Res Publica: A Quest of Ancient Rome

[HeWhoAdds]

Lastly, you attempt to improve your own military skills. You flick through a scroll Rufus lent you about Rome's military victories at sea. It is a very thin scroll, but it does provide you with some insight on how boats work. Neptune is a capricious god, but he can be negotatiated with.

Gain 2,643 Seafaring XP
Rank up! Seafaring is now Level 3, Poor
(1,143/3000) Seafaring XP to rank 3!

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Pretty sure this puts us at 1857 XP away from being equal to the best Roman naval commanders.

 

[Chimeraguard]

Black and red and red and black
Back and forth and back and back
While both thou art still called of hair,
Beware, beware -- Africa's heir!

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Africa's heir hmm? Both Marius and Sulla first made their names in Africa. But it could also refer to Egypt.

Oh yeah, and Scipio Africanus's family, the guy who brought down Carthage itself. Who the guy we are co-leading the Legion with is adopted family to.

Beloved of her father, reviled of her mother;
Each man's lover and no man's brother:
She rots and pales and sickens worse,
Who groans beneath the Punic Curse.

She must to war or fortune bend --
But there her troubles do not end.
When ten and thirty years have passed,
She shall breathe her first bloody last.

Her dying will last a lifetime yet,
And none will mark her final breaths
Though she dies a hundred deaths.
From her ending comes new birth:
Her living corpse shall rule the earth.

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It's the Roman Republic itself. Rome, which has loved and taken as much as it can from those it conquers, yet has no friendly equals in the world. It is 84 BCE, and historically, 44 BCE, forty years later, Julius Caesar was assassinated. It can be argued if the Republic was truly dead then, or if it died earlier or later, but it's definitely the most popularly remembered time of "yeah, the Republic's a corpse everyone's putting dress and makeup on at best."

Her dying will last a lifetime. Indeed, the civil wars did not stop with Caesar's death, but continued on.

And then the Roman Empire would go through other civil wars, and then it would fall, and even today, historians still argue when the Roman Empire itself really was 'dead.' But, countless would-be kingdoms and empires and nation-states have taken on its trappings, and the legacy of Rome still resonates today.

The Punic foe was not felled alone
A pact was made, and sealed in stone --
Not by your hand, but owed by you:
The price, or blood -- the debt comes due!

For the hundred years thou art ruled the brine,
The goddess is owed, and owed by thine.
She shall not die, the promise was made --
But she shall rot until it is paid!

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This much, I'm not sure of. It definitely references the Punic Wars against Carthage, and the 'hundred years' means it's in reference to the Third Punic War. Brine refers to water with very high salinity though.

Edit:

EPIC PROPHECY GAINED: 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.

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Oh. It refers to the adoption of Cybele in the Second Punic War. When Rome was under a famine, they adopted Cybele, and the famine later ended.

Moving on...

Lastly, you pore over the campaigns of Marius himself in Africa. This is where he made a name for himself, fighting one of Rome's greatest foes overseas, just as he does now. Marius is the mightiest military mind Rome has seen in generations, and every great general of your time learned under him. You would be a fool not to do the same. Having many of the same veterans who served under him in the same city as you makes your job easier -- you can ask about tactics from the men who saw them carried out. As the weeks drag on, you begin to see the connection between the stratagems of Marius and the lectures of Sertorius. What would merely have looked like an envelopment to lesser eyes, you realize as part of a greater strategy to defang the entirety of the enemy force. Every individual battle is part of a greater picture, a note in a symphony played out as beautifully as any of Ptolemy's.



Your knowledge has grown, and you are on the cusp of a far greater understanding. Marius himself has heard of your interest in his campaigns, and may recieve you more favorably -- Marius is his favorite subject, after all.

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Huh. Between this and his talk about how he's now old and susceptible to flattery, Marius is something of a peacock, isn't he? A very grizzled, heavily armed peacock with a very large army.

 

[Telamon]

Wait-wait-wait, plan Publicola didn't have Seafaring in it. It had Para Bellum.

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The original Plan post, which is what I go off of, had seafaring.

 

[agumentic]

The original Plan post, which is what I go off of, had seafaring.

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It didn't?

[] The Scipians: Unlike Sertorius, who traveled with a single slave, Scipio has brought along a veritable entourage of slaves, clients, friends, and cronies. These Scipians are largely plebian men of all stripes, and you attempt to integrate yourselves with them in order to learn something more of their new master, Cassianus, who seems to have become a focal point for them -- a novus homo who has risen from their ranks to lead a legion.
[] Si Vis Pacem: The Greek city-states in Asia and the Greek mainland have long maintained their independence and autonomy, even as nominal vassals of Rome. You read up on their histories, rivalries, and old friendships, that you might make use of these in your campaign.
[] Para Bellum: You begin studying the campaigns against the Macedonians and the Greeks over a century ago, hoping to learn more about Greek tactics, that you might counter them better.
[] The Crone of Bithynia: On the hills outside the city lives a wrinkled old seer, a woman of incredible age whose eyes are blind with years. She is kissed by the sun god, they say, and speaks with tongues of prophecy. Mithridates himself visited her during his time in the city.
[] The City of the Kings of Asia: Bithynia, for a time, was the mightiest kingdom in Asia, and Nicomedia was it's crown jewel. By attempting to integrate yourself with the people here and getting to know figures of import, you might lay the ground for better things in the future.
[] Study: You study the campaigns of Marius in Africa, hoping to learn something about defeating a hostile kingdom while protecting Roman clients. That Marius himself is here does not hurt matters either.

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[Telamon]

It didn't?

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[] Plan Publicola
...and I basically got ninja'd by Plan Make Connections and Study. Oh well; there are at least some differences in the 'Personal' actions.


The Consul's Heir (pick one)
[] Connect: You make an attempt to connect with him. Cassianus' father was a farmer and his mother a tavern maid -- you come from different worlds, yet if you can form a friendship, or at least an understanding of sorts, it will make both your lives easier in the long run.

Spoiler: Reasoning

Highest upside (get the guy with incredible charisma on our side), and we should have a pretty good shot at succeeding thanks to the presence of Theo. Still chancy as heck, though.

Master of the Cohorts (pick three)
[] Promote Centurions: A few centurions and lower-ranking officers left the legion in Rome, their service having ended. Several soldiers who served with distinction during the Samnite campaign may well stand to replace them. Men you raise up may be loyal to you in the future.
[] A Law Beyond The Sword: The men often have simple issues, complaints, or grievances which they wish to address. As broad-striped tribune, it is your duty to see to these. One afternoon, you set up a table in the middle of the worn palace and invite men to come air their grievances before you, and perhaps even raise a case against a fellow soldier.
[] Brothers in Arms: You strive to mend the frayed relations between the patrician cavalry and the plebian legionnaires, which have grown worse over time.

Spoiler: Reasoning

These three are the most important, for securing the loyalty of the legion and ensuring it operates smoothly and efficiently. Everything else, Cassianus can take care of.

Correspondence: (response will arrive in 2-3 turns)
--[] Cicero

Spoiler: Reasoning

Cicero is our long-term priority, to boost our Intelligence score as well as hear from (again) the best letter-writer in history about events going on elsewhere in the Republic. Cicero basically is a spynet, all unto himself, solely based on how much he includes in each letter. If we want to learn news of Sertorius, or battles in Gaul, or get insight into events going on in Rome -- Cicero is our man. I'll admit Scaevola is tempting, due to his history and connections in the region of Asia Minor, but I believe Cicero is worth more to us.

Personal: (pick six)
[] The Scipians: Unlike Sertorius, who traveled with a single slave, Scipio has brought along a veritable entourage of slaves, clients, friends, and cronies. These Scipians are largely plebian men of all stripes, and you attempt to integrate yourselves with them in order to learn something more of their new master, Cassianus, who seems to have become a focal point for them -- a novus homo who has risen from their ranks to lead a legion.
[] Seafaring: Rufus had some damned scroll about the sea and Hannibal and boats. In your spare time, you flick through it.
[] Si Vis Pacem: The Greek city-states in Asia and the Greek mainland have long maintained their independence and autonomy, even as nominal vassals of Rome. You read up on their histories, rivalries, and old friendships, that you might make use of these in your campaign.
[] The Crone of Bithynia: On the hills outside the city lives a wrinkled old seer, a woman of incredible age whose eyes are blind with years. She is kissed by the sun god, they say, and speaks with tongues of prophecy. Mithridates himself visited her during his time in the city.
[] The Prince: Bithynia is not short on royalty. Ptolemy, one of the princes of Egypt, long exiled from his native land, made himself a guest of Mithridates and remained in Nicomedia after the city fell to Rome. Famed as a great partier and player of the flute, he has resided in a palatial estate here in the city with his family and retainers. You could pay the heir of the Pharaohs a visit.
[] Study: You study the campaigns of Marius in Africa, hoping to learn something about defeating a hostile kingdom while protecting Roman clients. That Marius himself is here does not hurt matters either.

Spoiler: Reasoning

This was tough. 'Study' and 'Seafaring' should be basically locked -- we need to understand Marius to be a good subordinate, and if we want to have any hope of making a good impression on him later, and we need to not get sea-sick so we actually succeed at future actions taken while traveling by sea. I believe we should consult the 'Crone of Bithynia' -- I like our tradition of consulting major oracles and religious figures at each region we visit, and I think the information will be useful both in- and out-of-character.

Given the collapse of Asiaticus and the rise of Cassanius, I think we should pick the 'Scipians' to figure out what's going on with them, both to learn about Cassanius (which should help our odds for the 'Connect'/make friends option), to see if Cassanius or Asiaticus have any weaknesses, and figure out if we can pry anyone out of that faction and into our supporters.

Given that we'll only be in Nicomedia for a short time, I believe we should take the opportunity to meet the once-and-future Pharaoh -- Egypt is the single biggest treasure chest in the entire Mediterranean, and even if it comes to nothing, we'd at least gain information about what's going on in Egypt (it's also give us influence in the future: if/when we interact with the next Pharaoh, we can talk about our friendship with his father...).

Finally, given the choice between 'Si Vis Pacem' and 'Para Bellum', I think the more immediate priority should be the peaceful/diplomacy one -- we're unlikely to immediately engage in battle upon leaving the city. I expect we'll spend a few turns moving around, visiting various cities to sway them to Rome, just as we did in Samnium. We can pick up the 'wage war against Greeks' option next turn.

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Ah, I was working off of this -- I just search for the earliest version of a plan and then implement that.

As Para Bellum is what Publicola eventually voted for, I can switch it out for Seafaring if he so wishes. @Publicola ?

 

[Meep]

Wait-wait-wait, plan Publicola didn't have Seafaring in it. It had Para Bellum.

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The original Plan post, which is what I go off of, had seafaring.

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I'm happy the Seafaring action was taken, but I don't think it was meant to be. I expect most people will be surprised to see it.

Edit: Already cleared up, it seems.

 

[Notcreative]

This much, I'm not sure of. It definitely references the Punic Wars against Carthage, and the 'hundred years' means it's in reference to the Third Punic War. Brine refers to water with very high salinity though.

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I'm pretty sure that last part is refereing to the fallout of our fathers actions
Didn't he make some deal with foreign gods to get rid of the curse on our blood line?

 

[NuclearConsensus]

Brine refers to water with very high salinity though.

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Could be a reference to the Romans having free reign over the Mediterranean without the Carthaginians around to challenge them?

 

[ConfusedCanuck]

I mostly just vote on plans i agree with and then go back to lurking in the back in between updates but i must say @Telamon a captivating update this quest is a wonder and i have enjoyed every update so far and can only hope for more!

 

[Chimeraguard]

I'm pretty sure that last part is refereing to the fallout of our fathers actions
Didn't he make some deal with foreign gods to get rid of the curse on our blood line?

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Yeah, but that's not 100+ years ago.

It seems to refer more to Cybele, who the Romans adopted in the midst of a famine during the Second Punic War. One of the common uses for brine is preserving food, so it probably refers to that. The description of the Prophecy outright mentions her after all, and it was from one of her priestesses that we got it.

Could be a reference to the Romans having free reign over the Mediterranean without the Carthaginians around to challenge them?

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I don't think so. Brine is explicitly saltier than sea water.

Or, maybe? 'Ruled' the brine does seem to imply that. Hrm.

 

[agumentic]

Ah, I was working off of this -- I just search for the earliest version of a plan and then implement that.

As Para Bellum is what Publicola eventually voted for, I can switch it out for Seafaring if he so wishes. @Publicola ?

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It seems to me that it's better to implement versions of the plan after the moratorium - that's what moratorium for, after all, discussing and changing plans.

 

[Telamon]

It seems to me that it's better to implement versions of the plan after the moratorium - that's what moratorium for, after all, discussing and changing plans.

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In my experience, plans are generally edited after any changes, and multiple versions of the same plan may be posted and exit, which is why I just search for the name and use the earliest existing version. It usually works — but this time it didn't.

That's why I'm giving Publicola the opportunity to opt-in and switch it out, as it was his plan.

 

[JNES]

I love that depending on who we ask for advice about the prophecy would change our modifiers.

I usually don't have any time to discuss in the 1st 24 hours cause of how much time it takes to discuss a plan, but I do much better on Discord servers then a forum like this, so I'll see how the discussion there will improve my planning ability.

 

[globalwarmth]

Praise be.

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Boat god strikes again


anyway I'm leaning on sending the prophecy to our patron and see what he makes out of it back in Rome, same for the Prince. More people can poach him back there but if we play it right it can be our people back in Rome who benefit since we certainly cant march on Egypt now with the greek war going

 

[Telamon]

Boat god strikes again


anyway I'm leaning on sending the prophecy to our patron and see what he makes out of it back in Rome, same for the Prince. More people can poach him back there but if we play it right it can be our people back in Rome who benefit since we certainly cant march on Egypt now with the greek war going

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To clarify, Ptolemy doesn't intend for Marius to drop everything and head to Egypt, but rather to secure the promise of Roman aid upon the eventuality of his father's death, which OTL happened in a couple years.

 

[JNES]

Regarding on what we do with the prince of Egypt, I suggest we wait and convince Ptolemy to come to Rome and build a base of support.

Playing the long game can give Atellius more time to get Ptolemy into our good books.

 

[agumentic]

In my experience, plans are generally edited after any changes, and multiple versions of the same plan may be posted and exit, which is why I just search for the name and use the earliest existing version. It usually works — but this time it didn't.

That's why I'm giving Publicola the opportunity to opt-in and switch it out, as it was his plan.

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I'm more speaking in general. If you'll check for the earliest version of the plan before the moratorium, you'll often get the draft version of the plan before discussing changes it. And I, personally, don't go editing my first draft versions, just those after the moratorium when I put X in.

 

[Always Late]

Reputation With The Legion: 8/10 -- The legion loves you, and sees you as one of them. You are their brother, their champion, their tribune. They would die for you.

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Daaaaaw.

In ancient times, when Rome was little less than mud and stick, she was a goddess of the Phyrgians of Asia Minor in an elder, deeper time, a wild goddess of wine and music and fertility, and the Phyrgians of old celebrated her with carnal revels in hidden glades. Long ages after her worship had all but dwindled away, during the Second Punic War, when Hannibal marched to the gates of Rome, the Sybilline Books of Rome were consulted and the oracles foretold that hated Carthage would triumph over Rome without the aid of this foreign goddess, without Cybele. So the pontiffs, in their desperation, adopted her as a Roman god and brought her over from Asia -- and she delivered victory against all odds over hated Hannibal. Ever since, your people have called her Magna Mater, the Great Mother, and held her in a place of reverence.

Yet in her homeland, her worship has withered away to all but nothing. Her wandering eunuch-priests, who once held power over all of Asia Minor, have faded with the coming of the gods of the Greeks. Only a handful of cities still keep the old faith, and her followers are scattered far and wide across the breadth of Asia. Those initiates of her cult which still live are held to have prophetical powers which rival those of Apollo himself.

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Eh. Religion is wierd. And the new greeks gods are fun.

That is why you and Rufus are pushing through this thicket, struggling down an old path overgrown with weeds and shrubs deep in the hillside outside Nicomedia. The winter chill bites and snaps at your bones even through the thick cloaks you both wear, and your breath mists the air. Your sweat clings frozen to your skin, and your jaw shudders uncontrollably. Italian winters are not half this cold.

"Have you ever considered..." Rufus growls through chattering teeth, "That if Mithridates wants this freezing fen so badly, mayhap we just let him keep it?"

A part of you half agrees with him.

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I am going to laugh when these two spend a proper winter in Gaul.

She does not look up, but as you enter the cavern, she laughs and speaks in a frenzied tone, her voice slipping through broken couplets. "Two and two the wolves come to call, tramping noisily through my hall! All stiff and proud and noble still -- though shivering mightily in the chill! Welcome, welcome, thou and thou blood-made brother. Welcome, you children of the Mother!"

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Yes we're freezing our tails off, that's no excuse to be unseemly. You're from the home of the stoics, you'd know that.

The Crone does not stop dancing, but her voice grows more natural as she speaks, thick with something that might be concern. "Oh, little Roman, you would hear the mother's tongue? Oh, but little Roman, are you certain? I can bless your warts and heal your feet and give you many sons. Those who hear the voice of Cybele do not return unchanged."

"I fear no prophecy or foretelling. Mars walks with me." Your voice is more certain than you feel.

At this, she laughs, a wild airy thing. "Mars! Oh, little Romans, there are gods older than Mars."

Rufus' voice echoes from behind you. "But none stronger."

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And here I really get the... attitude, the machismo, the charisma that inspired alot of 40k fluff.

Out of the smoke a voice echoes from both behind and in front of you. It is the hag's, but changed and distorted, booming like a thunderclap.

Black and red and red and black
Back and forth and back and back
While both thou art still called of hair,
Beware, beware -- Africa's heir!​

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So while we're still men we need to not mess with anybody involved with "Africa's heir".

You stumble towards the source of the voice, but the smoke is too thick, too deep, and the smell of it makes your thoughts slow. There is a cackle in the dark, and the voice of the goddess begins again.

Beloved of her father, reviled of her mother;
Each man's lover and no man's brother:
She rots and pales and sickens worse,
Who groans beneath the Punic Curse.

She must to war or fortune bend --
But there her troubles do not end.
When ten and thirty years have passed,
She shall breathe her first bloody last.

Her dying will last a lifetime yet,
And none will mark her final breaths
Though she dies a hundred deaths.
From her ending comes new birth:
Her living corpse shall rule the earth.​

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... yeah, I can't deny it. It's Rome. It's not Cleopatra. It's not Tanit. It's Rome. The Empire. The Republic. All that makes her, and yet will.

"Atellus!" Rufus' voice is distant and far, and your head swims, making it impossible to tell where he is. You think you see shapes moving in the smoke, twisted things with no human form dancing around the fire. Your heart pounds, and the terrible voice speaks again.

The Punic foe was not felled alone
A pact was made, and sealed in stone --
Not by your hand, but owed by you:
The price, or blood -- the debt comes due!

For the hundred years thou art ruled the brine,
The goddess is owed, and owed by thine.
She shall not die, the promise was made --
But she shall rot until it is paid!​

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Rome paid a price to beat Carthage. A price of a bargain with some power. And as the "goddess" Rome is continually 'paid' in military and public service, Rome as a republic will exist in some shred. But we need to repay whoever or whatever Rome cut a deal with.

The city of Utica may hold the key.

In the final fall of Carthage, they threw the yoke of Carthage and fully embraced Rome. In return, they were named rules of all Carthage once claimed and more. Utica, that would resist Rome with the nominally Republican Pompey and Cato the Younger they loved.

Or we could just take the boring route and ask the Cybele priests or Caesar in Rome what the hell this is all about.

EPIC PROPHECY GAINED: 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.

Cold, tired, and more than a little scared, neither you or Rufus can make heads or tails of the prophecy at the moment. You will need to spend a turn using the Interpretation action to figure out more, or wait until Rufus does so.

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Oh yeah, we're taking the action.

After the wild revels of Catiline and his friends, you would have thought that nothing could faze you.

How wrong you were, because no one --no one-- parties quite like the Greeks.

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Especially Egyptian greeks, as the show Rome can attest.

At the center of the courtyard (and the center of attention) is a handsome man with curling sandy hair and sharp features. He sits criss-cross on a soft couch upon a raised golden dias, a smattering of slaves --all exceedingly beautiful-- draped over him. At his lips is a flute of ivory, and it is this instrument that issues the wild haunting music to which the slaves are cavorting. This flutist, then, is the Prince Ptolemy, whose skill with the instrument has become famed even in Rome.

"He's not half bad," Rufus quips.

"Oh, you could do better?"

"Given chance to learn, surely."

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How quintessentially Roman.

Ptolemy beams at you as you approach his couch, then leans in almost conspiratorally. "Do you know how happy I am to see you?! Finally, finally, someone walks in here that I can be sure isn't a spy for my twice-damned cousin, may the Duat devour his bones for all time. That old man of yours, Marius, won't listen to me or Nicomedes -- he has the gall to just blow us off! But then you come traipsing in here, all tough and unsubtle and so very Roman. If you're a spy for my cousin (the Duat devour his bones), then I'm Zeus, and my slaves here are Demeter and Aphrodite."

At the confused looks on your faces, he laughs, a sound almost as light as his flute, then continues, his wide grin still stretched across his face. "Look, my friends, all you need to know is that I cannot trust anyone in this palace. In fact, I can't trust a single soul in this city save for that wine-drunk sot Nicomedes. You know, I trust, of the situation in Egypt?"

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... is he seriosuly trying to bribe us into putting him on the throne.

He scowls. "If you must put it so basely, then...yes. But the rewards would be great. Wealth beyond measure, for a start, and my own eternal gratitude. When I am pharoah, I will be a god, and I will make a very friendly god indeed. Anyone who helped me to gain my deserved position in Alexandria would be rewarded thousandfold for their efforts. Take this message to Marius, inform him of my words, and I swear on eternal Zeus and everlasting Ra, I will make you so wealthy that all of this..." he gestures to the estate around him, "...will seem as a beggar's hovel."

"Great promises." You say. "But they are just that, promises."

Ptolemy leans back in his couch and smiles widely. "No, Atellus. They are the promises of a god-to-be. May Tyche bless you, my Roman friends, and curse ten times my cousin --"

"May the Duat devour his bones for all time," Rufus interrupts with a smile. Ptolemy laughs, and lifts his flute to his lips. Your audience with the prince of Egypt is over.

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Funny thing about puppet princes who needs a fuckton of partying and think they're gods.

They're expensive as fuck, often live in eras and places wealth is hard to come by, and quickly grow dissatisfied with parroting edicts like they're supposed to.

If this prince is to be our puppet-Pharaoh, he will either learn to like us as people... or as a master. Or we make him someone else's problem.

"Rufus," you start as you both back down the dias. "What in Jove's name is a Duat?"

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"Oh, it's like Hades to the Greeks. Or Orcus, if you still remember that one. It's an afterlife, but a specific kind of one. It's the realm of the primordial sea of chaos that everything came from, kingdom of Osiris. The site of their famous heart-judging, and other trials the dead must undergo. In return? They get to live one hour every night when the sun-king Ra passes his boat across the heavens. So it's like if Apollo decided to raid Hades every night."

You have learned all of this from his own servants and aides, who, as part of their duties as legionary staff, technically fall under your authority. They are a private sort, and keep to themselves, but a smile and a few innocuous questions is all it takes to have them gushing about their master's virtues. Some of them, the plebians and the slaves in particular, speak of Cassianus with more adoration than his father, and it is not hard to see why. Barely a man, he has risen from the very dregs of Rome to become a man on the verge of great influence and power. The impression you get from speaking to them is that his hundred-odd followers are bitterly devoted to him, and to his cause.

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There is no greater loyalty to the party than one born of grasped liberation. And so shall Rome be made by men like him. Men who ride the waves of the times to power.

Armed with this knowledge, you invite Cassianus drinking with you one chilly afternoon. Though you are both from different worlds, you leverage your understanding of his origins to better relate to him and pry down his defenses. He is closed and wary at first, but as the afternoon drags on, he takes more of a liking to you. By the end of your meeting, his words are not half so terse as they used to be, and even if there is no friendship between you yet, there is, at least, an understanding. He is a man of powerful ambition and drive, who has given his all to get where he is now. His mentor and father may have been tossed aside, yet the glorious name of Scipio lives on in a man who was born to nothing -- a fact which you can tell he takes overwhelming pride in.

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"Well well well, a noble who isn't an asshat and actually has a sense of fairness. I'll let you do your little thing, and I'll do mine. It is, surprisingly, in our mutual best interests to not... interfere in the other's spheres."

 

[globalwarmth]

Playing the long game can give Atellius more time to get Ptolemy into our good books.

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plus I suspect he is an intrigue tutor, and hosts a good party

 

[Telamon]

Daaaaaw.
Eh. Religion is wierd. And the new greeks gods are fun.

I am going to laugh when these two spend a proper winter in Gaul.
Yes we're freezing our tails off, that's no excuse to be unseemly. You're from the home of the stoics, you'd know that.
And here I really get the... attitude, the machismo, the charisma that inspired alot of 40k fluff.
So while we're still men we need to not mess with anybody involved with "Africa's heir".
... yeah, I can't deny it. It's Rome. It's not Cleopatra. It's not Tanit. It's Rome. The Empire. The Republic. All that makes her, and yet will.

Rome paid a price to beat Carthage. A price of a bargain with some power. And as the "goddess" Rome is continually 'paid' in military and public service, Rome as a republic will exist in some shred. But we need to repay whoever or whatever Rome cut a deal with.

The city of Utica may hold the key.

In the final fall of Carthage, they threw the yoke of Carthage and fully embraced Rome. In return, they were named rules of all Carthage once claimed and more. Utica, that would resist Rome with the nominally Republican Pompey and Cato the Younger they loved.

Or we could just take the boring route and ask the Cybele priests or Caesar in Rome what the hell this is all about.
Oh yeah, we're taking the action.
Especially Egyptian greeks, as the show Rome can attest.
How quintessentially Roman.

... is he seriosuly trying to bribe us into putting him on the throne.

Funny thing about puppet princes who needs a fuckton of partying and think they're gods.

They're expensive as fuck, often live in eras and places wealth is hard to come by, and quickly grow dissatisfied with parroting edicts like they're supposed to.

If this prince is to be our puppet-Pharaoh, he will either learn to like us as people... or as a master. Or we make him someone else's problem.
"Oh, it's like Hades to the Greeks. Or Orcus, if you still remember that one. It's an afterlife, but a specific kind of one. It's the realm of the primordial sea of chaos that everything came from, kingdom of Osiris. The site of their famous heart-judging, and other trials the dead must undergo. In return? They get to live one hour every night when the sun-king Ra passes his boat across the heavens. So it's like if Apollo decided to raid Hades every night."
There is no greater loyalty to the party than one born of grasped liberation. And so shall Rome be made by men like him. Men who ride the waves of the times to power.
"Well well well, a noble who isn't an asshat and actually has a sense of fairness. I'll let you do your little thing, and I'll do mine. It is, surprisingly, in our mutual best interests to not... interfere in the other's spheres."

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To be absolutely fair to Ptolemy, his father is a god. His uncle was a god. His grandfather and grandmother were gods. Though the Ptolemies may believe in their divinity with somewhat less fervor than the Kemetic Egyptians they rule over, it is well within their rights to believe that they will become gods — after all, they are Ptolemies.

Also, his given name is literally Ptolemiaois Neos Dionisyos Theos Philopator Theos Philomater: Ptolemy the New Dionysus, god beloved of his father, god beloved of his mother.

It's not far fetched for him to come to the reasonable assumption that there is something of the divine about him.

 

[Always Late]

To be absolutely fair to Ptolemy, his father is a god. His uncle was a god. His grandmother and grandmother were gods. Though the Ptolemies may believe in their divinity with somewhat less fervor than the Kemetic Egyptians they rule over, it is well within their rights to believe that they will become gods — after all, they are Ptolemies.

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And so is Cleopatra. And believe me. I have a very in-depth, cross-media, excoriating analysis that could be more accurately called a rant on why she's absolutely nothing but trouble to everyone around her.

So when some coasting schmuck comes up to me and says 'hey, I'm going to be a god, make me one and I'll reward you well', I treat said slacker... ok, I don't know a synonym for 'frat boy' that starts with an s. But I basically make like it's someone saying they're a Nigerian Prince: Let's see some gold from thin air first, then we'll talk.

 

[Thyreus]

Ok, since the confusion about the plan seems to be cleared up...
We didn't manage to mend the rift. Well, shit.

And I know why I wanted to overshadow Cassianus.

As far as voting goes we should strongly consider taking the ritual Sertorius performed, but we should definitely check the roll he had before we do.

 

[skaro]

I am tempt to have Ceasar interpret prophecy or ptoleme thought.

 

[Thyreus]

This much, I'm not sure of. It definitely references the Punic Wars against Carthage, and the 'hundred years' means it's in reference to the Third Punic War. Brine refers to water with very high salinity though.

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Perhaps referring to the Punic Curse our forefathers incurred when they argued for the Third Punic War?

Edit:

Ah, I was working off of this -- I just search for the earliest version of a plan and then implement that.

As Para Bellum is what Publicola eventually voted for, I can switch it out for Seafaring if he so wishes. @Publicola ?

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And what about the city vs the prince?

I'm also surprised (and slightly disappointed) that sending the prophecy to Caesar won't give the interpretation a heavy bend in favour of Caesar.

 

[Telamon]

Perhaps referring to the Punic Curse our forefathers incurred when they argued for the Third Punic War?

Edit:

And what about the city vs the prince?

I'm also surprised (and not the least bit disappointed) that sending the prophecy to Caesar won't give the interpretation a haeavy bend in favour of Caesar.

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Yeah, that's a good chunk of the update, so I can't exactly redo that. Switching out an XP bonus for a modifier, a paragraph, and a promise to recheck the plans next time? I can do that.