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The
Elections :
A
player will try in priority to get extra political influence
through success in various achievements, such as:
-
the annual elections, held on the Campus Martius (accesed
in any game mode by clicking on a specific button), for the
6 different and major magistrate posts that the Republic offers
(2 Consuls, 2 praetors and 2 Censors), a process handled as
close as possible to what we know of Rome's public life in
those times (NB : faithful reproduction of all major constitutional
principles in ancient Rome, in particular from the books and
writings of Cicero or Mommsen).
-
also, during the annual elections, another button offers the
ossibility to win popular appeal or bribe heavily during the
tribunician elections (10 tribunes of the plebs, elected for
a year each), the assistance of whose you can marshal during
the votes in the Senate (one of the roles granted to them
by the Roman constitution, i.e. veto power and the ability
to enact new laws).
For
elections results calculation, players popularity is the major
element of success, but players can also sustain their candidates
through various means, such as bribing electors, threats to
other candidates or free bread distributions.
" Cursus Honorum "
:
But
to succeed during the elections, you also need to well manage
your ''Cursus Honorum'',
i.e. your political career.
Indeed, Rome's constitution only allowed running for some
jobs after the candidate has reached a certain age (39 for Consul)
and
also had successfully run for minor jobs before.
It also forbid a Senator to run twice for consulship in succeeding
years.
Therefore, clever players will need to have a wide "range" of
available
candidates in order to keep a sort of permanent influence in
the highest
political spheres. Of courses, laws and events will, over time,
allow for some constitutional changes that may ease your way,
but also that of your opponents.
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Forum
:
One
major aim for players is increase the size and the power of
its political faction, in particular through:
-
recruitment of new Senators (60 in all in the game, visually
original and different, representing the family heads of
noble patricians that constitute the 300-members roman Senate),
as they provide the votes you need to pass your program
through the Senate.
- in
the Baths, it will be possible to meet opposing or neutral
Senators, in order to recruit them, bribe them, blackmail
them or a wealth of other options, in particular through
clever use of stratagems.
Within
the Baths, the key factors are the political influence of
the player's faction leader, and its oratory skills.
But good use of tricks such as marriage, corruption, blackmail,
assassination, political alliances and a other stratagems
is often
the last nail in your opponent's coffin.
You can also pay debts on behalf of other Senators, making
them
more willing to listen to your recruitment speeches.
Popularity
A
player must also keep a permanent attention to his popularity,
i.e. how he is perceived by the people of Rome, whether well
or bad. Indeed, without a good one, it is close to impossible
to be elected, unless your are rich enough to bribe and buy
everybody.
Panem
et Circenses : the good way to get the favors of the people
of Rome is with bread and games. Bread distributions can be
done directly in the elections or through political action
in the Senate, but all games are handled in the Taverna, where
players will meet:
-
The Aurige, to plannify charriot races, some of the most
popular (and costly) shows in Rome,
-
The Mirmillon, representing the various famous Gladiator
fights organizers,
-
The Actor, who will write and play for you a panegyric play
(boasting your glory), or whom you can command to start
a satyrical play to ridicule your opponents.
Side note on popularity: the people of Rome is hungry
after military glory and prowess, so knowing when to lead
(or avoid) a lucrative (or potentially disastrous) war can
be
full of rewards (or dangers)
Finance
But most political action requires money, so players will
have to carefully build up their economic and financial means,
such as through the purchase of various infrastructures (mines,
farms, manufactures) and trade.
But
Rome's constitution does not allow its Senators to undertake
business ventures, so you will do as they did, recruit clients
that will undertake the job for you. This action takes place
in the Basilica:
-
there, you on build up your clientele of businessmen (900
visually different characters, representing the ''Equites'',
or knights, that is the business people and merchants of
ancient Rome),
-
It will often be necessary also to take up loans, as political
life is expensive. This action will take place in the Bank.
If the player is rich enough, he can also grant loans directly
to other factions as well.
Religion
The Romans, a very superstitious people, brought great attention
to religious matters. In the game, this aspect is summarized
through the player's access in the Temple of Vesta, where:
-
the player may contact one or more of the 9 Auguries (priests)
that may be in the Temple, and then propose offerings to
the different Gods they represent: in case of success, a
new stratagem may be received in addition to extra religious
fervor, useful also for omens.
-
asking omens to the Pontifex Maximus, the great priest.
The more influence you have, the more good omens you are
likely to obtain
(or even bad omens to inflict on your opponents).
Omens come into play under the form of extra stratagems
that you receive upon your visit and action in the Temple.
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Justice
and Laws :
The Roman Republic had a precise and rigorous constitution,
and Romans were quite keen on asking justice for a wide range
of matters. In the game, the judiciary aspect is dealt with
as follows:
1
- In the Tribunal building, the player that controls one
of the Censors may:
-
Launch inquiries to find out reprehensible acts and then start
a legal procedure,
-
which procedure will have for effect to bring potential culprit
to court at some later date within the year.
-
Promulgate exceptional laws and proscriptions against businessmen,
thus indirectly reducing the financial power of his opponents
-
and of course play all sorts of relevant stratagems,
- Note
: this section will not be displayed in current game version,
although it does work behind the scenes.
2
- During Trials, players may:
-
Act as Attorney General and try to have potential culprits
condemned,
-
or be Defense Counsel, especially useful when trying to have
his own party members freed or acquitted
-
Corruption of Jury members and use of the lawyer's popularity,
as well as various stratagems, will come handy once more.
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The
Senate
When a player owns one (at least) of the Consuls,
he is in a position to bear on Rome's general policy. Of course,
not holding those important jobs will limit the player's powers,
although Tribunes of the Plebs, if owned, may help in allowing
political proposals to be made anyway, or counteracting the
Consuls' ones.
Creating
a Political Agenda
-
Upon entering the Senate building, the Consul(s) must first
elaborate his political agenda for the current year, which
he will then submit to the assembly's vote. This is done in
the Consul's office, where a very large array of choices,
options and actions is offered, such as:
-
Raise or disband military forces of the Republic (legions)
-
Select nomination process for the governors of Roman
provinces
-
Diplomacy : alliances, war, peace, international relations,
embassies, various requests and treaties (30 options)
-
Rome's budget management, tax levels, gold minting ,
etc…
-
SPQR : votes on new laws, granting of Roman citizenship,
free bread distributions to the people (the Annone),
harshness or leniency of judicial procedures, land bills
(Ager Publicus), etc..
-
Exceptional Measures : appointment of a dictator in
dire conditions, laws of exceptions, consulship for
life, emperor, granting triumphs and distinctions, etc…
- Without
an elected Consul, the player's political power is
much reduced, and limited to the use of the Tribunes.
Each of them allow either to build a single proposal,
or can also be used to veto one of those presented
by an opponent.
The Votes
-
Once the agenda is finalized, the Consul(s) open the debate
and voting session in the Senate hemicycle. A decisive factor
to know who will speak first is consular rank (one of the
two consuls is ''Senior Consul'', mostly because of his age,
previous career and cursus honorum), as the highest ranking
Consul will have priority in presenting his agenda first.
-
Holding Tribunes or omens will be extremely useful also, in
order sometimes to make a proposal before one's opponents,
veto other proposals, repulse specific motions, ask for a
re-vote on previously denied motions, influence the neutral
Senators with great speech and omens, and quite a few other
proposals as well.
-
During the vote, the presiding magistrate (or the faction
that makes a proposal thanks to a Tribune intervention) may:
-
Choose in which order the factions in the Senate will
vote, thus allowing to evaluate, vote after vote, the
chances the measure is going to pass or be denied.
-
Use Tribunes to influence votes (or even cancel them),
-
Invoke the Gods (omens stratagems),
-
Play various other stratagems to influence the course
of the votes, and even sometimes go as far as
launching an assassination attempt in the midst
of exceptional debates (e.g. the Death of Caesar)
Political
Strategy of the Players
It mostly depends on the selected scenarios and
the various force ratios between the participants, but some
key elements will have to be mastered by the players, in particular
:
-
No player has the initial ability to decide alone on the future
of the Republic, and the less so without opposition. He will
thus have to tie alliances and political agreements, whether
this could be done for the elections, during senatorial debates
or even when undertaking public life actions on the Forum.
-
No player may ever win if Rome loses, so it is important to
know when it becomes important to set aside rivalries and
quarrels and unite for the sake of the common good, the survival
of Rome.
-
But only one of the Roman players may be the final winner,
so this still open the road for various dirty tricks, deals,
plots, timely betrayals and a wide range of diplomatic and
psychological behaviors. Here again, timely use of stratagems
will be one of the keys to success, even if they alone will
not be enough to guarantee victory unless a sound and firm
long-term strategy has been set in the beginning.
As
the game is real-time, including in the Forum, the Senate and
during the Elections,
-
Players may go wherever they want, but they have only limited
time to do a lot of actions, so wise timing and selection
of priorities is a must. Players will be advise to delegate
minor or secondary actions to their own AI advisors. The latter
can be reached and met in the player's Domus (the villa of
the faction leader) and allow to fine tune AI delegation on
a few, some or all game actions in various fields (politics,
economic buildup, military, etc…) of the game.
-
In the Forum or during the elections, the different locations
can be accessed in any order and at any time a player wishes.
He is informed, in each case, whether other players (or AI-controlled)
factions are active and present, but it will often be difficult
to be fully reactive to the wide range of potential reaction
moves.
-
When a stratagem can be played, it become highlighted. Its
current on the spot effects are described, and you may still
opt not to play it (choosing cancel) if you feel its not appropriate.
-
Also during Senate debates, players know that their turn to
vote has come through visual and sound effects. If they hesitate
too long, most of their Senators will automatically vote according
to standard faction rules (AI).
-
finally, as a general game feature (including on the strategic
part on the map), various messages will appear and warn players
about opportunities that show up or decisions to be taken.
Without reaction from players after variable time (depending
on game's difficulty level), the AI will decide for them (usually
30 days).
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