ARENA II
Rules of Play
DRAFT VERSION
ARENA II, its rules, documentation and game text are
Copyright 1994 by Scott R. Turner. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce and distribute these rules.
Questions, comments: srt@sun-dimas.aero.org
"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out
how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could
have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat
and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short
again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the
best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and
who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
1 Introduction
The Imperial City is the capitol and spiritual center of the
Thousand Lands. Ruled by the lofty and rarely seen Eternal Em-
peror, the Imperial City is home to all the wonders and splendors
to be found in the Thousand Lands. The streets are crowded with
exotically attired nobles, shouting vendors, strange caged beasts
and other marvels. From the icy wastes of the far Northern Tun-
dra to the steaming jungles of the Tarantula Lands, every citizen
of the Thousand Lands dreams of a visit to the Imperial City.
And at the center of the Imperial City is the Arena District,
where the finest warriors from across the Empire come to battle
for honor and prizes. Rising from the center of the city in ten
tiers, the Arena District forms an immense pyramid that towers
over the Imperial City and culminates in the shining gold and
silver towers of the Imperial Palace.
On the outskirts of the Arena District lie the Novice Arenas,
where the untested come to find success in blood and combat. In
tiny, ill-lit wooden arenas they strive against one another, des-
perately trying to master the skills and recognition that will
gain them entrance to the next, more prestigious level. Most
never make it. Some go broke before finding success. Others are
turned away by the Arena Masters. But each year a privileged few
open their lockers and discover the golden token that permits ac-
1
cess to the next level of the Arena District.
These few successful gladiators are sometimes seen in the lower
City, riding luxurious palaquins, wearing shining armor, girded
with jewelled swords. But for all their riches, these gladiators
often wear the same hunted look as their novice brethren. In the
dank, dark locker rooms of the Novice Arenas, the rumors tell of
an endless progression of Arenas up into the High City, of gladi-
ators broken by an endless life of combat. But when the fitful
sunlight filters down into the Arena, and the Judge rings the
battered bronze gong to signal the start of yet another fight,
these rumors are quickly forgotten, and there exists only, as al-
ways, the battle!
2 Overview
ARENA is a computer-moderated, PBEM game of gladiatorial combat.
As a player, you will create one or more gladiators, select their
weapons and armor, guide their training, find them teammates,
choose their strategies and tactics, and cheer them on as they do
battle in the ARENA.
Turns consist of any number of simple, one-line commands and are
submitted by electronic mail to the Arena server. Turns are pro-
cessed immediately and the results returned by electronic mail.
Every night at midnight battles are fought and results sent to
all participants. At the same time, the world and everything in
it is updated (``the midnight update'').
Turn reports consist of responses to commands, reports on the
world and your gladiators, and battle descriptions. A typical
turn report might look like this:
TURN REPORT: srt@sun-dimas.aero.org
CHARACTER REPORTS:
NAME: [8] Dirk
DESCRIPTION: A one-eyed man with a limp.
EPITAPH: My god! It's filled with light!
WHERE: The Arena District (-10,2)
MONEY: 4
ARENA: [4] An Arena at (-10,2) The Arena District
NEXT MATCH: none
INSULTS:
[1] Try that again, why don't you?
OVERALL RECORD: 0-1-1
ARENA RECORD: 0-1-1
SURRENDER: 75
DEFENSE: 50
2
STAMINA RESERVE: High
BODY:
Head: +perception, excellent condition
Torso: +sturdiness, excellent condition
Weapon arm: ++strength, excellent condition
Shield arm: -speed, excellent condition
Legs: excellent condition
SKILLS:
Attack Parry Riposte Main Gauche
Chop: 0% 0% 0% 0%
Thrust: 15% 0% 0% 0%
Bash: 55% 30% 0% 0%
Shield: 0% 20% 0% 0%
INVENTORY:
[26] spear (excellent condition)
* [6] staff (poor condition)
RECENT MATCHES:
(9/29/94) vs. Halfnight, 8 rounds, lost.
LOCATION:
At location The Arena District [1] (-10,2).
The Arena District is a bustling, exciting place filled
with street vendors, gladiators and exotic beasts.
Seen here:
[28] Arena General (Entrance Fee: 17)
Arena General is the local provider of low-cost
health care.
[8] Dirk
The turn report shows that srt@sun-dimas.aero.org has one gladia-
tor named Dirk. Dirk's various attributes and possessions are
shown, along with some of his history and a short description of
his current location.
Gladiators fight battles by entering arenas where they are
matched up with an opponent by the Arena Masters. Gladiators are
sequestered in the arena for one day following the announcement
of a match to give them time to prepare for their opponents and
to give the public time to place wagers on the outcome of the
battle. A battle report gives a round-by-round description of
the battle and, at the end, a summary of the important events
that occurred during the battle:
Round: 1.
Dirk executes a fearless spinning attack at Challenger!
Challenger diverts it with his rapier!
Dirk strikes at Challenger.
3
[...]
Challenger connects with a slight attack to Dirk's shield arm.
With a pitiful sob, Dirk drops his weapon and collapses!
The following events occurred during this battle:
Dirk was defeated.
Dirk improved his Bash Attack by 3%.
Challenger improved his Thrust Attack by 1%.
Challenger improved his Thrust Parry by 1%.
Challenger wins 100 gold!
Total action on this fight was 9 gold.
Between matches, gladiators heal, train, purchase new equipment,
and explore the Arena District.
2.1 Commands
Turns consist of any number of simple, one-line commands. A typ-
ical turn might look like this:
NAME Dirk
SET DESCRIPTION "A one-eyed man with a limp."
MOVE 10 6
ENTER 4
This turn sets Dirk's description, moves him to a particular
place in the Arena District, and has him enter a building there.
Commands consist of a command keyword followed by one or more ar-
guments. For example, the NAME command starts with the command
keyword "NAME" and has one argument, the name of a gladiator.
Command keywords can be in uppercase or lowercase, and cannot be
abbreviated.
Command arguments are either keywords, strings or numbers:
o Keyword arguments (such as ``DESCRIPTION'' in the example
above) can be in uppercase or lowercase, and can be abbreviat-
ed. Take care using abbreviations, however, as ambiguous ab-
breviations may be interpreted in an unexpected way.
o String arguments should be enclosed in double quotes if they
contain any spaces (compare the ``NAME'' command and the ``SET
DESCRIPTION'' command in the example above).
o Number arguments should be integers, as in the ``MOVE'' and
``ENTER'' examples above.
A list of all the legal commands and their arguments is given in
4
Section 11 of these rules.
2.2 Objects & Identifiers
Every object in ARENA - gladiator, building, item, etc. - is as-
signed a unique integer identifier. This identifier is usually
shown in square brackets as part of the name of the object. For
example:
LOCATION:
At location The Arena District [1] (-10,2).
The Arena District is a bustling, exciting place filled with
street vendors, gladiators and exotic beasts.
Seen here:
[28] Arena General (Entrance Fee: 17)
Arena General is the local provider of low-cost health care.
[8] Dirk
This turn report extract shows three objects and their unique
identifiers: the Arena District itself [1], Arena General (a hos-
pital) [28], and Dirk [8].
In commands, objects are referred to by their identifier. For
example, to enter Arena General, Dirk would issue the following
command:
ENTER 28
The sole exceptions to this rule (as noted later) are the CREATE
and NAME commands, in which gladiators are referred to by their
names.
Note that when objects are destroyed or leave the game, their
unique identifiers will be reused.
3 The Gladiator
A gladiator is described by various attributes, abilities, skills
and strategies. Some of these can be set by the player; others
must be acquired through training.
5
3.1 General Attributes
Each gladiator has a number of general attributes: a name, a de-
scription, an epitaph, and a list of insults.
A gladiator is given a name when created. Gladiators are created
with the CREATE command. For example:
CREATE Dirk
creates a new gladiator named ``Dirk''. If a name contains
spaces, it should be enclosed in double quotes, e.g.,
CREATE "Dirk the Bold"
Once assigned a gladiator name cannot be changed, so select names
carefully.
Each gladiator has a one line description. The description is
set using the DESCRIBE command. For example,
DESCRIBE "A one-eyed man with a limp."
describes Dirk as a one-eyed man with a limp. Note that the de-
scription contains spaces, and so was enclosed in double quotes.
The description may be changed as often as you like.
Each gladiator has a one line epitaph. In the sad case of the
gladiator's death, he will utter the epitaph as a final, witty
comment on his life. The epitaph is set by the SET EPITAPH com-
mand. For example,
SET EPITAPH "My god! It's filled with light!"
would give Dirk an epitaph opaque enough for a Stanley Kubrik
film. Note the use of double quotes.
Each gladiator can also have up to ten insults. Each insult is a
slur on his opponent that the gladiator can use at appropriate
times during a battle. If the insult contains a ``%s'', the op-
ponent's name will be inserted in place of the %s. Insults are
set using the INSULT command. For example,
INSULT "Hey, %s, your shoe is untied!"
Again, note the use of double quotes.
Each gladiator maintains a list of up to ten insults and selects
randomly from that list. If the INSULT command is used without
an argument, all insults are erased.
6
3.2 Body Attributes
Each gladiator has a body consisting of a head, torso, weapon
arm, shield arm, and legs. Each body part has various at-
tributes: strength, sturdiness, speed, vigor, intelligence, per-
ception and healing. Each attribute starts out at zero, and may
be raised or lowered by the player.
Here's an example of what a typical gladiator's body attributes
might look like:
BODY:
Head: +perception, excellent condition
Torso: +sturdiness, excellent condition
Weapon arm: ++strength, excellent condition
Shield arm: -speed, excellent condition
Legs: excellent condition
In this example, the gladiator has +1 head perception, +1 torso
sturdiness, +2 weapon arm strength, and -1 shield arm speed.
Attributes are raised or lowered by use of the RAISE and LOWER
commands:
RAISE <attribute> <body part>
LOWER <attribute> <body part>
For example, the following command raises the healing attribute
for the legs body part:
RAISE healing legs
Not all attributes make sense for all body parts. The following
two tables shows the effect raising each attribute has on each
body part. Note that lowering an attribute has the opposite ef-
fect.
7
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Body Part | Strength | Sturdiness | Speed |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Head | no effect | More hit | no effect |
| | | points. | |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Torso | no effect | More hit | no effect |
| | | points. | |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Weapon Arm | Increased | More hit | Increased |
| | weapon dam- | points. | chance to |
| | age. | | hit. Initia- |
| | | | tive bonus. |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Shield Arm | Increased | More hit | Increased |
| | shield bash | points. | chance to |
| | damage. | | shield block. |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Legs | Carry more. | More hit | Improved de- |
| | | points. | fense (dodg- |
| | | | ing). |
+--------------+---------------+---------------+-----------------+
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Body Part | Vigor | Intelligence | Perception | Healing |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Head | no effect | Improved | Improved | Faster |
| | | learning by | learning | healing. |
| | | study. | from oppo- | |
| | | | nents. | |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Torso | Increased | no effect | no effect | Faster |
| | stamina re- | | | healing. |
| | covery. | | | |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Weapon Arm | no effect | no effect | no effect | Faster |
| | | | | healing. |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Shield Arm | no effect | no effect | no effect | Faster |
| | | | | healing. |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
|Legs | Increased | no effect | no effect | Faster |
| | initial and | | | healing. |
| | maximum | | | |
| | stamina. | | | |
+-----------+-------------+--------------+------------+----------+
You may raise and lower a gladiator's attributes according to the
following rules:
1. Once raised, an attribute cannot be lowered.
2. You cannot raise an attribute beyond +3.
8
3. You cannot lower an attribute beyond -3.
4. The total of all attributes cannot be greater than +3.
5. The total of all negative attributes cannot be less
than -3.
6. Attributes listed as "no effect" in the above tables
can be neither raised nor lowered.
3.3 Weapon Skills
A variety of weapons and weapon skills are available to gladia-
tors. Weapons are divided into four types: chopping weapons
(e.g., axes, longswords), thrusting weapons (e.g., daggers,
rapiers), impact weapons (e.g., clubs, maces), and shields. Four
basic weapons skills can be learned for each type of weapon. In
order of increasing difficulty, these are: attack, parry, riposte
and main gauche.
ATTACK is the skill of using a weapon to strike an opponent.
PARRY is the skill of using a weapon (or shield) to deflect
an opponent's attack.
RIPOSTE is the skill of using a weapon (or shield) to launch
a counterattack immediately following a successful parry.
MAIN GAUCHE is the skill of attacking with a second weapon
wielded in the shield arm.
The following chart shows the weapons skills for a typical gladi-
ator:
SKILLS:
Attack Parry Riposte Main Gauche
Chop: 0% 0% 0% 0%
Thrust: 15% 0% 0% 0%
Bash: 55% 30% 0% 0%
Shield: 0% 20% 0% 0%
There are two ways to gain weapon skills: study and experience.
Study is accomplished by use of the STUDY command:
STUDY <weapon type> <skill>
For example, to study the attack skill for thrusting weapons, you
would use the following command:
9
STUDY thrust attack
The STUDY command costs 100 gold when used to learn a new weapon
skill and results in an initial proficiency of 20%. Subsequent
uses of STUDY cost 25 gold and result in a 2-5% increase in the
skill level. STUDY cannot be used to improve a weapon skill past
the expert (50%) level.
The second way to improve a weapon skill is through experience.
Each time a gladiator successfully uses a skill in a battle situ-
ation, there is a (100-current skill level)% chance that he will
improve his weapon skill by 1-5%. A gladiator can improve a
skill only once per battle.
It is also possible for a gladiator to lose proficiency if a
skill goes unused.
For each weapon category, the attack skill must be learned to ex-
pert (50%) proficiency before the parry or riposte skill can be
learned. Similarly, main gauche cannot be learned until a gladi-
ator is an expert with either parry or riposte.
The exception to this rule is the shield category, which is
learned in the order (1) parry, (2) riposte.
3.4 Weapon Techniques
Weapon techniques are special tactics or styles of fighting that
give a bonus of a few percent to a particular weapon skill. Cer-
tain rare techniques also add a bonus to damage. Each weapon
technique has both a name and an identification number:
TECHNIQUES:
[84286] Power Punch (Bash Attack) +4% bonus
[18625] Dancing Devil Kick (Bash Attack) +2% bonus
A gladiator may know any number of weapon techniques and the ef-
fect of the known weapon techniques is cumulative. In the above
example, the gladiator would receive a +6% bonus to all bash at-
tacks.
Weapon techniques differ in one important way from weapon skills.
As a technique becomes well-known, defenses against the technique
are fashioned and the technique soon loses its effectiveness.
For that reason, when a technique becomes known by 7 gladiators,
it will lose its effectiveness and disappear.
Weapon techniques can be learned in three ways.
First, weapon techniques can be discovered via the RESEARCH com-
10
mand. Each use of the RESEARCH command costs 50 gold and has a
20% chance of revealing a weapon technique for a particular
weapon skill. The format of the RESEARCH command is:
RESEARCH <weapon type> <skill> [<name>]
For example, to attempt to discover a bash parry technique, a
gladiator would use:
RESEARCH bash parry "Dirk's Whirl"
If a new technique is discovered, it will be called ``Dirk's
Whirl''. If no name is provided, the Arena will make up a name
for the new technique.
Second, weapon techniques can be learned from a gladiator who al-
ready knows the technique by using the LEARN command:
LEARN <technique id>
Note that this command requires the technique id, not the name of
the technique nor the weapon skill. For example,
LEARN 84286
could be used to learn the ``Power Punch'' technique shown above.
The only way to learn the technique id for a weapon technique is
to be told it by someone who already knows the technique.
The LEARN command costs 50 gold per use.
Finally, weapon techniques can be learned by observing them in
action. Every time a gladiator fights an opponent who uses a
weapon technique, there is a 10% chance that he will learn the
weapon technique via observation. Intelligent gladiators have an
increased chance to learn a technique via observation.
3.5 Combat Variables
In addition to body attributes, weapon skills and weapon tech-
niques, the behavior of a gladiator in combat is controlled by
several combat variables: surrender level, defense/offense level,
and stamina reserve.
The SURRENDER variable controls when a gladiator will surrender.
The SURRENDER variable represents the percentage level of damage
that will cause a gladiator to surrender. The SURRENDER variable
is set by use of SET command. For example,
SET surrender 85
11
sets the surrender level for this gladiator to 85%. When this
gladiator suffers damage equal to 85% of his total hit points, he
will surrender. SURRENDER values in the 75-100% range are recom-
mended. Note that higher SURRENDER values may result in the
death of the gladiator.
The DEFENSE variable controls whether a gladiator is concentrat-
ing on defense or offense. By concentrating most of his atten-
tion on either defense or offense, a gladiator can raise his per-
formance in that area by a few percentage points (and with a cor-
responding loss in the other area). The DEFENSE variable repre-
sents the percentage of effort to be devoted to defense (the re-
mainder will be devoted towards offense). DEFENSE is also set
with the SET command. For example,
SET defense 100
sets this gladiators defensive level to 100% (and his offense
level to 0%). With this setting, the gladiator will improve his
chances to dodge and parry attacks by a few percent. But even
with this extreme setting, the gladiator will still make attacks
- but they will be at a reduced chance of success. SET may also
be used to set the OFFENSE level - this is just the converse of
the DEFENSE level.
The RESERVE variable controls how much stamina a gladiator holds
"in reserve". Stamina is used to fuel both attacks and defenses,
and excess stamina can be expended to improve a gladiator's at-
tack chance. The RESERVE variable controls how much stamina a
gladiator will hold back during battle. Stamina over this limit
will be spent to improve the gladiator's attack chances. The re-
serve level can be either HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW and is set using
the SET command. For example,
SET reserve medium
sets a medium level of stamina reserves.
4 Weapons & Armor
Various types of weapons and armor are available for purchase in
stores located throughout the Arena District. Any gladiator with
sufficient funds can purchase weapons and armor and use them in
the arenas.
12
4.1 Weapons
The following table shows the weapons generally available in the
Arena District, their characteristics, and their usual cost:
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
| Name | Type | 2HD? | Dam | Cost | Len | Lbs. | Other |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Battle Axe | Chop | No | 3 | 58 | 2.0 | 4.9 | |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|War Axe | Chop | Yes | 4 | 66 | 3.0 | 8.5 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Club | Impact | No | 2 | 41 | 1.8 | 3.1 | |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Mace | Impact | No | 3 | 61 | 2.1 | 4.5 | |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Morningstar | Impact | No | 3 | 57 | 2.4 | 5.1 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Hammer | Impact | No | 3 | 60 | 2.1 | 4.7 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|War Hammer | Impact | Yes | 4 | 72 | 3.1 | 9.5 | |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Dagger | Thrust | No | 1 | 27 | 0.6 | 1.3 | +MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Staff | Impact | Yes | 2 | 40 | 7.2 | 4.3 | |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Halberd | Impact | Yes | 3 | 52 | 6.6 | 6.1 | -P |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Scythe | Chop | Yes | 3 | 56 | 7.0 | 6.3 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Pike | Thrust | Yes | 3 | 28 | 10.0 | 9.5 | -P |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Spear | Thrust | Yes | 2 | 33 | 6.0 | 5.0 | -P |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Epee | Thrust | No | 2 | 51 | 2.4 | 2.3 | +P, -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Foil | Thrust | No | 2 | 48 | 2.4 | 2.5 | +P, -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Broadsword | Chop | No | 3 | 61 | 2.4 | 4.5 | -P, -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Longsword | Chop | No | 3 | 52 | 2.4 | 6.1 | -P, -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Scimitar | Chop | No | 3 | 61 | 2.4 | 4.5 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Rapier | Thrust | No | 2 | 48 | 3.0 | 2.2 | +P, -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|Shortsword | Thrust | No | 2 | 51 | 2.1 | 2.0 | -MG |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
|2hd Sword | Chop | Yes | 4 | 66 | 6.0 | 9.1 | -P |
+------------+--------+------+-----+------+------+------+---------+
Notes
13
o Length is given in feet.
o Weapons have a type (Chop, Thrust, or Impact) corresponding
to the types of weapons skills.
o Two-handed weapons prevent the gladiator from using a shield
or a main gauche weapon in his shield hand. Two-handed weapons
also cannot be used as main gauche weapons.
o Damage for each weapon is rated on a scale of 0-4. Higher
numbers indicate greater damage. The scale is roughly linear,
so that a damage 3 weapon on average will do about three times
the damage of a damage 1 weapon.
o Cost is only an indication of the relative costs of the
weapons. Actual costs may vary.
o Heavier, longer weapons are more tiring to use than shorter,
lighter weapons.
o -P indicates that the weapon carries a penalty when used to
parry. +P indicates that the weapon carries a bonus when used
to parry. Similarly, -MG/+MG indicate penalties or bonuses
when the weapon is used as a main gauche.
o Weapons not appearing in this table may also be occasionally
available in some stores.
4.2 Armor
Armorers provide the gladiators of the Arena District with armor
in a wide variety of types and styles.
Four styles of armor are generally available: helmets, vests,
coats and pants. Helmets protect the head, vests protect the
torso, coats protect both the torso and the arms, and pants pro-
tect the legs.
Seventeen types of armor are commonly available. The following
table lists these types, the protection they provide against var-
ious types of attacks, and the weight and cost of an entire suit
(helmet, coat, pants) of that type.
14
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
| Name Chop Thrust Impact Weight (lbs) Cost Stackable? |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Cloth 0 0 2 4.4 5 Yes |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Padding 1 1 3 6.0 7 Yes |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Soft leather 1 1 1 6.5 16 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Hard leather 2 2 2 6.5 32 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Cuir-bouilli 3 4 2 12.0 59 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Woven cord 2 2 3 15.0 42 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Ring mail 4 5 3 22.0 51 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Studded leather 2 3 3 15.0 33 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Chain mail 6 2 3 44.0 48 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Double mail 7 4 3 48.0 65 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Wood brigandine 6 5 3 30.0 64 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Metal brigandine 9 8 4 48.0 92 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Laminated 9 9 2 44.0 94 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Wooden splint 6 5 2 22.0 65 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Metal splint 9 8 2 38.0 92 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Metal plate 11 11 4 54.0 113 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Ribbed plate 12 12 4 54.0 126 No |
+----------------+----+------+------+------------+----+----------+
Notes
o Protections are rated on a scale from 0-12. The scale is
roughly linear, so an armor with protection of 8 would stop
roughly four times the damage of an armor with protection 2.
o Heavy armor is more tiring to use and may affect a gladia-
tor's agility.
o Cost is only an indication of the relative costs of the dif-
ferent types of armor. Actual costs for a particular piece of
armor will vary.
o Stackable armors (cloth, padding) may be worn underneath oth-
er armors, adding cumulatively to the armor rating.
15
o Armor types not appearing in this table may also be occasion-
ally available in some stores.
o Armor types may be mixed. That is, a gladiator could wear
metal plate pants with a soft leather vest and a woven cord
helmet.
4.3 Shields
Shields are also available from the armorers in the Imperial
City. Three types of shields are available, as shown in the fol-
lowing table:
+-------------+----------------------------------+--------+------+
| Name | Coverage | Weight | Cost |
+-------------+----------------------------------+--------+------+
|Buckler | Torso and shield arm | 4.0 | 10 |
+-------------+----------------------------------+--------+------+
|Round Shield | Head, torso and shield arm | 6.0 | 14 |
+-------------+----------------------------------+--------+------+
|Kite Shield | Head, torso, shield arm and legs | 8.0 | 20 |
+-------------+----------------------------------+--------+------+
Unlike armor, a shield is an active defense. The user of a
shield must have the ``shield parry'' skill. If he does, he will
attempt to use his shield to parry blows aimed at the covered ar-
eas. A parried blow does no damage.
Shields are available in three materials. The type of material
of a shield affects its weight and its resistance to wear and
tear. Leather shields are the lightest, but wear fastest. Wood-
en shields have average weight and durability. Metal shields are
somewhat heavier but very durable.
4.4 Wear and Tear
Both weapons and armor are subject to wear and tear. Even well-
crafted weapons and armor will eventually become useless as they
are damaged in melee.
A rough indication of the current condition of an item is shown
alongside the item in all inventories:
[26] spear (excellent condition)
[6] staff (poor condition)
The scale of this indication is: terrible, poor, average, good,
excellent.
16
When an item becomes useless it is removed from a gladiator's in-
ventory.
4.5 Stores
Armor and weapons are typically obtained by purchase at a store.
Various stores are scattered about the Arena District. The best-
known of these stores is Gertin Bros., a famous and usually well-
stocked blacksmith located at (-10,0) in the Arena District.
Upon entering a store, the gladiator will be given a description
of the store and the items available for sale:
4: enter 3
You are now in [3] Gertin Bros. Blacksmiths (0, 0).
In the store Gertin Bros. Blacksmiths [3].
For sale:
[10] halberd (excellent condition) $52
[9] mace (excellent condition) $61
[15] wooden splint vest (excellent condition) $27
[20] leather buckler (excellent condition) $3
[18] metal plate pants (excellent condition) $29
[16] soft leather vest (excellent condition) $5
[19] studded leather coat (excellent condition) $20
[23] wooden kite shield (excellent condition) $13
[27] spear (excellent condition) $17
[22] ring mail vest (excellent condition) $7
[14] morningstar (good condition) $23
[13] metal round shield (excellent condition) $12
[12] hard leather pants (excellent condition) $3
[11] longsword (excellent condition) $15
Seen here:
[8] Dirk
To purchase an item from a store, a gladiator should enter the
store and then issue the BUY command with the id of the item he
wishes to buy, e.g.,
BUY 16
If the gladiator has sufficient money, the item he is buying will
be placed in his inventory and the cost of the item deducted from
his gold.
Stores will also buy back armor and weapons, although at a re-
duced price. To sell something back to a store, use the SELL
command.
17
4.6 Item Aliases
A potential problem arises when multiple players are interacting
with a store. Between the time you receive a turn report showing
the contents of a store and the time you send in a turn to pur-
chase an item, how do you know that the item won't be purchased
by another player?
When an item is purchased from a store, it is replaced by an ex-
actly equivalent item with a new id number. For example, after
Dirk purchased
[16] soft leather vest (excellent condition) $5
from Gertin Bros., a new item:
[28] soft leather vest (excellent condition) $5
was added to the store's inventory. This assures that an item
will remain available between the time you see it and the time
you purchase it.
Furthermore, the new item may be purchased using the id number of
the original item - the id number of the original item acts as an
``alias'' for the new item. So in this case, the command:
BUY 16
would work to purchase item [28]. This means a player won't have
to submit multiple attempts to buy something which fail simply
because the item id is changing.
Aliases are erased at midnight each day. For this reason, it is
best to try to buy an item on the same day that you obtain its
id.
4.7 Using an Item
To make use of a piece of armor or a weapon, the gladiator must
issue the USE command with the appropriate item id:
USE 16
Note that if an item has an alias, the alias id can also be used.
This permits a player to purchase and use an item in the same
turn, even if the item purchased turns out to have a different id
than expected.
Items in use are noted on the gladiator's inventory with an as-
terisk in the far left column of the inventory:
18
INVENTORY:
[26] spear (excellent condition)
* [6] staff (poor condition)
In this, case [6] is in use and [26] is not.
More than one weapon and armor can be in use at the same time.
If more than one weapon (or similar piece of armor) is in use,
then the first item in the inventory is the actual item in use.
Other items in use are being carried as ``backups''. For exam-
ple, consider the following inventory:
INVENTORY:
[26] spear (excellent condition)
* [6] staff (poor condition)
* [9] mace (excellent condition)
* [15] wooden splint vest (excellent condition)
* [16] soft leather vest (excellent condition)
In this case, the gladiator is using [6], [9], [15] and [16].
Initially, the gladiator will attack with the staff [6] and wear
the wooden splint vest [15]. If he should lose his staff, he
will switch to using his mace [9]. Similarly, if he should lose
his vest, he will switch to using the soft leather vest [16].
One exception to this rule is stackable armor. If a gladiator
using a piece of stackable armor and it can be worn underneath
another piece of armor the gladiator is using, both pieces of ar-
mor will be used. For example:
INVENTORY:
[26] spear (excellent condition)
* [6] staff (poor condition)
* [9] mace (excellent condition)
* [15] wooden splint vest (excellent condition)
* [32] cloth vest (excellent condition)
In this case, the gladiator will wear the cloth vest [32] under-
neath the wooden splint vest [15].
The order of items in a gladiator's inventory can be changed us-
ing the POP command (see Commands).
Note that a gladiator carries all used items into the arena with
him, and all these items count towards carried weight.
19
5 The Midnight Update
At midnight of each day, the Arena world is updated. Battles are
fought, new battles are scheduled, and store proprietors update
their inventory.
During the store update, popular items may have their prices
marked up, unpopular items may have their prices marked down, and
the items on display may be rotated. If you attempt to purchase
an item that you saw in a store before the last midnight update,
you may be surprised to discover that you've purchased something
completely unexpected! This happens when an item is taken off
the shelf and its unique item identifier is reused for a new
item. So avoid this possible error by always checking to be sure
the item is still available on the day you try to buy it.
6 Combat
Combat between gladiators takes place in various arenas scattered
about the Arena District.
6.1 The Arenas
When a gladiator is created, he is assigned to an arena by the
Arena Masters. The arena a gladiator has been assigned to and
its location in the Arena District are shown on the character re-
port:
CHARACTER REPORTS:
NAME: [8] Dirk
DESCRIPTION:
EPITAPH: My god! It's filled with light!
WHERE: The Arena District (-10,2)
MONEY: 4
ARENA: [4] An Arena at (-10,2) The Arena District
[...]
In this case, Dirk has been assigned to ``[4] An Arena'' which is
located at (-10,2) in the Arena District.
Each ARENA contains no more than 30 members. New characters are
assigned to Novice Arenas, where they compete against other new
characters. To graduate from a Novice Arena, a gladiator must
attain 30 wins against the other members of his Arena. When this
occurs, the gladiator will be promoted to a new Arena in the next
level of the Arena District, and be permitted to travel into the
next level.
20
The Arena Masters forcibly retire gladiators who accumulate 30
losses before they reach 30 wins. Thus, the competition to win
and advance to the next level is particularly keen.
To obtain a match, a gladiator should move to the location of his
Arena and enter the Arena. At midnight of that day, after the
scheduled battles have been fought, the Arena Masters will match
up all the gladiators inside the arenas and announce the next
night's battles. Once a gladiator has been assigned a match, he
is not allowed to leave his arena (but he may execute any other
commands).
At the Novice level, the Arena Masters currently charge a fee of
50 gold to enter an Arena. This may change. Whatever the fee is,
if a gladiator wins his match, his fee is returned along with his
opponent's fee. If a gladiator loses he receives nothing. In
the case of a tie, the entrance fee is returned to both gladia-
tors.
Generally speaking, gladiators are only permitted to enter and
fight in their assigned arenas. Rumor persist of so-called
"Black Arenas" in the Arena District, where unscrupulous fight
promoters hold unsanctioned fights between gladiators from dif-
ferent arenas. Note, however, that the Arena Masters count only
sanctioned fights toward the win/loss limits.
6.2 Combat Algorithm
In sanctioned arenas, matches consist of 10 rounds. Each round
each gladiator has 10 chances to land a blow. The match ends
when a gladiator surrenders, is killed, or when time runs out.
A gladiator's chance to hit is determined primarily by his weapon
skill, weapon techniques, and weapon arm speed. If a gladiator
has excess stamina available, he will also apply this to increase
his chance of hitting.
The damage a gladiator does with a successful blow is determined
primarily by his weapon damage and his weapon arm strength.
Each gladiator begins the fight with some initial stamina and re-
gains some stamina between each round. The initial stamina and
the amount recovered between rounds is affected by the vigor at-
tribute.
Each successful weapon hit uses stamina. Heavier weapons use
more stamina. Blocking a blow with either a weapon parry or a
shield block also uses stamina. Carrying too much weight can al-
so cost stamina.
21
6.3 Damage and Healing
After a match, a gladiator will typically find that he has sus-
tained some cuts and bruises. The condition of the gladiator is
shown in the BODY section of the character report:
BODY:
Head: +perception, excellent condition
Torso: +sturdiness, poor condition
Weapon arm: ++strength, good condition
Shield arm: -speed, terrible condition
Legs: good condition
Healing occurs during the midnight update. Approximately 25% of
the impact damage and 15% of the cut damage a gladiator has suf-
fered is healed every night. These rates vary with the healing
attribute.
A gladiator can also be healed by entering a hospital. For a
posted fee, the hospital will immediately cure all damage a glad-
iator has suffered. A well-known hospital (Arena General) is lo-
cated at (-10,2) in the Arena District.
7 The World
The Arena District is a square area located at the center of the
Imperial City. It stretches from (-10,-10) to (10,10). The out-
ermost ring of the Arena District is called the Novice Area:
22
+-----------------------------+
+10 | |
| +-----------------------+ |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | Inner Levels | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| +-----------------------+ |
-10 | Novice Area |
+-----------------------------+
-10 +10
New gladiators are restricted to travel inside the Novice Area.
No gladiator may leave the Arena District.
There are a variety of interesting (and uninteresting) buildings
in the Novice Area. Some well-known buildings are located at
(-10,0). The location of a gladiator's arena is shown on his
character report.
7.1 Movement
To move to a particular location in the Arena District, use the
MOVE command. For example,
MOVE -10 0
would move to (-10, 0) in the Arena District. Gladiators may use
only 2 MOVEs per day, but there is no limit on how far you may
move.
To enter an arena or building, use the ENTER command. For exam-
ple,
ENTER 3
could be used to enter a building with the id [3].
To exit a building or arena, use the EXIT command:
EXIT
23
8 Teams
Gladiators can form teams to compete for recognition in the glad-
iator community. Each week the team with the best overall record
is recognized and rewarded by the Arena Masters. The Arena Mas-
ters also occasionally arrange team challenges.
8.1 Team Captain
Each team of gladiators has a captain. The captain controls who
is permitted to join a team. To create a new team and declare
himself the captain, a gladiator should use the CAPTAIN command.
For example,
CAPTAIN "Conan's Toughs"
would declare a gladiator to be the captain of a new team called
Conan's Toughs. Notice that since the name has a space in it, it
must be enclosed in double quotes. There is a cost of 100 gold
to create a new team.
To quit as the captain of a team, a gladiator should use the AB-
DICATE command. For example,
ABDICATE
drops this gladiator as captain of his team.
The CAPTAIN command can also be used to step into a vacancy cre-
ated by a previous captain abdicating. The syntax is the same as
when creating a new team. Note that captaincy is a first-come,
first-served honor; the first member of the team to submit a CAP-
TAIN order will become the new captain. There is no charge to
become captain of an existing team.
8.2 Team Members
Teams may contain up to ten gladiators (including the captain).
To invite a gladiator to join a team, the captain of the team
should use the ADMIT command. For example,
ADMIT 8
would invite [8] Dirk to join this team.
To join a team to which he has been admitted, a gladiator should
issue the JOIN command:
24
JOIN "Conan's Toughs"
This example would join the Conan's Toughs team, provided this
gladiator had been previously admitted. There is a 25 gold fee
to join a team.
To leave a team, a gladiator should issue the UNJOIN command:
UNJOIN
This will remove the gladiator from his current team.
A captain may also eject any member of his team. To do this, the
captain should use the EJECT command:
EJECT 8
This command would eject [8] Dirk from the captain's team.
9 Betting
The Arena District attracts crowds of spectators and a natural
desire to gamble on the outcome of the gladiator matches. Recog-
nizing that this could very well lead to tampering with match
outcomes, the Arena Masters have installed a strictly legal pari-
mutuel betting system.
In a pari-mutuel betting system, the odds and payoffs are deter-
mined by the betting on each side. For example, if [8] Dirk
fights [12] Oleg and there is a 100 gold bet on Dirk and a 10
gold bet on Oleg, then if Dirk wins the 100 gold bet will pay
back 110 gold (for a profit of 10 gold), and if Oleg wins the 10
gold bet will pay back 110 gold (for a profit of 100 gold).
To place a bet upon a match, a gladiator should use the BET com-
mand. For example:
BET <amount> <who>
BET 100 8
bets 100 gold on [8] Dirk to win his next match. There is a
small amount of action by spectators on every match - typically 5
to 20 gold - so every winning bet is guaranteed to make at least
a small amount of profit. A gladiator may bet on anyone except
his own opponent.
A list of the following night's matches is published in the Arena
News every night at midnight. Bets are accepted up until the
start of the first match.
25
10 Turn Format
ARENA turns are submitted via electronic mail to the Arena server
at ``arena@sun-dimas.aero.org''. Each turn consists of one or
more commands for one or more gladiators.
Each gladiator's turn begins with the NAME command. (On the turn
a gladiator is created, the turn begins with the CREATE command.)
For example, a turn for [8] Dirk would start with the command:
NAME Dirk
The name command can be followed by any number of other commands.
These commands all apply to the gladiator specified by the NAME
command. For example:
NAME Dirk
MOVE -10 0
ENTER 3
BUY 26
EXIT
MOVE -10 2
ENTER 4
BET 20 8
would move Dirk to the location of Gertin Bros., enter, buy a
weapon, exit, move back to the location of his arena, enter the
arena, place a bet upon himself, and then wait for his match.
An important point to remember about submitting a turn:
o The ``From:'' line of the mail message - both the user name
and the machine - is used to determine who is sending the turn.
The sender who creates a gladiator must submit all future turns
for the gladiator. This means that you must send all future
turns from the same account and machine from which you send the
initial turn.
10.1 Getting Started - An Example
To get started in Arena, you need to send a mail message to the
Arena (``arena@sun-dimas.aero.org'') with commands to create a
new gladiator. For example, your turn might look like this:
CREATE "Oleg the Loudmouth"
MOVE -10 0
ENTER 2
This will create a new gladiator named Oleg the Loudmouth, move
him to (-10,0) in the Arena District, and enter [2] (which is
26
usually the id for the Gertin Bros. store).
11 Command Reference
The following table lists all the available ARENA commands:
Command Description
ABDICATE Quit being the captain of a team.
ADMIT <gladiator id> Admit <who> to your team
BALANCE Show your current balance.
BET <amount> <gladiator id> Place a bet of <amount> on <gladiator id>.
BUY <item id> Purchase the item <item id>.
CAPTAIN <team name> Name yourself captain of a team.
CREATE <name> Create a new character.
DROP <item id> Drop <item id> out of your inventory.
EJECT <gladiator id> Eject <gladiator id> from your team.
ENTER <building id> Enter <building id>.
EXIT Exit to the outer location.
INSULT <insult> Add to a gladiator's list of insults.
JOIN <team name> Join a team.
LEARN <technique-id> Learn a weapon technique.
LOWER <attr> <bodypart> Lower an attribute on a body part.
MOVE <x> <y> Move to a particular location.
NAME <name> Identify the gladiator being commanded.
PASSWORD <passwd> Apply password.
PLAYER <name> Sets the name of the player.
POP <item id> Pop <item id> to the top of the inventory.
RAISE <attr> <bodypart> Raise an attribute on a body part.
RESEARCH <wpn type> <skill> [<name>] Try to discover a weapon technique.
REPORT Print a report on this character.
RETIRE Retire this character from the Arena.
ROSTER [arena/ALL] Print a roster of gladiators.
SELL <item id> Sell <item id>.
SET <variable> <value> Set a variable.
SET_PASSWORD <passwd> Set a password.
STUDY <weapon type> <skill> Study a skill.
UNJOIN Unjoin a team.
UNUSE <item id> Unwield/wear/apply <item id>.
USE <item id> Wield/wear/apply <item id>.
The following sections describe each command in detail.
27
11.1 ABDICATE
Syntax: ABDICATE
Cost: None
Limits: Can only used by team captains.
The ABDICATE command is used to quit as captain of a gladiator
team. It can be used only by the captain of a team.
When a captain ABDICATEs his position, the captain position of
the team is left open and will be filled by the first team member
to issue a ``CAPTAIN'' command.
11.2 ADMIT
Syntax: ADMIT <id>
Cost: None
Limits: Can only used by team captains.
The ADMIT is used to admit a gladiator to a team. It can only be
used by the captain of the team.
The ADMIT command permits a gladiator to issue a corresponding
JOIN command to join a team, but he will not be a member of the
team until he issues the JOIN command. The ADMIT command must be
issued before the corresponding JOIN command.
11.3 BALANCE
Syntax: BALANCE
Cost: None
Limits: None
The BALANCE command reports on the player's current balance.
While the beta test of ARENA is being run free of charge, later
versions may be commercial. This command shows the player how
much money he would have spent so far.
28
11.4 BET
Syntax: BET <amount> <id>
Cost: None
Limits: 1. Gladiator must have <amount> gold.
2. Gladiator <id> must be scheduled to fight.
3. A gladiator may not bet on his opponent.
The BET command places a bet of <amount> gold on gladiator <id>
to win his next fight. Because the Arena Masters run a pari-
mutuel betting system, the amount won will depend upon the amount
wagered on both gladiator <id> and his opponent.
11.5 BUY
Syntax: BUY <item id>
Cost: Varies.
Limits: 1. BUY works only in stores.
2. The gladiator must have enough money for
the purchase.
3. <item id> or an alias must be available
for purchase.
The BUY command purchases an item from a store. If <item id> is
available, and the gladiator has sufficient funds to purchase the
item, then the cost of the item will be subtracted from the glad-
iator's gold and the item added to the gladiator's inventory.
If <item id> is not available but another exactly similar item is
available, then that item will be purchased. <item id> will act
as an alias for the new item (so that the new item can be immedi-
ately USEd).
11.6 CAPTAIN
Syntax: CAPTAIN <team name>
Cost: 100 gold or None.
Limits: See below.
The CAPTAIN command is used to create a new team or to assume the
vacant captaincy of an existing team.
To create a new team, the CAPTAIN command is used with a new team
name. The new team name must be unique (i.e., different from all
existing team names). A new team will be formed and the gladia-
tor will be made the captain of the new team. If the gladiator
was a member of an existing team, he will be UNJOINed from the
existing team. The cost to create a new team is 100 gold.
29
To assume the vacant captaincy of an existing team, the CAPTAIN
command should be used with the name of the existing team. The
captaincy of the named team must be vacant, and the gladiator us-
ing the CAPTAIN command must already be a member of the team.
There is no cost to assume a vacant captaincy.
11.7 CREATE
Syntax: CREATE <name>
Cost: None
Limits: Each player may have only 3 gladiators.
The CREATE command is used to create a new gladiator. The name
of the new gladiator must be unique (i.e., different from all ex-
isting gladiators). If the name of the gladiator contains spaces
it should be enclosed in double quotes.
The new gladiator will have no skills, attributes, etc.
11.8 DROP
Syntax: DROP <item id>
Cost: None
Limits: None
The DROP command is used to drop an item from a gladiator's in-
ventory. The dropped item disappears from the world: it cannot
be picked up, bought or retrieved.
11.9 EJECT
Syntax: EJECT <gladiator id>
Cost: None
Limits: None
The EJECT command is used by a team captain to remove a member
from his team. The ejection is automatic.
30
11.10 ENTER
Syntax: ENTER <building id>
Cost: Varies.
Limits: The gladiator must be in the same location as
the building to be entered.
The ENTER command is used to enter a building (e.g., store, are-
na). The gladiator and the building being entered must be in the
same location (i.e., the same (x, y) coordinates).
There may be a cost to enter a building. For example, Novice
Arenas cost 25 gold to enter. Hospitals also charge. Generally,
buildings that charge entrance fees will advertise those fees in
their descriptions.
There may also be a limit on the number of gladiators allowed in-
side a building at one time.
11.11 EXIT
Syntax: EXIT
Cost: None.
Limits: Gladiators cannot leave their assigned arenas
while they have a fight scheduled.
The EXIT command is used to leave a building (e.g., store, arena)
and return to the outer location.
11.12 INSULT
Syntax: INSULT [insult]
Cost: None.
Limits: A gladiator may have only 10 insults pre-
pared.
The INSULT command is used to add a new insult to a gladiator's
list of insults. At appropriate times during battle, the gladia-
tor will randomly select an insult from his list of insults and
taunt his opponent with it.
The insult should be enclosed in double quotes.
A gladiator list of insults may have only 10 insults. New in-
sults will push old insults off the bottom of this list.
If this command is used without an argument, all the insults for
the gladiator will be erased.
31
11.13 JOIN
Syntax: JOIN <team name>
Cost: 25 gold
Limits: A gladiator must be previously ADMITted to a
team in order to JOIN it.
The JOIN command is used to join a team. The gladiator issuing
the JOIN command will join the named team if he was previously
admitted to the team by the team captain.
A gladiator may be a member of only one team at a time. Joining
one team automatically unjoins the gladiator from any other team
he belongs to.
11.14 LEARN
Syntax: LEARN <technique-id>
Cost: 50 gold
Limits: See below.
The LEARN command is used to learn a weapon technique from the
technique id. The technique id is shown in the TECHNIQUES por-
tion of the character report:
TECHNIQUES:
[84286] Power Punch (Bash Attack) +4% bonus
[18625] Dancing Devil Kick (Bash Attack) +2% bonus
In this example, 84286 is the technique id of Power Punch. The
only way to obtain the technique id of a technique is through the
character report.
Note that as a technique becomes well-known, defenses against the
technique are fashioned and the technique soon loses its effec-
tiveness. For that reason, when a technique becomes known by 7
gladiators, it will lose its effectiveness and disappear. This
may well occur immediately after a gladiator has learned the
technique via LEARN, if he is the 7th gladiator to learn or dis-
cover the technique.
32
11.15 LOWER
Syntax: LOWER <attr> <bodypart>
Cost: None
Limits: 1. Once raised, an attribute cannot be low-
ered.
2. You cannot raise an attribute beyond +3.
3. You cannot lower an attribute beyond -3.
4. The total of all attributes cannot be
greater than +3.
5. The total of all negative attributes can-
not be less than -3.
6. Attributes listed as "no effect" in the
attribute tables can be neither raised nor
lowered.
The LOWER command is used to lower the attribute on a particular
body part. The legal attributes are: strength, sturdiness,
speed, vigor, intelligence, perception and healing. The legal
body parts are: head, torso, weapon arm, shield arm, and legs.
Only some attributes for some body parts can be lowered. Refer
to the tables in the section ``Body Attributes'' for details.
Note that lowering an attribute always has a negative affect on a
gladiator's performance.
11.16 MOVE
Syntax: MOVE <x> <y>
Cost: None
Limits: Gladiators may only MOVE twice per day.
The MOVE command is used to move to a particular x,y location
within a locale. For example, if a gladiator is in [1] The Arena
District, then the command
MOVE -10 0
will move the gladiator to (-10,0) in the Arena District, which
happens to be the location of the Gertin Bros. store.
Every locale has a certain size and geometry. The Arena Dis-
trict, for example, is a square locale with dimensions from
(-10,-10) to (10,10). Most stores, hospitals and other buildings
have no inside dimensions, and so you cannot MOVE around inside
of them. There may also be other limits on where you can move.
In the Arena District, for example, a gladiator cannot move into
one of the inner regions until he has the proper token.
The MOVE command may only be used twice per day for each gladia-
33
tor.
11.17 NAME
Syntax: NAME <name>
Cost: None
Limits: Must be a gladiator name controlled by you.
The NAME command is used to identify which gladiator you are com-
manding. The name given must be an existing character controlled
by you (i.e., created using the same e-mail address as the cur-
rent orders). If the name contains spaces, be sure to enclose it
in double quotes.
11.18 PASSWORD
Syntax: PASSWORD <passwd>
Cost: None
Limits: If a player has a password set, then PASSWORD
must be the first command executed.
The PASSWORD command is used to answer the password set with the
SET PASSWORD command.
Normally ARENA requires only that commands for a gladiator come
from the same e-mail account as the message that originally cre-
ated the gladiator. For additional security, the player can also
protect his gladiators with a password. This permits multiple
players to share one account.
Regardless of password protection, one e-mail account is still
limited to 3 gladiators.
11.19 PLAYER
Syntax: PLAYER <player name>
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The PLAYER command is used to set the name that by which an ARENA
player will be known. Initially the player name is set to the
player's e-mail address, but the PLAYER command allows the player
to change this (to be anonymous, for example).
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11.20 POP
Syntax: POP <item id>
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The POP command is used to rearrange a gladiator's inventory.
The identified item is moved from its current location in the
gladiator's inventory to the top of the inventory.
The order of items in a gladiator's inventory is important for
determining what items are in use. For example, to determine
what weapon a gladiator is using, the inventory is searched from
the top for the first weapon being used (see the USE command).
11.21 RAISE
Syntax: RAISE <attr> <bodypart>
Cost: None
Limits: 1. Once raised, an attribute cannot be low-
ered.
2. You cannot raise an attribute beyond +3.
3. You cannot lower an attribute beyond -3.
4. The total of all attributes cannot be
greater than +3.
5. The total of all negative attributes can-
not be less than -3.
6. Attributes listed as "no effect" in the
attribute tables can be neither raised nor
lowered.
The RAISE command is used to raise the attribute on a particular
body part. The legal attributes are: strength, sturdiness,
speed, vigor, intelligence, perception and healing. The legal
body parts are: head, torso, weapon arm, shield arm, and legs.
Only some attributes for some body parts can be raised. Refer to
the tables in the section ``Body Attributes'' for details. Note
that raising an attribute always has a positive affect on a glad-
iator's performance.
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11.22 RESEARCH
Syntax: RESEARCH <wpn type> <skill> [<name>]
Cost: 50 gold
Limits: None.
The RESEARCH command is used to attempt to discover a weapon
technique. Each use of the RESEARCH command costs 50 gold and
has a 20% chance of discovering a weapon technique.
The technique discovered may already be known to other gladia-
tors.
If the technique is new, and <name> has been provided, the new
technique will be called <name>. If <name> was not provided, the
technique will be assigned a name at random.
11.23 REPORT
Syntax: REPORT
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The REPORT command prints out a gladiator report for the current
gladiator. This useful if you send in commands for multiple
gladiators in one mail message. Use REPORT at the end of each
gladiator's commands to get a report on the gladiator before go-
ing on to the next gladiator.
11.24 RETIRE
Syntax: RETIRE
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The RETIRE command retires a gladiator from ARENA.
11.25 ROSTER
Syntax: ROSTER [<arena id> | ALL]
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The ROSTER command provides a roster of the current gladiators in
a particular arena or in the entire game.
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When used with no argument, the ROSTER command provides a roster
of the current gladiator's arena.
When used with an arena id as an argument, the ROSTER command
provides a roster of the specified arena.
When used with the keyword ALL as an argument, the ROSTER command
provides a roster of all the gladiators in the game.
11.26 SELL
Syntax: SELL <item id>
Cost: None
Limits: 1. SELL works only in stores.
2. <item id> or an alias must be in the glad-
iator's inventory.
The SELL command sells an item in the gladiator's inventory back
to the store the gladiator is currently in. The price paid by
the store for the item will be added to the gladiator's gold.
Stores typically buy items back for somewhat less than they would
sell them for.
11.27 SET
Syntax: SET <variable> <value>
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The SET command is used to set the value of a variable. The list
of variables that may be set and their meanings is shown in the
following table:
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+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
| Name | Values | Meaning |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
SURRENDER 0-100 % damage level at which to surrender.|
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
DEFENSE 0-100 % effort to expend on defense. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
OFFENSE 0-100 % effort to expend on offense. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
PASSWORD Any string Password protection. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
EPITAPH Any string Saying to utter when dying. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
DESCRIPTIONAny string Gladiator description. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
RESERVES LOW | MEDIUM | HIGHStamina reserve level. |
+----------+------------------+------------------------------------+
11.28 STUDY
Syntax: STUDY <weapon type> <skill>
Cost: 25 or 100 gold
Limits: 1. Weapon type must be one of: thrust, chop,
bash or shield.
2. Skill must be one of: attack, parry, ri-
poste or main gauche.
3. Skills with greater than 50% proficiency
cannot be studied.
The STUDY command is used to improve a weapon skill. The STUDY
command costs 100 gold when used to learn a new weapon skill and
results in an initial proficiency of 20%. Subsequent uses of
STUDY cost 25 gold and result in a 2-5% increase in the skill
level. STUDY cannot be used to improve a weapon skill past the
expert (50%) level.
11.29 UNJOIN
Syntax: UNJOIN
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The UNJOIN command is used to leave a team. The gladiator issu-
ing the UNJOIN command will leave his current team.
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11.30 UNUSE
Syntax: UNUSE <item id>
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The UNUSE command causes a gladiator to discontinue using an item
in his inventory.
11.31 USE
Syntax: USE <item id>
Cost: None
Limits: None.
The USE command causes a gladiator to begin using an item in his
inventory. Items in use are noted on the gladiator's inventory
with an asterisk in the far left column of the inventory.
Note that more than one weapon and armor can be in use at the
same time. If more than one weapon (or similar piece of armor)
is in use, then the first item in the inventory is the actual
item in use. Other items in use are being carried as ``back-
ups''. All used items count towards a gladiator's carried
weight.
12 Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I sent in a turn for my gladiator, but ARENA complained that
the gladiator was in use by another player! What gives?
A: The most likely cause for this problem is that you've sent in
your turn from an e-mail address different from the one you used
when you created your character. ARENA identifies you by the e-
mail address taken from the ``From:'' line in your message. If
your user name or the machine from which you sent the mail
change, ARENA thinks you're a different person.
If you have to switch to a new account or machine, contact the
Arena Master (srt@sun-dimas.aero.org). He can manually change
your address.
Q: I went into a store and tried to buy a longsword but I ended
up with a leather kite shield! What gives?
A: At midnight of each day shopkeepers inspect their wares and
may rotate unpopular items. If this happens, an item id may be
reused for a new item. The best solution to this problem is to
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avoid it: always make sure that the item you want to buy exists
and buy it that same day. It's also wise to make sure your at-
tempted purchase actually succeeded before you try to use it, or
enter an Arena.
Q: The ATTACK command doesn't work? What gives?
A: The ATTACK command was inadvertantly left in an early version
of these rules. The ATTACK command doesn't really exist, and
that's why it doesn't work.
Q: Can I immediately send commands after using CREATE to create a
new gladiator?
A: Yes.
13 Reporting Problems
ARENA is intended to be an enjoyable, reliable game. I strive to
make the game fun for every player, and to respond to problems
and bug reports quickly and fairly. Problems, bugs and sugges-
tions for improvements should be sent to srt@sun-dimas.aero.org.
Please be patient, as it may not be possible to answer all mail
immediately.
Be aware that it is not always possible to "undo" a problem. Be-
cause of the size of ARENA's database and the volume of mail the
ARENA handles, it isn't possible to save all the information nec-
essary to undo a problem, particularly if the problem cannot be
addressed immediately. In these cases, the gladiator will be
compensated in some other way for the problem.
When reporting bugs, problems or when making suggestions for im-
provements, players should attempt to be civil and polite. Of
course problems can be very frustrating, but abusing the only
person who can remedy the problem is a bad idea!
14 Cheating
ARENA players are expected to act honorably. In particular,
players are expected to:
o Report bugs and game flaws as they are discovered. A player
found to be exploiting an obvious bug will be banished from
the ARENA.
o Refrain from cheating. This includes forging mail and using
multiple accounts to circumvent game limits. Again, the
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punishment for cheating is banishment from the game.
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