BatRep...Secutor vs. Retarius

Turn 1 Initiative-Retarius

Retarius takes the initiative and moves into range to prepare for a Net Attack on his next turn...I move forward to engage hoping to get the initiative next turn.

Turn 2 Initiative-Retarius

As I closed, the Retarius quickly threw his net before I could react and was ensnared(damn the luck...I was already getting nervous here) but he couldnt pull me to the ground and while still ensnared, I was able to stay on my feet...

The Retarius sprung forward to attack while I was caught in his net(at a -2 to my Rep) to strike a finishing blow and quickly finish me...miraculously I was able to fend him off(although I burned 4 melee dice to his 2...being caught in a net and fighting at a -2 to Rep, I decided to use 4 melee dice while he used 2...so the trade off was me expending twice as much energy just to keep him at bay so that I could free myself on my turn...

which I did and threw it behind me...whew, close call...but now let's see how tough he is without his net).

Turn 3 Initiative-Secutor

Yes, I had the first move...now to move inside the range of his trident. I leaped forward and put 3 melee dice into my attack and caught him off guard(rolling on the NPC Dice Allocation table, the Retarius only used 1 melee dice in defense, a lucky roll for me, so I dramatically attribute this to "catching him off guard" )...I swung high and caught him in the head...he was wearing no helmet, so he suffered a wound and staggered back, stunned and was unable to fight back during his move...my lucky strike forced him to use up a few extra dice in his pool and lowered his Rep by 1 until he cleared his head...now that I had the advantage, I had to move in and end this.

Turn 4 Initiative-Secutor

The Retarius was unable to clear his head and remained stunned, so I moved in for the kill...again I decided to put more energy into this attack, but could not find a mark as the stunned Retarius was able to parry and dodge every thrust and swing I threw at him.

Turn 5 Initiative-Secutor

The Retarius was able to clear his head and raise his Rep back to 5, so that now we were on equal footing, although from the effort I put into my last attack, my Dice Pool was lower than his now, so I had to be careful so as to not wear myself out too quickly...I tried a flanking move to his left to gain an advantage and failed miserably, exposing my own left flank(so much for having the Initiative advantage)...

he stabbed forward to my exposed ribcage but I was able to bat the trident away with my shield and follow up with my gladius with a slash across his unarmoured chest...he was now bleeding from the head and chest now, and I was breathing heavily from the efforts I was throwing into my attacks...I didnt have much energy left.

Turn 6 Initiative-Retarius

The Retarius stabbed high for my head, and I ducked low and and slashed at his lower left leg, his armour there prevented any injury to him, but it did force him back limping a bit...we were both very tired...I was almost exhausted...

as he staggered back, I closed on him but even being wounded, he was still able to parry my attacks on him...I was gasping for breath now as my dice pool was almost spent...he had just a little more than me and was slowing down as I was...I felt that this next turn would be the last for one of us...

Turn 7 Initiative-Secutor

This was it...I put everything I had left into my last assault...I knew I wouldnt have anything left to give after this attack and would end up lying on the sand...I just hoped that he would be lying there as well, preferably defeated...the Retarius took a defensive stance, right foot back, left leg forward with his trident pointed towards me...I rushed in low and was able to push his trident upwards and away from me with my shield and with my last bit of strength, slash his unarmoured upper left leg, wounding him a third time...this wound took the last bit of energy he had left and he fell backwards onto the sand...I also fell forwards onto my hands and knees gasping for breath...I crawled over to where he lay and pointed my gladius at him...bleeding from the 3 wounds I was fortunate enough to give him, and exhausted, he was forced to submit and I was declared the victor...just barely the victor...

The Fate of the Fallen

I looked to the crowd to see what the fate of the defeated Retarius would be...there were cheers for my victory but also there were just as many pleas for mercy to spare him(seems like they wanted to see a rematch)...the crowd looked to the editor up in his chair...he quickly gave a thumbs down so I finished my opponent for good...I slowly rose to my feet and staggered my way back to the holding pens, not having the strength left to raise my arms and acknowledge the cheers of the crowd...

Afterthoughts

Man, what a close fight this was...literally came down to the wire...I took a chance early on and used a lot of energy in my initial attacks, and was fortunate to land some strikes...but in doing so, I very nearly exhausted myself and almost collapsed on the sand from over exertion...planning your attacks carefully knowing when to reserve your energy are key elements...but sometimes just taking chances can turn the tide as well...but we are all equally at the mercy of the dice gods...