Friday 8 September 2017

Deathmatch Ceratid and Human Gladiators

Apologies for the delay in my postings but  I was hit by a double whammy of my internet router dying, followed soon after by my PC developing a serious fault. My PC is away getting repaired and I have received a brand new router. I'm typing this on my laptop. Anyway, here is part 2 of my review of the gladiator races who appear in the Death Match by Wargames Terrain Workshop. This time, I'm looking at the Ceratids and the Humans.
The Ceratids are large hulking brutes who resemble bipedal rhinoceroses. They hail from the planet Craxis, an earth-like planet. Being herbivores, Ceratids flourished on Craxis with its high levels of vegetation. As a race, they place great emphasis on gaining knowledge and they are noted for their magnificent and well-stocked libraries. The Ceratids are known throughout the galaxy as the zen species, as they will maintain peace wherever possible. The gained knowledge has been used to further their technology, building starships to travel the universe. Although a peaceful race in general, they are formidable fighters when defending their planet. The arena and inclusion in the games is looked upon as a way of protecting their planet, as they strive to discourage other species from invading them.
The three Ceratid gladiators currently available stand about 50mm tall and are sculpted onto integral 40mm diameter bases. They come with separate arms and weapons. Knowing that these figures are made of resin I did think that the weapon shafts would snap very easily. However, Dave Stone, who sculpted them, has been very clever by reinforcing the shafts with metal rods. Nice move, Dave! Lacking dexterity, all Ceratid weapons demand brute strength and are often too heavy for others to lift let alone use. At the far left is a male Ceratid carrying a Battle-shield and a Pugile Stick, which comes with a built-in projectile barb. In the centre, this male wears heavy armour and is armed with a Doom Flail. At the far left is a female Ceratid equipped with a Battle-shield and Scythe Mace. The Ceratid have 15 Life Points and their special ability is if a Ceratid inflicts at least 2 damage after making a charge, it causes a knockback.
My colour scheme for them matches that chosen by Dave for his figures in his web store.
Earth is a desolate wasteland, ruined by years of war and misuse. By the 26th century (Death Match is set in the year 2587) humans were wandering the stars looking for a new home. After many failed attempts to find a suitable planet, humanity discovered the Ceratids (see above). They were allowed to build bio-domes on specially selected parts of the planets the Ceratids were not inhabiting. Being an expansionist race, the humans encroached on Ceratid territory, despite agreements not to. The Ceratids reacted furiously and ousted the humans from their planets, earning all humans the nickname, revili, which translates as wandering scum. Unfortunately, for the humans they were unable to translate this word properly and they believe revili means regal and revered. No other species will allow humans to inhabit part of their planet and so, they continue to wander the stars, looking for a new home.
So far, there is only one human gladiator figure available from the WTW web-store but more will appear soon. The figure shown is a female wearing heavy armour and armed with a Laser-blade and an Energy Shield (both separate parts). The sword and shield are made of translucent green resin, which I have lightly dry-brushed. My only criticism of the figure is that she is very tall - about 38mm, which is way over-scale for 28 to 32mm scale figures. In Death Match humans have 12 Life Points (the same as the Scabendi) and their special ability is when making an initiative roll, they may add any stars to their total.
I copied my colour scheme for this figure from the front cover of the Death Match rulebook.

10 comments:

  1. I do like those Ceratids, Bryan, and its good to see you back posting away. I think the background you've picked is spot on too, giving the photos a nice genuine look. Your fluff actually makes me feel sorry for the aliens too, and they have something of an Egyptian feel to them for some reason in my mind. Great addition to an interesting journey through Dave's fertile imagination.

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    1. Many thanks, Simon. It's great to be back online again and blogging once more. I have to give a huge thank you to Dave for coming up with such fascinating ideas for his different races. It is interesting to see the humans cast in the role of the bad guys of the galaxy,

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  2. Good to see you back posting again Bryan, very nice painting on your glads. The male human glad and human weapon pack have been released this week, and the heavy armour version will be released as soon as I've got it finished, hopefully soon !

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  3. Thanks, Dave. It feels like I've been away for ages even though it was only a week. That's great news about the new figures. Expect an order soon.

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  4. Lovely stuff and I love the fact that humans are reduced to space rats! We're in the process of smashing this planet up so why would a race of peaceful vegetarians want us dirtying up their paradise

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    1. Cheers, Andy. Yes, I quite agree. Humans are space rats in Dave's future and who's to say he'll be wrong?

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  5. Interesting background, but I don't find myself excited by either the deathmatch concept or these particular sculpts. Still, each to his/her own...

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    1. Thanks, Hugh, and don't worry. As I've said before, it would be a strange world if we all liked the same things.

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