Epic Heroscape Game #2- Taelord’s Coliseum By Craig Van Ness
This game is for 6 players and the host (who does not play).
The Battlefield-
Build a Coliseum. You can use multiple tower packs, or build up terrain to make stepped seating. It really doesn’t matter what it looks like. It kinda depends on just how big your Heroscape collection is (my collection is kinda big). When building your Coliseum, you will need a clear visual clue as to where the fighting area is and where the figures in the audience are placed. This visual clue could be raised tiles, different color tiles, or any other clue you might think of. I build up the stands with raised tiles.
You’ll need 18 Unique Heroes to run this game. You will also need some other figure to represent the crowd watching the event, and some squads to represent the wild animals that will be released during the game.
The Story-
(I am not a writer, so I usually write just enough to set the stage.)
Taelord, lord of battling and Utgar’s current right hand man, holds gladiator competitions to find who are the most fearsome warriors in his army. He also forces captured heroes to fight in the battle, just for added extra fun.
The Pregame-
In this game, before the game, each player needs to spend 100 gold. Tell them before they even see the arena (if possible) they will need to decide how much gold they will spend on each of these four things. They will need to bring a piece of paper to the game stating where their gold will be spent.
Give them the following in an email or on a piece of paper:
Gladiators, here are your options:

Bribe the Gladiator Trainer(this will better your chances to get the Gladiators you want)

Donate to the Temple of Dagmar
(this could increase your initiative roll during the game)

Throw Gold into the Crowd
(this might help you win the favor of the crowd)

Bribe the Animal Trainer(I think you can guess what this will do)

So...
You can spend your 100 gold however you like.
Here’s an example:
Bribe the Gladiator Trainer - 10 gold
Donate to the Temple of Dagmar - 50 gold
Throw Gold into the Crowd - 0 gold
Bribe the Animal Trainer - 40 gold
Please return this to me before the game begins.
Also, let the players know that they will be choosing from 6 sets of 3 Gladiators. You, as the host, pick these groups. Just use what you have. When selecting, make sure the sets of 3 heroes are not equal in points total.
Here are the teams of 3 heroes you will be selecting from for Taelord's Coliseum:

(this is who we played with)
Cyprien, Mimring, Krug – 420
Ne-Gok-Sa, Deathwalker 9000, Su-Bak-Na – 380
Finn, ROTV Raelin, SOTM Sgt. Drake Alexander – 330
Sonlen, Morsbane, Syvarris – 360
Spartacus, Retiarius, Crixus – 380
Sudema, Agent Carr, James Murphy – 315

Getting Ready to play- OK, you have built your Coliseum. You will need to place 6 glyphs Symbol-side up anywhere on the coliseum floor near the edge, not in the middle. Spread the glyphs out evenly. Cut up 6 small pieces of paper (about the size of a glyph) and write the numbers 1-6 on them. Place the pieces of paper on the glyphs. Place your groups of 3 heroes adjacent to the each of the glyphs, so each glyph will have a set of three heroes nearby. These glyphs represent doors and no figure is allowed to occupy them. You will need 3 squads to represent the animals that will attack during the game. I used Marrden Hounds, Anubian Wolves, and Deathstalkers. You can use any squads you think will work. Hide these squads from the players. They will come into play later. Now, fill the stands with the rest of your Heroscape figures.
Rules for the players:
Object- To survive and destroy the other gladiators. The instantly game ends when there are only 6 Heroes left and victory points are awarded. Each surviving Hero receives 100 pts + their point value. During the game players should keep the Army Cards that their gladiators destroyed. Each player receives the point value of each hero their team of gladiators destroyed. The player with the most points wins. However, you must have at least one surviving Gladiator to win.
So how does this stuff work during the game?
Bribe the Gladiator Trainer – The player who spent the most gold gets first pick of his 3 heroes, the 2nd most gets second pick and so on. All ties are decided by a 20-sided roll.
Donate to the Temple of Dagmar- The player who spent the most gold adds 10 to every one of his initiative rolls. If there is a tie decide it by rolling the 20-sided die. All other players add 1 to every one of his initiative rolls for each 10 gold they spent (round down).
Throw Gold into the Crowd- The player who spent the most gold is never attacked by the Crowd (see The Crowd below), and never is Sniped (see End of the Round Sniping). All ties are decided by a 20-sided roll. All other players add 1 to every one of his Crowd Rolls (this includes Crowd Approval Rating rolls and Crowd Attack Rolls) for each 10 gold they spent (round down) (see The Crowd below).
Bribe the Animal Trainer- The player who spent the most gold will receive control of the first squad of animals unleashed. See End of Round Animal Attack below. The 2nd most will receive control of the second squad released after the second round. The 3rd most will receive control of the third squad released after the third round. All ties are decided by a 20-sided roll.
End of the Round Sniping: This crowd is evil. At the end of each round, each player, except the player who through the most gold into the crowd, must roll for his or her Crowd Approval Rating. All players, except the player who through the most gold into the crowd, roll the 20-sided die. The player who rolled the lowest will receive sniper shots. Sniper shots are taken one at time for each of this player’s heroes. The host rolls the 20-sided die. If a 19 or higher is rolled that hero is destroyed.
End of the Round Animal Attack: After the Sniping (see above) the animals are released. You will need 3 squads to represent the animals that will attack during the game. One squad will enter the Coliseum after each of the first three rounds. I used Marrden Hounds, Anubian Wolves, and Deathstalkers. You can use any squads you think will work. Prior to the game, pick the order in which the squads will enter the Coliseum. After the first round announce that animals are being released (one squad). Give the appropriate squad card to the player who spent the most for Bribe the Animal Trainer. Roll a six sided die. The animals are placed adjacent to the door glyph rolled. The player controlling the animal squad may immediately take a turn with them. After round 2, the first squad of animals takes a turn, then the new animals are released. Roll a 6-sided for a new door glyph. The player who spent the second most gets to control this new squad and takes a turn with them immediately. After round 3, the first squad of animals takes a turn, then the second squad of animals takes a turn, then the third squad is released. Roll a 6-sided for a new door glyph. The player who spent the third most gets to control this new squad and takes a turn with them immediately.. After round 4 and on, continuing taking turns with the animals (in the chosen order) if they are alive. Any heroes destroyed by the animals count for victory points for the player controlling the animals. Note: Order markers are never placed on these animal squad cards. They move and attack at the end of the rounds only.

Taelord’s Ruling- If a Hero figure receives wound(s) and now has one life left, the crowd will vote to see if that hero is automatically destroyed. Roll ten combat dice, if you (the host) roll 5 or more skulls the figure is destroyed, if you roll 4 or less the figure remains on the table. Note: For scoring, any hero destroyed by Taleord’s Ruling counts for the player who brought that hero down to one life left.
The Crowd- You as the host control the crowd figures. You do not use order markers. They only move and attack if a player fails a Crowd Attack Roll. A Crowd Attack Roll takes place when a player’s Gladiator goes into the crowd or attempts to move while in the crowd area(the crowd area). That player immediately rolls the 20-sided die. If the player rolls a 15 or higher, the crowd does nothing. If the player rolls an 14 or lower you can attack with any Army Card nearby. Note: If you are the player who through the most gold into the crowd, the crowd ignores you.
In closing- If you are unclear about anything above, you as the host can decide what you think will be fair and fun for all players. Feel free to add, adjust, and or delete anything written above. Some added surprises will keep your players on edge, especially if you think they are reading this blog entry.

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