A hundred years of the Punic Curse,
And Rome shall be slave to a hairy man.
He shall give Rome marble in place of clay
And fetter her fast with unseen chains.
13 BC
At long last, there is peace in Rome.
Rome, the unchallenged master of the western world, has spent the past century locked in war with itself, as her finest sons struggled for mastery of the Republic. The Civil Wars that spanned the last hundred years have claimed the lives of many of Rome's brightest and best, names that will live on long after their deaths: Cicero, Cato, Pompey, and Caesar, to name but a few. But a victor has emerged from amid the chaos of the civil wars, and for the first time in a generation, there is peace -- at a price. Triumphant in Egypt over his rival Mark Antony, Caesar's adopted son Octavian has seized control of the Republic, ending the civil wars and becoming the unquestioned master of Rome. Acclaimed by the Senate, he has renamed himself Augustus -- the majestic one.
Over the course of the last half-century, Augustus has ruled Rome with an iron fist. He has abolished the corrupt bureaucracies, rebuilt the decaying armies, and restored a city on the brink of destruction. Rome's grip on her colonies and subjects, frayed by a lifetime of civil war, has been restored, and from one end of the known world to another, Rome reigns supreme. Rome is master of all the Earth, and Augustus is master in Rome. Though officially only the Princeps, or 'first citizen', Augustus sits atop a massive web of favors, debts, secrets, and spies that stretches from the slums of Rome to the highest of her hills. Senators, generals, aediles and kings: men who kneel to none kneel to him. The lie of the Republic is maintained, but none question who truly rules in Rome. He is the legion's lord and the Senate's master, the people's hero and the voice of the gods, a god himself in new flesh, the king of Rome in all but name.
But even gods -and kings- are mortal. The divine Augustus wanes in years, and his eyes have turned in recent times to the future, a future where his iron will no longer guides the shape of state. The foundations he has built run deep, but will they outlive him? Augustus has sired no natural sons, and so, in his search for an heir who will preserve his legacy, must turn elsewhere. He is not wanting in options, however. The Princeps sits at the head of a massive family tree which is the result of years of careful planning and tactical marriage. He has joined his own adopted dynasty, the Julii, with that of one of Rome's most powerful and influential houses, the Claudians. The resulting imperial House, the Julio-Claudians, is perhaps the mightiest family that Rome has ever seen, consisting of Augustus' many stepchildren, nephews and grand-nephews, grandchildren, and various adopted heirs. It is from among these many branches that he must select one to rule after he is gone, one to sit at the head of empire -- one to rule the world.
You are a newly-born male child of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, a prince of Rome and one of the most blessed and damned children in the history of the Republic. You are born to a house of snakes, to a family of deceivers and betrayers and madmen. Your brothers will be heroes, and your uncles will be tyrants. Your bloodline will live centuries in infamy.
Trust no one.
You will be raised to be one who could someday be emperor. You will have the finest tutors and the finest education. You shall be tested and tried and trained, You will live every day in fear and suspicion. There will be knives in the dark and swords in the smoke, foes on every corner and false friends at every turn. To fail is to be lost to time and memory in the eternal shadow of Augustus, to survive forever as a bynote of a bynote in history's pages. To succeed is to become greater than mere men could imagine. It is to hold the world in your hands, to be master of the Romans and lord of the legions. It is to become greater than a god.
It is to be Emperor.
Your name is Tiberius Claudius Antonius, called Antonius, or Antony Claudius.
13 BC
741 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Nero and Varus Augustus
Your name is Tiberius Claudius Antonius.
You are born on a cool spring morning in the city of Rome, like your father and your grandfather before you. Your father is Nero Claudius Drusus, a Roman general and an adopted son of the divine Augustus. Your mother is Antonia Minor, Augustus' niece and the daughter of the great general Mark Antony, slain in Egypt a lifetime ago. You are named partly after this last, for on the day you are born your mother mourns the father she never knew.
This is unfortunate, as Mark Antony was an enemy -perhaps the greatest- of your grandfather Augustus in his youth. He does not attend your birth, and your grandmother Livia is instead present in his place. Your grandfather, the most powerful man alive, dislikes you from the day you are born.
You are your mother's favorite, however, so that's a plus.
From birth, you are not like other children. For many centuries, youths in Rome who performed with great skill and excellence were said to be gifted by the gods themselves. But you are one of the Julio-Claudians, of great ancestry, descended from men who awed the world and were greater than the gods themselves. You need not the blessings of Venus or Mars, for you are blessed by your ancestors:
Pick One.
[] The Gift of Augustus: Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, the man now known as Augustus is the greatest administrator and ruler that Rome has ever known. When he points, men follow. When he speaks, armies quiet. When he shouts, Rome trembles. When he whispers, men die. There is something of this about you, it has been said. It is in the way you walk, the way you turn your voice at your playmates, the way your mind snaps to command and mastery. Of old, it would have been said that the goddess Minerva, lady of Wisdom, walked at your side. Now it is said there is something of Augustus about you. (Large bonus to Subterfuge, Administration, Oratory, and Intelligence. Bonus to all Administration/Intelligence/Subterfuge rolls. Gain Trait: Augustulus)
[] The Gift of Antony: It is said in hushed whispers from the very day of your birth that there is too much of your grandfather Mark Antony in you. You are fair to look upon, with a high nose and sharp cheekbones, and as you mature these features only become more prominent. When you smile, others smile, and when you laugh, others laugh. Your voice is easy and kind, and there is an air about your words that makes men bend their ears to listen. In the Rome of your fathers, they might have said you were a new Dionysus. In the Rome of Augustus, they say you are a new Antony. (Large bonus to Charisma, Diplomacy, Stewardship, and Command. Bonus to all Charisma/Diplo rolls. Gain Trait: Antonius)
[] The Gift of Caesar: Gaius Julius Caesar has been dead sixty years, but his shadow looms large over the Roman people. Conqueror and consul, commander and tyrant -- Caesar was many things, but now he is a god. His name is still loved among the legions he led, and his military ideas are utilized a half-century after his death by the armies he trained and the men he taught. There is something of him in you, your father boasts, in your love of the sword and your mind for battle. There was never any doubt you were born to be a soldier -- and Caesar, above all else, was a soldier. Long ago it might have been said that Mars and Victoria walked at your side. But now Caesar is war, and Caesar is victory. (Large bonus to Command, Military, Logistics, and Engineering. Increased Military XP gain. Gain Trait: Caesarion)
[] The Gift of the Julio-Claudians: You are one of the Julio-Claudians. Your father's fathers fathers fought the Gaul and the Carthaginian. Your ancestors were consuls and tyrants, generals and heroes. A blood divine flows in your veins twice over. You were born to better things, and are skilled -not excellent, but skilled- at nearly everything which you try your hand. It is only right that success should come this easily to you -- you are born of the best men Rome has ever known. Lesser men might call you over-proud, but what are they, compared to you? (Moderate bonus to all skills and stats, and slightly increased XP gain. Gain the trait Superbus.)
When you are four years old, your father, a hero of the Republic, dies in Germania after falling from his horse. In honor of him, Augustus bestows your family with the honorific Germanicus, which your older brother, Nero, may now use as head of the family. Your mother returns from the German provinces with a deaf crippled babe, the last child sired by your father before his death -- a boy named Claudius, your little brother.
As you grow older, your brothers grow apart. Germanicus, your older brother, throws himself into the legacy he has inherited from his father -- the sword and the pilum, the warrior way of your ancestors. Your younger brother, Claudius, is shy and quiet, a limping boy who is often berated by your mother for his simpleness. You have noticed, however, that he likes to read. Your sister Livilla is often kept apart, reared by a clade of tutors and teachers to be the ideal of a Roman matron, and you see little of her in these years. You are all four of you often tutored by your grandmother, one of the most powerful and iron-willed women in Rome, the Augusta Livia Drusilla. If Augustus rules Rome, it is often said, then Livia rules Augustus. She teaches you etiquette, poise, the ways of the Roman aristocracy -- and sometimes, she teaches you less polite secrets.
Which of your family members do you grow closest to in your youth?
[] The Princes of Rome: You spend all of your free time with your older brother Germanicus. Head of your family since the age of six, and fourth in line to rule the Roman Republic, there has been a certain weight on his shoulders for as long as you can remember -- and it is a weight you now divide with him. You spar together, study together, and run through the fields of your estate together. For a few brief years, your brother is a boy again, at least with you. He has someone to share his troubles and his griefs, and you become brothers in more than name. Your skill with the sword and the arts of command grows in this time, as your brother, budding though he is, is well on his way to being one of Rome's finest young military minds.
[] Your Brother's Keeper: Your younger brother, Claudius, is hated by all as a dotard and a dunce, a drooling stuttering wreck of a youth who will never amount to anything of use. Your mother, Antonia, rarely pays for tutors for him, choosing instead to use the boy as a servant or (more often) a target for her drunken rages -- that is, when she is not foisting him off on your grandmother Livia. But you know Claudius better than anyone else in the world save perhaps Germanicus. You have seen the glimmers of intelligence in his eyes, and you know that no matter how deformed the body, your brother has a mind the equal of any man in Rome. You sneak him scrolls from the libraries when you can, and even go over some of the harder ones with him. You start small, but by the time you are both teenagers, you are reading through the works of Cicero and Plato. He is quiet, and does not speak often, even to you. But you know from his eyes that he is more thankful than words could ever say.
[] The Augusta: Liva Drusilla, Augustus' wife and your grandmother, is the most powerful woman in Rome. She may be the most powerful woman in the world. The archetype of the Roman matron, she has raised two generations of Julio-Claudians to her exacting standards, producing generals and consuls and heroes. Side-by-side with Augustus, she has bent the Roman Senate, once the bane of kings, to the will of her family. Every bit as revered and feared as your grandfather, Livia is unquestionably the equal -or more- of any of Rome's great men. She has, for some inscrutable reason, taken you under her wing. To many, your grandmother is a figure of fear and terror, one who ends lives with a whispered word to her husband. To you, she is your grandmother, and she loves you.
[] The Last Antony: Your mother was the daughter of Mark Antony, the triumvir of Egyptian fame, who died across the sea long ago. Heir to his massive fortune and Egyptian wealth, she has long been one of the richest women in Rome. But her life has frayed in recent times. With the death of her husband Germanicus, her status in the emperor's eyes has fallen: she is a living reminder of his old rival, and so she has been shunned from the halls of power by all save her adopted mother Livia, who dotes upon her and her children. Immensely wealthy, deeply sad, and violently scorned, your mother dotes all her time upon you. When you are not training or learning, you are with her. Seeing you smile, she often remarks, is the only thing that still brings her joy.
In the time of Augustus, the bickering families of Rome which once struggled for power in the Eternal City have been silenced or subjugated. Now, all true power lies in the hands of Augustus' family -- his nephews, nieces, and adopted children. Born of the union of the ancient and venerable tribes of the Julii and the Claudians, the new first family of Rome is vast and complex, with many members, both adopted and natural. Here are listed the living (and the important deceased) members of the bloodline which now rules in Rome:
The Patriarchs
The first generation of the Julio-Claudians, Augustus' direct family and adopted children.
Imperator Divi Filius Caesar Augustus: Born Octavian, the man now known as Augustus was adopted by the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar as a young man. After his father's assassination, he rose to power by hunting down and killing the perpetrators. Over the course of twenty years of blood and tyranny, he eliminated all of his foes and established an absolute rule over the Republic. He is the most powerful man in Rome, hailed by the legions as Imperator -- one who holds Imperium.
Livia Drusilla Augusta: Augustus' wife. Her first husband was the politician Tiberius Claudius, and was the mother of his children, Tiberius and Nero Germanicus. She fell in love with the young Augustus, then called Octavian, in 39 BC, and divorced her husband to marry him. At her request, Augustus adopted her two sons, Claudians by birth, into the house of the Julii, and the Julio-Claudians were born. Livia is a master schemer and politician, as crafty and intelligent as any man in Rome. Some have even wondered -under their breaths- who is the true master of the family.
Octavia the Younger: Augustus' sister and your grandmother, Octavia the Younger was first married to the nobleman Marcellus, and after his death to the legendary Mark Antony. Her daughters by Marc Antony, Antonia Major and Antonia Minor, became the richest women in Rome after their father's death in Egypt and the murder of their male family by Augustus, who spared them as his own blood.
Tiberius Claudius Nero: Tiberius, the eldest of Livia's sons and the first of the Julio-Claudians, is a military genius, but a dour and silent man. Forced to divorce his first wife in order to marry Augustus' daughter Julia, he has been on bad terms with the emperor ever since. Ostensibly heir to Augustus' empire, Tiberius has never desired to rule, and the bad blood between him and his stepfather has only distanced him from the throne.
Julia the Elder: Augustus' daughter and only living child, her life has been tightly controlled by her father. Married first to her cousin, after his death Augustus married her to his close friend, the legendary general Agrippa. Despite their difference in age, the union produced a slew of Julian heirs, among them the boys Lucius and Gaius Caesar, currently Augustus' favorites. Now unhappily remarried a third time to her stepbrother Tiberius, it is said she has grown deeply unhappy at the prospect of a life spent under her father's yoke, churning out his heirs. The growing rift between Julia, her sons, and the emperor may threaten all Augustus has built.
Nero Claudius Drusus: Your father, Tiberius' brother, and Livia's youngest son, Nero Claudius was a military hero, who four times defeated Germanic kings in single combat on the field of battle. Beloved by his stepfather and the people of Rome, his sudden and unfortunate death in 9 BC put the future of the empire in question. He was posthumously awarded the victory title Germanicus, which his eldest son, your brother, now bears. His union with his cousin Antonia Minor produced three children: Germanicus, Claudius, and Tiberius Antonius -- yourself, called Antony Claudius.
Agrippa: Augustus' most famous general and his closest friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was the right hand of the Julio-Claudians, and was adopted into the family by Augustus through his marriage to Augustus' daughter Julia. She gave him four children: Lucius and Gaius Caesar, Agrippina, and Agrippa Postumus, this last born after his death from old age in 12 BC. Though dead, Agrippa's shadow lingers in Rome: he built many of her greatest works, including the mighty Pantheon, and led her armies for a generation. His children are loved in Rome.
Antonia Minor: Your mother, Octavia's daughter and Augustus' niece, child of the triumvir Mark Antony. Though she never knew her father, she inherited his vast wealth. The death of her husband -who was to be an emperor- at a young age has driven into a deep depression.
The Heirs
These are the princes and princesses of Rome, the boys who may someday sit the helm of an empire, and the women who may rule behind them. Mark their names well.
Gaius and Lucius Caesar: Born 20 BC and 17 BC, respectively, these two young men are viewed by all as the natural heirs to the rule of Rome. Augustus' grandsons by blood and the sons of the legendary Agrippa, they are loved across the Republic. Joint heirs to the empire, they are expected to hold many military and administrative positions as soon as they come of age, to prepare them for rule. They have many enemies in your family.
Agrippa Postumus: Born 12 BC, he is the youngest of Augustus' grandsons, and the furthest from the throne. Though doted on by his grandfather, he has not received a tenth of the attention lavished upon his brothers, to whom he is merely seen as a backup. It is said this has made him a sullen and violent youth, given to impulsive acts.
Julia the Younger: Born 19 BC, Julilla, or Julia the Younger, is the firstborn daughter of Julia the Elder and Agrippa. Unfavored in the eyes of her parents and grandparents compared to her younger sister Agrippina, she has become a bitter and ambitious young woman.
Agrippina: Born 14 BC, the second daughter of the general Agrippa, and Augustus' favorite granddaughter. Often said to be her father born in woman's skin, Agrippina is a strong-willed young woman who will no doubt shape the fate of Rome.
Drusus Julius Caesar: Born 14 BC, the only son of Tiberius, Drusus Julius Caesar, is among the highest-ranking candidates to rule in Rome after Augustus. Well-loved by his grandfather, he is an intelligent and quick-thinking boy, who is favored equally with your brother Germanicus.
Germanicus: Born 15 BC, Nero Claudius Drusus, now known as Germanicus, is your older brother and the head of your branch of the Julio-Claudians. Intelligent, smart, and a military prodigy, he is held high in Augustus' favor. The people love him, for your father was popular in Rome.
Livilla: Your elder sister by barely a year, Claudia Livia Julia (called popularly Livilla, or Little Livia) is the only daughter of the famed Nero Drusus. Often compared with and contrasted against Julia the Younger and Agrippina, she takes well after her namesake Livia, who is rearing her to be a mother of emperors.
Tiberius Claudius Antonius: Born 13 BC, you are the middle son of the dead Nero. Saddled by your mother with an unfortunate name, you are not well-loved by the emperor, and though you are a prince of the Julio-Claudians, there are many between you and the throne of the Roman Republic. There must be blood and tears yet before you ever rule in Rome.
Claudius: Born in 10 BC, Tiberius Claudius Nero, called simply Claudius, is widely believed to be a dunce. He walks with a limp, he is deaf in one ear and half-deaf in the other, he stutters and drools, and he can barely speak a full sentence. Augustus pities him, Livia scorns him, and your mother Antonia hates him with a passion, for as she is so fond of saying, the gods have taken her bold and brave husband and left her with a wretch of a son. The boy will amount to nothing, all agree -- and he shall certainly never rule Rome.
The Others
The Julio-Claudian Dynasty is massive and sprawling, with many cousins and aunts who, though far from the imperial seat, have some sway upon the levers of power.
The Marcellae: The sisters Claudia Marcella Major and Claudia Marcella Minor, daughters of Octavia's first marriage. The Emperor's nieces, they hold much influence over their uncle, and are powerful in Rome. It is said they have the gift of oracular sight, for which Livia often consults them.
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus: Born 17 BC, and called simply Ahenobarbus, he is the son of Antonia Major, and your cousin by blood. A grand-nephew of Augustus and a grandson of Antony, he is well-liked in Rome, but far enough from the Imperial throne that Augustus does not dote upon him. His father, Ahenobarbus the Elder, is a Senator of some influence. He is a famous rascal, liar, gambler, and a cheat, known throughout Rome as a man of ill honor.
Sextus Appulieus: Augustus' nephew by his oft-forgotten sister Octavia the Elder, Appulieus is a Roman politician of a familiar stripe: arrogant, vain, and middling in every way. He imagines himself a great schemer, but is so perfectly mediocre that he is all but ignored by his uncle.
Paullus Aemilus Regulus: Son of Claudia Marcella Minor, he is a capable and shrewd man who serves on the Roman Senate. Though a father with a family of his own, in his political ambitions he is little more than a mouthpiece for his mother and aunt, who work through him what few things women cannot work on their own in Rome.
Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus: The other son of Claudia Marcella Minor, he is quiet and diligent, often preferring to do rather than say. He serves his mother and aunt as loyally as any of their many children.
Lucius Antonius: A grandson of Mark Antony through his father Julius Antonius, he is the son of Claudia Marcella Major and a celebrated jurist and orator. Exiled to Gaul for his father's crime of adultery with Julia the Elder in 2 BC.
The Republic is dead. The Triumvirate is dead. There is only Augustus, and Augustus too shall die. Across the seven hills of Rome and the all throughout the palatial estates of the elite, the murmurs do not die. The Julio-Claudians may rule, but many are the voices that would seek to nominate a particular one.
It is in the means rather than the chosen candidates that they mark off their factions and send off their bribes and poisons and threats, Augustus' heavy hand keeping it discreet. For now.
Power say some, for the Republic is dead. There is naught but a lapdog Senate and the might of the legions, and through the sword will the right man rule Rome.
Wealth say others, memories of gold and its alluring call fresh in the minds of those who remember what drove men to war and legions to change sides. It is with the immeasurable wealth of Rome that it will be won and ruled, by one that knows well its use.
Talent say others, for it is through the gifts of Minerva rather than Mars that one truly rules. Augustus was no great general like his forefather Julius, yet he rules an empire unlike any other.
The children play, the legions drill, and Romans rule. Which Roman, though, is the question.
Why not you?
Your name is Tiberius Claudius Antonius, called Antonius, or Antony Claudius.
You shall make your mark on this empire, or you will die by another's hand. Rome is a glittering jewel on the Tiber, a prize unlike any other. You are one that may take its throne, but beware the knives in the dark.
For others seek it as well, and forgiving they are not.
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.
It is thirty years from the death of Augustus. It is thirty years since the rise of Antony Claudius, the one not chosen to succeed his grandfather. Not the eldest, not the favored, and not the blessed of Mars or Minerva. Yet it was not Germanicus, Gaius Caesar, or any of the others who succeeded. It was Antony Claudius, the Augustus in miniature, the one that chased his grandfather's dream.
What a dream it is. Rome now is larger, growing across the Seven Hills and the along the Tiber faster than ever before. It is clad in marble and paved in concrete, its roads broad and its palaces beautiful. Its frontiers stretch from Hispania to Syria, the legions marching on roads built by the young Emperor to barbarous frontiers in Britannia and Germania. This is Roma Eterna, the empire and the city as one. This is the eternal realm dreamed of by Augustus, ruled by the chosen heirs of the emperors, proving themselves worthy to carry on a dead man's dream.
Rome will not die. The young Antony Claudius has said this to the cheers of a Coliseum crowd, to the nobility of far-off realms, and to the legions on parade. He will see it done, whatever the cost. Be it at the price of the dynasty, the people, or the glories of the future sacrificed on the altar of expediency.
Rome will stand. Eternal.
S.P.Q.R
The Republic was dead. The Triumvirate is dead. Augustus is dead. With his death, the Republic rises once more over a Rome scarred by the years before. Once more the Senate debates acts of substance rather than symbolism, once more the youth tread the cursus honorum in search of power and the greater glory of Rome.
The Roman Republic bestrides the Mediterranean like a colossus, as it has for more than two hundred years. Its ships ply trade routes from Hispania to Syria, its Senators governing provinces ranging from North Africa to Britannia. The wealth of Europe flows to Rome, and the legions march on out. The cycle goes on as it always has, yet there are murmurs once more.
Marius almost broke the system. Sulla almost broke the system. Augustus did break the system. The Republic exists by the grace, skill, and dedication of Antony Claudius, grandson of Augustus. As long as he lives, there is a check on future Augusti, yet Antony is aging.
The Republic is a tinderbox. The great families see a greater prize than Senatorial robes, provincial imperium, or the successful traversal of the cursus honorum. They see the Empire that Augustus built, authority more absolute than anything granted by the Senate and People of Rome.
The Republic may endure. The Empire may come once more. But the ideals of republicanism have spread to far-off lands, and the course of history has changed.
Imperator
The Emperor rules from Rome. The Empire stretches as far as it did under Augustus, perhaps farther. Rome still stands sheathed in the marble of Augustus, and the people still gather for the bread and the circus as they have for half a century now.
What has changed is the face on the coin, rather than anything else. Antony Claudius rules from Rome, his children and family acting as governors, generals, and confidants. The Rome that cast out Tarquin and built the Republic now cheers the Julio-Claudians, the people who produced Cicero and Cato now burning offerings to Augustus who gave rise to this dynasty.
For now, the dynasty rules well. For now, the Emperor is capable. For now, the family is more or less just another set of rulers. There are no madmen, no plots or assassinations. For now, the Julio-Claudians are a family.
Yet Antony is dying. The patriarch of that fractious clan is dying, and the knives are coming out. The upper ranks of Rome are aligning themselves to one claimant or another, and Rome will see what it thought above.
Dynasties beget succession conflicts, if not now then later.
Rome may fall or stand, but each succession is a throw of the dice.
Populist
The Senate and People of Rome. Such is the carving in the marbled forum of Rome, and such was the name in which the old consuls wielded power. Augustus killed that, saying empty platitudes and breaking the Republic over his knee.
Perhaps that was a good decision. The Republic gave rise to Sulla, to Marius, and to Cinna. It gave rise to brutal internecine warfare across the Roman dominion, and Augustus brought peace. He brought bread to the people, public works to Rome, and legions to the barbarians outside.
The Republic may have died, but the corruption remained. The equestrians remained in command of vast estates, the nobility of far-off lands held in higher esteem than Roman freemen. The cursus honorum and the dignities of the lesser gentry left to rot in favor of the wealth and power of empire.
It fell to you to cut the rot out. To give the people what was theirs even if the Senate did not accept it. Even if the lapdog Senate and the mercenaries of the high patricians sought to block you on your path.
You gave the people what was theirs by right, the power and riches of Rome. You broke the great estates, extorted the corrupt governors, and raised legions from the underclass of Rome. You gave them land and a path to greatness, and for that you became a legend.
Yet Rome could not endure. The People did not take to power well, and the wheel turns once more. Rome heaves with rebellion from the provinces, and from its own equestrian class. Great families once thought humbled now speak out openly, and the fire begins to rise.
You were Antony Claudius, and you gave power to the people.
It did not work.
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[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.)
You nearly grin when you inspect the innards of the bull. Your old mentor had taught you to read these signs. A victory practically assured by the gods. If nothing else, it would greatly help with the morale of the legions.
You stare out across the waters of the Oceanus Britannicus. Beyond them is the target of your conquest, the barbarian tribes of Britannia. The practically legendary forebear of the Julio-Claudians, Gaius Julius Caesar, had tried his hand at conquering the island. He only had marginal success.
Your grandfathers, your father, your uncle, and your brother all had their great military careers, and now it was finally your turn. Augustus' never gave you the chance for glory. Tiberius had sidelined you to the East since Germanicus' death. Caligula had kept you close to Rome, and far away from any opportunity for glory. Finally, your brother gave you your opportunity, to succeed where the great Caesar had failed.
You do not fear the men on the other side of the water. They have numbers but they lack unity, technology, training, and most of all, they lack you. The hardest thing about this campaign would be getting the 50,000 soldiers into and off the boats, another thing that Calpernius taught you well.
As you, Tiberius Claudius Antonius, the last Julio-Claudian to strive for military success, board your transport, those near you would swear they saw the outlines of heroes, gods, and legends following you.
The Poet
The view of the Mediterranean was breathtaking from your villa in Antioch. It had been your home for over forty years, since Tiberius had sent you to the East. Your time in power had taught you many things. Most importantly, that you didn't want any of it.
Less than a year after your meeting with the Jewish prophet, you retired from office, hoping to spend your life writing, like Horatius taught you to. When Tiberius died, your nephew ordered you to Rome, where you served as an advisor and his poet. For the fours years under his employ you wrote an epic about your grandfathers; Their meeting, partnership, falling out, and war.
Your brother kept you around as well, and you tried your best to protect him from those who would try to use and manipulate him, but after nearly a decade of service he allowed you to retire back to your villa.
Your grandnephew would then rule Rome for over a decade, the first five years of it under the guidance of his mother. Now he is dead, and a new man sits on the throne of Augustus.
And now you, Tiberius Claudius Antonius, last heir of Augustus, the final Julio-Claudian, sit in a small villa, far away from Rome, writing the story of your family.
The Orator
The crowd hangs onto your every word. Your passions are their desires. Your whim is their law. They look at you with love and adoration, and their hearts and minds are yours to mold and command.
You finally stand in Augustus' spot, and it only took 58 years, four interim Princeps, and the death of everyone else in your family.
You've studied the reigns of the greatest and worst rulers, the beloved and despised. You seek to emulate the likes of Alexander and Pompilius. Seneca the Elder taught you history, and from that you learned what to repeat and what to avoid.
Your mentor also taught you the importance of good diplomatic relations. To secure peace with the Parthians, you married your son to a sister of Vologases. To bring peace in the North you supported claimants to the thrones of various Germanic tribes, forming alliances and peace treaties.
You are Tiberius Claudius Antonius, Princeps of Rome, the last of the Julio-Claudians, and you rule an empire at peace.
The Jurist
You stand over the corpse of a young man, practically still a boy, and for the first in years you feel a bit of remorse. Which was strange, as Varus had made sure to get rid of that first.
Caligula was a disaster. His reign started off well enough, but after his illness, the stress seemed to have gotten to him. He distrusted everyone around him, and he was antagonizing the Senate and Rome's powerful families. He needed to be dealt with, for the good of Rome.
Your conspirators agreed with choosing your little brother to take his place. Much like how you aided Caligula in getting rid of Tiberius, you led the plot to depose Caligula.
While the others support your brother because they believe him to be weak and malleable, you know otherwise. Your brother is a Julio-Claudian, he is hard to control, and perhaps the smartest of you since Augustus' death.
You are Tiberius Claudius Antonius, spymaster of Rome, master of the law, and maker of emperors. The emperor is dead, long live the emperor.
The Present
You bolt up in bed, gasping for air. Just a dream. Just a weird dream. Germanicus is still alive. Augustus still reigns. Your little brother is still an outcast, ignored and belittled by your family. You're still just a boy, deciding his path in life.
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Another omake, this one inspired by mouli's one about the possible outcomes. Feedback is welcome.
2 AD 755 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Vinicius and Varus Augustus
Alfenus Varus has lived and served the Republic for all of his life. A career bureaucrat and jurist, he is loyal to the dream of Rome in his bones, and has served Augustus since he was just a boy named Octavian. His life has been one of silent toil in the shadows of better men to build the future. Your studies under him are, for the most part, the studies of a lawyer: you read ancient scrolls and treatises, recite legal codes and judicial mores, and etch into your brain the ancient laws of Rome that have held her steady for seven centuries. You learn the very bones of the Republic, how to take them apart, and how to put them together again.
But there are parts of your education that you are not quite certain you should mention aloud: the days spent memorizing the great families of the Senate and their members, who is married to who and who detests who, who desires who's lands and who is cuckolding whom. There are things Varus teaches you that you are almost certain do not fall under any legal code ever written in any land. How to learn things, for example, and how to use them. You are taught slowly of the terrible power of knowledge, which Varus explains may topple kingdoms and raise up empires. Greater than all the legions is the man who holds their leash, and greater still is the man who knows his secrets.
An empire is built on the backs of man who know truths that few others know. Varus is one of these men.
Now, so are you.
Trait Gained: Sub Rosa
Sub Rosa (I): In ancient times, it was tradition for Romans embarking on clandestine ventures to hang a rose from the ceiling, and swear all present to secrecy under the rose. Though this tradition died out long before your time, in certain circles it is still common to speak of things which are 'Sub Rosa', held under the rose -- referring to deeds done in secret and sin that are not for the light of day, to knowledge that is made more valuable by it's scarcity, and to men who work best out of sight and out mind. You have begun to learn the secrets that lie beneath the glimmering sheen of Augustus' world, and of the blood and bones upon which that splendor is built. You have gazed upon Rome under the rose.
Though the two Caesars, Lucius and Gaius, are the pearls of the emperor's eye, he has not forgotten his niece's children. As you and your siblings grow older, he and Livilla make more and more effort to integrate you with those who will someday be your peers -- or more likely, your servants. Ostentatious feasts and parties are held at your family's estate, hosted by your mother and grandmother to introduce the youngest generation of the Julio-Claudians to their peers, and to each other. It is in this time that you make your first true friend among your peers in the Roman elite -- a person whom you strike it off with immediately, and form a lasting bond. Perhaps you may even be able to trust them, in the years to come.
[] Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus: Born 17 BC, Gnaeus Ahenobarbus is famed as a rake, a rogue, and a man of cruel excess. It is said he once tore out a man's eye in the Forum for daring to criticize him. Despite this wanton and banal cruelty, he is handsome and fair, and loved by the common people of Rome for his generosity. Your cousin by your aunt Antonia Major, he took a liking to you at a party thrown by Augustus, where, grinning, he promised to show you a real party once you were old enough. His father, Lucius Ahenobarbus, is one of Rome's most feared generals, a man of cruelty and excess to make Gnaeus' youthful exploits look like child's play. It seems apparent to all that the younger will someday fill the elder's footsteps as Augustus' cruelest dog.
[] Postumus: Agrippa Postumus, the youngest son of Julia the Elder and the legendary general Agrippa, is an angry, sullen boy a year your younger. Overshadowed by his elder brothers Lucius and Gaius, he is saddled with a mighty name and few ways to live up to it, a curse to which you can well relate. You hit it off while horsing with the other young men of Rome, and form a fast bond. You temper his harsher tendencies, providing a cooler head to his hotter one, and the two of you quickly become inseparable.
[] Decimus Haterius Agrippa: Grandson of one of the Marcellae sisters through her first marriage to Agrippa, he is only distantly related to the imperial family, yet his father, a famed senator, has leveraged his influence to have him educated alongside you and your siblings. A solemn and quiet boy, he spends more time in thought and contemplation than he does in action -- the polar opposite of his half-uncle Postumus.
[] Drusus Julius Caesar: The only son of Tiberius and his first wife Vipsania, Drusus is a tall, handsome young man who bears a striking resemblance to his cousin, your brother Germanicus. Charismatic, openhanded, and kind, many see him as a plausible successor to whoever succeeds Augustus. It is said that where Germanicus was made to be a soldier, Drusus was born to be a politician. Though still a boy, he has ambitions that far outstrip his station.
As your childhood draws to a close, Augustus begins giving you and your brother more and more chances to display yourself before the people of Rome. It is a practice that has now become ritual among the Julio-Claudians -- young men of the family are expected to display their skills and talents in public before the people of the city, to begin winning them love and adoration that will be valuable in the future. As a young man, there are several public events in which you can compete, and though you do not stand out especially in most of them, there is one event in which you do perform well enough to have the crowd cheering your name after all is said and done.
[] Horsemanship: Young nobles of all stripes are gathered in the Circus Maximus to race, joust, and perform feats of martial prowess atop their steeds. Those who perform exceptionally well each year are said to be blessed by Mars himself, and their names are inscribed on a tablet of records on the very walls of the Circus Maximus. Your name is not scratched on that venerable tablet, but not for want of trying -- you won several events and races that day, besting youths several years your elder, and came in second only behind your brother Germanicus. They cheered both of your names as you were carried out of the Circus by the cheering crowd. (Start at Popular reputation, and gain +1 rank to Combat and Horsemanship)
[] Sea Battle: Several dozen of Rome's young men were allowed to participate in a mock sea battle, in which an arena was filled with water and you were all given ships to command. You drew the winning lot to be captain of your ship, and led your team to a resounding victory over the other. Several of Rome's more prestigious aristocrats were in attendance, and congratulated you on your head for tactics afterwards. (Increased reputation with patricians and nobility, gain +1 rank to Command and Seafaring)
[] Debate: You, along with a half-dozen other educated boys and studious young men, were gathered in the Forum for a mock debate where you would assume the positions of one of Rome's famous orators and defend a position they had once defended. You played the part of Cicero, and recited his In Catilinam from memory, seguing into a wholly original oratory that, while not the equal of Cicero's, was more than impressive enough for a 15-year old boy. (Increased reputation with philosophers and orators, gain +1 rank to Oratory and Diplomacy)
[] Trial: A mock trial was held, with different young men playing judge, jury, and lawyer. You were the defending counsel, and provided an excellent and almost watertight argument that 'saved' your client from an ignominious fate. The plebs in attendance were impressed at your dedication and readily apparent knowledge of the law. The lawyers of Rome are often the only line of defense between the plebs and an overambitious patrician -- and so a good lawyer can find himself more well-liked than a conquering general. (Increased reputation with the plebs, gain +1 rank to Law and Charisma)
The drums pound through the streets in a wild frenzy, and the air is thick with the heady scent of wine. The crowds throng thick around you, hands pressing on your body and your hair. Above it all winds the throatlike singing of the priestess, who's voices echo to high Jove, calling down blessings upon the men of Rome. Your face is flush and red from the alcohol you have already imbibed, and it is all you can do to keep putting one foot in front of another as you push through the crowd.
You are sixteen years old, and this is the Liberalia -- the feast of the coming of age. You are winding through the streets of Rome surrounded by other young men of Rome, clad in the ritual dress and gown slashed with purple. All around you are cheering crowds dancing and reveling to enter you into manhood under the auspices of Liber Pater, the Free Father, god of fertility, manhood, and Roman freedom. You and every other boy of age in Rome, including your brother Germanicus, have been pampered and prepared for the ritual by the priestesses of Liber Pater, aged women wearing crowns of ivy and heather. They shaved your beard and lathered your skin in honey and crushed grapes, to bless you and your seed into manhood. Now you are marched through the winding streets of Rome so that the people may look and celebrate the coming of the next generation of Roman men.
The worship of Liber Pater faded in Rome in Republican times, but it has been restored by Augustus, the new father of the Republic, who has renewed the temples of the old gods of Rome upon the Aventine Hill, winning him the love of the people near and far. Liber Pater has always and ever been a god of the plebs, a god of the common man, the god of Freedom, and now he runs wild and free through the streets of the eternal city, living in the drums and the wine and the hazy heavy smell of spring and sex and the fresh crops rising.
Your procession of young men winds slowly through the thronging crowd, guided by the ivy-helmed priestesses and shepherded by the drunken crowd. There, upon the steps of marble, before the phallic idol of Liber Pater, in sight of all of Rome, you are all disrobed and stand naked and shivering as the day you were born, a hundred-odd Roman boys pale in the spring sun. The priestesses wash your hair with wine, then dedicate you as citizens of the Republic. Livia Augusta herself, as the chief matron of Rome and the most revered woman of the city, leads the ceremony. When it is done, you are given the long, pure white robe of a Roman adult -- the toga virilis, or the toga of freedom. It signifies your status as one now free from the bonds of childhood, able to start a family and serve the state.
You, and all those honey-drenched youths beside you, are now men. You may now vote in Rome, kill for Rome, and sire children for Rome. If the gods are kind and the Fates are right, you may even die for Rome.
The party which follows is the stuff of legends. As a young boy, you have been privy to dinners and social functions -- dry, boring affairs.
As a man grown, you may party as Romans party. Though you do not receive quite the same honors as Lucius did --no lions are slain in your name-- the week of feasting which follows you and your brother's entry to manhood is a city-wide affair. Wine is spilled in copious amounts, flesh bared, and sumptuous feasts prepared. Unlike most every other social function of your life, you and your brother are the centers of attention, with Augustus content to sit at the head of every table and murmur over his wine with aging senators and confidants. You and Germanicus are the apple of every Roman eye at these parties -- scheming aediles hoping to win your favor in the future, rising new men hoping to make a powerful ally in the court of Augustus, and Senator's sons trying to find themselves in your favor. Of course, these are all petty intrigues compared to the ambitions of your family -- for your family is vast, and for the first time in your life, they are all gathered in a single place and focused wholly on you.
You rub shoulders with cousins and uncles you have not seen since childhood, and make small talk with your extended family. These connections, you know, will be exceedingly valuable when you are older, but they are not without cost or risk. The family has been split down the middle since the exile of Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder, for the crime of adultery some four years ago. Her supporters and lovers were murdered or exiled, and her children have seethed for vengeance ever since. While Augustus lives, there is peace, but should the aging emperor die, the many factions in the family may turn upon one another. As a boy, you could dither and dote upon whichever aunt or uncle you wished, but as a young man, any associations you make with your family in these troubled times may be seen as choosing sides in this conflict. Wholly apart from this, however, each branch of your family has different connections and allies throughout the Republic that may help or hinder your rise in Rome.
Make this choice, as with all others from now on, wisely. You have become a player in a game that will not end until your death.
[] The Marcellae: Tall, statuesque, and venom-eyed, the Marcellae are your aunts and Augustus' nieces by his sister Octavia -- Claudia Marcella Major and Claudia Marcella Minor. Though born two years apart, the sisters are nearly identical, and forty years of age have not lessened the similarities. Since they were girls, the Marcellae have been held to be touched by the god Apollo, blessed with the gift of oracular sight. Incredibly influential and powerful in Augustus' early reign, they have been at odds with the emperor since Marcella Minor's husband, the consul Julius Antoninus (a son of Mark Antony), was forced to commit suicide after being found in flangrante delico with Emperor's daughter, Julia the Elder. Her son Lucius Antoninus was exiled for his father's crime, and the Marcellae and their other children have not forgiven the emperor for this slight. The Marcellae hold much power among the college of the priests and with the Vestal Virgins, all of whom revere their supposed oracular talents.
[] The Julians: Julia Caesaris, or the Julia the Elder, Augustus' only natural child, has been exiled from Rome for the crime of adultery since 2 BC. Her children have not forgiven Augustus for her exile, nor for the brutal purge of her lovers and allies which followed. Lucius and Gaius Caesar, nominally the 'heads' of this branch of the family, have left Rome to begin their careers as governors and generals. This technically leaves the Julians under the authority of their youngest brother, Agrippa Postumus, a brash and sullen young man with a foul temper. In reality, they are 'led', if barely, by Julia the Younger, an impetuous young woman who is the oldest daughter of Julia, and her husband Lucius Paullus, consul of 1 AD and an ambitious young man. Fragmented and lacking cohesion, their greatest supporters in Rome are the common people and the army, who loved Agrippa and his wife, and love their children still.
[] The Antonians: Your mother, Antonia Minor, and her sister Antonia Major, are the wealthiest women in Rome, celebrated for their beauty and Roman virtue, and widely loved as the daughters of Mark Antony and the family of Nero Germanicus. Formidable and well-loved by the emperor for their intelligence and loyalty, the Antonians and their supporters have worked diligently in support of Augustus' reign -- a support that was 'rewarded' when Julius Antoninus, last son of Mark Antony, was forced by Augustus to commit suicide for adultery with Julia the Elder. His sisters have not taken this lightly, and your mother has reputedly been given 'new life' by her renewed grudge against Julia the Elder and her children. They are supported in all things by Antonia Major's husband, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, an arrogant, cruel, and extravagant man who serves as one of Augustus' foremost generals. The greatest supporters of the Antonians are the old patrician families of Rome, steeped in tradition and honor, who in Republican days would have been the optimates.
[] The Claudians: Your older brother Germanicus has refused to have any part in your mother's intrigues, and has instead focused his time since manhood on building up connections with the old supporters and followers of your father Nero Germanicus. Though not truly a faction -- you are men, boys but a day ago -- this signifies rather your intention to stand apart from the politicking of your family members and not subjugate yourself to the influence of any of your aunts or cousins. A more difficult path to beat by far, with fewer natural allies and more natural enemies -- but you are joined on it not only by your brother, but by your cousin Drusus Claudius, son of Tiberius and among your closest family outside of your mother and siblings. All three of you, new-made men in the prime of youth, are descended from the Claudians of old, who were the greatest family in Rome for centuries uncounted, and so this is what your detractors and supporters alike come to call you, after the name all three of you share.
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.
