Audeamus: a cinematic, non-fantasy romp in ancient Rome

[Elizabeth]

So my friend Charlotte and I are designing a game about ancient Rome, entitled Audeamus. It's going to be more cinematic than slavishly historically accurate-- think Ben Hur and Gladiator. There are a couple specific design goals we've got in mind:

• Taking certain trappings/conventions of trad gaming and making them into something else.
• Crafting a PvP environment with win-loss conditions.
• Winning requires hard moral choices, which creates compelling stories.

I'd be happy to discuss any of that as well, but my main question is about the way we're handling setting for this game. Setting is actually more suggested than specifically and laboriously elaborated, and is handled with specific set types. ("Set," in this case, is meant in the theatrical sense.)

Each TYPE of set has three or four descriptors; a scene must use at least two of the descriptors of the set. Additionally, each set has a primary base of power and a secondary base of power; characters can earn or lose dice in only the bases appropriate to each set, and cannot be challenged in an area which is irrelevant to the set.

- There are three bases of power in this game– Personal, Political, and Populus.
Personal power is your own honor and integrity; it is drawing strength from within yourself.
Political power is your reach and influence; it is drawing strength from your connections.
Populus power is your connection to the masses; it is drawing strength from the mob.

The set types are as follows:

    * The Frontier always has inhospitable weather, too hot or too cold or too generally inclimate for Roman sensibilities. It smells of burning pitch and spilled blood. It is always far from home; every comfort feels hard-won. Brutal, cruel, and dark. The Frontier is primarily Personal, and mildly Political.
    * Home is a personal set defined for each character during character generation. It does not have to be the character's current place of residence; it is the place they hold in their heart as their personal sanctuary. Be sure to define sights, smells, and sounds, as well as a type of weather associated with it. Home is primarily Personal, and mildly Populus.
    * The Market is filled with the sounds of tinkling bells and haggling, choked by the smell of exotic spices. There is nothing here which cannot be purchased for the right price, with the right currency. It is a press of humanity. The Market is primarily Populus, and mildly Political.
    * The Arena smells of death and sweat; there are thousands of people shouting and cheering, warring with the clank of chains and swords. Here, "winning" just means that you lose less than someone else. Nothing here can be trusted. The Arena is primarily Populus, and mildly Personal.
    * The Senate smells of incense; every word and footstep echoes on the marble. It is pure, white, and clean, but behind nobility lurks treachery. As a result, it is just as dangerous as The Arena, and compromise is a necessary evil. The Senate is primarily Political, and mildly Populus.
  * The Foreign Court seduces every sense; exotic luxuries are always within arm's reach. It is uncomfortably warm; both the weather, and the reception the Romans receive. There are lies behind every smile, and through seduction or subversion, there is a chance you might never leave.  The Foreign Court is primarily Political, and mildly Personal.


Is this set stuff easy to grasp? For example, depending on what bases of power a character wanted to utilize, a prison scene could easily take place in The Arena, The Frontier, or even The Market. A prison in The Arena would involve the clank of chains and (the guards') swords, as well as a sense of mistrust. A prison in The Frontier would be a far-off cell, underground, with burning torches and slain corpses. A prison in

[Elizabeth]

Ack, my post got cut off somehow!

A prison in The Market would be overcrowded, with the prisoners waiting-- praying?-- to be sold into slavery.

Does this seem evocative without railroady? I'm essentially trying to create a sandbox with amorpheous borders, for characters to play in and GMs to run with.

[Paul T]

This is very cool!

So, the set types are more like names or categories than physical places? For instance, "The Senate" could be in any location (not just in the building where the Senate meets), so long that it is pure, white, clean, and hinting at treachery?

If I got that right, I like it very much. Looking forward to more!


Paul

[Elizabeth]

Paul, exactly! The set types are just supposed to evoke enough color to explain why the two bases of power are dominant in that scene. And to be a fun tool for scene framing-- okay, so Gracian has challenged me to single combat, and my strengths are Personal and Political. How do I make a scene which fits the action and has the trappings of The Frontier?

I've been trying to figure out if the trappings are ambiguous enough to fit every scene, but I suppose that's difficult to discern without playtesting, which is a ways away.

Oh, and if anyone wants to see the rest of the thoughts, they're here at my blog; I don't want to bog the thread down with a giant wall of text. The resolution mechanic is building giant towers of dice and then watching where they fall! (We're getting a statistician to help us with the maps for that part.)

[Phil]

Oh wonderful!  I am a sucker for bronze age intrigue.  I think the system plays well to your noted influences and reminds me of how much I loved the tv series Rome.  To what degree will there be continuity of characters from one scene to the next?

[Stryck]

Hi, I'm the aforementioned Charlotte.

The characters in Audeamus will be persistent throughout the game.  You will each make a character, and play her/him through the trials and tribulations of trying to attain your goals... before the others can attain theirs.

So far, at least!

-C-

[Narf the Mouse]

You could do something with adding description while your stacking - Say, you could declare something, then stack a die. If the die stacks, your description stands. If the stack falls, it's a critical failure.