Arena Rex Forums

Can you include two of the same beast in a cohort?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Still no, obviously, but you could also say "depends". When it comes to cohort construction, there are no special rules that make beasts different from gladiators in terms of how many you can take. So if you interpret the rules in such a way that you can take more than one Acerbus (since the rules don't specifically say you can't), then logically you must be able to take more than one Viatrix or Sven too.

The bottom line is that the beasts are characters just like the gladiators are characters, because everything in the game is characters. There are no non-character models in the game. Where by "character", I mean a named unique individual. Leo is not a generic lion. He is a named unique lion with his own unique rules and history, just like Micon is a named unique human with his own unique rules and history.

The reason I said "depends" above is that the offical rules are one thing, and what you choose to do with them is another thing. If you prefer to see the beasts and/or gladiators as generic and not unique, then do that. It is a modification of the normal intended rules, and therefore a house rule, but it's a very straightforward thing to do.

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For reference, here is an older post of the same question where RRG explain that technically you can't have more than one, but they think it's cool if you do it anyway: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=34553

I still think it's an interesting question because it hits into one of the cores of the game's design philosophy, I think. That every model is a character is a very strong concept. But as the game expands, it doesn't have to be like this forever.

RRG could, for example, release a model at some point in the future that *isn't* a unique character. I'm not sure what it might be, but... let's imagine some kind of fighter that has a special rule saying "you may take more than one of this gladiator in your cohort", combined with another special rule where having more than one of them gives a bonus.

Personally, if people have a desire for generic beasts, then I would prefer for RRG to release rules and models for actual generic beasts, rather than making the character beasts generic as a house rule. For example, they could release a generic "giant scorpion" that would be similar to Sereqet, but on a 50mm base and slightly smaller. Maybe make them weaker, but say that one character slot used gives you two scorpions. That way you could retain Sereqet as the unique scorpion queen, as she was intended, but also introduce the concept of a swarm of generic scorpions for her to lead.

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Thanks for the detailed replies.