British Museum - gladiators

I took a school trip to the British Museum today for a very successful and enjoyable visit to the Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition. I was a little surprised to find that one group had obviously found this blog (via an older brother's friend who I've gamed with in the past) and referred to their small group as "Team Goblinquest".  

Anyway, quite apart from the glories of a fallen civilisation and the various other wonders of the Museum, there were some great gladiator pieces in the general Roman collection.

Murmillo's helmet - look at the detachable grille as well as the catch holding the two halves together

Description label of the helm above. Golden sheen and feathers, eh? Snazzy!

A detachable visor... detached

Solid bronze shield for a hoplomachus

thraex versus hoplomachus - note that the hoplomachus has lost his spear and is closing in with a pugio

Gladiator decorations! Notice the thraex begging for mission by dropping his shield and raising his index finger.

SW19

Turns out that it is NOT all; huzzah, huzzah, huzzah :)

Well played, Mr Murray!

41-16

Well done chaps! That is all.

aleae iactae fuerunt

The dice were cast - lots of them!

This afternoon I ran a playtest of Furt's new gladiator game Blood on the Sands with my sixth formers who were reduce in number to three because of university visits. We've just come to the end of the module on Roman Entertainment, and they'd helped out on our maths/classics morning for the year 8 students from one of our local feeder schools; they deserved some entertainment themselves!

Casting more recent gender stereotypes to one side, the three girls proved to be rather bloodthirsty and keen to fight, maim and kill for the amusement of the editor (i.e. me).

Our pairing was between an Hispanic thraex called Lorenzo and an African murmillo by the name of Ubuntu. Slightly hardier than your average gladiator (both began with Stamina 4), these two were otherwise unremarkable and as good for worm food as any other.

We used the mat and figures from the em4 Ludus gladiatorus prepainted set, ignoring the columns

Despite his more cumbersome shield, Ubuntu siezed the initiative and charged straight towards his foe, intent on finishing things quickly. Lorenzo waited for the charge then picked his moment and dived towards the murmillo bringing his sica swinging down to clang harmlessly off the large scutum carried by the African.

mano a mano, so close they can smell each other's breath...

This had all been a ploy to get the thraex to commit and now Ubuntu wound back his arm to deliver a heavy blow to the chest of his opponent. Lorenzo was already on the move and the gladius caught him flat, barely winding him, glancing aside. Continuing his move, he stepped round Ubuntu going for his flank and catching him on the right leg, again to no real effect apart from pushing the murmillo back a step. The crowd were cheering by now, delighted by the spectacle of two such keen gladiators before them.

Having seen the speed of the nimble thraex, Ubuntu was more determined than ever to see him off before the weight of his shield tired him out. Gathering himself behind the screen of his shield, the African burst forward like a bolt from a ballista, driving the point of his gladius with every ounce of his strength towards the heart of the Spaniard for a killing blow. The crowd gasped as it seemed certain that the murmillo must be victorious..... but at the last moment Lorenzo once more twirled around his leaden-footed foe and viciously raked his blade down the unarmoured right leg of Ubuntu, cutting to the bone and leaving a bright spray of blood across the arena sand. The crowd roared with such ferocity and delight that the editor feared it was an uprising and had the trumpets blown for the amphitheatre to be cleared (okay, so the bell went for the end of the lesson).

Once order had been restored, there was little doubt in anyone's mind who had been the victor: Lorenzo of Hispania, thraex!

Lorenzo, barely touched by his opponent's blade and not even out of breath...

Ubuntu, exhausted, bleeding and his right leg disabled and nearly useless

Review/thoughts

Having only played through a couple of full turns I don't think I can yet offer any deep and meaningful comments on the game, other than it is a whole lot of fun! I want to get a game in with me playing, rather than umpiring. It was a satisfyingly narrative way of representing man-to-man combat, "crunchy" without ever becoming so over-detailed or focused upon following the mechanics that the flow of the game was lost.... even with a pair of (slow!) first-time-gamers in the arena.


If you're not part of the playtest but you like the idea of gaming gladiatorial combat, you've got a treat coming when this is released. First impressions? Brilliant!

Happy geeking,
Rab

res nova

A "new thing" indeed! Not only is this the start of a new type of game for me to play (Roman gladiators), but it is literally a new game... this is the first public playtest for Furt on the LAF's new game, Blood on the Sands. A while back I picked up the em4 prepainted gladiators game, but in the box they've stayed as the rules didn't grab me and I knew that Blood on the Sands was in the pipeline. Yesterday evening I re-stickered my blank dice that I'd made for Quest (now that it has been superseded by Goblinquest I had no need for them) and made a good start on chopping up tokens:

More to come soon, I hope.

Rab

Colouring in

Much to my wife's bemusement, I have settled down in front of whatever medieval documentary she has chosen over the last week or so (apart from the evening where mini-Rab #2 had to go and get his leg x-rayed after over-exuberant bubble-chasing - don't ask!) complete with painting tray. To be fair, it is quite a while since I did any and am rather in the grip of a painting frenzy. Well, frenzied by my standards: I've painted seven figures in the last ten days! This takes my annual total to.... nine.

I was going to split them between two or three posts, just to make me feel like I'm achieving some blogging as well, but that seemed a bit naff, especially as they're all for my chivalric gaming: SBH, Goblinquest and what I hope will be a workable set of house rules to play Dux Brit but with knights in shining armour and goblins.

So, to the "hastily snapped on my phone up against an impromptu background of polystyrene" pictures! First up, a couple more of the old Citadel, now Foundry Feudal knights I picked up from Meyer over on the LAF.

I was pleased with the face of the green chap and the blue and white quartering looks pretty good in the lead.

Here is a group shot of all my knights completed so far, most of which have appeared on here at some point already:

I also painted up the first four of my Curtey's Miniatures spearmen as retainers for the central knight above, the one with the yellow and blue quartering and red cadence mark:

There are four more of these to come, with mail shirts so they should paint up even quicker. I have to admit I'd already started this quartet, blocking out their gambesons and getting the bloody fiddly spears to stay on. Have a gratuitous close-up at my first attempt to do eyes using a micro pen, just to make you feel better about your own brushwork:

Joking aside, I'm pretty pleased with their faces - I can recommend Curtey's as being really nice to paint.

And then, all ready to be oppressed and witness at first hand the violence inherent in the system, my peasant. I'm actually ludicrously proud of the way he turned out, especially his face, even though it has acquired a rather peculiar orange tinge in the photo. Very odd, considering that the other colours are almost spot on with how they look in Real Life (tm)...

I love this figure. He has a great "Get orf moi laaand" look about him.

So, there you go. More recruits for my medieval-themed madness. Oh, and I also received a luvverly, heavy box of resin buildings from PMC Games, full of thatched huts, a blacksmith, a church and other stuff. They're still in their bubblewrap but will form the basis of my next post. Also in the near future, I've got involved in playtesting "Blood on the Sands", a Roman gladiator game by Furt over on the LAF which, on a first readthrough, looks excellent.

Happy geeking,
Rab

Purple kniggit

Wotcha, chaps!

It turns out that moving house, laying two floors (cellar and loft), building cupboards and shelves and stuff takes quite a while, which is why it's been so dreadfully quiet on the blogging front for the last couple of months. Fear not loyal readers, for I have been spending money on geeking to make up for having all  my stuff in boxes and inaccessible.

First, I backed the Itar's Workshop kickstarter at the Basic Dungeon set which gives me a whacking 70-odd bits of resin dungeon for $65 delivered to the UK. Now I'm just dithering over whether to extend my pledge to get more corridors, treasure chests etc. They should ship in October this year. Expect 2nd edition Goblinquest to be in 3d!

This is the "before the stretch goals" set - I'll be getting twice as many pieces but in unpainted grey resin

I also got carried away looking at the pre-painted resin thatched buildings from pmc games on ebay and bought a whole village worth, including blacksmith, church and peel tower. I shall use them for Song of Blades and Heroes as well as for the tinkering I'm doing with Two Fat Lardies' Dux Brittaniarum to turn it into a mythical high-medieval ruleset (knights and peasants in the main, but dealing with goblins and other nasties from the Arthurian myths). Yes, this will allow me to use my SBH/Goblinquest figures again. Nifty, eh?

As my first miniature at my newly established painting desk (in the cellar, of course, away from all the civilised parts of the house that visitors might see...), I've slapped some paint on this chappy below. He's an old Citadel Feudal miniature, now back in production again via Wargames Foundry, but this particular figure (and the other half dozen I picked up from Heyer on the Lead Adventure Forum) dates back to the 80s. Fun to paint, even if the GW purple wash I used to blend in his surcoat has given it a rather visceral glossiness. I might go back and neaten up the star on his shield if I get time, but given my slow progress generally (only my second figure this year), I don't see that happening any time soon.

He has the usual hex-base that I'm partial to, but this time cut from 3mm mdf using the laser-cutter I have occasional access to. I've also cut some slightly larger hexagonal sections, but that's for another post.

Look at me! I've got a poorly painted freehand shield!

It's good to be back in the saddle, painting and posting again.

Happy geeking,
Rab

GoblinAid update

Our move from rented into our first owned house continues apace so I am busybusybusy keeping on top of all that, managing builders and decorators etc and working to the planned moving date of next Tuesday! Cue nervous, manic laughter....

So, with all my geeking stuff in boxes, and likely to remain in boxes for the next few weeks while we get ourselves sorted, I thought I'd give an update on Kev Adams and the GoblinAid project. The latest report on his health is that it is improving and he'll be having an operation in the next few days to rebuild his cheek bone. A mate of mine at work had the same thing a couple of years back after a studding incident at the bottom of a ruck in a rugby game and he's absolutely fine now, so I am hopeful Kev will fare the same.

While he's mending (which we all hope will be a speedy and complete process), here are some examples of his work from recent times. Greenskins all, as seems appropriate given his Goblinmaster nickname....

Aquatic-themed goblins from Four A Miniatures

Painted by Paul Sanderson

More traditional gobbos now available from Crooked Claw Miniatures

Unknown painter - sorry!

This range is expanding all the time, made up from the old Nemesis range of goblins, as well as more recent figures: archers, an onager and a chariot, with the promise of cavalry still to come. I hope the cavalry will be mounted on the wolves pulling that chariot!

Those nice people over at Renegade Miniatures are also going to be releasing some Kev Adams sculpted orcs as part of the GoblinAid fundraiser. I've been after these since I first saw them a while back

Now, when you've been sculpting as long as Kev has, you build up quite a catalogue. These are just a few of the more recent ones, but do you have a favourite not given above? Do share!

Happy geeking,
Rab

Goblin Aid

Some of you may already know that Kev "goblin master" Adams, sculptor of some of the most characterful greenskins ever to ravage a tabletop and all round nice chap (according to anyone who has met him or dealt with him directly; I haven't, sadly), was rather savagely attacked by burglars who broke into his home on the afternoon of the 20th. According to reports, he was stabbed and struck with a knuckleduster, and will require a plate in his cheek to mend it. Fortunately for him and his family he is now out of hospital, fortunately for us lead-fiends his eyes and hands were undamaged so he should be sculpting again fairly soon.

In order to show appreciation for, and sympathy towards, a man who has given so many gamers so much pleasure for so many years, There Is A Plan - Goblin Aid. Several top sculptors have agreed to sculpt a little goblin and the funds from the sale will go to Kev and family. More details can be found on this facebook page.

Geek well, geek safely,

Rab

Mistrelry of the highest order

In the real world I'm moving house in a week, writing reports for four classes of year 11 students, and the vomiting bug has struck down mini-Rab #1, so my time for the fun stuff is rather limited to say the least!

Fortunately for Goblinquest, two geek-dads in particular have been doing stirling work as Minstrels in guiding their offspring through dark places to succeed in dangerous quests. Step forward Erny and Thantsants - is it a coincidence that they are both enthusiastic Oldhammerers?

Ayway, links to their game reports:

Erny's report

Teaser picture of Erny's game

Thantsant's report

Teaser picture from Thantsant's blog

I hope you are all enjoying your gaming, geeking and parenting as much as those fine two dads!

Rab