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Res Publica: A Quest of Ancient Rome

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Caesar said:
I felt the urge to stretch my creative muscles a little. Not sure how this turned out. It's been a while.

"There will come a time, young Atellus, when neither knowledge of the law, nor eloquent oratory, nor even being in the right will avail you in court."

As had become their habit, they sat where they had first met, on Scaevola's balcony, overlooking Rome. The view frequently served as a prop in these little discussions. The Pontifex Maximus, Quintus Cingulatus had discovered, possessed a well-developed melodramatic streak.

But then, such are the requirements of oratory.

Now, though, the old man seemed subdued. More, for the first time Atellus could recall, his age seemed to diminish him rather than enhance his dignitas. Weariness hung on him like a burial shroud, the grey of his eyes now less iron and more aged, crumbling stone.

"Bribery," Atellus ventured at last, seeking to break a silence grown suddenly oppressive.

Scaevola frowned.

"That is a large part of it, yes, but it is not the whole of the problem. It comes back to our Roman hatred of bureaucracy, and that venomous demagogue Gaius Gracchus." He paused, looking expectantly at his pupil.

Used by now to his teacher's foibles, Atellus considered the thread of their conversation, and followed it to its logical conclusion.

"Tax farming in Asia," he said, "and equestrian juries."

"Just so," Scaevola said, smiling bitterly. "And thus were the equestrians simultaneously handed both the opportunity to enrich themselves beyond even their wildest, most deluded hopes, and the means to evade the consequences of their crimes against the Republic's name and abuse of her subjects. Gaius Gracchus was a grasping fool and an aspiring tyrant, but I wonder if he realised what harm he wrought with that, what poison he loosed in the very heart of the Republic." His voice strengthened, ringing with conviction as rage restored his animus.

"The publicani and their ilk are a cancer. They know nothing of what it means to be Roman, nothing of the virtues and traditions our strength is built on. The lowest drunkard in Rome's meanest gutter knows more of restraint and self-discipline. Their wanton exploitation almost beggared Asia, and the naked cruelty with which they pursue it led the province to welcome Mithridates with open arms. They are a cancer, and I grow increasingly convinced they must be excised like one."

He subsided, glaring out over the city, his earlier frailty burned away like morning mist under the sunlight of righteous fury.

"Are they truly untouchable in the courts, then?" Atellus asked quietly. Scaevola's words had been quite a blow to his image of Rome. A boy's image, he would freely concede, but no less treasured for that.

For if it is not Rome as it is, it is Rome as she should be. And how shall that come to pass if those of us who are to lead her do not hold the ideal close to our hearts?

Scaevola gave another bitter smile.

"I assume you have heard of what became of Rutilius Rufus." It was not a question. "A former consul, exiled from Rome, denied all those things that make a citizen a citizen, and all for the crime of helping me to attempt to restrain the publicani in their shameless rape of Asia."

"More than an attempt, surely. I have heard that the locals still celebrate a festival in your honour," Atellus interjected.

Scaevola gestured curtly. "I am not yet so old as to need cosseting boy. Now, let me come to the point. Rufus had the support of Antonius Orator, Crassus Orator, and myself. All modesty aside, any one of us could stand as peer to Demosthenes. All three together? The match has not yet been seen. But gold has an eloquence unsurpassed by any man, and the Equestrian Order are not likely to stopper their ears against its blandishments. And did not, that day."

They sat in silence for some minutes, the dull roar of the greatest city in the world washing over them, before Scaevola stirred again.

"Their short-sightedness mystifies me," he admitted. "It is right and proper for a man to profit from his service to the Republic, so long as the Republic profits from his service, but the publicani consume until nothing is left. They would have been as wealthy in five years under my administration as they would have been left to their own devices, and wealthier in ten. Aye, and Mithridates would yet be entangled in Cappadoccia and Bithynia. But as well wish for the Tiber to flow with Falernian as for mortal men to not be fools."

Atellus hesitated a moment before speaking.

"I fear I may not show the same aptitude for it as I have for other subjects, but my interest is piqued. Where would you suggest I seek further knowledge in such matters?"

The Pontifex Maximus gave him a long, searching look.

"I do not like to speak of my time in Asia," he said at last. "The memories are tainted. But I will give you what notes I have remaining. You are bright enough to gain something from that, I think, and we shall see where we go from there."

Scaevola was as good as his word. Within two days Atellus found his room overflowing with scroll buckets crammed with rolls of finest papyrus covered in the old man's spidery script.

Word Count ~881
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Excellent.

This quite reminds me of a poem from I, Claudius, a prophecy predicting that Rome's ultimate betrayal and destruction of Carthage had set upon her a sort of 'Punic Curse', which would curse the Romans with their stolen wealth and mastery over the Mediterranean, leading their newfound riches (and the accompanying avarice) to eventually destroy the Republic, and, ultimately, Rome herself:

Who groans beneath the Punic Curse
And strangles in the strings of the purse
Before she mends must sicken worse.

Her living mouth shall breed blue flies
And maggots creep about her eyes
No man shall mark the day she dies.
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At any rate, I think, say...300 Stewardship XP is appropriate for that little talk.

(300/4000) to Rank 5!
 
Telamon said:
Excellent.

This quite reminds me of a poem from I, Claudius, a prophecy predicting that Rome's ultimate betrayal and destruction of Carthage had set upon her a sort of 'Punic Curse', which would curse the Romans with their stolen wealth and mastery over the Mediterranean, leading their newfound riches (and the accompanying avarice) to eventually destroy the Republic, and, ultimately, Rome herself:



At any rate, I think, say...300 Stewardship XP is appropriate for that little talk.

(300/4000) to Rank 5!
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The inspiration (such as it was) came from reflecting on how the history of the Republic is essentially a long line of brilliant men making a series of decisions that made perfect sense in the immediate term, each of which nonetheless established the conditions for the Republic's inevitable downfall. (Well, that, and the realisation that Scaevola has got to be so damnably tired of this shit.)

Also, at last progress has been made on the road to having Atellus retire to open a wine stand in the Forum. Thanks.
 
I've finally gotten around to writing a proper post on skill ranks and what they mean. This will be added to the end of the character sheet, but I'm posting it here so the thread at large will be aware.

Skill/Stat Ranks:
I. Abysmal: You have no skill with this whatsoever, and are actively terrible at it. Any attempt by yourself to do this will be met with abject failure unless the gods are truly smiling on you. (Levels 0-1) (-6 Modifier)

II. Very Poor: You are incredibly poor at this, one of the worst currently in Rome. You may succeed in using it if you blunder into success using what little you do know. (Levels 2-4) (-4 Modifier)

III. Poor: This...is not your strength. Find some other way of solving your problems, if at all possible. (Levels 3-4) (-2 Modifier)

IV. Average: You are markedly average at this. Not amazing, not terrible, just...good. Depending on what occurs, your performance could be remarkable or awful, but you have a fair chance of either. (Levels 5-7) (No Modifier)

V. Proficient: You're okay at this, showing some small skill in your attempts. Your performance is slightly above average. (Levels 8-9) (+1 Modifier)

VI. Accomplished: You are quite skilled at this, proving to be significantly better than most. (Levels 10-14) (+2 Modifier)

VII. Renowned: You are famed for your skill in this, and it is likely your strongest and most adept trait. Most Romans of note which you encounter will have at least one renowned stat or skill -- it's necessary to rise high, after all. (Levels 15-17) (+4 Modifier)

VIII. Epic: You are one of the greatest in Rome at this, and your exceptional talent for it is spoken of from Italia to Aegyptus. Actions you take with this are incredibly likely to succeed. (Level 18) (+6 Modifier)

IX. Legendary: You are legendary, a generational talent whose renown and legend will long outlive you. It is almost impossible for you to fail at any task involving this. (Level 19) (+8 Modifier)

X. Mythical: You are on the level of the gods, a talent that has never been seen before and will never be seen again. Plato, Alexander, Heracles -- these are the myths of our time, and you can count your name alongside theirs. For you, failure at this is laughable. (Level 20) (+10 Modifier)
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Reputation Ranks:
0: Unknown

1-4: Notable/Unsavory

5-7: Noteworthy/Unfavorable

8-10: Recognized/Disliked

10-13: Popular/Unpopular

14-17: Acclaimed/Detested

18: Sensational/Hated

19: Generational/Reviled

20: Revered/Anathema
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Also, a mechanical announcement: 10 XP will be applied for every page of discussion during a moratorium, to reward you for talking over something. You can also gain a flat 100 XP for reaction posts. This XP, when you've gathered enough, can be voted on to go to a skill of your choice. Between 200-400 XP will be given for an omake, though given immediately to the skill I feel the omake most touches on. More may be given if the omake is exceptionally long/has multiple parts (though of course it must be good, if you write 4,000 words simply to get XP, I will reward you far less.)

Applied retroactively, you now have: 260 Saved XP.
 
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I have to wonder if at some point just stabbing someone in the street will be the solution to a problem.
 
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On the other hand, we can equally well observe that it is something of a two-edged sword; we can be the stabee almost as readily as we can be the stabber. Perhaps more readily in some respects; as I understand it, it was common for Roman aristocrats to travel with something of an entourage of clients and servants when possible, and physical security was one of the benefits of such an arrangement.

EDIT:

Damn, but I wish I felt up to writing omakes. I simply do not know enough about Rome to feel confident in having done my homework for an omake, sadly. I could probably co-write with someone qualified to consult, but I don't think I'd be up for doing it alone.
 
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Spacegnom said:
How/when can we vote to spent this Saved XP? Because, I doubt anyone would argue against immediately putting 9XP into Combat.
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I was rather waiting to have it be a vote added when it reached a meaningful amount, say 500 or 1000, but considering the circumstances and the fact that it's likely to happen again (being a few points from ranking up), I'll make it into an optional vote at the end of every update, which can be appended on to the end of any plan. I briefly considered making it a non-plan related vote which could be 'activated' at any time, but that runs into the problem of a handful of people deciding they want it and voting for it, running contrary to the will of most of the thread.

Though perhaps I could format it as

[] Yes, Use (amount here) of our XP this turn to (write-in what you want)
[] No, don't use XP this turn

But that would require everyone to make an additional vote to simply not do something.
 
@Telamon would it be okay to still add this to the current plans?
If yes:
@Simon_Jester Could you add ...
[] Yes, spend some of our XP this turn
-[] 9 XP
-[] Combat
... to your old plan post? The tally correctly still bases the contents of Plan Arts, Laurels, and Headhunters on your orginal post.

I doubt anyone voting for that plan would disagree.
Edit: I would say since we are voting in plan format anyway: All XP distributions listed in the ultimately winning Plan are done. The rest is ignored.
 
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So... can we attach this to both of the votes this round?

[] Yes, spend some of our XP this turn
-[] 9 XP
-[] Combat

I prefer using subvotes, to make sure there's a clear yes/no, with how much & where to spend XP moved to different lines.


EDIT: ninja'd by @Spacegnom. Incidentally:
Spacegnom said:
@Simon_Jester Could you add ...
-[X] Yes, Use 9 of our XP this turn to Combat
... to your old plan post? The tally correctly still bases the contents of Plan Arts, Laurels, and Headhunters on your orginal post.
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You want to make sure to edit and remove the 'X' from this, as it would cancel out your actual vote in the official tally.
 
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I had a quick look over the updates this far to see if there were any other close stat progressions. Here is what I found (Might have missed something):
Stats
Military: Accomplished (13) -- (2000/10000) to Rank 14
Charisma: Accomplished (11) -- (700/10,000) XP to Rank 12
Stewardship: Poor (4) -- (300/4000) to Rank 5!
Intelligence: Renowned (15) --
Education: Accomplished (10) --
Subterfuge: Average (6) --
Skills
Combat: Proficient (9) -- (8991/9000) XP left to Rank 10
Oratory: Accomplished (10) -- (1,113/10,000) XP to Rank 11
Command: Average (6) -- (862/6000) to Rank 7
Law: Proficient (9) -- (285/9000) XP left to Rank 10
Philosophy: Average (5): -- (374/5,000) XP to Rank 6
Administration: Average (5) --
Diplomacy: Proficient (9) --
 
Spacegnom said:
@Telamon would it be okay to still add this to the current plans?
If yes:
@Simon_Jester Could you add ...
-[X] Yes, Use 9 of our XP this turn to Combat
... to your old plan post? The tally correctly still bases the contents of Plan Arts, Laurels, and Headhunters on your orginal post.

I doubt anyone voting for that plan would disagree.
Edit: I would say since we are voting in plan format anyway: All XP distributions listed in the ultimately winning Plan are done. The rest is ignored.
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Hmmm. Yes, certainly, and while I'm a bit iffy over people having 'voted' for something they may not have seen, you are correct in that there's almost no one I can see refusing what is, essentially, a "free" rank up. Though an effort to contact plan voters and alert them of the change would not be remiss.

Publicola said:
So... can we attach this to both of the votes this round?

[] Yes, spend some of our XP this turn
-[] 9 XP
-[] Combat

I prefer using subvotes, to make sure there's a clear yes/no, with how much & where to spend XP moved to different lines.


EDIT: ninja'd by @Spacegnom. Incidentally:

You want to make sure to edit and remove the 'X' from this, as it would cancel out your actual vote in the official tally.
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I rather like this format, as it makes things clearer as to what is being selected and where it's going.

Spacegnom said:
I had a quick look over the updates this far to see if there were any other close stat progressions. Here is what I found (Might have missed something):
Stats
Military: Accomplished (13) -- (2000/10000) to Rank 14
Charisma: Accomplished (11) -- (700/10,000) XP to Rank 12
Stewardship: Poor (4) -- (300/4000) to Rank 5!
Intelligence: Renowned (15) --
Education: Accomplished (10) --
Subterfuge: Average (6) --
Skills
Combat: Proficient (9) -- (8991/9000) XP left to Rank 10
Oratory: Accomplished (10) -- (1,113/10,000) XP to Rank 11
Command: Average (6) -- (862/6000) to Rank 7
Law: Proficient (9) -- (285/9000) XP left to Rank 10
Philosophy: Average (5): -- (374/5,000) XP to Rank 6
Administration: Average (5) --
Diplomacy: Proficient (9) --
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Lastly, thank you for this. I've been meaning to add these XP values to the front page (the numbers are currently mixed up in my notes) and this certainly makes it far easier to do so.

(This is the part where you give yourselves a few extra thousand XP in each skill and hope I don't notice :p)
 
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Telamon said:
Hmmm. Yes, certainly, and while I'm a bit iffy over people having 'voted' for something they may not have seen, you are correct in that there's almost no one I can see refusing what is, essentially, a "free" rank up. Though an effort to contact plan voters and alert them of the change would not be remiss.



I rather like this format, as it makes things clearer as to what is being selected and where it's going.



Lastly, thank you for this. I've been meaning to add these XP values to the front page (the numbers are currently mixed up in my notes) and this certainly makes it far easier to do so.

(This is the part where you give yourselves a few extra thousand XP in each skill and hope I don't notice :p)
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I totally agree with you on the topic of changing already voted on plans... but I really don't wanna go mass-tagging people over 9XP :V
I will do it, If you want me to. That said I think there is a limit to how many people get a notification from being tagged in the same post.

:whistle:
 
Spacegnom said:
I totally agree with you on the topic of changing already voted on plans... but I really don't wanna go mass-tagging people over 9XP :V
I will do it, If you want me to. That said I think there is a limit to how many people get a notification from being tagged in the same post.

:whistle:
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In any other circumstance I would insist, but it is 9 XP. I'll give it a pass just this time.

Damn, Spring Break has made me weak and merciful. :V
 
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[X] Plan Arts, Laurels, and Headhunters

I was initially going to go for the horse but the tablet is simply too rare to pass up. We can always buy/find a good horse later.
 
As compelling as the chance to show up pompey is, I think I'll take the tablet. It seems more reliable(not based on rumors)

[X] Plan Arts, Laurels, and Headhunters
 
Lovely quest, but haven't the voters painted themselves into a corner by joining a Marian partisan in the field while laboring for a defender of the old ways who had them piss of the prime Sullan heir?

Where do you go from there?
 
Sir Rabby said:
Lovely quest, but haven't the voters painted themselves into a corner by joining a Marian partisan in the field while laboring for a defender of the old ways who had them piss of the prime Sullan heir?

Where do you go from there?
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Pompey certainly wasn't a heir to Sullan, if anything he was rather seen as a buffoon by Sullan. In OTL, he pushed for a triumph of his own shortly after the civil war, Sullan responded by giving him a triumph, but only after two others had gone right the day before him, which by that point had rather diminished the excitement of the roman people over having a triumph.

In addition, Pompey didn't really contribute a whole amount to the civil war. He only became notable in his own right when he successfully scoured the Mediterranean of the pirate threat entirely, and that I believe was after the death of Sulla.
 
Telamon said:
I was rather waiting to have it be a vote added when it reached a meaningful amount, say 500 or 1000, but considering the circumstances and the fact that it's likely to happen again (being a few points from ranking up), I'll make it into an optional vote at the end of every update, which can be appended on to the end of any plan. I briefly considered making it a non-plan related vote which could be 'activated' at any time, but that runs into the problem of a handful of people deciding they want it and voting for it, running contrary to the will of most of the thread.

Though perhaps I could format it as

[] Yes, Use (amount here) of our XP this turn to (write-in what you want)
[] No, don't use XP this turn

But that would require everyone to make an additional vote to simply not do something.
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My suggestion would be that if there are any ranks near completion and we have the available points, you can just add them without issuing a vote every time or requiring that people include it as part of votes.
 
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