From: Gaius Tiberius Germanicus, Consul for Player Safety
Subject: Excessive Violence
Ave Collegae!
Reports have reached us in
Specifically, we have a confirmed report from
Massilla of illegal use of a trident by the player Claudius Maximus in a game against the late Julius Clodius. League rules permit a clear, direct piercing of the appropriate body part, with below the waist off limits..
Therefore, it was not necessary nor legal for Cladius Maximus to pierce his opponent's chest with his trident, twist it, and then push it out his back
so the tip of the tines were visible to the crowd. Their cheering aside, we rule it a cheap hit and fine Maximus 5,000 dinari. May the Empire Prosper and Grow!
Meanwhile, in
You know well the league rules against excessive force against our players who are spear throwers. They wear only light armor and are particularly vulnerable to attack. To remind you, Section XIX, subsection C states: "Spear throwers shall be allowed to aim and fire before a responsive action by an opposing player shall be taken. No excessive force shall be used during the play." So, how does Publius Vergilius Maro explain his actions last week in
We know there will be objections to these fines and the usual complaints by players that they are trained as killing machines and act accordingly. We know there are critics who say that we will rob the game of its thrill and who wonder if our next step will be to replace metal weapons with wooden ones and have the match end after opponents are "tagged" with a weapon. No such steps are contemplated.
We know this is a violent game. Kill your opponent? Yes. Run him through with your sword? Yes. Choke him to death with your spiked chains? Fine. These are permitted practices. But, here at League headquarters we are committed to enforcing the rules against excessive violence and we will levy fines and even suspensions if necessary.
Our goal is simple: We want players to engage in responsible violence.
Vale Collegae!
Gaius
- TF