To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late; And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods? For Romans in Rome's quarrel spared neither land nor gold, Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, in the brave days of old.
SENATVS • POPVLVS • ROMANVS Thine, Roman, is the pilum: Roman, the sword is thine, The even trench, the bristling mound, The legion's ordered line. This quest is made to be read in FlexSpace or another dark theme. The Res Publica Discord is open for business
86 B.C.
It is the final century of the Roman Republic.
Rome, once a fledgling city-state on the banks of the Tiber, has spread its dominion from the verdant foothills of Italy to the rolling plains of Hispania and beyond. For nearly a century since the defeat of her archenemy Hannibal, the might of Rome has been unquestioned on land or sea, as city-state after city-state crumbles before the legions' unrelenting tide. Her reach stretches from the shores of Greece to the deserts of the Levant, and there is no power in the West which might hope to stand against the Republic.
It is the blackest of ironies, then, that Rome's greatest threat comes not from without, but within. Emboldened by the glory won in their many wars, Rome's most beloved generals have turned upon one another in the name of base ambition, dividing the Roman army against itself. Theirs is struggle which has already watered the streets of Rome with blood, and now threatens to spill out across the domains of the Republic. Brother turns blade against brother, and Roman takes up arms against Roman. It was said of old that the house divided cannot stand, and yet again it is proved true.
Italia burns.
In times such as these, men of ambition and vision might forge a future for themselves amidst the turmoil and toil of war. It was said by the Greeks of yore that crisis breeds greatness -- and if it is so, then this crisis must breed the greatest men of our time.
You are a citizen of Rome, raised in the looming shadow of the city now at war with itself. As a landowning citizen of status, you are entitled to a seat in the Senate should you prove yourself worthy. Your tutors, skilled men all, say you have the potential to be a Roman of no small worth, a figure who will shape the very history of the Republic itself.
But to be a man of note in the Republic is no small task. To simply survive in Rome, you must be more cunning, more vicious, and more brutal than all around you. You must trust nothing and no one, for even the fastest of friends may turn foe, and the love of the people is fickle and fleeting. You must be as skilled on the podium as on the battlefield, you must balance love and hate in equal measure, you must watch your foes closely and your friends closer still.
To misstep, to err, to fail is death. You will lose your wealth, your love, and your life. Your name will be ground into the dust and your enemies will play dice with your bones. You will join countless thousands in the gutters of history, lost to time and memory in the growing shadow of Rome.
But to succeed is to rise above, to tread the world beneath your feet. It is to rub shoulders with titans and decide the fate of untold millions. It is to make your name a legend to outlast the very gods themselves. It is to become immortal, remembered in tongue and song for as long as men walk the earth.
May the goddess of Victory smile upon you, Roman.
Welcome to Res Publica, a quest set in the waning days of the Roman Republic. You will play as Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, a young Roman citizen of the aristocratic class who aspires to a seat in the Senate. Over the course of the game, you will make your way up the ranks of Roman society, ascending from elected position to elected position. You must be a soldier and a politician alike, an orator and a conqueror in equal measure, if you hope to rise above your peers and ascend to the highest civic glory of all: the Consul, the first citizen, supreme political and military ruler of the entire Republic.
In Rome, your status in the eyes of the people is everything -- life and death itself. Win the love of Rome, and you will be able to defy the Senate itself, to perform acts others would call treasonous and emerge unscathed. Earn their displeasure, on the other hand, and you will find yourself with enemies beyond count, disgraced and disfigured. The Roman people are a fickle lot, and even one who is secure in their love must be careful, for it might swing at any moment from him to another.
Of course, you will have ample opportunities to earn adoration from Rome. Quintus, as an aspiring Roman politican, must follow the cursus honorum, the unofficial yet socially enforced sequence of elected positions, both civic and military, which serve as a stepping-stone to the Senate. A politician who successfully navigates the cursus honorum will emerge a skilled military and political mind, capable of navigating the Roman people through war and peace alike, and ready to assume his place at the helm of the Republic.
At least, that is the intent.
In reality, however, you will compete with hundreds of other young men, each just as ambitious and aspiring as yourself, each jockeying for power and favor in the eyes of influential senators and patricians, each seeking his own path to the halls of power. It is an achievement of no small merit simply to survive in such an environment, much less prosper.
For make no mistake -- Rome is a cruel mistress. It is a city consumed by it's own legend, a brutal, byzantine web of intrigue, lust, betrayal, and vice, navigated only by the most ambitious and ruthless of minds. Greater men than you have tried and failed to climb her towering heights. Shall you follow in their doomed footsteps, or will your name burn through Rome?
And thine the wheels of triumph, Which with their laurelled train Move slowly up the shouting streets To Jove's eternal flame.
Name: Quintus Cingulatus Atellus Age: 19 (Born 103 B.C) Family: Gens Cingulata Class: Patrician Profession: Tribunus Laticlavus Public Party: Optimates Private Party: Idealist Populares Patron(s): Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex Clients: Marius Himatus Censer Imperium: N/A Philosophy: Eclecticism Reputation: (Rank 9) Recognized -- You have marched in Triumph before the city of Rome, and there are many who know your face.
Economic Status
Wealth: 102 talents Monthly Income: 580 denarii Buildings Owned: The Domus of the Cingulii (net worth: 906 talents) Land Held: 25 acres (net worth: 40 talents) Slaves Owned: 31 Debts Owed: 0 Debts Held: 0
Titles and Honors
Cognomina: Atellus (lit. 'Dark-of-hair') Honors and Decorations: N/A Offices Held: Military Tribune Past Offices Held: N/A Triumphs Held: 0 Cases Won: 0 Campaigns Led: 0 Consulates Held: 0
Stats
Military: Accomplished (13) -- You have a good grasp of strategy and tactics, equal to that of a skilled military tribune. Charisma: Accomplished (11) -- You are charismatic and well-spoken, capable of handling yourself ably in Roman society. Stewardship: Poor (4) -- You couldn't manage a wine stand. Intelligence: Renowned (15) -- You are quick, thoughtful, and difficult to fool, with a strength of wit that has made you famous. Education: Accomplished (10) -- You have learned from the finest tutors your father could afford, but there are still gaps in your knowledge. Subterfuge: Average (7) -- You can lie and cheat as well as any Roman, but you have no special skill for deceit.
Skills
Combat: Accomplished (10) -- Your talent with the blade is well-honed, and you are a formidable opponent for any man. Oratory: Accomplished (11) -- Your words are mesmerizing, and your arguments well-constructed. Command: Proficient (8) -- Men have died for you. Men will die for you again. Engineering: Abysmal (1) -- Rocks go on top of other rocks. Probably. Seafaring: Very Poor (2) -- The boat goes on the water, this much you know. Probably. Logistics: Very Poor (2) -- They can feed themselves, right? Law: Proficient (9) -- You are beloved of Themis herself, the goddess of Justice. Philosophy: Average (5) -- I think, therefore I am. Administration: Average (5) -- You can run a house decently -- but probably not a city. Diplomacy: Accomplished (10) -- You are a skilled speaker, capable of negotiating fairly and equitably.
Auguries and Foretellings
The Sign of the Aquila [EPIC]: Before you came to Rome, it was foretold you would meet death and glory in equal measure, along with other portents that seemed at the time inscrutable, but may well prove deathly important in the days and months to come.
The Mother's Mercy [EPIC]: The Mother's Mercy: In ancient times, the Romans adopted the Phyrgian goddess Cybele to help defend them against Hannibal. One of her priestesses spoke a foreboding and dark prophecy to you in the hills of Bithynia. It warned of things done in darker times and blacker days yet to come.
•TRAITS•
Old Blood
You are a patrician of the House of Cingulatus, an ancient and noble gens dating back to the foundation of the Roman kingdom itself. History and myth say that in the dawn of Rome, your ancestor, the first Atellus, was the bodyguard of Romulus himself, and helped lay the very foundations of Rome. This illustrious lineage has kept your family well-regarded for centuries, and even now that your name has slid into decline, the name Cingulatus is still spoken with some respect in the city. (Bonus to interactions with patrician families, gain automatic +3 bonus to interaction with Optimates)
The Gift of Minerva
Wisdom herself has blessed you, or so it seems. You are wise beyond your years, with sharp wits and a mind capable of adapting and changing to any situation. You soak up knowledge like a sponge, and your capability for tactical thinking rivals some of Rome's finest commanders. Yours is a mind like few others in Rome. (+6 Intelligence, +3 command, +2 Law, increased XP Gain)
Orator, Rank I
You are one of the most noted young speakers of your day. Though you are no legend yet, when inspiration strikes, you can speak as if blessed by Apollo himself. When you ascend the podium, men listen with rapt attention, their eyes and ears fixed upon your moving form. Scaevola Pontifex himself champions you as one of his most notable students, and the great orators and speakers of Rome look to you as a potential peer in the years to come. (+1 to Oratory and Oratorical actions, +1 to diplomacy/conversation rolls with Orators, Speakers, and Philosophers)(This skill is a Ranked Skill, which can be leveled up, and it's effects improved, through in-game actions)
•CAMPAIGNS•
The Fourth Samnite War (85 BC)
Your first ever campaign, you were assigned as military tribune to the VI Legion under one Quintus Sertorius, a famed general and the Legate of Italia. The legion was dispatched by the Proconsul Cinna to defeat the Samnite tribes once and for all, and win a resounding Roman victory close to home.
Legion: LEGIO VI GRADIVIUS (Sixth Legion, Blessed By Mars) Position: Tribunus Laticlavus (Broad-Striped Tribune) Commanding Officer: Quintus Sertorius Location: Apennine Italy Outcome: Total Roman victory, and the destruction of the Samnite cities of Aequum Tuticum and Nola.
•FEATS•
A Speech to the Gathered Elders of the Pentri
Lesser Feat, 85 BC --
First attested to by Plutarch in his Roman Lives, then mentioned again by Cassius Dio, the Speech to the Elders of the Pentri was a famous speech, now lost, given by the then-Tribune of the Sixth Legion, Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, to the tribal assembly of the Pentri tribe of the Samnites during the fourth and final Samnite war. This speech, long since lost, apparently convinced the famously stubborn Pentri to almost wholly submit to Roman rule. It was recorded by several present, and it's unlikely and overwhelming success despite the famed Samnite hostility to Rome -- and to Atellus himself in particular -- made it remarkable in its' own time. Fragments of it appear to have survived until at least the 160s, as the Emperor Marcus Aurelius apparently quoted it in a speech given in late 165 to a rebelling tribe in Moesia.
The Sack of Nola
Lesser Feat, 85 BC --
Nola, history says, was once a city of the Samnites in southern Campania, from which hailed the family of the Emperor Augustus. It was razed to the ground in 85 BC during the Last Samnite War, in an act which Livy called "The most barbarous of barbarous acts", stating that there was not a stone left sitting atop a stone. The starving Sixth Legion stormed the walls of the city after a two-month siege, and, led by the Legionary Tribune Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, slaughtered the Samnites inside and razed the city to the ground.
•DRAMATIS PERSONAE•
The Cingulii
Your family, and it's loyal servants.
Quintus Cingulatus Atellus: You. A Roman noble of a mighty family fallen on bitter times. Skilled in war and words, and possessed of a generational intellect. Pater Familias of the Cingulli. Cingulla Major: Your elder sister. Betrothed to Curtilius of the Curtilii. Cingulla Minor: Your younger sister, aged six. Tercerus: Once a Celtiberian slave and auxiliary in Spain, he fought alongside your father, and is practically a second father to you himself. Proserpina: A quiet, unassuming cook with a sharp mind and clever eyes, she has served your family since Spain. Your current chief of staff. Glaber: An African mercenary turned Roman bodyguard, he is another of your father's old servants. Theo: A Greek gladiator of middling skill, your father recruited him because of his unnatural charm and wit. Mancina: Cold, calculating, and a master of coin, Mancina is the steward of your estate.
Acquaintances
Those you have made bonds with in your time in Rome who do not hew strongly to any extant political party.
Marcus Tullius Cicero: A former student of Scaevola and a brilliant jurist and writer. His mind is a mind that may last ages. Your friend. Titus Pomponius Atticus: A student of Scaevola, a friend of Cicero, and a famed Philhellene. His Greek is better than any Roman you know. Your friend. Lucius Cornelius Scipio Cassianus: Born Opiter Cassius, this ambitious young man has risen from the dregs of Rome to be adopted into the powerful and famed gens Cornelia. Servius Sulpcius Rufus: Another student of Scaevola and your close friend. A talented jurist and lawyer, he currently serves as one of the tribunes of the VI legion. Volero: A bold young soldier in the service of Pompey. Lucius Proculus Mercator: The bold and experienced first centurion of the VI legion. Your friend. Pompolussa: Centurion of the third cohort of the VI legion. An old soldier, but tough as nails. Carcellus: Camp prefect of the VI legion. Big, tough, and a father to his men.
The Marians
The staunch populare followers of Gaius Marius, the Marians have reached their ascendancy in Rome. Violent, populist, and given to demagoguery, they are the mightiest faction in Rome at the moment.
Gaius Marius: Seven times consul of Rome, hero of the Jugurthine war and the Cimbrian invasions, beloved in Rome. He has recently seized Rome in a bloody coup from the Sullans. Quintus Sertorius: Hero of the Celtiberian wars, Sertorius is a novus homo and one of Rome's best generals. Lucius Cornelius Cinna: A self-serving and treacherous man, Cinna helped Marius seize Rome and has ruled with an iron fist ever since. Currently a consul of Rome. Gnaeus Papirus Carbo: Called the backbone of the Marians, Carbo is a lifelong soldier and supporter of Marius. Once Tribune of the Plebs, he is often spoken of as a potential consul. Currently Legate of the Seventh Legion under Marius. Gaius Valerius Flaccus: Once described as more 'slave than man', he initially resisted the Marians before being made co-consul with Cinna in 85 BC. Marius the Younger: Marius' son, a brash young man with little of his father's greatness in him. Illegally made consul in 85 BC. Scipio Asiaticus: Last descendant of a famous bloodline, Scipio Asiaticus is a skilled orator and speaker who is loyal to Marius. Consul of Rome. Marcus Marius Gratidianus: A praetor whose brilliant reforms saved Rome from a financial crisis, and is hailed in the streets as a god for it. Gaius Julius Caesar: Marius' nephew, a young boy of sixteen. Appointed by Marius as high priest of Jupiter.
The Marians regard you as potentially useful, though with troubling associations.
The Sullans
The largely optimate partisans of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, most of the Sullans have fled Rome to escape Marian persecution. Those still residing in Rome are too powerful or too influential to be touched...for now.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix: The real hero of the Jugurthine war, a staunch optimate, and a bloodthirsty general, Sulla is the unofficial head of Rome's aristocrats and noble families. Currently overseas battling Mithridates. Lucius Licinus Lucullus: Sulla's second-in-command, Rome's most capable admiral, and a skilled general in his own right. Currently legate to Sulla. Gaius Antonius Hybrida: An infamously violent and cruel man, wholly lacking in scruples, morals, or reservations. Better described as a beast than as a man. Currently Sulla's master of horse. Marcus Licinius Crassus: A young man of aristocratic family whose father was slaughtered by Marius. Currently in Africa, leading the Sullan exiles there. Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex: Your mentor, one of the most celebrated jurists in Rome. Currently the pontifex maximus, the voice of the gods. Mamercus Livianus: Sulla's son-in law, and head of the Sullans still remaining in Rome. Currently keeping his head down in Rome. Quintus Lutiatus Catulus: Son of one of Marius' old enemies, with a longstanding grudge against the Marians. Currently keeping his head down in Rome. Pompey: The son of the famed general Pompeius Strabo, this brash young general controls three legions in Italy. Though officially undeclared, many suspect his sympathies lie with Sulla. Has a deep grudge against you.
The Sullans regard you as useful.
Barbarians
To not be Roman is to be barbarian.
Mithridates the Great: The famed king of Pontus and archenemy of Rome, hailed by the Greeks as a second Alexander. Archelaus: Mithridates' most trusted general. Philo of Larissa: A Greek orator and philosopher who fled to Rome from Athens when it was sacked by Sulla. Visella Tertia: Last of the Samnite holy priestesses whom you destroyed at Ampscantus. Has sworn an oath of vengeance against Rome, and the house of Atellus. Marius Himatus: A Samnite noble, now a Roman citizen and your client. In exchange for your protection, he helped sway the Pentri tribe of the Samnites to Rome. Veniximaeus: Veniximaeus of the Medulli is a Gallic warchief and Roman auxiliary. Brash, rude, and bold, he has taken a liking to you.
In Memoriam
Time hath it's revolutions; there must be an end to all things, an end of names and titles and whatsoever is terrene. These here have ended. Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt -- where are they now?
Lucius Cingulatus Atellus: Your father. In his youth, legatus of the Unconquered Tenth Legion of Spain, and won many glories in war against the Celtiberians. Died peacefully in old age, surrounded by friends and family. Gemino of the Pentri: A Samnite bandit turned rebel and warlord, Gemino of the Pentri led a steadfast and doomed resistance against the growing power of Rome in the Italian heartlands. Committed suicide after his defeat by Quintus Atellus in the Battle of the Tabelline Pass. Lycidas: A Greek general who served under Mithridates in the Mithridatic Wars. He fell fighting the Romans under Marius at the city of Sardis, and his defiant last stand has since passed into legend.
•MECHANICS•
Skills, Stats, and Reputation
Skills and Stats control your mental faculties and knowledge/expertise, as well as your ability to effectively exercise such things. Your Charisma stat governs your day-to-day interactions, while your Diplomacy skill governs your tact and ability to talk to people, well...diplomatically. Each Rank of a skill or stat increases the modifier applied to such actions, with things getting easier the more you do them (as in real life).
Stats are your mental capabilities, while skills are things you pick up and learn. You can't advance skills beyond a certain point without practical experience, but you can advance stats near-infinitely through study and research in your comfy villa in Rome. You can be a master of Military theory and strategic understanding, but have a 3 in Command because you've never actually led men into battle.
Skill/Stat Ranks:
I. Abysmal: You have no skill with this whatsoever, and are actively terrible at it. Any attempt by yourself to do this will be met with abject failure unless the gods are truly smiling on you. (Levels 0-1) (-6 Modifier)
II. Very Poor: You are incredibly poor at this, one of the worst currently in Rome. You may succeed in using it if you blunder into success using what little you do know. (Levels 2-3) (-4 Modifier)
III. Poor: This...is not your strength. Find some other way of solving your problems, if at all possible. (Level 4) (-2 Modifier)
IV. Average: You are markedly average at this. Not amazing, not terrible, just...good. Depending on what occurs, your performance could be remarkable or awful, but you have a fair chance of either. (Levels 5-7) (No Modifier)
V. Proficient: You're okay at this, showing some small skill in your attempts. Your performance is slightly above average. (Levels 8-9) (+1 Modifier)
VI. Accomplished: You are quite skilled at this, proving to be significantly better than most. (Levels 10-14) (+2 Modifier)
VII. Renowned: You are famed for your skill in this, and it is likely your strongest and most adept trait. Most Romans of note which you encounter will have at least one renowned stat or skill -- it's necessary to rise high, after all. (Levels 15-17) (+4 Modifier)
VIII. Epic: You are one of the greatest in Rome at this, and your exceptional talent for it is spoken of from Italia to Aegyptus. Actions you take with this are incredibly likely to succeed. (Level 18) (+6 Modifier)
IX. Legendary: You are legendary, a generational talent whose renown and legend will long outlive you. It is almost impossible for you to fail at any task involving this. (Level 19) (+8 Modifier)
X. Mythical: You are on the level of the gods, a talent that has never been seen before and will never be seen again. Plato, Alexander, Heracles -- these are the myths of our time, and you can count your name alongside theirs. For you, failure at this is laughable. (Level 20) (+10 Modifier)
Your Reputation is how you are seen in Rome. Reputation Ranks go from 1-20, and Reputation can be negative or positive. For example, someone with Rank 8 Reputation could be Recognized and beloved by the people -- or they could be widely disliked, their name spat upon by the masses. You can work to flip your reputation from good to bad, or vice versa, but doing so will normally knock you down a rank or two -- you're no longer doing the thing you were famous for after all.
You are the son of a family of some small status, hailing from the rolling Roman countryside. Your father, who hailed from these same hills, served in the legions in years long gone by, and, before his retirement to the hills of Italy, rose to the most august rank of Legate, commander of his own legion. In his youth, he won great wealth and glory in the distant fields of Spain, wealth with which he built a respectable estate for himself and his family. For years, he eked out a comfortable life amidst the hills of his childhood --- until your mother died in childbirth. The servants say his heart went with her, but that, like a true soldier, he stayed in this world to do his duty and see you and your sisters to adulthood. Now, mere months after you have reached your age of majority, his long service is finally over. Lucius Cingulatus Atellus has finally passed into the arms of the gods -- leaving you, his only son, as the new head of the family.
But Roman though you may be, not all are equal in Rome -- or rather, some are more equal than others. Rome is divided into the upper aristocratic class, the patricians, and the common class, the plebians. They are split like night and day, but the single similarity they share is that neither may serve on the Senate unless they are nobilis, descended from one who has previously sat on the Senate, or unless they have earned their way onto the Senate through sheer skill and prestige. In Rome, your class decides your name, your marriage, your duty -- your very life.
The Patrician [] You are a patrican, the true nobility of Rome, the upper class of the Republic. Yours is an ancient family, hailing back to the very founding of Rome itself. Once, the Cingulii had numerous branches across the Republic, and were respected and held in high regard by the people and the Senate of Rome alike. But one by one, your line died out and your name fell into disrepute, becoming associated with flesh merchants and slavers. A member of your family has not held the Consulate, or even sat in the Senate, for well over a century. Your father, through his actions, has started well on the path to restoring the long-lost honor of your name, but with him dead, the legacy of your family rests upon your shoulders.
The Plebian [] You are a plebian, one of the common folk. Your family is a family of soldiers, and has been for as far back as memory can reach. The most famous of your family, the very first Atellus, won laurels for his service in the Punic Wars against Carthage over a hundred years ago, and even rose to sit on the Senate. He rose through glory from his actions and deeds in service to the Republic, a soldier to the bone, and that legacy still runs in your family. His achievements were the very apex of your family name, and are the reason you can count yourselves among the nobilis of Rome, those authorized to sit on the Senate. His glory was a height your father strove to reach but could never match. As a soldier and a plebian alike, you will have more support among both the army and the people, facilitating a rise through the ranks of Roman government, but you will be looked down upon by the largely patrician Senatorial class -- the very class you seek to join.
The New Man [] Your father was the first of his name, gaining enough prestige and renown that his once plebian family has become part of the equitii, the aristocratic class of officers and cavalrymen. However, as no member of your family has ever sat in the Roman Senate, you are not considered nobilis, and as such, are looked down upon by both patricians and nobilis plebians. Yet Rome in her heart has always admired men of ambition and talent, and those who come from nothing noble and yet manage to gain the prestige of the Senate are thus known as novus homo, or 'new men', and their families automatically added to the ranks of the nobilis. Your path will be the hardest yet, but your rewards many -- for the new man, once he has risen, is held in higher esteem in Rome than the patrician and the plebian alike.
During your youth, your father struggled to instill in you the values and morals of a true Roman citizen, teaching you all that he believed you needed to know to make your way in Roman society. Of all the skills he taught you, however, you took to a few like a fish to water or a bird to wing. These skills, above all others, you have continued to hone for your entire life, refining and practicing them day in and day out.
Pick Two.
[] War: Almost from infancy, your father struggled to impart upon you all that he knew of the soldier's duty, of the sword held high, of the line that cannot break. He drove you like he drove the legionnares of his youth, molding you into a weapon of Rome. Physically, you are the equal of any man now serving in Rome's armies, and you have long studied the campaigns of the Republic's finest commanders and their foes, honing an understanding of strategy and tactics equal to the most promising cadet. Should you decide to take up arms in the name of Rome, you will have a most promising future under the sword.
[] Law: Roman law is a complicated, tangled morass of bylaws and codas, less a legal system and more an inscrutable maze, the byproduct of three hundred years of plodding bureaucracy. From a young age, you have studied and read the law, making yourself familiar with it's complicated intricacies and glaring loopholes, it's strengths and it's weaknesses. In the Senate, one who understands the byzantine codes of decorum and senatorial process can manipulate them to his cause, and in the streets of the city, one who can speak in favor of the people in the courts can easily win their hearts.
[] Speech: From a young age, you have had a gift for oratory, for choosing the right words for the right moment. You have nurtured this talent into the ability to hold a room full of men under your sway with nothing but your gift for speech. Oratory, perhaps above all other talents, is valued in the Senate, for it is the orator who is capable of winning the most selfish and fickle men in all of Rome to his side, of ending wars with a few choice sentences, of shaping the fate of Rome with impassioned speech and persuasive word.
[] Trade: Your father owned his own vineyards, and as a young man, it was your duty to manage and care for them, and see to their sale, in order to teach you a little of the duties of running an estate. Though you knew little of selling wines, you took to the task with aplomb, quickly learning the ropes of the wine trade. The merchant's life is not often sung in the tales, but it is one to which you are most suited -- by the age of sixteen you could haggle, barter, and deal with even the most seasoned merchants that paid a visit to your father's estate, and squeeze a few more coins from even the most tight-fisted miser. Coin may not be as glorious as the sword in Rome, but it will buy you respect and influence all the same.
[] The Arts: A general may win fame and love on the field of war, and the senator might win respect from his sweet words, but no man is as beloved in Rome as the poet who sets the world to paper. The lays and sonnets of the great writers of Rome are sung and chanted by the soldier on the field and the worker in his hovel alike, reaching down through every echelon of Roman society. He who writes of the past may well shape it, and it is many an artistic Roman who has turned a crippling defeat into a resounding triumph, or debased upon the page the name of a foe whom he could not dare touch in the flesh. Through the written word, one may well control more hearts than ever could the sword.
You are not defined only by your skills, however. You have a defining trait, a trait which not only gives you an advantage over the many other men seeking to make their fortunes in Rome, but is so striking and memorable that it comes to mind whenever men think of you. Should you gain the fame and glory you seek, it will be as inexorably tied to your name as your very flesh.
[] The Gift of Mars: It is said that those who take to the art of war from a young age were blessed in the womb by Mars himself. You are one such, a prodigy of battle, capable of learning and absorbing new strategies and tactics, and quickly adapting them to match the actions of your foes. You read battlefields as other men read books, and direct armies as other men direct choirs. Given time enough to grow, you will surely equal --or even surpass-- the great generals of antiquity.
[] The Gift of Apollo: You are a demagogue, a firebrand, a bold populist with a brazen tongue. When you speak, the common man listens. Your words, both written and spoken, touch and inflame the hearts of the common people, raising them to follow and obey. Those who have so long been downtrodden seem to find a champion in you, from the plebian to the slave, and your rhetoric gives them hope that the world they know might someday change. *(NOTE: This trait permanently locks you into the Populares Faction)*
[] The Gift of Venus: You are beautiful, a thing sculpted as if from massy stone. Your skin is as pale and alluring as marble, free from all crack or blemish, like the very flesh of Venus herself. Your nose is as aquiline as the eagle's beak, your lips as wide and fair as his wings, and your eyes as proud and mighty as his own. Men and women alike look upon you with lust and envy, and your striking features have won you the hearts of many throughout the Roman countryside, and will surely do the same in Rome itself.
[] The Gift of Fortuna: You are lucky. There is no other word for it. Weapons that should have struck your skull sail inches wide, plans that should never have succeeded work against all odds, and the dice always seem to land in ways that favor you. The augurs say you are kissed by Fortuna, beloved of the Luck Goddess herself. Indeed, perhaps they are right, for fortune clings to you like a lover's shadow, guiding your hand and tilting events in your favor.
[] The Gift of Minerva: You are a man wise beyond your years, more intelligent and resourceful than most youths your age. Even in the height of danger, you are clear-sighted and quick-thinking, opening up more solutions to your problems than might be possible otherwise. Your plans and stratagems are well-thought out and do not often fail, and no man in Rome can best you in a match of wits. Such is the extent of your skill that at times it seems as if you are blessed by Minerva herself, the warlike goddess of knowledge. Where others rush headlong into danger, you have already seen it coming -- and worked out a plan to stop it.
[] The Gift of Bellona: In battle, you are untouchable. Your reflexes are like lightning and your limbs the thunder that follows after. Your muscles are like iron and your strength like something out of the very tales of Heracles. Those who have seen you rip through a battlefield say that it was like looking upon Bellona herself, the ancient goddess of war and destruction, come to earth in mortal flesh. While you draw breath with a blade in your hand, there is no man living that can face you alone.
[] The Gift of Mercury: No matter your status or station, men seem to find you inherently trustworthy and you seem to have a knack for making deals. Your deals are more likely to succeed, your agreements go unbroken, and even allies seem less likely to turn on you. In trade, diplomacy, and negotiation, you are simply more successful, capable of whiling the stingiest or staunchest of opponents around to a favorable compromise.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Please create a plan and spoiler it. Votes not in plan format WILL NOT be accepted.
As well, discussion and explanation of votes and choices is encouraged and rewarded.
[X] The PatricianYou are a patrican, the true nobility of Rome, the upper class of the Republic. Yours is an ancient family, hailing back to the very founding of Rome itself. Once, the Cingulii had numerous branches across the Republic, and were respected and held in high regard by the people and the Senate of Rome alike. But one by one, your line died out and your name fell into disrepute, becoming associated with flesh merchants and slavers. A member of your family has not held the Consulate, or even sat in the Senate, for well over a century. Your father, through his actions, has started well on the path to restoring the long-lost honor of your name, but with him dead, the legacy of your family rests upon your shoulders.
[x] Speech: From a young age, you have had a gift for oratory, for choosing the right words for the right moment. You have nurtured this talent into the ability to hold a room full of men under your sway with nothing but your gift for speech. Oratory, perhaps above all other talents, is valued in the Senate, for it is the orator who is capable of winning the most selfish and fickle men in all of Rome to his side, of ending wars with a few choice sentences, of shaping the fate of Rome with impassioned speech and persuasive word.
[X] Law: Roman law is a complicated, tangled morass of bylaws and codas, less a legal system and more an inscrutable maze, the byproduct of three hundred years of plodding bureaucracy. From a young age, you have studied and read the law, making yourself familiar with it's complicated intricacies and glaring loopholes, it's strengths and it's weaknesses. In the Senate, one who understands the byzantine codes of decorum and senatorial process can manipulate them to his cause, and in the streets of the city, one who can speak in favor of the people in the courts can easily win their hearts. [X] The Gift of Minerva: You are a man wise beyond your years, more intelligent and resourceful than most youths your age. Even in the height of danger, you are clear-sighted and quick-thinking, opening up more solutions to your problems than might be possible otherwise. Your plans and stratagems are well-thought out and do not often fail, and no man in Rome can best you in a match of wits. Such is the extent of your skill that at times it seems as if you are blessed by Minerva herself, the warlike goddess of knowledge. Where others rush headlong into danger, you have already seen it coming -- and worked out a plan to stop it
Earn the love of the people by giving them understandable justice in the courts
This means that he understands the situation and way of thinking of the common people and the soldiers. It keeps him grounded, rather than on top of an ivory tower.
-[x] War
-[x] The Arts
The idea of a warrior-poet appeals to me.
-[x] The Gift of Minerva
This goes well with the skillset, and really, he could use the extra boost to his decision-making abilities. It's the choices he makes that matters.
[X] Plan Virtus
-[X] The Patrician
-[X] War
-[X] Speech
-[X] The Gift of Mars
Rome above all is an incredibly violent society in which a man's virtue is determined by his prowress in battle. Even in the strata of the Patricians our place in society will be determined by our Virtus, our courage, valor, and aggression in the face of adversity in service of Rome. The battlefield was the crucible where luminaries like Sulla, Augustus and Vespasian were forged, and if we ever wish to join those lofty ranks then we will either excel or be doomed to mediocrity by the sword in the eyes of the Republic. Any political career we may chose will be made or broken on the back of our military service record.
