations of a race, the Aediles Curules determine who has an accident. For it, they roll one dice 0-100 for every chariot. The resultant number will be its percentage of accident:

• The drivers with tactics 1 will have 0 to 15 percentage of accident always. 0 to 25 if there are one or more drivers with tactics 4 or 5.
• The drivers with tactics 2 will have 0 to 20 percentage of accident always. 0 to 35 if there are one or more drivers with tactics 4 or 5.
• The drivers with tactics 3 will have 0 to 10 percentage always.
• The drivers with tactics 4 will have 0 to 15 percentage always. 0 to 25 if there are other drivers with tactics 4.
• The drivers with tactics 5 will have 0 to 15 always. 0 to 25 if there are other drivers with tactics 5.
• The drivers with tactics 6 will have 0 to 5 percentage always. 0 to 20 if there are other drivers with tactics 4 or 5.

B. Calculation of the races.

1. The organiser of the race (i.e. the aedile or the delegated officer) shall determine whether any dirty actions are successful. If a dirty action is determined to be successful, a chariot shall be eliminated by lot from among the entrants of the targeted factio and either declare the driver assassinated or that an accident caused by sabotage has occurred.

2. After determining which chariots (if any) have been eliminated from a race due to an accident, the The organiser of the race must calculate the order in which the remaining teams finished the race.

3. The organiser of the race will roll one die 0-10 for every entrant. This will be the Value of Race (VR) of every car.

4. To know the final position of a chariot in the race the VR of every player is divided by the sum of all the VR and the result is multiplied by 50. This ewstablishes each entrant's Chance to Win (CW). For example, if there is a race with 4 chariots with these VR: 6,5,4,2 then the first chariot, with the VR 6, would have the following Chance to to Win: 6/17 (17 is the sum of 6+5+4+2) x 50 = 17.6 (rounding, 18). The CW of the first chariot will be 18 points. The second chariot, with VR 5, would have 5/17x50 = 14.7 (rounding, 15), therefore its CW is 15 points.

5. The tactics modify the CW of the following way:

• Tactics 1) +6 points.
• Tactics 2) +8 points.
• Tactics 3) No points. The tactics 4 and 5 do not affect it.
• Tactics 4) +2 points. The tactics 5 do not affect it.
• Tactics 5) +2 points. The tactics 4 do not affect it.
• Tactics 6) +4 points.

For example, the organiser of the race assign each entrant a specific range of numbers out of a series of 100 that is equal to the entrant's Chance to Win. They assign these team ranges consecutively. In our sample race, for example, Chariot 1's range (with tactics 2) would be 01 through 25 (18+7). Chariot 2's range (with tactics 4) would be 26 through 40.

6. In the final step the organiser of the race will roll a die 0-100 to determine the order of finish. The chariot within whose range the first dice 0-100 roll falls is the team that finishes the race in first place. The chariot within whose range the second dice 0-100 roll falls is the team that finishes the race in second place. The chariot within whose range the third D100 roll falls is the chariot that finishes the race in third place, and so on. Once a chariot's position has been determined, subsequent rolls that fall within its range are ignored and the organiser of the race roll again.