The Gladiator Program
Monthly knife fighting and political LARP game set a pseudo version of the Roman Era, where the strongest go far and the rich nobility call the shots, each fight is life or death. Can you fight to win, to escape the gladiator program, or will you be a politician, representing the interests of the bigwig Sponsors?
Premise
In a world where the powerful are very powerful and those who aren't are considered scum, after being plagued by a world at war for years, the law was established that made it illegal to attack any of your foes directly or to wage war on anyone.
As an answer to this, just one year ago, the Sponsors came up with the Gladiator program, using lowly gladiators and their low ranked representatives to sort out their differences by fighting one on one with knives. By keeping it low-profile, they are able to sidestep the law and solve their problems with a different type of violence than war.
Alongside the political heavyweights who oppress the common man, and the trading corporations who hold food and resources to ransom, it's an era with a God for everything, and all are worshipped freely. The people are very spiritual, and as such, the religious sorts wield a great deal of power with the masses, as it is only they who offer true clarity and salvation. See THIS LIST of Roman Gods for inspiration.
The nobility, the churches and the traders all pull the strings, but it is the champions who wield the blades. Which ones will you fight for?
Setting
Held indoors, Knife Fight Club is set in a pantheistic Roman era fantasy world, based on the real world with some significant differences.
RELIGION-
The people believe in many gods, we focus on these:
Janus, Jupiter, Saturn, Genius, Mercury, Apollo, Mars, Vulcan, Neptune, Sol, Orcus, Liber, Tellus, Ceres, Juno,
Luna, Diana, Minerva, Venus, Vesta
The Gods may or may not be real... Will they interfere with your fate?
WAR-
War has been outlawed a year ago, and the whole world must comply or the system falters. Through Gladiator programs, wars can still be fought with minimal death, one 18 inch long blade against another.
THE WORLD-
However much countries might want to go toe-to-toe, each gladiator program is local to the area in which its held. Our game focuses only on Britannia, a Roman era fantasy version of the UK, though you can be from anywhere in the world, with permission from the GM. Please ask for more details if you have a cool concept!
MAGIC-
Is not real, this is a low-fantasy world. The most you'll get is fancy potions that heal you, drugs that make you crazy and religious rites that may or may not affect your fate.
The Sponsors
Important nobles, government officials, those representing rich Trading Houses and more... They use gladiators to settle their scores, promising the combatants all sorts of things in exchange for when you get free. If combatants and representatives get free of the program, because once you sign up, there's no getting out without a lot of fighting or political manoeuvring.
Each sponsor has beef with two or three others, so most gladiators will fight a few times in the day. If a combatant wins a few, that's good for them and their Sponsor's representative's ratings, which will impress the Sponsors and make them likely to offer you bonuses for your freedom or promotion.
Players
As a Combatant (fighting, a little politics):
So you've for some reason signed up to be in the gladiator program as a combatant. Could be you're a jailed criminal hoping for freedom, could be you're in so much debt you're hoping for money to buy your way out. Either way, you've signed up to get the attention of sponsors.
You turn up once a month, see pitches from all the sponsor's representatives, wanting to convince the best fighters to sign up for them. You'll be chosen by the Sponsor's representatives, and you have to fight or accept your death. If you've got a sponsor you don't want... You can try and exchange with someone. You'll have a little while to shmooze, to see what everyone else is looking for and try and get yourself the best sponsor for your goals. When fighting starts, you can no longer swap.
As a combatant, when you gather enough bonuses from a single sponsor, you can earn your freedom. Earn bonuses consistently from your favourite sponsor and you just might survive this life, and escape with whatever you need to start a new life. But be careful to make good friends with the sponsor's representatives- they're the ones with the power to heal you... Or let you die.
As a Sponsor's Representative (political only):
So you've for some reason signed up to be in the gladiator program as a Sponsor's Rep. Maybe you're looking to gain influence or power with some bigwig trading house or government office, but ultimately you're after a promotion out of this crappy job. Either way, you've signed up to get the attention of sponsors.
The order of choosing a gladiator is done by the Representatives and the order is left to chance, if you're lucky you'll be one of the first and get to choose your favourite combatant. If not, you'll need to sponsor whoever is left, because refusing to represent someone after signing up means execution. Your boss might not be so pleased if you end up sponsoring someone who doesn't represent their interests, though!
As a Sponsor's Representative, you're there to represent the interests of your Sponsor. Continually picking a winning combatant will look good for you, and 10 bonuses will get you a fancy promotion, out of the Gladiator Program. You can also spend 3 bonuses to buy potions, as incentive to make your combatants want to fight for you.
Event Details
There are 10 places for this event, 5 combatants and 5 Sponsor's representatives. If we have less sponsor's representatives you may be asked to represent the interests of more than one sponsor. If we have less than 5 combatants you may be asked to fight for more than one sponsor.
Character Creation-
Your character is from anywhere in the world, which is a Roman era, pantheistic version of real world equivalents. Most characters will be from Britannia, a fantasy version of the UK. Other countries details available on request, any other concepts are welcome to be explored with the GM but will be rarer.
You can play a follower of a God if you wish, though this gives you no in game benefits, some Benefactors may reward religious sorts more or less favourably. Please discuss religious requirements with the GM if you are interested in exploring it further.
You will generally be either a servant, peasant, indebted townsperson, ex-warrior, downtrodden noble or anything else you can think of. Anyone with a reason to take part in the Gladiator program is a valid character idea. If you're worried about creating a character, turn up as a peasant who doesn't know their arse from their elbow, who wanted to better themselves and see what happens!
Combat & Safety Rules-
Everyone has 10 global hits, regardless of armour or costume. When you hit 0 hits, you're "injured" and must use a healing potion to regain hits. You must not leave the designated fighting circle, or you are automatically disqualified. This is both an IC (In character) rule and an OC (Out-of-Character) safety rule, keeping you far enough away from dangerous areas such as windows and breakable set dressing.
As an OC rule, the only fighting allowed will take place in the Gladiator Circle, no fighting is permitted throughout the rest of the venue for safety reasons. No LARP-safe dagger larger than 18 inches may be used in combat, and all weapons used are foam-based LARP-safe weaponry that is safety checked before each event. You may only slash with LARP weaponry, no stabbing is allowed, and only combat with weapons is permissible, no using your hands or fists or grappling! Safety brief and weapons demonstration will take place before each event.
You must react to all blows dealt to you as though you have really been hurt. This makes the game more immersive. Each strike with the dagger blade may only happen with at least 1 second between blows, to prevent drum-rolling and fights being over within seconds. Imagine there’s a weighty little blade in your hand, not just a foam prop!
Bonuses & Resources
Fighting for/ representing a combatant and winning fights for a Sponsor gives you their bonuses. Everyone gets a single bonus from the sponsor they represent or fight for per event, people who win at least one fight get a second bonus per event up to a maximum of two bonuses per month. All prices below are for bonuses FROM THE SAME SPONSOR. This means that you could collect ten bonuses, but if they’re not all from the same Sponsor, you can’t use them together.
Uses for Bonuses:
Buy a potion - 3 bonuses
Buy a Religious token - 3 bonuses
Win your freedom/ promotion (end of character)- 10 bonuses
Move up a Tier - 10 bonuses
Potions
Potions can be used to alter your character's health or strength. They should be used before or after combat, never during combat.
I
Religious Tokens
Religious tokens are *probably* just mundane tokens of the Gods… They *most likely* don’t have any real power, just a symbol that you’re a follower of a particular God. PROBABLY.
Janus- a two faced man
Jupiter- Lightning bolt
Saturn- Sickle/Scythe
Mercury- Caduceus
Apollo- Laurel
Mars- spear/shield
Vulcan- Blacksmith’s hammer
Neptune- Horse or dolphin and trident
Sol- Chariot
Orcus- demon
Liber- phallus or wine glass
Tellus- Fruit or flowers
Ceres- wheat-sheaf
Juno- crown
Luna- Crescent moon
Diana- bow and quiver or deer
Minerva- Owl of Minerva
Venus- Rose
Vesta- The hearth, sacred fire
Results with Religious tokens will vary. You may encourage or anger certain sponsors, and you may find yourself lucky or, worse, unlucky…
Rewards
Sponsors can, in addition to giving out their bonuses, offer rewards in exchange for fighting for them. This is to encourage the best fighters to want to fight for them. These rewards could be money, potions or other worldly goods or services that you can use when you get out of the program such as cattle, a house or even maybe a noble title for the most renowned fighters.
Status conditions
Injured
When you are injured, you must fall to the floor and roleplay that you cannot continue the fight. You are able to talk, but take no other actions as your body is completely spent. You require someone else to heal you, and you can always offer to give up your rewards in exchange for healing, should you be struggling to find someone to heal you.
Dead
If you remain injured for more than ten minutes, you will die and must restart with a new character.
Tiers
There are 3 tiers at Gladiator Program. Each fight is fair, with both parties fighting with the weaponry allowed to the lowest applicable tier. I.e. if both people are Tier 2, they may fight with ‘Skilled’ level weapons. If one is Tier 1 and one is Tier 3, they must both only fight with ‘Novice’ level weapons. It costs 10 bonuses to go up a tier, and when a character reaches Elite tier, they are considered at the top of their game. The Sponsors do not want their Gladiators to wield too much power and renown, and they may not advance beyond this in any way lest they draw the ire of some of the more brutal Sponsors.
Tier 1 - Novice
Gladiators: You may fight with only one 18inch dagger.
Representatives: Potions and religious tokens cost 3 bonuses each for you.
Tier 2 - Skilled
Gladiators: You may choose to fight with two 18inch daggers.
Representatives: Potions and religious tokens cost 2 bonuses each for you.
Tier 3 - Elite
Gladiators: You may fight with one 18inch dagger and a small buckler, or two 18inch long daggers.
Representatives: Potions and religious tokens cost 1 bonus each for you.
What an evening at the Gladiator Program looks like...
7pm-
Sponsor’s Representatives are allocated their Sponsors first (or potentially before the event). Afterwards, gladiators can shmooze for a while, reading the descriptions of all the sponsors and what they offer, mingle with the sponsor's representatives and figure out who you want or don't want to fight for. Convincing your favourite sponsor that you're good, reliable etc might make them more likely to choose you.
7:30pm-
The sponsor's representatives get to choose their gladiators in an order chosen by chance, with the lucky first getting their choice of gladiator and the last stuck with whoever is left. After this time you are able to shmooze again to swap sponsor with another fighter if you can convince them to.
8pm-11pm-
The first match is up, and the next follows until all the matches are complete. While the fight is ongoing, you will be supported by your sponsor's representative, who can heal you with your healing potions and give support from the side. Other players can also give up their potions to heal you, if they should choose to. Each match has a time limit of 10 minutes, after which the person with the most hp left is declared the winner, or if on equal hp we go to suddenly death where the next hit wins the game. While not fighting, you can shmooze with the other fighters to make alliances, or try to convince your favourite sponsor that they should back you next time. The outcome of the fights will determine how your favourite and least favourite sponsors do with their goals... So you might want to watch and cheer for your favourites too!
11pm-Midnight- (Or when all your fights are done!)
All the fighting is done, you can have a drink if you want, and shmooze for another hour before it's time to leave and go back to your cell for another month.