Gladiators: No Wait! Hear me out!!

[brymht]

OK, so putting gladatiors into combat was really only a crisis thing to do for the very late Roman Empire, and by occasional slave uprisings. And they were DEFINATELY never sent out "On Campaign" or anything like that.

However, the Rebel Freedmen units in EB2, if resulting from just blanket emancipation or what have you, have absolutely no order to their ranks. They're just a mod of poorly trained butchers, house slaves, gladiators, etc.

It would be REALLY neat if these units could have one or two gladiator models within their hordes, if the gameplay logic allows for it. And honestly, if we're talking about "freedmen" its fairly historically accurate.
The problem would be, could we limit them to only factions which might have professional blood sporting classes of slaves? Was there anyone in the Meditteranian but the Romani would favors gladatorial games of any sort at all?

[Foot]

We cannot afford to lose two unit slots for the freed slaves, which is what we would have to do to have gladiators in the unit, but only for some of the factions.

Foot

[konny]

Certainly we should expect to find several Galdiators among the ranks of the Legions and several (ex-)Legionars among the Gladitors. But at absolutly no point we should expect a Gladitor to appear in his arena-dress and -weapons on a battlefield (like the units in RTW). These weapons were purely made for show combat.

[Majd il-Romani]

there could always have eleutherioi Gladiators/Merc gladiators.

[Foot]

Neither of which existed in any numbers that would make it a reasonable use of stretched resources.

Foot

[konny]

there could always have eleutherioi Gladiators/Merc gladiators.

You missed the point: Gladiators would a.) usually hire out as indivduals, not whole units like mercenaries and b.) always fight with the weapons and armours the respective army would fight with. Spartacus too used the equipement he took from the Romans starting with the garrison of his school; forks, nets, mini-bucklers and the like would have been of no use on a battlefield.

[brymht]

All reasonable suppositions. The unit slots being the most reasonable argument. Freed Slaves are seldom seen; and losing two unit slots to them, especially considering the amazing units sure to come, would be sad indeed.

[Zarax]

What about the unit of gladiators from Cyzicus that Mark Anthony tried to hire in the last defence of Egypt against Octavian?
Or should we catalog that under the one-offs such as wardogs and flaming pigs?

[konny]

As far as I recall, he hired gladiators (as gladiators not soldiers) before Actium to celebrate his "comming victory". Did you mean this men?

[Zarax]

Might be that but I need to recover the old book from Maffii where I found that quoted.
Basically after Actium he tried to recover the men to boost his defences against Octavian in Egypt but failed.

[konny]

In this case don't bother. If the unit never came to live it doesn't tell us anything on how gladiators would have fought on the battlefield. But I suppose Anthony would had equipped them as Legionars if they had signed up.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Aside from what has already bean said Gladiators were slaves, arming them was scandalous in the extreme. The story that Antony had a "unit" of them might even be Augustan Propeganda.

[Zarax]

Maffii states that they were hired by Anthony but bribed on their way to Egypt.
If you can read italian google for "Gladiatori di Cizico"

[Lord_Phan]

Dosn't need a unit slot, could always use armour upgrades for new skin, + a xp bonus or weapon bonus with armour bonus to get the effect.

Now as for whether it's historically accurate or not....

[Zarax]

Dosn't need a unit slot, could always use armour upgrades for new skin, + a xp bonus or weapon bonus with armour bonus to get the effect.

Now as for whether it's historically accurate or not....

You could always bribe some gaesatae/hire tindanoae and pretend they're your gladiator corps...