LordDan Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Tucked in the Rakath Mountain range of Nocturnus lies one of Historica's unique wonders. Unlike in Avalonia, where arenas are filled with song, dance, and laughter , in Nocturnus they prefer a more brutal fashion of entertainment. Fighting pits & gladiator arenas are by no means unique to Nocturnus, they can be found all throughout Historica (such as the famed fighting pit of Mophet , the great fighting pit of Kaliphlin , the arena in Zotharith where the annual Festival of the Ranks is held, and many more). However, in Nocturnus everything is taken to the extreme, and in this case gladiators fight atop the molten lava in fierce battles. The fights draw a large crowd from across Nocturnus (including some familiar faces). In the rear of the arena are shops serving drinks (less popular here than other guilds due to the undeadness of many patrons), offering cursed items, strange curios, and slightly used weapons & gear from fallen gladiators. Below ground is a catacomb of chambers and tunnets that make up the logistics network to keep the show running. Spoiler Street view of the shops: Gladiator training / equipment storage in the catacombs: Goblin accountant (someone needs to keep track of all the revenue and organize the betting): Most of the gladiators are volunteers or career fighters from Nocturnus looking for fame and fortune, but sometimes "volunteers" from other guilds are brought out: Thanks for taking a look guys, hope you enjoy! After I built my Avalonian Ampitheater for the Prelude challenge I thought it would be fun to make a contrasting one from Nocturnus. I might try to keep this going and build a stadium/ arena type of thing for each guild showcasing different entertainment throughout Historica. Quote
Henjin_Quilones Posted January 19 Posted January 19 Looks much hotter than the Avalonian arena. The highlight for me is seeing the broad selection of delightful and terrifying Nocturnian citizens, but of course the build itself is also solid with great details. A standout to me is the shields built into the inner arena wall with cheese slopes. One nitpick is the use of wind-blown flags for hanging banners on the backside. Usually such things would just hang straight down, unless a strong wind was blowing through, so I think tiles are a better choice. On a flagpole the curvy flags are great. But a really great scene overall, full of life…er…undeath? Quote
Tezclatipoca Posted January 20 Posted January 20 Excellent build ! A typical Nocturnian feel on it ! The diversity of the citizens, the fight on lava, the terrifying aspect of all the scene, all is nicely agenced and is well balanced ! A masterpiece ! Congrats ! Quote
TalusMoonbreaker Posted January 20 Posted January 20 This is a really cool build! Well, I guess it’d be hot with all of the lava. I hope the Nocturnians can breathe all that SO2 and CO2. I really like the terracotta roof design that you did. Is it ok if I use it in the future? Also, the cheeseslope heater shields are cool and you managed to eliminate the gaps that occur if using only cheeseslopes for the bottom and 1x1 plates for the top. How did you build the concave shape of the arena? I can spot your sigfig, he seems to get around Historica quite a bit. Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 20 Posted January 20 Fantastic scene! The lava effect is beautiful and the amount of characters is crazy! Quote
Kai NRG Posted January 21 Posted January 21 This is a really neat idea! The lava and the obsidian rocks on it have a very epic feel. Impressive curve on the bit of roof there in the center and I love the recessed shields. Quote
Simon_S Posted January 21 Posted January 21 wow what a cool build. the lava gives a nice contrast to the dbg building - and the roof works also well with it. great overall build. Just by looking at it you can feel all the nocturnus vibes. Quote
LordDan Posted January 21 Author Posted January 21 On 1/19/2026 at 12:35 PM, Henjin_Quilones said: Looks much hotter than the Avalonian arena. The highlight for me is seeing the broad selection of delightful and terrifying Nocturnian citizens, but of course the build itself is also solid with great details. A standout to me is the shields built into the inner arena wall with cheese slopes. One nitpick is the use of wind-blown flags for hanging banners on the backside. Usually such things would just hang straight down, unless a strong wind was blowing through, so I think tiles are a better choice. On a flagpole the curvy flags are great. But a really great scene overall, full of life…er…undeath? Thanks! Good point on the flags, I haven’t really considered the flat vs in wind aspect. I guess the cursed winds of Nocturnus blow on strange ways On 1/20/2026 at 5:58 AM, Tezclatipoca said: Excellent build ! A typical Nocturnian feel on it ! The diversity of the citizens, the fight on lava, the terrifying aspect of all the scene, all is nicely agenced and is well balanced ! A masterpiece ! Congrats ! Thank you!! I did my best to make it feel suitably Nocturnian! On 1/20/2026 at 10:05 AM, TalusMoonbreaker said: This is a really cool build! Well, I guess it’d be hot with all of the lava. I hope the Nocturnians can breathe all that SO2 and CO2. I really like the terracotta roof design that you did. Is it ok if I use it in the future? Also, the cheeseslope heater shields are cool and you managed to eliminate the gaps that occur if using only cheeseslopes for the bottom and 1x1 plates for the top. How did you build the concave shape of the arena? I can spot your sigfig, he seems to get around Historica quite a bit. Thanks Talus!! I suppose the lava in Nocturnus is more like movie magic lava (ie: Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith) than real life lava where you are cooked if you get remotely close. The roof technique is a modified version of this from @Ayrlego, he uses that roof style pretty frequently in this MOCs to great effect. The curving technique is based on brick bending. I used the same technique with a slightly different bend for my Avalonia amphitheater, and the technique is based on this build from Hardegon on Flickr. 21 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said: Fantastic scene! The lava effect is beautiful and the amount of characters is crazy! 13 hours ago, Kai NRG said: This is a really neat idea! The lava and the obsidian rocks on it have a very epic feel. Impressive curve on the bit of roof there in the center and I love the recessed shields. 2 hours ago, Simon_S said: wow what a cool build. the lava gives a nice contrast to the dbg building - and the roof works also well with it. great overall build. Just by looking at it you can feel all the nocturnus vibes. Thanks guys! I was worried at first that the build would be a bit drab with all the DBG and black, but the lava & roof plus all the characters added plenty of color! Quote
Grover Posted January 21 Posted January 21 Love it! The subtle curve, the brick built shields, and the insane amount of detail you show in the hidden contents is awesome! I love the idea of the lava, and your collection of Nocturnus minis is wild! You also did a great job layering the minis so it looks crowded but you can still see everyone. Your incorporation of the various kite shields in the recesses is a very nice touch too. Only one question: If the emperor gives the thumbs down to an undead fighter... is that good or bad? I mean, they're already dead so...? Don't forget to register on the Free Builds thread! Quote
Elysiumfountain Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Absolutely stunning! Just the rock formations alone and with the lava it's superb! I especially like how you created the bubbles in the lava as well. Very well done! Quote
funemlefox Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Nice arena. The snot rocks on the lava really adds to the piece and all the colours come together nicely. The backs a lil plainer without the lovely terracotta roofs though. Perhaps a lil variation to colour of the stone walls would help. Nice set of figs, can't wait to do a nocturnus build with a few figs iv got like that. Also think I'll use my nocturnus type shields in the embassy. 👍 Quote
T-86(swebrickLUG) Posted January 23 Posted January 23 (edited) Love it Dan! I hope you’ll fond time to do one for each guild 💪 (also digging the rewamped sigfig) Edited January 23 by T-86(swebrickLUG) Quote
Ben S Posted January 31 Posted January 31 I love this! The techniques, the details, the variety of characters... it really brings the build to life! I also really like the Roman-inspired style, right? I hope that we'll see more of these arenas! Quote
Ayrlego Posted Monday at 10:10 PM Posted Monday at 10:10 PM What a brilliant way to show of the diversity of minifig races/species in Nocturnus! The Lava is also a great touch. Fantastic work! Quote
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