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The Roadie

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Posts posted by The Roadie

  2. Gov't hypocrites a CAUSE of oil spill

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    ...not sure why you single out germany regarding the AIG, there are plenty of other countries too, and i mean it was AIG that created and sold those gambling papers in the first place....

    Germany was highlighted to support my theme of OVER regulation as a cause of the crises as opposed to just UNDER regulation, if I remember an article of Economist magazine correctly. They said the Landesbanks (a special kind of German bank) profits and thus survival were in a death grip from over conservative regulations well before the crisis. They went to AIG out of desperation to survive supposedly, whereas the other banks went to them out of greed.

     

    Well I thank you for being supportive in general, but I should admit I pushed the theme a bit far and folks are probably being too polite to point out a few holes in it. Interesting to consider the less reported angles anyway.

     

    It seems far-fetched to blame regulation or government intervention, especially as the United States government hardly "forced" poor poor Beyond Petroleum to drill out there. Rather, they lobbied quite intensely to make it a reality. If the US government had refused, you as well as other critics of regulation would instead have complained about them preventing growth, meaning that the government no matter what it does is the bad guy.

     

    In this case, the responsibility rests on the shoulder of BP. There's this 150 000 $ switch which could have prevented the leak after the explosion on the oil rig. It was too expensive for BP so they ignored acquiring such switches for their rigs.

     

    No matter where you stand ideologically or what solutions you advocate to solve a problem, no one is better off by just blaming everything on the government for ideological reasons and to uphold this false dichotomy between government and corporations. The governments exist in order to enable corporations to increase their profit margins - primarily, as well as to ensure that there is a system which could educate the workforce of the corporations so they have a sufficient pool for manpower.

  4. Rome Game

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    Can I be Marcus Salvius Otho. At the beginning of the game he is in Rome with Nero right. What exactly can Otho do and what can Nero do, what are the rules and regulations if there are any.

     

    Otho has no political or military office, but a considerable fortune and a reputation for throwing parties. He could also conduct undercover assassinations, as could every other character.

     

    Nero could appoint governors, move military forces around, veto senatorial legislation, propose laws himself, control the military part of the imperial budget... basically all the powers of the Roman Emperor.

     

    You're taken Otho now.

  6. Rome Game

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    Funnily enough, in the other game I have, the Senate was an extremely popular choice.

    Really? What 'other game' is this?

     

    ~So is the position mine?

     

    The very same game, only on another forum ^^

     

    We are in year 70 AD there now.

     

    The position's yours.

  8. Rome Game

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    I think I will be different from the rest of you here...

     

    May I please be Sextus Afranius Burrus, head of the Imperial Bodyguard?

     

    ~I think everyone wants to be governors because they have resources Rome needs, as well as the military might to oppose the Empire if need be. I myself thought of becoming governor, until I saw everyone else was one, and I like to be different.

     

    ~~Although I think we will be hard pressed to find everyone to fill all those positions, as I don't think the senate would be popular, as it did not do much and did not have a lot of power.

     

    Funnily enough, in the other game I have, the Senate was an extremely popular choice.

  14. Rome Game

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted

    The game is quite low-intense, just send a PM to me with your actions for the turn every second day

     

    Can you explain a bit about what sort of actions these might be?

     

    For example trying to sire an heir, move yourself to another province, plot against another character, deploy legions and so forth.

  16. Rome Game

    in Hora Postilla Thermae

    Posted · Edited by The Roadie

    I've taken the liberty to construct a forum-based role-playing game simulating ancient Rome from 55 AD and onward through history. The players assume the political and military positions within the Roman aristocracy. The game is turn-based, with each turn representing a year. The players send in their actions to the game-master through private messages. The gamemaster uses random.org to test the successfulness of their plans. The only exception to PM actions is senatorial legislation or imperial decrees which must be published on the thread. The game is quite low-intense, just send a PM to me with your actions for the turn every second day.

     

    Turns are made every second or third day. It is not entirely correct in terms of provinces, in order to enhance playability. Some characters are entirely fictional (especially amongst provincial governors). The game-play is occurring in this thread. All characters which are open are playable. Only characters in the Roman Empire are playable though. No one might play as a foreign king or queen for example. Players might play as rebels though.

     

    You just write what character you should be in this thread. The game should start in about a week. By that point, we should at least have all the senatorial players, the Imperial court and some of the governors active as players. This is NOT a historical reenactment game and you are not forced to play according to what happened in real life. This is entirely for fun, and for you to try to fulfil YOUR vision of how you think Rome should have evolved. You might play as historical characters which are not listed on the sheet below as well.

     

    So, anyone in for a bit of action?

     

    knownworld.png

     

    SHORT HISTORY~

    For centuries, Rome was an Aristocratic Republic with a balance of power between the propertied class and the citizens. As the overseas Empire grew, so did the amount of slaves, which greatly benefitted the aristocracy at the expense of the people. In year 726 AUC, the nephew of the populist dictator Gaius Julius Caesar ended a century of bloody civil wars and became the undisputed master of the entire Mediterranean World. Rome has prospered underneath the Princes of the Julio-Claudian House, but the dynasty itself has been plagued by inner strife, at the same time as politics has been steadily more and more polarised. Now, the Empire has fallen into the hands of Nero, who is a mere 18 years of age.

     

    LIST OF EMPERORS UNTIL NOW

    Chronology is AUC, which is derived from the mythological foundation for Rome in year 753 BC. If we would still have used AUC, year 2010 AD would have been year 2763 AUC.

     

    Julio-Claudian House (726- AUC)

     

    Julius Caesar: 704-709 AUC (49 - 44 BC)

    Augustus: 726-767 AUC (27 BC - 14 AD)

    Tiberius: 767-790 AUC (14 - 37 AD)

    Caligula: 790-794 AUC (37 - 41 AD)

    Claudius: 794-807 AUC (41 - 54 AD)

    Nero: 807- AUC (54 AD -)

     

    YEAR: 807 AUC

     

    GOVERNMENT~

    System ~ Autocratic Monarchy

    The Roman Empire is a complex constitutional and political organism which partially is an autocracy, partially a military dictatorship and partially an aristocratic republic. Officially, the head of state is elected by the Senate and holding legislative and executive power while the Senate is the de-jure highest authority. In reality, the Emperor is holding considerably more power than he is allowed to, due to his command over 40 veteran legions as well as the Praetorian Guard in the city of Rome itself. There has been five emperors, all hailing from the same family, the Julio-Claudian House. The Emperor cannot, except if he at the same time is consul, propose bills in the Senate. The Emperor is almost revered as a God in the provinces.

    ==

    Stability ~ 95% (Minor unrest in Armenia)

    Tyranny ~ 1%

    ==

    Head of State

    Emperor ~ Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (age 17)

    Ascended to the throne: 807 AUC

    ==

    Popularity ~ High

    Aristocrats ~ 50%

    Citizens ~ 75%

    Freedmen ~ 75%

    Slaves ~ 50%

    ==

    Armed Forces ~ 100%

    Praetorian Guard ~ 100%

    ==

    Units: 77 units

    Light Infantry (Auxiliaries): 40 units

    Medium Infantry (Legions): 36 units

    Heavy Infantry (Praetorian Guard): 1 units

    ==

    Imperial Family

    Imperial Consort ~ Claudia Octavia (age 15)

    Dowager Empress ~ Julia Augusta Agrippina (age 50)

    Primary Heir ~ Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (age 14)

    ==

    Head of the Imperial Bodyguard

    Praetorian Prefect ~ Sextus Afranius Burrus (age 55)

    ==

    Advisors

    Tutor ~ Alexander of Aegae (age 50)

    Tutor ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca (age 59)

    ==

    Friends

    Friend ~ Gaius Petronius Arbiter (age 28)

    Friend ~ Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus (age 45)

    Friend ~ Marcus Salvius Otho (age 22)

    Friend ~ Poppaea Sabina (age 24) (married to Otho)

    Friend ~ Claudia Acte (age 21)

    ==

    The Senate ~ Once, the Senate

  17. Nero

    in Imperium Romanorum

    Posted

    Actually, that is more qualities which are existent amongst a lot of modern politicians, especially populist demagogues. These traits could also be turned into strengths given the right circumstances.

  18. Did Julian reach out to the Senate in Rome?

    in Templum Romae - Temple of Rome

    Posted

    Thanks guys, your replies have been helpful. I have always found it odd, that given his desire to reverse the pace of Christianity's growth and hold over Roman society, that he chose to go east and fight the Sassanids. Was the frontier in that much trouble? Or did he need a military victory to secure his reign?

     

    Every new Roman Emperor who had secured his position and destroyed the compulsory wave of usurpers would then invade Persia. It was in order to win victories and thus achieve lasting support from the armies. There is a similarity with how new US presidents are often pursuing participation in foreign humanitarian missions (Reagan in Grenada, Bush I in Iraq, Clinton in Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo) in order to show that they have balls.

  19. Jesus from Caesar, Part II

    in Templum Romae - Temple of Rome

    Posted · Edited by The Roadie

    It sounds too modern for the Romans. More like something a modern government which is restrained by constitutional limits would try to do (and have done under certain circumstances). It is even less believable than the theories that Al Qaeda somehow are created by the CIA.

     

    Personally, I think that christianity was used as a veil for an attempt to apply the platonic ideal on the world. Feudal Europe very much resembled the platonic ideal society, with a caste of literate philosopher kings (priests) controlling everything and trying to control progress.

  20. Frequency of Christian crimes against the state

    in Templum Romae - Temple of Rome

    Posted

    There is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ would be a relevant book to read on this subject. Not always interesting, but rather factual. The title alone gives you a clue to the mentality of these ancient religious terrorists.

     

    The early Christians did indeed go out of their way to provoke the Roman state, because they believed if they died in service of their beliefs it would gain them salvation.

     

    Interestingly enough, Falun Gong is feeding off the same principle. According to that belief, if you provoke someone to persecute you, you'll get karma from that someone and could possibly reach heaven.

  22. Lucifer

    in Templum Romae - Temple of Rome

    Posted

    A quote from the Bible which might be relevant here - Isaiah 14.12 'How are thou fallen Lucifer, son of the morning.' I'm not a Bible scholar, but this suggests that Lucifer the light-bringer is also known to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

     

    In the Hebrew bible (Yisheyah 14:12), though, your Lucifer is called "Heylel ben Shachar" ("shining son of the morning"). And I believe the reference is to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon -- not to any Roman deity. (I'm not a bible scholar, either, but I am familiar with the Jewish bible. ;) )

     

    Just something else to add regarding Lucifer: Modern-day Luciferianism is an offshoot of modern-day Satanism. One major difference between the two being that the theistic Luciferians view Satan/Lucifer as an actual, benevolent god. Whereas the atheistic Church of Satan views Satan as merely an archetype representing human will, passion, etc.

     

    Lost Warrior, here's a link to Charles G. Leland's 1899 work titled Aradia: or, the Gospel of the Witches:

     

    http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/index.htm

     

    If I'm remembering correctly, you'll find one legend of Lucifer in there, referring to Lucifer as being the brother of Diana, according to this old sect of Italian witchcraft. But it's been a long time since I read this, so I suggest you check it out for yourself.

     

    -- Nephele

     

    The morning star is the name for Venus, who was the Roman name for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. In that sense, Lucifer was indeed a Roman deity, though not one which we would expect. Prometheus in Greek mythology had some Luciferian aspects as well, though he was hailed as a bringer of reason and knowledge to mankind (the serpent in Jewish mythology was blasted for being a bringer of reason and knowledge as well).

  24. agrippa & augustus

    in Imperium Romanorum

    Posted

    well i wasn't quite sure where to post this, since it concerns the transitional period from republic to empire, so i just went ahead and double posted. mods, please correct me if i have sinned.

     

    i've always been puzzled by agrippa's motivations, it seems like all of augustus' significant military victories are attributable to him so he essentially made augustus emperor. why then was he content to play second fiddle to augustus, and not seize power in his own right?

     

    Because he wasn't a nobleman, and he was already the de-facto co-emperor with Augustus during the early half of Augustus' principate. The first non-senatorial Emperor I could think of was Macrinus (217-218) and he never visited Rome.

  25. Greatest Roman Figure??

    in Imperium Romanorum

    Posted

    I think that Arminius actually needs to be mentioned as well (Augustus gave him citizenship). Yes, he betrayed the empire and inflicted one of its worst defeats, but I think that this was good in the long term for Rome. Had Germania been conquered, Roman forces would have been spread more thinly than ever over a territory that was farther and farther from the Italian core. Because of this, Germany might have remained largely un-Romanized like Britain. No, the Romans wouldn't have had to deal with Germanic invasions, but they would have been exposed to other peoples such as Central Asian horsemen who were arguably far more dangerous than the Germanics. This could have overstretched the empire and may have caused it to collapse far earlier than it did. And this collapse may not have been the gradual and largely peaceful, non-disruptive crumbling of the fifth century, but a complete annihilation on the scale of what happened to Babylon. So, by kicking Rome out of Germany, Arminius forced it into a shape that was far more manageable and easier to defend.

    You definitely have a point, I agree that Augustuses 28 Legions were already stretched and so taking Germania would not have been a very good idea. However if they did take it and Romanise it then they would have quite a lot of strong Axillary troops to recruit. But I don't think he was the Greatest Roman figure.

     

    On the contrary. If Germania had been pacified and romanised, the Roman borders would actually have been shortened, thus ultimately improving the Roman economy and logistical situation. The huge mistake in my opinion was the constant attempts to take Parthia. If the Romans had pressed on to Indus, their borders would have been truly unholdable.

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