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Showing posts from November, 2018

A Crowd of Capuan Criminals

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OK well not quite a crowd but rather a quartet; the alliteration's not as good on the latter though! So not a crowd but definitely criminals or noxii to use the correct term - or at least that's what the rules call them, my Latin being none existent. If one is going to stage a properly themed festival then there is no avoiding the unsavoury  aspect of staged executions. Handily, the Italeri gladiator set comes with lions but where was I going to source 54mm criminals? The only answer was to convert another figure and the closest I could find was a set of plastic Zulus. The first step in the conversion was to shave said Zulus; mainly removing leg and arm 'feathers'. I did contemplate drilling out the hands to take replacement weapons but the hands were quite slight and I didn't fancy my chances of drilling into soft plastic. Hence, I cut down the original weapons as a basis on which to rebuild replacement swords. Tunics and hair were then added with...

Kourion and the great floured chimp scandal

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The Prologue ...and welcome to a moderately busy Kourion Arena for the Ludus Romani here today, sad to say the local Greek populace consider themselves a bit civilised for blood sports... still it's a great program this afternoon. The promoter Honest Figulus presents: The Mighty Silverback Great Ape... A fierce and mighty beast, a king of nature, a Prince among Gorillas... Or... just a chimp that's had flour thrown over it to make it look like a Silverback.   The Greek crowd may have Figulus flogged for this one... But the chimp lashes out killing a slave, before it is killed.  Not a good start. And for out second bout, it's the Great Ostrich Chase! For those not in the know, the Ostrich is quick  Several Greek punters lose their money over this.  That crowd is getting ugly... No use, the ostriches dash around, far too quick to catch. It's another wash out.  The Governor beckons his guards and points at Figulus....gulp......

The Capuan Arena Staff

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Having completed my arena and enough gladiators to get started, I thought it about time I took a look at some gaming accessories. Actually, the game has minimal book keeping requirements but it is necessary to keep a running total of a couple of stats. Most bouts have an eight round limit so it is useful to know how many rounds have been played. Also each gladiator has a stat termed vitality, which is essentially the number of hits he can absorb. Both of these could be recorded by using dice or counters but I decided that it would be neater to use the MDF dials, available from the likes of Warbases, on which I could place a suitable scenic figure. According to Bishop’s ‘Gladiators. Fighting to the Death in Ancient Rome’, there were two main gates to an arena; the Porta Sanavivaria (Gate of Life) and the Porta Libitinensis (Gate of Death). Victorious gladiators would leave through the former, whilst the remains of the defeated were removed via the latter by a figure dressed as Cha...