The Beginning of the End - A West Roman Empire Quest

Progress Counter

This shows you what might happen in a number of turns. Note, this shows only the dangers your character is aware of.

Vandals declare war 2 / 10
Alemanni attack Gaul 4 / 5
Syagrius investigates the Britons of Amorica 1 / 3
Burgundian Civil War 5 / 10

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The declaration that Romulus Augustus was, in fact, the representative of God on Earth didn't sit well with the higher echelons of the Church in the East. There had initially been much grumbling and controversy but that had died down with the events happening in Dalmatia. But now, after the war had started and Julius Nepos had revealed his alliance with the Ostrogoths, these protests gained new fuel. Many officials in the Church of the East came before Zeno and protested against the tyranny of Romulus Augustus who was, allegedly, suppressing anyone who protested against his position as Pontifex. They also said that this was just a ploy of Orestes who was in truth trying to gain support in the East and planned to overthrow Zeno.

Zeno, who was confronted with discord in his own half of the Empire, officially didn't listen to these and said that he trusted in his "brother Emperor". Yet in the second half of 478 A.D., he made his move with the formation of the Holy Church of the East. This decree was followed by another, saying that any true Christian in the Empire was a member by birth. The following dispute divided West and East once and for all in the years to come, even if this wasn't that clear at the time. Even if both Zeno and Romulus Augustus would continue to state to any foreigner that they stood united and it was one Empire – in truth, that wasn't the case anymore.

A better example of cooperation between the different factions in the Roman World was shown in Dalmatia where Romulus Augustus's forces had advanced deep into the realm of Julius Nepos. The former Emperor of the West had struck an alliance with the Ostrogoths that had turned many of the people living in Dalmatia against him, especially after tales of plundering found their way to the great centers of population. Ovida, the general commanding Nepos's troops, had then been crowned by his soldiers as the new Emperor as they had lost fate into Nepos. He accepted the crown only to hand it over to Romulus Augustus' uncle and general Paulus, who led the forces against Dalmatia. The gamble was that Rome would forget this small "incident" of him being an Emperor and let his troops under Ovida's own leadership rejoin the Western Empire.

Paulus accepted Ovida's offer in his nephew's name for two reasons. The first was that it allowed him to quickly take control over most of Dalmatia without taking heavy losses to his one legion. The second was that he desperately needed manpower to stop the threat the Ostrogoths represented. The troops now adding to the force Paulus already commanded was described as a legion's worth by his own accounts in his book about the campaign. With this reinforcement, Paulus decided to seek battle against the Ostrogoths who were marching through northern Dalmatia.

Thanks to his scouts and the knowledge provided by Ovida's soldiers, Paulus managed to lure the Ostrogoths into an ambush. The Dalmatian forces served as the bait, as the Roman General believed they would fight harder against the barbarians because most of them came from the province. At the same time, he would move around the barbarians led by locals and fall on their rear. At the beginning, all was going as planned, when the Ostrogoths met Ovida, they soon began their attack. But the Roman line held fast against their attacks, often because of Ovida himself who fought in the first line himself – showing the bravery and martial prowess only a German possesses according to Paulus's book. The losses were high and more than once it looked as if the Dalmatians would break only to regain their strength again at the last minute.

This was partly the fault of Paulus who brought his troops too slowly up behind the Ostrogoths so that they noticed his approach. Theodoric Strabo, king of the Ostrogoths, ordered a fighting retreat and forced Paulus into a battle with his light units. This allowed them to get most of their heavy troops out of the trap but they paid a high price. Theodoric lost most of his light units and Paulus's own skirmishers followed him for two days until they were ordered back – inflicting even more casualties. But Rome also paid the price, the troops under Ovida had been hit hard by the barbarians. They could still fight, but many sons of Dalmatia would never return home. And the danger of the Ostrogoths wasn't gone when both armies made camp for winter, hoping to continue the war in the next year.

Gained: 1 Legion!
Legions in Dalmatia: 2!

In Gaul, the situation got worse as news of the impending invasion of Alans into Armorica reached Syagrius who still was waiting for an answer from Rome. When the letter finally came, the Magister militum acted fast. Riders were sent to the Salian Franks and Childeric, one of their kings, again responded to the call of Rome who he was still a Foederati to – even if in name only. A strong force joined with Syagrius' own troops, who had been bolstered by Rome not a year ago. In the chronicles of Childeric, it is described how surprised the Franks were of the troops already under Syagrius. Childeric himself congratulated dux Syagrius on his new army and was astonished when he learned that these troops had come from Rome.

Together, the now united force of Gauls and Franks moved to the west where the Alans lived, after having been settled there by Rome before. The Alans were only at the start of a campaign and were surprised by the swift action Syagrius had taken. Facing a mighty army of Romans and Franks, their own troops only assembling slowly, they were forced to the negotiation table. Having no true king among their own since the death of Goar, they chose Goar's son to speak in their name.

He didn't deny that he was preparing for war against the Britons in Armorica, stating they had driven off Alans who had lived there under the pretext that they were barbarians. The Alans wanted to return the land to the Alan settlers who had bought the land from Roman landowners. He asked Syagrius if he, as a fellow Christian, could stand by if such an act of robbery happened to his people. The leader of Gaul said that these were strong allegations and that the Britons had settled there with the blessing of Rome, but that was after the Alans had settled there. He promised the Alans justice, but he would look into the matter himself, as dux of Gaul. Until he had done so, the Alans were not allowed to take up arms. Furthermore, he would leave troops behind to ensure that was done and to protect the Alans from further attacks from Britons. The Alans agreed, mostly because of the army that had invaded their lands.

Thus Syagrius sent the Franks home, after paying them handsomely and renewing the Foedus with Childeric. His own troops were split up and half of them garrisoned in the lands of the Alans, the other marching home. He also sent a message to the troops in Armorica, ordering them to patrol the border area between the Alans and Britons. They were to make sure no one decided to raid the other, as he was looking into the matter. This showcased one of the best examples of late Roman rule, as Syagrius could have won a war against the Alans but would've been weakened. Other factions could've chosen to attack, but with the promise of looking into the matter he bought himself time and – more importantly – peace.

Because Gaul was still critically weak, even with the reinforcements received from Rome. Still, Syagrius's actions allowed him to reinstill the fear of Rome in the Alans and the Franks, something that had been lessened in the decades before. With the promise of an investigation into the allegations brought before him, he also set himself and Rome up as the ultimate peacemaker among the people of Gaul.

Progress Counter: Alans attack Armorica 2 / 3 changed to Syagrius Investigates the Britons of Armorica 1 / 3

Military might forces those that are weaker to follow the rules, as long as this might is used in the right way. That is still true to this day and even more in the past. Orestes knew this well and formed another Legion in Rome while his brother was fighting in Dalmatia against the Ostrogoths and Syagrius was facing a difficult situation that could easily develop into another war. Rome needed more troops, with no end in sight. But the Romans were willing and when the call went out, many young men marched to Rome to join the Legions.

Gained: 1 Legion!

It was Romulus Augustus who ordered the complete repair and restoration of the walls of the Eternal City. Gone were the patchwork covers for holes in the wall and replaced with real walls again. The new fortification of the founding city restored a greater feeling of safety for the plebeians and for the first time in years, the population of Rome started to grow slowly, attracted by the return of the rich and the promise of equality for everybody. This also marks the first time where historians agree that the Emperor acted without his father's say so.

The Senate, after being ordered to do so, also lowered the taxes on trade of all kinds in the Empire of the West. This led to a bit of uncertainty and took time to be applied to the Western Empire. But when it was done, trade everywhere began to grow even more. Additionally, the Senate lifted its ban on trade with the Vandals and some more adventurous traders tried to do it immediately. Sadly, at this point, the Vandals were still more interested in raiding Rome's ships than trading, even though they had noticed the regrowing strength of Rome.

Much better was the reception from the Burgundians when Rome opened its borders even more for trade with them. The explosion in trade added even more fuel to the tension that was rising between the three Burgundian kings because Gundobad tried to forbid it, but his brothers supported the trade. The trade was giving them much needed money that they used to better their warriors and grow the numbers. Civil war became more and more certain at the end of 478 A.D.

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Choose 6 actions!

Military - 3 (10/15 next Skill point)
-Trait: Ravenna - Strong defence +2d6 Military
-Trait: Rome - Strong defence +2d6 Military
-Trait: Legion, +1d6 for each Legion sent on a Campaign (Current Number of Legions: 4)
-Trait: Citizen Legion, +2d6 when Fighting on Roman territory, outside like a Legion
-Trait: Navy Squadron +1d6 for each Squadron send on a Campaign on the sea (Current Number of Squadrons: 1)

[ ] War against Nepos
-[ ] Attack the Ostrogoths in spring (+1 Skill progress)
-[ ] Wait for the Ostrogoths attack in spring (+1 Skill progress)
-[ ] Retreat to Italy (+1 Skill progress,???)
[ ] Recruit more troops (+2 Skill progress)
-[ ] Form a Legion (Gain X Legion, each Squadron counts as an action)
-[ ] Form a Citizen Legion (Gain x Legion for the same amount of Stability)
-[ ] Form a Navy Squadron (Gain X Squadron, each Squadron counts as an action)
[ ] Build additional Naval Yards(+1 Skill progress)
[ ] Hire foederati from Barbarian Lands (Gain Trait: Foederati Troops +?d6)
-[ ] Write-in who
[ ] Plan a military expedition (+3 Skill progress, War!)
-[ ] Against the Vandals
-[ ] Against the Burgundians
-[ ] Against the Visigoths
-[ ] Against the Alemanni
-[ ] Against the Alans
-[ ] Write-in
[ ] Send troops to …
-[ ] Syriacus, the Magister militum. Gaul needs more troops to defend the North (-2 Skill Progress, ???)
-[ ] Armorica. the Britons need the protection of the Empire (-2 Skill Progress, ???)

Civilian - 4 (15 / 20 next Skill point)
-Trait: Support of the Common Men +1d6 against Senators

[ ] Strengthen the image of your son in the public's eye (+1 Skill progress, +1 Stability)
[ ] Reorganize the Civil Administration ...
-[ ] of Syriacus (+1 Skill Progress)
-[ ] of Amorica (+1 Skill Progress)
[ ] Restore Rome …
-[ ] Repair the Forum (+1 Skill Progress, +1 Stability)
-[ ] Repair the Theaters (+2 Skill Progress)
[ ] Order public works on …
-[ ] Roads in Dalmatia (+1 Skill Progress)
-[ ] Monument to honor …
--[ ] Your son (+1 Stability, ???)
--[ ] Yourself (+1 Stability, ???)
-[ ] Write-in
[ ] Write-in

Diplomacy - 2 (3/10 next Skill point)

[ ] Intervene in Syagrius investigation in favour of …
-[ ] the Alans (+2 Skill Progress, ???)
-[ ] the Britons (+2 Skill Progress, ???)
[ ] Ask East Rome for … (+2 Skill Progress)
-[ ] Troops
-[ ] Money
-[ ] Write-in
[ ] Ask the Burgundians for … (+2 Skill Progress)
-[ ] Troops
-[ ] Money
-[ ] Write-in
[ ] Try to force a Civil War in the Burgundian Realm (+2 Skill Progress)
[ ] Ask the Vandals for … (+2 Skill Progress)
-[ ] Naval Protection for trading vessels (???)
-[ ] Ask for the price of Sicily (???)
[ ] Sent an envoy to … (+1 Skill Progress)
-[ ] Germanic Kingdoms
--[ ] Write-in to who
---[ ] Recognize their realm
---[ ] Demand tribute in troops or money
[ ] Establish a ambassador at … (+1 Skill progress for each)
-[ ] the Ostrogoths
-[ ] the Visigoths
-[ ] Write-in
[ ] Write-in