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SPARTACUS House Rules

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66 views3 pages

SPARTACUS House Rules

Uploaded by

micabezalalocaxdxe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“BUILDING CHAMPIONS”

Unofficial free fan expansion / for SPARTACUS


Building Champions - House Rules & token design by Kevin Everingham, 2015
Spartacus is a fine game and a great surprise to many who have seen terrible games released based on licensed TV or Movie themes. Gale Force Nine
completely changed those expectations by consistently making very good, quality games based on licensed material. I urge everyone to give the base game a try,
you will not be disappointed. Even though I have enjoyed the base game and expansions, I heard gamers say; “too bad you can’t build-up or train gladiators.” It
was a good point that your gladiators are forever the same, so this BUILDING CHAMPIONS expansion was developed and used in Michigan game groups since
2015 and I encourage you to give it a try. I believe it permits an additional level of personalization to your games of Spartacus.

The following additional rules are introduced with a couple of new tokens to overcome two issues.

(A) experienced players of this game often choose one or two gladiators to fight for their house the entire
game. This does keep costs down and is a clear strategy. However, historically and based on the show, this
doesn’t fit the theme. This fan expansion makes it necessary to invest slightly more in gladiators.
(B) experienced gladiators are exactly the same as they were when they started. This is overcome by
earning experience tokens that can be used to improve your gladiators, and gives the player a feeling of
“building up” or training their gladiator because of the experience they’ve had.

To begin, the game is played exactly the same but with the two issues listed above in mind, the following
five rules are added that change strategy & game dynamics.

1. HOUSE SPECIALTY (an optional start-up rule) – A group of all (optional starting rule)
different weapons, special items and/or armor cards (Equal to the
Each house starts with one
number of players plus 2) are taken out of the auction deck and random special item, armor
placed face-down on the table. Each Dominus draws one item to or weapon.
start the game with, as a house specialty item that they may use in
combat. This makes all players ready for combat.
Remaining items are shuffled back into the auction deck.

2. FREEDOM FOR CHAMPIONS


This decision must be made when
(a tough decision must be made when Champion status is reached) becoming a champion. Not later.
If your gladiator becomes a champion, you may grant him freedom
(1) Champion is discarded,
(discard) and give up future use of him in battle. You lose 1
lose 1 influence. Gain
influence due to losing the champion, but gain his printed value in
gold value on the
gold as the crowd celebrates your kindness.
bottom left corner of
the gladiator’s card.
OR – if you do not grant his freedom, you lose 2 influence
(upsetting the crowds) but keep him to win future battles and (2) Keep the Champion,
generate funds as a champion. This new rule adds new strategic lose 2 influence.
decisions for the player with a champion gladiator and increases
the importance and strategic power of being a HOST.
With this new rule, forcing someone into the arena to possibly become a champion is a viable
strategy. This is also a good reason for everyone to have more than one gladiator ready to fight.
3. RESTING GLADIATORS – All Gladiators who fought in the arena After combat, remove rest
must rest the next round (mark them with a REST token). If a tokens from gladiators who
resting Gladiator is sent to fight in the arena, he loses one strength fought or were resting in
ATK die and one SPD die before a fight begins since he is slightly the previous turn.
weaker and recovering/resting.
Those Gladiators who
After any gladiator has gone a full round resting, the rest token is fought in the arena this
removed and the gladiator may fight normally. turn are marked with a rest
token for next turn.
This rule makes it more important to have additional gladiators
Place a rest token on each
ready to fight. If you don’t have a resting gladiator after the arena
gladiator who fought, and/
round, you may place ONE REST token on any one of your available
or any 1 gladiator you want
gladiators each turn (they were overworked in training) and you
to rest.
make them rest next round to save money. You may not do this if (*maximum 1 per player)
you already have a gladiator resting.
*The only time a player may ever have more than one gladiator resting, is in the rare instance when
they had to send two gladiators into the arena for a primus, thus both would need to rest next turn.

4. SAVING COSTS – As in the normal rules, a gladiator who is injured does not cost you anything in the
bookkeeping round. Gladiators who are resting also save you expense during bookkeeping. They
are not training when the REST token is on their card so you are spending less upkeep. Again, this
makes it cheaper to have more gladiators. You may have one gladiator resting at a time, each turn.
Resting gladiators are vulnerable in battle. Rest tokens are only placed after an arena battle.

5. BUILDING UP GLADIATORS – (giving the game a slight role-player feel) Experience Tokens
Any time a gladiator competes in the arena and survives, the
Add one
Dominus (player) will choose to add a (+1) experience token to one Attack die to
of the gladiator’s three attributes. Pick the token to add and place it a gladiator
on the gladiator’s card.
Add one
Defense die
This is limited to one improvement token of the same type to any
to gladiator
one gladiator. A single gladiator may never have more than one of
each experience tokens. Once a gladiator has all 3 tokens they Add one
cannot improve more by experience. Speed die to
a gladiator

(example) –A red experience Attack token allows one extra red die in
battle for the gladiator that has that token. Surviving in the arena
allows you to pick one
experience token to add to
Because sending an opponent into the arena gives them experience that gladiator’s card.
that will improve an ability (die), it is another careful consideration
for every HOST each turn.
REST Tokens, paste to chip-board (these tiles cover gladiator cards who are resting, each player needs 1)

All tokens and tiles here will work best, if you are able to print them in color.

Gladiator experience tokens. (each gladiator may earn 1 of each type maximum)
Depending on the number of players, you may need 2 sheets of these experience tokens.

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