Define Aurigae, I think I know what it is, been a while since I studied the
Roman Empire/Republic. Ceasar crossing the Rubicon, is like ... Rome central
was the Senates responsibility, and then appointed a military leader as
needed, but they was not allowed to come into Rome Proper, Rome it self was
under the Senates Security Forces. So when Julius crossed the Rubicon into
Rome Proper, he sort of started the Empire in part.
PCs are all one type of Gladiator or different? They do have freedom of
motion so its not them sneaking off from the Circus or like, or adventures at
the circus, such as underground or like?
So they are Security Guards or .
So else might have inherited things, or thing they should inherit? A members
of the family or a mistress or son of a mistress or a clan member (Romans had
clans/tribes and like, Julius Gaeius Ceasar was member of I remember the
Gaius or like name super-family, Patrinom? Been to long).
Taxes were paid and no hidden partners we do not know about, or even someone
who wants the collection for themselves, such as the favorite of the Emperor
or First Consul.
90AD, got a time line to share? Several fun events happened about then and
might be interesting to see about any tie ins?
Baccus to show up or ... Thats Greek, but who was the Roman God of Wine and
like? Baal was Phonecian or Akkadian? Lord of the Ba or something like?
How soon until the PCs retire, they might like a nice cushy jobs as A
Comitate (Count?) or like? Posse Comitates - men of the count in late Roman
times.
We had a governor, former Senator that when he got out of office, gave
himself, the legislator and the State Police and then bought him self a jet,
also got his Daughter to succeed him as Senator, and then had to gaul to
claim a budget short fall, hum.. Darn, I was driving cab and could have run
him and his cronies over with it, but I was and an a nice guy but
..(joking)Might add a like incident into a book I plan to write one day)..
Lost hidden will that suddenly pops up or a unknown son or like that shows up
at the auction demanding his share of things, with his small army?
Haunted, could be, might be fun and not just your normal glom/doom types or
ones warning of danger and like, but ones of fun and meriment. You got drunk
and did what and .. ah crap.
Secret Tunnels or just the old auqueduct aka water and sewer, I know Paris
has one from old times, but its more a canal covered over? Hidden passage
ways and more? Maybe even a hidden shine in the wine room, that leads to
underground smuggling, one way to remove the wine or to have fun debotury and
partying in the name of Baccus or like? Maybe even something more sinister?
Servants often have ways to get in and out of the houses and not be seen.
Slaves how many does he (the former owner) have, and are they all cute
females or males?
Alternate fun, the patrician might be a secret Christian or something else?
There was one other faith that was up and comming, Zaroastrians or .. Very
popular it was or got the wrong one with the Soldiers of Rome. Ahura Mazda or
..been to long.
There was several well known religions and faiths as you suggest the Germinic
and like but also Gaulic and more.. He served the in Germania and like, so
yes likely there is a temple or like to some of the Germanic gods if he had
troops from those areas? Even Tiwaz and Gut and like, what we see today is
mostly the Norse and like, but there was several Germanic dieties that got
replaced or lost along the way.
Also Hestia the Goddess for the Hearth, or part of why a home is sacred.
------------------------
Johannes Trimmel
Roughly half a year ago i started a draft for an adventure, then all sorts
of stuff happended and now i intend to continue.
It plays in Rome roughly 90 AD the pcs are well known gladiators and
aurigae.
The basic structure of the adventure so far is, that it has multiple
subplots, because none is enough to really fill an adventure on it's own.
Here is what i have now:
Rufus Manlius Ephebus an elderly patrician with much interest in arts has
died a while ago and left his large villa containing plenty of objects of
arts and a part, where artists he was patron of can live and work and a
large collection of expensive wines to his son Vibius.
Vibius basically wants to follow the steps of his father and keep things
as they are, but he intends to build his own arts collection. Now that he
arrived in Rome and the proper mourning period has passed, he wants to
auction off most off his fathers arts collection. The auction is supposed
to become a grand event, since this would signify the importance of his
father and his collection.
To this end, he also has rumors spread, that the wine collection will be
served to the guests, while he himself only makes non commital statements
and he intends to keep the wine for himself.
He hires a group of Baal priests, who are actually con artists (and who
have enountered the pcs in a different disguise) as waiters and to
generally interface with the guests. Their plan is to steal the expensive
wine, making it to the host apeare like it was accidently served to the
guests. That part is planned mostly as diversion for the pcs.
I also plan to have some guest fill his toga with plenty of expensive
cutlery, cups and other small expensive stuff, that is not immediatly
missed, and who might look like someone carrying a hidden weapon to the
pcs.
I also welcome further ideas for shenengians, that could happen there.
Sextus Faustus Iuba is a patrician recently returned from military
service. There he had early gotten on the wrong side of a superior and as
punishment gotten the command of an auxiliary infantry unit (which
normally should go to someone of lower social standing) of Germans from
the Bemanni tribe. However he liked it there a lot (his personality fits
a rough and unrefined behaviour quite well) and happyly staid there until
his superiors feared he had gone too much native and sent him back to
Rome.
There he looked for ways to get the same fullfilment as he had with
fraternizing with Bemanni-mercenaries and went to the next Bemanni he
found for advice.
That was Halbert, a slave and majordomo in the Ephebus household. Having a
sleazy used chariot salesman personality, he attempted to milk the
situation for what he can. He advised, that Sextus did find spiritual
fulfillment with the Germanic gods, and that he needs to work on finding
the communication again. Luckily one of the resident artists (yet to be
named, i'll call him artist1 here) has a book, that can give him the
information he needs. Unluckily the artist has gained possession of it in
a dubious way, so he keeps it a secret and anyway he has it primarily to
posess something that others covet, so no chance to to get it from him in
any ordinary way. Most of that is actually true, just that the book would
be usefull to Sextus is not entirely correct.
But for a price (my current idea is, giving Halberts son a place in the
legions, as this is not easily refundable and avoids the possiblity, that
conficts can be settled by money, but i am open to other suggestions) he
can organize stealing it.
The book will be hidden in a secret compartment in a bed that is going to
be auctioned, Sextus buys the bed, gets the book and everyone lives
happily ever after.
Synois a female master thief, who has an affair with the pc Wolfhart, who
also intends to steal the book, gets wind of the plan. How exactly i am
not sure yet, most likely she already knew artist1 has it and staked out
the place, and during that overheared something. She takes Wofhart to the
auction, tries out every bed, as to how well it is, to lie with Wolfhart
in it and during that steals the book.
An other artist living there (artist2) has an affair with the daughter of
a pratrician and has contacts to a group of Christians, who make a point
of going to the collosseum, only to shout at the gladiators, that they
should not fight, but love each other and telling other spectators, how
decadent they are. For some of them he acts as strawmen, for placing bets
on gladiators. Closely around a gladitor fight day, he gets caught with
the daughter, flees the scene and further to the countryside, fearing the
wrath of the father.
The Christians will now think, he ran away with their money. The father
misidentified the culprit however slightly as an other artist (artist3
though i might make artist1 and 3 the same person) and sends an NPC
gladiator to beat him up.
The pcs now should be sent to inquire about artist2. If i don't get a
better idea, it can be "my relative has joined that crazy sect and now
they look for that sleazy guy. can you please check if that is something,
where my relative can get into real problems".
They will witness a confrontation between Sextus and Halbert in Bemanni,
that one of the german pcs will be able to partially follow. Artist1 will
try to find out, which of the guests was in his room and did steal his
book. Artist3 will panic, once he sees some more gladiators coming. Vibius
and the household slaves will have nerves blank, because someone must have
given the Baal priests wrong instructions.
Ideally they also get a reason, to find artist2 himself, not just find
out, what he did. Though i'd like some low priority reason, not something
that is immedietly looking like the main plot part (I give you money for
finding him).
Or there could be an entirely different reason to investigate something in
that household.
Do i have something inconsistent, hard to explain NPC behaviour or
something else that interferes with the suspesion of disbelief or is bound
to set the pcs on the wrong track?
Any more ideas, how the pcs can be directed towards the action, especially
if it is minor things?
I also welcome ideas for noteworthy works of art, that could be auctioned
there. It can either really fit to antiquity or be some parody on
contemporary arts.
Other comments?
One mans groundfloor is an other mans earthmissle
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Johannes Trimmel
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What i forgot in the previous mail:
Some of the pcs want to buy their own villa.
Being pcs they will buy a villa with some suprise. They will not get their
villa at the next adventure, but propably some idea needs to be seeded
before, or the villa needs some properties, and i can let them pick
between a number of villas, that have a different description, but all are
compatible, so i should plan in advance.
One idea i got, would be a secret cellar. I could make a point of closely
emulating the Hart to Hart episode that got me the idea, and have a sleazy
real estate agent, who somewhat resembles a certain former Austrian
minister of finance, who currently faces corruption and tax evasion
charges, find out first about the treasure in the hidden room, and try to
get at it by burglary and later holding the house owners at weapon-point
and imply somehow, that morally the treasure should go to some nice old
lady.
The problem would be that the pcs are already pretty well off financially,
so a treasure is not going to interest them all that much and should i
actually describe the villian as looking like the minister of finance,
the pcs will immediatly not like him and propoably kick at his shin*.
There also could be objects of cultic importance stored there, but the pcs
have shown little interest in involving themselfs in cult intrigues.
Instead there might be a secret tunnel leading somewhere. Propably it is
used by some cult or something for secret meetings, and the first hint
might be some drunken cultist apearing in the villa in the middle of the
night believing it is his own.
What else could i do with a secret room or secret tunnel entrance?
I could make the villa somehow haunted, though i don't have an idea yet,
what effects that should have.
Any other ideas?
*Back when he was still in office, the minister visited the same cinema as
we did, coming close enough for one player, that she could have kicked him
at the shin. Whenever he is discussed, she expresses her regret, that all
had happend too suprising and she had missed that opportunity.
One mans groundfloor is an other mans earthmissle
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Johannes Trimmel
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