From: Roberto Chiavini Subject: More game variants Variant rules for REPUBLIC OF ROME by Roberto Chiavini Avalon Hill's Republic of Rome is one the finest multi-players boardgames ever be made in the history of the hobby. Its remaking of the rise and consolidation of the power of the Roman Empire is astonishing: you can really "feel" the struggle between patricians and plebeians, senators and knights, the expectation of the coming battle, the clash of swords and shields, the shout of the rejoicing mob in a triumphus, the lashing words of the leading orator of the time. Playing the game you move back in time and you can imagine the seats of the Curia full of shouting senators, debating about the next warplane, while Hannibal is camped at the gates of the Eternal City. Even if very balanced, realistic and exciting as it stands, nonetheless, as an historian of the period, after more than twenty full games (many of them ended with a clear victory by the game system; it is really tough to win in the Early Republic scenario, if you're unlucky in the first card draws) I thought it could be even more so. After some researches and tinkering, here is my personal variants for the Early Republic scenario of the game (the less historical of t he three). New Statesmen I have found five other interesting personalities from the depth of Roman history, each with a distinctive feature that adds to the enjoyment of the game. The ratings are based on my personal views on these men (as you can see at first glance, I'm particularly fond of Flaminius, the negative hero of the battle of the Trasimene, misunderstood by the ancient and by the modern historians alike for his rejections of the auspicia, the Will of the Gods). You have to make your own cards for each of these Statesmen . C.Lutatius Catulo and M.Atilius Regulus, two heroes of the First Punic War, don't have a family card, so I have numbered them sequrntially starting from the last number of the Family cards (#30). If you want you may add even two new Family cards to the set, but I think that only the two Statesmen hereafter showed would be enough. #5A: M.Claudius Marcellus c.270 - 208 BC 4 military - 3 oratory - 5 influence - Loyalty 5/0. Nullifies Gallic/Punic Wars Disaster/Stand off. dr Mortality chits draw in any Punic Wars result other than Victory. Fabius Maximus Faction loyalty: 0 #6A: Gn.Manlius Vulso c.240-c.170 BC 3 military - 2 oratory - 4 influence - Loyalty 6/0. Double Spoils of War in any Victory. No Veteran Legions after a victorious war. Cato Faction Loyalty: 0 #13A: C.Flaminius c.270-217 BC 4 military - 3 oratory - 6 influence - Loyalty 7/0. Nullifies Gallic Wars Disaster/Stand off. Double roman losses in any Punic Wars Disaster/Stand off. He cannot hold any Priesthood or be the Pontifex Maximus. +5 influence in Evil Omens turn. Pontifex Maximus Faction Loyalty: 0 #31A: C.Lutatius Catulo Third Century BC 4 military - 4 oratory - 7 influence - Loyalty 7. Nullifies Disaster/Stand off in any naval war. #32A: M.Atilius Regulus ?-248 BC 4 military - 4 oratory - 7 influence - Loyalty 8. If taken prisoner in any of Punic Wars, may not be ransomed (i.e., is dead), but all the Wars undertaken the following turn have +3 modifier for the Romans. New Wars Not without effort, I have also found three minor Wars that can be added to the cards of the Early Republic Scenario. All these Wars are inactive and unmatched by other cards. They are easy to win and "very rich" for the State treasury, but may become unwelcomed in a crisis situation. Etolian War* 189-187 BC (Revolt if Greece is a Province). Land Strength 4 - Fleet Support Number 4 - Disaster 5 - Stand off 17 - Spoils of War: 25 talents [Attacks Greece]. Galatian War* 189-188 BC Land Strength 6 - Fleet Support Number 2 - Disaster 6 - Stand off 16 - Spoils of War: 40 talents [Attacks Asia, Bithynia-Pontus]. Istrian War* 178-177 BC Land Strength 5 - Fleet Support Number 1 - Disaster 6 - Stand Off 16 - Spoils of War: 10 talents [Attacks Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum]. New Laws I have also devised three Law cards that partially change the rules of the game even in the first scenario, adding more historical depth at little cost for the players. CORRUPTION OF THE "MORES" Early second century BC The Romans start to make wars with profit in mind, not just for defensive reasons. Hereafter, other than the usual increase both in Influence and Popularity, a Senator victorious in War may make a DR for every 20 talents (rounded down) produced by the War as Spoils of War, and add the dice result to his Personal Treasury. If the Senator makes the roll, the Censor of the following turn can fine him as for the Calpurnian Law (see the card for an explanation). CLAUDIAN PLEBISCITE c.218 BC A "lex" proposed by the people forbids the senators to make profit through trades and other similar activities. Hereafter, a Senator may receive a Concession only if he has at least a Knight, and cannot hold more Concessions than Knights. LEX VILLIA ANNALIS 180 BC The cursus honorum is at last determined in its details. Hereafter, a Senator cannot be elected for two consectives years to any magistrature (consul, censor, dictator, master of the horse), if there isn't an active war with a total strength of 15>. This Law is nullified by the play of "Tradition erodes" card. Variants to the existing rules After dozens of play of Republic of Rome I've found particularly annoying two rules, which are not very historical for the Early Republic Scenario. Here is my suggested variants that make the flow of the game more attuned with the "ethos" of the glorious warfare of the Punic Wars and such "heroic" figures like Cato Maior, Scipio the Elder or Fabius Maximus (actually, most of the ancient historians spiced up their materials; so, probably, even this wars were bad and nasty as any other in the history of the w orld, but I like to think that there were some epic deeds indeed). 9.42 Major Prosecutions (add): in the Early Republic scenario a Major Prosecution is totally forbidden: it cannot be hold for any reason. Note: the only historical example that comes to mind is Scipio Africanus' voluntary exile after the War against Antiochus (the Syrian War), not much for using a rule obviuosly designed for the late Republic Scenario (do you remember Marius and Silla and the start of the proscriptions?). 9.8 Assassins (add): in the Early Republic scenario players may attempt Assassination only if they have Assassin cards. They must have at least one such card to try the Assassination; if they play more than one Assassin card, they are entitled to add a +1 to their Assassination dr. Rule 9.83 Bodyguards is unchanged. In the Middle and Late Republic Scenarios use the original rule without modification. Note: even this rule has no historical meaning before the Gracchi.