Roman Campaign: Pathfinder (Interest)

Started by swordwind, March 31, 2015, 11:36:08 PM

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Pockets

On a side note, Druids, Hunters, and Rangers might be the Clergy of some of the more nature oriented gods like Demeter and Artemis. (Their roman names elude me at the moment.)
08/02 - New A/A Update

RubySlippers

Update, I'm thinking of being a Sibyl and a Priestess of Luna - Goddess of the Moon. And will be a Rogue 2/Oracle 1 with her pronouncements and oracles given well designed BS that can have multiple interpretations based on how they are read and might not take place for a long time.

Morganatic

Hmm, I might back out of this - I've been thinking about how a βαρβαρος would fit into a Roman house campaign, and it might be a little tricky. Anyway, have fun y'all! :D

Foxfyr

#28
Character Sheet
Name: Aldrick
Nation: Roman
Deity: Vulcan
Weapon & Armor: Breastplate with light shield and a +1 warhammer.  If possible, I imagine his tithe to the Vulcan temple would be through donated masterwork items of his own make for them to do with as they deem necessary.
Background: Despite his upbringing as a minor noble, Aldrick was taught the importance of hard work and the rewards one can attain from such endeavors.  Perhaps it was a result of being so far from the aristocracy from the Roman capital or the way local government seemed to always put the needs of his kin as a lower priority, but Aldrick is surprisingly self-sufficient by noble standards.  While he is no stranger to social gatherings of the aristocracy or other political matters, he has found that his true passion lies in the forge.    It is there that he meditates and pays homage to Vulcan amongst the smell of burning charcoal and the rhythmic pinging of metal striking metal.

It had almost been a year since his father had died unexpectedly, leaving him as the oldest of his siblings to inherit the mantle of patriarch to his house.  The past several months had passed and it would seem that much of what little influence his house had with the local government had died with his father.  An unfortunate turn of events as a severe storm had rendered his house in a state of disrepair and the magistrate seems to be taking his time in fulfilling his request for aid.  It has finally come to a point where Aldrick decided that matters could wait no longer seeing as his estate was a reflection of his authority.  It was time for him to take matters in his own hands.
Overall Goal in Life: To make his house the foremost in power and influence within the Roman Empire.
Minor Goal in Life: To master his skills at the forge to a point where Vulcan would personally imbue his works with the power of the gods.

kckolbe

Kinda looks like Rob Lowe.  Looks good, though, mind if my char is his younger brother, just one or two years?
Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

Foxfyr

Sounds great to me, it would be fun to have familial ties with this campaign.  :-)

swordwind

Loki: I like your character and the idea behind him. Should work just fine.

Pockets: I wouldn't want to have to customize a class. So I'd say no.

Pockets

08/02 - New A/A Update

kckolbe

#33
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=145633

Name: Hadrian
Nation: Roman
Deity: Trivia; pretends to worship made-up minor deity Nihes
Weapons and Armor: Longsword and light shield, chain shirt
Background: As most sons of higher status, Hadrian had the benefit of a proper education and tutoring at combat, the latter aided by his older and more combat-inclined brother, Aldrick.  He has never been his brother's equal in combat, but that was hardly something to be embarrassed by.  Hadrian is still an above-average fighter.  His keen mind and trustworthy appearance led him to the discovery of the ultimate taboo in Roman law: arcane.  Hadrian was instantly fascinated by it and decided he must learn more at all costs. 

Being the second son to an already pious House, Hadrian was sent to the temples to study the divine, and he impressed many of the devout with his knowledge of the gods, as they were unaware that his thirst for knowledge of the gods was not to better serve them, but to hide his true calling.  He surprised few when he announced his devotion to Nihes (NIE-hees), a minor god of research.  This god was heretofore unknown among the clerics of Rome, and Hadrian claimed that the god made his existence known to him during a night of study.  He then explained that it was important to ensure that all gods received special attention, and given his natural charm (perhaps the only clear advantage Hadrian had over his brother), his explanation was met with praise.  In truth, he offers minor prayers to Trivia.

It had almost been a year since his father had died unexpectedly, leaving Aldrick to inherit the mantle of patriarch to his house.  The past several months had passed and it would seem that much of the attention his house had received from the local government had died with his father, leaving Hadrian with more freedom to pursue his real studies.
Overall Goal in Life: Fascination with magic, real magic.  Not a borrowing of some power from the gods, but the real thing.  Ideally, he wants magic to become sanctioned in Rome, but he dares not overtly support such a cause for fear of drawing suspicion.
Minor Goal in Life: Hadrian knows his duties to his House, knowing that its increased influence means more influence and resources for him.
Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

D12

Question: Are there local languages in addition to the Common Tongue? Gaulish, Greek, etc?
Quote from: Angiejuusan
D12 has earned the power of the GM's Laughter! This does nothing but tell the world you made the GM laugh out loud!

D12

Image, warning, slight nsfw
Sheet
Name: Junia Lunae
Nation: Rome
Deity: Luna
Equipment: +1 Bronze Dagger, 6 Potions of Cure Light Wounds, Anointing Oil
Maintaining Tithe: Professional Priestess of Luna
Background
Junia was born at night. She was a difficult child, owing to the fact that she was born deaf. Her parents failed to discover this for the first three years of Junia's life, and in truth it wasn't her parents who discovered Junia's deafness at all. At three years old Junia still couldn't speak, and was 'diagnosed' with Lunacy. Her parents brought her to the temple of Luna to pray for a cure, and it was there that the priests of Luna who discovered that Junia was not afflicted with Lunacy but was cursed with deafness. Her own family was ill-equipped for the struggle of raising a deaf child and 'donated' Junia to the temple of Luna.

From the age of three on Junia was raised by the temple of Luna in place of her family. She has never learned to speak properly, but her keen mind has enabled her to learn to reads the lips of others fairly effectively and she is able to understand the language of both true romans, ancient Greeks, and the northern barbarians.
Major Goals:
Personal: Become the high priestess and / or avatar of the Goddess Luna.
Professional: Spread the worship of the Goddess Luna and improve her church's standing within Roman culture.
Lofty: Create a permanent lunar eclipse to replace the sun in the sky with the moon.

Minor Goals:
Personal: See the world. Junia has never traveled far beyond the city, and even within the city seldom travels outside the influence of the temple of Luna.
Professional: Spread knowledge of the Goddess Luna; inflict awe and / or fear of her power in the peasantry.
Quote from: Angiejuusan
D12 has earned the power of the GM's Laughter! This does nothing but tell the world you made the GM laugh out loud!

RubySlippers

Quote from: D12 on April 03, 2015, 01:09:30 AM
Question: Are there local languages in addition to the Common Tongue? Gaulish, Greek, etc?

Greek is the big international language, Gaulish would cover the major number of Barbarians and not sure after that.

D12

Quote from: RubySlippers on April 03, 2015, 01:58:23 AM
Greek is the big international language, Gaulish would cover the major number of Barbarians and not sure after that.

Yeah. I just wonder, are we say Greek = Common Tongue? We all automatically speak Greek as 'Common'? Or do we speak Roman / Latin / whatever?
Or does it not even matter?
Quote from: Angiejuusan
D12 has earned the power of the GM's Laughter! This does nothing but tell the world you made the GM laugh out loud!

RubySlippers

Even in Rome most commerce was done in Greek, academic and official documents were in Latin and it was the Roman language. Educated people though knew Greek it was to vital a language not to know.


Chulanowa

Quote from: RubySlippers on April 03, 2015, 01:58:23 AM
Greek is the big international language, Gaulish would cover the major number of Barbarians and not sure after that.

Greek would indeed be the "common tongue" - it dominated Greece and the Balkan region of course, but also Egypt under the Ptolemies, and shared equal status with Persian in Seleucid territories. The Greek alphabet was the common writing system across non-Latin Europe, from the Slavs in the east, all the way to the Belgae and Celtiberians in the west (though they spoke their own languages.) Even the Romans considered it a trade language and language of the learned.

Phoenician would probably be the second-most widespread language after greek, being a major trade language. Carthaginian influence spread it around hte Western Mediterranean, south into Africa, plus of course its homeland in the levant (where it remained a spoken language using hte Latin Alphabet until the 7th century or so.) Among the Romans themselves, it would of course be third, after Latin and Greek (you probably didn't want to speak Phoenician after the Punic wars...)

There were several Celtic languages, which can roughly be divided into three relevant continental groups - Gaulish (In France, Italy, and Switzerland), Celtiberian (in Celtic Iberia, of course) and Noric (southern Germania and central-eastern Europe.)

other relatively common languages of the period and area would be Illyrian, Dacian / Thracian, Late Kemetic, and Persian.

"Rare" languages would be Germanic, Slavic, the remaining Celtic languages (galatian, Lepontic, belgian, breton), Etruscan, Paleohispanic languages (Iberian, Basque), Old kemetic, Hebrew, and the Berber languages. These might all be less rare among long-lived races from these regions, elves and such.

Which brings a question - are there "racial languages"? How deep into "fantasy history" are we going here, are there Elvish nations beyond italia? Was Sicily a gnomish holding until its capture by Carthage, then Rome? Are Carthaginians Dwarves?

Muse

 Is it too late to express interest? 

  I confess I loved this idea when I first saw it.  Then idea of a group as cosmopolitan and known for their ingenuity as the Romans having a superstitious backlash against the science of arcane magic struck me as so dissonant to the setting I thought I was going to find everything else rang equally false.  Looking back over I see it's just a weird quirk to a setting otherwise showing promise of verisimilitude.  It'll probably turn out to be a plot point. 

A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

swordwind

I've no deadline for interest takers Muse.  But I'll send a PM or two in a day or so to the people I like.

Which brings a question - are there "racial languages"?
Yes.

How deep into "fantasy history" are we going here, are there Elvish nations beyond italia?
No. Other races exist but not in large numbers. Maybe deep in the woods. Half-breeds are not uncommon.

Was Sicily a gnomish holding until its capture by Carthage, then Rome?
Of course.....not. Gnomes are more or less midgets to everyone.

Are Carthaginians Dwarves?
No. Good idea now that I think of it though.

kckolbe

I have to wait a day or two?!  I can't stand the suspense!
Ons/Offs  A/A  Oath of the Drake
(From the Penis Game) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Penis
I love a wet nymph.  "Letting some guy have [her] just to have another woman is a losing trade"

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer(IC#2)
Intro Thread

Chulanowa

So here's a quick question. Any way I could treat the falcata as a martial weapon rather than exotic? The character i'm planning comes form Iberia, and I'm figuring, the falcata was invented and used extensively there, they wouldn't see it as "exotic."

Muse

#44
Name: Aoiffe
Nation: Gaul
Deity: Gaulic Pantheon
Weapons and Armor: +1 Silver Sickle (With Master's permission.) 
Background: Aoiffe grew up in Gaul, apprentice to a Epona--one of the Learned (a druid.)  Though Epona was a keeper of peace among the Gaulish tribes, she did not believe anyone should be unable to defend themselves.  She taught her student to defend herself with staff, dagger, and sickle. 

When Aoiffe's home town fell to the Romans, she defeated three soldiers before the Centurion subdued her.  Impressed by her beauty and strength, the Centurion sold her--and her teacher's silver sickle--to an arena.  Aoiffe was forced to fight other women to the death as an amazone gladiator.  Her only greater horror than dying in the arena was wondering whom she would be next forced to murder. 

Something about her touched the heart of a rich man named Hadrian, and he purchased her away from the arena to serve as his servant and concubine.  Hadrian quickly won her loyalty--first out of gratitdue and masculine prowess, but she quickly came to love his inteligence and artistiry for his own sake.  She even pledged to wield her teacher's sickle for his defense and in his service, so long as he didn't ask her to murder. 

Overall Goal in Life: Repay Hadrian for saving her by being a loyal and loving slave girl, and helping him acomplish his goals. 
Minor Goal in Life: Maintain her duties to the gods of Gaul, keep history alive, and become a spiritual teacher as best as she can in her new roll in life. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12ve2W1vsizw_wVsAWDoUU5EICzFlwhKpViIs7FBS9vU/edit
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

swordwind

Chulanowa: Ok. I'll allow it. But that weapon isn't from rome so I hope you get a blacksmith and untold skills to make more for you......

Chulanowa

Shouldn't be a problem - it's a simple weapon design that is pretty common around Rome (in fact, Romans were the weirdoes, with their straight-edged blades. Freaks.) Besides, you're not gonna go aroudn sundering weapons left and right, i'm sure  :D

RubySlippers

I wanted to note Greeks were deemed citizens of the Empire maybe under natives, but largely assimilated, so unless a slave you would be well regarded unless an arcane user.

Foxfyr

Quote from: Chulanowa on April 03, 2015, 09:15:41 PM
Shouldn't be a problem - it's a simple weapon design that is pretty common around Rome (in fact, Romans were the weirdoes, with their straight-edged blades. Freaks.) Besides, you're not gonna go aroudn sundering weapons left and right, i'm sure  :D

This is the bronze age, roll a 1 and the thing is broken. Roll another and it is destroyed if I recall correctly.

RubySlippers

Here is  my character a passing burglar and serious charlatan who is a Sybil. Well a seriously good bullshit artist giving her "divine insights" to those seeking her "counsel" for donations. Think a modern psychic sort using a lot more show and some basics of the profession to look good. LOL

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=148024

I figure she would be the guest of the house until she arranges her own place nearby to give seekers attention for donations.

Of course as a Rogue she has other skills just in case.  ;D

Yes you can have two Archetypes if they don't share changed or altered features.