What to do about a problem like Nero?

Anyone come up with any cunning plans yet?

Aside from worrying about exactly how nutty Richard is going to get with Nero if no one makes a move I think the interesting question for a lot of the stronger military positions is do you look to keep out of trouble early so you are ready to make a move or do you start cracking Barbarian heads in order to win Glory with the troops and the senate and people.

So is the thread going to be : "Rome and the curse of the silk PJ's" or somthing else?

He's stimulating the economy through public works, keeps the plebs happy and the Empire is (mostly) at peace. Who are you suggesting could be better?....

Johntindall wrote:He's stimulating the economy through public works, keeps the plebs happy and the Empire is (mostly) at peace. Who are you suggesting could be better?....

Hi John,

When the game starts most of Rome has just burnt to the ground and the Emperor has taken advantage to grab one of the seven hills of Rome to start building a huge and vastly expensive palace while the rest of Rome scrabbles around in the ashes to rebuild. Plus he has murdered his mother, probably his brother, and various of his good ministers. Even worse he has taken up acting and playing the Lyre which is all very un-Roman. He is hugely unpopular in Rome itself, but plenty of places outside Rome still think he is a very good Emperor.

In Nero's favour most of the Empire is at peace and ticking along. Also the savage in-fighting of the Imperial Julio-Claudian family has basically reduced possible heirs to "0" so the Caligula option of a quick knife strike and replacement with a harmless old Uncle is not going to work and could easily tip the Empire back into the civil wars of Sulla etc

Also in Nero favour is that unlike Caligula he may be unstable and erractic but he is not a total pycho nutter, he can still be charming and most of the leading Romans of this period are either old friends of the Emperor or are closely linked with Nero Government. All the Pro-consuls have had the highest honour a Roman can gain given to them by Nero, the commander in Germany and Otho are old chariot racing cronies etc, etc.

Basically, I am playing a character who is still loyal to Nero but basically see's his old friend under huge pressure and is trying to pull him back. The question is will players take some of the pressure off the Emperor........a smashing victory over Dacia, Parthia or even beating up a load of blue barbarian and getting our Eagle back would be great. Or will pressue continue to mount causing the Emperor to do some of the really crazy things which lost him key support?

But other players may have already decided that enough is enough and have started to make their moves.

And this time its probably not a case of the Senate doing job interviews! Its going to come down to who the three main Army blocks of a) The Rhine b) The Danube and c) The East want.

The Armies on the Danube seem to be making a move but if they suffer a defeat that could dent political ambitions, while a victory will do thir generals a power of good. But what will they then do with the victory?

I suspect many are waiting for a "stalking horse" to show who is still loyalists and who is not. The other thing which may cause the game to vary massively from History is the influence of outsiders. Not even in Britannia, Gaul or Germania but already starting to see a Druid behind every tree! Eastern players are probably starting to imagine a Seleucia Jew agent from Pathia on a every camel train. And is it me or are a lot of hairy horsemen starting to move west rather early?

At current rate Army could be too busy ducking arrows to have a civil war, Nero could die in his bed aged 72 and Rome will still be a building site!

Since Russian ex Presidents seem to be starting a trend have had a look at what the sacred chicken's of Corduba are saying have have come up with the following for the Agema games I am linked with:-

Rome is burning .............The year the Republic is restored.

Scrabble ........Cricket, Railways and Tea drinking continues to spread across the scabble map.

G7.......Spain sits quitely in the corner with the pop corner trying to figure out what is happening in the Polish Commonwealth.



Unfortunately I then had a go with the Scabble Tea Leaves and came up with:-

Rome is burning......Germanius abandons his wife to marry the Empress and become Emperor, resulting in a huge civil war with the Gov of Syria and the Eastern Legions.

Scabble .......The HEIC has to file for bankrupcy protection after being mugged by a French computer.

G7.........Spain is attacked by Louis XIV & friends starting one of the largest war's ever seen in Glori.



Would anyone care to say what is going to happen in games they are playing in (so we can all mock them later in the year) or say if they have greater faith in the sacred chickens or the tea leaves? Surely the Druids or the Magi have been viewing the Stars in RIB ?

The Myrddin stood by Altar in the Sacred Grove upon Ait Yew...for some time he stood in silence and finally he spoke...

"I have today watched the flight of the eagle, the leaping of the salmon and the Great Fish as they breached the waves...

...in this year to come, I see that our great, wise and just King Calgacus will resume his rightful place as the most honoured of men, that the matter of the Roman Eagle will be resolved in peace, and that the Men of Rome will fall upon each other as they seek to hold sway over all others...

...oh and the late emperor will have a lasting impact for generations to come...for "to do a Nero" will mean to die in a silly and foolish way..."

The Myrddin paused briefly, "...but I see other worlds...far into our future and ones that take different paths...

...for a world in which Seven is powerful, all will fight as disputes grow, all will know if they are right or wrong by this simple test...do they fight the men of the Rus, if they do then they are wrong...

...all know the holy number is Three...and that in a world where the holy number exists for a holy number of times...in a land far to the East, a land of honour and civilization known as Chin, a great Lord called Fong will defeat petty pirates then decide it is time to liberate the poor souls of Europe from their foul lords...and in those lands the peasants will come to worship him as a god who gave them freedom...only his friends will be spared as they already treat their peasants fairly...a people called the Swedes will learn that holding the Lord of the Rus against his will results in red hot pokers being stuck up places where the sun never shines (well the places that aren't called Shetland)...

...and in a world where 10 holds sway, all will continue to honour and respect the great Lord of our descendants...but one may try to wage war against that Great Lord and quickly regret it when one month later they find 10,000 warriors from a mighty city on the coast in the west of Caledonia in their bedroom suggesting they think again..."

Jason2 wrote:The Myrddin stood by Altar in the Sacred Grove upon Ait Yew...for some time he stood in silence and finally he spoke...

"I have today watched the flight of the eagle, the leaping of the salmon and the Great Fish as they breached the waves...

...in this year to come, I see that our great, wise and just King Calgacus will resume his rightful place as the most honoured of men, that the matter of the Roman Eagle will be resolved in peace, and that the Men of Rome will fall upon each other as they seek to hold sway over all others...

...oh and the late emperor will have a lasting impact for generations to come...for "to do a Nero" will mean to die in a silly and foolish way..."

The Myrddin paused briefly, "...but I see other worlds...far into our future and ones that take different paths...

...for a world in which Seven is powerful, all will fight as disputes grow, all will know if they are right or wrong by this simple test...do they fight the men of the Rus, if they do then they are wrong...

...all know the holy number is Three...and that in a world where the holy number exists for a holy number of times...in a land far to the East, a land of honour and civilization known as Chin, a great Lord called Fong will defeat petty pirates then decide it is time to liberate the poor souls of Europe from their foul lords...and in those lands the peasants will come to worship him as a god who gave them freedom...only his friends will be spared as they already treat their peasants fairly...a people called the Swedes will learn that holding the Lord of the Rus against his will results in red hot pokers being stuck up places where the sun never shines (well the places that aren't called Shetland)...

...and in a world where 10 holds sway, all will continue to honour and respect the great Lord of our descendants...but one may try to wage war against that Great Lord and quickly regret it when one month later they find 10,000 warriors from a mighty city on the coast in the west of Caledonia in their bedroom suggesting they think again..."

Not sure I would agree that getting stabbed to death by an assassin will go down as meaning to "die in a silly and foolish way..." by first character in Agema ended in this way and no one talked about "doing a Mustapha".

As a silly and foolish way to end its not exactly up there with the wicker man, finding a bean in your stew or driving your chariot off a cliff thinking you can fly.

As for the words of Myrddin, think I would doubt putting faith in the Great Fish or anyone or anything which grins all the time

Seems to me that with some minor changes all three of these could be aimed as Scrabble. Does the 1000 Faces of Fu-Manchu include a Lord Hong? And does Lord Derby also have a Scots title? As for the first one have those damn fish found out that Russian Submarines are now able to go up as well as down?

I'm still going with the lightening strike being what got Nero, the assassin was just icing on the cake

On the great fish, I was going with Basking Sharks or Humpback whales rather than dolphins (in part due to work, since the career change am now administering a grant for a project on the west coast of Scotland about stopping Basking Sharks and humpback whales being entangled in fishing ropes and nets)...though where I work and live on the east coast dolphins are a common sight (mind you so are humpback whales) and not a creature I'd trust...am sure all those stories of dolphins saving humans are simply good PR cover for a protection racket....

As to Scramble and Fu Manchu/Lord Fong...all I'm saying is in G9 Lord Fong's ambassador to the Imperial Court appears to be an ancestor of Scramble's good doctor...

...and on Russian subs, it is interesting that in a certain Glory game, these are more successful than those in Scramble...

Latest report on events in “Rome is Burning” has showed up and for non players here is a very rough guide to what seems to be going on:

I) Bit of a hold up in eastern campaign being waged against the Parthians by Cestius Gallus the 1egate of Syria.  Some how the legate got into a fight with drawn swords with the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard Gaius Tigellinus which resulted in the Legate getting wounded and the Prefect killed.

No tears are going to be shed over the Prefect who was a nasty bit of work only sent east by Nero to get him out of Rome before he murdered any more Senators or Noble Women.  But it seems a bit odd that in the most professional and well trained army in the world no thought to stop an attack on its commander by a member of a unit which has mostly turned traitor.  Or stop their camp being openly scouted by Prince of Parthia and his mounted guards.

Think the big questions over this attack on the Legate of Syria is who benefits?  Who would take over the senior command in the East if Gallus had been killed?  And were the actions of Tigellinus those of a mad man overcome by the Chaos Gods on Mount Agema or was someone else behind them?  

Such as the King of Kings who spent the month ordering another art work and trying to sort out how to pay his Alani hired help.  But we do not know who he tried to influence or were his latest agent got placed do we ?!

II) In other news from the east,  Roman cavalry from Aegyptus have followed raiders all the way to the gates of the Kingdom of Axum’s Royal Capital at Aksum.  Not 100% sure if this is wise and the most professional and well trained army in the world may even be considered to be a little over extended here.

Meanwhile other Roman forces seem to have abandoned the countryside of Judea to Sicarii and other bandits and retired into Jerusalem taking losses in the process.

Meanwhile we have no news at all concerning the revolt in the Roman province of Asia and “Emperor Aviola” the third of the self proclaimed Emperors.

Never let it be said that things are looking dodgy in the East, Tuscus has it all perfectly under control (Honest).

III) In contrast to events in the East and in Italy nothing much happening in the West of the Empire apart from Iberia doing Iberian type things.  Such as having intellectual debates over which statues to put on a bridge.  Sorting out their correct Latin names and purple band width of Toga’s in case they ever get Latin rights confirmed by the Senate, reading Omens (a whole Legion turned round and returned home on getting a dodgy Omen) and paying social calls on new mothers with gifts of building blocks, toy soldiers and blue Picts to throw off junior’s toy wall.

Think the long term worry here for the most professional and well trained army in the world is if the Senate in Rome knock the locals back again are their messengers likely to get thrown off full sized walls?  And who gets sent with what units to restore order and respect for the Senate?

Also in Iberia after the final version of Nero’s will got burnt by his widow so no one knows what the final version said after Nero made changes and revisions.  The executor Trajan the Elder sent out details of the Emperors original will before unknown changes and pushed possible problems linked to the Emperors bequests to the Army and People of Rome (which may or may not have changed) onto the Senate.  While paying out bequests to Soldiers in his part of Iberia out of a “moral” rather than a legal duty to his former patron.  Some think that Trajan enjoys the sight of the Senate forced to make a decision.  Though they may push these decisions onto the new consuls.

IV) As per Iberia the Rhineland and Danube seem to be doing their usual type of thing.  Sending Engineers across the Rhine to show modern plumbing to Germanic chiefs and fawning over Gladiators.  All the while the most professional and well trained army in the world is pretending to the neighbours that senior commanders and many of the Rhine and Danube Legions best troops have not been called away suddenly to Italy.

V) Britannia……..its still wet and cold in Britannia so zero of interest going on apart from a Chief in the very far north may have choked when trying to laugh and eat a bone at the same time, while drunk.  A dire warning to the most professional and well trained army in the world concerning the evils of drinking beer or wine not mixed with water.

VI) In Rome itself the rebel Guards attack on the Capital City seems to have been delayed if not cancelled due to the raid on their horse lines and the arrival of more troops to help defend the city. But when Geminus spent time away from being entranced by the Empress to send messengers to the rebel Guard in Interamnia offering them 100,000 denerii for the head of the “Emperor Cordus” his messengers were cut down by the rebel Guard.

Perhaps Germinus needs to take some classes in the noble Roman skill of bribery?  Like do not do it in public and offer bigger bribes?  That or the Guard feel that their only hope to avoid the revenge of Nero friends and clients is to stick with Cordus even if he is clearly unfit to command a latrine detachment.

Though it remains a mystery how when the crack Cavalry of the Danube Legions of the most professional and well trained army in the world aimed to get behind the rear of the Rebel Guard who are south east of Rome they actually ended up NORTH! Of Rome and on the wrong side of the Tiber.  I know all roads lead to Rome but these are getting lost in the countryside around their home city on roads with mile stones pointing the right way to go?  Clearly the Chaos Gods are not playing fair!  Have the Janissary Corp (I mean Praetorian Guard) got plot armour in RIB ?

VII) With the rebel guard not attacking elections for posts of Consuls, Censors and Pontifex Maximus vacant since death of Nero now going ahead fairly well with a wide field of people standing for these important offices of state to be elected by the good citizen voters of Rome without any obvious stitch up but probably a fair bit of bribes being used on electors which is how Roman voters like their elections.

Senate also managed a vote to hold a trial of “Emperor Pomponius” on charges of trying to usurp the right of the people of Rome to elect their own magistrates.  It would seem that following the defection of Pomponius and the rest of the formerly mighty Egyptian faction in the Senate.  Tuscus is rebuilding his faction and also demanding the head of Pomponius as the price of continued grain supplies to Rome.

The Question is will Legion XXIII hand over their captive to trial before the Senate and risk him getting off?  And Tuscus stopping the grain supply to Rome.  They have already hinted to their captive that he may like to avoid the family shame of a treason trial by good old fashioned Roman methods like Hemlock or a hot bath and a sharp knife.

VIII) Interestingly an Omen has been produced saying Marcus Aponius Saturninus will become Emperor, odd since Dictator for Life is not an office up for election.  One of the possible Censors has decided to go on a sea cruise in eastern waters for health reasons.  That or he needs classes in oratory to do the job and only one person standing for consul has bothered to notify his full program to the electors.  Perhaps more will be produced or men like Geminus and Aulus Vitellius are standing on their good reputation alone.

In conclusion an interesting month and team Rome is just about holding the line against various types of Barbarian plots.  But hopes that the crack legions of the Roman Army at its peak would be a joy to command compared to the drunken louts “press ganged” into C18 armies found in Glori may be wishful thinking.