Tiger
This great feline is trained by the venatores to jump unexpectedly over its preys. Its strong jaws can close on the convict’s throat before they have time to react.
At Level II, the Tiger can Tear Apart its victim with a Beast Attack result on the Beasts Die: he adds an Attack Die, two against fallen enemies. He can also move three additional hexes when making a Leap, even over another fighter, and gains an additional Attack Die.
Also, Acrobats with a Level II Tiger can spend 1,000 more sestertii and gain the Beast Tamer card… that adds +1 to Speed and to Attack and Defense Dice of all their beasts, including the Lycaons!
Design process
At first, the orange team’s Great Beast was the Aurochs (the Desultor jumped over it grabbing its horns), and the Parmularii had the Tiger.
But it seemed more appropriate for this jumping beast to be part of the Acrobats. So, when we decided that all the beasts in the basic box were felines, the Parmularii got the Panther and the Aurochs went to the Executioners (from the future expansion “Colosseum”).
The Tiger’s miniature should be big and muscled, with that stance from our prototype that suggests a leap: that special skill makes it the Beast that can roll more Attack Dice in the game; a real killing machine.
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- The first 3D model was not quite right. It was our first Great Beast miniature, and the base looked bland compared to the prototype’s. We also considered changing its claws, ears and jaws.
- The test with sand in the base was not loved, not even by the very sculptors.
3DBreed: “There are a lot of people that likes to paint and decorate their bases: they are not going to like having to file this one…” - Already with EscenaRYS founded, we got to the final phase of the miniature. We retrieved the smooth base, but we kept the ears raised, contrary to the sculptors’ opinion, who wanted to differentiate it more from the Panther.
At this time A. J. Manzanedo began his own work, and he left us speechless with his powerful illustration.
It was immediately approved by all the EscenaRYS team. Our historian, Alfonso Mañas, just said: “IMPRESSIVE”. 🙂
Alfonso: “Gladiatoris has an intrinsic aesthetic value, adding to its historical rigour value and its own value as a game (that will make fans of these games buy it).”
Manzanedo: “I’m working on the Lion but I’ve checked again the Tiger, and improved it. It’s the same, but its anatomy is more correct, and also looks more fierce.”
David: “It’s wonderful that you keep on improving your own work, even after it’s been already approved by everyone. It shows a remarkable commitment to your work.”
But… the ears were raised… And, recognizing our mistake on the miniature, we decided to leave its ears down.
David: “Yesterday, my psycho cat leapt onto my back (she grows nervous when you laugh”) and scratched my head and shoulder… she had her ears like this :)”
Tiger approved!
Here you can see the full illustration process:
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When we demoed our game at Arkham (a local gaming shop) this year, we showed the new illustrations and minis to some players, both veteran and newbies: all of them loved them, and they only criticize the Tiger’s miniature (especially because it didn’t look much like its illustration).
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Following our same policy as with the playtesting, we took the remarks to heart and we decided to make, from scratch, a new mini (we kept the first tiger for a future Mercenary Beast).
David: “… I think its ears are too big, much more than the illustration’s.” Once again the damn ears!
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Miniature approved! And so, the Tiger was the first 3D-modeled beast for Gladiatoris… and also the last one. With it, we finished all the minis for the basic box.
David: “It’s kind of sad to end such a gratifying work: looking at the four finished teams, I have to say that they exceed my initial expectations, and they were not low at all! :)”