More prep for Aedes Saluto

My Continuum players seemed to be having fun in Rome, so I had it run longer than the one session I'd originally planned. Here's some extra prep work I did for the second Roman session...

• COSTUMES - show them page 20 of Chronicle of Western Fashion
• Chariot Races - at the Circus Maximus, which can seat 250,000 people. Starts filling at dawn.There are 24 races per day, all are free to watch. Food vendors are there, but it’s a good idea to get your food first, or else you’ll be fighting crowds all day. Procession before hand includes musicians, priests carrying banners of all the Gods, and the Senator or Counsellor who will be dropping the start flag. Multiple crashes during the day, including a 4-horse chariot toppling on its side, the driver drops the knife he was to cut himself free with and ends up being drug most of a lap.
• Gladiatorial Games - This is the 14th year of the games at the Amphitheatre that will one day be known as the coloseum. Procession, pantomime, conjurors, circus animals, then fighting. Women sit in the third tier behind a wall that seperates them from men. Wealthy women sometimes pay to have sex with the gladiators after the show.
• Another banquet. 7 courses. And there’s food too gross to say in front of Amy, including Fried Cow’s Udder. Before the meal your feet and hands are washed by slaves.
• Another Play, at a lower class theatre (holds only 3,000 people, unlike the 14,000 occupant theatre from the other night) - The only lines are from the Chorus, the other Actors simply Mime about the Trojan War. It’s quite bawdy have both Genders of performers, with murder, nudity and simulated rape. The subject matter is so controversial, a riot breaks out.
• Roman Fora - Town center, great sight seeing, but very crowded. Statues, shrines, arches. Senate building. Entrance to the Cloacina Maxima under the shrine of Venus Cloacina. Orators on the Rostra. Eternal fire of the Vestal Virgins. Recently completed temple of concord (temple to the peace that has put an end to near-civil war). Black slab of Marble (grave of Romulus). Golden Milestone. Pages 138-139 of visitors guide
• Senate Floor. Proposals currently have to do with the War against Carthage, and with a reassessment of certain middle-tier crimes to determine which are appropriate for incarceration at the first Roman prison, Tullianum. Prior to this, the legal code was very bipolar. Watching for the day gives a unique perspective on Law, +1 clock.
• Boat Trip down the Tiber to Ostia. Pass an Island that’s been landscaped to look like a boat. The medical school is on that island. Also see the man-made reefs of smashed oil jugs.
• A tour of corners. Each fraternity in Rome (from 750 BC to 410 AD) sends a member to greet you and answer questions.
• More Harpastum - only worth 1 clock in athletics now for a game. It’s not an infinite well of clocks.
• Boardgames - due to Mastery of Chess, Lee gets Gaming: Roman Boardgames Novice +1 Clock.

I note from reading all this that memories were a little off. Apparently the riot was intentional on my part, and took place at the second theatrical performance. Also, not everything listed here happened - I played it by ear and skipped things that no one seemed to bite at. I should have done the Fraternal Corner tour, but wasn't quite prepped enough to handle it that session.

departure: May 15th 16:00

Meaning the characters spent around 80 hours in Rome

More notes from the Ariesian age

This short page was notes made during the Continuum game. Not prep notes, but scribbles of what happened, made during the session as it unfolded...

• Baths - All goes well except Emily’s pink panties may have been spotted when she was changing.

In character, Emily was quite precise that she would not wear the itchy or inferior undergarments of earlier eras. This was a potential anachronistic problem at the public baths. The campaign was on a fast-track, and I chose not to make use of this thread.

• Banquet in their honor at Tiberius’s home. Rob & Jeremy eat Liquamen - bad breath.

For Amy's sake, I had to talk my way around the fried cows udders, whichWikipedia fails to mention. But at least it does define Liquamen. Wish my reference books had mentioned porcus Troianus, so I could have talked around it too. :)

• Attending the theatre

Amazing that this is all I wrote about that lengthy scene. The PCs started a riot at a play about the Trojan War. Calvin used a cricket bat to attack a performer on a Deus Ex Machina winch. Don't ask about the cricket bat - it was apparently under his toga. Soldiers were eventually called in to keep the peace.

• On walk home, a roofing tile falls - is it just faulty construction? Emily pushes Aaron out of the way, Izzy intervenes to stop them speaking English. And then to cover it up, they walk into an alleyway like prostitutes to his John. 3 of them span to the villa

This was merely an improv, based on a thing I'd read that morning about how lack of building codes in ancient Rome had lead to many deaths from poorly-secured clay shingles. Since the enemy can time-travel and teleport, the PCs interpreted this as an ambush. Much hilarity ensued.

• Kelly tries to “get lost” in city. Gets temporary frag (Izzy feeds him liquamen, then undoes it). This reigns him in.
  

• Harpastum - emily wins

That last note was accompanied by an odd little matrix that reads:

kelly 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
kail 0 1 1 0 5 1 0
emily 2 1 0 1 3 1 2
Emily wins

Funny that Kelly, the ex-marine with a decent Body score, rolled so poorly. I note that this also implies I had them roll 7 times instead of 4. What Silence, you Continuumed, but apparently didn't Harpastum - were you there that session? Were you sitting around with nothing to do? Did I waste too much time on this silly Roman sport?

Harpastum! (Rules for use in Continuum)

This is also from the old Continuum campaign. Here's a wiki link on Harpastum, though the book I was using for reference back when running the campaign made it sound less like a team sport and more of a free-for-all. That difference is reflected below. What I was envisioning may be more like Follis, but with Harpastum's heavy ball and physical demands. Or wikipedia could just be wrong. Not like that's never happened before.

The Game: Harpastum: (Mechanics and Skill Improves for Continuum)
This game involves a sand-filled ball, and a lot of throwing, catching, and shoving. It's a classic Roman pastime. Slightly less bloody that gladiators.

Each participant gets to roll an Athletics four times, as follows:

Throwing: Uses any form of Athletics that involves a two hand throw or a throw of a large (softball+) sized ball.
Other throwing games get a -1 penalty.
PCs who's athletics involve non-throwing games have just Body -1, and get only a Body clock for the roll.

Catching: Uses any form that involves catching things thrown to or at you.
-1 if it’s a minor part of the specialization you’re using.
If there’s no such action in the game you have Athletics in, then have just Quick -1, and get only Quick clock for the roll.

Bodychecks/Shoving: Usable with any Martial Arts, Unarmed Combat. Also useable with any full-contact Atheltics like Football, Rugby, Hockey or Lacrosse.
Games with minimal contact (baseball, soccer) get -1 penalty
Games with no contact (golf) roll just Body -1, and get only Body clock for the roll.

Stamina: Useable with any Athletics, Unarmed Combat, or Toughness.
If using an Athletics with no strenuous activity, such as minigolf, just roll Body, and get only Body clock for the roll.

Each player makes 1 roll for each those 4 components to the game, and records how many rolls they succeeded at.
If one player has most successes, they won the game! +1 extra clock on Athletics
If no clear winner, each player rolls again for Catching & Stamina.
If no clear winner then, each player rolls again for Bodychecks & Stamina.
If no clear winner then, each player rolls again for Stamina.
If still no clear winner, the game ends as a draw.
Bonus clock for winning is only if someone wins at the end of the first set of rolls!

If anyone states they Span to take advantage, then all players add a Quick roll to each round of rolls.

if no PC gets any successes on the first 4 rolls, Tiberius laughs at your incompetence and the game ends as a flop.

The tough part of this from a GM / Adventure Writer perspective, was how many rolls to have PCs make. Each roll is a clock (effectively an experience point in the terminology of other games) whereas it would take 15 days of off-camera Harpastum playing to get an Athletics clock otherwise. Too few rolls means no chance for PCs to "level up", but too many rolls results in the plot bogging down and getting boring.

In retrospect, I should have made there be a trophy - some gift from Tiberius to the person who won the game. That would have justified doubling the number of rolls without risking boredom.

Short bus spanners in Rome

Further notes from the old Continuum campaign's second phase...

-249 (BC) - May 12th at 8:00 in the morning Ariesian - Rome. Corner: Aedes Saluto. Roman Villa
Playlist: 7th Sea Vodacce

When you arrive: The scent of burnt bread is in the air. You are in a large common room of a spacious Roman villa. Everything is tiled and frescoed, including false windows that are painted to give the impression of opening into an orchard.

The room has several large pieces of furniture - daybeds or couches, perhaps, like futons in bed mode. The are organized in two groups, one arranged around an enormous coffee table, the others arranged around a sort of sandbox set into the floor. Both groupings surround their central feature on 3 sides only, leaving the fourth side open to the center of the room.

A large jovial looking man in a Toga steps into the entrance of the room, his arms spread out as if to hug you all. “Isabella!” he shouts. She scowls. He and Izzie move towards the couches near the sandbox.

Carved sticks just over a meter in length lie on the couches. Each grab one. Izzie draws a curve in the sand. The man completes it.

Each person gets thier own room here, adjoining
the spanner parlor. The villa also has a courtyard,
dining hall, assorted private rooms, a stable, etc.

Romans are much more cleanly than dark ages. The city is stinky, but you can’t be. The burnt bread was a form of scent-elimination, much less expensive than incense and scented oils.

Silver Denarius is the common coin. Medicine comes from Greece, and a little from India. First punic war is going on, Romans against Carthaginians. The first Roman prison, Tullianum, was erected this spring. Travel will be on foot or by litter, as wheeled vehicles are outlawed during daylight.

Fun things to do in Rome:

1. The baths - Seperated by Gender. Women in morning, men in afternoon. Tiberius’s slaves watch belongings in changing room. In order: Sudatorium (Sauna). Caldarium (hot pool in domed room, use oil and stigil). Massage room. Tepidarium (vaulted hall, gently warmed pool). Frigidarium (unheated, open-air swimming pool). Games & Athletics room available.
2. Banquet - Hosted by Tiberius. Eat on sofas - 3/sofa, 9/table. Knives, Spoons, & Fingers (no forks) Acrobats and musicians perform while you eat. 5 courses, In order: Veggies/Eggs/Cheese/Seafood, Honey Wine, Seafood and hot rolls, Roasts/Veggies/Beans/LiquamenSauce (Izzie recommends you skip the Liquamen), HoneyCakes/Fruits/Nuts.
3. Games - Ball games, dice games, board games. Harpastum is a game with a sand-filled ball that involves a lot of shoving. For mechanics and skill improves, see next page.
4. Baths again - it would be customary the next morning after all that rough-housing.
5. Gladiatorial Games - This is the 14th year of the games at the Amphitheatre that will one day be known as The Colosseum. Procession, pantomime, conjurers, circus animals, then fighting. Women sit in the third tier behind a wall that separates them from men.
6. Another banquet. 7 courses. And there’s food too gross to say in front of Amy.

Before you leave: Tiberius takes your togas. Gives you brightly colored richly embroidered clothing, which puzzles him. Says it was left for you by the Engineers, but he’s been to Turkey, and this is not the proper attire.

Interpretatio Graeca

Just stumbled across this wiki page that has some interesting gaming applications. It discusses Interpretatio Graeca and Interpretatio Romana, two specific examples of Syncretism.

Most directly applicable to gaming is this chart that shows the gods held in common by ancient Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans. It's useful for Scion, GURPS Imperial Rome, Fulminata, etc.