Gladiators (pairings)

[H.M.Stanley]

Team, i fancy a small dabble in Gladiators fights in the arena. There looks to be some interesting new rules out there or about to be.

I love the idea of the biscuit tin arena and fully intend to nick that idea  

I know next to nothing about this period.

I'm looking at the Crusader Gladiator figures as Nick/Northstar is a short drive and as nice as the new Paul Hicks scuplts are, i don't want to wait.

I'm going to buy a couple of packs; what would be the most likely pairings be? I've narrowed the list to their Murmilones/Cropellarius (a must) and Thraeces & Hiplomachi (or possibly Sectores/Scissor instead)

Thanks

James

[Furt]

The most common types:
Retiarius vs Secutor
Murmillo vs Thraex or Hoplomachus
Provocator vs Provocator

The rarer types:
Arbelas (Scissor) vs Retiarius or Arbelas
Crupellarius vs Crupellarius
Dimachaerus vs unknown probably Dimachaerus, maybe murmillo

[Mad Doc Morris]

Furt beat me to it. So only a wrap-up.

The principle of most matches is Light vs. Heavy. Heavies are the "Roman" types with large shields and/or heavy armour.
There are a lot of specialised types, some very uncommon or literally unknown apart from single mention (unfortunately, with the Crupellarius among them). I would stick to the well-known types for a start. If you want the full complement, better get some Equites or Venatores (and wild beasts) first, as these were employed interchangeably with gladiator matches during a day at the arena.

[H.M.Stanley]

Furt/Doc

Perfect - thank you both!

My hunch was Heavy v Light. So, Murmillo vs Thraex or Hoplomachus it is

James

[Furt]

Good luck with it James. Be warned, they are an addictive bunch...

[H.M.Stanley]

Good luck with it James. Be warned, they are an addictive bunch...

Just a couple of packs. Honest 

[LeadAsbestos]

Just a couple of packs. Honest 

Good luck with that!

[H.M.Stanley]

Good luck with that!

Well, i bought the two packs i wanted (and i've managed to source a 2nd Crupellarius for those rare fights).

I also bought the Iron Ivan "Vktus" as i've liked their rule sets in the past.

Was sorely tempted to buy the extra packs  

[H.M.Stanley]

Right-O,

Now that the proverbial red dust has settled, it appears that i have a spare Myrmillo, Hoplomachus and Thraex.

Would exchange for, and in order of preference, (i don't mind which of mine you'd want) a 1.Retiarus/Laquerarius, 2.Sector and 3.Provocator, Dimachaerus or Arbelas.

I'd prefer Crusader figures to match.

Thanks

James

[Mister Rab]

There is also at least some evidence of murmillo vs. murmillo. I was at the British Museum today and snapped this shot on my phone:

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Well, I'm rather sure the Romans occasionally had tried all sort of pairings, just being curious how it goes and just for fun.

[Mister Rab]

I'm sure they did, Prof. What was it Asterix and Obelix would say? "These Romans are crazy!"

[Mad Doc Morris]

Gladiatorial combat was a highly ritualised affair. Certainly, there is a chance of mix and match, though in general it wasn't just a sports game but kind of a religious ceremony. So lots of symbols and symbolic actions which might well have restricted leeway to a minimum. Consequently, gladiatorial combat is mostly mentioned when there's something exceptional going on – like women fighting each other or men in experimental armour entering the arena.
In essence, I'd still go for the classic matches. That's hard enough to pull off in a game.

And, sorry, can't resist: the description of that fragment is guess-work. There's hardly any defining equipment visible, so that those "Murmillones" could as well just be Provocatores (given their similar helm designs). And even if they are meant to be Murmillones – is that a "trustworthy" depiction or something made for entertainment of onlookers as ourselves?

[Mister Rab]

In essence, I'd still go for the classic matches.

Me too! I just thought the possibility of a provenance-able murmillo vs. murmillo bout was interesting.

And, sorry, can't resist: the description of that fragment is guess-work. There's hardly any defining equipment visible, so that those "Murmillones" could as well just be Provocatores (given their similar helm designs). And even if they are meant to be Murmillones – is that a "trustworthy" depiction or something made for entertainment of onlookers as ourselves?

Absolutely. I would like to think the BM would have been a little careful before labelling something so clearly, but whether it was a true depiction or fantasy, I don't know how we'd ever be able to tell from such a small fragment.

[Furt]

And, sorry, can't resist: the description of that fragment is guess-work. There's hardly any defining equipment visible, so that those "Murmillones" could as well just be Provocatores (given their similar helm designs). And even if they are meant to be Murmillones – is that a "trustworthy" depiction or something made for entertainment of onlookers as ourselves?

Their helms do lack the murmillo "fin", and are rather provocator like, although no chest armour appears apparent. As Rabs said, I'd like to believe the BM was knowledgeable enough to know what they were talking about though.