** A quick housekeeping note: this first post will be used as a source of all needed reference materials. The most recent campaign map, cast of characters, and other vital information will be kept here and updated throughout. I'm looking for as many good men as are willing -- optimally, I will have very few decisions to make in this project as the plan is to have most of the key characters under the control of the community. Sign-up info will be presented later in this post. This is not a mere 'sign-up' game, those who will join will have significant input into decision-making and forming the future of Rome.
For now, let me present the essentials. This project will use to original Rome: Total War, not the hideous disaster that the sequel unfortunately became(though the community may eventually save it to some extent). I'm using the brilliant RTR7(Rome Total Realism) mod which I think is one of the greatest mods ever made. The team spent longer on it than CA did making the original game, and the work shows. Those who have played the vanilla but not RTR will not recognize many features, so I won't assume any knowledge of the game here.
THE SETTING
It is generally believed that the city of Rome was founded some 250 years prior to the republic in 750-760 B.C., give or take, but there is little but various unsubstantiated myths pointing to any specific date or set of circumstances.
The Roman Republic, depending on whose scholarship you trust, came into being around 509 BC. The final king to rule Rome,
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown and the concept of electing two consuls to annual terms was born. The next couple of centuries found the Republic at war more often than not with surrounding cities and villages, wars started sometimes by themselves and sometimes by others. In 387 B.C., a punitive expedition by Gauls under
Brennus defeated the Romans and the city itself was sacked. Perhaps the most likely of many myths is that Brennus was bought off with a price of a thousand pounds of gold.
The Republic soon showed it's resilience. They had been beaten but not destroyed, and three wars of expansion known as the Samnite Wars occupied most of the period from 350 B.C. to the early third century. At their conclusion, a couple of important changes had been made. The aristocratic patrician class had been forced to yield near-equality with the passing of the Hortensian Law to the much more numerous commoner plebian class, and militarily the 'manipular legion' had been borne out of the Gallic and Samnite conflicts, proving a more effecting fighting force than the previous militia-based approach.
Italian Peninsula, 280 B.C.
This brings us to present-day in our story. Rome has made herself a significant power in Italy, having expanded to control the central portion. The Gauls and various independent provinces remain to the north, while most of the southern lands maintain loyalty to Greek masters.
This balance of power was not to last, nor was it really expected to. A new chapter in the Roman story is about to unfold, with a new, more dangerous enemy.
King Pyrrhus of Epirus has landed in southern Italy with a large army at his command to challenge the upstart Republic. With Carthago waiting for the opportune moment to the south and a score of smaller factions making their own plans, the Mediterranean is about to descend into Total War.
Who will answer the call of Rome?
ROMAN LEADERSHIP SYSTEM
** This feature of RTR7 is the biggest reason I'm using this mod for the project, and it provides a career path based loosely on the 'cursus honorum' for the great men of our time. The progression is as follows:
* Cavalry Commander -- After being adopted/born and come of age into the 'royal family', command of a personal bodyguard unit of cavalry is bestowed. Five years of service here is required, during which the youngster is not qualified to be in charge of anything more significant. Any settlement or army under their command would be far better off without them there -- they can serve only as couriers for someone of actual importance or as a possibly useful addition to an army with their cavalry.
* Military Tribune -- After the five years of service are up, eligibility for Tribune is achieved. Tribunes typically defend border provinces against aggression.
* Quaestor -- After a total of 15 years of service, the authority to govern a settlement of moderate importance may be granted.
* Aedile -- 5 years after first serving as Quaestor, the rank of Aedile allows for governing of key provinces.
* Praetor -- After another 3 years, an appointment as Praetor is possible. Along with being highly respected in their ability to govern major cities, they have a general remit to defend nearby Roman territory against any aggression.
* Consul -- 3 years after first serving as Praetor, the highest level of Roman achievement can be reached. Consuls go wherever they think they are needed. They are the only officials with the authority to launch offensive military campaigns, but are also trusted to see to domestic affairs anywhere they see fit. To be a consul is to have one's name written prominently in the history of the Republic. The fact that there are two of them has been proven over more than two centuries to be an effective check on any abuses of power.
CARTOGRAPHER'S REPORT
Latest update: Spring, 275 B.C.
Northern Italy
Southern Italy
Rhegion, or the 'toe' of Italy
STATE OF ROME, 273 B.C.
Provinces: 25(10 major, 15 minor, no change/+1)
Navy: 540(-55%)
Army: 110.4k(-4.1%)
Citizenry: 323.9k(+5.9%)
Annual Income: 252k(+3.7%)
Annual Profit: 39.5k(15.7%)
Treasury: 11.4k(+78%)
Wars: Dynasty of Aiakides, Republic of Cathargo, Genua(Independent Ligurian town in NW Italy)
Alliances: Kingdom of the Aedui(one of two major Gallic factions, the other being the Arverni).
Other neighbors**: Bononia(neutral, barbarian town to the north in Italy)
This denotes relations we have with any other provinces neighboring Roman lands not listed in the Wars/Alliances, presented for a complete picture of those around us.
Senate Ballot, 274 BC
Consul Appointments:
Laevinus Coffeium and
Mus
Adoption: Balanced
Diplomacy: Calculating
Tax Policy: High
Spending Policy: Extreme Military Focus
'FAMILY TREE'
First Generation --
Consul Tiberius Coruncanius(died, 274 BC), wife Pompeia(65). Daughters Poppaea(48), Alypia(45), Claudia(44), Marcella(43)
Second Generation -- Coruncanius has four daughters, and each of their husbands joined his line by marriage.
Consul Laevinus Coffeium(49) married Poppaea, and they have three sons; Decius(14), Marcus(10), and Augustus(5), along with adopted 'son' Galerius Pupius Puso(30), married to Arria(25).
Aedile Luscinus(38) married Alypia, and they have two sons,
Tribune Amul(21), Luca(7), and Tertius(2), along with a daughter in Ocellina(4). Quite the gap there.
Tribune Lepidus(32) is the husband of Claudia and their children are Fadia(20), along with sons Commander Manius(17), Valerius(6), and Sextus(4). The final marriage was that of
Praetor Mus(45) to Marcella, and they have a single son, Cassius(7), and two daughters, Leontia(3) and Magia(1).
Third Generation --
Tribune Lawcius(22) married in(Fadia), with a pair of daughters already born to them in Dryantilla(4) and Domitia(1).
Tribune Amul(21) was the first natural child to come of age. His wife Hostia(19) has borne a daughter, Honoria(3). Commander Manius(17) joined the fray more recently, and his wife is Octavia(13). As of yet they have no children.
SIGN-UPS
Your role, should you choose to accept it, will be to RP your chosen character's opinions on general Republic policy, and to make specific decisions relative to his station when the occasion warrants(which will be fairly often). More details on this will be forthcoming, but this should be enough to get the ball rolling.
Chosen Character: 'New' if you want to be put on the waiting list for a new character to come of age/be adopted, otherwhise which character from the list you want to take. First come, first served, there'll be plenty for everyone down the line.
Nickname: I won't be renaming the characters themselves(don't think the game supports it), but I can refer to them via any designation you wish to come up with, no matter how ridiculous(just don't make it profane)
Understanding The Legions
We're far enough in now that there's beginning to be a greater range of experience and equipment among the ranks, including our own soldiers. Because of this I'm going to start adding a little more detail to the army part of the briefings for those who might be interested in it -- it has been asked about from time to time already.
Each of these elements adds to fighting effectiveness, experience gives a small boost across the board and has a ten-point scale(I'll just use 1-10 to keep it simple), weapons and armor add to the effectiveness of attack or defense and have four levels, which I'll interpret as Basic, Fair, Good, or Excellent as the case may be.
The first battle at Herakleia for example featured Roman units at the lowest level across the board, green with no equipment upgrades, while most of Pyrrhos' army had 5-6 experience and were a mix between Fair and Good quality equipment. By comparison, most of the units we can recruit are between 0-2 experience with Fair weapons/shields. A few unit types, like the Funditores, will eventually be phased out since as slingers their weapon is rocks -- these cannot be upgraded. The quality of new units is determined by the facilities in the province they come from, which can be upgraded(at a significant cost).
Experienced line infantry is particularly difficult to achieve, since they tend to die and need replacing before they have enough combat success to significantly improve. It tends to happen more often with cavalry/missile troops which in favorable engagements don't lose nearly as many men.
I'll add this blurb to the OP and try to clarify any questions there might be. The basics of it are pretty straightforward, but as with all things the consequences can be more complex.
CLAIMED CHARACTERS
Laevinus Coffeeium(Coffee Warlord)
Mus(Chesapeake)
Lawcius(law90026)
Amul(DavidCorperial)
Manius(mrtourette)
WAITING LIST
Open