[Courtesy of HBO's Rome]
"To the Romans, it was the intoxicating quality of power that made it so dangerous. To command the affairs of one's fellow citizens and to lead them into war, these were awesome responsibilities, capable of turning anybody's head. After all, what else had the Republic been founded upon if not this single great perception -- that the taste of kingly authority was addictive and corrupting? Except, of course, that with Rome now the mistress of the world and the arbiter of nations, the authority of her consuls far exceeded any king's."
Tom Holland, Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
It is the year 70 BC. The Roman Republic has stood for over four hundred years. But all is not well. Barely a year ago, the gladiator Spartacus and his hundreds of thousands of followers almost brought the Romans to their knees. Over a decade ago, the internal civil war between the followers of Sulla and Marius showed that Romans could fight and kill one another in the pursuit of power. Blood had stained the streets of Rome. Crassus and Pompey have just been elected consul and are attempting to balance and sustain the conflicting elements of Roman society. It is an age of corruption, manipulation, violence and intrigue. In the seedy quarters of Ancient Rome, a strange murder catches the attention of a former legionnaire, recently retired from a career forged in the deserts and pastures of Europe, Africa and Asia Minor.
The Premise: A strange murder may be a clue to a wider conspiracy in Rome's underbelly. A number of citizens are drawn together in a complex web of deceit, set against the tumultuous backdrop of Ancient Rome.
The Setting: The Late Roman Republic. Historical setting with a slight, slight tinge of fantasy possible.
The Plot: To be conceived and moulded by the characters and driven by the premise.
The Characters: Anything that can fit in the historical setting given. So no Spanish elves, German goblins or Space Marines. Patricians, plebeians, legionnaires, slaves, prostitutes, magistrates, merchants. Anything that can reasonably fit into the story, with historical authenticity a requirement (We don't expect you to know everything about Rome, but we do expect a certain level of research.) All characters must be PMed to me for approval and editing. You can discuss characters and requirements and authencity through me via PM/e-mail or even IM, or with Omar/Jiggity. Please remember to include all the usual basics in character profiles -- appearance, personality, how they are to be role-played, their place in Roman society. You can keep certain things secret from the rest of the writers, but please tell me/Jiggity about any crazy secrets/abilities you want to keep hidden from the rest of the group.
I can also provide you with any links for help on Roman names, society, culture. Be creative with characters! I will accept imaginative and exciting ideas as long as they make sense. For example, Celtic druids with magical powers won't be accepted, but an enslaved Celtic healer with a hint of dark skills might be accepted.
NOTE: You CANNOT be a pre-existing historical character. For example, nobody can be a young Julius Caesar, or Cicero, or whatever else you feel like portraying. If anyone tries this I will stab you with a hot poker.
Historical Authenticity: This won't be as horrible as you imagine. Clearly we are not all professors of Roman history. But we can all do basic research (the internet, books, films, TV shows) to try and portray a fun and realistic Rome. We will try and strive for a good amount of authenticity, but don't unnecessarily worry yourself or let this put you off.
RULES
(Thanks to Dono for the basics.)
1) No team-killing: If an active character is going to die, make sure it is thoroughly discussed between both parties involved.
NOTE: If you don't hold up your end of the posting agreement (see below), you can be killed off.
2) On Writing Style: This is a Storybook RPG, so players may write in any style they please. First person, third person omniscient, it's all dependent on your personal preference.
3) On God-Moding: (Thank you Grif and Dono)
God Moding is vague. Here are the rules for it.
-- Other authors may control another author's character as long as it keeps the character IN CHARACTER. For extra help, communicate with the author of the character being god-moded first.
-- Authors have every right to determine what is in or out of character for their character. As such, any action they feel is wrong for the character can be vetoed within a few days of the post.
-- This isn't a turn-based RPG, it is a real-time RPG. That means that you aren't obligated to stop and wait for the author to reply to your character. This way, we don't wait three days for a response.
4) Out of character discussion is to be carried out in the Discussion Thread for this Storybook, titled "Wolves of Rome Discussion"
VERY IMPORTANT:
By sending a PM to me with a character enclosed, you are agreeing to the following conditions:
--You agree to dedicate time and effort to this storybook, and notify us (Firestarter, Jiggity) immediately if that is to change.
--All executive decisions of the storybook will be ultimately decided by us (Firestarter, Jiggity.)
--Post at least three times a week, at least one of which must be in the story thread, the remaining two may be made in discussion.
--While every post need not be plot-deciding or life-changing, every post you make must be grammatically correct, with correct punctuation and minimal typos.
--Every post must be significant in some way--be it character development, character interaction, or just plain action. Basically--put effort into each and every post you do. Don't half-ass it just because you need to post. Personally I would prefer you did not post at all than post some three line post with one line of dialogue. Work with one of the other authors to come up with a post if you're having trouble with dialogue. Come up with a scene.
--Help your fellow authors if asked. We're all a team now.
5) CRUCIAL:
This is an R-RATED storybook. As such, it will include depictions of sex (not gratuitous), violence and swearing. You MUST be 18 or over to participate in this storybook. There will only be exceptions if we (Firestarter, Jiggity) agree that you can participate, and this will usually only be for members who are perhaps 17 and really, really want to be a part of it. Otherwise, everyone must be over 18 and comfortable with what this storybook will feature.
DISCLAIMER: Since a member has complained, I'll re-post what I told him. "This isn't going to be a storybook based on sex or featuring sex scenes. I agree that is wrong and should be discouraged. What I said was "depictions of sex" meaning that (1) the opening introduction post includes a description of sex that should be restricted to under-18s (it's part of the story) and (2) there will be references to prostitution in the storyline. Hence this is an R-rated storybook."
This storybook commences on June 1st and no earlier. All posts before then will be deleted or moved to the discussion thread. We are in the process of constructing an "Intro" post that covers the essential background to the plot.
