Arenas

Every run is played on one of ten difficulties, from Pleb to Jupiter; the table lists what each one changes, in the game’s words. Each difficulty keeps the changes of the ones before it, and the In numbers column gives what the code makes of the game’s words. Where they say minibosses, they mean masters. Some beasts unlock when you complete a run on a given difficulty, and King of the Gods asks you to win one on Jupiter.

After each fight comes a night, and a night starts with the Surgeon on the first day of Germania and Rome, with the Merchant on the last day of an act, and with the Healer on other nights. After the Merchant you see the Healer, with their potions, and after the Healer, on most nights, the Trainer.

On some difficulties the Owner comes to collect between fights: from Tribune on, the night before Rome’s first fight, and from Mars on, the night before Germania’s first fight too. He gives you a choice of two: one that costs you, like rent, your equipment or a day’s training, and one you pay for in blood, like an affliction, a beating or harder fights. You all have to agree on one. The rent is 50 coins with one player, 100 with two, 125 with three and 150 with four, and he only asks for it if you have more than half that.

What he can ask for, in the game’s words:

• Collect Rent: Lose the rent in coins.
• Repossession: Lose all Equipment.
• Close the Gym: Unable to train tomorrow.
• Landlord Tax: Shop prices increased by 50% at the next shop.
• Take the Masks: Some of you lose your masks.
• Torture: One of you gets an affliction.
• Persuasion: All players suffer a 2-skull affliction.
• Take a Beating: All players lose 40% of their current health.
• Raise the Stakes: Battle more enemies in the next 2 fights.
• Shackles: Get chained in a more dangerous setup for the next 2 fights.
• Half Rations: All players are weak for the next 2 fights.

Before some fights you’re offered a side job, a task for that fight such as killing exactly so many enemies or not taking a hit from some of them, and one player takes it on. Pull it off and it pays 40 coins with one player, 60 coins with two, 80 coins with three and 100 coins with four, twice that with A Gift for the Mob. Fail it and the player who took it gets a 2-skull affliction, the one the offer threatened.

A crowd watches every fight. Win them over and they go wild, which the Lion and some skills build on; anger them and they throw things at you. They pay you coins after a fight too, by how much you won them over.

A run takes you through four acts: Carthage, Germania, Rome and the Senate. The first three last three days each, and the Senate just one. A day is one fight and the night after it. Enemies’ health, the Merchant, the Surgeon and the Owner all go by the days you’ve finished. Each act ends in a boss fight: Beastmaster Barca in Carthage; Goliath in Germania; Praefectus (Rome) in Rome; Praefectus (the Senate), Machinatrix and The Emperor in the Senate.

A regular fight comes in waves, a few of the act’s enemies at a time, and brings one of its masters; the table shows how many waves and who. The Senate has no regular fights: its one fight is its boss fight. The Senate’s boss fight comes in three waves. The first brings Praefectus (the Senate) and Machinatrix together, with Sword Guard, Axe Guard, Bow Guard, Flail Guard, Spear Guard and Mace Guard joining them in groups every 100 seconds (every 90 in the second wave). The last brings The Emperor, two Senators, Club Senator and Torch Senator, and more of Senator, Club Senator and Torch Senator join every 50 seconds. In Rome, the enemies march in formations.

A spike wall only hurts what is thrown or charging into it, so walking into one does nothing. Kill an enemy that way and it is left impaled on the wall, which earns Stick Around.

A spike plate is a pressure plate. Step on it, or be thrown onto it, and a moment later spikes hit everyone on it. Then it resets, and can go off again. Kill an enemy by throwing it onto one and the kill is credited to whoever threw it, for Entrapment.