Training Phase I
Everything has a beginning. That's what Titia Aelia Pecuniosia told herself as he watched the only two gladiators her family owned train against opposite sides of a striking post. The
Explorator in charge of their training barked with every movement - this one's footing is wrong, that one's got a limp wrist...these men could kill, sure, but they weren't yet killers. Men are machines of war however, and it didn't take too long for the vigorous training to take effect.
She took note of some change in
Lacus, the Hunter:
Technique >
Technique (Axe)Resilience: 2 > 4
Agility: 5 > 6
She also saw improvements in
Ferreus Secundius Alternis, the Thief:
Technique >
Technique (Short Sword)Resilience: 1 > 4
Agility: 6 > 10
Theatrics: 5 > 8
The planned exhibition day was soon upon the Flavii. A small group left for the city with
Ferreus Secundius Alternis, the Thief in tow. They made it to the forum arena without issue.
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The Games I
Titia met with Martius Lovernius, the owner of the shop that the arena was built behind while Pyrinikos and Publius took care of getting Ferreus Secundius Alternis set for his match. They were going to be the opening fight - nothing too lethal or exciting, but just enough to get a crowd interested, to get the blood pumping. While not everybody basked in the sight of death, a true Roman couldn't help but watch two people beat the piss out of one another for sport.
After Martinus and Titia discussed the terms of the fight once more, she made her way into the wooden stands where a crowd had gathered - a fairly large crowd for the first fight of the day. Pyrinikos and Publius were glaring across the fighting grounds at the stands opposite them.
Tycho Flavius Vulpus and
Tertius Avitus Cato, two dirty, overrated, undereducated members of the Magnii House, were sat staring right back. On the bench raised behind them sat
Severina Caecilia Sabina, the woman in charge of most of the family's business dealings from behind the scenes.
Before Titia could figure out why they'd be here as well, the question was answered.
"Good morning, everybody!" Martius Lovernius entered the packed dirt arena ringed by a wooden fence, both arms raised and an excited look on his face, "In celebration of Agonalia today, I have booked a vast number of fights for your entertainment, perhaps as you shop! While a majority of today's stock will come from the stables of
Decimus Mallius Gavros," he gestured towards the Magnii, where a burly man sat whispering into Severina's ear, "And Manius Marcius Caelus," this time Martius gestured behind the Flavii. As Titia turned and saw who had taken a seat behind her, he stood, waved, and smiled at the crowd before sitting and addressing her.
"I saw who they've got ready to fight back. You'd best not squander my investment," Caelus spoke just loudly enough for Titia to hear him. Her face quickly dropped into a scowl, "I'm just kidding!" he quickly added, "You've put more time and resources into it than I have, by far. That means you can't blame me if you lose, either."
Titia's attention was pulled from Caelus as Martius introduced the fighters.
"Today I have the distinct honor of introducing two new ludii, and it just so happens to be a pair with a relationship we all know
very well. I imagine it's why many of you are here this early!"
A portion of the crowd cheered. The Flavius-Manius feud was going to be a spectacle from this moment forward.
"Today's first fight will be as nonlethal as we can make it. Victory will go to whomever floors their opponent first, or to first blood. Well, if it's
significant, anyway!"
The growing number of spectators got a little more riled up.
"Presenting Pardus Magna, brought to us today by the Magnii!" Martius Lovernius announced with a flourish, followed by the less-than-enthusiastic Magnii gladiator being shoved into the arena. He was armed with a wooden gladius and had a cloth wrapped around his waist.
"Presenting Ferreus Secundius Alternis, offered to us as today's entertainment by the Flavii!" Martius flourished yet again, and from the opposite side of the arena came the Ferreus Secundis Alternis. He was dressed and equipped exactly as Pardus Magna, but was a little thinner and shorter.
The crowd seemed to be a dead-even split between who they favored, largely based on their proximity to the family in question.
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Ferreus Secundius Alternis squared off with his opponent as a few people in the crowd began to cheer the both of them on. He was quicker on his feet and stepped in with a downward strike, but Pardus parried, sidestepped, and hit Ferreus across the belly as they passed one another. Pardus and Ferreus turned to face one another again, with Pardus launching a strike this time, stabbing for Ferreus' midsection. Ferreus deflected the blow to his right, but barely. Pardus swiped his gladius across Ferreus' midsection again. The gladii clashed and both gladiators pressed into one another.
"This is going to fucking hurt," Ferreus said.
"Indeed," Pardus responded in Roman.
Ferreus launched a knee at Pardus' side and landed a hit, though Pardus seemed completely unphased. Ferreus attempted to follow up with a headbutt, but Pardus used his free hand to block the attack and grasp Ferreus' face. Pardus managed to twist his gladius inside of Ferreus' guard and thrust it forward, grazing his ear as Pardus released his face and slammed his elbow into the opposite side of Ferreus' skull. Pardus sent his dazed opponent backward a few steps with a solid kick to the chest.
As Ferreus tried to recover from the brutal assault he just received, Pardus attempted to gain the crowd's favor. The crowd began to cheer louder as Ferreus shook his head clear and recovered, launching an attack as Pardus had his back turned. Pardus had spun himself around
just in time to see Ferreus coming at him and ducked a wild swing at his head, responding by slapping his gladius across Ferreus' back as he passed by yet again. The impact cracked loud enough for the crowd to let out a single "oof" in unison.
Ferreus fell to the ground writhing in pain and grasping at his back where a massive bruise was already forming. Before Pardus could jump back on his opponent, a trio of spearmen placed themselves between them both before they shackled both gladiators and dragged Ferreus from the arena.
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"And with that, a victor!" Martius Lovernius announced as he entered the arena, "Glory today goes to the Magnii!"
Titia had already left her seat. It was best if they left as soon as they could. Letting the Magnii gloat in their faces would just make them look weaker. No, it was best to save a little face and look cowardly now, then level the scales at a later date.
Titia spoke with Martius as the second fight of the day was prepared.
"Your guy was roughed up out there," he said, "And the crowd loved it. While we didn't negotiate for payment upon losing, your fight brought in so much attention that I'm already seeing today's sales skyrocket. Here, I hope you understand the surprise opponent was the best business decision for me."
Titia scowled even though she knew she'd have done the same thing, and the coinpurse Martius handed over had more than enough heft to it to lighten her mood, "Yeah, I think I do."
"Well, I know the reputation of the Flavii pretty well, and I'd like to work together some more. Hey, if a business partnership blooms, perhaps I can introduce you to some of my fellow merchants and tradesmen for more, ah,
specialized needs."
[+1 Fortune Token, +1 Favor Token]GM Note: While I won't always break down exactly why you got tokens and what benefits you get from things, just so you know that things are actually meaningful I'll be doing so for a couple turns. The Fortune Token is a pity gift since you lost your tutorial fight. The Favor Token is the result of choosing to do the public exhibition, and represents Martius' desire to pay you back for the boon to business your fight provided. (though this is just fluff, and the token can be used mechanically for anything - it's my responsibility to make sure it fits into the narrative, not you). As you form relationships with people you'll also be told pretty plainly what continued work on said relationship could provide you. Martus could provide connections for goods and equipment, for example. Note that negative relationships can also provide benefits to you, because I took a leaf out of Alpha Protocol's book and it's a fantastic game if you can get past the clunkiness. But I digress.
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Planning Phase II
With a clear loss in the Flavii books it was obvious, to Titia at least, that they couldn't just stop there. After all, they'd just taken a beating in their first outing to their rivals. If anything it could be the start of a great underdog story! With so much invested in the endeavor already, what other choice did they have?
It was time to check out the fresh slave stock and book the next fight. Or fights.
Tullius Antonius Viator was at his usual spot in the forum. Rumors of raids launched from Northern Africa had eventually reached the city's ears, and it seemed as though Tullius' stock reflected that.
"Ah, yes! House Flavius returns! I take it this means you were pleased with your previous purchase?" he inquired as Titia stepped forward.
"No, but it's not like you left us with much in the way of choice," she said simply as she gestured at the Forum devoid of all other slave traders, since Tullius had a tendency to buy them out immediately.
His face twisted into an ugly smile, "No, I guess I haven't."
"What do you have on hand today?"
Tullius pointed at and briefly described each slave for sale.
Libyan Captain (Cost: 2 Tokens)Traits:
Libyan,
Raider,
RuthlessTechnique: 11 (Convertible)
Resilience: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 8
Theatrics: 7
Strength: 11
Equipment:
RagsRoman Priestess of Ceres (Cost: 2 Tokens)Traits:
Roman,
Priest,
FemaleTechnique: 7 (Convertible)
Resilience: 3
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 12
Theatrics: 11
Strength: 6
Equipment:
RagsNumidian Quartermaster (Cost: 1 Token)Traits:
Numidian,
MerchantTechnique: 5 (Convertible)
Resilience: 7
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 7
Theatrics: 4
Strength: 7
Equipment:
RagsGallic Farmer (Cost: 1 Token)
Traits:
Gaul,
FarmerTechnique: 5 (Convertible)
Resilience: 11
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 3
Theatrics: 8
Strength: 8
Equipment:
Rags----------------
While Titia dealt with Tullius, Pyrinikos and Publius went to book the fights.
Back Alley PitFight 1:
Unbooked vs
UnbookedGambling Den (Costs Tokens to Participate)Fight 2:
Booked vs
Unbooked Reward:
3x Token RefundFight 3:
Booked vs
Unbooked Reward:
2x Token RefundForum ArenaFight 4:
Unbooked vs
Unbooked Match Type: StandardGM Note: Any unbooked positions not filled by one of the teams will be assigned an NPC. You can generally consider prebooked fights as grinding levels before checking if the other team has the balls to face you in an Unbooked fight. Whether or not your opponent is an NPC gladiator will not affect rewards. In order to prevent an issue that occurred last game, I have decided to pair Prebooked fights, so that if both teams try to book the same match the unlucky team still gets a fight, even if it doesn't pay out as much. Rewards are also multiplied by the amount of gladiators you assign to a specific match. You could, for example, assign two gladiators to the Back Alley Pit if you wanted to double your reward while making sure one of your gladiators had to kill another for some reason (and there could be a good reason for that, who knows?) However, if you try to double-book a fight and the other team tried to book it as well, their gladiator will override your second pick.
IT IS NOW THE PLANNING PHASE.As this is your first true Planning Phase (even though I titled it the second, to keep it consistent with turn number), I'll reiterate that your only decisions this phase are which Gladiators, if any, you'll purchase, and which fights, if any, you'll enter into. All other token expenditure occurs next phase.
Titia Aelia Pecuniosia, Profitable Businesswoman, Head of Operations
Pyrinikos of Abdera, Foreigner
Publius Flavius Lepidus, Hedonist
Severina Caecilia Sabina, Shrewd Businesswoman, Head of Operations
Tycho Flavius Vulpus, Ex-Flavii
Tertius Avitus Cato, Hired Help
Crossroads Household: A household straddling an important crossroads. Has some means of self-sufficiency.[+1 Fame Token/Turn, 3 Food]
Crossroads Tavern: A place for travelers to rest, stock up, and get arsefaced. Could do with a lot of improvement. [+1 Fortune Token/Turn]
Basic Ludus: Housing and training grounds for gladiators. Has nothing special, save for crumbling walls and being worse than a prison.
Former Explorator: A scout turned Doctore familiar with combat and maneuvering. All Gladiators gain +1 Agility every Training phase as a result of his drilling. Rolls of 1 get rerolled and added to the 1.
Name: Lacus
Traits: Gaul, Hunter
Technique: 3 (Axe)
Resilience: 4
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 4
Theatrics: 4
Strength: 5
Equipment: Rags
Name: Ferreus Secundius Alternis
Traits: Roman, Thief
Technique: 4 (Short Sword)
Resilience: 4
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 1
Theatrics: 8
Strength: 3
Equipment: Rags
Decimus Mallius Gavros, Lanister: Stranger
Martius Lovernius, Merchant/Forum Games Manager: Acquaintance
Manius Marcius Caelus, Lanister: Neutral
Tullius Antonius Viator, Slave Trader: Neutral
Flavii Training: Gladiators rolling for training get +1 to Theatrics and -1 to Strength.
Profitable Ventures: Titia has a hand in the sale of memorabilia of the family's gladiators. Victories grant a Fortune Token in addition to the pot. This triggers for every individual victory, not per turn.
Gaul: +1 Technique (Axe)
Roman: +1 Technique (Short Sword)
Hunter: +1 Technique (Short Bow)
Thief: +1 Agility
Food: 2/3 (Used/Total)
Fortune Tokens: 2 (+1/Turn)
Favor Tokens: 3 (+1/Turn)
Fame Tokens: 2 +1/Turn)
Fate Tokens: 1
Author
Topic: Blood and Sand - House Flavius (Planning II) (Read 2572 times)