1 BC
753 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Lentulus and Piso Augustus
You are raised in splendor such as the world has never known. Your youth is one of mighty many-pillared baths and servants in silk bearing gifts. You are the family of Augustus at the height of the age of Augustus, and there is no greater glory in Rome. You are raised with the expectation that you will be a general and a senator, that your words and your will will shape the fate of millions, and that you will carry the legacy of your grandfather into future times.
The days of your childhood are filled with the duties of a Roman aristocrat such as yourself. You learn to carry the sword, to balance yourself atop a horse, to hold yourself with the dignity and decorum expected of your station. At nights, you creep from your room to your little brother's and spend hours poring over scrolls and tablets with him, reading of victories forgotten and wars long lost. Claudius is quiet and shy, but his eyes are wide and thoughtful, and though he speaks little, you come to know him better than anyone else. He is not the idiot all suspect, you long ago came to realize. He is intelligent and quick-witted and thoughtful -- and much more than that, he is your friend.
As you and your brothers shoot up like reeds, your education becomes more specialized. Germanicus is tutored by military strategists and old soldiers, men with iron in their eyes and faces like beaten rock. After Claudius indicates some small fascination with history, he is paid regular visits by the historian Livy, a personal friend of Augustus, who begins to encourage your brother's more scholarly desires. As for yourself, you are one of the most privileged youths in the greatest city on Earth. Wherever your interests lie, they may be developed. Many of the greatest minds of the age call upon your mother and grandmother, or pay visits to see your family, and one of these strikes up a certain rapport with you -- a tutor, whose name is already great in Rome.
[] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[] The Poet: Quintus Horatius Flaccus, called Horace, is one of the greatest poets of his generation, and perhaps of any other. Born a Samnite of Samnium in the heart of Italy, Horace studied at the Academy of Plato, where he learned the arts of the Greek masters -- and where, it is said by some, he perfected them. A loyal friend and servant of Augustus, Horace's poems have praised the emperor's name for a lifetime, enshrining his works and deeds in verse. After you express a certain interest in his works, your mother sees to it that you are introduced, and the venerable poet takes it upon himself to teach you the finer arts. (Bonus to Education, Intelligence, Stewardship, and Philosophy. Learn Skill: Poetry)
[] The Orator: Lucius Annaeus Seneca, popularly known as Seneca the Elder, is one of the greatest speakers of your time. From youth, he has engaged in the study of rhetoric as an art, receiving an education from many of Rome's finest speakers. Often called a modern Cicero, Seneca has shunned the political world and the intrigues of which Romans are so fond, opting instead to write several lengthy tomes on rhetoric and history. A harsh and no-nonsense man, the very model of a Roman elder, Seneca was hired by Augustus to teach you the oratorical arts. When he is done with you, you can make your voice carry for half a mile, and twist your tongue in turns of phrase that would make the old masters proud. (Bonus to Education, Oratory, Diplomacy, and Charisma. Learn Skill: History)
[] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
The sun burns overhead, gazing down bright on the bloodbath below. The air is thick with the stench of blood, sweat, and sand. As you watch, a man in light armor dances around a snarling lion to the cheers of the crowd. The gladiator bleeds from several wide cuts, but he has repaid the lion with a cruel gash along it's belly that drips steaming gore to the sands. Behind it, another gladiator lies facedown in a pool of his own blood, his back a tangle of bloody ribbons. The beast has been victorious once already.
The beast roars, a bone-shaking sound that rises above even the roar of the crowd. It coils on it's mighty legs and springs, soaring through the air at it's foe. There is a gleam of white fangs and a flash of steel, and both man and beast crumple to the ground atop one another, struggling mightily. There is silence in the arena for a long moment as the crowd holds it's breath.
Then the gladiator bursts to his feet, caked in blood and sand, and thrusts his arms triumphantly into the air. At his feet, the lion's head rolls away, it's eyes still frozen with fury. The crowd erupts into a fit of roars that shakes the arena under your feet.
"MI-LO! MI-LO! MI-LO!"
You stifle a yawn, despite yourself. It is the forty-third such fight you have seen today. This latest gladiator, Milo of Clesium, has slain two lions and three men himself, and has become a favorite of the crowds. He may win his freedom if he lives to see the end of the day. You doubt it. The cuts look deep, and the crowds have had many favorites today.
You look around the podium in which you are seated. Unlike the common folk, who are left to sweat in the blistering sun, you and your family have been given couches, pillows, and several amphorae of wine. Your mother lounges on a couch in a luxurious silk stola, whispering something into the ear of her favorite slave, Catronia. Beside her, your brother Germanicus sits in the place of honor reserved for him as one of the emperor's family and the head of his own family. He leans forward, eyes focused on the carnage below, but his chest rises slowly, and a soft snore hisses from between his lips periodically. He has long mastered the essential Roman art of sleeping with his eyes open.
You cannot blame him, not really. These are the Ludos Marti, the Games of Mars Ultor, ostensibly held to celebrate the dedication of a new temple of Mars. In reality, they are being held to inaugurate the coming to manhood of your cousin Gaius Caesar, Augustus' favored heir. For the past week, Rome has been treated to extravagance after extravagance -- a hundred lions were slain in the arena on the first day alone. On the second, thirty crocodiles. Yesterday, some eight hundred score gladiators re-enacted the Battle of Thermopylae, with the three hundred most popular playing the part of the Spartans, who, unlike the real three hundred, won a stirring victory over the 'Persians'. That same afternoon, the Circus Maximus saw half a dozen races, featuring the most acclaimed charioteers from across the Roman world.
As members of the imperial family, your presence has been required at all of these events. A lion dying is considerably less exciting when it is the hundredth you have seen die this week.
So you yawn.
The only member of your family not bored out of their mind is your brother, Claudius. He leans forward in the seat next to you, a look of rapt attention on his face. His blue eyes are wide, and he drinks in the carnage eagerly. Did you not know better, you could almost believe that he had not seen nearly fifty such fights today alone.
As the slaves drag off the lion's corpse and the victorious Milo marches out of the arena, you lean back in your seat, awaiting the next match. But nothing comes. Instead, the sound of horns issues from the podium next to yours, which is slightly higher and, you think, just a bit more out of the sun. The podium is ostensibly reserved for your grandfather Augustus, but he has been notably absent from many of his own games, preferring instead to focus on matters of state.
Until now.
You have met your grandfather before, of course. To you, he is a pair of steely eyes behind a desk, a veiny hand with pale skin, a booming voice that made the world turn. The man who follows the sound of the horns...is not this. He is an old man, to be sure, but he walks simply, without the airs you have seen many visitors to your estate put on. He wears a simple toga slashed with hints of purple, and no jewelry or adornments. His hair is a close-cropped slash of gold-grey curls that has receded gently from his forehead with age. A soft smile splits his face and reaches up to his eyes, which shine themselves with some secret wisdom. The only sign of the immense status he holds is a twined wreath of laurel leaves set atop his head — the laurel crown, Rome's greatest civic honor since time immemorial.
This is the father of the Romans.
He walks onto the podium, followed closely by a well-muscled young man with dark hair and sharp cheekbones. As he walks into view, a hush falls over the crowd, their bloodlust cooled by quiet respect. No one in this arena does not know who this man is, or what he has done. His name, Livia is fond of saying during your lessons, will outlive the very mountains themselves.
"My countrymen," Augustus begins. His voice is soft, yet firm, and it carries far over the sands. "I come before you today not for my sake, but for your own. All I endeavor to do today, as I have ever done, is provide for Rome, and for her people." He stops a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. "In the years since I saw the assassins of the divine Caesar bested at Philippi, I have done my utmost to repair the harm they wrought to this Republic and to it's people. I have given you roads and bread and water. I have given you winter wine and summer grapes, I have given you my flesh and I have given you my blood. There is not a man in this city that has not walked on paths I laid, or drank from wells I set down. "
He pauses again, rolling a knuckle under his thumb.
"All of this, I have done gladly, for Rome, and would do again ten thousand times, for Rome. But I will not -- rather, I cannot -- remain forever. I am only a man, my friends, but I am a man who has done everything in his power to care for this city. Would you, after I am laid to rest and gone, have some new Brutus or Catiline to strip your freedoms away, to steal food from the mouths of your children? Would you a single fading lifetime of Caesar, and a hundred more of tyranny?"
A voice rises up from the throng in the stands. "NO! Down with the tyrants! A hundred lifetimes of Caesar! Caesar!" The crowd picks up the chant, and it rolls shaking into the air. "CAESAR! CAESAR! CAESAR!"
The first citizen raises his hands humbly, and the crowd quiets. "And as I have ever done, I give you what you wish. My people, behold...your Caesar."
The man next to him steps forward. It is your cousin, Gaius Caesar. Though a young man, he is already a face well known among the people of the city, having held his first elected position at the age of fifteen. Many have long hoped that Augustus would choose him as the heir to his unique position in the state.
A hope now rewarded.
The crowd erupts. Even you are enraptured. The old man's voice has slithered into your chest and seized your heart, and you find yourself cheering with all the rest. Beside you, your mother and brother are on their feet clapping. Your mother, for her part, claps with a look of barely-contained boredom on her face, but your brother is wide-awake now, staring at Gaius with adoring eyes. You know that is his dream -- to be on that podium someday, acclaimed by your grandfather and loved by the roaring crowd.
Is it yours, however?
In Rome under the yoke of Augustus, the old political parties of the Republic are no more. There are those who serve the emperor and his ambitions, the idea of Rome united under one man, and those who do not. Some few cling to the dream of liberty, of Rome as it was before imperium, but it is a dream fast fading, and in a lifetime it will be gone. Every man in Rome serves Augustus, from Senator to servant, but each is driven deep down by some private pearl of ambition, be it selfish or altruistic. In Rome under Augustus, all ambitions and desires are slaves to his own -- but what happens when Augustus is gone?
Your Ambition is your primary political motivation in Rome, while your political leaning indicates which political party and mode of thought you support. At the moment, the only possible political leaning for a young boy of the Julio-Claudian family (or, indeed, for most in Rome) is Augustan -- you serve the whim and will of the Imperator. This may change.
[] You gaze out at the roaring crowd, at the mighty theater, at shining colonnades and rising pillars of the city beyond. Augustus, it is said, found Rome a city of brick and made it one of marble. This is Rome as you shall always remember it: the Rome of your youth, golden and great. It is the work of one man's lifetime, and it shall outlast him. The richness, the splendor, the glory of these days shall not die with Augustus. In your heart, you know you will do whatever must be done to see it preserved — even if it is not your name the people chant when all is said and done. (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Imperial ambition— you are loyal to the dream of Augustus. This may change over time.)
[] As you watch the crowd cheer Caesar, the lessons of your tutors echo in your mind, of how Rome began so long ago. There were tyrants, they said, in ancient times, who passed their crown from father to son and made Romans slaves in Rome -- but they were overthrown, and it was said there would be no more kings in Rome. Even though you are just a boy, the heretical question has always nibbled at you: what is Augustus, if not a king? Perhaps no one man should rule the ship of state, no matter how great. Perhaps there was once a dream that was Rome, and though Augustus has realized it, what happens when Augustus is gone? (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Republican ambition -- you are loyal to the dream of Rome. This may change over time.)
[] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should not rule so heavy over the low. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition)
[] The adoring crowd, the beaming faces, the joyous voices. You want it. You want the glory and the triumph and the majesty. You are tired of being the second-born, the third fiddle, the barely considered, the afterthought. The adulation Gaius now sees could be yours, nay, will be yours. You see as if through a haze a vision of yourself, older and splendid, garbed in the finest robes, at the head of a mighty triumph through the city streets. Your name, scrawled in the pages of history. Your name, sung from the hills. Your name, forever. What care you for ancient rivalries or the petty ambitions of others? You will cut them all away and rise soaring to the heights Augustus ascended before you. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Glory ambition -- you are loyal to the dream of future glories. This may change over time.)
As this is still early in character creation, there will be NO MORATORIUM on votes. Please be aware that there will be one in the future. As well, votes do not need to be in plan form for this update.
However, as always, discussion is rewarded.
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
I like ??? options, and legal training seems important.
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
We chose Our Brother's Keeper, so family is clearly very important to us.
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] You gaze out at the roaring crowd, at the mighty theater, at shining colonnades and rising pillars of the city beyond. Augustus, it is said, found Rome a city of brick and made it one of marble. This is Rome as you shall always remember it: the Rome of your youth, golden and great. It is the work of one man's lifetime, and it shall outlast him. The richness, the splendor, the glory of these days shall not die with Augustus. In your heart, you know you will do whatever must be done to see it preserved — even if it is not your name the people chant when all is said and done. (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Imperial ambition— you are loyal to the dream of Augustus. This may change over time.)
If there are two things that provide power in Rome, it's religion and conquest. The Romans are a superstitious people, and the words of the priests hold great weight. They also adore their military heroes, Caesar who conquered Gaul, Scipio who defeated Carthage, if we want to be loved, we must fight and conquer.
Augustus was perhaps the greatest ruler Rome ever had, and his actions greatly benefited Rome. If we are loyal to Augustus' dream, we will be loyal to what's best for Rome.
[X] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition)
What is Rome? Is it Augustus? Is it the Julio-Claudians? Is it the Senate? No! Remove them and Rome is still there. Rome is its people. Without the Roman people, there is no Rome.
[X] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition) [X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
One must win if we're going to do any reforms at all.
[X] The adoring crowd, the beaming faces, the joyous voices. You want it. You want the glory and the triumph and the majesty. You are tired of being the second-born, the third fiddle, the barely considered, the afterthought. The adulation Gaius now sees could be yours, nay, will be yours. You see as if through a haze a vision of yourself, older and splendid, garbed in the finest robes, at the head of a mighty triumph through the city streets. Your name, scrawled in the pages of history. Your name, sung from the hills. Your name, forever. What care you for ancient rivalries or the petty ambitions of others? You will cut them all away and rise soaring to the heights Augustus ascended before you. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Glory ambition -- you are loyal to the dream of future glories. This may change over time.)
Kids that grow up from birth with their family already imperial tend to, for good or ill, be more instilled with the sheer egotistic arrogance to truly believe they can be emperors of the world and command it all as they wilt- like Xerxes taming the stormy Hellespont or Elizabeth marrying herself to England. I think it thematically fits with that middle sibling urge to be acknowledged and attended to and our Antonian love of being the center of the crowd, that we want to be recognized like we have not been by the distant Augustus and our troubled mother Antonia. Plus we can always pivot to populism in that classic Caesarian move that flows within our Julii veins, or to more aristocratic positions if they are advantageous.
EDIT: forget the other vote
[X] The Poet: Quintus Horatius Flaccus, called Horace, is one of the greatest poets of his generation, and perhaps of any other. Born a Samnite of Samnium in the heart of Italy, Horace studied at the Academy of Plato, where he learned the arts of the Greek masters -- and where, it is said by some, he perfected them. A loyal friend and servant of Augustus, Horace's poems have praised the emperor's name for a lifetime, enshrining his works and deeds in verse. After you express a certain interest in his works, your mother sees to it that you are introduced, and the venerable poet takes it upon himself to teach you the finer arts. (Bonus to Education, Intelligence, Stewardship, and Philosophy. Learn Skill: Poetry)
who doesn't want to write bawdy doggerel about Gaius Caesar left in anonymous graffiti around the forums?
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition) [X] The Orator
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition)
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[] You gaze out at the roaring crowd, at the mighty theater, at shining colonnades and rising pillars of the city beyond. Augustus, it is said, found Rome a city of brick and made it one of marble. This is Rome as you shall always remember it: the Rome of your youth, golden and great. It is the work of one man's lifetime, and it shall outlast him. The richness, the splendor, the glory of these days shall not die with Augustus. In your heart, you know you will do whatever must be done to see it preserved — even if it is not your name the people chant when all is said and done. (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Imperial ambition— you are loyal to the dream of Augustus. This may change over time.)
This is the Emperor option. This is the Augustan rule-Rome option that chases power for the sake of someone else's vision of Rome. Whether that will match ours is of course in question - I'm not sure how ready SV will be to act the Augustus when it comes to the knifework.
Telamon said said:
[] As you watch the crowd cheer Caesar, the lessons of your tutors echo in your mind, of how Rome began so long ago. There were tyrants, they said, in ancient times, who passed their crown from father to son and made Romans slaves in Rome -- but they were overthrown, and it was said there would be no more kings in Rome. Even though you are just a boy, the heretical question has always nibbled at you: what is Augustus, if not a king? Perhaps no one man should rule the ship of state, no matter how great. Perhaps there was once a dream that was Rome, and though Augustus has realized it, what happens when Augustus is gone? (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Republican ambition -- you are loyal to the dream of Rome. This may change over time.)
This is more interesting. The Republic took a long time to die, and how much do we really remember? How much can we recreate? Most of all, how likely is this to really push through? This option can be a quixotic ambition that either takes us for one hell of a ride, or something that morphs into something else by sheer circumstance. A fun one, but not an easy one.
Telamon said said:
[] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
Emperor option but with less of the politics and Augustan leanings and more of the dynastic ambitions. This will piss off a lot of old-line Romans, the ones that regard Augustus as a capable ruler and align with him in that regard. Rome may not look on a dynast with the same favor it bestows on an Augustus.
Telamon said said:
[] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition)
Augustan Gracchus? Augustan Gracchus. This one's fun.
To be elaborated one once I get home to write, and just one question: @Telamon, what's the reward policy for the omake posts at each vote? Or is it a reward only if the vote associated with them passes?
[X] The Orator: Lucius Annaeus Seneca, popularly known as Seneca the Elder, is one of the greatest speakers of your time. From youth, he has engaged in the study of rhetoric as an art, receiving an education from many of Rome's finest speakers. Often called a modern Cicero, Seneca has shunned the political world and the intrigues of which Romans are so fond, opting instead to write several lengthy tomes on rhetoric and history. A harsh and no-nonsense man, the very model of a Roman elder, Seneca was hired by Augustus to teach you the oratorical arts. When he is done with you, you can make your voice carry for half a mile, and twist your tongue in turns of phrase that would make the old masters proud. (Bonus to Education, Oratory, Diplomacy, and Charisma. Learn Skill: History)
[] As you watch the crowd cheer Caesar, the lessons of your tutors echo in your mind, of how Rome began so long ago. There were tyrants, they said, in ancient times, who passed their crown from father to son and made Romans slaves in Rome -- but they were overthrown, and it was said there would be no more kings in Rome. Even though you are just a boy, the heretical question has always nibbled at you: what is Augustus, if not a king? Perhaps no one man should rule the ship of state, no matter how great. Perhaps there was once a dream that was Rome, and though Augustus has realized it, what happens when Augustus is gone? (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Republican ambition -- you are loyal to the dream of Rome. This may change over time.)
[X] You look upon the crowd, truly look at them. They are the people of Rome, the lifeblood of the city, and they are as they have ever been. Rome has entered a golden age, true, but it is a golden age for thee and thine. In the slums and the streets, children still die hungry. Augustus has brought the people bread, but why must he give it to them? Is it not theirs in the first place? Perhaps, you wonder, and not for the first time, the high should rule so heavy over the mighty. Perhaps the common folk of Rome should still have a voice. (Start the game with Augustan political leanings and the Populist ambition)
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
Ok, I have seen enough of this lie already. The republic is still very much alive, thank you very much!
Actually, we should kill that idea dead. Whose bright idea was it to name your years after two people. That (should) change each year?! That just makes it hard to remember the years.
Christianity can't come soon enough.
[X] The Priest: Lucius Calpernius Piso, known simply as Piso Pontifex, is one of the most celebrated minds of the Augustan era. He has had a long and distinguished senatorial career, serving as governor in several provinces in his youth. He commanded multiple legions under Augustus before being made the Consul of 15 BC, after which he became the Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the city of Rome. He has been a valuable and trusted supporter of your grandfather for decades, providing a steady voice and a guiding hand to the state. A shrewd legal mind, a skilled general, and a capable administrator, he took a liking to you after a formal introduction at your grandmother's home. Livia and Augustus have decided that there are few better suited to prepare you for a position in service to the Republic. (Bonus to Military, Logistics, and Administration. Learn Skill: Augury.)
I choose it mostly for administration and augury. Damn it, I want to be a badass bookkeeper. (Admittedly I might switch to the orator for history or to the jurist because Rome is in mighty need of new laws...)
"All of this, I have done gladly, for Rome, and would do again ten thousand times, for Rome. But I will not -- rather, I cannot -- remain forever. I am only a man, my friends, but I am a man who has done everything in his power to care for this city. Would you, after I am laid to rest and gone, have some new Brutus or Catiline to strip your freedoms away, to steal food from the mouths of your children? Would you a single fading lifetime of Caesar, and a hundred more of tyranny?"
A voice rises up from the throng in the stands. "NO! Down with the tyrants! A hundred lifetimes of Caesar! Caesar!" The crowd picks up the chant, and it rolls shaking into the air. "CAESAR! CAESAR! CAESAR!"
And then, after having survived his favourite heirs and leaving them with the unfavourite, the crowd would come to shout "Tiberium in Tiberim".
[X] You gaze out at the roaring crowd, at the mighty theater, at shining colonnades and rising pillars of the city beyond. Augustus, it is said, found Rome a city of brick and made it one of marble. This is Rome as you shall always remember it: the Rome of your youth, golden and great. It is the work of one man's lifetime, and it shall outlast him. The richness, the splendor, the glory of these days shall not die with Augustus. In your heart, you know you will do whatever must be done to see it preserved — even if it is not your name the people chant when all is said and done. (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Imperial ambition— you are loyal to the dream of Augustus. This may change over time.)
Shocking, I know, but for once I am willing to not aim for the very top (I mean, we might still need to just to survive... because Julio-Claudians). Besides, dynasties come and go, but the Empire, the Empire must survive.
It's either that or dynastic ambition, I might decide depending on what is in the lead or has better chances at coming out on top. After all, what would be better for the political stability of the Empire than a dynasty that can hold on long enough to fucking institutionalise the succession, making even a dynasty switch "relatively" bloodless?
[X] You look at your brothers and your mother, at your cousins and your grandfather. Ever since birth, all you have had is your family, this family. Since childhood you have been regaled with stories of it's rise and origins in the days of myth, of Venus the goddess who was the ancestor of the Julii. You love your family, truly and with all your heart. Nothing shall come between you and them -- not politics, not strife, not the city itself. Strip away all the pagentry and glory and gold, and all that remains is blood. Your blood, imperial. You have heard it said that the families of Antony and Pompey were destroyed in their downfall. The family of the Caesars shall live forever -- this you know. (Start game with Augustan political leanings and the Dynastic ambition. This may change over time.)
[X] The Jurist: Alfenus Varus is an old man, a jurist and lawyer who once studied under the speaker Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, the great redheaded orator and contemporary of Cicero. The last of a dying generation, he has spent a quiet lifetime toiling in the shadows of Augustus' administration, reforming laws and strengthening the legal foundation of the imperator's Republic. Wise, educated, and kind, he is more notable for his collected legal works and writings than for anything about him personally. Unlike many of the men who call upon your family, he will not be remembered long in history. However, he is noted by many to be a close and personal confidant of the emperor, and there are often those who wonder if the unassuming man may serve Augustus as anything more than a glorified lawyer. (Bonus to Education, Law, and Subterfuge. Gain ???) [X] You gaze out at the roaring crowd, at the mighty theater, at shining colonnades and rising pillars of the city beyond. Augustus, it is said, found Rome a city of brick and made it one of marble. This is Rome as you shall always remember it: the Rome of your youth, golden and great. It is the work of one man's lifetime, and it shall outlast him. The richness, the splendor, the glory of these days shall not die with Augustus. In your heart, you know you will do whatever must be done to see it preserved — even if it is not your name the people chant when all is said and done. (Start game with Augustan political leanings, and the Imperial ambition— you are loyal to the dream of Augustus. This may change over time.)
