Trial by Fire - or The Great Treason

Ok, we tried them yesterday night, and that was a big hit.

This, is (with poor latin, as befits the game), a small session report. There were four players fighting for the imperial toga. Quitillius, Domitius, Claudius (that would be me) and Lucius. Quitillius and Domitius were young tribunii laticlavii, having just completed their cursus honorum. Lucius and Claudius on the other hand were seasoned veterans, both tribunii angusticlavii with many campaigns with the former emperor under their belts. The four of them were, however, seized by a powerlust that would plunge the Empire in four years of terrible bloodshed.



Lucius calmly contemplates his options, while it seems obvious that Domitius has a cunning plan


Quintillius clients were strong in Hispania and Achaia. Domitius was a former Parthian prince, and his influence could be felt all over the Pontus Euxinus, down to Mesopotamia. Lucius was born from a greek family and had studied in Athens. He had also connexions with the Ptolemeians in Egypt. Claudius had been the only one close to the late Emperor, and was strong in Narbonensis and Sicilia.






As soon as the late emperor died, the four adversaries proceeded to anhilitate the client families of their rivals in their provinces of origin. A succesion of small skirmishes, and political assassinations ensued. Only Quintillus engaged in more constructive activities, starting a colony of the coast of Hispania, with financial support from Claudius. Claudius reinforced his naval superiority off the coast of Egypt, while Domitius claimed total control of the Pont Euxin. After one year of conflict, only Quintillius had dared cross the rubicon, and was timidly holding Italy. He had also managed to convince the senate to vote the mustering of 6 new legions to be put under his command. When the legions retired to their winter quarters, Quintillius and Claudius were slightly ahead of Domitius and Lucius.
However, the Roman plebeians started putting pressure on the senators. The constant infighting, the taxes and the mustering of new legions were sources of discontent. As a result, the senators were less willing to associate themselves with Quintillius faction.

The second  year saw much action on the seas and on the benches of the Senate. To begin, many old Roman families finally decided to shed their allegiances to the old emperor. There was a lot of influence to be gained in the immortal city for a daring tribune. Quintillus was ideally placed, but lacked the ressources. Claudius accepted to finance, against a promise of support in the next senatorial election. Claudius also consolidated his sway over Sicily and Napolis, and even gained acess to Rome, happy to remain under the shade of Quintillius rising star. Off the coast of Alexandria, Lucius allied with the pirates managed to cripple Claudius's fleet, leaving only one galley unscanthed. But that galley was enough to block the channel of the Pont Euxin, preventing Domitius from entering in the fray of the battle for Rome. Lucius proceeded to expel Claudius from Egypt, but Domitius was able to snatch the victory from him, claiming the second place in Egypt. A three year long contest for the dominance of Egypte had just begun.

A turning point was reached when Claudio called for a triumph to be held in his honor. Lucius and Domitius objected on the ground that Claudius had just been kicked out of Egypt. In the end, it would be Quintillius decision. And the young and ambitious tribune showed his real mettle, betraying his elder allied and financer. From then, the co-habitation in Rome of Claudius and Quintillius became tense, each contendent reinforcing his position without daring launching a frontal attack. At the end of the year, most of the players decided to reduce their levels of civil unrest by neglecting their military ventures and focusing on their magistratures. The plebeians where being listened to, at last.

On the eve of the third year of conflict, Claudius was ahead of Quintillius, while Lucius and Domitius were struggling to keep the pace. But Lucius had placed his fleets poised to strike at the heart of Claudius's zone of influence. Opeing once more the purse, Claudius managed to broke a deal with Lucius, nullifying this menace and ensuring once more that Domitius would remain out of Europe. Lucius turned instead to Egypt, were Domitius had just built a new colony, and managed to expel him form the province, seizing control of the colony and of the province. Quintillius started to behave incontrollably, the young tribune throwing fits and having bouts of dellusion. He kept constantly a guard of praetorians besides him, in fear of assassination attempts, and would never agree to hear the messengers sent by Claudius, instead sending ludicrous appeals for alliances and begging for funds to Domitius and Lucius. He requested a vote from the senate for additional taxes, but that was thwarted by the senators allied to Domitius and Lucius. Despite this, he launched again a series of public works, and after a flood of the Tiber that destroyed half of Suburre, he ordred the construction of a new forum in Rome. That would give him the control of a second colony and ensure a safe, if late financial base. The plebeians approved of this, his level of unrest steadily reducing. Quintillus sway over Rome was increasing by the day. An attempt by Claudius to snatch the influence through a vote of the senate was once again rebuted through the conjunction of Quintillius control over the Senate and  succesfull corruption attempts.

Despite these setbacks, Claudius' position was still the strongest, considering how he controlled all the provinces in the vicinity of Rome, with the exclusion of Achaia and Hispania. That is why, when the barbarians uprisings in Meosia and Panonia were left unchecked, the populus of Rome held him responsible, thereby increasing his unpopularity.



The fourth year saw once more an alliance of Lucius and Claudius brokered thourgh Claudius' gold. Every player tried to consolidate his position. Domitius regained a foothold in Egpyt, took over Numidia and even managed to gain some influence in Narbonensis and Sicily, the Pont Euxin no longer controlled by ennemy fleets. Lucius landed his legions in Galatia and wrestled its control out of Domitius' hands. Quintillius, his dellusions of persecution  worsening, kept reinforcing his troops in Rome, while Claudius, finally managing to get the Senate to work for him, organised a series of games that went down in History as the first games ever organized in CoTEII this side of the Ganges. This dramatically improved his image with the plebeians. Quintilius managed to embark in a fast campaign over Hadrien's Wall. This, and his uncontested mastery of the Senate that enabled him to obtain another triumph in his honor, let him reduce the distance Claudius had managed to put between them.

In the last season, Claudius launched a desperate assault over the walls of the new colony in Rome, counting on the experience of his legions and on an alliance with the Senate. But however unprepared and poorely led, Quintillius's legions proved too many, and Claudius had to retire to Napolis.  That was the closing chapter of the War of the four Emperors. Alea Jacta Erat.

In the end, thanks to his control over two colonies, the level of civil unrest of Quintillus was lower than that of Claudius, despite the seasoned magistrate attempts to ingratiate himself with Rome's populus. This reduced Claudius status, making it equal with that of Quintillius. And lo and behold, it was then the plebeians, the ungrateful @#§$**!,  that came down the via sacra, flooded the forum and entered the senate, scanding Quintillus's name, that finally carried the decision. Quintillius was offered the imperial purple, as the first populist emperor!

The popular albeit treacherous, dellusional and selfcontemptuous emperor Quintillius in majesty:




Victory escaping from the grap of Claudius.  An allegory.











This rare apocrypha is attributed to Suetonius. The manuscript has been fund in a closed jar of Herculanum, together with rare paintings depicting the major events of this obscure and ill documented period of Roman Imperial History call the War of the Fours. It is generally held that history is written by the victors. However, scholars have pointed out that elements in Suetonius's account may be partial and thus could have been written while in service with an unidentified patrician. Wild hypothesis circulate about how Claudius may have engaged in historiography to compensate for his defeat. This debate of specialist does not belong here, and more information may be found by those interested here:

Chaos in Rome - Boardgamegeek Forum