A
Anonymous
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This is in response to a question from my CONAN RPG thread on ENWorld:
I'm of the mind that nearly any country might host gladiatorial games, but most would not be on a grandiose Roman Empire scale or permanent basis. For Romanesque spectacles, I'd say Koth, Nemedia, (western) Shem, Stygia, Turan, Zamora or Zingara off the top of my head. Koth is ruled by a power-mad evil king and the sorcerer Tsotha-lanti, so games make a good idea for distracting the people. For western Shem, any of the Meadow Shemite city-states might fit, but Asgalun, the largest (and closest to the coast), might be the best fit. Rival arenas could be another form of jealousy between the city-states; a good springoboard for adventure hooks. Stygia has a colisseum in a terrible Leonard Carpenter pastiche (CONAN THE GREAT?), and everyone knows they are evil and rejoice in the suffering of others. Turan is decadent and Zamora corrupt, so both make good bets as well. Nemedia is said to have a private palace arena in Robert Jordan's CONAN THE DEFENDER, which is normally reserved for feeding criminals to the wolves. Zingara is ruled by a ruthless dictator (read Karl Edward Wagner's ROAD OF KINGS) who needs to keep the people distracted.
Any official REH gladiatorial references? Any from the pastiches or comics? Any advice? Agree or disagree with my ideas?
I'm of the mind that nearly any country might host gladiatorial games, but most would not be on a grandiose Roman Empire scale or permanent basis. For Romanesque spectacles, I'd say Koth, Nemedia, (western) Shem, Stygia, Turan, Zamora or Zingara off the top of my head. Koth is ruled by a power-mad evil king and the sorcerer Tsotha-lanti, so games make a good idea for distracting the people. For western Shem, any of the Meadow Shemite city-states might fit, but Asgalun, the largest (and closest to the coast), might be the best fit. Rival arenas could be another form of jealousy between the city-states; a good springoboard for adventure hooks. Stygia has a colisseum in a terrible Leonard Carpenter pastiche (CONAN THE GREAT?), and everyone knows they are evil and rejoice in the suffering of others. Turan is decadent and Zamora corrupt, so both make good bets as well. Nemedia is said to have a private palace arena in Robert Jordan's CONAN THE DEFENDER, which is normally reserved for feeding criminals to the wolves. Zingara is ruled by a ruthless dictator (read Karl Edward Wagner's ROAD OF KINGS) who needs to keep the people distracted.
Any official REH gladiatorial references? Any from the pastiches or comics? Any advice? Agree or disagree with my ideas?