Rome!

[Paladin132]

Ok, I don't know what other forum to put this into so here it is.

Does anyone have a good d20 suppliment that they like to use for running a Roman RPG? I figure with Birthright, someone else has had to have thought about this?

[Master Spaz]

you are right
Birthright is your solution my friend
i worked on a antic campain for birthright for 3 years now
it is perfect
simply turn the gold bars into copper bars and reduce rule book prices to copper instead of GP.
it is a great game you look forward
i would like to play
lol
but im stucked in Canada
lol

[Master Spaz]

lol
the best woould be on Djapar

[ausrick]

There used to be an old AD&D suppliment, I think it was "The Glory of Rome campaign suppliment". It was great fun from what I remember, but I let a friend borrow it back in the 90's and that was the last of that.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=5165& Green Ronin publishing has a d20 campaign setting called Eternal Rome. I haven't actually read it, but from what it is supposed to include it sounds like a good book. They also have a book called "Testament", and "Trojan War" that sound good if you want to go even further back into ancient times.

I've often thought of running a BR campaign set back before the days of Michael Roele and giving it a strong ancient world feel, but when I look at a lot of the documents pertaining to Cerilia in the 0-1000 HC days, it doesn't seem to have that much of and ancient world feel from what I could tell.

If any one else has happened to buy any of these books and could talk about them, it would be good to hear.

[stv2brown1988]

I have the Glory of ROme supplement and have played it.

I did not acutally create d20 rules for the game but I did use the chariot feats from sword and fist with the gladiator games in my campaign.

If you have any questions, I can try to help you with them.

[Green Knight]

I picked up Testament at a bargain price a while back.

I'd reccomend it for players interested in playing inancient times - be that on Earth or Aebrynis. It even has a fairly simple, but useable mass combat system. In many ways the setting reminds me a bit of BR - there is great focus on different cultures and the conflicts between them, battles and nations etc.

[Paladin132]

Isn't the Glory of Rome suppliment a d20 3.5 game?

Does it go into good depth about the military units of Empiral Rome? Can you give me a quick review on what it includes and your thoughts on it please, stv2brown? I'd appriciate it.

[stv2brown1988]

It's a 2nd edition game with chapters covering the following: Intro, history of Rome, characters, magic and religion, armies and enemies, The Games (gladiator and chariot racing), Roman culture, and a gaxetteer of the Roman world. I bought it online for just a couple of bucks and it's worth it for the games section alone.

We only played it 3-4 times because my players didn't like the fact that the only race is human and it's a very low magic setting. Also it has the politics of the Roman senate built into it, which I liked a great deal but the world felt a little flat, since I don't have much background information to help make the politics work.

Your idea for including into a Birthright setting I like alot. I'd be willing to help you with this if you'd want. Did you have any particular area in mind to setup a Roman type empire?

[Paladin132]

Avanil really always struck me as just the perfect place to do it. If the proper political background took place, then a senate type leadership could come up there and begin rebuilding the empire. This is just in the brainstorming stages really, but it strikes me as the place to run with it.

Also I have thought about maybe starting our game a little after the Senate is in power and such. I have to admit the books by Conn Iggulden have an influence on my thoughts, it really gives a decent feel for what it would be like in the Empire at the time.

[stv2brown1988]

Isn't the imperial city close to avanil? If it is then that would make the perfect Rome (city). Maybe the senate came to power in the imperial city and the prince of avanil is the first monarch to adapt to the new system of government. This would spite the arch duke of bourine (?) who couldn't join the senate now because he would feel like a come-lately.

Or the senate starts in Avanil and the imperial city, seeing a way out of centuries of feudalism and warfare decide to join in. Either way the prince of avanil now becomes a senator and can begin changing local governments from feudalism to a republic. Imagine the apprehension of neighboring domains at the tought of giving the commoners a say in how they are ruled.

[ausrick]

If you are moving from fuedalism (box set circa 551 MR) to a republic in the current birthright world. I would envision something resembling the French Revolution. Maybe the ideas of enlightement start spreading around. Commoners are getting more educated and a rising middle class starts to have problems with the manorial system. Before long you have a Maximilien Robespierre agitating in Avanil and issuing proscriptions. Commoners adopting a 10 day calandar because they see Haelyn as a tool of the aristocracy, and noble lords being beheaded left and right and their Gold Bars being re-appropraited. This would be a very tumultuous time for the PC's if they are regents as the fires of revolution spread across Anuire. You would in effect be burning Anuire to the ground in order to rebuild it because almost all of the holdings are going to change hands. But hey, it is kind of like clicking the "Godzilla" button over and over again in the old "Sim City" computer games.

Once you have a stable republic, the options are endless. We all know how many ways a Republic can turn into an Empire. We have the example of Rome, even France just 5 years after its revolution, and even the Galactic Empire some long long time ago. :D