Krinkov23
I should be working...
Lore and rp mechanics discussion here!
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Fantasy The Garden of the Gods - OOC and Lore
- Thread starter Krinkov23
- Start date
Lore Part 1
Krinkov23
I should be working...
LORE
LOCATIONS
Appolonia
“…but Appolonia is the most celebrated of them all. It has had numerous names since the time of Alexander, when it was thought to be a remnant of Atlantis and called as such by the explorer Tigranus. There formerly existed some commentaries written by the Carthaginian general Hanno of an exploration of the sea coast of Appolonia, though the parts available to Greek and Roman writers who have followed him reveal nothing new. The names of many of its peoples, and their strongholds in especial, cannot be pronounced with correctness, except by the aid of their own native tongues.”
First discovered by Phoenician explorers circa 800 BC, and subsequently colonised by migrants from Carthage in 310 BC, the island was quickly deemed to be of commercial value when trade with the native peoples yielded precious metals, exotic foodstuffs and materials. The port of Gadira was established in 300 BC, and served as the main arrival point for explorers and merchants visiting the island.
The defeat and later destruction of Carthage in the Punic Wars triggered the abandonment of Gadira in 139 BC, though subsequent histories argue that the true cause was an ongoing war with native tribes in the area. The island was largely ignored by the major powers until the reign of Emperor Tiberius, who sent several exploration fleets to Appolonia between 18-20 AD. Finally, in 22 AD, a small invasion force landed a hundred miles south of Gadira to establish a permanent base on the island, which was later named Bomarzium.
Following a series of territorial wars with the native tribes in the region, Emperor Nero sent a force of Praetorian Guards under the then Prefect, Septimus Licinius Crassus, to defeat the tribes and expand Roman control north to the ruins of Gadira. Arriving in 55 AD, the expedition succeeded in crushing local resistance and securing the alliance of the Peytoia tribe whose land bordered Roman territory. However, the entire force was later lost, presumably defeated by an unknown native army, during a mysterious incident near the Ochre River in 58 AD. This loss greatly curbed Roman expansionism on the island, and to date very few military operations have been conducted far from the walls of the city.
Bomarzium
Established in 22 AD as a legion fortress, then later expanded early during the reign of Emperor Nero, Bomarzium is a small walled city built at the mouth of a natural harbor. Between five and six thousand people live in the city, largely in houses and high-rise buildings clustered near the port. Quintus Metellas Pius is the current Governor, a long-time appointee of Emperor Nero who took over in 55 AD.
The defences of the city are extensive, ranging from a sizeable stone wall around the city gates to a network of unmanned walls and trenches beyond that are designed to dissuade attacks by wildlife. Further north, several small farming villages are dotted throughout the forest, serving as Bomarzium’s main source of food. A single stone road, the via Nero, runs from the city gates to Fort Magnis, twenty miles south of the Ochre River.
Though Bomarzium once hosted a legion, Legio II Augusta (22-43 AD), events in Roman Britain necessitated their withdrawal, and in their place a sizeable militia force was raised to defend the city. Currently headed by Alexander Metellas Pius, the son of the Governor, they number a little over five hundred men.
FACTIONS
Legio XVI Flavia Firma
Formed from the remnants of Legio XVI Gallica, which had disgraced itself by surrendering during the Revolt of the Batavi (69-70 AD), the “Steadfast Flavian Sixteenth” consists of 5,100 troops and an additional thousand support staff. As a punishment for their participation in the revolt, the legion is primarily composed of ethnic Batavi, and their posting to Appolonia could be considered a form of exile. The legion is commanded by Emperor Vespasian’s new appointee for Governor, Gaius Proculus, with Titus Licinius Crassus as his tribune laticlavius (broad-band tribune). Though their loyalty to Rome may be questionable, the fighting skills of the Batavi are rightly feared, as is their mastery of amphibious warfare.
Legio I Misenum
Though not officially a legion, this formation of 3,500 elite soldiers and sailors drawn from the Praetorian Fleet was given an honorary title by Emperor Nero when dispatched to Appolonia in 55 AD. Commanded by Septimus Licinius Crassus, a close personal friend of the Emperor, the force was the largest to set foot on the island since the days of Carthage, and quickly proved superior to the armies of the native tribes in the Bomarzium area. However, during an extended season of campaigning near the Ochre River in 58 AD, Legio I Misenum disappeared.
The Serpent Cult (Arimanic Cult)
Highly popular amongst Roman soldiers, the Mithraic Cult has spread far beyond Persia in the last century. Though little is known of the religion itself by outsiders, the strong bonds of brotherhood and sacrifice mirror those found in military units and thus engender fanatical devotion amongst its followers. Meeting in secret underground caves that echo the natural and primitive figure of Mithras the “bull slayer”, devotees take part in elaborate rituals that involve animal sacrifice, tests of faith and lavish feasts. The first Mithraic temples were likely cellars beneath the barracks of Legio II Augusta in the early days of Bomarzium, but today many larger ones are known to exist. A common figure in Mithraic teachings is the Arimanus, a mysterious lion with a serpent’s tongue that is said to embody the most dedicated followers of the cult.
Yet unlike the societies found throughout the rest of the Empire, the Mithraic Cult found beneath Bomarzium is animated by a hostile and extreme version of this secretive religion. Followers are said to mutilate their tongues to resemble the Arimanus, and dinosaurs have replaced bulls as the central figures of their pantheon. Cult members no longer hide in the shadows, and the colony has become gripped with a paralysing fear of what may lie beneath their feet…
LOCATIONS
Appolonia
“…but Appolonia is the most celebrated of them all. It has had numerous names since the time of Alexander, when it was thought to be a remnant of Atlantis and called as such by the explorer Tigranus. There formerly existed some commentaries written by the Carthaginian general Hanno of an exploration of the sea coast of Appolonia, though the parts available to Greek and Roman writers who have followed him reveal nothing new. The names of many of its peoples, and their strongholds in especial, cannot be pronounced with correctness, except by the aid of their own native tongues.”
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History
First discovered by Phoenician explorers circa 800 BC, and subsequently colonised by migrants from Carthage in 310 BC, the island was quickly deemed to be of commercial value when trade with the native peoples yielded precious metals, exotic foodstuffs and materials. The port of Gadira was established in 300 BC, and served as the main arrival point for explorers and merchants visiting the island.
The defeat and later destruction of Carthage in the Punic Wars triggered the abandonment of Gadira in 139 BC, though subsequent histories argue that the true cause was an ongoing war with native tribes in the area. The island was largely ignored by the major powers until the reign of Emperor Tiberius, who sent several exploration fleets to Appolonia between 18-20 AD. Finally, in 22 AD, a small invasion force landed a hundred miles south of Gadira to establish a permanent base on the island, which was later named Bomarzium.
Following a series of territorial wars with the native tribes in the region, Emperor Nero sent a force of Praetorian Guards under the then Prefect, Septimus Licinius Crassus, to defeat the tribes and expand Roman control north to the ruins of Gadira. Arriving in 55 AD, the expedition succeeded in crushing local resistance and securing the alliance of the Peytoia tribe whose land bordered Roman territory. However, the entire force was later lost, presumably defeated by an unknown native army, during a mysterious incident near the Ochre River in 58 AD. This loss greatly curbed Roman expansionism on the island, and to date very few military operations have been conducted far from the walls of the city.
Bomarzium
Established in 22 AD as a legion fortress, then later expanded early during the reign of Emperor Nero, Bomarzium is a small walled city built at the mouth of a natural harbor. Between five and six thousand people live in the city, largely in houses and high-rise buildings clustered near the port. Quintus Metellas Pius is the current Governor, a long-time appointee of Emperor Nero who took over in 55 AD.
The defences of the city are extensive, ranging from a sizeable stone wall around the city gates to a network of unmanned walls and trenches beyond that are designed to dissuade attacks by wildlife. Further north, several small farming villages are dotted throughout the forest, serving as Bomarzium’s main source of food. A single stone road, the via Nero, runs from the city gates to Fort Magnis, twenty miles south of the Ochre River.
Though Bomarzium once hosted a legion, Legio II Augusta (22-43 AD), events in Roman Britain necessitated their withdrawal, and in their place a sizeable militia force was raised to defend the city. Currently headed by Alexander Metellas Pius, the son of the Governor, they number a little over five hundred men.
FACTIONS
Legio XVI Flavia Firma
Formed from the remnants of Legio XVI Gallica, which had disgraced itself by surrendering during the Revolt of the Batavi (69-70 AD), the “Steadfast Flavian Sixteenth” consists of 5,100 troops and an additional thousand support staff. As a punishment for their participation in the revolt, the legion is primarily composed of ethnic Batavi, and their posting to Appolonia could be considered a form of exile. The legion is commanded by Emperor Vespasian’s new appointee for Governor, Gaius Proculus, with Titus Licinius Crassus as his tribune laticlavius (broad-band tribune). Though their loyalty to Rome may be questionable, the fighting skills of the Batavi are rightly feared, as is their mastery of amphibious warfare.
Legio I Misenum
Though not officially a legion, this formation of 3,500 elite soldiers and sailors drawn from the Praetorian Fleet was given an honorary title by Emperor Nero when dispatched to Appolonia in 55 AD. Commanded by Septimus Licinius Crassus, a close personal friend of the Emperor, the force was the largest to set foot on the island since the days of Carthage, and quickly proved superior to the armies of the native tribes in the Bomarzium area. However, during an extended season of campaigning near the Ochre River in 58 AD, Legio I Misenum disappeared.
The Serpent Cult (Arimanic Cult)
Highly popular amongst Roman soldiers, the Mithraic Cult has spread far beyond Persia in the last century. Though little is known of the religion itself by outsiders, the strong bonds of brotherhood and sacrifice mirror those found in military units and thus engender fanatical devotion amongst its followers. Meeting in secret underground caves that echo the natural and primitive figure of Mithras the “bull slayer”, devotees take part in elaborate rituals that involve animal sacrifice, tests of faith and lavish feasts. The first Mithraic temples were likely cellars beneath the barracks of Legio II Augusta in the early days of Bomarzium, but today many larger ones are known to exist. A common figure in Mithraic teachings is the Arimanus, a mysterious lion with a serpent’s tongue that is said to embody the most dedicated followers of the cult.
Yet unlike the societies found throughout the rest of the Empire, the Mithraic Cult found beneath Bomarzium is animated by a hostile and extreme version of this secretive religion. Followers are said to mutilate their tongues to resemble the Arimanus, and dinosaurs have replaced bulls as the central figures of their pantheon. Cult members no longer hide in the shadows, and the colony has become gripped with a paralysing fear of what may lie beneath their feet…
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Worthlessplebian
Worthless pleb
So how are we starting off the rp, are we going to be on a boat that just arrived or?
Krinkov23
I should be working...
Yeah that was the general idea, we'd start off at the docks and let people explore the colony, meet some important characters, get to know more about the lore etc. There is a plot but it won't start right away.
Worthlessplebian
Worthless pleb
Ofc, ofc, get people acquainted first then start digging
Worthlessplebian
Worthless pleb
Great,sounds like a plan.Exactly! Your character needs at least one gladiator fight before things kick off, and I thinkPilgrim59 could have a meeting with some Parthians
Pilgrim59
👑 Exalted Monarch 👑
Aerilia: scrutinizing vigiles urbani from a window while conducting business talk with local keffiyeh faces like insurgents.
Longinus: Rip and tear!
(insert metal music with Latin vocals here)
Longinus: Rip and tear!
(insert metal music with Latin vocals here)
