Ancients game and Sci-fi missions planned!

Agema's website www.agema.org.uk has just been updated to make it easier than ever to work out how to join three of our play-by-email games! The games in question are The Glory of Kings (18th century wargames campaign), Scramble for Empire (Queen Victoria's era campaign), and Regime Change (our sci-fi space opera).

We are also planning a brand new ancient campaign game centred on the Roman Empire, and our next set of publications is likely to be a series of wargame scenarios and missions books for science-fiction wargames (for use with just about any rules including our own Resistance is Futile 3rd edition set).

Also still available in our line of PBEMs/PBMs is Swashbuckler, our roleplaying game set within the universe of The Glory of Kings, and Napoleonic Battles, our tactical battles wargame.

That Roman Empire game sounds interesting...

I bet positions in that game will have better technology than my African tribe does in TGOK

Rozwi_Game10 wrote:That Roman Empire game sounds interesting...

I bet positions in that game will have better technology than my African tribe does in TGOK

Plumbing

Looking forward to this.

Basileus wrote:Looking forward to this.

I like Ancient period games but I think the Roman Republic is a more interesting period then the Roman Empire.

In order to keep up my "honour score/prestige/status points etc" I will have to look up how to cook door mice and by copy of "the good orgy guide".

It could be late empire, which might be fun, perhaps at the disintergration of the west? When do other people think it will be staged?

Basileus wrote:It could be late empire, which might be fun, perhaps at the disintergration of the west? When do other people think it will be staged?

No way is Attila the Hun, the demented chicken fancier and various bishops as interesting as Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar, Mithridates, Cleopatra, Cato etc, etc.

I vote for the later Republic every time when men were men and women models of Roman Virtue (or Greek sex pots and posion experts)!

Second Punic Wars with Macedonian/Greek succesor states in the east, barbarians in the west, Numidians and Carthaginians in the south or just Roman politics? Possibly the demented chicken fancier and other insane characters of the end of Rome might have been less worthy of admiration but may be just as interesting. But classical Rome might be more attractive with Late Republic politics which could attract more players with a Civil War and different factions?
Any chance of a spoiler from Richard?

Seems to me that in a earlier period you can set up either :

a) A game covering the rise of Rome. In which players can take various powers as well as Roman factions.

or

b) A later period game covering the civil war in which players take Roman senatorial factions inc their regional power bases and their clients like Cleo, Juba etc.

My favourite would be to start the game with the landing of Pyrrhos of Epeiros in south Italy on a mission to save Greek Civilization from the barbarians.

One possible problem is that with benefit of hindsight will everyone gang up on Rome? Or with the Sabines and Italian Gauls start to order Toga's and start their campaign to get elected to the senate early.

I've always fancied a gladiator game, where I'd be the Lannister and would develop my Ludus and man-manage my Doctore and fighters. Investing money in schemes and other ventures to help boost my wealth and Dignitas scores. Spending the money on my Villa and family, staging orgies and buying in expensive pleasure slaves, recruiting specialist trainers for different gladiator fighting styles, Medicus and cooks etc to improve the physical and psychological aspects of my fighters. I always fancied playing a game such as this in Pompeii (before the eruption), and allowing some anachronisms for gladiator fighting styles that didn't come into reality until later.

Only problem that I can think of is; A) What money denomination to use - And working out the cost for items to purchase/invest in; B) How the fight mechanics would work, and how to report them in-game.

But, obviously, this isn't the new game that Agema's bringing out.

I suppose what needs to be asked is what type of campaign game is it to be? Wargame (solely concerned with battles and campaigning), or an all-encompassing game like TGOK?

If it was the time of Pyrrhos that would be similar to the starting date of the two Rome computer games and mods like Europa Barbarorum, would be good.

I'm more interested in the type of game. Given that Glory is pretty free form, I'm not betting that Richard will start another one that time intensive, so wondering if it will be more war game, or more civ like (with economy/build components)?

I understand that, but I think the more complex games have greater longevity. There was a crusader game a long time ago, but I think it was simpler and so it didnt last - I presume. So I would prefer something more like Glory if possible because then it would last longer.

An ancient game would be really interesting, I would be thinking a game around the time of Justinian would be a very interesting period to think about. The gladiator idea would be good too, although I did find a while back a game based on Gladiators where you do control a Lanista and the games master builds gladiatorial contents. You then control the gladiators equipment, training and such, I think it was called Blood of the Sands.

I believe the best period is just before the 2nd Punic War, I have run games where I had the Romans and Carthaginians run differently. I had individuals running the autocratic states of Macedon and the like whilst I had people controlling families in Rome and Carthage it created a really diverse game where you had individuals leading armies against Macedon whilst the main man in Rome sweated at the outcome. Also managing the senate was great fun.

I just had a look at Richards orriginal post and it says Roman Empire rather than Republic.

I rather if it is more about a roman family, if its going to be GoK like you could be looking at an era like the Tetrachy under Diocletian.

Surely time for an update? I am a bit over exposed with games at the moment but who could resist an ancients game ?

The new ancients game is called ROME IS BURNING.

The era shall be 1st century A.D., and features (one would hope!) a nice lively Roman civil war plus interventions by 'barbarians' (i.e. those beyond the frontiers).

If you want more information, here it is; the game map isn't complete but looks fantastic so far and huge, and in common with The Glory of Kings and Scramble for Empire there will be an in-game newspaper every game turn (called AD INFINITUM). The first turn, date wise, will be IANUAIUS 804 AB URBE CONDITA. Now what that date is compared to AD/Anno Domini (AGEMA being firmly a 'CE' date-free zone!) you can go and work out...

Launch date hasn't been fixed, but we'll open a pre-launch waiting list sometime... !  

PAX ROMANUS!

Very nice Richard andvthxs forvthe update

So if Rome was found in April 753BC then 804 years from the founding of Rome would be 51AD. Shamefully, I am not certain if 0 year counts as a year, if it does then it becomes 50AD, which I think it is. So Claudius is Emperor, at least for another 4 years before being poisoned by his wife. I might be wrong but that seems to make sense. If anyone has a better timeline calculation I will just be mildly embarressed.
Legions are probably at the height of their efficiency.

Can I officially burn Rome down in this Game?

You can try.....

Never been one for the Glory that was Men in Bedsheets...but perhaps an Alliance of Jasons burning Rome to the ground could have some appeal...

Normally, the title gives a strong clue on how to play the game - Scramble for Empire, Glory of Kings, so Rome Burns kinda says it all. But it might have been a reference to Rome being set on fire by Nero which is supposed to still happen in the future if 50 AD is the start.
At this time military and civil roles were kept seperate making it harder to establish a rebellion. But it should be a time of religous upheaval, Preatorian Guards, dynastic intrigue, gladiators, poison, money and death.

So either burning down Rome as an official inside job( Nero) . Or an outside job ( Barbarian hordes)


What about Sparticus? Surely "I am Sparitcus..." must appear somewhere

Any goats involved in the Roman Empire? Or are they more a Republican animal?