Death??

[Morvaane]

Been curious what exactly it is that triggers kills.... seems to me it is purely the enforcers judgement, and not particular damage per se that does it. For example... my opponent was at 0 health remaining when my gladiator unleashed a beast of a crit shot.... for 599 damage... taking opponent to -599 (I assume) and the enforcer still allowed him to beg for his life??

[Arkham]

Now that just seems unfair! Unless you crit is foot ... 599 damage to his foot may leave him lame, but not dead. I'll be curious to see the response to this one.

[Justice]

Traditionally speaking, Gladiators were free to do as the please, as ferociously as they pleased, however when Gladiatorial combat became big business and also a conduit for political advancement, Gladiators were not meant to kill each other in the arena without the rule of the presiding noble, and it was usually the presiding noble who decided whether or not the defeated gladiator would be spared (more often than not influenced by the crowd, thus it was more a crowd decision by the later era of gladiatorial combat). Unfortunately loads of gladiators that fought well, and even those that didn't, but were considered expensive, were being spared, so the crowds influence became more and more important as time went on and there were too many surviving gladiators.

In the same sense, I wouldn't be surprised if a Gladiators presence stat allowed him to whip up the crowd, and thus make the noble/enforcers more likely to want to please the crowd and allow the kill. If the Gladiator has a low presence (i.e. the crowd don't love him) it may mean a kill is less likely as it doesn't do anything for the crowd. "theatrical" Gladiators more than most will likely benefit from the presence stat.

By the same token, I wouldn't be surprised if the percentage of a kill were determined entirely randomly, which would represent the whim of the crowd/presiding noble on any given day.


Let's see what the Overlord has to say. ;)

[Morvaane]

I agree with all that Justice certainly.... I was more looking in general to see if damage specifically had any role in determining death... after all knocking someone 599 hps negative is pretty huge.. I dont think said gladiator even had 599 MAX hps lol... meaning I did like 1200 damage in the fight at least... and he remained alive. So was more seeing what others experiences were... since if damage below 0 hps doesnt matter all that much, it would affect those stat triggers where some gladiators ramp up activity and bloodlust real high when an opponent is trying to surrender... to get that massive kill shot or something in. The damage of said hit wouldnt matter....

[Morvaane]

Oh and Arkham... you might have a point too... as the hit was to his calf lol (and only 590 damage, my bad exaggerated an extra 9 lol)

[Team Kaos]

I'm sure Nate could shed more light on the topic, but I believe there must be a seperate roll that weighs whether a gladiator lives or dies. I don't think damage beyond the 0 health mark plays much if any part in the determination.
I'm sure you have seen battles where a gladiator has died immedietly following his own succesful strike on the opponent when he is extremely low on health.
And being that I have never seen an early battle death when a gladiator has relatively high health, there must be a predetermined damage marker, and once his health falls below the marker his presence as well as specific gladiator skills attained are rolled against to determine his fate until he either dies, the fight is ended by the enforcer or he reaches 0 health.

[Blackwill]

Judging by the skill descriptions, it looks like Presence is the major determining factor in whether a gladiator dies, or is spared by the Enforcer. Theatrics gladiators, with high Presence, and even moderate levels in Crowd Pleaser, very rarely die in the Arena...in my experience, anyway. I think my main Theatrics gladiator has only died once..perhaps twice... in his entire career.

I have witnessed hits which drop gladiators well into the negatives, and they still survive. I have also seen gladiators murdered once they reach 0 health. So, there must be a myriad of factors which are calculated and checked when determining whether a fighter is saved or dies, and Presence is key in that equation, I'm sure.

Don't get me started on Finishing Move......that's a whole other kettle of fish.

[Nate]

A very stimulating and intriguing discussion with lots of great ideas and theories! I shall very much like to hear what you discover as your gladiators lay waste to one another! ;)

[Blackwill]

No help from the Big Man on this one, it seems :)

[Jaradakar]

This has been a topic of discussion in my group of friends who play. I believe it's a specific roll that happens once you hit 0 hit points, it does not seem to matter how negative you go.

I believe the roll is based on, Presence and Crowd Pleaser [of the gladiator who could be dying] Vs level of Blood Lust and Finishing Blow [of the opposing gladiator]

Of course still more research needs to be done ;-)