>>3325374

Divine Caesar, the gods test you once more. Cruel is the Fate that forces a man to face against his own compatriots, yet the malice of the gods is well known to you, most Unfortunate of Men; your mother is struck down with an illness most grave and painful for the simple fact of having born and loved you as a mother should - by the Goddess of Motherhood, no less, an irony that does not lessen the weight upon your heart with its biting humour.

Because of the fractious in-fighting of the immortal gods, you were shunted off far to the east of Parthia, arch-rival to the greatest of Republics. Because of the envies of those who saw your ascendant star as a moral threat, you were slain at the height of your powers, yet too early to institute the changes necessary for the People of Rome to live in glory for the next ten thousand years.

In your past-life, you saw your beloved veteran legions mutiny while you were away for such an ignoble reason as an insufficiency of war booty for such noble and storied legionaries. Phantom pain gnaws at you at the blindness of common mankind. You were fighting for the survival of Rome itself as it entered the new age - the Imperial Epoch - but these men, these legionaries who fought and bled for you from Gallia to Italia were now rioting for the sake of money.

You hold no such attachment to this smaller group of men, numbering as much as a severely under-strength cohors. Their chief value lies in the wealth of experience they have accrued over hundreds of campaigns over the decades and centuries, a valuable officer-corps that proved instrumental in shaping the newly-installed freedmen infantry to something approaching a fighting force.

Yet, these were your men. You blooded them, saw them follow your command, trusted that they would act according to the battle plans set before the battle itself.

There is a special kind of trust between an officer and his troops. Today, that trust has been broken.

The door is there, now. It stands resolute in front of you, its strength and solid foundation and workmanship a testament to the skill of the Carthaginian shipwrights who built this tesserakonteres with dreams of seeing it sail across Unending Oceanus. And behind this door assuredly lie many of the Five Hundred, relieved of duty, relieved of honour.


Will you cross the threshold, this Rubikon, to face the hundreds alone?

>You are about to face off against a significant number of belligerent actors. Prepare your points and facts and words accordingly, to be digested into the word of Caesar on the mutineers.

[Welcome to the fifth chapter of the Commentarii. You may be wondering about the name being about China, despite the fact that we are clearly nowhere near the damned place. It's... a long story. You can read the previous archives here:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Commentarii

And now, on with the quest.]

>>3325421
ill back you anon

>>3325386
Im gonna go with what another anon posted last thread

>>3325153
Do not simply burst in like some barbarus, march in calmly. Get their attention with a statement bellowed from our divine lungs, and throw forward our wayward mercenary captain.
>Here! Here lies the Iberian Cabaleiro, broken and bound, for he believed that such a great betrayal against the people to whom he owed his loyalty to would go unpunished by the divine. His belief was greatly unfounded. Tell me now , men. Will you follow this man into ruin and demise?

>>3325585
This.

>>3325421
This is facking dumb

>>3325421
>>3327265

Yeeaaah could st least word it better

We should do what Scipio did with the mutineers at Sucro.

First, he sent officers to gather information on what the soldier's problems were. In their case it was owed back pay and some other issues. Then he rounded them up with the promise of recompense into a small tight space. He delivered a masterful speech where he repudiated them for their betrayal, while at the same time showing understanding and compassion for their grievances. Then he seized the ringleaders of the mutiny and had them beaten and executed before the rest of the soldiers. Finally, he called each soldier in turn and gave them what wages they were owed, on the condition that they would renew their oaths to Rome.

Pertinent points here would be the gathering of intel for why the soldiers mutinied (were they just following orders? money? something else?), then a masterful speech that both admonishes their treachery while being sympathetic to their reasons. And of course, the public execution of the ringleaders followed by some kind of reward and reinforcement of loyalty from the soldiers. It's basic Stockholm syndrome/pimp psychology. To get an unruly ho to fall in line, you beat the shit out of her with a coat hanger and then run her a bath and give her some pills. She'll be so grateful she'll forget you were the one that beat her in the first place. (--Iceberg Slim)

File: Libations.jpg (143 KB, 800x400)

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The door opens. Soldiers continue talking, clueless of the death of two of their comrades just meters away from them. One of them, his legs perched precariously on the tables and balacing himself half-drunk against the sea-roll, is just finishing his long alcohol-infused speech about what a magnanimous captain they have.

"Friends! Compatriots!" he shouts. "Our beloved, beautiful captain-"

"Stop outing your love for the captain, Klotho!" comes a jeer from within the audience. "You stopped being interesting to him once you grew up, late-blooming eromenos that you are!"

"Our beautiful captain," Klotho emphasises amidst the cackling, "has granted us a boon of boons, a prize worthier than any fortress. Behold, the Rhea! No doubt the captain will make the well-proportioned woman for whom this ship is named after his, just as he cuckolded this magnificent craft from the clutches of the captain."

"What, Cabaleiro bugger a woman? That'll be the day!" the same jeerer hoots over the ruckus, drawing another round of appreciative laughter.

Klotho stumbles from a rogue wave, but many hands rise up to steady the ovator's legs, who regains balance. "Thank you, comrades, friends, and now... I have only one thing to say. Long live the Captain! Long live the Five Hundred! There is nothing we cannot achieve, now that we have an island of our own. Now drink, friends! Drink to open-handed Cabaleiro and the living wine of dead Suerna!"

"Euoi! Euoi! Dionysius bless our captain's cock!" laughs the audience.

"Hades, what a mess," a dark-skinned infantryman nearest to the door - and you - is grumbling to himself. "We're not even the Five Hundred anymore. The fucking Spaniard is dragging our name through the mud. This is going into the Annals like everything is, and Scrivener is not going to enjoy writing the names of the newly dead. Killed by our own, no less."

"Shut the hell up and get on with the programme, Gion, unless you want to end up like Galen." The soldier beside him, a Celt of some sort from the eye-watering red of his hair, mutters morosely into his cup. The two are among the less excited soldiers that form the periphery of the festive affair, mostly keeping to their groups and tables. "The Five Hundred now is not the Five Hundred from the stories. No need to agree with the captain, but you need to keep the disagreements on the down low. You want to get gutted like Boena?"

Gion cradles his still full cup, looking at the drunken revelry going on in the middle of the dining hall with detestation. "Centuries of honourable conduct, all ruined my a single captain. I don't understand it, Ginger. If we're all going to die, might as well as die with some dignity instead of ruining the honour of something that has existed for longer than you or I. Father Xenophon is rolling in his grave."

>>3328012

"I said, shut it," Ginger hisses. "If you want to go start fomenting a rebellion against this rebellion, do it far away from me, for the love of the gods. I don't want to get-" the man freezes mid-sentence after raising his eyes from the limits of his cup to admonish his partner. "Oh, Morrigan," he says, and quickly drains his cup. That returns some of the blood that drained from his face the moment he saw you. He nudges the man beside him. "Oi, Gion."

"One of these days, I'm going to become a farmer, Ginger."

"No, I wasn't asking you to tell me your fucking life story, you little shit. Get your fat nose out of your goblet - it's the Kid."

Gion looks up. "Oh." He pauses. "Morrigan." He adds belatedly.

"And Cabaleiro," the one named Gion says in a half-whisper, eyes like saucers. Others turn, looking curiously at the disturbance near the door, and are transfixed by what they see. Their fine-featured captain beaten senseless, his limbs hanging like useless tendrils as he is bodily dragged by a youth who cannot be older than seventeen. You can almost hear the confusion in their heads.

"Gentlemen," Caesar says in a low voice that reverberates across the entire hall. Klotho slips from the table and falls arse-first onto the floor, the whump of his fall irritatingly loud in the sudden silence that covers the men. Some of the troops in the middle who are more quickly drawn from their initial surprise - officers, by the looks of their more expensive gear - are trying to get through the surprised crowd, weapons half-drawn.

They will not reach you before you have your say. "I am Alexandros, son of Landros, the Master of this ship."

>"Here is your captain; the beautiful, beloved Spaniard, Cabaleiro Ship-taker. Behold his demolished countenance, the broken limbs. Run your gaze along his much celebrated thighs, and here - look, the once-perfect teeth that have been smashed in. He faced a tied-up boy half his age and emerged thus: a sack of human flesh." [Sarcastic]

>"Your predecessors were known for something that no other Free Companies had: integrity. There are plenty of men who can fight, but much less that can follow orders, and do that well. That was the deciding factor when my father and I chose you to be the de facto elite element for our expedition. This is why I begin my words not with anger, but disappointment." [Chastising]

>"Before you signed up to head east, there was ample time to consider the meaning of such a voyage. My father in his limitless generosity paid you, fed you, and gave you a roof to sleep in, a generosity that is not commonly seen in such military contracts. Speak, faithless men - have we done you wrong? Did we not fulfill our portion in the gods-witnessed contract? Have we not handed to each soldier their proper wage in full and advance?" [Critical]

>>3328021
>"Here is your captain; the beautiful, beloved Spaniard, Cabaleiro Ship-taker. Behold his demolished countenance, the broken limbs. Run your gaze along his much celebrated thighs, and here - look, the once-perfect teeth that have been smashed in. He faced a tied-up boy half his age and emerged thus: a sack of human flesh." [Sarcastic]
>"Your predecessors were known for something that no other Free Companies had: integrity. There are plenty of men who can fight, but much less that can follow orders, and do that well. That was the deciding factor when my father and I chose you to be the de facto elite element for our expedition. I had expected better from such a grand legacy as yours. Cabaleiro has paid his toll: choose now whether you shall be punished similarly or forgiven." [Chastising]

>>3328021
>>"Here is your captain; the beautiful, beloved Spaniard, Cabaleiro Ship-taker. Behold his demolished countenance, the broken limbs. Run your gaze along his much celebrated thighs, and here - look, the once-perfect teeth that have been smashed in. He faced a tied-up boy half his age and emerged thus: a sack of human flesh." [Sarcastic]

>>3328021
>"Before you signed up to head east, there was ample time to consider the meaning of such a voyage. My father in his limitless generosity paid you, fed you, and gave you a roof to sleep in, a generosity that is not commonly seen in such military contracts. Speak, faithless men - have we done you wrong? Did we not fulfill our portion in the gods-witnessed contract? Have we not handed to each soldier their proper wage in full and advance?" [Critical]
Cabaleiro's wounds speak for themselves.

>>3328028
Support. If anyone creeps closer to try and get cabaleiro back, like that small group of officers, cut Cabaleiro in the carotid when they get close. The blood spray may be enough to temporarily blind some of them and let Caesar take the initiative.

>>3328021
>>"Your predecessors were known for something that no other Free Companies had: integrity. There are plenty of men who can fight, but much less that can follow orders, and do that well. That was the deciding factor when my father and I chose you to be the de facto elite element for our expedition. This is why I begin my words not with anger, but disappointment." [Chastising]

>>3328021
>[Chastising]

"Stand, Klotho," you growl at the stupefied soldier, who seconds ago was toasting the name of the Spaniard. "Stand! Lift your up your legs on that proud podium upon which you stood and denounced what is mine, and look at your captain - your beloved Cabaleiro Ship-Taker. Behold his demolished countenance; run your gaze along his much celebrated thighs, visited by ruination by my hand. Here, look - the once-perfect mother-of-pearl teeth that lay hidden behind his full lips. Now they are as mountains, jagged and broken and shattered. The erastes entered my badchamber and came out an eromenos.

"Do you think that the glories of your forefathers set you apart from the hundreds of other fighting men that wander rogue in the Anatolian plains, flitting hither and thither in search of renewed contracts and watering holes, when you yourselves lack such figures within your ranks? Shed such notions, those fantastical grass-dreams that poison the soul by whispering unsubstantiated pride into your hearts. The Age of Heroes has come and passed; ours is the Age of Men, when miracles are seldom and gods rarely walk the earth with their divine visages hidden from our sight. You are but mortals that die by the sword.

"Where now is your honour, men of the Five Hundred? Where is the famous integrity with which you were said to keep your contracts with? I thought you soldiers, men of experience and battle-wisdom, and so chose you among the many other free companies who would pledge their fealty for less, but I see now - you are but heavily armed thugs, unable to distinguish honour and money for your wine.

"Cabaleiro has paid his toll: choose now whether you shall be punished similarly or forgiven."

The conspirators among their number who still persist in their attempt to reach you with their daggers and swords find themselves entrapped in the arms of their comrades-in-arms, jostling turning to wrestling, wrestling to out-right brawls. The quieter soldiers who were unwilling participants in the betrayal begin to subdue their rebellious comrades. Now that he was publicly emasculated and his cult of personality destroyed, that magnetic spell that once emanated from the Spaniard dissipates.

An individual is intelligent; a group is compelled by the basest instincts among them, reducing itself to the lowest common denominator in its single-minded actions. These men - veterans all - who had seen campaigns from as far north as Dacia and as east to the city state of Khorsa, were as sheep in the field against the anomalous charisma of Cabaleiro. Now that he was publicly emasculated and his cult of personality destroyed, that magnetic spell that emanated from the Spaniard was shattered. What remains is not an army, but a collection of heavily armed men with very different opinions. And that difference makes itself felt as the men begin to draw their arms.

>>3331507

Gion leaps from where he was seated, sword in hand. You tense for a second, waiting for the initiation of combat - but the sword is not intended for you. He lunges to pierce the stomach of Cabaleiro, making the half-conscious Spaniard grunt in pain.

"That's for Boeia, you Iberian pig!" Gion shouts, then turns around to engage in the miniature civil war that has Five Hundred against Five Hundred.

"There is only one enemy, you idiots!" A blue-facepainted warrior screams as he blocks Ginger's mace with a gauntleted fist."Avenge Cabaleiro! Avenge our captain!"

"Death to the lickspittle!" another cries out. "Kill the man-whores of the Spaniard - purge our Company clean!"

>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>The stomach-acids from his abdominal wound sustained from Gion's sword pained Cabaleiro, though he was too weak to vocalise it. Caesar swiftly slit the throat of the traitor captain in an act of mercy, one that the Spaniard would not given him were the placed switched. [Clementia]

>Even as he strode with Cabaleiro's sword in hand into the frenzied melee where once-comrades killed each other, Caesar did not forget his station. No rage or fury would overtake him as he grimly took to the task at hand. To do so was beneath him. [Severitas]

>Suggestion

>>3331509
>>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>>3331509
>Severitas

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>>3331509
>Severitas

Not a single vote for mercy? Cruel, cruel anons. Though I do think it's in line with Caesar's character.[/i]

>>3331509
>>Even as he strode with Cabaleiro's sword in hand into the frenzied melee where once-comrades killed each other, Caesar did not forget his station. No rage or fury would overtake him as he grimly took to the task at hand. To do so was beneath him. [Severitas]

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>>3331564
I wanted to but I agree with you

>(+3)
>check thread
>still tied
:A

>>3331802
Remember what Caesar had done to Vercingetorix? And that's to enemy he (probably) respected, at least as an opponent.

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]
>>3331865
He crucified pirates who captured and ransomed him despite them treating him well.

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]
Severitas may be the Roman way, but today we are Alexandros reborn! Fight with fury! With vigor! With the potency of a living god and the ambition to reach conquer the world's end!

>>3331509
>>Even as he strode with Cabaleiro's sword in hand into the frenzied melee where once-comrades killed each other, Caesar did not forget his station. No rage or fury would overtake him as he grimly took to the task at hand. To do so was beneath him. [Severitas]

>>3331509
> Severitas

>>3331509
>Severitas

>>3331509
>Virtus

>>3331509
>Caesar lept into the fray himself, joining in combat shoulder to shoulder with the emboldened Anticabaleiri. Fury overtook the young man as he slaughtered those who had conspired against him - to Caesar, traitors were less than dirt. [Virtus]

>>3331516
>>3331540
>>3331549
>>3331722
>>3332420
>>3332653
>>3333885
Severus

>>3333975
>>3333964
>>3332364
>>3332208
>>3331905
>>3331748
>>3331543
>>3331542
>>3331537
Virus

Writing

>1 ID posters like crazy
Please let's have revote...

>>3335855
It's the second vote of the thread

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Into the fray do you run-jump-pounce, the silver-bright sword rejoicing with each life taken. It is a simple enough matter to kill despite the fact that you have never killed before - Venicius was a brutal teacher, yet one with foresight, and had taught you the techniques despite your lack of muscles.

In combat, where life and death dance haphazardly together on the same ballroom without regard for anyone in their way, one does not have the luxury of "fighting fair". Such was the teachings of Venicius. Rules and honour and fairness is something belonging to the realm of sports and spectacles, and even there rarely; the only thing that matters in war is whether you live or you die.

A low blow to the leg, cutting open one of body's largest arteries - dodge, then barreling toward the attacker, sword at point, to gut his organs - then a jump backwards to get some breathing space, only to knock yourself into the blue-painted man, the barbarian ally of Cabaleiro. "You are supposed to be dead!" he screams when he notices you, ale-stench breath washing over your face. "A child, not a man! What manner of sorcery is this?"

Fear. There is fear in the eyes of the Celtic warrior of woad-paint. And it smells delicious.

>>3335895

MOS MAIORUM

>No time for witty rejoinders or snarky comebacks, Caesar struck the man with his pommel and then lunged for the killing blow. [DISCIPLINA]

>"How does it feel, to be so far away from home only to die like a dog?" [COMITAS]

>"Thus, to traitors." [GRAVITAS]

>"Do not fear, O warrior of Picts. Rejoice! Laugh in the face of death that you die from a worthy foe. For all of life is but a stage, and your role in the play has ended." [VIRTUS]

>Suggestion

It is Sunday, my dudes. That means multiple updates.

Well hopefully. Votes would need to come in at a steady rate to gather consensus, I am not a barbarus that I would rush into things without counting votes from our Conscript Fathers.

>>3335898
>No time for witty rejoinders or snarky comebacks, Caesar struck the man with his pommel and then lunged for the killing blow. [DISCIPLINA]

>>3335855
I don't think that's much of an issue for this quest, this isn't Black Company QM's Valourquest, so people don't have a lot of stakes in choosing things this way or that. They're just probably people who came in and voted one way or another because there was a long-arse tie, not alts.

Or I am hopelessly naive and people really would do this for an admittedly significant choice. Each choice puts you closer or further from Alexander and Caesar archetypes. I trust which choice does which is self evident.

>>3335898
>"How does it feel, to be so far away from home only to die like a dog?" [COMITAS]
Like I said above, going for maximum Megas Alexandros

>>3335898
>"Thus, to traitors."
>>3335908
Thank you OP

>>3335898
>"How does it feel, to be so far away from home only to die like a dog?" [COMITAS]
Laugh in their faces!

>>3335927
>>3335931
Alexandros would be more VIRTUS, in my opinion - that guy was a megalomaniac. Just because Caesar is disciplined does not mean he doesn't laugh!

>>3335930
This is what we call a laconic reply.

>>3335943
That's fair, but also, COMITAS is the only option with two votes right now. I'll stay the course in the hope we don't end up with another tie.

>>3335898
>>"Thus, to traitors." [GRAVITAS]
Hell yeah

>>3335943
>>3335926
I'll be honest, I like the interplay between the natures, stoic Roman and emotional Greek.

>>3335966
That was the intention, yeah! With him being a Greek but also being (previously) Roman. I touched on this a few times in the other threads too, I think.

>>3335972
Plus there's the fact that we're eventually going to China, which can be read as Alexander's ultimate goal.
That line of thinking was why I voted for us to play a Greek in the first thread, anyway.

>>3335976
Neat point, Alexander never managed to go beyond India. inb4 smiting from Divine Alexandros for daring to supersede his accomplishments

>>3335979
If we manage to achieve the goal, will we be able to set up a new mystery cult celebrating us as the Divine Alexandros reborn?
That'd be some glorious fuckery.

>>3335979
Real talk, is there a possibility old Alex himself might show up in the future? Perhaps in a dream or something?

>>3335986
>He was the bartender

>>3335982
Or you can simply perpetuate DIVVS IVLVS cult of godhood, which sounds more like something the character would do instead of impersonating another person. Now the question is, how will this play together when you return from China... for the Commentarii de Bello Civili, AKA Season 2?

Hmmmmmmmm.

>>3335986
Given that Caesar's divinity comes from an established cult based in Rome + his actions in life, I think the original Alexandros may be in the picture as a god. You have already met lesser demigods, I just didn't state it explicitly yet.

I know I've heavily used historical materials, but this is not going to be perfectly true to real life, if the actual existence of gods did not tip you off already. Also I am nowhere near learned enough to write a realistic life-as-a-Greek-in-XXBC without invoking the fantastical elements and poetic license. I actually began this after a re-read of the Commentarii de Bello Gallico (hence the name) in hopes that people might start reading that superb self-propaganda of our beloved Caesar.

Speaking of dreams, what do you think of the trio you saw after you killed Inanna-of-Ypra?

>>3336009
>Trio
I legit have no clue as to the identity of the bartender. My mythology chops are not that good.
The third, as someone else already caught, seems a lot like Joseph, given Christ lived in the reign of Tiberius.
Qin Ershi is a dead giveaway, and I think it's fun we'll be getting there just after the fall of the first empire.

>>3336018
>Qin Ershi
Heh, had to fudge with the timeline a little there (okay, a lot) but I thought it would be interesting to have Caesar arrive as China, only recently unified, goes to hell in a handbasket again.

Hopefully we won't get people saying "but QM the Qin dynasty was long gone by the time Caesar was born". I do know that, this is what I mean by poetic license.

>Bartender
I wonder why he is handing out free power-ups willy nilly. And if Jupiter is real, is YHWH also there too?

That reminds me, you have a ready-made cult of Jews in your hold who think you are the Messiah. Or something. In case you people did not get the memo.

P.S. When I say "Immortal Caesar" or "Divine Caesar" I do not intend to portray you as being unkillable. You are very killable. This is very much a case of "insusceptible to the frailties of age" immortality, not "your bullets bounce off my chest".

“That is not live which can eternal act,

And with strange aeons even gods may die.”

>>3336009
>>3336018
>The third, as someone else already caught, seems a lot like Joseph,
That was me. Though thinking about it again, it seems a bit too early for that. About 10 years have passed since Caesar's death, if I remember correctly, which would make it about 34-33 BC right now. I'm not sure how old Joseph was when Jesus was born, but that seems like a stretch, even if one source I just googled says he might have been as old as 90(?!). Also, the Chinese Emperor seems like he'll be either a pushover (considering how *soft* he seems to be, so to speak) or a great obstacle to our conquest (Considering the power he'll likely have at his disposal). I'm not particularly well versed in Chinese history outside of my Koei games, so you'll have to excuse my ignorance on the potential identity of this particular emperor.

>>3336044
>had to fudge with the timeline a little there
Gotta remember to update the thread before I post. In that case, I'll go ahead and assume the Carpenter might be the big J himself.

>>3336057
It was very polite of Qin Ershi to give his name, unlike you and the Carpenter. You two were rude guests!

>>3335898
>"Thus, to traitors

>>3336064
Whoops, seems I had forgotten about that little tidbit. I wonder if the First will remember us when we reach the Middle Kingdom.
I wonder if the Third will remember us when we return.

>>3336077
It was heavily foreshadowed that he'll have died when we arrive in China, though, leading to the collapse of the Qin empire and another warring states period.

>>3336080
What? It seems the First's name wasn't the only thing I missed. I'm not seeing the foreshadowing?

>>3336009
>Or you can simply perpetuate DIVVS IVLVS cult of godhood
gimme dem divvies on my ivlivvs
>Speaking of dreams, what do you think of the trio you saw after you killed Inanna-of-Ypra?

>Qin
Obvious.
>The Carpenter
I LOVE YOU JESUS CHRIIIIIIST
>The Bartender
Is obviously Mimir, seeing as he was obsessed with protocol and guest obligations.

>>3336091
>The Child of Heaven smirks. "We lie sleeping in our traveling carriage, exchanger of coins. In three days, we will arrive in the Liaodong Commandery to take control of our forces there and embark on the Eastern Pacification Campaign. None shall stop the march of our thousand-of-thousands armies!"

>"That is for certain," the Bartender smiles. The Boy, careful examiner of faces that he is, notes the smirk behind the smile.

Ershi rides to put down a rebellion, and the bartender smirks at him. Narrative expectation is for Ershi to die.

>>3335898
>>"Thus, to traitors." [GRAVITAS]

>>3336116
>>3336074
>>3335963
>>3335930
You guys are boring.

>>3336044
>That is not live which can eternal act,

>And with strange aeons even gods may die.”


https://youtu.be/t1RTgznup5c
pls no

>>3336119
I'm going for a true to historical character Caesar, so arrogant and fiery but more smug than cheeky/stupid.

>>3336114
Makes sense, especially when taken with >>3336044
>China, only recently unified, goes to hell in a handbasket again

>That is not live which can eternal act
Why would you ruin a perfectly good couplet like that?

>>3335924
DISCIPLINA

>>3335927
>>3335931
COMITAS

>>3335930
>>3335963
>>3336074
>>3336116
GRAVITAS

Writing

>>3336146
Yeah poetry is not my best skill clearly :A

>>3336150
For an adaptation of the HPL couplet for gods dying...
How about:
What lives cannot eternal lie
As ages pass, all gods must die

>>3336155
i fucking hate namefags not going anon in others' quests

>>3336173
Because...

File: Cirsenses.jpg (1.06 MB, 1300x848)

1.06 MB JPG

You flick your sword to throw off the human fat and offal that collects itself on vigorously used weapons, and raise its blade against the Pict. "Thus, to traitors."

"Oho, the brave and stoic type, are ye?" the Pict laughs, showing two rows of glistening runed teeth. The symbols painfully etched on the enamel surface seems to blaze with a blue fire, the very same shade of colour as his woad-leaf face paint. "Well! We'll see how ye feel about being all stone-faced after I tear it off with my teeth!"

So he boasts, but his careful movements show him to be of different stock than the regular screaming barbarus. This man is certainly one of the Spaniard's lieutenants, which means he's lived long enough in the Company to rank up - an individual of skill, then. Not a run of the mill combatant. Of course, none of the Five Hundred were anything like the common levied troops. These were men paid to kill, who made it their job to traverse the battlefields of countless satrapies.

He steps around you with a dancer-like agility that belies his heavy girth, trinkets of gold clinking with every step. The golden torc on his neck is more of a band than the circlet you are familiar with, preventing you from simply stabbing him in the neck. If you could even get that close easily, that is.

A minute turns to a second and then the second to nothingness as the two of you begin the deadly duet without regard for anyone else, the space around you forming an eye of the storm amidst the carnage of Five Hundred against Five Hundred. Your youthful stamina and unnatural strength meets an even foe at last against the war-born Pict. This calls for something above and beyond common swordsmanship.

Think.

>>3336214

--

"A series of extremely aggressive attacks made from as many different angles as possible," Venicius had described to you of this form as he beat you up, sparing no side of you - front, behind, the sides of right and left. "Remember, boy, wide, powerful swings! There is to be no pussyfooting with this form. This leaves you wide and open for counterattacks in between your swings - which is why you need to be constantly on the move. Up on your feet, soldier! This is no time to be resting on your arse. This form requires strength - both for its ridiculously acrobatic movements and the actual strength behind your swings. Sure, the attacks are slower than some of the others I taught you, but a single smack is usually enough to decide to fight. The key is actually landing your hits - which you seem to be unable to do. Get up again, you little shit, or I'll have you jogging down the port and back."

>[Aetian Charge - some call it desperate, brutish, and much too energy-wasteful... but once they get beaten up with this form, they will never speak again.]
>"One of the deadliest duels I had was with the practitioner of this form, and she wasn't even a man! Pay careful attention, boy - the Maekarii fight like they dance. Graceful, elegant, beautiful..." Venicius muses as he effortlessly weaves his feet in a dazzling series of short-steps, his footwork beautiful in an understated manner, the upper-body fluidity of motion at odds with the stocky ex-gladiator's body. Not that you would ever tell him that - that would result in another beating. "I never was one for such things, mind you," Venicius says, "you fight, how you fight. Usually fancy "sword techniques" are good only for getting you killed prettily. But that girl, she was something else. Pay close heed, Alexandros. This is a form as fluid as water, and water does not make extravagant movement like fire.

Pity that she had to die, so I could live."

>[Maekarii Dance, a graceful battle form that focuses on economy of movement and redirection of opponent's energy.]

>>3336214
>spit on his face to create a distraction and then swiftly strike

>>3336216

"This is a difficult one," Venicius said with uncharacteristic discomfort on his face. "My colleague called it the Juvian Steps. How was it he described this shit? Ah, yes - "a seemingly unconnected series of staccatic sequences". Fancy bastard, all that scroll-learning didn't save him in the end. Now this is a pain and a half to learn, and I do not expect you to fully master it by the age of thirty. However! That does not mean you are allowed to slack off, because I will be aiming to impart into you the key movements by the age of fifteen!" Venicius adopts a strange stance, then begins to move... weirdly. There is no rhyme nor reason in his swings and movements, and every time you move to block the pole-arm, there he is, where you least expected him.

"Like I said, you will not master this in my lifetime," Venicius huffs, the alien movements clearly having sapped his strength. "I didn't, either. The only one among us gladiators who did could fight all day was that colleague I told you about."

"What happened to him?" you had the audacity to ask, before quickly clamping your mouth shut. But Venicius does not strike you for speaking out of turn, not on this day. There is something... off, about the form that he just practiced, and it seems to have dampened his violent humour. Something not quite right.

"He died of the plague, boy," Venicius says, resting on the sand of the practice yard. "You cannot cut divine retribution with the sword.

"Now... let's take a little break."

>[Juvian Steps, a strange fighting style that incorporates paradoxically bold, yet deceptive movements. Choosing this does NOT mean you have mastered it, unlike the other Forms, in which you are adequate at]
"I think it was the Persian slave from Susa that practiced this," Venicius recollects as he blocks every single hit you try to land. "So... I call it the Susa. What am I, a bloody muse? This is a form that focuses on defence, and defence only. That Persian blocked everything I could throw at him, and more. The infuriating thing is, he never counterattacked - just smiled blithely as I whaled on him with my sword, not a single hit landing. Fucking smug prick, he was. I think the intention was to outlast the opponent, drive him exhausted, after which he would kill the tired enemy.
"I'll have to ask him once I am in Hades. The Governor got bored after the fifth hour and had him executed by archers."

>[The Susa, an entirely defensive technique characterised by tight, efficient movements that expose minimal target areas to the opponent, at the expense of offensive capabilities.]

Boy am I terrible at formatting.

>>3336224
How many can we choose? Are we excluded from learning the others after we make our choice of proficiency here?

>>3336230
That is a good question. Let's say you learned the basics of all the forms since this is Venicius we're talking about, but the one you choose is the one that you mastered the most.

If, for example, we posit that the "tiers of mastery are as follows:

Novitiate - Initiate - Adept - Martial - Master - Grandmaster - Bamboozled

Then we can say that you are Initiate to all of the disciplines (Except for Juvian Steps, which is a tier lower than others due to Venicius himself not having mastered it and its notable difficulty) and an Adept in the one you choose here now.

So for example: Let's say you were to choose The Susa.

Aetian Charge - INITIATE

Maekarii Dance - INITIATE

Juvian Steps - NOVITIATE

The Susa - ADEPT

Now if you were to choose Juvian Steps, it would be:

Aetian Charge - INITIATE

Maekarii Dance - INITIATE

Juvian Steps - INITIATE

The Susa - INITIATE

>>3336234
Thanks, in that case
>Juvian Steps
The Drunken Fist of swordplay. Or is it spearplay? The little blurb about it mentioned Venicius using a polearm.

>>3336245
Works for both polearms and swords - stretches reality a little, but I wasn't sure if anons would want to stay with the sword or pick other weapons later on. It would not do to invalidate their chosen style later down the road.

I wouldn't compare it to Drunken Fist, though both have that "unpredictable" part down pat.

>>3336234
>>[Juvian Steps, a strange fighting style that incorporates paradoxically bold, yet deceptive movements. Choosing this does NOT mean you have mastered it, unlike the other Forms, in which you are adequate at]

>>3336221
>juvian steps

>>3336234
At heart I’m a defense-wins-championships kind of guy, so let’s go with
>[The Susa, an entirely defensive technique characterised by tight, efficient movements that expose minimal target areas to the opponent, at the expense of offensive capabilities.]

>>3336234
>[Aetian Charge - some call it desperate, brutish, and much too energy-wasteful... but once they get beaten up with this form, they will never speak again.]
If I'm understanding correctly, we keep getting stronger as we keep taking cities. That being the case, a style that relies on strength seems like the way to go.

>>undefined
What in the goddamn...

...did anyone else get weirdness for this thread? Dates being /NaN/NaN/ and there being textless boxes and stuff.

Either way, seeing as this is a fairly important vote, I'll wait a little more before closing the vote. Feeling woozy after taking meds, hopefully won't fall asleep again...

>>3337048
I did, that’s what >>3336961
Was all about

>>3337048
I had that as well. Very strange.

>>3337048
No?
Not even once. It might be a problem on your ends or something

Testing
TESTING
why is this thread empty

>>3337249
Looks perfectly fine to me

>>3336784
>we keep getting stronger as we keep taking cities
don't count on that continuing on without end, I have a hunch there's a limit to that, and it's not going to be Hulk level of size and superstrength

>>3336216
>>[Aetian Charge - some call it desperate, brutish, and much too energy-wasteful... but once they get beaten up with this form, they will never speak again.]

I'm going for leveraging demigod strength too.

>>3337386
I'd imagine it's more Cpt. America than Hulk, to continue the american comic analogy.

>>3337461
The way things have turned out so far, I doubt we'll be the only demigod involved in the conflicts ahead.

>>3336245
>>3336314
>>3336358
Juvian Steps

>>3336583
The Susa

>>3336784
>>3337461
Aetian Charge

Vote closed, writing

Juvian Steps. Despite the seemingly harmless title of the form, it is the most vicious of the fighting techniques that Venicius taught you. All techniques have some form of self-preservation in mind, such as the constant leaping about required with the Aetian stance or the graceful dodge-and-weave of the Maekarii Dance. Without such defensive sides, the user would not manage to survive multiple bouts.

The Juvian Steps does not have self-preservation in mind.

Or at least, it seems that way in the beginning. The movement required can only be described as unorthodox, with the user seemingly showing multiple openings and occasionally even shoving himself into harm's way, only to evade at the last moment. To the uninitiated, it seems almost a rictus-dance of a suicidal madman. Therein lies its greatest strength, and the only defence that this form provides. The sheer illogicality of it, the suicidal dashes and deceptively sluggish counterattacks violate the rhythm of the fight and confuse the opponent, no matter what school or style he was taught in.

What kind of insane mind it took to create this style, you do not ever want to know. Even as you adopt the opening stance of the Juvian Steps, you feel a wrongness, your trained body screaming, asking why the hell you would make yourself open to incoming attacks. Suppressing combat-instincts is one of the biggest hurdles in mastering this form - which is why Venicius, with years of combat experience, never managed to master it. Unlearning the learned truths of warfare, washing your tabula clean... the Juvian Form is unable to complement any other combat style.

Another part of it is a complete surrender of your life. Not as the Varangian berserkers are said to do in desperate battles, after ingesting certain grass-waters and inhaling burning greens. The surrender to the Juvian Steps is a cold, unfeeling one, unreliant on being powered by emotion, but rather lack of attachment. Heedless of the potential damage one will sustain.

The Pict barks out a laugh when he sees your completely defenceless form. "Giving up already? Damn shame - this was the most fun I had in years!" He storms into you, a flurry of battle-axe and glistening dentures.

>Roll 3d20

Rolled 14, 10, 4 = 28 (3d20)

>>3339344

Rolled 13, 9, 16 = 38 (3d20)

>>3339344

Rolled 11, 13, 6 = 30 (3d20)

>>3339344

Instead of moving out of the way, you press on with shield in front, catching the Pict off guard. He slams into the shield -

>13

- and you barely hold on to the piece of wood-and-metal that kept you from dying, though the shield is now in poor shape. That suits you fine - you did not expect to re-use the shield for long, and all you needed was a moment of surprise. You pull your sword-arm back, then swiftly lunge it toward the Pict, who is recovering from bashing his head against the shield -

>9

- but your blade does not find purchase as the barbarian ducks at the last moment. Tsk. You aimed too high.

"Och, you owe me some teeth now, little one," the Pict says, grinning bloodily. You look at the other end of the shield and find some of the teeth lodged firmly into the surface. "Yours look pretty small, but I reckon I can fit two of yours where one of mine used to be. Try to die with a stab wound instead of a head one for me, will ye?"

You have to give it to them - the Five Hundred did not make weak lieutenants.

----

Because I felt that just rolling 3d100 was inadequate in portraying the many factors of combat, I have taken the liberty of stealing borrowing Forgotten QM's system for individual combat. I hope you will be patient with me as I (clumsily) try to apply the very neat system he has made. Apologies if the sudden shift in system is jarring - it's my first time doing a proper quest, and this is I think the first time our protagonist has actually gotten into a serious fight.

>>3339409
>VIRTUS
>Juvian Steps

COMBAT

Alexandros, Caesar Reborn: Healthy
Combat = 50DC [Healthy +5DC, Skilled +5DC, Unnatural Strength +5DC, Gladius Hispaniensis +10DC, Tower Shield +10DC, VIRTUS +5DC, Juvian Steps II +10DC)
AV = 5DC [Tower Shield +10DC]/2

VS

Pict Lieutenant: Battered
Combat = 40DC [Battered +0DC, Veteran +10DC, Natural Strength +5DC, Steel Battle-Axe +5DC, Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC]
AV = 20DC [Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC]

Crit-fail = Suffer a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage sustained AND dismounted/disarmed)
0 Success = Suffer a solid blow (2 degrees of damage sustained)
1 Success = Exchange glancing blows (1 degree of damage inflicted and sustained)
2 Success = Inflict a solid blow (2 degrees of damage inflicted)
3 Success = Inflict a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage inflicted)
Crit-pass = Inflict a killing blow (what it says on the tin)

The Susa II - Double AV (Max 80), Total unsaved damage to Foe is halved (rounding up)
Maekarii Dance (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict or sustain damage.
Aetian Charge (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict damage; +1 Damage to Foe if any unsaved damaged is inflicted.
Juvian Steps (II) - Halve AV (Rounding up); Each point of unsaved damage to Foe is doubled.


>Personal Combat DC 60 (Roll Under)
>3 rolls of 1d100
>Extraneous Effects
>1 roll of 1d100 to Bleed the opponent (Gladius Hispaniensis)
>1 roll of 1d100 to Confuse the opponent (Juvian Steps)
>1 roll of 1d100 for Fury (VIRTUS)

We need six rolls of 1d100.

>>3339410

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>3339412
orz

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>3339410

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>3339410

wow
thread temporay ded cause people aint rollin
now ive seen it all

>>3339532
Almost got a crit
Dammit
>>3339542
It's not dead, just hibernating.

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>3339410

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>3339410
Did you borrow the system from forgottenqm quests

>>3339588
>>3339409
>Because I felt that just rolling 3d100 was inadequate in portraying the many factors of combat, I have taken the liberty of stealing borrowing Forgotten QM's system for individual combat. I hope you will be patient with me as I (clumsily) try to apply the very neat system he has made. Apologies if the sudden shift in system is jarring - it's my first time doing a proper quest, and this is I think the first time our protagonist has actually gotten into a serious fight.

reading, do u do it?
also good job rolling like shit

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>3339410

Rolled 96, 71 = 167 (2d100)

>1 Success = Exchange glancing blows (1 degree of damage inflicted and sustained)
>Juvian Steps (II) - Halve AV (Rounding up); Each point of unsaved damage to Foe is doubled.

>Extraneous Effect: None

Rolling to see the Pict's armour nullifies the damage. The number of armour-pieces effects the number of dice rolled for AV. Only crazy berks fight naked.

>Roll a 1d100 for your AV, roll under.

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>3339878

>>3339891
Good attempt, shame about the 5AV. Y'all need to get some armour, stat!

Writing

>1 Damage Inflicted
>Juvian Steps: +1 Damage
>Foe reduced from Battered to to Wounded

"Suicidal git," the Pictish warrior exclaims as he tries to extricate himself from your too-close-to-swing-weapon nearness, but like an oriental leech suckling on a water-logged zebra, you latch on to him, never quite close enough for him to grab you bodily, yet too close for him to make full use of his weapon. "I've never had anyone fight like this! I am thinking that I should keep you alive, boy, and tell me more about where you learned this from. The way you lazily sway around all my blows - it disgusts me!"

No man could have devised this fighting stance, not alone. There is something unearthly about the utter lack of care toward the user's welfare, as if the movements were designed to edge you as tantalisingly close to Death as possible, right before snatching you away from certain mortality. How many men died to device this strange, unearthly form? Who was this mysterious gladiator who taught your mentor the rudiments of it?

Whatever its origin, you cannot deny its effectiveness. The sheer illogicality of your motions frustrates the carefully planned combat-works of this veteran of battles. When you finally land a square hit, your sword seems to tingle with joy as it slides through the segments of his body armour.

The Pict spits blood, and for a second, you are careless with triumph. This is perhaps what causes you to not extricate your sword-arm quickly enough. "Foolish boy."

The barbarian slams his head against yours, and you see stars. The din of battle around you goes down to a murmur... but you quickly shake away that momentary stunning, just in time to see the Pict get ready for his final, desperate attack, not even caring about the copious amount of blood spilling from his wound.

>>3339915

>VIRTUS
>Juvian Steps

COMBAT

Alexandros, Caesar Reborn: Battered
Combat = 45DC [Battered +0DC, Skilled +5DC, Unnatural Strength +5DC, Gladius Hispaniensis +10DC, Tower Shield +10DC, VIRTUS +5DC, Juvian Steps II +10DC)
AV = 5DC [Tower Shield +10DC]/2

VS

Pict Lieutenant: Wounded
Combat = 30DC [Wounded -10DC, Veteran +10DC, Natural Strength +5DC, Steel Battle-Axe +5DC, Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC]
AV = 20DC [Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC]

Crit-fail = Suffer a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage sustained AND dismounted/disarmed)
0 Success = Suffer a solid blow (2 degrees of damage sustained)
1 Success = Exchange glancing blows (1 degree of damage inflicted and sustained)
2 Success = Inflict a solid blow (2 degrees of damage inflicted)
3 Success = Inflict a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage inflicted)
Crit-pass = Inflict a killing blow (what it says on the tin)

The Susa II - Double AV (Max 80), Total unsaved damage to Foe is halved (rounding up)
Maekarii Dance (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict or sustain damage.
Aetian Charge (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict damage; +1 Damage to Foe if any unsaved damaged is inflicted.
Juvian Steps (II) - Halve AV (Rounding up); Each point of unsaved damage to Foe is doubled.

>Personal Combat DC 65 (Roll Under)
>3 rolls of 1d100
>Extraneous Effects - some of these will only apply if an unsaved damage is made.
>1 roll of 1d100 to Bleed the opponent (Gladius Hispaniensis, DC40, requires damage)
>1 roll of 1d100 to Confuse the opponent (Juvian Steps, DC50)
>1 roll of 1d100 for Fury (VIRTUS, DC40 requires damage)

Three rolls for Personal Combat should suffice, seeing as only one degree of damage is needed to finish the Lieutenant.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>3339924

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>3339924

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>3339924

>>3339953
>>3339946
>>3339932

Hey so why did we switch to a roll under systen again

>>3339966
So that we could get killed by a pict, apparently.

>>3339969
F

>>3339966
>>3339969
Because it's more fleshed out than just rolling 3d100s and accounts for a variety of factors.

>0 Success = Suffer a solid blow (2 degrees of damage sustained)

>1d100 for Confuse (DC50)
>1d100 for damage mitigation from AV (DC5)

Please roll 2d100.

>>3339985
>2d100

>>3339985
Yeah i liked forgottens system im just salty that we rolled 3 over 90's in the second usage of it when before it would have been great.

Rolled 84, 57 = 141 (2d100)

>>3339985

>>3339988
I weep too, brother. But I feared we would never die, after the all too simplistic dice system back in Ypra rescued Caesar from the grip of Hades. If men have climbed back from the gates of the Down Under, then why not you?

Writing

Rolled 81, 100 = 181 (2d100)

>>3339985
Clearly it's determined to kill Caesar.
You need to switch to best of 3 d100s if I roll above 90 twice

>>3340006
Does an average of over 90 count

>2 Damage Received
>You have been reduced from Battered to Wounded!

Damnations. The Pict is less than willing to go down peacefully. "Say hello to the White Lady he says faintly, the life-light in his eyes wavering, shaky. But the wound he has dealt you is quite solid. Your gladius clatters to the floor as you clutch your right shoulder.

Blood erupts from cloven flesh, ichor of watery gold spilling ethereal. Hallowed liquid, life-water of the gods, it is anathema to all things with an ordained end, such as the battle-axe that is beginning to corrode. You are yourself surprised by the manifestation of such a sure-sign of godhood - nary a wound in your stay in Numante produced such marvelous fluids. Whether it is side effect of your growing mastery over your sacred legacy or the product of your twice-conquering achievements, you do not know. Mayhap it is both.

The Pict gawps at his dissipating battle-axe, then contemptuously throws it away. "The gods walk among men once more," he says, almost reverently. "It has been... so many years. There were always stories, of course. Rumours, gossips, market-chats. But to see it with my own eyes!"

"There is still time yet to lay down your arms and surrender," you grunt. The pain is excessive, but already the opening on your body is mending, the muscle sinews knitting themselves together. If you can just last a few moments without being injured further... "You have seen my signs, and now you have proof of my divinity. Will you accept defeat, man of the north?"

He shakes his head, a faint smile under his patchy beard. "Our predecessors were great, once," he says, a dreamlike expression on his face. "One of them even killed a god, afore he gone and died hisself from the injuries." He raises his fists weakly. It is a marvel that the man is still standing, what with the wound to his abdomen, but he seems filled with a new resolve. "I'm already dead. No harm in trying to have a go for the Annals meself, aye?"

A duel of pugilism it is, then.

>You have been unarmed. Confirm your stance for the next round.


>The Susa II - Double AV (Max 80), Total unsaved damage to Foe is halved (rounding up)

>Maekarii Dance (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict or sustain damage.

>Aetian Charge (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict damage; +1 Damage to Foe if any unsaved damaged is inflicted.

>Juvian Steps (II) - Halve AV (Rounding up); Each point of unsaved damage to Foe is doubled.

>>3340035
Nnnnope

>>3340066
>>Aetian Charge (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict damage; +1 Damage to Foe if any unsaved damaged is inflicted.

>>3340066
> Markarii dance we need to be safe bros

>>3340066
>Maekarii Dance (II) - Exchange of Blows does not inflict or sustain damage.

>>3340066
switch>>3340092

to>>3340093

i chose wrong

>VIRTUS
>Maekari Dance

COMBAT

Alexandros, Caesar Reborn: Wounded
Combat = 25DC [Wounded -10DC, Skilled +5DC, Unnatural Strength +5DC, Tower Shield +10DC, VIRTUS +5DC, Maekari Dance II +10DC)
AV = 10DC [Tower Shield +10DC]

VS

Pict Lieutenant: Wounded
Combat = 15DC [Wounded -10DC, Veteran +10DC, Natural Strength +5DC, Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC, Death's Door -10DC]
AV = 20DC [Heavy Armour +15DC, Crested Helm +5DC]

[spoilerCrit-fail = Suffer a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage sustained AND dismounted/disarmed)
0 Success = Suffer a solid blow (2 degrees of damage sustained)
1 Success = Exchange glancing blows (1 degree of damage inflicted and sustained)
2 Success = Inflict a solid blow (2 degrees of damage inflicted)
3 Success = Inflict a mighty blow (3 degrees of damage inflicted)
Crit-pass = Inflict a killing blow (what it says on the tin)[/spoiler]

>Personal Combat DC60 (Roll Under)
>3 rolls of 1d100
>Extraneous Effects
>Dance of the River-Spirits: 1 roll of 1d100 to redirect one point of unsaved damage back to the attacker. (Maekarii Dance, 30DC)
>Megalomanic Wrath: 1 roll of 1d100 (VIRTUS, 60DC)

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>3340134
Dont fail me now!

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>3340134

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>3340134

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>3340134

You take a deep breath. Then another. Switching from the fatalistic mindset required for Juvian Steps is like having a bucket of ice-cold water upened over your head. The rush of adrenaline, increased sensation from pain receptors, little red warning klaxons that blare in your head shouting your near-death.

Let the song fill my mind. This combat style that your mentor called the Maekarii Dance earned its name in ways more than one. The river-barge tribe with no permanent home to speak of from whom come this fighting style of their namesake are an intensely musical people, their fiery women especially well known for their seductive beauty (according to Venicius). It is then of no surprise that their native fighting style would incorporate the mournful melodies of their ancestors, the generations-long eulogy bewailing the loss of their ancestral land to the Jews, so very long ago.

One two three four five six... The right feet over the left, then vice versa - never staying still for more than a beat, always ahead of the bio-rhythm. Weave - bend - waver. Then strike.

You swirl to the air, lifting yourself bodily and twining your two legs around the Pict's neck - and snap goes the neck-bone. You feel the weight of the Pict giving out under you as he slumps to the floor, shuddering one last time. Finally.

You let out a breath you did not realise you were holding. It was some time since you last practiced this form, and you were smaller then. A fighting style designed by and for women tends to be difficult with bulkier, muscle-heavy bodies, relying more on agility and dexterity than pure strength. You feel ache in muscle strands that you have not used since the last training bout. I may have been neglecting my practices. But there was so much to do, always something breaking or failing. And even then, I was not able to prevent something this dangerous and close to home.

The death of the Pict signals the end for the remaining stragglers who still maintain loyalty to their ex-captain. Of the remaining soldiers, who cannot number more than a hundred, they seem uncertain - not quite your men, but also too weary to fight over the issue of command once more. None of Cabaleiro's lieutenants remained among the living, and of those who were against the Spaniard, there is clearly no one who was of command rank.

You glance at the corner where you left Cabaleiro. A surprise - despite all the damage he has sustained since this morning, including the gut-wound, he still lives. Could it be that he was not merely a blessed worshipper of his home city's now-dead patron goddess, but also one of her offsprings? You knew men died for much less than what he's suffered.

>>3340220

>First priority: Galen. He was a ranking member of the Five Hundred, but apparently imprisoned because he was against the insurrection. You would lead these men to him and establish a command chain as soon as possible.

>There was time enough to deal with the question of who would captain the Five Hundred later. For now, you attempted to make them follow you as you went around the ship to pick off guards and patrols who did not know of their captain's death.

>You decide to execute Cabaleiro in front of these men, seeing his death to completion this time. You had no time to babysit the man while you went around the ship purging the remaining traitors.

>Suggestion

>>3340222
>>There was time enough to deal with the question of who would captain the Five Hundred later. For now, you attempted to make them follow you as you went around the ship to pick off guards and patrols who did not know of their captain's death.

>>3340222
> first priority: Galen. Lets get our boyyy

>>3340222
>There was time enough to deal with the question of who would captain the Five Hundred later. For now, you attempted to make them follow you as you went around the ship to pick off guards and patrols who did not know of their captain's death

>>3340222

>You decide to execute Cabaleiro in front of these men, seeing his death to completion this time. You had no time to babysit the man while you went around the ship purging the remaining traitors.
I have a sneaking suspicion Cabaleiro will somehow escape if we don't kill him here and now. That line about his resilience sure seems like foreshadowing...

>>3340425
That might be for the best.
Changing vote from >>3340360 to >Excute Cabaleiro

>>3340425
Yeah i agree

>>3340220
Switching from
>>3340257
To
>execute cabaleiro

The death of Cabaleiro was what finally broke the remainder from the mutinying soldiers to come to their senses. As was customary among the Asiatic peoples against whom they conquered, Caesar placed his foot on the neck of the incapacitated Iberian and duly removed his head. This had the effect of communicating to the soldiers that the old regime that led them here was void; that the contracted employ of the Five Hundred, already violated by their leaders, was now entirely nullified with the death of the signatories; that the soldiers now left were uninvited guests who had far overstayed their welcome. The soldiers mulled among each other, uncertain of their prospects.

Many things turn soldiers to brigands. The disruption of their chain of command, or their grain supply, or defeat, or overly taxing commanders. They disrupt the unity of the army, turn men into beasts, cohorts into far-scattering looting bandits. The shock of their combat against their own comrades fading, these men would ultimately come to the conclusion: reave, or be reaved.

In order to forestall such a development so soon after having prevailed over a significant number of the Cabaleiro loyalists, Caesar strode to the makeshift podium that was the drinking-table in the hall, and proclaimed -

>>3342407

>that Caesar was cognisant of the weakness of the individual, and how easily swept into the fervor of rebellion they can be when confronted by an individual of remarkable character, and that there would be no recriminations for those who, in the end, fought for the right and honourable cause, defending the inviolable contractual obligation between the patron and the client by going so far so as to make war against their brothers-in-march. [CLEMENTIA]

>that Caesar did not forget the wrongs did unto him and his family by their hands, but also saw the willingness of the chosen few who abandoned the cause of the traitorous Spaniard. Caesar promised that justice would be accounted for every act, but also that with each act of bravery and valour against the remaining insurrectionists would weigh against their sins. [IVSTITIA]

>that no warrior should stay beneath the command of Caesar against his will, and that after the subjugation of the rest of the insurrectionists, all survivors would be let free in the next port they made with all their belongings unmolested. "A soldier of Alexandros," Caesar said, without attaching the divine appellations that these soldiers knew he deserved, "must be above any suspicion." In his farewell speech, he addressed them as "men" instead of "soldiers", as was his custom before the insurrection occurred, underlining his intense disappointment toward their character and virtue. [DIGNITAS]

>that if the remaining members of the once-honourable Five Hundred were to regain a modicum of his trust, they would have to not only show their bravery and valour in their fight against the remaining patrols and guards throughout the Rhea, but also the execution of the decimatio - a practice in which lots are drawn among soldier-groups of ten, with one among such groups being voted to being slain by their own brethren. [SEVERITAS]

>>3342413
>that no warrior should stay beneath the command of Caesar against his will, and that after the subjugation of the rest of the insurrectionists, all survivors would be let free in the next port they made with all their belongings unmolested. "A soldier of Alexandros," Caesar said, without attaching the divine appellations that these soldiers knew he deserved, "must be above any suspicion." In his farewell speech, he addressed them as "men" instead of "soldiers", as was his custom before the insurrection occurred, underlining his intense disappointment toward their character and virtue. [DIGNITAS]

>>3342413
>>that if the remaining members of the once-honourable Five Hundred were to regain a modicum of his trust, they would have to not only show their bravery and valour in their fight against the remaining patrols and guards throughout the Rhea, but also the execution of the decimatio - a practice in which lots are drawn among soldier-groups of ten, with one among such groups being voted to being slain by their own brethren. [SEVERITAS]
Decimate the fags

>>3342413
Give them the choice between Severitas and Dignatas

>>3342469
That's basically a vote for DIGNITAS.
Not that I mind DIGNITAS.
>that no warrior should stay beneath the command of Caesar against his will, and that after the subjugation of the rest of the insurrectionists, all survivors would be let free in the next port they made with all their belongings unmolested. "A soldier of Alexandros," Caesar said, without attaching the divine appellations that these soldiers knew he deserved, "must be above any suspicion." In his farewell speech, he addressed them as "men" instead of "soldiers", as was his custom before the insurrection occurred, underlining his intense disappointment toward their character and virtue. [DIGNITAS]

>>3342487
Nah i would say saveritas is giving them the offer and chance to become the 500 again, not disgruntled mercenaries with no future and a tarnished reputation. If they wish to earn there honor back then they will choose severitas.

I dont want to do seceritas alone as they are not our legions and shouldnt be put to the same expectations and if they foght back with there backs against the wall i dont want to get us killed

I want to word it as giving them a chance to earn redemption for the 500. We could really use the troops.

>>3342491
Something to remember is that Julius Caesar was a politician before he was a general. What he says may not necessarily be the same thing as what he means. Why am I saying this? I don't know. Or maybe I do. \_o_/

I can't allow both SEVERITAS and DIGNITAS at the same time because to choose both would impinge on the dignity aspect of the latter option. Think about it. You are telling them "bye, but if you do X you can come back". Kind of underselling your dignity, here.

>>3342413
>that Caesar was cognisant of the weakness of the individual, and how easily swept into the fervor of rebellion they can be when confronted by an individual of remarkable character, and that there would be no recriminations for those who, in the end, fought for the right and honourable cause, defending the inviolable contractual obligation between the patron and the client by going so far so as to make war against their brothers-in-march. [CLEMENTIA]

Can we try to instill some goddamn loyalty instead of killing or getting rid of our best soldiers?

>>3342413
>that if the remaining members of the once-honourable Five Hundred were to regain a modicum of his trust, they would have to not only show their bravery and valour in their fight against the remaining patrols and guards throughout the Rhea, but also the execution of the decimatio - a practice in which lots are drawn among soldier-groups of ten, with one among such groups being voted to being slain by their own brethren. [SEVERITAS]
Traitors deserve death

>that Caesar was cognisant of the weakness of the individual, and how easily swept into the fervor of rebellion they can be when confronted by an individual of remarkable character, and that there would be no recriminations for those who, in the end, fought for the right and honourable cause, defending the inviolable contractual obligation between the patron and the client by going so far so as to make war against their brothers-in-march. [CLEMENTIA]

I'd like to point out that they've already killed more than 10% of their brothers-in-arms for Alexandros' sake. No need to do even more decimation.

Three-way tie, my favourite.

>>3342529
So one of the rules I try to abide by when giving choices is "Don't give players choices you aren't prepared to act upon". Another is "Is this stupid? Because Caesar isn't stupid. Sometimes he is capable of things that could have been done better in retrospect, but generally he's a pretty calculating fellow."

I will ask you this - do you think Caesar wants to just get rid of a group of people who, as you say, are his best soldiers?

>>3342620
IIRC, the DIGNITAS speech (dismissing them and calling them men instead of soldiers) was used by the emperor Severus Alexander in one of his attempts to restore the discipline and obedience of the Roman legions.
He ended up being assassinated by legionaries, though. I'd rather not follow his example.

>>3342629
I am >>3342529, by the way. Mobile network keeps ID shifting me.

At this point, after the fighting, it feels like the best way to instill real loyalty in them is to welcome back those who fought for Alexandros as loyal soldiers, condemning only those who remained with Cabaleiro.

>>3342501
>>3342620

Fair changing my vote from
>>3342491
To
>clementia

>>3342629
That's because Severus was copying it from Caesar, when he did it to four of the veteran legions that mutinied because they hadn't been given their pay. Caesar was well known for being a pretty decent speaker in the Senate (as Cicero remarks somewhere in this damnably numerous letters) and very good at controlling his soldiers, unlike Severus.

Not a bad emperor, really, but Alexander's critical flaw was not being able to keep the military in his favour - something that all emperors should strive to do, because without it you are dead. The sacredness of the civil administration was trampled time and again as the Republican era came to an end, and by the Principate, one had to be a general as well as a statesman (or have underlings capable of said things) to be an emperor that dies peacefully in his sleep.

>>3342641
Interesting. Didn't know it was originally from Caesar; I'm more familiar with Gibbon's Decline and Fall than any of the writings on or from the republic.

I still think the best way to keep them on our side write now is to forgive them. We've just compelled them to fight a bloody battle against their comrades. If we show clemency now, it demonstrates that we can be either stern or kind, as the situation dictates.

>>3342651
>write now
orz

>>3342651
(this is not an update)

They [Caesar's legions] did not mutiny once during the ten years of the Gallic war; in the civil wars they did so now and then, but quickly resumed their duty, not so much owing to any indulgence of their general as to his authority. For he never gave way to them when they were insubordinate, but always boldly faced them, discharging the entire ninth legion in disgrace before Placentia, though Pompey was still in the field, reinstating them unwillingly and only after many abject entreaties, and insisting on punishing the ringleaders.

Again at Rome, when the men of the Tenth [the legion] clamoured for their discharge and rewards with terrible threats and no little peril to the city, though the war in Africa was then raging, he did not hesitate to appear before them, against the advice of his friends, and to disband them. But with a single word, calling them "citizens," [Quirites] instead of "soldiers," [Milites, probably? Someone who can read Latin can chime in] he easily brought them round and bent them to his will; for they at once replied that they were his "soldiers" and insisted on following him to Africa, although he refused their service. Even then he punished the most insubordinate by the loss of a third part of the booty and of the land intended for them.

-Suetonius' Divus Iulius 69.1, part of The Twelve Caesars

If Suetonius is not your cup of tea (which is fair, he's not the most... objective of writers now and then) here's Appian's take:

Learning that a sedition had broken out in Rome and that Antony, his master of horse, had occupied the forum with soldiers, he laid aside everything else and hastened to the city. When he arrived there the sedition had been quieted, but another one sprang up against himself in the army because the promises made to them after the battle of Pharsalus had not been kept, and because they had been held in service beyond the term fixed by law. They demanded that they should be dismissed to their homes. Cæsar had made them certain indefinite promises at Pharsalus, and others equally indefinite after the war in Africa should be finished. Now he sent them a promise of 1000 drachmas more to each man. They answered him that they did not want any more promises but all cash down. Sallustius Crispus, [AKA Sallust] who had been sent to them on this business, had a narrow escape. He would have been killed if he had not fled. When Cæsar learned of this he stationed the legion, with which Antony had been guarding the city, around his own house and the city gates, as he apprehended attempts at plunder. Then, notwithstanding all his friends were alarmed and cautioned him against the fury of the soldiers, he went boldly among them while they were still riotous in the Campus Martius, without sending word beforehand, and showed himself on the platform.

The soldiers ran together tumultuously without arms, and, as was their custom, saluted their commander who had suddenly appeared among them. When he bade them tell what they wanted they were so surprised that they did not venture to speak openly of the donative [money] in his presence, but they adopted the more moderate course of demanding their discharge from the service, hoping that, since he needed soldiers for the unfinished wars, he would speak about the donative himself. But, contrary to the expectation of all, he replied without hesitation, " I discharge you." Then, to their still greater astonishment, and while the silence was most profound, he added, "And I will give you all that I have promised when I have my triumph with others." At this expression, as unexpected as it was kind to them, shame immediately took possession of all, and reflection, together with jealousy at the thought of their abandoning their commander in the midst of such great wars and of others joining in the triumph instead of themselves, and of their losing the gains of the war in Africa, which were expected to be great, and becoming enemies of Cæsar himself as well as of the opposite party. Moved by these fears they remained still more silent and embarrassed, hoping that Cæsar would yield and change his mind on account of his immediate necessity. But he remained silent also, until his friends urged him to say something more to them and not leave his old comrades of so many campaigns with a short and austere word. Then he began to speak, addressing them first as "citizens," not "fellow-soliders," which implied that they were already discharged from the army and were private individuals.

Appian's The Civil Wars 2.13.91

>>3342651
Phew, the quotation was taking too much space (damned wordcount limit) so I couldn't make my own comment. So Gibbon is great, but I wouldn't say he's the most current of Roman historical works. He laid the groundworks, essentially, but a lot of the more recent stuff we have now are products of archaeological produce since then and simply having more great minds looking at Rome with a more scientific view, many of whom arguably inspired by Gibbon and certainly indebted to Gibbon in starting off.

If you enjoy history I cannot recommend Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars enough. Just keep in mind that he's writing about himself, so there are reasons enough to make himself appear grander, paradoxically by apparent humility.

Clever girl, that Iulius!

>>3342413
>Clementia

>>3342426
>>3342487
Dignity

>>3342450
>>3342560
Severity

>>3342529
>>3342608
>>3342638
>>3342723
Clemency

Writing

File: sweet little lies.png (36 KB, 240x240)

36 KB PNG

>CLEMENTIA

ORATORIO

Alexandros, Caesar Reborn: Tired
Oration = 30DC [Tired -10DC, Skilled Orator +5DC, Experienced +10DC, Populares +15DC, Leader of Men +10DC, Imperator (Bonus unavailable, has not met TRIUMPH criteria in current save), CLEMENTIA +10DC, Young -20DC, CIRCUMSTANTIAL BONUS: Moral High Ground +10DC]

VS

Survivors of the Five Hundred: Tired
Receptiveness = -30DC[Tired -10DC, Shell-shocked -15DC, Intelligent +10DC, Leaderless -15DC]

>Oration DC110 (Roll Under)
>3 rolls of 1d100
>Auto-passed

>>3344899

- that Caesar was cognisant of the weakness of the individual, and how easily swept into the fervor of rebellion they can be when confronted by an individual of remarkable character, and that there would be no recriminations for those who, in the end, fought for the right and honourable cause, defending the inviolable contractual obligation between the patron and the client by going so far so as to make war against their brothers-in-march.

This unexpected clemency drove some of the men to tears, and others to oaths of eternal servitude to Alexandros, for while these were men of higher blood than the barbarians, they were yet not gifted with the stoicism that comes with Romanitas, that most laudable of all cultures of Man. A delegation among the troops came and requested Alexandros to lead them in freeing their true Captain, one known as Galen (of Suerna), who had been so unjustly imprisoned for his crime of attempting to veto (as was the custom among the officers of the Five Hundred) Cabaleiro's decision to revolt.

Here, Caesar demurred. He knew of the morale-lifting effect that would occur once the Five Hundred had a semblance of order once more, backed up by a surviving member of the commanding officers before their little civil war. On the other hand, they remained easier to command personally if there was no one to interfere with his decisions. There, too, was the question of priority, of where to turn his attention to next. Caesar had an army, but there remained the entire of Rhea to conquer.

>>3344901

>Caesar decided to head to the Prison Deck, where Galen and most of the non-compliant population of the ship would have been sent to. The Rhea, as the reader has been informed in previous chapters, is more adequately envisioned as a fortress than a ship - it was little surprise that the Carthaginian shipwrights, whose society ran on cruelly-treated slaves, would dedicate an entire level of the ship to iron-plated incarceration chambers.

>It was to the Patrician Deck that Caesar led the men first and foremost, so great was the worry of his family in his mind. This was the luxuriant level of the ship where the officers, men of worth, high-class slaves, hostages of value, and your family dwelled in. Large, spacious rooms meant there was less doors to search out here compared to those in the lower levels.

>The Equestrian Deck was chosen, not for its stables but because of the potential of augmenting Caesar's forces. There, the young general reasoned, would he find his loyal Gauls - the warriors much too dangerous to throw among the rest of the civilian population in the prison deck, but also too valuable as merchandise to simply kill them off.

>Caesar decided to first consolidate what he had, and ordered a cleansing of remaining non-pacified Five Hundred presence in this deck, which was then known as the Soldier's Deck, due to the high number of troops - from the Gauls, to the Germans, to the Five Hundred, and even the Freedmen militia - that resided in this level.

>Suggestion on another Deck?

>>3344901
>Caesar decided to first consolidate what he had, and ordered a cleansing of remaining non-pacified Five Hundred presence in this deck, which was then known as the Soldier's Deck, due to the high number of troops - from the Gauls, to the Germans, to the Five Hundred, and even the Freedmen militia - that resided in this level.

>>3344905
>first consolidate

>>3344905
>Caesar decided to first consolidate what he had, and ordered a cleansing of remaining non-pacified Five Hundred presence in this deck, which was then known as the Soldier's Deck, due to the high number of troops - from the Gauls, to the Germans, to the Five Hundred, and even the Freedmen militia - that resided in this level.

>>3344899
>has not met TRIUMPH criteria in current save
Guys, we need to get back to Rome right now, punch Brutus in the testicles and arrange for Jupiter to vouch for us so we can take our laurels back.

>>3344905
>It was to the Patrician Deck that Caesar led the men first and foremost, so great was the worry of his family in his mind. This was the luxuriant level of the ship where the officers, men of worth, high-class slaves, hostages of value, and your family dwelled in. Large, spacious rooms meant there was less doors to search out here compared to those in the lower levels.
There was a lot of disagreement over whether we should first go to our family or to the soldiers. I think it's time to go check on them.

>>3344905
>>Caesar decided to head to the Prison Deck, where Galen and most of the non-compliant population of the ship would have been sent to. The Rhea, as the reader has been informed in previous chapters, is more adequately envisioned as a fortress than a ship - it was little surprise that the Carthaginian shipwrights, whose society ran on cruelly-treated slaves, would dedicate an entire level of the ship to iron-plated incarceration chambers.

>>3344905
>Caesar decided to first consolidate what he had, and ordered a cleansing of remaining non-pacified Five Hundred presence in this deck, which was then known as the Soldier's Deck, due to the high number of troops - from the Gauls, to the Germans, to the Five Hundred, and even the Freedmen militia - that resided in this level.

>>3344905
>>Caesar decided to head to the Prison Deck, where Galen and most of the non-compliant population of the ship would have been sent to. The Rhea, as the reader has been informed in previous chapters, is more adequately envisioned as a fortress than a ship - it was little surprise that the Carthaginian shipwrights, whose society ran on cruelly-treated slaves, would dedicate an entire level of the ship to iron-plated incarceration chambers.

>>3347264
New update~