Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Trimed a couple weeks off of sea lane shipping times from the Meadowlands to Roma, but may adjust again if I can find accurate numbers on 17th century travel times by ship from England to Italy or America to Italy.

[SatinKitty]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Geeze! SatinKitty, instead of bumping, why don't you contribute? Weren't you the one that wrote one of the storylines for the vampire attack? Well, where have you all gone from there? What new and fantastic adventures have you had?

 

Or, what other interesting characters are in the campaign? What spells? Inquiring minds want to know....

 

I've never had a Public Demand for my writing before.

 

Will get busy and work on it. Tried before, but couldn't make it go somehow. Need to organise my thoughts and recollections.

Perhaps I will ask the Bard's Player to chronicle everything as we play and go from his notes. If he doesn't want to, I'll do it myself.

Just give me an Audience - I'm an Exhibitionist !

[Tribal]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Perhaps I will ask the Bard's Player to chronicle everything as we play and go from his notes. If he doesn't want to, I'll do it myself.

 

Consider it done, I will add more notes between the doodles

[Markdoc]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Trimed a couple weeks off of sea lane shipping times from the Meadowlands to Roma' date=' but may adjust again if I can find accurate numbers on 17th century travel times by ship from England to Italy or America to Italy.[/quote']

 

Actually, thinking about it, the time is not unreasonable - even in the 18th century (for which much information is available) passage could range from 28 days (cross atlantic) to 64 days or longer on the same route. 17th century ships were probably a bit slower, but not much: the Mayflower took 66 days to make the passage from Pymouth to New England but it had bad weather, an inexperienced crew and was sailing the reverse of the usual route (trading ships normally sailed south from Europe to the Carribean, taking advantage of the currents and winds, then sailed up the coast of North America and back to Europe that way, again to take advantage of prevailing currents and winds). This so-called "triangle route" took about a month on each crossing and about 2 months up the coast (much slower because the risks of coastal sailing meant the ship either had to stand off to sea or anchor at night and in unfavourable weather). That's not far off Columbus' time - his first trip took 37 days despite spending 10 days becalmed and choosing a suboptimal route, so passage times didn't change much between the 1400's and 1700's.

 

See here: http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch1en/conc1en/ch1c3_1en.html - it has some nifty maps of roman roads and 17th-18th century corss-atlantic trade routes (although not as many as there used to be: the selection is smaller than I remember).

 

So for an average passage, the numbers are right - say a month to 6 weeks across the Atlantic and then another month to 6 weeks to sail down the coast to the Med and then across to Roma. So for a normal passage, 3 months sounds about right. If luck and the weather were with you, you might do the trip in less than 2 months (not terribly likely, but possible). If both were against you, it might take 4-5 months - assuming you survived...

 

I just read the time you first gave as "this is as fast as you could expect to make it" and assumed that an average trip would be much longer.

 

cheers, Mark

[Vestnik]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

That's not far off Columbus' time - his first trip took 37 days despite spending 10 days becalmed and choosing a suboptimal route, so passage times didn't change much between the 1400's and 1700's.

 

At the risk of derailing this thread and all the excellent stuff Oddhat's doing in it, perhaps you, o master of such matters, can explain something to me.

 

Now, the Norse had discovered Greenland and Vinland several centuries before Columbus. Had knowledge of the existence of these places (and thus of a Western landmass, or at least the northern reaches thereof) never penetrated down to Central/Southern Europe, or been forgotten by Columbus' time? Did he know that land already been found out there to the west, albeit at a much more northern latitude than what he was aiming at? (I know, he wasn't actually looking for land, but for a sea route to India.)

[Markdoc]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

At the risk of derailing this thread and all the excellent stuff Oddhat's doing in it, perhaps you, o master of such matters, can explain something to me.

 

Now, the Norse had discovered Greenland and Vinland several centuries before Columbus. Had knowledge of the existence of these places (and thus of a Western landmass, or at least the northern reaches thereof) never penetrated down to Central/Southern Europe, or been forgotten by Columbus' time? Did he know that land already been found out there to the west, albeit at a much more northern latitude than what he was aiming at? (I know, he wasn't actually looking for land, but for a sea route to India.)

 

Consider it derailed!

 

The knowledge had not been "forgotten" as such, but even when there were settlements in Greenland, there were hardly any voyages to North America and no "official" ones. That meant no record keeping, no effort to establish a direct route, etc with the result that even at the *time* most people had no idea such voyages had been made, even in the scandinavian cultures. From scattered notes in various books, we know some scandinavian people were aware that there was "something" out there, but even Iceland, which was continously settled, was very rarely visited and almost nothing was known about it. That went double for Greenland and Vinland once the settlements died out. The vikings didn't draw maps, and relied on verbal descriptions and dead reckoning - sailing across the north Atlantic like that was fraught with danger. So, even in the northern cultures almost nothing was known about these places and Vinland was assumed to be an island like Greenland and Iceland.

 

Even if the information leaked southwards (pretty damned unlikely, since even the Scandinavians' British neighbours were ignorant of their existence in the medieval period - outside medieval scandinavia, only the Irish and the Scottish islesmen, who kept a scandinavian cultural link, even knew these northern islands existed) all it would have said was "there are islands in the North Atlantic - but they are pretty rubbish places"

 

So no, I know of no evidence that he knew of the viking settlements - but even if he had, I doubt he would have cared.

 

As an interesting side note, in the 1700's - by which time America had been well and truly placed on the map - a british syndicate attempted to reach China "the short way" by sailing north and east above scandinavia - ie: around the top of what's now Russia. You can guess how well that worked (a few survivors did eventually make it back to England) but it gives you an idea of exactly how little was known about that part of the world.

 

cheers, Mark

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Air Ships in the Imperium, Part I

 

The earliest Shen Zhou “Feng Zheng” (kites) were developed in roughly the year -700 SZ (Yang calendar). Their invention is attributed variously to the great Shen Zhou sages Mozi and Lu Ban. Made of silk or paper with a bamboo frame, by the year 700 SZ these feng zheng were employed for a variety of purposes, from simple entertainment to military signaling and communication, surveying, and even to lift men briefly and gloriously into the air.

 

The earliest Kongming Lanterns appeared over 2000 years ago in Shen Zhou in roughly -100 SZ (Yang calender). Their invention is attributed to the great Zhuge Liang, also known by the name Kongming. These flying lanterns were widely employed for entertainment, but even in the time of the Han Emperors it is said that a few brave souls took to the air in flimsy woven bamboo baskets suspended beneath large Kongming lanterns. By the year 800 SZ, use of feng zheng and Kongming lanterns as toys and decorations had spread with the silk trade into Magadha and even to Roma. Silk and paper merchants presented these as examples of unusual luxury goods, and they quickly became popular in Roma as toys, at festivals and in the arena. The Roman military quickly adopted the Shen Zhou practice of using kites (as feng zheng became known in the West) for purposes of military communications, terrain and weather permitting.

 

It was the Greek engineer Maratos of Thessaloniki who, roughly 1200 years ago around the year 1550 R, first popularized manned Kongming lanterns as festival and arena entertainments. Maratos sent gladiators into the air before the crowds, where the men would then do battle to using gorgeously colored war kites, attempting to sever the strings of their opponent’s kite or even damage the ropes attaching the basket of the manned Kongming Lantern to the air chamber. This won Maratos the patronage of the Emperor Hadrianos. Hadrianos commissioned Maratos to develop both manned Kongming lanterns and kites for the use of the military. From Maratos' work developed the great air ships of today.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Air Ships of the Imperium, Part II

 

The air ships of today derive from the basic designs developed by Maratos. The air chamber, a modified Kongming Lantern, is made of silk, fine linen, or a combination of the two, set on a laminated bamboo frame that opens and closes like a fan when not in use. Below the air chamber is a chambered cabin, made largely of bamboo and willow. In the upper central chamber is placed the stove and fuel supply (generally coal); the stove provides hot air, which in turn fills the air chamber of the lantern and provides lift to the air ship. The lower front and rear chambers house from one to four Airmen’s Seats, depending on the size of the air ship. The Airmen’s seats feature pedals attached to a system of fine chains and gears, leading to the ship's flywheel, which in turn powers the air screws. Retractable sails may be mounted both on the exterior of the cabin and the air chamber. The primary purpose of the fin-like sails is to help the crew steer the airship rather than to provide motive power.

 

Passengers share the front and rear chambers with the airmen, while the lowest central chamber contains supplies, ballast and cargo. The smallest Air Ships are crewed by 3-4 airmen and are able to carry a roughly equal number of passengers, while the largest might be crewed by as many as twenty airmen and carry up to twice as many passengers. The airship’s freight capacity, while less than that of seagoing vessels, is still considerable; the very largest airships are able to move somewhere on the order of 6 tons of cargo in addition to crew, supplies and passengers.

 

The average airship is able to move at roughly twenty miles per hour in calm weather, and when sailing with favorable winds easily achieves speeds of forty miles per hour or more. When sailing with the wind, the airship uses its airscrews and side sails mainly to steer. An air ship may sail slowly against light winds, but stronger winds or storms may require the ship to ground and the crew to wait for more favorable weather. Communication with the ground is achieved through the use of signal kites and flags. Pitching can be a serious problem in airship travel, and passengers and crew are advised to secure small items and tie themselves into their seats at all times when not actually performing necessary ship functions.

 

Rumors abound of flying monsters and air pirates preying upon airships, rumors that the airship men themselves are only too happy to spread. In truth the vast majority of airships that fail to reach port fall to inclement weather and navigational errors. An airship blown off course or caught in a storm may need to set down to refuel and make repairs, and if ships supplies are insufficient may be unable to take flight once more.

 

Major cities often boast an Airship Port, generally located on high, flat ground outside of the city. These ports are primarily controlled by the military. Airship travel is expensive, and passengers include important government officials and couriers, the wealthiest traders and land owners, and occasionally very successful military officers and mercenaries traveling to a new post. Only the most valuable cargoes are transported via airship. Airship Men may be freedmen, citizens, or slaves, and are easily recognizable by their diminutive height, extremely lean builds and over-muscled legs.

 

The sight of huge and fancifully decorated airships moving majestically through the sky fills even the well educated with awe and delight, for with the Airship man has finally achieved his dream of flight. Though of limited use in warfare or even in the transport of goods, the Roman Airship remains a source of pride for every citizen of the Imperium.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Added links to the latest material to the Table of Contents in post #1.

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

How long/wide are these airships? You gave the weights of what the carry and how many passengers, but how large is the basket and the air chamber? How fragile are they?

 

Could a stray bird (or arrow) cause a fatal puncture? How high might these fly? Do any of the monasteries or temples have their own variations, perhaps powered however slightly by magic?

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

How long/wide are these airships?

 

Sizes and shapes vary, but the semi-rigid airships (the most common type) require an air chamber length of at least 120 meters or more, and may be considerably larger. The largest will have an air chamber (an envelope filled with modified large Kongming lanterns) with an area of 30000 cubic meters or more. For reference purposes I'm working off of real world hot air airships and hot air balloons, with performance downgraded somewhat to roughly account for the materials actually available in the Imperium. You can also take a real world airship design and adjust accordingly, remembering that hot air only has roughly 1/3 the lift of Helium or Hydrogen. For a place to start for the lift formulas, look here: http://www.overflite.com/thermo.html

You gave the weights of what the carry and how many passengers, but how large is the basket and the air chamber? How fragile are they?

The gondolas are enclosed in the larger models, and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The very largest are just under 30 meters long and 7 meters wide, with a total weight (just for the unloaded gondola) of about 8 tons. Materials used are kept as light as possible, with bamboo, silk, linen and willow as the most common choices. For visual appearance, try to picture an air ship bag or hot air balloon under which is hung a Chinese Junk.

 

Could a stray bird (or arrow) cause a fatal puncture?

 

No, but flying one down into a war zone wouldn't be all that wise either. The air chamber contains several smaller Kongming Lanterns, and neither the chamber nor the interior lanterns will collapse quickly from punctures. You will however start losing hot air, and will need to find someplace to land in a reasonable time. I'll post a character sheet eventually.

 

How high might these fly?

 

The highest will reach 45,000 feet, about 1/3 less than the real world record for a hot air balloon.

 

Do any of the monasteries or temples have their own variations, perhaps powered however slightly by magic?

 

I'll post on this later. The short answer is that a powerful master of the Black or Green on board can greatly improve the performance of an airship, and a Heaven (or Hell) Stone equipped magicker can (typically by manipulating the weather) allow an airship to perform as well or better than their real world counterparts. However, powerful magickers are a rare commodity.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

The following sheet is a rough draft until I'm able to sit down and do the math properly, but it seems about right:

PRIDE OF PELLA

Val Char Cost Notes

17 Size 85 Length 50.8", Width 25.4", Area 1,290.16"

80 STR -15 Lift 1.6ktons; 16d6

10 DEX 0 OCV 3 DCV -8

27 BODY 0

4 DEF 6

2 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12

Total Characteristic Cost: 62

 

Movement: Leaping: 0"

Flight: 12" / 48"

 

Cost Powers END

19 Bicycle Powered Lighter-Than-Air Vehicle: Flight 12", x4 Noncombat, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 1 Week (+0) (29 Active Points); Side Effects (-1/4), Cannot Move Backwards (-1/4) [1 cc]

2 Carriage: +2 DEF (6 Active Points); Partial Coverage (Carriage Only) (-2)

 

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 21

Total Cost: 83/5=17 points

 

50+ Disadvantages

15 Distinctive Features: Distictive markings and flags (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

20 Physical Limitation: Requires a full crew to function (All the Time, Greatly Impairing)

0 Experience Points

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 83

 

Notes:

The Pride of Pella is a large commercial airship, painted with fanciful gold and red Lions and Manticores and boasting a semi-enclosed gondola. The Pella has eight airmen's seats, four fore and four aft, and takes a crew of at least 12 to function, normally carrying a crew of 16. Up to 24 passengers can ride in relative comfort, or 30 or more if packed into the cargo hold. The Pride of Pella can make the trip from Roma to Londinium in under 2 days with favorable weather, though such a trip may take a week or more if regular stops are made along the way for maintenance, trade, and passenger pick ups. Adverse weather can also greatly extend travel time.

[zornwil]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

OddHat, would you please give the precise specifications for all vehicles? Materials would also be critical....

 

Seriously, this is great stuff, sorry I'm so busy I can't spend more time on it.

[OddHat]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

OddHat, would you please give the precise specifications for all vehicles? Materials would also be critical....

 

Seriously, this is great stuff, sorry I'm so busy I can't spend more time on it.

 

I happened to be thinking about these.

 

The Kongming lanterns and stories of people trying to go up using them and kites are real, and I liked the idea of man powered flying machines. Hot air airships are also real. Everything else is fudging, but fun, and nothing says fantasy-not-history like bicycle powered airships floating above centurions in armor.

[SatinKitty]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

From the Journal of Sabrina, on the Prophesy:

 

 

"EEEEeeeekkk !" The Eagle squawked with an ear-splitting, tooth-rattling scream as he tumbled from the air. The Golden Throne, ancient and with a foundation of stone shattered into kindling as the eagle struck it with a crash like all great Neptune's oceans. From the circle of low hills red spears burst from the ground and shot up into the air forming a wall on top of each hill that was red like blood, or with blood. War stalked the land everywhere. None were safe. All would perish. Then the flames of hell, redder than red, would consume the rivers of blood, the Earth and everything.

 

 

I woke up screaming.

 

I knew my Power had spoken in my dream, my nightmare. Our peaceful little World was almost certainly doomed. If someone did not stop it, in just a few years there will be nothing left but hell.

 

No more sleep. There is not a moment to waste. I must gather my friends. We must become a team once more. It may have begun already. We must hurry, hurry, hurry.

 

A fortnight later, we stood together once again in an Inn Tavern in the City of Pella, a Port City in Greece. Myself, my Brother who was my Ward, the Myrmidon Liam and the now sought-after Bard Spyrodon. I told them what I had seen. That dying eagle hitting the Golden Throne meant only one thing-the Emperor of Roma's life was in danger. If he dies, Civil War will destroy us, if we are not destroyed from without first.

 

It seemed, in the foreshortening of hindsight, that it was that very night while the City slept when the first Tavern wall of the Inn we slept in burst into flames.

 

I ran into the hall of the second floor of the Inn where my Brother and I slept. The Inn was on fire. Wild men painted as marauding Demons charged in, attacking unarmed men and women. Liam and Spyro were by luck sleeping downstairs and I heard Liam and Spyro's answering sword blows ringing against the attacker's weapons and shields.

 

The fire. This building was a veritable tinderbox. I kept Hugo close and called upon my Golden Stone to drain and extinguish the flames. The screams and death cries outside were deafening. I hid Hugo in our room and raced outside to save as many as I could.

 

It went badly. The Town Militia was caught totally unprepared. I closed my eyes. In a moment the Enemy was convinced there was a Locust Swarm attacking. Terrified, frantically slapping at themselves and confusing their mounts, they retreated, as quick as possible to their ships, taking as many Hostages as they could drive before them. Most of them made their ships and they began to cast off, with the Hostages. I closed my eyes again. A huge, all-destroying wave of water seemed to the Enemy that it was coming right for their ships. Some of them still slapped and cursed at the invisible Locusts. By now the Town Militia was ready to charge and the Captain led his Strongest against the now terrified Enemies' largest ship. With Liam and Spyro to assist, the enemy began to give way. Spyrodon lept, catlike, onto the lead ship and began to free the Prisoners. With Liam's help, the tide turned, and after a rain of blood, the Enemy was vanquished.

 

They were the Russ People. They had come better armed than any random Pirates ever were, with horses and in numbers never before seen in the City of Pella. The Urban Magistrate, as he clutched a flagon and shivered, said this had been unprecedented. The Russ had been here before, but always as friendly Traders. No Enemy would ever dare attack so boldly a Port City so close to the center of the Empire. The Russ had to know that they were now at war. It made no sense. I clutched myself and shivered too. Over and over again in my minds eye, the eagle died, the Throne shattered, the hills sprouted spears and ran with blood. It was a long while before the three of us could speak normally again.

 

When we did, we knew we must try, somehow, some way, to gain an Audience with the Emperor. He must be saved. It must be stopped. Again, time was against us. We set off later that morning.

 

We guided our skittish mounts towards Roma through horror after horror. Every Port City we passed had been hit as Pella was, and we cannot be everywhere. Refugees streamed past us all day. The next three Port Cities were in ruins. Women wailed for their kidnapped children and husbands. I have never in my life felt so helpless. As a girl I had thought Magic Power would solve everything, that wherever there was hunger, need or want I'd be able to provide. My last remaining illusions burned that day with the smouldering Cities.

 

Later. The Emperor. Aphrodite grant that Spyrodon's great fame and cleverness with words can get us an Audience with the Emperor. Yet even if we get one, why should His Imperial Highness believe our wild story ? Emperors think themselves immortal, invulnerable. I have naught but a dream, no proof. Civil War now would destroy us all. It may all depend on how convincing Spyrodon can be. I will lend an invisible hand. I must be positive. It's either that or think of the precipice we all teeter on and die of fright.

 

As we travelled inland towards the city of Megara, where Spyrodon had a friend, Herodoros, who in turn had the ear of the Emperor, the Refugees grew steadily in numbers. I tried to hide my tears. We could barely force our way through the mob around the Megara city walls. At the gate, a crush of bodies scraped, pleaded, supplicated the Guards to open. There were not even any Guards outside attempting to control the mob. They would be crushed like eggs.

 

Fortunately for us, one of Spyro's hidden Talents is the ability to move unhampered through any crowd, a necessary skill when one has Fans.

They wouldn't let us in either, at the gate. "No Refugees may pass the Gate !", the Captain of the Guard shouted over and over. Spyrodon gave him his best smile, told him who he was, plied him with sweet words, but after probably several nights without sleep and the struggle to keep the mob out, the Captain was having none of it. Spyrodon persisted and at last, we were granted entry. Again, we required Spyro's skill to slip in while preventing the mob from trampling us to death when the gate cracked open for a moment.

 

Now the hard part. To see the Emperor. we first had to recruit Spyrodon's friend. We checked into an Inn, exhausted, desperately needing baths, fresh clothes and sleep. Tomorrow after we have rested we must plan.

 

Please Great Zeus, grant me a sleep without dreams.

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Good job, SatinKitty. Now the plot thickens, with international intrigues on the rise. Looks like the good old Slavs are going to give the Imperium a run for its money.....

 

I wonder why they are so interested in hostages...

[Damascan]

Re: Imperium Romanum - A fantasy campaign

 

Oddhat,

 

Now that you have presented Airships, that raises the question of what other technological equivalents may exist. For instance, is there a magical messenger system (i.e., using the telepathic/astral powers of the majickers)? Do those inclined to summon small demons or familiars use them or even rent them out as messengers?

 

Also, how has the existance of magic changed the way structures, especially defensive structures, are built? Information security would be quite the issue if you have enemy clairvoyants spying on you. What countermeasures might the rulers take? From SatinKitty's story, it begs to ask: why didn't the Emperor know? What protective spells must the Russ have had in place to prevent the detection of their attack plans before the attack had begun? Or perhaps the Emperor chose to ignore the warning signs/portents? What reason could he have had for doing that?