About

Ave!

I am Hrodulf – a merchant from Magna Frisia, situated just north of the Roman Empire. I speak on behalf of my clients: Marinus and Gregorius, two artisan merchants of great fame and achievement in Rome. Marinus is a maester carver and is known for his magnificent carvings in high quality wood, Gregorius acquired fame amongst the patrician class with gold threaded linen of unmatched rhythm and consistency.

Like many Romans, Marinus and Gregorius are passionate about gladiator fights and have been dreaming about crafting a game to honor the best gladiators in the empire. Combining their talents and skills, the maester craftsmen gave life to Lex Arena.

Lex Arena is an elimination game for 2 to 4 players where you take the role of a Lanista – an owner and trainer of gladiators – to lead your fighters to glory. The game's magnificent design perfectly suits the high standards of patrician life and took the stardom of Marinus and Gregorius to new heights.

Looking for opportunities to expand their fame beyond the borders of their time, the craftsmen have requested me to share their masterpiece through Kickstarter. When their goal of € 10.500,- is met, Marinus and Gregorius will commence their work and will be able to ship from April 2016.

Valete!

Hrodulf the Frisian

Gladiators are the main actors of Lex Arena. As a player, you take the role of the Lanista – a trainer and owner of gladiators. It is your duty to lead your gladiators to glory by using them to the best of their virtues. There is only one victor: to win the game, one of your gladiators must be the sole survivor of the arena.

In this example, Cassius wants to attack Attius. Both gladiators have 2 health points. Cassius is equipped with level 3 armour and a level 2 weapon. Attius is equipped with level 1 armour. The event card ‘WIND’ causes all gladiators to lose 1 attack power.

ATTACKING

When you want to attack an opponent, you must roll the combat die to see if your attack will be successful:

Attack (sword): Your gladiator attacks the opponent.

(sword): Your gladiator attacks the opponent. Defend (shield): Your opponent strikes back with a counterattack.

(shield): Your opponent strikes back with a counterattack. Critical miss (empty): You miss your attack and lose your turn.

COMBAT

Cassius’ attack score is greater than Attius’ defense score, so Attius loses 1 health point. You eliminate a gladiator by removing all health points.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Gladiators can use glory points to play special abilities. When you use a glory point you skip the combat die and attack immediately. As a beast master, Attius could use a glory point in his turn to make the elephant attack Cassius.

GAMEPLAY VIDEO

You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with

sound 00:00 00:00

Lex Arena is dedicated to all the slaves, thieves, and prisoners of war that entered the arena to fight for glory, honor, and freedom. We have immortalized the best gladiators of Rome with a set of superbly engraved wooden tokens. As a player, it is up to you to lead them to glory...

As a venator in training, Attius was caught for theft and sentenced to fight a starving lion bare handedly. The crowd was displeased to see the young beast master outsmart the lion, but later Attius grew out to be the most respected bestiarus of the Roman Empire.

Ability: Control Animals

Control any animal for one turn. Animals have fixed attack power, so you do not need to roll the combat die.

Once a charming and successful slave merchant from Egypt, Raia ended up in the arena herself when a deal with a Roman Lanista turned bad. Seducing male opponents into temporary alliances, she saves her strengths to strike the final blow. Young men would travel from all corners of the empire to see her in action.

Ability: Control Warriors

Control any warrior for one turn. Warriors have fixed attack power, so you do not need to roll the combat die.

Trained by veteran soldiers, the brothers Hadrian and Varinius were the most skilled murmillo fighters of the merchant class. Boasting they could even beat gladiators, they ended up in the arena themselves. But to their surprise and disbelief – to fight each other.

Ability: Shield Bash

Deals 1 damage when successfully defending an attack.

Slave born Cassius was sent to spend his life in the dark mines when he was caught for theft. As the years past, both his body and his desire for freedom grew stronger. When he was sent to die in a re-enactment battle, his eyes lit with fury and he eliminated a whole Roman garrison.

Ability: Double Damage

Successful secutor attacks deal 2 damage.

Once a respected tribe leader from Caledonia, Holfgar woke up one day to discover his village and dreams were slaughtered by the Roman army. The strong Northling swore revenge and volunteered to fight Roman soldiers in the arena.

Ability: Weather Immunity and Deflect Attack

Immune to all weather effects. Able to cancel an opponent’s weapon until the end of the turn.

Lucius was a skilled fisherman before he sold himself to a Lanista to support his family. However, his family never received any money. When Lucius found out, he had just two wishes left: to embrace his family and to kill his master.

Ability: Net Throw

Entangles the opponent in the net of the Retiarius, causing him to lose armour token until the end of the turn.

As member of an Amazonian tribe, Scyleia was a strong young warrior who was very talented with the bow. Defying all laws and ethics, she had an affair with a charming young Roman. When they were caught, Scyleia was sentenced to a life as gladiator.

Ability: Shoot Bow

Deal 1 damage to the opponent standing in the same field. Using the bow, you do not need to roll the attack die.

Qadir was a secret agent from Byzantinium. When he was caught on a mission, the Romans sentenced him to a life as gladiator. As a master of stealth and agility, he turned out to be the most skilled gladiator of his time.

Ability: Evasive Roll

Evade attacks and special abilities by rolling one field away.

Occasionally warriors and animals appear in the arena, presenting challenges and opportunities. If your gladiator eliminates a warrior or animal, you are rewarded with a weapon or armor token which you can use to equip one of your gladiators.

Lex Arena comes in a beautiful wooden box with a logo engraving, following original design from ancient Rome.