Ever since I bought GURPS: Imperial Rome back in the 3e days I've wondered if one type of gladiator was superior to another or if they were fairly evenly balanced.
Today we ran the experiment.
In general they're pretty balanced. Each one has a killer app that, if it works, wins the fight for them. If it doesn't, they're boned; hard.
We tested a couple of the types against a giant dragonfly so Geff could make a power level assessment about the creature. Giant dragonfly in the 9' long sense.
Because the dragonfly is very fast, it dodges all but the luckiest of attacks. Even the unarmored retiarius can hold their own, but will get whittled down by unlucky die rolls.
The average straight tens normal, sentenced to die at the spectacle, and handed a sword lasts all of three rounds against such a magical beast.
A modern hunter with a Savage 99 drops it, dead right there, with two shots.
Geff is satisfied with the dragonfly's power level.
It was fun to try out things we'd not do with a character we'd spent hours toiling over points and conception making.
We learned that the retiarius' net can be used two ways. Throwing it is high-risk, high-reward. Using it as a melee weapon to entangle the opponent's weapon arm carries less risk, but also tends to bring smaller rewards; it's the conservative strategy.
Tridents suck. Full stop. Minus to skill to hit, armor is enhanced against them. Their chance to disarm and slight penalty to the defender's active defenses don't offset the penalties.
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