The year is 218 BC. After a siege of the Greek colony of Seguntum in Hispania, a Roman emissary was dispatched to Carthage with an offer of peace and war.

War was chosen, and once more, the Roman Republic goes to war against its ancient Phoenician enemies in what will come to be known as the Second Punic War. Only, this war is subtly different from the tales told in history books and in Livy's accounts, for the children of the Gods themselves would fight this war, and the world would be forever changed by their actions. This war would decide the fate of the Mediterraenean for centuries to come, and as always, the children of the gods are caught in the middle.

The battle lines are drawn, Hannibal Barca, famed Carthaginian general, begins his march on Rome. The consuls prepare to raise their legions and march to war. Monsters roam the Italian countryside, calling the famed Twelfth Legion of demigods away to meet the threat. It is an uncertain time to be Roman, and the city demands aid. How far are you willing to go for Rome?

So, some context on what it actually was you read just now:

This is a historical fantasy RP, set against the backdrop of the Second Punic War, the second war between Roman and Carthage, made famous by Carthaginian general Hannibal’s march across the Alps. As players, you will assume the role of one of the children of the Roman pantheon, and set upon a quest that otherwise could spell the doom of the Republic.

The role of demigods in the Republic, at least in this story, is as sort of a “middle path” between the citizens of Rome and the Socii (the other conquered Italian people.) Like the Romans themselves, they are citizens of the Republic, but they are limited in the political offices they can run for because of the pervasive fear of their supernatural abilities. However, female demigods are treated with a great deal more respect. After all, who would want to argue the inferiority of a woman whose father rules from Mount Olympus?

Character creation is fairly simple, as are the rules. It’s a simple freeform play-by-post game, same as every other game I’ve run on this site.

If you feel like the blurb, OOC or otherwise, didn’t quite explain everything you needed to know in order to make a character, feel free to ask questions here or submit a character for approval.

Accepted Roman Characters:

• Xiphia, daughter of Ares.
• Vulpes, son of Discord.
• Felix, son of Dionysus.
• Antonius, son of Summanus.
• Laelia, daughter of Apollo.
• Dynamene, daughter of Neptune.
• Aetius, son of Mars.

Accepted Carthaginian Characters:

• Caratacos, son of Ogmios.
• Melissa, daughter of Aristaeus
• Arishat, daughter of Astarte.
• Mago, son of Eshmun.
• Usi, son of Sekhmet.

edited 29th Apr '14 12:36:22 AM by math792d

Name: Cloelia Octavia aka "Xiphia"
Parent: Ares
Calling: Warrior/Gladiatrix

Background: Once upon a time, Rome sent a diplomat to the greek city state of Sparta. This diplomat was of fine breeding and status, and brought both his wife and younger sister with him to the foreign city. While there, the sister caught the eye of the city’s patron, Ares. Shortly after, she was with child and the diplomat hastily send her home. A few months later, the father of the diplomat, Caius Cloelius Siricus, announced that another daughter was born to him; Cloelia Octavia.
Despite receiving the best care the family would give her, she was always a bit odd. Where other girls preferred more feminine activities, Octavia always „borrowed“ the wooden swords of the male children and showed remarkable talent for it. By the time she grew into womanhood, she could easily beat any of the male „brothers“ and cousins of her age and her „father“ had given up trying to prevent her from doing it. He even allowed the guards of the house to give her some training, reasoning her that being trained when "playing" with swords was less dangerous than her being untrained.
This went less well than he thought. Octavia started to vanish into the lower parts of the city, seeking the thrill of watching the Gladiator and Gladiatrix fights there. One day on the way to one of those fights, a shadowy man, a Greek man, appeared before her. Challenging her to a fight and handily beating her, he finally informed her about the truth of her heritage; she was a Greek demigoddess, but also of Roman blood. He told her of how Rome was assimilating the gods and making them their own, including her father, the God of War. But she was roman, yet a daughter of Ares, a combination rarely seen and sure to be…interesting. As a final partying present, he gifted her a steel-forged Xiphos, making a disparaging comment of the roman choice of swords, while daring her to prove herself in more than some back alley fights.
Taking his words to heart, Octavia chose to be more then a simple spectator in the arena and rather to climb to the top of it herself. After some inquiries she found a military academy instructor who was willing to educate the young women of the patrician houses…against a price. Taking up the pseudonym „Xiphia“ in the Arena, the young demigoddess will fight to prove her mettle before all of Rome…and beyond?

Appearance: Xiphia is tall, lean and well trained. Quite attractive both in a martial and more traditional way (depending on if she is Xiphia or Octavia at the time), she favors small but firm curves on her body, with remarkably few scars. Olive skin and black greek hair which goes well with her dark brown eyes. She usually wears her hair long, almost demonstratively plain for roman standards, even if Octavia does occasionally favor her hair "in style" if her family requires it. She favors light and maneuverable armor, preferring speed. Outside of her „Xiphia“ persona, she wears the usual clothes for a women of her class and station.

Personality: Octavia is a spirited person most people say. What they mean is that she is a high tempered borderline bully who only shows honest (as opposed to faked) respect to those who earn it by making her respect them. This does not mean she does not feel affection for some people, she does, but it will mostly show in her being even harsher on them. Even more, she *likes* to fight. Even as a child her response to her big brothers bullying her was nothing less than „come and get it!“, going on to the point where she purposefully provoked them into a fight.
In her „Xiphia“ persona, these traits are even more emphasized. Xiphia is a harsh, mean fighter who enjoys both the thrill of battle as well as seeing her opponents tremble before her. She enjoys victory almost as much, being no stranger to celebrating it. She can be gracious to worthy opponents and bonecrushingly humilating to weaklings. Xiphia furthermore allows her to be unrestrained of social expectations or virtues. Xiphia can be alluring and enjoy the looks of men in a way Octavia cannot, Xiphia can speak her mind and use words which would scandalize Octavia’s circles, Xiphia *can* solve things with violence while Octavia is forced to be „reasonable“, Xiphia can lay with men while Octavia is still a „maiden“ and so on.
In turn, however there are elements of being Octavia that she enjoys. Octavia has status and can command people to do things, whereas Xiphia would be laughed out for trying the sames. Octavia can be insulting to people without repercussion, whereas Xiphia would be jailed or worse for the same. Octavia has a home and must not deal with food and clothing whereas Xiphia alone would have. Octavia has a family, and Xiphia only a father she has never met.

Hamartia: Xiphia enjoys battle, the thrill of it. This leads her to emphasize the battle, not the war, so to speak and sometimes fight to fight and not to win. Furthermore, she eagerly anticipates fights, sometimes to the exclusion of smarter choices.

Power: As a daughter of Ares, Xiphia is natural born warrior. She is stronger, faster and tougher then the mundane people and even some less martial demigods. She shows a natural skill of learning every kind of personal weapon, wielding them with proficiency in quick order. Furthermore, in battle she is extremely hard to kill. While fighting she can take punishment that would cripple or kill a normal human without much issue and bounce back from combat sustained injuries that would keep even other demigods bedridden for days within hours. This however only works if the injuries are from combat, or combat related. A broken ankle from falling off a horse during a nice stroll will not heal any faster, while a spear in her lung from the arena will.

Abilities: Octavia was raised among a patrician family and has thus the same education as most high class female due in Rome. If she wishes she can appear as a well educated, gracious young women people would expect of her.
Xiphia also has extensive combat training by way of secretly being trained in one of Rome's more prominent military schools and thanks to her time in the arena already considerable experience beyond her natural talents.

Equipment: Beside her armor, which was custom made for Xiphia, her most notable posession is her sword. While it is in the shape of a Greek Xiphios, it is made from the same steel a roman sword would be made.
Normally, she combines this sword with a black greek round shield, an apsis, fitted to her. Her most notable pieces of armor is the greek style muscle cuirass (female styled but with almost no bosom), fitting greaves, bracers and a short leather pteruges (skirt).


Note: „Xiphia“ is a well known demigoddess, due to proclaiming her heritage before fights in order to intimidate her opponents. Octavia on the other hand is not.

edited 28th Apr '14 6:01:03 AM by 3of4

I'd be interested if there was a B group following the exploits of Hannibal, pulling on the Phoenician and Celtic Pantheons [through his Gallic Mercenaries].

If you have some sources on the Phoenician and Gallic pantheons, I might be able to do something like that.

I know the Phoenician gods were sort of a mismatch of Hellenistic and North African deities, but that's about as far as my knowledge of their religious services extends.

edited 21st Apr '14 10:31:28 AM by math792d

My main knowledge is on Gallic Gods and possible extension into later Celtic Mythology, I'd be interested in picking up a mercenary character related to Ogmios [possibly related to a later Ogma]. I have a couple print books on the subject, but Wikipedia gives most of the information on the subject that we know [which is very scant]; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogmios.

The Pheonicians were a wierd mix of Greek and Semetic paganism [ie. the Canaanites]. I've taken the interpretation that they were more closely related to the Semetic pagan figures, with Greek names attached. It was pretty common practice back then to just rename your Gods after the popular ones, assuming that they are mostly the same figures. Some info can be dug up on them on these pages; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenician_mythology#The_history_of_the_gods & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Carthage are good starts if anyone is interested in playing an ally in Hannibal's quest for vengeance.

edited 21st Apr '14 11:04:56 AM by Fauxlosophe

But I'd be open for that. If more people feel like joining in that, I could integrate it into the plot a lot deeper too.

Name: Caratacos Ogmii

Parent: Son of Ogmios, it is little mystery how such union came about; Ogmios represented to the Celts the ultimate power, pursuasion. The silver tongued God won the favour of the leader of a small Segovellauni dunon, King Brennos. Ogmios in disguise, with the appearance of an old man proposed a contest after enticing the him with a neckband; a contest of strength. He promised the neckband in defeat but demanded a night with the wife of Brennos, Genoefa as reward for victory. Seeing the age of the man and the value of the band, Brennos readily agreed.

The contest invovled lifting the rock which his opponent touched. Brennos was defeated but chose a great rock for his opponent to lift. The Old man, merely chipped off here his opponent touched and lifted it himself.

Unsatifised and humiliated, the Brennos granted his request but demanded a rematch on the same terms. In this way, Brennos lost twice more and Genoefa soon found herself with the child of a God.

Many more mischieves were played on Brennos for his arrogance thereafter and only by the favour of Druids did he preserve his house and tribe. The same Druids told him that the son he had begotten would do great things for the Tribe if he was raised to be loyal and so he ought to be named Caratacos; Friend of the House.

Caratacos then was sent into the foster care of the King of the Segovellauni a hostage where he learnt the art of war and became greatly skilled as a tactician. He prefered the measured tactics of ambush and was wary of the battle fury which over took his comrades. Yet, he proved his strength a great many times and showed much skill in war.

As he came to Bibaractes as an envoy to be recognized as a warrior, he encountered his true father whom he had not been told of. Knowing only the legends, he recoiled in fear, worried that he might be led to the underworld. Instead, his father stood before him and said;

"As you are a warrior now, I may greet you as my son. Yet, you are not without oaths that bind you to mortal men. You shall bind as you are bound and shall lead the people of your mother and all the Keltoi to glory or to the otherworld. Fulfill your fate and I shall meet you in the otherworld to greet you in glory or console you in defeat, free of the binds you bore in life. So do I leave you to your fate and give you this two fold binding."

He handed to him then the very ring which his father had contested, inscribed on it in Latin letters was "Basca Carataci Bascas": The Bind of Caratacos who Binds.

With that, Ogmios departed with the dead behind him.

Calling: Caratacos is born to minor nobility among the Keltoi, but his position as a child of Omgios is known amongst the Druids, Kings and Vergobret. This has openned opportunities otherwise unavailable. These are ones which he hopes to make use of; both to drive back their Roman overlords in the South and to rise to a position strong enough to oppose the tribes in the North.

Hannibal's arrival promised exactly that. Caratacos was fascinated to discover the man who dared oppose Rome and was quick to join his tribe in promising him service. Hannibal's quest for revenge is something of deep interest to Caratacos who has inwardly resolved to follow him to victory or death, that he might achieve his own fate and return in glory to his people.

Appearance: Naturally, Caratacos has fair, curly hair but as he is on campaign, he has it bleached a near white and spiked on end with lime as is traditional. Clear blue eyes but weathered, dark skin, mark him as a youth who has dedicated himself to hard struggle and showing some signs of age before his time. He wears some simple mail over his chest, a luxury afforded to his rank and bears a long shield. Beneath his, he wears the pants and tunic which constitute common Gaulish attire. At all times he wears the heavy golden torc which he believes binds him to his fate and represents the divine protection of his father to carry this fate forth. What really marks him unique is that he opted to pierce his tongue; a practice almost unknown amongst the Keltoi but attributed to his father.

Personality: Caratacos is an ambitious youth; something of a prodigy, he inhereted his father's silver tongue. Bound to fits of arrogance in his youth, he found his attempts rebuffed and himself humbled. Throughout this, his importance was put to him that he is now constantly aware of the weight of the future on his shoulders and holds, perhaps more than he should, responsibility for the fate of his tribesmen. This ability to manipulate and control and his doubled edged potential has made him cautious and pensive, but with a measured hatred and ambitious that allows him to seize advantage as it comes quickly and rarely foresake it.

Hamartia: Caratacos is a bound man; he has inhereted the chains of his father but soon came to realize that he is as often bound to others as they are to him. For this reason, he is bound to his ties in the Mortal realm and loyalty to the Segovellauni that even Ogmios may not break. Should he prove himself worthy in this life, he hopes to meet his father in death and in liberty. But until then he is bound, as to break an oath would sundered his ties to the divine as well. The Torc as well, which was a gift of his father, he fears may be tied to this powers in a similar fashion. He is not certain but he dares not risk it. Finally, he has an abiding fear that his gains were not earned and his followers are not his, but obey a tongue marked with powers beyond even his own reconning; this feeling of usurping and insecurity are ever present in the back of his mind driving him both to prove himself and to fear battle for the loss of those who follow after him.

Powers: Caratacos has inhereted enough divinity that he is in peak condition in most respects; healthy, strong, agile and intelligent. In each individual regard, he may find his match in the moral realm but to hold them together marks in some regard his parentage. Yet of particular note amongst these marks is his silver tongue which he has taken from his father; he has always held a rhetorical skill and charisma rivaled by few, if any in the mortal realm. However, the name he inhereted from his divine father, "Barcas" marks his true inherentance. Those who speak to Caratacos are bound to their words, those who make their vows are bound to carry them out until they succeed or fall in the attempt. Thus, those who speak to him, often find him in the same divine chains behind him as many are lead by his father. Another ability which he has gained from his father is to bind curses, yet he may not do so lightly; he may bind those cruel to meet the same fate only on seeing their action. These curses however he has found are unruly; the conditions to match the curse may never line up or take many life times and often take the form of strange prophetic twists.

Abilities: Caratacos is a skilled tactician, guide and soldier. He is somewhat versed in bardic lore and knows a great deal of the customs of the o'vateis and heeding the advice of the Druids, he has learnt as well some of the customs of the Greeks and Latins and their languages. It is in Greek that he initially communicated with their Carthaginian guests, though he has begun to take up their language.

Equipment: Chainmail, Longshield, Javelins, a Short Sword, the Bind of Ogmios. Further provisions are brought by the warband.

Additional Notes on the writing;

• Dunon is a hillfort or individual settlement.
• Segovellauni are a tribe who joined Hannibal's cause.
• The Ogmios' legend written is a wholesale invention but reflects elements several later Celtic legends, including the elements of Cuckoldry [especially common in Arthurian Mythos] along with the three fold challenge. "Later mischieves" implied above would perhaps reflect the courtship of Tristan and Iseult as the Silver Tongued God could lead to a lot of dissention. I've opted not to write more for the sake of brevity.
• Bibractes was a major city and disputably the capital of Gaul, to my knowledge. Though this is based around 50BC, at this point, Lugodunon might still be contendor for this.
• Vergobret is a sort of Executive Celtic Over-king who ruled several tribes, however in many ways it is comparable with Roman senators as they had nobles and druids to regulate their power, fixed terms and were forbidden to leave the boundries of their territory in order to keep them from seizing control.
• Foster children were common among the Gauls [and to a lesser extent later Celts] to the point where Caesar claimed Gaulish parents were ashamed to be seen with their biological child until they have become warriors.
• I started using Keltoi here which was an alternative term for the Gaulish people, one slightly more contemporary to the time.
• Tynged and geis are modern celtic terms. I couldn't find the Gaulish term, but it's essentially a conditional fate or curse; "If you eat Dog meat, you shall die" or even "Every Ulsterman shall feel the pains of labour in their hour of need". It wasn't something thrown around lightly; some granted powers while others were punishments and curses brought about either in extreme jealousy or as revenge.
• Druids had several ranks, o'vateis were mid-ranked and described as "natural philosophers" who performed auguries. Compared with low-ranked Bards who recounted tales and myths and high-ranked Druids who dabbled in moral philosophy to provide regulation and intermediation between individuals and the tribes as well as before the Gods. Ollave would be modern Irish.

edited 25th Apr '14 11:39:20 PM by Fauxlosophe

Would my interest be....welcome?

edited 21st Apr '14 6:47:19 PM by NickTheSwing

Make a character and I'll look at it, same as everyone else.

I will have a gander at the character as soon as I am near a computer. Thanks for applying.

• Name: Vulpes Hyacintho
• Parent: Discordia
• Calling: Con Artist.
• Backstory: Born a slave of Lucius Julius Caesar by the name of Caesaris to a former Roman criminal, Vulpes was raised to be a teacher in math, reading, and writing. However, when he hit 20, he was visited by his mother in his dream. She whispered to him the story of his conception, of how she had fallen for his mother for her tenacity and trickery. How she had taken the form of a man to seduce his mother and have her bear a child. His mother had been caught shortly after that fateful night Discordia had spent with her, and, though Discordia had offered several times to help her escape, she refused every time because she did not wish to leave behind or go on the run with her son when he was young, and she had died when he was five. However, Discordia told him that he didn't need her to escape. He was her son, so he had power beyond what any could imagine. Gently, she showed him how to access his powers and taught him how to lie, cheat, and steal. She continued her lessons every night for the next three months. Finally, he was ready, and he used his powers to make himself disappear, then walk right out. He cleaned up, stole clothes, and created a new name for himself. With his new identity, he began his new life in Rome, conning and stealing from people. On the street, he learned to harness his powers and skill for his own self-gain. Now he was ready to use his powers and skills to become a major player and sow discord and chaos in the world.
• Appearance: Vulpes is tall and thin with long, slicked back black hair. He is very attractive and has a charming smile. A bit like this◊, but dressed differently. He usually wears whatever is most appropriate for where he is.
• Personality: Vulpes is cocky and self-assured. He thrives in chaos and loves thinking on his feet. He is a bit of a compulsive liar and thief. What he wants more than anything is to be able to live freely in a chaotic world. As such, he does what he can to promote his status and wealth and to tear down any institution that promotes order or rigidity. He loves the criminal underworld and hates any group trying to suppress it.
• Hamartia: Hubris. Vulpes thinks the world of himself and believes that he is much, much, much more skilled than he is.
• Powers: Vulpes doesn't have enhanced strength or anything crude like that. He's more refined than that. Instead, he can create illusions with the flick of his wrist as well as change his appearance, though only his appearance. He does have greater durability in case his lies, tricks, and illusions fail him. He has supernaturally quicker reflexes than most.
• Abilities: Vulpes has a silver tongue, being able to lie on his feet as easy as breathing and convince people of absurd things. He is smooth and charming and can get people wrapped around his finger easily. He knows how to read and write and is very good with numbers.
• Equipment: Vulpes keeps with him a small knife and quite a bit of money. Other than that, he normally takes stuff from his environment and uses the stuff he got to do whatever he has to do.

edited 22nd Apr '14 10:56:14 AM by deathpigeon

All three characters so far are accepted. Updating the intro post to reflect this.

• Name: Antonius Sciphius

• Parent: Summanus

• Calling: Soldierly disciplines and leadership, though right now he's at the medium area on the totem pole of Roman command. He dreams of one day leading the forces of the Republic.

• Appearance: Antonius is a tall, bronze-tanned, muscular young man who stands at 6 foot 2 inches, weighing in at 215 pounds. He has slightly wavy dark hair, earnest blue eyes, and an appearance and stance that reflects strongly on his Roman upbringing. When in Rome, he wears the classically identified Roman period outfit, and in the field, he wears a black and white set of armor, alternating at certain spots. The helmet shows his face, though there is a visor on there, and it has a pair of thin, upward facing horns. The armor has a grey cape that trails behind him; this armor apparently has been given to him by his father. Although muscular, in recent years he worries that he's put on weight - although his stomach is slightly paunch-like, mostly, its just his imagination.

• Personality: Antonius is the type of man that leads from the front, detesting the idea of standing back and commanding from the safety of a tent. He seems to think of himself as someone who could've just been another of the men. He scorns the idea that as a commander he should be flashy and lord his supremacy over those under his command. However, despite his honorable and forthright appearances, its evident he's surprisingly good at manipulation and other, darker aspects of leadership, in a reference to his father's nature as a darker figure of divinity. He deems it his duty to strike down those who would threaten or harm his close friends and troops, using any means necessary to guarantee the lives and well being of those close to him. Even though he seems to think he is not his father, its pretty evident he is his father's son regardless. Indeed, it seems his greatest drive and motivation is to prove that he is a forthright, good figure in Rome who will do whatever it takes to keep the Republic safe. Antonius, when off the field, is a bit of a party-goer, and he enjoys delights and pursuits of pleasure. He enjoys flirting with young women and young men just as well. His greatest fear, though, is that he falls too far in the direction of darker things deemed necessary, avoiding such is not made any easier by his tendency to turn slightly paranoid under pressure. However, he is also the type that prefers to try to solve things martially and tying into his juxtaposed nature, he likes to solve his fights honorably, and try not to use his powers unless his foe has them too.

• Hamartia: His greatest weakness lays in his excessive devotion to his men in his personal forces; those personally loyal to him. In his zeal to ensure the safety of those aligned to him, he can create a great deal of his own problems.

• Powers: His power, granted to him by his father Summanus, is "nocturnal thunder", a power related to the uncanny and awe-inspiring nature of Summanus. This power results in his ability to use both the "crack of thunder" (its sonic boom), and the electric force of lightning...though his is slightly darker than normal lightning.

• Abilities: Over the course of his life, Antonius has learned sword play, how to shoot a bow (accurately I might add), and leadership skills.

• Equipment: Aside from his armor, granted to him by his father, he also carries a long steel sword with him. The hand portions of his armor are actually a customized Cestus, a portion made of leather that covers his hands and fingers, and blades that simply look like ornamental pieces on the fingers. This results in a rather deadly claw-like weapon. He also has a small bow on his person and a number of arrows.

edited 24th Apr '14 10:10:28 AM by NickTheSwing

A couple of things I noticed off the top of my head, just before I go to bed:

1) Even for a demigod, leading from the front was really dangerous in a pre-Marian reforms Roman society. The front line was, basically, fodder for skirmishers, shock cavalry charges and enemy heavy infantry. It's not necessarily something I object to as much it's something to keep in mind.

2) I'm not really clear on his Hamartia, and it seems like it's more of an external flaw than it is an internal - about how others perceive him rather than about a personal flaw that is his own, so to speak.

1) Hm, I gotta consider that and have the character be careful.

2) His Hamartia is essentially his self-aware hypocrisy - in scenarios wherein his two natures clash, he can be immobilized between being the good guy and being the pragmatic guy.

The one thing I am unsure of with this is whether the demigods being citizens was mandatory. If it is, say so and I will change it.

Name: Felix (A nickname by those who know him, he has no given name)
Parent: Bacchus/Dionysus
Calling: Thief/Vagabond
Appearance: A young, short, androgynous man. He appears very thin and small in stature, almost like a young teen. His facial features are also youthful, without any trace of a beard or other signs of age. His light-brown hair is somewhat long, a bit longer than ear-length. He has small faun-like horns on his head that are usually concealed beneath his hood, as well as a small tail, which is also hidden. He wears light leather armor for protection, a blue tunic and a hooded cloak. His eyes are a wild shade of green that seems almost luminescent. He is somewhat unclean-looking, with a lot of dirt on his face and hands.
Personality: Having been born in the wilderness near Rome with no knowledge of his mother's identity, Felix has little understanding of Roman society. He, on occasion, made forays into civilized life out of curiosity, but has never stayed for long in any city. Because of this, he has an alien view of life, and has a strong connection to nature and base instinct. He slips into various towns, causing great festivals among the residents who never know why, finding many lovers who he would never return to and generally causing great chaos, mere days after which he leaves, usually taking a few items, of worth or not, with him. He has little care for the traditions of the more civilized peoples and their rigid way of living.
Hamartia: A general detachment from reality and a focus on living life entirely for enjoyment rather than for any reason. Hedonism taken to absurd levels.
Powers: Seduction, Inducing states of drunken madness among others and himself. Inducing festivals, feasts, parties, etc. Increasing merriment and pleasure in himself and others. Increasing the potency of wine and alcohol. Causing any drink to become alcoholic. These things are somewhat less effective on demigods, of course. The inhuman parts of his appearance are also a result of his divine heritage, given as a result of his father's associations. He is still somewhat stronger than he looks as a demigod, but as far as demigods go, he is quite weak and must avoid fighting physically when possible.
Abilities: Lockpicking, stealth, Pickpocketing, Knife-fighting, general guile. Besides these things, he is used to living in the wild and knows much about it. He knows how to survive and navigate wilderness, and of animals and other dangers of such areas.
Equipment: Leather Armor, two knives (One hidden, and one even more hidden), a flask of wine, Five throwing knives.

Since 3of 4 mentioned how well known their character is... Felix is mostly not, except among some lovers that still remember him from their revels and in obscure rumors.

I don't really see Felix as caring much for either side, though he is mostly active in Rome at the beginning and could be convinced to join with them if he thought it would be interesting, though he still wouldn't be the most loyal person ever.

edited 24th Apr '14 10:57:19 AM by ImperialSunlight

Demigods aren't automatically citizens, but being known by the Senate (as in being identified as a demigod) means a promotion to the citizenry with certain caveats such as being barred from certain political offices.

Being discovered also usually means being drafted into the Twelfth Legion if a demigod shows special instincts for war.

I'm still not sure. It doesn't seem like a flaw in the Greek sense, like Creon's overwhelming belief in the law or Odysseus' hubris.

edited 22nd Apr '14 11:31:09 PM by math792d

My understanding of Sophocles there was more that Creon was just an unfortunate guy with barely legitimate power who was afraid of what would happen if a teenaged girl managed to openly defy him. Especially the teenaged daughter of the deceased King. Antigone was more the protagonist with the fatal flaw of honor and family over law, but I suppose that's disputable since he's supposed to be the one learning the lesson. Sophocles kind of made both parties rather believable and played down rather than obcession induced doom really.

That said, I think that being shown as a hypocrite is something that would get a lot of people to hesistate, rather than a unique and fatal flaws. Only times I've seen that sort of thing work is when the contradiction actually leads to suicide which would be a little extreme for "I'm not as good as I figure myself to be".

I think the best way it Hamartia might be phrased is obcession; Xiphia is obcessed with battle, Vulpes is obcessed with himself. Both of those work pretty well. I went for a less Greek angle by putting a magic reason for doing so, but still because of that my character is absolutely compelled to bring about everything he commits to even casually.

I'd kind of like to see more in the style of Achille's heel as well backing them up; I'm playing a rhetorical guile hero with two ways to break his powers, possibly permenantly [though admittedly no overwhelming flaw] and I'm worried how one would compete with someone who can induce hallucinations or shoot lightning; maybe a way to break hallucinations or defend/prevent from lightning [that isn't anarchronistic] would be interesting.

A last note that might be thrown onto the Google Doc is that we can assume that Gods are highly fit; everyone sort of mentions it just to be safe but Xiphia is the only one who's actually superstrong. It seems like "Peak physical condition by mortal standards" should be assumed unless otherwise noted.

edited 22nd Apr '14 11:51:41 PM by Fauxlosophe

Well, I'm not opposed to magical equipment, and for characters on the battlefield that's kind of my default assumption.

On the note of Creon, and I wish I wasn't typing on my phone, part of Creon's flaw (as some have read it) is that he ignores divine law (like giving your relatives a decent burial) in favor of his own edicts. Though that doesn't diminish Antigone' rebellious streak in the scheme of Creon's tragedy.

I was thinking more just a clear outline and limitations on some innate powers; I'm already thinking about how to meet some of them in combat and the ability to induce illusions could be ridiculously strong depending on how convincing they are, how hard to snap out of and how far from reality they drift for example.

My interpretation of the Torc is more that the powers are innate to Caratacos, but the Torc is an outward symbol of obligations that allow him to bind others the same.

That's an interesting angle on Creon and I see where you're coming from but I'm not going to clog the board too much with that but I'd definitely be up to debate it over PM if you'd be interested.

Maybe. It's been, like, an age since I last read Antigone, my argumentation is probably rusty as hell.

BACK TO ZE GAME: The way I basically see it is that demigods are sort of on an even player field a significant number of notches above the common man, which is why everyone in the Ancient world is really glad that usually being a demigod means all the world's nasties also really want a piece of your hide. So they're less governed by a balance of arms between the various pantheons as balanced by the fact that they seldom get to be very old. Especially since their hamartia is usually at the core of their being no matter who they are.

And yeah, a slightly more clear handle on powers seems like it might be a good thing. Usually I tend to wait with that until the game actually gets started so there's kind of a way to "feel out" how it works within the game, but maybe it's worth trying to nip any potential problems in the bud a little earlier on.

edited 23rd Apr '14 12:15:42 AM by math792d

It's been two years for me, I actually forgot Antigone's name. On the other hand, I had it for a philosophy class so the arguments and political elements are still buried in there.

A balance of arms note is interesting. Honestly, I imagine the biggest threat to Demigods are their Aunts and Uncles. Hera probably murdered more Demigods than the Titans could dream of. More overt and direct powers being bigger threats for internal politics and monsters while God might over look the more subtle powers which mostly mettle with mortals seems sort of like an interesting angle for balance.

Well, Hera mellowed out a lot when she stopped being Hera and started being Juno. The Romans, in assimilating the Greek gods, changed their nature and dynamic to better fit their worldview. Which is also why they downplayed Athena's association with war and technology in favor of giving all of that to Mars, who sort of became *the* war god as opposed to before where he had to share the stage with Athena and was more a god of physical war where Athena ruled strategy.

Interested, but not sure which character to make or even which faction to join... Still, have to figure it out.

Go for Carthage!

My understanding of Ares was sort of the Captain Hammer/Miles Gloriosus of the Greeks. I've always loved the idea that he stumbled into Rome drunk one day and was pleasant surprised when everyone totally believed him.

That said, the Roman Gods were definitely a lot more co-operative than the Greeks, if I recall, Cronus even got recast as Saturn who was a largely benevolant guy. Still internal Pantheon rivalry could still count for at least a few demigod based fatailities, I suspect.

Also, yes Carthage.

edited 23rd Apr '14 1:20:32 AM by Fauxlosophe