16^th Imperial Decree: Gladiators

The Guild of Slavers is hereby Empowered to recruit and train slaves to fight for the entertainment of the Imperial Throne and the populace. These fights may be to the death, with no crime or penalty taking place. As incentive, any Gladiator who survives 25 victories in the arena, is deemed to have discharged their debts in full, regardless of what those debts were. Furthermore, that person is ordered to be inducted into the Military, having demonstrated exemplary combat ability.

Further more, the Military are hereby empowered to allow the execution of capital criminals to be conducted in such ways and means to allow the public to enjoy the spectacle of the deaths of enemies of the Empire, either by use of military personnel or by allowing Gladiators to have opportunity to exhibit their skills. Executions under these circumstances do not count towards the 25 victories.

The highest ranking person to be present at the Arena of Gladiators is duly appointed as the Master of Ceremonies. If the crowd pleads to spare the life of a Gladiator, and it is granted by the Master of Ceremonies, then the victory is counted towards the winning Gladiator's total. The fight is struck off the loser’s record, and his tally is unchanged.

The first combat, prior to the acceptance for training and sale of Gladiators, shall be against wild beasts, to determine the worth of a potential Gladiator. After the 13^th victory, the Gladiator shall receive a mid-term flogging, until unconscious, for the entertainment of the masses. Bets may be placed on how many lashes it will take.

A victor's fee, agreed before the fight, paid by sponsors of the Gladiatorial event and by stake money from the owners, shall be divided 25% to the winning owner, 25% to the Arena owner, and 50% in trust for the Gladiator. Gladiators may bequeath their trusts in a Will and Testament, should they not survive to freedom.

16^th Imperial Decree – 1^st Amendment: Gladiators

If the debt of a gladiator is numerical, rather than a term, then if their proceeds held in trust  from victorious combats reach the level to fully discharge the debt, they may opt to discharge that debt and be freed at that time, even if this occurs before the 25 victories.

© Tim Hart 2002
For further details contact the GM.