Ludi Romae Conditionis - Gladiators

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Ludi Romae Conditionis - Gladiators

Postby Publius Dionysius Mus on Tue Apr 20, 2004 3:25 pm

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

I gladly welcome you to the Colosseum for the first Gladiator combats, in honour of the founding of Rome!

It is a sunny but cool afternoon, and you should thank the gods for this because our velum is not yet finished ;-)

Today we offer you five fights (five more tomorrow), and they look really promising!


The first fight features the dimachaerus Tiberius Africanus, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco, against the hoplomachus Papius Brutulus, sponsored by Marcus Horatius Moravius Piscinus. And they enter our brand new arena, filled with clean white sand – how long will the sand be white? The strong and fierce Papius Brutulus rushes forward and immediately tries his special legionary’s attack a few times in a row. Tiberius Africanus tries to defend, but both gladiators seem to lack a little competence to complete these moves. But then Papius Brutulus rushes in and strikes hard: he attacks Tiberius Africanus with his sword, hits him twice and once more on his sword arm. This reduces Tiberius Africanus’ force and hit points (15 left). Tiberius Africanus tries to respond, but he fails to hit Papius Brutulus even once… And with a strong final thrust with his spear Papius Brutulus ends the fight – although it seemed more like manslaughter instead of a fight… Better luck next time for Tiberius Africanus, Papius Brutulus and his lanista Marcus Moravius Horatius Piscinus win the first fight!


In our second fight we have the retiarius Scipio Umbra, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco, against the secutor Servus Secundus, sponsored by Lucius Moravius Tarquinius. Scipio Umbra, master of the web, opens the fight with a heavy thrust forward with his trident, immediately wounding his opponent who didn’t expect this early attack. But Servus Secundus quickly recovers and responds with a sword attack. Cautiously they turn around each other, and suddenly Scipio Umbra pulls out his dagger and stabs his opponent in the leg, making him a little slower. Then the retiarius kicks his opponent to the ground, but Servus Secundus acts quickly and rolls away. And then a furious attack by Scipio Umbra, who once again thrusts forward with his trident! Servus Secundus falls down, but in his fall he manages to wound Scipio Umbra with his sword. Unfortunately, this only encourages the retiarius to finish the fight: he gets on top of the secutor, wounding him twice with his dagger. Scipio Umbra shows no mercy and finishes the fight with a final blow with his mighty trident. Lanista Tiberius Dionysius Draco may smile, for his gladiator wins this fight!


The third fight is between the murmillo Raptor, sponsored by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco, and the hoplomachus Julius Phoenix, sponsored by Tiberius Dionysius Draco. Upon entering the arena, Julius Phoenix immediately runs towards Raptor, kicking him to the ground. He then thrusts forward with his spear, badly wounding Raptor. What a start of this fight! Raptor stands up, but he receives another attack: this time his sword arm is hit, resulting in less force for the rest of the fight. Raptor is finally able to respond with a sword attack. Both gladiators then make some feints, until Julius Phoenix does a successful attack with his sword. But Raptor quickly responds with his own sword attack! Julius Phoenix tries to defend, but he fails and is hit. And an enraged Julius Phoenix then decides to finish the fight with another thrust forward with his spear. Another fight won by Tiberius Dionysius Draco!


And so we come to our fourth fight, with the eques Lucius Verus, sponsored by Primus Aurelius Tergestus, fighting an eques ‘of the house’, Ferox. Both gladiators enter the arena on horseback and ride one round with a beautifully coloured flag in their hands – what a splendid entrée! Then they both race towards the centre of the arena and meet in a terrible clash! When the dust clears, both horses are dead and both gladiators wounded. Ferox immediately attacks with his sword. Ferox then runs towards the side of the arena where he mounts a new horse. Already victorious it seems, he rides two tours around the arena and then races to the centre again. But Lucius Verus is awaiting him there, and with a strong and fast attack he attacks the horse’s legs, causing Ferox to crash onto the sands of the Colosseum. The crowd goes wild with enthusiasm! Then Lucius Verus finishes the fight with a single sword attack, right in Ferox’ chest! Victory for Primus Aurelius Tergestus!


The fifth fight features the hoplomachus Argos, sponsored by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco and the dimacherus Servus Primus, sponsored by Lucius Moravius Tarquinius. They both circle around each other cautiously, and then they start a good old fashioned sword combat. Argos with sword and shield against the two flashing swords of Servus Primus… The dimachaerus strikes first, immediately followed by a counterattack from the hoplomachus. Another round of circling around each other, and then a new attack by Servus Primus, again immediately followed by an attack from Argos. But Argos seems to have come in a winning mood: twice he defends with his large shield whilst attacking Servus Primus with his gladius. The dimachaerus didn’t see those coming, and he falls down in the sand, deadly wounded. The first victory for lanista Gnaeus Dionysius Draco and Argos!


The other five fights will be posted tomorrow! Stay tuned 8)

Valete bene
Publius Dionysius Mus

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Re: Ludi Romae Conditionis - Gladiators

Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:40 pm

Salve Mus!

Publius Dionysius Mus wrote:... Lanista Tiberius Dionysius Draco may smile, for his gladiator wins this fight!

... Another fight won by Tiberius Dionysius Draco!


And smile he does :twisted:

Bring on the wine! These victories shall be celebrated! :wine:

Vale bene,
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Wed Apr 21, 2004 6:55 pm

Salve Mus,

Good fights, good fights! More! ;)

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Postby Publius Dionysius Mus on Wed Apr 21, 2004 8:00 pm

Salvete!!

Welcome on day two of our exciting gladiator combats! Today we will see the other five fights of the Ludi Conditionis Romae!


In the first fight we have an eques ‘of the house’, Adonis, competing against the eques Sejanus, sponsored by Primus Aurelius Tergestus. Both riders enter the arena, and Sejanus seems in a winning mood: he immediately runs into Adonis, killing his opponent’s horse and damaging the rider. But Adonis finds a forgotten spear shaft in the sand, which he uses to kick Sejanus off his horse. Sejanus runs swiftly to the sides of the arena, followed by Adonis. The last one manages to get near enough to Sejanus to wound him with the sword. But Sejanus has reached a fresh horse and jumps on it. He rides towards Adonis, who uses the spear shaft to kill the horse – the environmentalists won’t like what’s happening here! Sejanus, now badly wounded, awaits Adonis’ next move cautiously. Adonis however, is no reckless fighter, so they both concentrate and wait for each other’s attack. Then Sejanus is distracted by a cry from the spectators, and Adonis hits him with his sword. Sejanus has a quick counterattack ready and wounds Adonis too with his sword. But Sejanus has lost too much blood, and with a final blow with his sword, Adonis finishes the fight. Bad luck for Primus Aurelius Tergestus, but this victory by one of the gladiators ‘of the house’ means free drinks tonight at the entrance of the Colosseum!


Our second fight is between two dimachaeri: Cyclops, sponsored by Gnaeus Dionysius Draco, and Gavius Pontius, sponsored by Marcus Moravius Horatius Piscinus. An interesting confrontation, this will be, between two dimachaeri. And Gavius Pontius immediately goes into defence – luckily, because this way Cyclops’ attack misses. Gavius Pontius keeps his defence up, and Cyclops tries hard but does not get through. The crowd starts mumbling because of lack of action in this fight, until suddenly Gavius Pontius bursts out and attacks Cyclops’ sword arm. This will surely reduce his force in the rest of the fight. After another few rounds of cautiously waiting for the opponent to attack, the crowd really gets angry. “Pugnate!”, they yell, “Cruor!”. Incinerated by these shouts Cyclops attacks with his right sword, and Gavius Pontius responds with another attack to his opponent’s sword arm – things are looking bad for Cyclops! He tries to attack, but Gavius Pontius blocks with one sword, whilst attacking with the other – a mighty blow, and Gavius Pontius is the winner! Congratulations to his lanista Marcus Moravius Horatius Piscinus!


Then we come to the third fight, with the hoplomachus Jakar, sponsored by Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus, fighting against the murmillo Blossius Cumaensis, sponsored by Marcus Horatius Moravius Piscinus. Jakar opens the fight with an attack to his opponent’s sword arm, leaving him with less force in the rest of the fight. Blossius Cumaensis responds with a smash in the face with his shield, but he doesn’t seem able to make advantage of this situation. Instead, Jakar attacks with his sword and wounds his opponent’s breast. Despite another hit with the shield, Jakar is still able to react: he kicks his opponent to the ground and wounds his sword arm again. Finally Blossius Cumaensis is able to respond with a sword attack. Then we see a nice sword slash from our hoplomachus, wounding his opponent’s chest and sword arm. Blossius Cumaensis, now badly wounded, tries to get up and manages to wound his opponent’s sword arm and chest. But with another attack on the sword arm, Jakar finishes the fight. Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus may smile, for his gladiator has won!


Fight number four features two equites: Servus Maximus, sponsored by Lucius Moravius Tarquinius, and Aelius Maximus, sponsored by Primus Aurelius Tergestus. The crowd goes wild as the two riders enter the arena, with flags in their hand they ride a few rounds. Then Aelius Maximus jumps off his horse, runs towards his dazzled opponent, and kills his horse – another horse killed! Servus Maximus bites the sand and is not able to get up very quickly. Aelius Maximus however, is still very concentrated. With three consecutive and well-placed sword attacks he finishes his opponent, who was not able to react in the whole fight – should we search for sabotage here, or is it merely a case of bad preparation? A very one-sided fight this was, won by lanista Primus Aurelius Tergestus. Congratulations!


And our fifth and final fight is between the dimachaerus Sharath, sponsored by Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus, and the hoplomachus Cicatrix, a gladiator ‘of the house’. Cicatrix, whose name does not mean he has much experience because it is only a reference to a wound he caught at his father’s woodcarver workshop while being a kid, opens the fight with a sword attack to his opponent’s chest. Sharath reacts with an attack on his opponent’s sword arm, leaving him with less force for the rest of the fight. Clearly Cicatrix is rather inexperienced, and very much impressed by his opponent too, because he is not able to respond to any of Sharath’s attacks: a chest wound, an attack to the sword arm, another chest wound and a new attack on the sword arm and a sword blow in his stomach. Finally, but badly wounded, Cicatrix manages to raise his sword for an attack, but he is too slow and it was no problem for Sharath to defend against this attack. Then Sharath decides to end the fight: with one sword he holds back his opponent’s weapons, while he uses his other sword to end Cicatrix’ misery. Not one single wound for Sharath, maybe a great champion someday… Another victory for Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus!


And here we conclude the first gladiator games in the Societas Via Romana! In a few moments the prizes will be awarded by the jury - so stay at your seats, please!
Publius Dionysius Mus

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ROUND-UP

Postby Publius Dionysius Mus on Wed Apr 21, 2004 8:35 pm

Salvete!

With a loud trompet sign the jury enters the arena. The head of the jury comes forward and speaks out with a loud voice:

"We have seen some great fights in these two days of fighting! Now it is time to honour the winners! There are various prizes, according to the gladiator's performance.

Julius Phoenix receives a brand new spear - it seems it was his spear that got broken, then forgotten in the sand and used by some equites in their fight...

Lucius Verus, Jakar and Adonis each receive an athletic training course in the Circus Maximus - they have to try and catch some wild horses running around in there after the Ludi Circenses. This will give them 1 point extra for 'speed'.

Scipio Umbra receives a special prize: a nice and noble lady has requested his presence during the night. This will give him 1 extra point for 'dexterity'.

Argos, Gavius Pontius and Sharath will be trained one week in the Ludus Matutinus, and in the next Ludi they will appear in a special Venatio where they can show the public their hunting skills. This means they will suffer no wounds in the next Ludi.

Papius Brutulus and Aelius Maximus are the absolute winners - both with a flawless victory. They may spend a week at the Ludus Magnus to train their skills. Their lanistae may add 1 point extra to each gladiator, for either 'force', 'speed', 'dexterity' or 'tactics'.

Another round of applause for these great gladiators! We will surely see more of their skills in the next Ludi!"


And so everybody leaves the Colosseum, happy and cheerful. See you on the next Ludi!

Valete bene!
Publius Dionysius Mus

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By treason they fell
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:20 pm

My heartfelt congratulations to my colleague and friend Mus for hosting these munera. I enjoyed seeing my gladiators come to life!

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Postby Aulus Dionysius Mencius on Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:00 am

Gnae,

Do not forget those battered veterans who have competed in a trial run... :wink:

And yes, Mus has a fine touch for awarding the gladiatores... This could mean a big difference in the next Ludi. By then, hopefully, I will also have some prize fighters lined up.

Untill we meet again, vale bene, amici
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Postby Horatius Piscinus on Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:04 pm

Galen runs out on the field followed by two assistants and what appears to be several lupae. The girls have their hair piled high, purple silks floating in the wind, the tinkling of their silver bracelets, and wafts of perfume rising into the stands. Is that Valeria among them? She's no meretrix! Scandalous, simply scandalous. Oh, if the praetor sees them in those silks out in public there will be trouble for them. Galen bends over Blossius, squeezing the juice of some bulbus onto his wounds. It must be narsico. Whatever Galen is using, it stings; Blossius is flopping around like a landed fish. One assistant is applying ajuga as a styptic, the other lifts Blossius' lips to a cup of wine and eruca. The girls seem more interested in Pontius at the moment. Latus dat! Vulua, the Nubian flava puella with the obviously poor dye job, is lifting her tunica to display her wares to him. Ooh, she must have gotten a new dye job there too, to see it from here. And Eugia, discinctus, is rubbing her naked breasts against his sweaty arms. She'll have to shell out some sesterces for that. Marcus is asking 7,000 sesterces for a vial of his sweat. At that price she could buy herself a pair of cheap arenarios. Libertina the culibonia and Spurnia are pointing down at Blossius while Galen tries to seal his wounds with millefolia.

Spurnia dicit, "Iterum diffututa iste pavi mentula est."

"Semper iste," Libertina ait, "sine futuendo erat."

Tum maxime, Brutulus, qui similis bestiarius est, prodiit. Is cremam, rimam Euginae hiente rapens et dulce landicam eius peregens opus, eius feminam excavabat.
Outrageous! All of the girls immediately begin pelting Brutulus with fists and curses. "Verpa!" "I male in mutonio!" Pontius sides with the girls, kicking Brutulus as he scurries out of the arena. This is too much. There's the praetor urbanus now, ordering his lictores onto the sands. The girls flee to the stands, one lictor in pursuit, the others seeking out Brutulus. Are those senators lifting the girls into the seats? Proudly they display their blood-splattered togae praetextae. The crowds form a wall behind the girls and the lictor is left standing there in frustration to receive their taunts. Oh, there's Vulua again, shaking her bleached pentinicula at him. She must be very proud of it. Brutulus, too, escapes through a crowd wearing the colours of the
purpurea, and the lictores return to the praetor.

The praetor stands over Blossius, discussing his condition with Horatius' lanista. It looks like Galen may have applied too much of those narsico juices. Blossius is sprawled out rigid, paralyzed by the effect it seems. He will fight no more. After some more discussion the praetor accepts the suggestion of the lanista and announces that Blossius will be replaced in the next meridianum spectaculum by Poppaedius Silo, an old favorite retarius reentering the arena as an auctoratus.
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Postby Horatius Piscinus on Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:05 pm

Salvete sodales



The results of these first contests do not seem to have been in doubt. No one chose to fight a Thraex who is at a distinct disadvantage, while most of the victors were hoplomachi. In this first round a hoplomachus had a 4/6 chance of effecting a move, and one of those causes the maximum damage of 15 hit points. Where as a murmillo can never cause so much damage, can at best get 3/6 effective rolls in the first round, and has less staying power. A Thraex, who is one of the weaker participants, in the first round would have to choose between a 1/6 chance of inflicting 10 hit points, or opt for a 2/6 chance of either defending himself or inflicting only 5 hit points of damage. Even a very lucky Thraex would not stand a chance against a hoplomachus and likely would not hold up against a dimarchus.

Now, what is to become of the defeated gladiators? Winners of the contests received extra points to increase their invincibility, where the defeated will just be fodder in the next contests. OTOH if the lanistae are permitted to replace their losers with new contenders we will eventually see only eques and hoplomachi matches. Rather dull contests as spectacles go. I suggest that in the future no team be permitted to field more than one gladiator of any type, and therefore cannot replace a defeated gladiator with a type he or she already has.

Valete et bonam fortunam habete
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:08 pm

Salve Piscine,

Yes, I made the same remark about the hoplomachi in private, they seem to be at a great advantage! Undoubtedly Mus will do some tweaking... :)

Vale,
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Postby Curio Agelastus on Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:47 pm

Salvete,

I agree that the hoplomachus is at something of an advantage. However, there is no need for the fodder to remain fodder, and the invincible warriors to remain so. Simply play the winners of these matches against each other, and the losers against each other - in this way some of the winners will be halted in their "march of invincibility" and some losers will be able to catch up. If we keep using this method then gladiators will only fight those who have won the same amount of matches.

Bene valete,
Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus.
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Postby Publius Dionysius Mus on Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:28 pm

ADDITION:

- Hoplomachus and Thraex have been adapted in their stats.

- To get rid of the strong hoplomachi, all hoplomachi will fight in a knock-out combat in the next Ludi. They will fight until only one hoplomachus is left, and this one will receive a special prize: liberty. He will no longer be a gladiator, but his lanista may replace him with another gladiator (and add 1 extra point to his stats).

- In the next Ludi also female gladiators will be allowed. In the future a special female gladiator type will be developed, but until then they can fight as one of the standard gladiator types. They will fight male gladiators, but can be distinguished by their female names. Note that the maximum gladiators you can submit remains at three: males, females, or mixed.

- From now on also 'special types' will be allowed. Lanistae may develop their own gladiator type, which only they can use. Of course they should send me the type and stats before the Ludi commence, so their type can be tested and adapted if necessary. Curio has already sent me such a gladiator type, and I will use his as an example (note that this type has not yet been tested, so adaptations are still possible):

As for my third gladiator... None of the other types mentioned really takes my fancy, so I'm going to be very cheeky and ask for a special request. Can I import a gladiator from the wilds of Britannia? I was thinking along the lines of a warrior in hide armour, with a quarterstaff. I'd suggest Force 3, since the staff obviously doesn't have the cutting power of any of the normal Roman gladiatorial weapons, but it has a much greater capacity to break bones and crush armour. Some suggested moves with the staff:
* A skilled warrior can "half-staff", a technique whereby he holds the quarterstaff with both hands in the middle, Darth Maul style, thus allowing him to block almost any attack. This would probably have a similar effect to the Thraex's complete defence tactic.
* A crack to the leg would severely limit a warrior's speed, perhaps giving
-1 to speed for the rest of the combat?
* Thrusting the quarterstaff at the opponent's torso would probably do 10 points of damage.
* Swinging the staff at the opponent's weapon arm would probably do 5 points of damage and deduct 1 force for the rest of the match.
* Trip the opponent up by hooking the staff around his leg. This could do 5 points of damage, and give the staff wielder an extra turn.
* Make a heavy strike against the opponent's head. 15 points of damage.
I'd recommend that you decide the characteristics needed for each of these attacks, to make sure the Briton is balanced with the other gladiators.



I think this is it for now, see you all on the next Ludi!

Valete bene
Publius Dionysius Mus

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By treason they fell
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