Bullmoose
A True Aristocrat
- Location
- Philadelphia
Maybe I am being too literal, but the option to hunt down the bandits does say we send a cohort, not the gauls.
Thanks for pointing that out. I misread that the first time around.
Res Publica: A Quest of Ancient Rome
- Thread starter Telamon
- Start date
- Original Historic
Maybe I am being too literal, but the option to hunt down the bandits does say we send a cohort, not the gauls.
- Location
- Europe
This is him. Servius Sulpicius Rufus
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think we should consider what we want to do with the cavalry. They will be essential to patrolling the roads, dealing with bandits and generally giving us a fast response force to the sort of hit and run tactics we can expect, but they are also the most likely to cause problems, especially in the field. Nevertheless I think we should at least attempt to whip them into order; disciplined cavalry, even in the ancient world (where cavalry isn't quite as OP as knights and cataphracts were, at least outside of the steppes), are a formidable force.
Therefore I'm going to go with @EWilanO 's plan, for the moment at least.
[] Plan "Order & Logisitics"
-[] Whip Them Into Order
-[] Build an Encampment
-[] Liberate the Towns
-[] Restore the Roads
-[] I Am The Law
-[] Willing Advocate
-[] Forge a Route
- Location
- USA
Not the Rufus who was Consul in 105 BC though. That was Publius Rutilius Rufus. No relation I believe, the Rufus in both cases is a cognomen - ie more of a nickname, here referring to red hair. Admittedly cognomen could become hereditary, but without the same family name (Sulpicius vs Rutilius) they presumably weren't related.
- Location
- Central Europe
I really don't see the danger from the bandits. IMO the bandits are a problem for the Samnite civilians. They wouldn't dare attacking a legion or even a cohort.
We can choose to deal with them once the rebels are defeated.
- Location
- Classified
I favor training the men, as it's not only helpful now, but in the final stages of this war. Remember, the Samnites rolled ridiculously well for their leader and initial response. This isn't going to be dirt farmers led by bandits. This will be a real fighting force, led by the best possible general. This is in no way a foregone conclusion, and the time spent hardening up these cohorts will be worth its weight in gold. Befriending the Gauls would benefit our long term political prospects, but so would having this campaign go well, rather than a bloody slog or an outright defeat.
As we seem to be spending multiple turns here, I favor spending all our actions on securing the food supply: liberating the towns, followed by killing the bandits and rebels. I prefer the towns over Aquilonia, as seizing the towns will extend our control over the greater region, as well as keeping our potential problems close to home, rather than over long routes. We can march into the towns no problem, but if we want to keep the food coming in, we've got to beat the rebels and bandits. The towns themselves have been threatened by the rebels, and the food shipments are threatened by the bandits. We have no hope of keeping this city if there isn't food, and so we need to make it priority number 1. Besides that, crushing the enemies without will give us breathing room to deal with the enemies within, as well as synergize with training the men, giving them a relatively low threat foe to apply their skills to.
Edit: As for feeding the legion, I still favor sharing, as that lets us focus on securing one food source instead of two. I oppose appropriation, as "army stealing food right before winter" is as good as handing the countryside to the rebellion. I could support forging a route, as while we'll have to defend and improve the route, it does let us diversify our food sources.
As we seem to be spending multiple turns here, I favor spending all our actions on securing the food supply: liberating the towns, followed by killing the bandits and rebels. I prefer the towns over Aquilonia, as seizing the towns will extend our control over the greater region, as well as keeping our potential problems close to home, rather than over long routes. We can march into the towns no problem, but if we want to keep the food coming in, we've got to beat the rebels and bandits. The towns themselves have been threatened by the rebels, and the food shipments are threatened by the bandits. We have no hope of keeping this city if there isn't food, and so we need to make it priority number 1. Besides that, crushing the enemies without will give us breathing room to deal with the enemies within, as well as synergize with training the men, giving them a relatively low threat foe to apply their skills to.
Edit: As for feeding the legion, I still favor sharing, as that lets us focus on securing one food source instead of two. I oppose appropriation, as "army stealing food right before winter" is as good as handing the countryside to the rebellion. I could support forging a route, as while we'll have to defend and improve the route, it does let us diversify our food sources.
Last edited:
- Location
- NY
An army marches on its stomach, people. We have to have to have to secure a solid supply route, because as scary as a city with bread riots is, half of a legion doing it is worse.
I don't have much of an opinion on the other questions yet, but for now, Liberate the Towns, Eliminate the Bandits, and Forge a Route seem like no-brainers.
I don't have much of an opinion on the other questions yet, but for now, Liberate the Towns, Eliminate the Bandits, and Forge a Route seem like no-brainers.
- Location
- Classified
On further thought, you're probably right. Sharing the city's food would let us save actions, but it may be a bit too greedy.
[] Plan Hierarchy of Needs
-[] Whip Them Into Shape
-[] Liberate the Towns
-[] Eliminate Bandits
-[] Defeat the Rebels
-[] I Am The Law
-[] Willing Advocate
-[] Forge a Route
The most important parts of the hierarchy of needs are physiological needs, followed by safety and security. We need to secure a food supply, and then we need to eliminate the threats to that food supply. Considering we're only sending one cohort after these rebels, and Atellus has the Military skill to accurately judge enemy strength, I wager they're not a big threat in a straight fight. Once the city isn't starving and the enemy has been driven back, we can turn to problems like quartering soldiers and improving roads.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
[facepalm]
By all the gods...
I feel sorry for Proserpina.
[breaks out laughing in real life]
WOOOT!
'Whip them into order' has limited payoff but one HUGE advantage, namely that it reduces the risk of our Gallic auxiliaries doing something batshit and causing trouble during a protracted period of garrison duty among neutral-to-hostile civilians.
When it comes to our actions around Bovianum... In rough order of my preferences.
Hm, the 'forge' options are long term political gain, considerable gain, but sacrifice strength right now. 'Whip them into shape' does the most for our combat strength right now.
'Whip them into order' has limited payoff but one HUGE advantage, namely that it reduces the risk of our Gallic auxiliaries doing something batshit and causing trouble during a protracted period of garrison duty among neutral-to-hostile civilians.
When it comes to our actions around Bovianum... In rough order of my preferences.
Secure A Route [] is critical from a logistics point of view, if nothing else to make up for the food we're going to be eating and not making the situation even worse.
Defeat the Rebels [] Gemino leads the biggest and most nationalist band, the one that is the greatest threat to Bovianum, and the one most likely to form a nucleus for further guerilla resistance. Probably going to have to take this one ourselves, with the Second and a few other cohorts, to be sure of pulling it off.
Liberate the Towns [] is very important IF we do it in conjunction with suppressing the bandits somewhat. If we don't the towns just get raided or the supply shipments get raided.
Restore the Roads [] is a SUPER Roman thing to do, but if we do it without having 'liberated' the towns or suppressed the bandits it does us less good than we'd like.
Eliminate the Bandits [] is time-consuming but rewarding, and will help.
Build an Encampment [] is a SUPER Roman thing to do, probably to our advantage in the long run, and is good practice in general. Plus, it reduces the problems we face if there's actually a treacherous movement within Bovianum that plots to destroy the legion if we don't have half the legion bedded down inside the town where Samnite daggers can easily reach sleeping soldiers.
Pacification [] may prevent us from having worse trouble from internal treachery, and is especially important if we don't have a separate camp. Nothing to sneeze at, but I'd be happier with our own camp.
Fortify the City [] isn't going to help much, because the bandits are unlikely to directly try to take the city. If the city later rebels we'll have to beat our way in through fortifications we built. Or worse, Sertorius will have to, and he'll be pissed.
Supress Revolution [] is a bad move because there IS no revolution, only overt banditry against the city of Bovianum. The whole point is to kill the bandits and convince the town to flip sides to us.
Nothing [] s worst of all; the survivors of Bovianum will predictably rebel against us when we leave.
...
I get the feeling that liberating the towns, suppressing the bandits in general, and upgrading the roads would synergize well. So would taking on Gemino, clearing the road to Aquilonia, and one other action of our own. After all, Gemino has focused his boasts on blocking the way to Aquilonia, while the more scattered bandits are more likely to be a problem with the surrounding towns.
Torn between these two options. Having Rufus around to play nice would be good. On the other hand, we COULD have Rufus play hardass while WE play nice; given that he was nasty enough to think of just letting the city starve while we garrison it, he might be better at it than we think.
I'm worried about this third option if only because of the risk of him getting assassinated!
Synergizes well with increasing the food supplies and with winning over the townsmen. Whichever of us is going to play 'good tribune' should probably pitch this as THEIR idea.
Brutally efficient, but likely to provoke a rebellion if we don't bring more food into
Very Roman course of action, but leaves us vulnerable.
- Location
- Classified
Raising subterfuge is going to be a real problem. I can't think of ways to increase it that aren't doing subterfuge actions. The problem is that the consequences for failing a subterfuge action are far worse than most other actions, as it means that we've been caught doing underhanded shit. We better rev up those omakes, I guess.
Godwinson
"Well, I've got nothing."
My thinking here is that we're going to be here for at least two turns, pacifying the region. Thus improving order will give us a good base to work from for taking out the rebels. If it's at all possible, I want to get some of the locals in the city help us take out the rebels.
- Location
- USA
Wall of text spoilered
The are of feeding your lessers shit and making them enjoy it. An important skill for any Roman.
Solid action, and worth the slight officer backlash. We are the Law
In a lot of quest this would be a sign to act like an overprotective brother and beat off the suitors. In this quest, it's a sign to narrow our options down to only the best and choose that one for our sister for maximum benefit to us (and maybe our family too).
Well that's a problem, but it's not one easily fixed. We need to work on that a bit when we get a chance.
And best letter bro comes through. Take that obscurity! We're gonna be remembered as a guy who Cicero wrote letters to!
HA! We're gonna be known as a guy who matched Cicero in his awesome letters. Even better! Now we just need to last long enough that our correspondence is known as one of Cicero's longest, most complete, and best correspondences.
So we read things right and Sertorius took the option we wanted him to take. I'm fine with some green troops if that means he's gonna deal with this. Hopefully Fortuna favors his efforts, and the dice fall on his side.
...That's a bit greener than I thought. Still, we have a good choice for green troops, so we just need to be careful with them. The Gauls can be a problem, but if we put them on the right actions their thirst for loot and battle should be slaked.
Friends are good, allies are better, and friends who are allies are the best.
...Are you advocating doing nothing? For Shame Rufus! For Shame!
Audaces fortuna iuvat -- Fortune favors the bold. No risk, no reward. Besides, this is a quest. It's always worth it to try.
"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt" We're failing on both right now, so let's solve the bread part. That's the most important bit. Bread riots are the worst.
Options wise let's take a look.
Forge bonds is right out. Not worth the action. Forge contacts could be useful, but we aren't really in a position to offer them loot on this mission. Order might have the biggest payoff if things go right, but I think it's gonna be a hard sell -- hard to say if it's even worth it if we don't know how many Gauls we have. Shape probably has a lower DC, and is really useful with how green our men are. But if we have them fight a bit, it could make up for not doing this option.
The most important thing of all is to feed the city. So a few option are out right away -- nothing, suppress revolution, pacification, and fortify the city. They're useful options (except nothing), but they don't advance the task of getting food to the city. Since this turn should only cover a few months, building an encampment is probably not worth it this round. We want to do it before winter, but we need to fix the food problem this turn.
So now we need to decide which option we want to feed the city with, and which are the two actions that synergize with it.
Secure a route goes synergizes with eliminate bandits and restoring the roads in my opinion, although defeat the rebels might go well with it too. We might not want to take defeat the rebels this turn though if we don't pick "whip them into shape" though.
Liberate the towns also works with the synergy options too, but I think defeat the rebels is more important there than defeat the bandits.
Overall, we want only one feed the town option, and the other two being options to synergize with it.
Easy -- "I Am The Law". Don't fight the trait when we don't have to. We don't need to play nice guy, and I like being the Law-bringer.
Easy as well -- "Willing Advocate". We need a "Good Cop" to our "Bad Cop". It also helps with us playing "I Am The Law" because it specifically mentions him defending them in the courts, which we will be big on.
Sharing isn't that great of an option, although it can work. I'm in favor of Forge a Route, but that probably will require us to eliminate the bandits and the rebels.
The are of feeding your lessers shit and making them enjoy it. An important skill for any Roman.
Solid action, and worth the slight officer backlash. We are the Law
In a lot of quest this would be a sign to act like an overprotective brother and beat off the suitors. In this quest, it's a sign to narrow our options down to only the best and choose that one for our sister for maximum benefit to us (and maybe our family too).
Well that's a problem, but it's not one easily fixed. We need to work on that a bit when we get a chance.
And best letter bro comes through. Take that obscurity! We're gonna be remembered as a guy who Cicero wrote letters to!
HA! We're gonna be known as a guy who matched Cicero in his awesome letters. Even better! Now we just need to last long enough that our correspondence is known as one of Cicero's longest, most complete, and best correspondences.
So we read things right and Sertorius took the option we wanted him to take. I'm fine with some green troops if that means he's gonna deal with this. Hopefully Fortuna favors his efforts, and the dice fall on his side.
...That's a bit greener than I thought. Still, we have a good choice for green troops, so we just need to be careful with them. The Gauls can be a problem, but if we put them on the right actions their thirst for loot and battle should be slaked.
Friends are good, allies are better, and friends who are allies are the best.
...Are you advocating doing nothing? For Shame Rufus! For Shame!
Audaces fortuna iuvat -- Fortune favors the bold. No risk, no reward. Besides, this is a quest. It's always worth it to try.
"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt" We're failing on both right now, so let's solve the bread part. That's the most important bit. Bread riots are the worst.
Options wise let's take a look.
Forge bonds is right out. Not worth the action. Forge contacts could be useful, but we aren't really in a position to offer them loot on this mission. Order might have the biggest payoff if things go right, but I think it's gonna be a hard sell -- hard to say if it's even worth it if we don't know how many Gauls we have. Shape probably has a lower DC, and is really useful with how green our men are. But if we have them fight a bit, it could make up for not doing this option.
The most important thing of all is to feed the city. So a few option are out right away -- nothing, suppress revolution, pacification, and fortify the city. They're useful options (except nothing), but they don't advance the task of getting food to the city. Since this turn should only cover a few months, building an encampment is probably not worth it this round. We want to do it before winter, but we need to fix the food problem this turn.
So now we need to decide which option we want to feed the city with, and which are the two actions that synergize with it.
Secure a route goes synergizes with eliminate bandits and restoring the roads in my opinion, although defeat the rebels might go well with it too. We might not want to take defeat the rebels this turn though if we don't pick "whip them into shape" though.
Liberate the towns also works with the synergy options too, but I think defeat the rebels is more important there than defeat the bandits.
Overall, we want only one feed the town option, and the other two being options to synergize with it.
Easy -- "I Am The Law". Don't fight the trait when we don't have to. We don't need to play nice guy, and I like being the Law-bringer.
Easy as well -- "Willing Advocate". We need a "Good Cop" to our "Bad Cop". It also helps with us playing "I Am The Law" because it specifically mentions him defending them in the courts, which we will be big on.
Sharing isn't that great of an option, although it can work. I'm in favor of Forge a Route, but that probably will require us to eliminate the bandits and the rebels.
@Telamon, considering that you rolled for our letters to/from Cicero to determine if we received bonuses from it, is there a reason you didn't do the same for Proserpina's? Our 'Average' Subterfuge would in that case simply apply no modifiers to the roll, so we'd still have a chance (albeit it a fairly poor one).
Also:
I don't think you've added this information to the character sheet yet.
Finally:
@Telamon, wanted to check that you saw this, and wanted to ask if you can give us an answer. What is the proportion of our Gaulish auxiliaries to the rest of the legion?
As for the voting options:
Also: this is Rome. Victories are won because the legion lives together, dies together, and fights as one. This is not Hollywood, where battles instantly disintegrate into thousands of separate one-on-one melees. If the legion is out of shape, it will take longer to do basic things like march or set up camp. If the legion is out of order, our soldiers will fail to hold the line, will leave openings in our flanks, will retreat when the battle seems to turn against them.
That means my support goes to:
[] Secure a Route
[] Liberate the Towns
[] Defeat the Rebels
As for our reputation (and Rufus's), I'm inclined to agree with @Blonddude42 -- 'I Am The Law' for us, 'Willing Advocate' for Rufus, basic good cop/bad cop.
As for feeding our legion, I'm fairly torn between 'Forge A Route' (secure our own independent supply of food) vs. 'Sharing'. Especially if we've invested our actions in securing more food for Bovianum, 'Sharing' seems like it might be feasible, especially since it'd encourage a 'we're all in this together' mindset. On the other hand, the locals don't exactly seem thrilled by our presence, so 'Sharing' might be perceived more as 'we don't have much food, and now they're taking even that'. Setting up a separate supply line to a solidly Roman town might give us a future option of sharing the Legion's food with the town if the Samnites' supplies run low.
Interesting choices here!
My vote is strongly for 'Whip Them Into Order'. It would be really bad if our unruly Gauls ransacked a friendly town or slaughtered some of the peaceful locals. It would be a shame if we decided to take a certain approach (offer a helping hand to the Samnites who surrender) only to have our Gaulish auxiliaries undercut that by their actions.
Also: this is Rome. Victories are won because the legion lives together, dies together, and fights as one. This is not Hollywood, where battles instantly disintegrate into thousands of separate one-on-one melees. If the legion is out of shape, it will take longer to do basic things like march or set up camp. If the legion is out of order, our soldiers will fail to hold the line, will leave openings in our flanks, will retreat when the battle seems to turn against them.
At this point I'm very much inclined to secure food and security for Bovianum, and forgo the separate fortifications for our legion. Specifically, some combination of:
I expect it will be easier to 'Defeat the Rebels' and hunt down Gemino as a single leader, than 'Eliminate the Bandits' and destroy each and every band of bandits around the city. We don't have the personnel to take care of everything, but ending Gemino should be a very useful symbolic gesture that might cause other bandits to think twice. (Note that these bandits are preying upon fellow Samnites, albeit ones that are cooperating with Rome -- there's bound to be more than a fair share of opportunists among them).
That means my support goes to:
[] Secure a Route
[] Liberate the Towns
[] Defeat the Rebels
As for our reputation (and Rufus's), I'm inclined to agree with @Blonddude42 -- 'I Am The Law' for us, 'Willing Advocate' for Rufus, basic good cop/bad cop.
As for feeding our legion, I'm fairly torn between 'Forge A Route' (secure our own independent supply of food) vs. 'Sharing'. Especially if we've invested our actions in securing more food for Bovianum, 'Sharing' seems like it might be feasible, especially since it'd encourage a 'we're all in this together' mindset. On the other hand, the locals don't exactly seem thrilled by our presence, so 'Sharing' might be perceived more as 'we don't have much food, and now they're taking even that'. Setting up a separate supply line to a solidly Roman town might give us a future option of sharing the Legion's food with the town if the Samnites' supplies run low.
Interesting choices here!
Omake: Life in the Legions
- Location
- USA
Let's see if I can take a shot at a quick history-style write-up. (Admittedly I'm just happy to see the small novel that is Cicero's correspondences)
It is all too easy to think of the Roman legion strictly in the terms of a fighting force. All too often, historians from - ironically enough - Tacitus to Hans Delbrück focus almost exclusively on the great battles that served as pivot points. From the last stand at Thermopylae, to the burning fleets of Red Cliffs in the Three Kingdoms of China, armies are more often than not faceless, amorphous entities who serve as extensions of the will of their kings and generals. In the high stakes games of statesmanship, only the leaders, their motives, and their constraints are accorded any note.
Recent histories have seen a shift in focus towards those same masses of men. What was life like as a Roman legionnaire? Was life that much different as a Soldier of Rome as opposed to that of the United States or the Soviet Union? What sort of daily pressures and concerns might such a man of one of history's greatest armies have worried himself over?
Some of the answers have been found in one of the most surprising and unlikely sources: Cicero's letters. Though many of his letters have been recovered and recorded for posterity, a recent set of correspondences detail a long running series of discussions with one of Cicero's contemporaries and possible friends.
Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, fellow student of Quintus Mucius Scaevola and also a practitioner of law by trade, was serving as an elected military tribune on campaign against the Samnites in approximately the early to mid 80s BCE. Assigned to Legio VI Gradivius, he served in a function not too dissimilar to that of an executive officer in a modern military capacity. That is to say, he served effectively as the second in command to Quintus Sertorius, the commander of the Sixth Legion. While history has spilled much ink about Rome's final battle with the Samnites - to say nothing of the great battle of wills between the titans of their day, Sulla and Marius, that almost overshadowed it - one of the newly discovered letters between Atellus and Cicero shine a surprising light on the daily routines of a Roman legion camp.
Atellus describes in great detail the many, many problems of an army that never completely goes away. All of said problems are also somehow your problem to diffuse. From issues of pay not reaching the common legionnaire, to complaints of the lack of competency of his fellow tribunes (with one exception), Atellus sheds light on the daily workings of the Sixth Legion as it campaigned to pacify the Samnites. Much of his writing, while in a very straightforward manner, can be almost tongue-in-cheek. In many instances, the tribune writes as if he had accepted that life was going to throw surprises and problems at him no matter what he did, and he was simply making the best of them.
Two instances in his letters are particularly interesting. The first is, in hindsight, one of history's earliest cases of military law. Putting his time as a lawyer to good use, Atellus described an instance where he was forced to balance the competing parties of accused murder. A legionnaire, Caius Castus, had been accused of murdering a member of the equites. The political complexities of Roman society had every right to rear its head, as the Soldiers of the Legion were drawn from the commoners of Rome, while the equites were of Atellus' social strata as optimates.
Atellus wrote that, while daunting, he had to approach this case like he would back in Rome: with the audience of the Forum in mind. "Imagine, if you would," Atellus wrote to Cicero, "that you were to prosecute the greatest man in Rome; that a third of the Forum attending were for the defense, a third for the prosecution, and a third to heckle everyone and anyone. Imagine that your name will immediately reach all of Rome, from Spain to Macedon, in but the moment required to draw breath. Now imagine the men watching you all have swords, and the training and wherewithal to use them on each other, if not necessarily on you." It is to Atellus' great credit that he was able to present a verdict that, while not loved, was respected by both parties as the firm law of the Legion. While the murderer was executed, the equites were found guilty of instigating the conflict, and were compelled to provide the expenses for funerary rights.
Another instance of camp life can be seen in the daily concerns of the common soldier. Atellus made a point of listening, if not necessarily taking action on, the many, many complaints legionnaires presented to their commanders when given the choice. Many of these concerns are rather mundane. Complaints included that of poor equipment, poorer food, the actions of a fellow legionnaire that were unlawful. "They must think us [myself and Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, fellow Tribune] to be the gods," Atellus complained to Cicero, "As if we were Jupiter, and were to but wave our hands and make all right again. Were it only so!" Yet he admitted that for all the 'petty complaints,' there were many instances when he actually saw problems of leadership and friction between personnel that threatened the cohesion of the Sixth Legion, and took immediate steps to stop them. "We can ill afford to be competitors for the consulship when the Samnites threaten Rome."
As unlikely a primary source as it is, Atellus' discussions with Cicero are fascinating, and are highly suggested to any who are interested in this often overlooked part of history. Were it not for the momentous events that were to literally shape the course of the classical world in the following decades, the conquest of Samnium - and the daily lives and squabbles of the men who made it possible - would certainly rank higher in the interests of historians everywhere.
- Victor Gilliam
"Life of the Sixth Legion," Triumphs of Rome
Recent histories have seen a shift in focus towards those same masses of men. What was life like as a Roman legionnaire? Was life that much different as a Soldier of Rome as opposed to that of the United States or the Soviet Union? What sort of daily pressures and concerns might such a man of one of history's greatest armies have worried himself over?
Some of the answers have been found in one of the most surprising and unlikely sources: Cicero's letters. Though many of his letters have been recovered and recorded for posterity, a recent set of correspondences detail a long running series of discussions with one of Cicero's contemporaries and possible friends.
Quintus Cingulatus Atellus, fellow student of Quintus Mucius Scaevola and also a practitioner of law by trade, was serving as an elected military tribune on campaign against the Samnites in approximately the early to mid 80s BCE. Assigned to Legio VI Gradivius, he served in a function not too dissimilar to that of an executive officer in a modern military capacity. That is to say, he served effectively as the second in command to Quintus Sertorius, the commander of the Sixth Legion. While history has spilled much ink about Rome's final battle with the Samnites - to say nothing of the great battle of wills between the titans of their day, Sulla and Marius, that almost overshadowed it - one of the newly discovered letters between Atellus and Cicero shine a surprising light on the daily routines of a Roman legion camp.
Atellus describes in great detail the many, many problems of an army that never completely goes away. All of said problems are also somehow your problem to diffuse. From issues of pay not reaching the common legionnaire, to complaints of the lack of competency of his fellow tribunes (with one exception), Atellus sheds light on the daily workings of the Sixth Legion as it campaigned to pacify the Samnites. Much of his writing, while in a very straightforward manner, can be almost tongue-in-cheek. In many instances, the tribune writes as if he had accepted that life was going to throw surprises and problems at him no matter what he did, and he was simply making the best of them.
Two instances in his letters are particularly interesting. The first is, in hindsight, one of history's earliest cases of military law. Putting his time as a lawyer to good use, Atellus described an instance where he was forced to balance the competing parties of accused murder. A legionnaire, Caius Castus, had been accused of murdering a member of the equites. The political complexities of Roman society had every right to rear its head, as the Soldiers of the Legion were drawn from the commoners of Rome, while the equites were of Atellus' social strata as optimates.
Atellus wrote that, while daunting, he had to approach this case like he would back in Rome: with the audience of the Forum in mind. "Imagine, if you would," Atellus wrote to Cicero, "that you were to prosecute the greatest man in Rome; that a third of the Forum attending were for the defense, a third for the prosecution, and a third to heckle everyone and anyone. Imagine that your name will immediately reach all of Rome, from Spain to Macedon, in but the moment required to draw breath. Now imagine the men watching you all have swords, and the training and wherewithal to use them on each other, if not necessarily on you." It is to Atellus' great credit that he was able to present a verdict that, while not loved, was respected by both parties as the firm law of the Legion. While the murderer was executed, the equites were found guilty of instigating the conflict, and were compelled to provide the expenses for funerary rights.
Another instance of camp life can be seen in the daily concerns of the common soldier. Atellus made a point of listening, if not necessarily taking action on, the many, many complaints legionnaires presented to their commanders when given the choice. Many of these concerns are rather mundane. Complaints included that of poor equipment, poorer food, the actions of a fellow legionnaire that were unlawful. "They must think us [myself and Servicus Sulpicus Rufus, fellow Tribune] to be the gods," Atellus complained to Cicero, "As if we were Jupiter, and were to but wave our hands and make all right again. Were it only so!" Yet he admitted that for all the 'petty complaints,' there were many instances when he actually saw problems of leadership and friction between personnel that threatened the cohesion of the Sixth Legion, and took immediate steps to stop them. "We can ill afford to be competitors for the consulship when the Samnites threaten Rome."
As unlikely a primary source as it is, Atellus' discussions with Cicero are fascinating, and are highly suggested to any who are interested in this often overlooked part of history. Were it not for the momentous events that were to literally shape the course of the classical world in the following decades, the conquest of Samnium - and the daily lives and squabbles of the men who made it possible - would certainly rank higher in the interests of historians everywhere.
- Victor Gilliam
"Life of the Sixth Legion," Triumphs of Rome
Last edited:
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
To be fair, I want to make a pick that makes the sisters happy, but... yeah, basically.
Though I for one would consider Roman Matron Quest very interesting, to get the flip side perspective on this.
Oh, aim higher, friend. We're gonna be remembered as a guy Cicero thanked for his high-quality letters back.
We have about a cohort worth of Gauls. I'm pretty sure this is the same unit that was available to us as one of our options for the fighting in Tutum Aequum
Honestly I think we should pick TWO synergizing options and "build a camp," because there are huge advantages to not having our men mingled in with the Samnites in case anything goes ugly, and it helps us maintain discipline. There's a reason the Romans routinely built camps wherever they went, and this shouldn't be an exception.
- Location
- Classified
Where do you get the idea that Order boosts those things and not Training? The description of Order is clear: it's about stopping the Gauls from going off the reservation, not stopping the legionnaires from breaking or running. That's clearly a function of Training.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I think that's @Publicola 's point. Order boosts the soldiers', specifically the Gallic soldiers' willingness to hold the line, follow orders, and maintain discipline. By contrast, keeping the legion 'in shape' has more to do with how long it takes to do basic things. The consequences of the former are, in the short term, likely to be bigger than the consequences of the latter
- Location
- Classified
Perhaps I'm reading it wrong, but this option seems clearly targeted at improving the legion's fighting ability, not basic tasks. Meanwhile, the Order option was provoked by Gauls looting when they weren't supposed to.
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
Whip them into shape makes the Romans we have maintain order in a fight. Whip them into Order makes our Gauls maintain order out of a fight, and maybe more in it too.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Given how Roman legionary training works, the same training that improves their performance in combat will also tend to do so out of combat. Physical fitness and stamina are key considerations in both areas, after all.
- Location
- Texas
Excellent!
500 military XP, which brings you around to (2983/10000) to Rank 14!
That's 100 XP for the Reaction post, bring you all up to a total of 681.