Hi everyone

I was wondering myself...

Can you train each follower? That means. also followers who give you already a strength in battle?

It is not mentioned on the card, but it depends what they mean with trained..

Velhart said:

Hi Velhart,

I don't see any rule restrictions to this, even though it makes the Gladiator really powerful if he gets Followers like Colossus, Unicorn or Tunnel Fighter (in Dungeon).

If he can teach the Maiden and the Princess the masculine art of combat, surely he can train the Mercenary or the Colossus and make them fight better.

The_Warlock said:

I wonder what happens if you train the mercenary. Must you still pay him to add + 4 then or can you use him without payment but he gives you only +1 to become trained..

How about the hag, jester and poltergeist...( seems a bit weird to me..

Velhart said:

There are many curious situations. "bad followers" that give you +1 Strength are permitted by the rules, but I would make an exception. Talisman is pure fun and I am totally enjoying a Gladiator with a complete stable of Mules, Riding Horses and Horse and Cart that help him in battle, but a negative Follower should be a disadvantage except for some particular combinations. A trained Jester will basically remove the penalty he gives in battle... not serious.

The Mercenary is tricky. Since you must pay him to fight at your side, the most logical way is to keep on paying 1 Gold to add +4 instead of +3.

The_Warlock said:

Well, the expert book says that you cannot train those followers, but that's the book..

If we think logical, it is very weird if the jester removes his penalty. That may not be possible i think. It is also weird if the hag can be a trained follower..( same for the poltergeist.

Even if nothing is mentioned on the gladiator card, i see already a rule coming for the upcoming faq..

But i think it is a fair rule.

We both know how powerfull the gladiator can be if he gets a +1 strength for a unicorn too and others. and it's weird to get a +1 from penalty followers..

If this rule stays, he is almost the same as the assassin, who is already a boring character because he is too overpowered..

Velhart said:

Hag is not too bad, because the Gladiator is forced to have only that Follower and may have no others. He needs to get rid of the Hag and a +1 bonus is nothing compared to the penalty. But it's not a matter of balance; it's just logic and good taste.

Gladiator is a very strong Character as I noticed in the only game featuring him so far; for him is not too easy to gain Followers except Mules, he needs to draw them from the Adventure deck. Anyway, I agree that the cumulative bonus from many Followers is significant and doesn't compare with the sacrifices required for Base game Characters, such as the Ghoul that must forfeit a Trophy to gain a temporary bonus in combat. The Ghoul has low Strength and shouldn't be so glad to throw away a Strength 2 or 3 Trophy with the hope to get a 4-5 Trophy and then a Dragon or more.

Some limitation to the Gladiator training ability will make the Character a little more balanced in my opinion. He's very difficult to take down with 5 Lives and armor improvement. Let's say he cannot train all Followers and give some restrictions, similar to Sorceress' Follower stealing ability. For example no "bad followers" and no Mule, Riding Horse, Horse and Cart and Warhorse training , even though it is big fun to train such ludicrous fighters.

I'm afraid that the decision to turn Hag and Poltergeist into real Followers is not bringing the best results. It has raised more problems than the ones it solved.

The_Warlock said:

I tried to get in contact with Jon yesterday, and it seems that there is not a official rule about this.

But he says that the gladiator should be allowed to get a bonus from unicorn cards too( who give you already a strength in battle) and also for the hag and poltergeist. There is no need to stop his ability for that..

The jester does nothing then, and his penalty will become 0..( gladiator is lucky;)

I will play it this way then, and hopefully it will be included to the faq..to get the 100% answer..

I disagree with everyone on how they use the Gladiator. It says you may train a follower and you may use these followrers in a battle if you want and if you lose your opponent can kill one of those followers.

So you are either trained or not trained. You can train the Guide and Pixie But followers such as the Unicorn or Collosus already have the plus one so the Gladiator can't teach thenm anything. It's really a rule they have to fix from the company. It's can be read many ways. I'm all for balanced in the game. You have a few guys that are just too powerful and ruin the game. My nephew had someone I forgot who. Couldn't get starteded and we were 2 hours into the game and purposely died in the deserst then rolled for his new character (I have a number chart and we roll a 30 sided die for the character) he got the warrior and within 40 minutes he was tied for the lead in strength. Guys that powerful ruin the game.

Freybourne

I've played the Gladiator a few times, and been playing against him a few times.

He's not guaranteed to pull Followers, there's bound to be some pulled but it won't always be him. Even if he does, there is numerous opportunities along the way to loose them ( Cell, Werewolf, Chasm, Hag, Horse Thief, etc ) which knocks him off his perch pretty quick, not to mention the possibility of characters taking them if they can.

I went a whole game as the Gladiator, got a couple of Followers, the Princess and Maiden, and didn't fight a single battle, just Psychic combat and got up to Craft 12 while my trained ladies sparred with each other in the background as I studied Philosophy.

If you should be so lucky ( as I was last game ) to pull the Collosus then put those extra cones on him. Train those horses, the Jester evens out, that's his ability. It's chance if you get the character ( unless you are actually picking the characters... ) and it's chance if fortune favours you. I was also hovering around 2 lives for half the game because Psychic battles were not going my way this time around, it wasn't all peachy, but when I hit my stride it was a washout

freybourne said:

"Gladiator
Q1: Can the Gladiator “train” Followers that already add to
his Strength in battle, such as the Colossus and Mercenary?

A: Yes." (FAQ, page 6)

I had a nice win with the Gladiator awhile back!! and guess what,,,i had only one follower,,,,and guess who it was??!! yep,,,Cursed by the Hag!! I never drew another follower after i drew her either!! it hurts the opponent when they get hit by the hag for 1 point of strength!! Gladiator is a fun character to play no doubt!! one man's trash is another man's treasure!!

I was wondering about something from the gladiator.

can your opponent(player) only kill your trained followers?

Is it allowed that you can say that no follower wil fight with you, so that the oponent can't kill a follower from you if he win in combat?

i think yes: if you don't use trained follower's bonus during combat and you lose, the character that defeat the gladiator cannot kill a follower.

for example: gladiator has 7 followers, before combat he decides to train 4 of them, adding 4 strength points during battle. if he loses, the other ch. can kill only one of the 4 trained followers IMO.

But i've another question: once he trained a follower, can the gladiator decide when use the follower or not? must the player say which follower train before any combat??

EX: player A has Gladiator. he has colossus, unicorn, horse, mule. he draws dragon, str. 7. he decides to train all his followers, and after rolling he defeats the dragon. next turn, he draws a lion, str. 3. Can he decide to not use one or more trained followers during battle? or if you train once you must use every time that follower in battle?

We play this way: before any battle the gladiator says the followers he train and use during battle. if he lose, the other character can kill one of the follower he choose in that specific battle.

Not sure it is correct, but it worked well in our games!

air show said:

He can pick from any number of Followers he wishes to use, but must announce which ones he is using before any rolls.

Of course, this only currently (IIRC) matters in PvP, against Creatures, even if he loses, he won't lose any Followers he used, so it's just assumed he is using them all.

understood. nice answer, thanks.

my doubts about gladiator are gone. i'm ready for the others from Highlands, when I'll find out where to buy it in Italy soon...

Dam said:

Oke thanks,

The best way what the Gladiator can do, is not training his followers during cvc, but use them as normal..

this should be allowed.. right? then he lose no follower if he lose in battle...

you're right. the best way is to train them and use them against enemy, became strong and then don't use "trained" followers during PvP battle if necessary.