Res Publica: A Quest of Ancient Rome
- Thread starter Telamon
- Start date
- Original Historic
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Carrot and Stick is subject to the following criticisms:
1) There is the argument that Aeclanum be made an example of, that we need to be able to point to some towns and say "or else that" when Samnites challenge us on "or else what?" If we do not do such a thing, we may have difficulty convincing people NOT to fort up against us, because worst case they can pay us off. Similarly, this plan does not kill off fighting-inclined Samnites, it just disarms them and makes them swear oaths. The former is a temporary inconvenience to their ability to fight; the latter... well...
2) Given the role of Samnite religion in enforcing Samnite resistance, it is at best uncertain whether we can get them to swear oaths they will consider binding.
3) Similarly, it is doubtful whether the Samnites will (as asserted) feel significantly more accustomed to do the bidding of Rome, purely because they killed a pack of bandits who betrayed them.
4) (Some of) the bandits may well escape town in the confusion, in which case Aeclanum may be honestly unable to produce fifty-one bandit heads, and what do we do then? We can't order the townsfolk to comb the surrounding countryside for the bandits, because that would require us to let them stay armed. Burning the town to the ground because they failed to comply with an impossible demand hits us with the worst of both worlds. We look arbitrary and capricious instead of stern and aggressive and badass.
- Location
- Central Europe
Personally, I just dislike write-in heavy plans. They base themselves on the assumption that the options offered by the QM are sub par from the beginning.
That said, I don't think we had any write-in vote succeed yet, so it is hard to tell how they measure up to regular options in this quest.
ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
I am aware that the Carrot and Stick is not perfect, but I have heavy reservations about not getting some use out of the traitor, even if we do it by selling him out and hoping that the Sammites will start to suspect each other out of paranoia of being traitors and fighting amongst themselves. Still, I think that Mercator Revised would be a fine plan if it changed Refusal to Refusal and informing the town about the traitor, in order to hopefully causing infighting and making the town easier for us to take.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
My view is that write-ins are bad insofar as they try to get all the advantages of multiple approaches, with none of the disadvantages. Like, my plan to steal farm tools and try to bribe the Tutians into abandoning Aeclanum in "Plowshares for Swords" was, honestly in hindsight, me falling in love with an excessively clever scheme. Bad choice, I regret it, but wasn't sure I'd want to change it until so many people had already voted for it that I didn't feel justified in changing it.
It's bad to construct a write-in that is supposed to be strictly superior to the default options, especially when this involves assuming that SV is better at tactics, administration, or negotiation than a professional tactician, administrator, or negotiator.
(lame)
At the same time...
Write-ins can be good insofar as they adopt a fundamentally different strategy with different pluses and minuses than the default options. For example, I feel like "Captured Gods" in my 'Carmen Sandiego' plan was, if perhaps not the optimal possible plan compared to what we knew at the time or for that matter what we know now... Well, it was at least not a bad vote option. Rationale being, here is something we can do that is off the simple chart of "do or do not kill the priestess, do or do not deprive the Samnites of access to the temple." Something that serves the same overall goals (reduce Samnite cultural capacity for resistance, while not risking divine wrath by pillaging temples and killing priestesses), but in a different way that gives us different balances of risk, reward, and complications.
We may take losses, but it is unlikely that we'll take losses significantly higher than what the veterans of the First Cohort themselves expect from this operation. We can reasonably expect to take this one on the chin without undue harm, and doing everything in our power to weaken the enemy beforehand may not be our prevailing concern.
I'm also not sure that "rat out the traitor to his own side" is a strictly superior option compared to "ignore him and then squash him with the rest of the enemy army." I suspect it is (subtly) a way to trade off military success in the present for certain features of our long-term reputation like "trustworthy for discretion."
It's bad to construct a write-in that is supposed to be strictly superior to the default options, especially when this involves assuming that SV is better at tactics, administration, or negotiation than a professional tactician, administrator, or negotiator.
(lame)
At the same time...
Write-ins can be good insofar as they adopt a fundamentally different strategy with different pluses and minuses than the default options. For example, I feel like "Captured Gods" in my 'Carmen Sandiego' plan was, if perhaps not the optimal possible plan compared to what we knew at the time or for that matter what we know now... Well, it was at least not a bad vote option. Rationale being, here is something we can do that is off the simple chart of "do or do not kill the priestess, do or do not deprive the Samnites of access to the temple." Something that serves the same overall goals (reduce Samnite cultural capacity for resistance, while not risking divine wrath by pillaging temples and killing priestesses), but in a different way that gives us different balances of risk, reward, and complications.
Given that the Aeclanum defenders are outnumbered, qualitatively 'outgunned' in that they're fighting an elite battalion of Roman veterans with a country militia, and poorly fortified because Sulla tore their walls down...
We may take losses, but it is unlikely that we'll take losses significantly higher than what the veterans of the First Cohort themselves expect from this operation. We can reasonably expect to take this one on the chin without undue harm, and doing everything in our power to weaken the enemy beforehand may not be our prevailing concern.
I'm also not sure that "rat out the traitor to his own side" is a strictly superior option compared to "ignore him and then squash him with the rest of the enemy army." I suspect it is (subtly) a way to trade off military success in the present for certain features of our long-term reputation like "trustworthy for discretion."
maximillian
Civilised Sheep
- Location
- Ranch
[X] Plan Divide et Impera
[X] Plan Carota et Bacculum
We already set a path for making samninum compliant, switching approach after the first step is a sign of character weakness or perhaps uncertainty, which does not befit a roman.
Once a course is set, its adhered to come what may, for few are the causes that demand a shift, and time is certainly not one in this case .
[X] Plan Carota et Bacculum
We already set a path for making samninum compliant, switching approach after the first step is a sign of character weakness or perhaps uncertainty, which does not befit a roman.
Once a course is set, its adhered to come what may, for few are the causes that demand a shift, and time is certainly not one in this case .
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- Location
- Classified
I don't want to rat out Spurio because I don't want to dissuade other people from betraying their side in the future. I'm not opposed to paying traitors, just opposed to paying ten talents.
- Location
- My room
[X] Plan Mercator Revised
What is the point in killing or rejecting Spurio's offer when we have confirmation the bandits can bought to our interests? This is OOC QM confimation, not IC.
[X] Plan: Use the Slaves
-[X] Give Spurio 300 denarii in exchange for all slaves in his entourage and him staying with us for the remainder of the campaign. Pump them for information and check for consistency. If Spurio refuses to haggle on these terms, offer the same deal to all who beat and capture him.
-[X] Charge
-[X] Vae Victis
--[X] Leave at least few alive and free in order to spread the word about the town's fate. Mix slaves or send out bandits in among them to sow confusion, distrust, and paranoia.
This is a short term cost, for long term gain. Just need to use the slaves and bandits well. We check for consistency and use it for max gain for the rest of the campaign. Spurio has reduced chances of betraying us if closeby and we squeeze him for everything he's got. Hopefully slaves cooperate given proper incentives.
We charge to get glory and use whatever intelligence we have to fight easier.
And the last option to break them and spread confusion.
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ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
Since Carrota et Baccalum is in no position of winning, and Mercator Revised does not make good use of sowing chaos and disorder, I'm changing my vote...
[X] Plan Mercator Revised
EDIT: Switching my vote again, for the last time. Let us hope it all goes well.
[X] Plan Mercator Revised
EDIT: Switching my vote again, for the last time. Let us hope it all goes well.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
My experience is that new write-ins several days into a vote have even less chance of winning than old write-ins from near the start of a vote...
Furthermore, "reduced chances of betraying us..." well, how exactly do we 'use' the slaves and bandits? They're part of our camp now? They stay with us? How does this make us betrayal-resistant? If even one of them escapes to enemy lines with the wrong information at any time, that's disastrous if they're staying with us. Whereas if they're not physically in our camp and mixed in with us, it's a mild inconvenience; fifty armed men is something any one of our cohorts, or their component centuries, can smash at any time.
Um, I'm not sure you're aware of this, but five talents is roughly the equivalent of six and a quarter million dollars in today's money. It is a LOT. I'm not clear on just exactly how Spurio's bandits and their slaves are supposed to 'earn their keep' in those terms.
Furthermore, "reduced chances of betraying us..." well, how exactly do we 'use' the slaves and bandits? They're part of our camp now? They stay with us? How does this make us betrayal-resistant? If even one of them escapes to enemy lines with the wrong information at any time, that's disastrous if they're staying with us. Whereas if they're not physically in our camp and mixed in with us, it's a mild inconvenience; fifty armed men is something any one of our cohorts, or their component centuries, can smash at any time.
Stay with us does not mean actually inviting them into our camp. Not even allies got it that good.
This is a haggle vote. I don't intend to get everything I want here, but enough that we can use to get more intel and spread confusion.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Firstly, this doesn't address that five talents is still a LOT of money. When @Telamon says "one talent," you should be thinking "one twenty-five-pound suitcase stuffed with over a million in $100 bills." As in literally, so many $100 bills that you pick it up and it has that kind of heft.
Handing over that kind of money should not be done lightly or speculatively. It is extremely unclear to me why you expect to gain intelligence or sow dissension that is commensurate in value with the price you're proposing to pay.
...
EDIT: Depending on how big you are, "your weight in gold" is probably somewhere between two and three talents, maybe four if you're a lard-butt like me.
Handing over that kind of money should not be done lightly or speculatively. It is extremely unclear to me why you expect to gain intelligence or sow dissension that is commensurate in value with the price you're proposing to pay.
...
EDIT: Depending on how big you are, "your weight in gold" is probably somewhere between two and three talents, maybe four if you're a lard-butt like me.
Well, how exactly do you keep them "with us" if they're not under guard inside our fortifications or something? I mean, what stops them from physically walking away and, say, alerting the Samnites to our presence during a critical route march? If we're worried about betrayal, this is one case where keeping your enemies closer is a bad move. Though admittedly a less-bad move than, say, enslaving a high priestess of the goddess of poisons and keeping her in our camp, as some suggested.
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Firstly, this doesn't address that five talents is still a LOT of money. When @Telamon says "one talent," you should be thinking "one twenty-five-pound suitcase stuffed with over a million in $100 bills." As in literally, so many $100 bills that you pick it up and it has that kind of heft.
Handing over that kind of money should not be done lightly or speculatively. It is extremely unclear to me why you expect to gain intelligence or sow dissension that is commensurate in value with the price you're proposing to pay.
Well, how exactly do you keep them "with us" if they're not under guard inside our fortifications or something? I mean, what stops them from physically walking away and, say, alerting the Samnites to our presence during a critical route march? If we're worried about betrayal, this is one case where keeping your enemies closer is a bad move. Though admittedly a less-bad move than, say, enslaving a high priestess of the goddess of poisons and keeping her in our camp, as some suggested.
Sorry about that.
Fair enough on the prices. I had to go back and read how much talents are worth. He can raise temporary armies with 5 talents.
If hes proposing such a high price for so little to give to us, then I suspect he's shooting for a really, really high ask and expecting a moderate counter. Or wants to
I see now why people are rejecting the offer outright, but I want the option to interrogate (and kill if necessary) anyone we can get our hands on. I mean, if the slaves can be bribed, or chained up somewhere, I think that should be enough. How do we secure folks for enslavemen for Vae Victus then?
Anyway, I think the counter offer should be in denarii instead.
Thanks for the feedback.
I went low: 300 denarii.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Wants to what?
Anyway. The problem is that such an offer, combined with his tone and behavior, suggests a level of insolence that we can't afford to put up with without some damage to our reputation. We could give him a much lower offer and say "take it or leave it," then attack the town whether he takes it or not. But that is about the most we can afford to do.
And I don't think it's remotely realistic for us to keep his men with us in the long term, especially not against their will.
The biggest question is, what kind of actionable intelligence do we really expect to get here? I'm honestly unclear on how you plan for this to work, and you seem to be bouncing around wildly between very high and very low sums of money to use as bait to, in effect, kidnap a large body of armed men who probably do have the ability to escape our clutches if they don't want to stay with us, so that we can "interrogate (and kill if necessary)" them.
How, physically, do you expect this to work?
One of the reasons I voted against the "Vae Victis" type options at Aequum Tuticum was because it would take a lot of time and effort for our cohort to imprison lots of slaves and get them back to some place they could be secured. That would make it impossible for us to launch any kind of lightning surprise attack on Aeclanum.
More generally, hauling a lot of prisoners around is incompatible with marching quickly or maintaining secrecy. Even if you're bribing them, and they're a bunch of slaves... At some point, the slaves are going to start making decisions of their own. For example, they may think "well, we've already been paid a bunch of money, why not just run away with the money?" If you promise to pay them when you release them, they may think "wait, why would they give us a bunch of money when killing us would be cheaper" and decide that you're just trying to keep them docile until you chop off their heads. At which point they run away. And so on.
For reference, that's about sixteen months' pay for one legionnaire. That's basically us saying "your reward is that you get to live."
Going by Telamon's estimates... One talent is six thousand denarii. If seven thousand talents is like nine billion dollars in today's money, one talent is about 1.28 million, and one denarius is the equivalent of two hundred dollars.
Thirty denarii per member of the bandit troop would be 1500 denarii in all- a quarter of a talent, roughly $300,000 or so in today's money, which is a large sum but a trifling fraction of our overall loot. Poetic associations aside, I'd settle on a figure like that.
- Location
- Texas
Firstly, this doesn't address that five talents is still a LOT of money. When @Telamon says "one talent," you should be thinking "one twenty-five-pound suitcase stuffed with over a million in $100 bills." As in literally, so many $100 bills that you pick it up and it has that kind of heft.
Handing over that kind of money should not be done lightly or speculatively. It is extremely unclear to me why you expect to gain intelligence or sow dissension that is commensurate in value with the price you're proposing to pay.
...
EDIT: Depending on how big you are, "your weight in gold" is probably somewhere between two and three talents, maybe four if you're a lard-butt like me.
Well, how exactly do you keep them "with us" if they're not under guard inside our fortifications or something? I mean, what stops them from physically walking away and, say, alerting the Samnites to our presence during a critical route march? If we're worried about betrayal, this is one case where keeping your enemies closer is a bad move. Though admittedly a less-bad move than, say, enslaving a high priestess of the goddess of poisons and keeping her in our camp, as some suggested.
Yes, talents are a lot of money.
Intentionally push us into rejecting any negotiation. Maybe he wants to reveal this to galvanize the others for a last hoorah so he can flee in the chaos.
I don't think we can keep his actual bandits with us if they don't want to be here. It's the slaves that I'm really after. They've seen things, names, faces, and maybe documents, if we're lucky.
We want that.
We can do whatever we want with them after we see their value.
Blindfolds and restraints should restrain most till then. Im not sure how Vae Victus is possible if we can't manage slaves from a small group like this.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
That sounds way more complicated than the hypothesis that he's simply greedy.
[sighs]
I'm not saying "we can't manage a group of prisoners." What I'm saying is "moving fast while transporting a group of prisoners is nigh-impossible." They're incompatible tasks.
Furthermore, it's very questionable whether any slaves that are with Spurio's group actually know anything of long-term use to us. The odds are, most of them are just random menial servants who live in or immediately around the town of Aeclanum. Since we don't really need any stunning secret information to overwhelm the town with our soldiers, that information isn't valuable in the short run. And the odds of it being valuable information in the long run are low, because you'd need to find one of a handful of slaves who know things about the wider area, when by definition they are not free to travel that wider area.
We'd do better to question people like traveling merchants and, for that matter, bandits- but we'd have to take them prisoner first.[/quote]
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Orisha, one of the keys to success in a quest like this is to know how to leverage one's strengths so as to cover for one's weaknesses. And for times when one's weaknesses simply do not matter and one's strengths alone are adequate to carry the day.
This is one of those times.
We have a specific, delimited purpose: subdue a rebellious town, which we did to our own satisfaction. We extended that to subdue a second town, and in the process eliminate the main gathering of military force in this region, thus eliminating a threat to the legion's rear as it marches on the main center of Samnite power.
It is enough.
Let the next battle take care of itself, the next town take care of itself. This town is modest in size and plays a small role in affairs; it is at best a secondary center of resistance. There is no reason to expect treasure troves of intelligence data here that will give us an advantage in future campaigns. There is no need for us to construct elaborate plans, to bicker or dicker.
This is one of those times.
We have a specific, delimited purpose: subdue a rebellious town, which we did to our own satisfaction. We extended that to subdue a second town, and in the process eliminate the main gathering of military force in this region, thus eliminating a threat to the legion's rear as it marches on the main center of Samnite power.
It is enough.
Let the next battle take care of itself, the next town take care of itself. This town is modest in size and plays a small role in affairs; it is at best a secondary center of resistance. There is no reason to expect treasure troves of intelligence data here that will give us an advantage in future campaigns. There is no need for us to construct elaborate plans, to bicker or dicker.
X: The Battle of Aeclanum
- Location
- Texas
[X] Plan Mercator Revised
- [X] Refuse
- [X] Charge
- [X] Vae Victis
- [X] Refuse
- [X] Charge
- [X] Vae Victis
April 8th, 85 BC
669 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Flaccus and Marius.
669 Years After The Founding Of Rome
The Year of Flaccus and Marius.
- The Fourth Samnite War (85 BC - Ongoing)
The boy's hands shake as he draws the knife slow across the ram's neck. The cut is jagged and jerky, and the beast groans and thrashes horrifically, spraying blood from the poorly-made wound until it finally expires, its eyes frozen open with terror. A shameful showing, and one you would rather not have had, but Mercator pressed upon you the need for an augury on the eve of battle. Normally, the augury done by the legion's official augur before the Cohort set off on its journey would have sufficed to assure the men of their good fortune, but as Mercator quietly explained to you, the Cohors Primus is more superstitous than most, being composed mainly of veterans. So, the augur's apprentice, a scrawny boy with pasty skin, was called up (the augur himself having remained with the legion proper) and a ram was rustled up from one of the surrounding farms.
As you watch the nervous boy read the entrails, you reflect on the last day's events. After curtly and harshly rejecting Spurio's ludicrous offer, you assembled your centurions and talked over a plan of battle. It was a close thing, but Mercator and his supporters won out, advocating a furious charge out of the days of yore, followed by the total total annihilation of the town, in the manner of the ancient Romans. You yourself were won over by their fierce support of this measure, and indeed, the more you learn of Samnium, the more you regard these people with distrust. They seem to never learn, never break and never bend.
Well, you may not break them, but you can burn them.
The boy, a nervous wretch by the name of Pollinus, swallows heavily as he looks up from the entrails, fidgeting with his hands. You cannot help but feel somewhat sorry for him -- he stands before a cohort readied and assembled for war, and the eyes of your officers could all but drill a hole in him.
"Well?" Tercerus grunts after a few moment's silence. "Speak, up boy, or are you as mute as you are foolish?"
The lad opens his mouth, his face a pallor, and croaks. He actually croaks, a weak, crackling sound that forces more than a few officers to stifle their laughter, while others offer no such courtesies. His eyes grow wide with embarrassment, and all at once he blurts what has been stuck in his throat for the last minute, tripping over his own tongue a half dozen times in the process.
"The signs are m-m...mixed. Th-tha..that, uh, that is, my lords, well...the entrails are unclear. I can't.....I cannot read them."
Behind you, Mercator curses. Tercerus scowls, and the soldiers immediately break into hushed whispers. Even you struggle to stop your face from sliding into a frown. The signs being unclear is almost as bad as them being outright ill-fated, for it means the gods are silent. Rumors will abound on what you or the cohort have done to incur the wrath from the gods -- and combined with an inexperienced augur and the ram's bad death, it may well speak of a curse laid upon the legion by one of the gods. The cohort will march, Mercator will see to that, but if the battle is a failure or is hard-won, much of the blame will fall upon you.
But there is nothing you can do now, save win the battle. You offer up a silent prayer to Mars for guidance and fortune in the wars to come, then turn away from the still-stammering acolyte.
(Pollinus) Augury = 1d20 -2 (Poor Prophecy) = 8
Needed: 10
Needed: 10
The battle begins well enough. Lucius Mercator and his regiment are, of course, entrusted with the honor of leading the charge. The men are nervous about the poor augury, however, and as you later learn, Mercator has to exhort them to perform to the standards of the first cohort. As you watch, they thunder down from the hills where the cohort is encamped, smashing into the flimsy Samnite barricades like a storm. The fragile reinforcements prove even poorer than initially believed, and crumble like paper before the primus pilus and his men. Even as the Samnite horns sound in frantic warning, calling the defenders of Aeclanum to arms, Mercator's men pour past the makeshift defenses, now little more than scraps of wood trampled under Roman feet.
But far from crushing their spirits as you had hoped, this easy destruction of their defenses seems to invigorate the Samnite defenders at the barricades, and they quickly rally, jabbing and thrusting at the cohort with their spears and pitchforks. Though poor and untrained, their ferocity and viciousness throws off even the veteran legionnaires, who are pushed back by the savagery of their assault. A man emerges at the forefront of this counter-charge, a Samnite leader by the name of Libero, and one of the most beloved in the city. With his vicious voice and bold action, he rallies the Samnite line to hold until the rest of their force can assemble, urging them to lead a counter-charge to beat back the Romans.
And so they do, screaming and whooping and hollering with their swords held high, the defenders of Samnium alive with the fury of their ancient race. They crash into Mercator's cohort with such force that they are actually driven back, stumbling over the ruins of the barricades they so easily picked apart only moments earlier. Instead of the resounding victory with which Mercator had hoped to win laurels, the charge devolves into a tepid slog at the mouth of Aeclanum, with the legionnaires hard-pressed by the viciousness and ferocity of the Samnite counter-charge. As reinforcements begin to sally out of the city, with the rest of the cohort far behind, Mercator seems to realize decisive action is necessary.
Gathering his finest men and officers, those shaken but not dismayed by the regiment's sudden losses, he punches a hole through the Samnite line, making directly for their commander, correctly assuming that Libero has been the main reason for the Samnite's successes thus far. Tearing apart their steadfast defense, he makes for the rebel leader in a charge that will live on in song should any poet put it to paper. He tears the Samnite from his horse, and, after a quick and brutal combat, cuts his head from his shoulders. One particularly quick centurion takes up the severed skull and mounts it on his spear. Their leader's death, combined with this gruesome display, serves to at last break the defender's morale, and they fall away.
The defenses have fallen, and Aeclanum lies open.
Stage I:
(Mercator) The Charge: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2(First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 12
Versus
The Samnite Barricades: 1d20 -6 (Poor Construction) = 0
Resounding Victory
Stage II:
(Mercator) The Charge Continues: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2 (First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 9
Versus
The Samnite Defenders: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) = 14
Defeat
Roman Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Legion's Loyalty) + 2 (Pride of the First) - 3 (The Gods are Silent) = 16
Needed: 5
Stage III:
The Samnite Leader: 1d20 = 18
Samnite Leader Generated!
The Samnite Countercharge: 1d20 -4 (Farmers and Thieves) +1 (Libero) +5 (Hearts of Steel)= 10
Versus
(Mercator) Recovery: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2 (First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 5
Defeat
Roman Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Legion's Loyalty) +2 (Pride of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent)= 13
Needed: 10
Stage IV:
(Mercator) The Charge of the First: 1d20 +4 (Renowned Combat) +2(Proficient Military) +2(First of the First) + 4(Renowned Command) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 17
Versus
The Samnite Defense: 1d20 -4 (Farmers and Thieves) +1 (Libero) +5 (Hearts of Steel)= 15
Victory
(Mercator) Duel: 1d20 +4 (Renowned Combat) +2(Proficient Military) +2 (First of the First) = 18
Versus
(Libero) Duel: 1d20 +5 (Heart of Steel) +1 (Proficient Combat) +0 (Average Military) = 8
Overwhelming Victory
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) -4 (Farmers and Thieves) -3 (Death of a Hero) = 0
Needed: 13
Samnite Morale Broken!
(Mercator) The Charge: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2(First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 12
Versus
The Samnite Barricades: 1d20 -6 (Poor Construction) = 0
Resounding Victory
Stage II:
(Mercator) The Charge Continues: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2 (First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 9
Versus
The Samnite Defenders: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) = 14
Defeat
Roman Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Legion's Loyalty) + 2 (Pride of the First) - 3 (The Gods are Silent) = 16
Needed: 5
Stage III:
The Samnite Leader: 1d20 = 18
Samnite Leader Generated!
The Samnite Countercharge: 1d20 -4 (Farmers and Thieves) +1 (Libero) +5 (Hearts of Steel)= 10
Versus
(Mercator) Recovery: 1d20 +2 (Proficient Military) +4 (Renowned Command) +2 (First of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 5
Defeat
Roman Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Legion's Loyalty) +2 (Pride of the First) -3 (The Gods are Silent)= 13
Needed: 10
Stage IV:
(Mercator) The Charge of the First: 1d20 +4 (Renowned Combat) +2(Proficient Military) +2(First of the First) + 4(Renowned Command) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 17
Versus
The Samnite Defense: 1d20 -4 (Farmers and Thieves) +1 (Libero) +5 (Hearts of Steel)= 15
Victory
(Mercator) Duel: 1d20 +4 (Renowned Combat) +2(Proficient Military) +2 (First of the First) = 18
Versus
(Libero) Duel: 1d20 +5 (Heart of Steel) +1 (Proficient Combat) +0 (Average Military) = 8
Overwhelming Victory
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) -4 (Farmers and Thieves) -3 (Death of a Hero) = 0
Needed: 13
Samnite Morale Broken!
You and Tercerus lead the rest of the cohort down from the hills, pouring past the shattered walls of Aeclanum to the interior of the city, a clustered press of buildings built closely together for just this eventuality by the city's founders. This is where you get your first taste of true combat, in the winding streets of Aeclanum against farmers and desperate men struggling first for their homes, then their very lives. The Samnites are a vicious people, famed for their iron wills and their stubborn defiance even in the face of annihilation, and you are a boy barely a man, with a position won through politicking and friendship, not through any proven skill. No man would truly hold it against you if you faltered here and relied instead on your men to assist you.
But you do not.
You rally the men despite their misgivings and worries over the augury and the complicated charge, leading them into the town with yourself at the front of the column. Sword in hand, you cut and butcher your way through the streets of Aeclanum. The Samnite defenders are bold and brave, but your father taught you well, and you tear through their ranks with ease, outwitting their leaders and ruining their attempts to flank or ambush the legion's forces. It is a tedious affair, as the Samnites splinter into smaller and smaller groups that the cohort is forced to chase down and stamp out, but you maintain order among the legion, exhorting the centurions to keep their men in line and prevent them from looting and pillaging until the fighting is done.
But still, improbably --impossibly-- the Samnites do not break. Men lie dead in pools of their own blood, but far from wailing and fleeing, their women and their children take up arms, fighting Rome with tooth and nail. The threat of extermination, of slavery and death, seems to have made these stubborn people fight all the harder. Their resistance doubles, triples, and you see far too many Roman dead fall in the cramped streets. Every inch gained is paid for in blood, Roman or Samnite alike, and you are forced to cut down boys years your junior as they charge you with their father's swords.
The Samnite resistance is so fierce that a lesser force might be dismayed, and a lesser commander might fall back to regroup. But this no lesser force, it is a Roman cohort of the Sixth Legion, blessed by undying Mars himself, and you are no lesser commander, but Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, scion of a dozen generations of Roman generals. These are but farmers and thieves -- no matter how stern their resistance, it cannot break the legion's pride. The cohort, under your command, does not waver or break, but instead advances slowly, arduously, terribly, through the streets of Aeclanum, fought bitterly at every turn.
Lesser men might fight through the slog, whittling away Roman lives until the enemy shattered, but you are of a smarter breed. You send a few quick men to set fire to a handful of specific buildings where you suspect the hardiest of the Samnites to be hiding out. They apparently have some difficulty, being ambushed by a Samnite patrol, but manage to light all the selected buildings aflame. Smoke rises into the clear blue sky as Aeclanum burns, carrying on the wind the smell of death.
And so Aeclanum falls. The Samnites either burn in their homes defiant to the last, or they run, screaming, into the streets, where they are cut down by the legion's swords. Those who are left shatter completely, fleeing for the hills. These last you entrust Tercerus to hunt down, assigning the old soldier a regiment of soldiers with which to round up surviving Samnites. To his credit, the old man is brutally efficient in his job, and returns to you with a special gift: the severed head of old Spurio, found fleeing northwards, his saddlebags heavy with gold.
Stage I
The Cohort Attacks: 1d20 +2 (Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1 (Gift of Minerva) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 20
Versus
(Samnite) Repulse the Romans: 1d20 + 5 (Hearts of Steel) - 4 (Farmers and Thieves) = 14
Epic Victory
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 + 5 = 18
Needed: 15
Stage II
(Samnite) Rally The People: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) +2 (Faced With Extinction) = 25
Versus
Hunt them Down: 1d20 +2(Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1 (Gift of Miverva) = 22
Stalemate
Stage III
Light Their Homes: 1d20 +2(Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1(Gift of Minerva) = 10
Needed: 5
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) -4 (Farmers and Thieves) -3 (Fire, Fear, Foes) +2 (Faced With Extinction) = 1
Needed: 16
Samnite Morale Broken!
(Tercerus) Cleaning Up: 1d20 + 4 (Renowned Military) +4 (Renowned Command) = 23
Needed: 12
The Cohort Attacks: 1d20 +2 (Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1 (Gift of Minerva) -3 (The Gods are Silent) = 20
Versus
(Samnite) Repulse the Romans: 1d20 + 5 (Hearts of Steel) - 4 (Farmers and Thieves) = 14
Epic Victory
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 + 5 = 18
Needed: 15
Stage II
(Samnite) Rally The People: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) +2 (Faced With Extinction) = 25
Versus
Hunt them Down: 1d20 +2(Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1 (Gift of Miverva) = 22
Stalemate
Stage III
Light Their Homes: 1d20 +2(Accomplished Military) +0 (Average Command) +1(Gift of Minerva) = 10
Needed: 5
Samnite Morale Check: 1d20 +5 (Hearts of Steel) -4 (Farmers and Thieves) -3 (Fire, Fear, Foes) +2 (Faced With Extinction) = 1
Needed: 16
Samnite Morale Broken!
(Tercerus) Cleaning Up: 1d20 + 4 (Renowned Military) +4 (Renowned Command) = 23
Needed: 12
What remains is dirty work, but the worst is already done. The men commence looting, a task they take to with vicious aplomb, eager to revenge themselves on these peasants who had defied them so bitterly. Most Samnites of fighting age are dead or dying, and those who are not are more often than not killed resisting. The majority of the newly-made slaves, then, are women and children, unfit for the harsh conditions of camp life, meaning the legion cannot even make them into servants. You will escort these new slaves to the legion along with the rest of your plunder -- the slaves, along with the collected wealth of all Aeclanum, are estimated to be worth roughly thirteen and a half talents of gold when sold, with an extra three from Spurio's belongings. When all is said done, the town is fired and set ablaze, sending great black plumes of smoke rising into the sky, choking the sun and casting a shadow over Samnium.
As you ride ahead of the legion's column out of the burning town, your eyes fall upon a Samnite warrior who fell at the entrance during Mercator's first charge. Around his neck is a braided necklace of bull hair, a common talisman of Mamers, the Samnite version of the war-god Mars. As you lead your steed over his broken corpse, you reflect on the bitter irony of the situation. Both of you, in the din of battle, must have prayed to the same god for victory, but here you stand, alive and triumphant -- and there he lies, eyes forever open to the sky.
[Trait Gained: The Enemy of Samnium (Rank I)]
Command Skill Unlocked!
Progressing above Rank 5 in the Command skill is now possible.
As you ride ahead of the legion's column out of the burning town, your eyes fall upon a Samnite warrior who fell at the entrance during Mercator's first charge. Around his neck is a braided necklace of bull hair, a common talisman of Mamers, the Samnite version of the war-god Mars. As you lead your steed over his broken corpse, you reflect on the bitter irony of the situation. Both of you, in the din of battle, must have prayed to the same god for victory, but here you stand, alive and triumphant -- and there he lies, eyes forever open to the sky.
[Trait Gained: The Enemy of Samnium (Rank I)]
So great and complete was the scourging of the sister cities of Aeclanum and Aequum Tuticum that their scourging, and the former's total destruction, would long live on in the hearts and minds of the Samnite people, and would be a lasting scar in the hearts of the survivors of those cities. Those survivors, chief among them one Visellia Tertia, the last living priestess of the sacred Pools at Ampscantus, name you as the chief persecutor of both these events, and as the unifying force which broke the proverbial Samnite back. Your name is known among the Samnite people as one of Sertorius' most vicious dogs during the Fourth Samnite War, and a capable (and thusly hated) servant of Rome.
Effects: +1 when intimidating Samnites, -1 to all diplomacy rolls with Samnites
Effects: +1 when intimidating Samnites, -1 to all diplomacy rolls with Samnites
Command Skill Unlocked!
Progressing above Rank 5 in the Command skill is now possible.
Military XP Gained: 2000
(2000/10000) to Rank 14
Command XP Gained: 5012 (2000 from performance, First Command Bonus of +3000)
(5000/5000) to Rank 6
Rank Up: Rank 6
(862/6000) to Rank 7
(2000/10000) to Rank 14
Command XP Gained: 5012 (2000 from performance, First Command Bonus of +3000)
(5000/5000) to Rank 6
Rank Up: Rank 6
(862/6000) to Rank 7
VOTING
Honors
There is the not-insignificant matter of granting honors. It is custom, after a battle, for the highest-ranking officer to grant honors to the most dedicated and heroic soldiers and/or officers present, up to and including the officer himself. These honors come with special privileges and a higher cut of the spoils. If too few people (or, in the soldier's eyes, the wrong people) are granted honors, the men could grow upset. If too many people are granted honors, however, the cut which goes to the troops will be noticeably affected, angering them.
Mercator [] You honor Mercator for his successful, though flawed, charge. This, aside from pleasing Mercator himself, will greatly please his centurions and closest allies, improving your standing among the officers of the legion.
Atellus [] You honor yourself, a grant which none can dispute, as your commendable service in the battle was praised by the men themselves, and your steadfast leadership surely lead to great successes in battle.
Tercerus [] You honor Tercerus for his capable skill in hunting down and exterminating the surviving Samnite warriors, as well as killing the bandit Spurio and returning his gold to the Legion.
Titus Gallio [] The Roman soldier who led the expedition to fire the Samnite homes, he is widely held by the men as having saved Roman lives by driving the Samnites from their redoubts. They would certainly be upset if he received no special honors.
Maximius [] Maximius Aulus is a centurion who became separated from his men during the initial assault. He fought his way to them, and, finding them pinned down by Samnite forces, fought his way back out to the main force of the cohort, rallied a small force, and returned to relieve them, risking his life on multiple occasions to see his men to safety. The common men of the cohort regard him as a hero. However, he is a novus homo, new man, and is disliked by the majority of the officers for his deeply partisan opinions on the Civil War.
The Officers [] You award gold and honors to all the officers of the cohort for their commendable and brave efforts in holding the legion together and working to stamp out the Samnite threat. The officers, largely wealthy men already, have no need of gold, but this has the added bonus of awarding honors to every centurion or officer who feels he deserves one -- including those who don't.
The Cohort [] You make a great show of increasing the cohort's rations and cut of the pay as a reward for their bravery and stalwart defense against the Samnite assault, commending the men for being true Romans.
Atellus [] You honor yourself, a grant which none can dispute, as your commendable service in the battle was praised by the men themselves, and your steadfast leadership surely lead to great successes in battle.
Tercerus [] You honor Tercerus for his capable skill in hunting down and exterminating the surviving Samnite warriors, as well as killing the bandit Spurio and returning his gold to the Legion.
Titus Gallio [] The Roman soldier who led the expedition to fire the Samnite homes, he is widely held by the men as having saved Roman lives by driving the Samnites from their redoubts. They would certainly be upset if he received no special honors.
Maximius [] Maximius Aulus is a centurion who became separated from his men during the initial assault. He fought his way to them, and, finding them pinned down by Samnite forces, fought his way back out to the main force of the cohort, rallied a small force, and returned to relieve them, risking his life on multiple occasions to see his men to safety. The common men of the cohort regard him as a hero. However, he is a novus homo, new man, and is disliked by the majority of the officers for his deeply partisan opinions on the Civil War.
The Officers [] You award gold and honors to all the officers of the cohort for their commendable and brave efforts in holding the legion together and working to stamp out the Samnite threat. The officers, largely wealthy men already, have no need of gold, but this has the added bonus of awarding honors to every centurion or officer who feels he deserves one -- including those who don't.
The Cohort [] You make a great show of increasing the cohort's rations and cut of the pay as a reward for their bravery and stalwart defense against the Samnite assault, commending the men for being true Romans.
The Spoils of Samnium
Aeculanum was a wealthy city, situated at a fortuitous point for trade, and held many treasures. You selected one of these for yourself, either for your personal ownership, or for sale back in Rome, and another as a gift for Sertorius himself.
The Diamonds of Ampscantus [] Found at the bottom of the Pools of Ampscantus many long years ago, these jewels are held to be sacred relics of the goddess Mephitis, sanctified a hundred times over by the priests themselves and fashioned into a necklace of shimmering beauty. Their beauty is almost incomparable, and to sell them would be to diminish them -- though one could certainly sell them, and for a pretty penny besides.
--[] You took these as a gift for Sertorius.
The Blade of Bophus [] You took the ancient, simple sword which you found in the home of the town's governor, placed in a spot of reverence and honor. According to the slaves you have asked, it is the sword of Bophus, legendary founder of the town of Aeclanum and discoverer of the Pools of Ampscantus, who slept with the Goddess Mephitis and fought off a Roman invasion single-handedly. While the veracity of these tales cannot be confirmed, the sword is still a relic of no small fame, and a mighty weapon in its own right -- though the Samnites would forever hate you for taking it.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Tablet of Ascargantus [] The famed Greek orator, Ascargantus of Rhodes, once gave a mighty speech in Samnium, a work of oratory so beautiful that it reputably made the very god Apollo weep, causing the seers, musicians, and augurs of the region to be distraught from sheer joy for weeks afterward. This moving invective was recorded on fifty-nine clay tablets by skilled transcribers, which were then decorated by the finest artists in Samnium. Forty have since been lost, and the others exist around Italia in the private collections of wealthy and connected men. This is the last.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Steed of Cassimaius [] Cassimaius of Bovanium was one of the Samnite leaders at Aeculanum, and committed suicide moments after Rome began her advance on the town. His horse, Tercopholes, was a Greek beauty descended from several prestigious lines of noble steeds, and was descended from the royal stables of Egypt, Greece, and Pontus. Cassimaius even boasted that the beast was a distant descendant of Bucephalus, the legendary steed of Alexander the Great. Regardless of the truth of his audacious claims, the steed is truly a beautiful thing to behold.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Trove of Spurio [] Upon searching the estate of the dead bandit lord Spurio, it was discovered that he'd hidden a truly ridiculous amount of gold in secret compartments throughout his home, only a small amount of which he had taken with him, likely figuring he could return and take the rest back later. This wealth, amounting to nearly eight talents of gold, is counted for the purposes of seizure and loot as a single 'haul', and could thus be safely taken by yourself or Sertorius -- though not without angering the men.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Mural of Simbellia [] A mural painted by the ancient Samnite artist, Simbellia the Appian, had somehow made its way into the town. A beautiful and ornate map of Samnium itself as it stood in Simbellia's time, it is decorated with images of roaring lions, eagles, and, most appropriately, a lone, snarling wolf representing Rome, placed on Samnium's southwestern border. It is a truly beautiful work of art, a credit to the Samnite race, and an item that would serve just as well placed in your home as it would in the market stall, where it might fetch a pretty price. You have it broken off of the governor's wall and take it with you.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius
--[] You took these as a gift for Sertorius.
The Blade of Bophus [] You took the ancient, simple sword which you found in the home of the town's governor, placed in a spot of reverence and honor. According to the slaves you have asked, it is the sword of Bophus, legendary founder of the town of Aeclanum and discoverer of the Pools of Ampscantus, who slept with the Goddess Mephitis and fought off a Roman invasion single-handedly. While the veracity of these tales cannot be confirmed, the sword is still a relic of no small fame, and a mighty weapon in its own right -- though the Samnites would forever hate you for taking it.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Tablet of Ascargantus [] The famed Greek orator, Ascargantus of Rhodes, once gave a mighty speech in Samnium, a work of oratory so beautiful that it reputably made the very god Apollo weep, causing the seers, musicians, and augurs of the region to be distraught from sheer joy for weeks afterward. This moving invective was recorded on fifty-nine clay tablets by skilled transcribers, which were then decorated by the finest artists in Samnium. Forty have since been lost, and the others exist around Italia in the private collections of wealthy and connected men. This is the last.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Steed of Cassimaius [] Cassimaius of Bovanium was one of the Samnite leaders at Aeculanum, and committed suicide moments after Rome began her advance on the town. His horse, Tercopholes, was a Greek beauty descended from several prestigious lines of noble steeds, and was descended from the royal stables of Egypt, Greece, and Pontus. Cassimaius even boasted that the beast was a distant descendant of Bucephalus, the legendary steed of Alexander the Great. Regardless of the truth of his audacious claims, the steed is truly a beautiful thing to behold.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Trove of Spurio [] Upon searching the estate of the dead bandit lord Spurio, it was discovered that he'd hidden a truly ridiculous amount of gold in secret compartments throughout his home, only a small amount of which he had taken with him, likely figuring he could return and take the rest back later. This wealth, amounting to nearly eight talents of gold, is counted for the purposes of seizure and loot as a single 'haul', and could thus be safely taken by yourself or Sertorius -- though not without angering the men.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius.
The Mural of Simbellia [] A mural painted by the ancient Samnite artist, Simbellia the Appian, had somehow made its way into the town. A beautiful and ornate map of Samnium itself as it stood in Simbellia's time, it is decorated with images of roaring lions, eagles, and, most appropriately, a lone, snarling wolf representing Rome, placed on Samnium's southwestern border. It is a truly beautiful work of art, a credit to the Samnite race, and an item that would serve just as well placed in your home as it would in the market stall, where it might fetch a pretty price. You have it broken off of the governor's wall and take it with you.
--[] You took this as a gift for Sertorius
The Remnant of a Remnant
The Samnites are broken and scattered, and Tercerus' diligent efforts ensured that none survived the butchery at Aeclanum, but there were small bands of reinforcements on their way to the town at the time of the town's destruction. Aimless and far from home, these bands will likely devolve into banditry with time, and, while they can pose no threat to the legion, would likely harass and plague the region for months and perhaps years to come. You have stretched the boundaries of your commission from Sertorius by sacking Aeclanum, and going to hunt down these bands would likely burst them altogether. However, can you truly call these lands pacified while Samnites still roam them with hate in their hearts for Rome?
[] You go after the Samnite forces, ordering a messenger back to Tercerus with a dispatch explaining your success and the reason for your delay.
[] You leave a token force in the area to hunt down and wipe out these forces, then return to the legion once done.
[] You leave a force under Mercator to hunt down and wipe out these forces, then return to the legion once done.
[] You draft several Samnites from the surrounding towns, deputize them, and task them with hunting down these forces, warning them that betrayal or laxness in their duties will be met with the same fate as Aeclanum.
[] You return to the legion without doing anything to attend to the matter. There will always be bandits.
[] You send a message to Sertorius requesting more time to hunt down these bands.
[] You leave a token force in the area to hunt down and wipe out these forces, then return to the legion once done.
[] You leave a force under Mercator to hunt down and wipe out these forces, then return to the legion once done.
[] You draft several Samnites from the surrounding towns, deputize them, and task them with hunting down these forces, warning them that betrayal or laxness in their duties will be met with the same fate as Aeclanum.
[] You return to the legion without doing anything to attend to the matter. There will always be bandits.
[] You send a message to Sertorius requesting more time to hunt down these bands.
There is now a TWELVE-HOUR MORATORIUM on all votes.
Use this time to discuss the choices available and create different Plans. As previously discussed, any votes not in plan form, or submitted before the moratorium is up, will not be counted.
As always, discussion is rewarded. (As are Omakes and Reaction posts.)
Use this time to discuss the choices available and create different Plans. As previously discussed, any votes not in plan form, or submitted before the moratorium is up, will not be counted.
As always, discussion is rewarded. (As are Omakes and Reaction posts.)
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