ALEA IACTA EST: A Roman Republic Game (Rules, OOC and Sign Up Thread) (CLOSED)

[Lumine]

ALEA IACTA EST:

A Roman Republic Game:

By Lumine

Synopsis: The year is 53 BC. For six years the unlikely alliance of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus has dominated Roman politics through their enormous influence among the Senate, Knights and the people, leaving moderates like Cicero, outcasts like Clodius and the aristocratic faction of Cato isolated as the "Triumvirs" continue their uneasy pact. While Pompey remains in Rome grieving the death of his wife Julia and looking closely at the politics inside the city, Caesar is on the fifth year of his wars in Gaul fighting Ambiorix and the Belgian Tribes, and Crassus trains his armies in Syria while preparing his invasion of Parthia. Not only prominent Senators, but even foreign Kings plot around the struggle for power inside Rome as the Republic seemingly reigns supreme across the Mediterranean. But as the struggle turns violent once again... how much will the political balance shift?

Rules:

OVERVIEW: Starting on the year 53 BC you will play either as prominent Roman senators or foreign chieftains and kings, with the clear purpose of amassing power and rising as high as you can in this violent era. Romans will strive to become the most powerful man in Rome and cement their power for a long time, while foreign rulers will do their best to secure their independence and see their own tribes or kingdoms rise to challenge the might of the Roman Republic. You will take part of debates in the Senate, influence elections, partake in ancient warfare, enact plots to undermine your rivals, seek new alliances and do what you feel is necessary to win.

TURNS: Each turn runs for exactly twelve months starting on 53 BC, ensuring we can move fast while still covering a decent amount of time. Should a Roman Civil War ever start (being defined by a player rising against the Senate), then turns will be shortened to six months for the duration of the war to allow for a more engaging simulation. Each turn will bring with itself the elections for the next year in Rome, something very important for your characters and their allies. Players can communicate with each other within reason (Cato is not about to suddenly start talking to Orodes of Parthia, or Auletes to Vercingertorix), but I insist on being either included in the PM's or made aware of the discussions that are taking place. Otherwise penalties will follow for players who act behind the GM's back.

POLITICS: Roman players can take part in the Senate presenting, debating or voting on motions, as well as take part in elections by running candidates, giving speeches and endorsements, engaging in tactics, bribery and rumours of all sorts. While we consider a reality in which several different magistratures exist, the focus will always be on the Consular elections (with RL candidates), and the elections for the Tribunes of the Plebs, in which we will simulate how many tribunes belong to each character or faction.

REALISM: Players will be given a decent degree of action to diverge from OTL history so long as their actions are at least plausible at the eyes of the GM. That means you can attempt to innovate in several areas, but it also means you cannot change fundamental facts like, for example, the famous rivalry and hatred between Cato and Caesar, or Clodius and Cicero. In that sense non-Roman players have their most significant advantage, being granted some extra room to maneuver to match the advantages of Roman players.

WARFARE: Warfare will be based on the strategic sense more than the tactical, although truly large battles involving several players may be simulated in greater detail in a Roman Civil War. For Roman players their armies will always be based on legions (or cohorts) and auxiliary forces, whereas the non-Roman players will see their forces organized in infantry, cavalry and so on. Non-Roman players will be able to recruit men from a manpower pool of their own territories, whereas Roman players will be restricted to their rank and by the designs of the Senate. Think twice before recruiting a large army without the approval of the Senate... Warfare will be simulated through my dice roll system, already used in ASOIAF games.

STATS: Non-Roman players will be subject to two stats: popularity and money. For the Roman players it will be a bit more complicated, as we determine Senate popularity (showcasing the pull the player has within the Senate) and Public popularity (noting how popular he is with the people of Rome itself) alongside money. While I won't be using precise amounts of money to avoid overcomplicating things, these stats will mark important differences in simulation, so be mindful of them. You don't want to be hated after all...

[Lumine]

Mithridates is actually Orodes II's brother

Mithridates III is dead as per OTL, this Mithridates is a young son of his I've placed to show the scars of the Parthian Civil War continue.

[Lumine]

Took some time, but there we have families, map and troops. Now I need to finish writing the turn crises, the election events for 53 BC and, of course, the Senate thread.

[Lumine]

We're done! Turn begins now, you have exactly a week (which means senate votes will be open on Sunday morning). If players are active enough, I may have material for mid-turn updates starting from this turn.

Have fun!

[Lumine]

When will we be getting our secret goals?

Today in the afternoon.

so, how does one sign up for this game?

Well, you claim a character that interests you (and that I can feasibly allow to be playable). Is there anyone from the time period that you're interested in?

[Lumine]

When will we be getting our secret goals?

Today in the afternoon.

so, how does one sign up for this game?

Well, you claim a character that interests you (and that I can feasibly allow to be playable). Is there anyone from the time period that you're interested in?

Phillip II Philoromaeus

That would have been fascinating, actually, but he was deposed several years ago by this point in time. Any other character?

[Lumine]

Maybe a former Seleucid soldier who is fighting for the Romans? Idk, I just like the Seleucid

Too specific I'm afraid. I can offer you one of the smaller Kingdoms like Numidia, Armenia, the Bosphoran Kingdom, Thrace or the Dacians.

Lumine,
In which thread exactly can I post?

Oh, your thread is the Gameplay Thread. Strictly speaking non-Roman players can send ambassadors to the Senate in the Senate Thread, but since you're not a monarch the Gameplay Thread is were you can post.

[Lumine]

Also, I updated the map! It should show the Nabatean Kingdom now, plus all the way to the eastern border of Parthia (plus the Indo-Scythians and the Yuezhi).

[Lumine]

I'll have Thrace.

Great! You'll be added next turn though, I need some time to do some extra research on Thrace.

Event coming in a few minutes!

[Lumine]

A few friendly reminders:

-Include me in the PM's, for the love of the gods! Several of you are not doing so, and if this continues I'll have to impose penalties.

-Tomorrow morning the time for extra motions end, meaning that from Saturday to Tuesday the Senate only allows debate and voting, but no more motions.

-Turn ends early on Tuesday, so I can post updates on the afternoon of that day.

[Lumine]

I'll have Thrace.

Great! You'll be added next turn though, I need some time to do some extra research on Thrace.

Event coming in a few minutes!

Alright. Do I just wait and not do anything until next turn?

Indeed! You can use the time to plan or do extra research, but your crises and army numbers will be ready next turn.

Gentlemen, voting is open in the Senate. You can post your votes or send them via PM, not voting counts as if you abstained and that has consecuences of its own. There's 48 hours left in the turn, so send your orders soon!

[Lumine]

Only a few hours left and several players haven't sent orders. Not sure what to do here.

I'm sorry but I will have to withdraw.

I'm so busy irl so I won't be at all to be active, and an NPC Vercingetorix, considering his importance, would be far more preferable than an inactive player.

Best wishes everyone, hopefully I will be able to join later

Thanks for letting us know, Windjammer.

[Lumine]

Turn closed. I'll get to writing.

[Lumine]

Research took some extra time, but I'll be posting the results within the next few hours as the framework is ready. No player has died on this first turn, but we have riots, revolts and some fascinating political events...

[Lumine]

There you go. You'll have some hours to digest the news, 52 BC will be up tomorrow.

Only a few hours left and several players haven't sent orders. Not sure what to do here.

How does one send orders?

You just have to send me a PM.

For example:

"I order ____ army to march to _____ and fight the enemy forces there", or, "I'll send assassins against ______", or, "I order a tax to be created that affects _____ and _____", and so on. Some can be more detailed, others a simple sentence.

Now that Windjammer is gone, Gaul is open for players who wish to play as Ambiorix, Vercingetorix or as a "council" of sorts to control the entire revolt in Gaul. If New Tennessean Politician wants to switch to Gaul (as it would be far more decisive to the game right now than Thrace) he can do so, otherwise it's open to new players.

[Lumine]

Gentlemen, do stop sending PM's with orders. The turn is not up yet.

[Lumine]

Turn ready, enjoy.

[Lumine]

is there a limit to the number of Orders you can send per Turn?

No, but given the nature of the period many orders may take a long time to accomplish. Still, the more the better I should say.

[Lumine]

Any chance we could get a key for the map for the color blind aND dumb people here, me being both?

I don't follow, what do you mean by a "key"?

[Lumine]

Roughly a week unless there a reasonable grounds for an extension.

[Lumine]

Red is of course the territories under direct Roman control, with the lighter shade of Red reserved for some of the closest client states to Rome (the conquered tribes in Gaul, Massalia, the cities in the Bosphorus, Galatia, Commagene and Cappadocia).

In Gaul purple represents the Arverni and the Gaul-Aquitanian rebels, with the shade of green in Belgium being Ambiorix and his Belgian tribes.

In Africa the kingdom most of the west is Mauritania, then goes Numidia, then the Roman provinces of Africa and Cyrenaica and of course the Kingdom of Egypt.

North of Macedon you have the Sapean Kingdom of Thrace, sandwiched between the Romans and the large Dacian Empire of Burebista. To the North of them and in the Crimea you have the Bosphoran Kingdom of Farnaces.

East of the Roman province of Asia and its allied Kingdoms you have the Kingdom of Armenia (Green) and the Parthian Empire (Orange), the two small principates between Rome and Parthia being Osroene (upper one) and Palmyra (lower one).

East of the Parthian Empire you have the Yuezhi tribes in a shade of red, and down you have the Indo-Scythian Kingdoms in dark blue.

Finally, close to Egypt (yellow) there's Judaea (purple, a strange mixture of client kingdoms under direct rule in many areas), and finally the Nabatean Kingdom right between Egypt and Parthia.

[Lumine]

Any chance of an extension? I’ve found activity v difficult over Christmas and surely we need a Caesar?!

I just realized there’s not a Caesar. Hmmm...

There will be an extension, but after losing Vercingetorix and Caesar so soon I have a problem I'm not sure how to solve, I just can't carry on with an NPC Caesar given the moment in the game. Not sure if the biggest issue is the time period or my way to handle the game, but a momentum loss so soon into the game is a huge problem.

Any suggestions?

[Lumine]

Right, that's certainly sensible advice, I appreciate it. Caesar will be open for the next three days (ending on Friday Night) either for new players or for current players whose roles are not absolutely crucial. If there's no claims by then, I'll have a special event ready.

[Lumine]

I'll be granting an extension as we lack a Caesar player and few orders have been sent. This turn will now end on January 2nd, which ought to be enough time.

For the remainder of this turn I'll allow Kingpoleon to handle Caesar, and we'll see what happens after this particular turn.

[Lumine]

Is Kingpoleon giving up being Clodius for good, or is he playing both? Because I'm cerainly not comfortable knowing that I'm dealing with Caesar (my ally) and Clodius (my enemy) at the sime time in the same person.

Both is the original idea, as it seemed like the more obvious choice for having both characters for this turn only. Other than killing Caesar and breaking the balance of the game, I can't think of a suitable alternative other than that.