COO Rome
The year is 196 BC. The Romans have finished their campaign against Carthage (201BC), and have signed and ratified the peace treaty awarding Rome with vast territory. The Romans have suffered massive losses, the large plunder brought home after the end of hostilities barely made a dent in the financial situation after all deductions and payouts were processed. Not to be content with beating Carthage, the Consuls have recently made peace with Macedon (198/197 BC), after a multi year campaign liberated much of Greece from their clutches.
A few million denarii were carried home from Macedon as tribute/booty and placed into the treasury, which was promptly sent to the Publicans to repay them for the loans granted to the Roman state during the war with Hannibal. The treasury is effectively empty. The population of citizens is just beginning to recover from the many losses of the war with Hannibal.
The Game starts with the first senate session under the new Consuls of this year. Propraetors must be chosen and given assignments, either to governor or military command, and the number of legions raised for the year must be finalized. The Senate has effectively unlimited power to determine the course of the Republic.
The goal of COO Rome should be personal advancement, but also the advancement of the Republic. Since players are starting as Senators, they are considerably much better off when compared to an average Roman, but players are still relatively minor personalities when compared to the legends of the late Republic such as Sulla, or Caesar. You are given the chance to try to make that name for yourself, or die trying. It is a careful balancing act, If you focus only on yourself, at the expense of Rome, you will quite likely meet a violent end. If you attempt to disrupt the established order of things, it is very likely you will meet a violent end.
Your character is essentially the head of a familial organization, with many staff, associates, and family members. When you die, you are reincarnated into your family, with some penalties for dying.
All players will -at minimum- start as Senators of Rome. The senate is a body of 300 men. In Rome, there was a complex system of advisory, and councils, with the Senate holding no firm power in most cases, but advising the state and assemblies on how to act. There are three assemblies, in addition to the Senate. The Comitia Centuriata, the Comitia Tributa, and the Concilium Plebis. For our purposes, we will roll the Tributa and Centuriata into the Senate, as their duties and roles are relatively minor, and often involve rubber stamping things. The Concilium Plebis is a little different. It is solely Plebeian, and its members may pass, by itself, binding legislation.
Possible Player Roles:(Not necessarily limited to this list)
Plebeian Consul of Rome
Patrician Consul of Rome
Governor of Sicily
Governor of Sardinia
Governor of Hispania Citerior
Governor of Hispania Ulterior
Military Commanders (If you hold Imperium)
All players who remain senators in good standing will have a vote(s) in the senate, regardless of where their character is located. They will always be allowed to vote and argue within the senate as if they were there in physical form. Note: Your senate proxy is considered a distinct, nameless character, attached to your main persona and part of your familial organization. He can be killed if you piss too many people off, dont assume he is invulnerable just because your main character is alive. People who are out of the city, while still able to vote and discuss, lose any special privileges of their office while they are gone. In other words the Consul cannot be campaigning in the north, but also still preside over the Senate.
Players will eventually accrue more votes in the senate, as their reputation and power grows.
Exceptions to Roman Law
In order to make the game more fun and flow better, we are going to observe a few exceptions here to historical law and tradition.
- The Senate will be the amalgamation of the historical Senate, and The Comitia Centuriata, the Comitia Tributa.
- The Plebeian Tribunes do exist, but will be NPC based unless a character specifically wants to become one, and will not make many appearances. It would be unusual or perhaps even scandalous for a Senator to become Tribune at this stage in their career short of very contrived circumstances. There were many Tribunes in Rome, so past representations of a single tribune wielding enormous power is usually, with a few notable exceptions, anachronistic. If there were some sort of egregious thing happening, however, it is possible a Tribune would step in to protect the Plebs. They may also make appearances to drive story if that is necessary.
- Normally you should not be a Consul more than once per 10 years. A sort of unwritten, but widely respected rule. For our purposes that will be rewritten so that you should not be consul in successive years.
- The four original provinces were given to Praetors, historically. All additional provinces added were given to Propraetors and Proconsuls. For our purposes, all provinces will be assigned to Propraetors or Proconsuls.
Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Last edited by admin on Sat Dec 18, 2021 10:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Costs and Upkeep
The Roman state only maintained four legions at all times. Two for each Consul. All other Legions needed to be raised by the Senate for a specific task and assigned to a leader for command. Commanding must be done by either a Consul, or a Praetor, or a Proconsul/Propraetor. A typical Roman army also incorporated "Wings" of troops which Rome's "allies" were obligated to provide. These troops are not paid a wage, however Rome is obligated to feed them and their horses.
The governors of the provinces do not, by default, have legions assigned to them by the state. Typically, for defense, there is some form of provincial militia. Legions can be raised and assigned to the provinces if the Senate deems this necessary for defensive or offensive action. Legions do not require a cost to create, soldiers are expected to equip themselves. The only cost to the state are upkeep for salary and rations, which must be paid at their raising.
The Roman Fleet is relatively small, built out of necessity. Approximately 80 ships are drydocked and taken into service when necessary. The bulk of the cost of operating these ships is pay for its rowers and marines. A Roman Quinquereme has a crew of 360 and a marine detachment of about 60. TO give you an idea of how many ships the Romans needed, they used approximately 50 ships for the Second Macedonian war. They utilized 25 ships for convoy duties in the Adriatic. For the Syrian war, they used 115 ships. In 177, Consul Gracchus was assigned 10 ships to use to suppress a revolt on Sardinia. The ships are relatively cheap to build, and can be considered approximately 10,000 denarii to build a brand new ship.
Upfront Costs or Costs Per Year Upkeep - Senate Only
Legion (4,200 Infantry, 300 Cavalry) - 692,280 Denarii
Heavy Legion(5,200 Infantry, 300 Cavalry) - 830,280 Denarii
Socii Allies (Ala) (5,400 Infantry, 900 Cavalry) - 250,000 Denarii
200 Transport/Supply Ships (For One Legion) - 100,000 Denarii
Large Triumph - 100,000 Denarii
Medium Triumph - 50,000 Denarii
Small Triumph - 25,000 Denarii
Provincial Costs - Senate or Governor
Militia (200 Light Infantry) - 15,000 Denarii
Auxiliary Cavalry (100 Light Cavalry) - 15,000 Denarii
Field Fort - 10,000 Denarii
Warship (Quinquereme) - 10,000 to build / 20,000 Denarii upkeep if in use / 0 Denarii if drydocked for the year
Warship (Trireme) - 5,000 to build / 10,000 Denarii upkeep if in use / 0 Denarii if drydocked for the year
Construction Costs Italia and Provinces (General Guide, not exhaustive)
Normal Roman Road - 7 Denarii per foot
Extra Wide Road OR Road through very rough areas - 15 Denarii per foot
Small Bath Complex - 25,000 Denarii
Large Bath Complex - 100,000 Denarii
Humongous Bath Complex - 500,000 Denarii
Glorious and Grand Funeral Tomb - 25,000 Denarii
Minimum Temple (provincial) - 10,000 Denarii
Small Temple - 50,000 Denarii
Large Temple - 100,000 Denarii
Huge Temple - 350,000 Denarii
Decent Sized Theatre - 100,000 Denarii
Small Triumphal Arch with Statue - 10,000 Denarii
Large Triumphal Quadrifrontal Arch with Several statues - 100,000 Denarii
Octagonal Fountain - 8,000 Denarii
Small Market (Income 4,200 Denarii) - 30,000 Denarii
Medium Market (Income 7,000 Denarii) - 50,000 Denarii
Large Market (Income 11,250 Denarii) - 75,000 Denarii
Single Statue - 1,000 Denarii
Small Home in Rome on a good street, fit for a modest Roman Senator - 150,000 Denarii
Medium Home in Rome on a good street, beginning to be ostentatious and un-roman - 450,000 Denarii
Extremely large, prodigious, perfectly located on the best plot of land in Rome, grandest house in rome - 875,000 Denarii
Small Insulae (Income 3,000 Denarii) - 30,000 Denarii
Medium Insulae (Income 9,000 Denarii) - 75,000 Denarii
Huge Insulae (income 22,500 Denarii ) - 150,000 Denarii
Harbor Expansion - 30,000 Denarii
Mine Expansion (state owned mines) - 50,000 Denarii
Gladiator School/Holding Area - 10,000 Denarii
Combat Costs
Each legion, if engaged in active combat, would need additional attendants, pack animals, and misc. items. Each legion engaged in active combat will automatically cost 200,000 Denarii in extra fees for that year. In most cases it is known well ahead of time that the legion will be designated for Combat and this can or should be paid up front with their raising. The reason it is not automatically included is that there exist four legions raised every year for the two Consuls, and they do not have to be put into combat each year.
Public Works Costs
The city of Rome requires extensive upkeep to maintain the roads and public facilities. Approximately 500,000 denarii is spent each year. This provides basic upkeep. New construction of roads, buildings, sewer extensions, etc could cost considerably more. An ambitious program might see upwards of 1 to 2 million denarii extra spent on these things to improve the city. The Romans of this era often utilized war indemnity to finance these public works. If you do it right, war can be quite profitable even when you annex no land.
Colonia
It was typical for Rome to resettle Romans and Latins in foreign lands in order to better "Romanize" them. One of the reasons that Rome hesitated to outright annex areas was that it was very expensive to govern the area and prevent revolt. Revolts would be very expensive. There were also occasions when Rome would take vanquished tribesmen, and resettle them somewhere else in Italy to populate that area and to disperse a population from their homeland.
Additionally, it was common that veterans of wars would be granted land to settle, although this is not yet a "required" thing at this point in history.
315 Denarii is expected to be the cost per settler. A small settlement might be 1,500 colonists. A large resettlement upwards of 10,000.
Retinue - All Players
Retinue can conduct tasks which might be difficult for you to do in person, either because they have special skills, or can do so under the radar. One important thing about Retinue is that they can do things as your proxy, so if you are sent to shithole Parthia to fight some horsemen, you can still give orders to your retinue to do things in your absence. They could be sent around the Republic to do tasks in various regions. An accomplished figure would leverage these special people to maximize his opportunities. Some Retinue will never squeal on you, no matter what torture they come under. Some, will always reveal who they are working for. It depends on who and what they are.
Retinue are paid per turn.
Retinue will have skills and modifiers that stack upon your own, and not all retinue are built the same. In circumstances where you will be in direct contest with another player, the success rolls will be modified depending on what retinue are involved.
Lictor - 150d - A bodyguard paid for by the state. Either a very strong man or a former legionary. Consuls are entitled to 12, Proconsuls 11, Propraetors 5.
Bodyguard - 100d - A simple bodyguard for any Roman who needs one. Slightly less effective than a Lictor, but you pay for him yourself.
Thief - 200d - Primarily meant for gathering information for you. He should be used tactically and smartly. He's not going to be breaking into your rivals house and making off with all of their valuables.
Slave - 450D to purchase, 50 Denarii maintenance - An uneducated slave for general purpose, or a lowly Gladiator. Food and general maintenance must be provided. Fodder for the Arena might be purchased at a lower bulk rate. Rule of thumb for staff, approximately 10 slaves per 100,000 Denarii of agricultural value would be appropriate.
Well educated or skilled slave - 2,500 Denarii to purchase, 150 Denarii for Maintenance - A slave who is competent, has received education, or is otherwise skilled enough to be trusted to work trained tasks such as overseeing other slaves, managing the cultivation of Grapes and Olives, or a very skilled Gladiator. Rule of thumb, approximately 1 Skilled slave can manage 10 unskilled slaves.
Scribae - 500d - A highly paid and highly trained official who can be considered knowledgeable in law, administration, and management. He could advise you on law, find eligible properties to buy, serve as your agent to purchase land in a distant city, or any number of functions. A chief of staff, if you will.
Collegium - 1200d - Patronize a Collegium, an organized group of men. Considered a workers guild, cult, or association of like minded lower class individuals. Broadly speaking, this would pay for the fees of about 10 members who will generally support you in the ways a mafia member might support his boss. If you need a turnout in an election, they might help. If you die, they might carry your corpse into the forum and light it on fire. If you need to intimidate rival marketplace owners, maybe they could be convinced to pay a visit.
Fire Brigade - 700d - These men work for you and will put down any fire that you order them to fight. For the best chance of success in fighting a fire and successfully saving a building, they should be assigned to a neighborhood.
Lanista - 300d - He will work for you buying, selling, and training gladiators. 10 Gladiators maximum unless you build a Gladiator school
The Roman state only maintained four legions at all times. Two for each Consul. All other Legions needed to be raised by the Senate for a specific task and assigned to a leader for command. Commanding must be done by either a Consul, or a Praetor, or a Proconsul/Propraetor. A typical Roman army also incorporated "Wings" of troops which Rome's "allies" were obligated to provide. These troops are not paid a wage, however Rome is obligated to feed them and their horses.
The governors of the provinces do not, by default, have legions assigned to them by the state. Typically, for defense, there is some form of provincial militia. Legions can be raised and assigned to the provinces if the Senate deems this necessary for defensive or offensive action. Legions do not require a cost to create, soldiers are expected to equip themselves. The only cost to the state are upkeep for salary and rations, which must be paid at their raising.
The Roman Fleet is relatively small, built out of necessity. Approximately 80 ships are drydocked and taken into service when necessary. The bulk of the cost of operating these ships is pay for its rowers and marines. A Roman Quinquereme has a crew of 360 and a marine detachment of about 60. TO give you an idea of how many ships the Romans needed, they used approximately 50 ships for the Second Macedonian war. They utilized 25 ships for convoy duties in the Adriatic. For the Syrian war, they used 115 ships. In 177, Consul Gracchus was assigned 10 ships to use to suppress a revolt on Sardinia. The ships are relatively cheap to build, and can be considered approximately 10,000 denarii to build a brand new ship.
Upfront Costs or Costs Per Year Upkeep - Senate Only
Legion (4,200 Infantry, 300 Cavalry) - 692,280 Denarii
Heavy Legion(5,200 Infantry, 300 Cavalry) - 830,280 Denarii
Socii Allies (Ala) (5,400 Infantry, 900 Cavalry) - 250,000 Denarii
200 Transport/Supply Ships (For One Legion) - 100,000 Denarii
Large Triumph - 100,000 Denarii
Medium Triumph - 50,000 Denarii
Small Triumph - 25,000 Denarii
Provincial Costs - Senate or Governor
Militia (200 Light Infantry) - 15,000 Denarii
Auxiliary Cavalry (100 Light Cavalry) - 15,000 Denarii
Field Fort - 10,000 Denarii
Warship (Quinquereme) - 10,000 to build / 20,000 Denarii upkeep if in use / 0 Denarii if drydocked for the year
Warship (Trireme) - 5,000 to build / 10,000 Denarii upkeep if in use / 0 Denarii if drydocked for the year
Construction Costs Italia and Provinces (General Guide, not exhaustive)
Normal Roman Road - 7 Denarii per foot
Extra Wide Road OR Road through very rough areas - 15 Denarii per foot
Small Bath Complex - 25,000 Denarii
Large Bath Complex - 100,000 Denarii
Humongous Bath Complex - 500,000 Denarii
Glorious and Grand Funeral Tomb - 25,000 Denarii
Minimum Temple (provincial) - 10,000 Denarii
Small Temple - 50,000 Denarii
Large Temple - 100,000 Denarii
Huge Temple - 350,000 Denarii
Decent Sized Theatre - 100,000 Denarii
Small Triumphal Arch with Statue - 10,000 Denarii
Large Triumphal Quadrifrontal Arch with Several statues - 100,000 Denarii
Octagonal Fountain - 8,000 Denarii
Small Market (Income 4,200 Denarii) - 30,000 Denarii
Medium Market (Income 7,000 Denarii) - 50,000 Denarii
Large Market (Income 11,250 Denarii) - 75,000 Denarii
Single Statue - 1,000 Denarii
Small Home in Rome on a good street, fit for a modest Roman Senator - 150,000 Denarii
Medium Home in Rome on a good street, beginning to be ostentatious and un-roman - 450,000 Denarii
Extremely large, prodigious, perfectly located on the best plot of land in Rome, grandest house in rome - 875,000 Denarii
Small Insulae (Income 3,000 Denarii) - 30,000 Denarii
Medium Insulae (Income 9,000 Denarii) - 75,000 Denarii
Huge Insulae (income 22,500 Denarii ) - 150,000 Denarii
Harbor Expansion - 30,000 Denarii
Mine Expansion (state owned mines) - 50,000 Denarii
Gladiator School/Holding Area - 10,000 Denarii
Combat Costs
Each legion, if engaged in active combat, would need additional attendants, pack animals, and misc. items. Each legion engaged in active combat will automatically cost 200,000 Denarii in extra fees for that year. In most cases it is known well ahead of time that the legion will be designated for Combat and this can or should be paid up front with their raising. The reason it is not automatically included is that there exist four legions raised every year for the two Consuls, and they do not have to be put into combat each year.
Public Works Costs
The city of Rome requires extensive upkeep to maintain the roads and public facilities. Approximately 500,000 denarii is spent each year. This provides basic upkeep. New construction of roads, buildings, sewer extensions, etc could cost considerably more. An ambitious program might see upwards of 1 to 2 million denarii extra spent on these things to improve the city. The Romans of this era often utilized war indemnity to finance these public works. If you do it right, war can be quite profitable even when you annex no land.
Colonia
It was typical for Rome to resettle Romans and Latins in foreign lands in order to better "Romanize" them. One of the reasons that Rome hesitated to outright annex areas was that it was very expensive to govern the area and prevent revolt. Revolts would be very expensive. There were also occasions when Rome would take vanquished tribesmen, and resettle them somewhere else in Italy to populate that area and to disperse a population from their homeland.
Additionally, it was common that veterans of wars would be granted land to settle, although this is not yet a "required" thing at this point in history.
315 Denarii is expected to be the cost per settler. A small settlement might be 1,500 colonists. A large resettlement upwards of 10,000.
Retinue - All Players
Retinue can conduct tasks which might be difficult for you to do in person, either because they have special skills, or can do so under the radar. One important thing about Retinue is that they can do things as your proxy, so if you are sent to shithole Parthia to fight some horsemen, you can still give orders to your retinue to do things in your absence. They could be sent around the Republic to do tasks in various regions. An accomplished figure would leverage these special people to maximize his opportunities. Some Retinue will never squeal on you, no matter what torture they come under. Some, will always reveal who they are working for. It depends on who and what they are.
Retinue are paid per turn.
Retinue will have skills and modifiers that stack upon your own, and not all retinue are built the same. In circumstances where you will be in direct contest with another player, the success rolls will be modified depending on what retinue are involved.
Lictor - 150d - A bodyguard paid for by the state. Either a very strong man or a former legionary. Consuls are entitled to 12, Proconsuls 11, Propraetors 5.
Bodyguard - 100d - A simple bodyguard for any Roman who needs one. Slightly less effective than a Lictor, but you pay for him yourself.
Thief - 200d - Primarily meant for gathering information for you. He should be used tactically and smartly. He's not going to be breaking into your rivals house and making off with all of their valuables.
Slave - 450D to purchase, 50 Denarii maintenance - An uneducated slave for general purpose, or a lowly Gladiator. Food and general maintenance must be provided. Fodder for the Arena might be purchased at a lower bulk rate. Rule of thumb for staff, approximately 10 slaves per 100,000 Denarii of agricultural value would be appropriate.
Well educated or skilled slave - 2,500 Denarii to purchase, 150 Denarii for Maintenance - A slave who is competent, has received education, or is otherwise skilled enough to be trusted to work trained tasks such as overseeing other slaves, managing the cultivation of Grapes and Olives, or a very skilled Gladiator. Rule of thumb, approximately 1 Skilled slave can manage 10 unskilled slaves.
Scribae - 500d - A highly paid and highly trained official who can be considered knowledgeable in law, administration, and management. He could advise you on law, find eligible properties to buy, serve as your agent to purchase land in a distant city, or any number of functions. A chief of staff, if you will.
Collegium - 1200d - Patronize a Collegium, an organized group of men. Considered a workers guild, cult, or association of like minded lower class individuals. Broadly speaking, this would pay for the fees of about 10 members who will generally support you in the ways a mafia member might support his boss. If you need a turnout in an election, they might help. If you die, they might carry your corpse into the forum and light it on fire. If you need to intimidate rival marketplace owners, maybe they could be convinced to pay a visit.
Fire Brigade - 700d - These men work for you and will put down any fire that you order them to fight. For the best chance of success in fighting a fire and successfully saving a building, they should be assigned to a neighborhood.
Lanista - 300d - He will work for you buying, selling, and training gladiators. 10 Gladiators maximum unless you build a Gladiator school
Last edited by admin on Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:11 am, edited 16 times in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Dignitas
Each character will have a minimum Dignitas level. You will gain Dignitas from triumphs and successes. You will lose it from defeats and humiliations. Dignitas, cumulatively, has some effect on the game, but will also be used to help determine a winner. Those standing for election to Consul will benefit from Dignitas.
Gain:
Small +25 - Small victories such as being Consul and building light public works in your name equivalent to 100,000 denarii or thereabouts. Being governor and defeating a minor tribe in routine combat.
Medium + 50 - Medium victories such as being given legions by the Senate, and defeating moderate enemies. Being Consul and dedicating large public works in your name equivalent to 250,000 denarii or thereabouts. A small triumph for your military actions as voted by the senate.
Large + 75+++ - Being consul and dedicating large public works of 250,000 denarii to millions of denarii for epic scale public works along the lines of massive aqueducts, entertainment, sewer, etc. Significant victories against large Roman enemies. Enriching the state with denarii from foreign conquest. A large Triumph would add a significant amount of Dignitas to you.
Lose:
Loss - 25 - Small losses such as legislative failures in the senate that you sponsored or are associated with. Minor scandals.
Loss - 50 - Medium losses such as minor military defeat, having your house burn down and not being able to afford to rebuild it, being seen as a harsh or corrupt governor.
Loss - 75+++ - Large losses such as losing your governor position and facing prosecution. Large military losses can result in enormous losses of dignitas and possibly your life.
Each character will have a minimum Dignitas level. You will gain Dignitas from triumphs and successes. You will lose it from defeats and humiliations. Dignitas, cumulatively, has some effect on the game, but will also be used to help determine a winner. Those standing for election to Consul will benefit from Dignitas.
Gain:
Small +25 - Small victories such as being Consul and building light public works in your name equivalent to 100,000 denarii or thereabouts. Being governor and defeating a minor tribe in routine combat.
Medium + 50 - Medium victories such as being given legions by the Senate, and defeating moderate enemies. Being Consul and dedicating large public works in your name equivalent to 250,000 denarii or thereabouts. A small triumph for your military actions as voted by the senate.
Large + 75+++ - Being consul and dedicating large public works of 250,000 denarii to millions of denarii for epic scale public works along the lines of massive aqueducts, entertainment, sewer, etc. Significant victories against large Roman enemies. Enriching the state with denarii from foreign conquest. A large Triumph would add a significant amount of Dignitas to you.
Lose:
Loss - 25 - Small losses such as legislative failures in the senate that you sponsored or are associated with. Minor scandals.
Loss - 50 - Medium losses such as minor military defeat, having your house burn down and not being able to afford to rebuild it, being seen as a harsh or corrupt governor.
Loss - 75+++ - Large losses such as losing your governor position and facing prosecution. Large military losses can result in enormous losses of dignitas and possibly your life.
Last edited by admin on Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Reading the Omens
Each Consul will be allowed, once per year, to call for the reading of Omens. This can be done at any point in the year, and each Consul will have a chance if they desire. They can do this for one of two reasons, either to generate a random event according to the table, or to gamble on the dice to see if the Gods will approve/disapprove of a particular action. An example of the latter would be to see if they will have the gods favor in battle, and if they did, they would get a bonus to the combat roll. Another example would be if the Consul wanted to shit-can unfavorable legislation, he could ask for a reading of the omens to see if the gods disapproved of that legislation, effectively killing it in its tracks. This is risky, if the gods approve of the legislation, it is almost guaranteed to pass.
A D20 will be rolled to determine
1.)Omens to Summon Event
1-5 / Foreign - Tribal
6-10 / Foreign - Civilized
11-15 / Domestic - Rome
16-20 / Domestic - Provinces
1A.) Severity
1-9 - Minor
10-15 - Medium
16-18 - Major
19-20 - Huge
2.) Omens of Approval or Disapproval
1-10 - Approval
11-20 - Disapproval
2A.) Severity
1-9 - Minor
10-15 - Medium
16-18 - Major
19-20 - Huge
Success Roll
When you are trying to do a task you can ask for a difficulty rating. I will tell you the % odds of success factoring in your retinue or strengths. A 60% means when I roll a D100, a roll of 1-60 will be a success. For a success, the closer the roll is to 1, the bigger the success is. For failures, proximity to 100 will be degree of failure.
Each Consul will be allowed, once per year, to call for the reading of Omens. This can be done at any point in the year, and each Consul will have a chance if they desire. They can do this for one of two reasons, either to generate a random event according to the table, or to gamble on the dice to see if the Gods will approve/disapprove of a particular action. An example of the latter would be to see if they will have the gods favor in battle, and if they did, they would get a bonus to the combat roll. Another example would be if the Consul wanted to shit-can unfavorable legislation, he could ask for a reading of the omens to see if the gods disapproved of that legislation, effectively killing it in its tracks. This is risky, if the gods approve of the legislation, it is almost guaranteed to pass.
A D20 will be rolled to determine
1.)Omens to Summon Event
1-5 / Foreign - Tribal
6-10 / Foreign - Civilized
11-15 / Domestic - Rome
16-20 / Domestic - Provinces
1A.) Severity
1-9 - Minor
10-15 - Medium
16-18 - Major
19-20 - Huge
2.) Omens of Approval or Disapproval
1-10 - Approval
11-20 - Disapproval
2A.) Severity
1-9 - Minor
10-15 - Medium
16-18 - Major
19-20 - Huge
Success Roll
When you are trying to do a task you can ask for a difficulty rating. I will tell you the % odds of success factoring in your retinue or strengths. A 60% means when I roll a D100, a roll of 1-60 will be a success. For a success, the closer the roll is to 1, the bigger the success is. For failures, proximity to 100 will be degree of failure.
Last edited by admin on Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Death
Characters should expect relative safety. There will not be a group of roaming assassins knocking off characters just because someone hired the badger man and decided to kill you arbitrarily. There are, however, very likely causes of death. A revolutionary person trying to buck the system may get beaten to death by a mob. The most dangerous and likely cause of death would be leading an army. Rome has lost many Consuls and Praetors to battle.
If you die, however, you will face some consequences. The goal of the death penalty is to ensure that reckless action is punished, but that a death is not such a game ending blow. Death should have meaning and consequences, but it should not extinguish a family line.
Assuming you die in good standing, and are not subject to any special senate penalties:
1.) 50% of your liquid cash is lost to inheritance of other family members.
2.) 50% of your property beyond what you started with is lost to inheritance of other family members
3.) 75% of your dignitas is banked in a permanent store as familial legacy. 25% is lost permanently due to death.
4.) Your new character only gets 2 traits. A third character 1. A fourth character none. (Some traits also dont make sense to pick for a reroll, choose accordingly)
In other words, there are penalties to dying, but an accomplished character will not simply lose and have to start over. An example of how this works is that if you started with a 100,000 denarii farm, and build a 100,000 denarii expansion, under succession your new character would start with a 150,000 denarii farm. You can never go below the minimum starting level.
Winning The Game
The Round will effectively run until it reaches a natural conclusion. Be it Rome's destruction, civil war leading to the death of all characters and a dictatorship, or whatever that may be.
A winner will be calculated at the end of the round based on total points.
1.) 1 Denarii in your treasury is equal to 1 point.
2.) 1 Denarii worth of land or property you own is equal to 2 points.
3.) 1 Dignitas you have is equal to 1000 points.
Characters should expect relative safety. There will not be a group of roaming assassins knocking off characters just because someone hired the badger man and decided to kill you arbitrarily. There are, however, very likely causes of death. A revolutionary person trying to buck the system may get beaten to death by a mob. The most dangerous and likely cause of death would be leading an army. Rome has lost many Consuls and Praetors to battle.
If you die, however, you will face some consequences. The goal of the death penalty is to ensure that reckless action is punished, but that a death is not such a game ending blow. Death should have meaning and consequences, but it should not extinguish a family line.
Assuming you die in good standing, and are not subject to any special senate penalties:
1.) 50% of your liquid cash is lost to inheritance of other family members.
2.) 50% of your property beyond what you started with is lost to inheritance of other family members
3.) 75% of your dignitas is banked in a permanent store as familial legacy. 25% is lost permanently due to death.
4.) Your new character only gets 2 traits. A third character 1. A fourth character none. (Some traits also dont make sense to pick for a reroll, choose accordingly)
In other words, there are penalties to dying, but an accomplished character will not simply lose and have to start over. An example of how this works is that if you started with a 100,000 denarii farm, and build a 100,000 denarii expansion, under succession your new character would start with a 150,000 denarii farm. You can never go below the minimum starting level.
Winning The Game
The Round will effectively run until it reaches a natural conclusion. Be it Rome's destruction, civil war leading to the death of all characters and a dictatorship, or whatever that may be.
A winner will be calculated at the end of the round based on total points.
1.) 1 Denarii in your treasury is equal to 1 point.
2.) 1 Denarii worth of land or property you own is equal to 2 points.
3.) 1 Dignitas you have is equal to 1000 points.
Last edited by admin on Sun Nov 28, 2021 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
Scipio Africanus - Hero of the war with Carthage
Lucius Cornelius Scipio - Younger brother of Scipio Africanus, also found some fame in the war with Carthage
Lucius Furius Purpureo - Perennial Consul Candidate, from a very old family
Marcus Claudius Marcellus - Consul candidate and veteran of many campaigns
Marcus Porcius Cato - A rapidly ascending player in Roman politics. Outspoken about preserving Roman morals and tradition
Lucius Cornelius Scipio - Younger brother of Scipio Africanus, also found some fame in the war with Carthage
Lucius Furius Purpureo - Perennial Consul Candidate, from a very old family
Marcus Claudius Marcellus - Consul candidate and veteran of many campaigns
Marcus Porcius Cato - A rapidly ascending player in Roman politics. Outspoken about preserving Roman morals and tradition
Last edited by admin on Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rules of S.P.Q.R.
When I do a dice roll, I will use the PHPBB Dice roller extension. It will show up in the post as such. I am not able to preview dice rolls, so you will sometimes see the result of the roll before knowing the full result of the action. So if you sent a spy to check on someone, you might see that it failed its roll, but if it was a pretty bad roll, maybe the spy dies, you would see that in a follow up.