Some friends of mine have invited me to a game of Roma Imperius, possibly this weekend.

I've never heard of this game before.  It was described to me as an alt-history Rome game with fantasy stuff going on.  The system was described broadly as being percentile-based with a gore-y critical hit table.

Anyone have any experience with this game?  Could tell me more about it, what to expect, or whether I should bother?

I think it's a great game, with a fascinating setting - think a Rome which took a different turn than the turn to Christianity under Constantine, and which never fell apart. There is magic and fantasy races as noted.

-clash

It sounds really cool, but the existence of fantasy races is slightly off-putting.  

I guess I would have preferred either:

(a) something like Ars Magica, but for the Roman Empire (including an alt-history where it survives); or

(b) something like the WFRP, but based on the (pagan) Roman Empire instead of the Holy Roman Empire of the 15th C.

Anyhow, I've often been tempted to get it, but I just can't justify the cost given the fact that it is exceedingly unlikely that I'll ever have a chance to play it in the future.

There's certainly no harm in giving the game a shot!

One thing I love about HinterWelt's games are the fact that they present system and setting as completely separate.  I love the Roma setting, and have used it with such systems as d20 and True20 as well.  Aside from that, I've gleaned from it dozens of ideas for other campaigns.

Here's an old review I did for it--I can't recommend it enough!

Quote from: AkrasiaIt sounds really cool, but the existence of fantasy races is slightly off-putting.  

If the guy who wrote the game can chime in (and honestly, I will butt out if the OP wants it), you play humans. That is all the players are. There are traditional (read taken from actual mythology) foes in the game. So, there are Alfar, dwarves and harpies but there are also twists on those. For instance, the cannibal Eastern Dwarves and the Atrox.

So, no, you so not play anything but humans in this game. Sorry if that disappoints.

Bill

Quote from: Akrasia(b) something like the WFRP, but based on the (pagan) Roman Empire instead of the Holy Roman Empire of the 15th C.

Rome is shown on HBO every Sunday, you know.

As a historian, I can't get over the logical acrobatics that have to take place in order to accept some of the premises of that game. Like, say, the Roman adoption of Druid magic... there's just too much in that game that strikes me as not just unhistorical but directly contradictory to Roman culture and history.  I mean, I'd accept the premises of Fulminata as more believable than Roma Imperius, and Fulminata ain't particularly credible either.

But hey, if you're not obsessively concerned about historicity, then you might not have the same problem.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditAs a historian, I can't get over the logical acrobatics that have to take place in order to accept some of the premises of that game. Like, say, the Roman adoption of Druid magic... there's just too much in that game that strikes me as not just unhistorical but directly contradictory to Roman culture and history.  I mean, I'd accept the premises of Fulminata as more believable than Roma Imperius, and Fulminata ain't particularly credible either.

But hey, if you're not obsessively concerned about historicity, then you might not have the same problem.

RPGPundit

Actually, it is not so much accepting Druidic magic. It much more complex than that. hrm, that is why I wrote the book. Essentially, the first demonstrable magic was performed by Druids and Constantine used that to his advantage. His roots in Britannia had served him well and he later tried to get the Druids to give  up what they knew but could not get them to talk. Thus, he founded a set of Scholae Magorum for the research and development of Roman magic. What they discovered was a magic that did not fit their perception of magic but was not the Druidic magic either.

This is the fundamental problem you always run into with ad copy vs reading the book. I have to shorten it up and it doesn't always come across clearly. Sorry about that.

Bill

Quote from: HinterWeltActually, it is not so much accepting Druidic magic. It much more complex than that. hrm, that is why I wrote the book. Essentially, the first demonstrable magic was performed by Druids and Constantine used that to his advantage. His roots in Britannia had served him well and he later tried to get the Druids to give  up what they knew but could not get them to talk. Thus, he founded a set of Scholae Magorum for the research and development of Roman magic. What they discovered was a magic that did not fit their perception of magic but was not the Druidic magic either.

This is the fundamental problem you always run into with ad copy vs reading the book. I have to shorten it up and it doesn't always come across clearly. Sorry about that.

Bill

Except that by the time of Constantine there wasn't a fucking Druid left anywhere in Britain!

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditExcept that by the time of Constantine there wasn't a fucking Druid left anywhere in Britain!

RPGPundit

Well, in actual history they didn't have the only working magic in the world, did they?

I take your points, but if the Romans had encountered magic that worked they'd have coopted it, that bit I don't particularly struggle with.  They were a pragmatic people.

Quote from: RPGPunditExcept that by the time of Constantine there wasn't a fucking Druid left anywhere in Britain!

RPGPundit

Probably. Yes. But guess, what? Magic is not real either.

Edit: Also, if there was a place where the Druids would be able to hide in small numbers, it would have been Britannia.

Bill

The Romans didn't control all of Brittania, and never set foot in Ireland. I assumed for my game that some Druids got away from the great persecutions in southern Brittania to Pictland and Ireland, and set up training centers there.

-mice

Quote from: flyingmiceThe Romans didn't control all of Brittania, and never set foot in Ireland. I assumed for my game that some Druids got away from the great persecutions in southern Brittania to Pictland and Ireland, and set up training centers there.

-mice

In the upcoming (I need to get off my butt and write) Britannia supplement, the slaughter at Mona (60 A.D.) was a ruse meant to convince the Romans they had destroyed all resistance/the druids themselves. They hid amongst their people and beyond the reach of the Empire in Hybernia and Northern British Isles.

So, yeah, Clash, we think alike.

Bill

Quote from: RPGPunditExcept that by the time of Constantine there wasn't a fucking Druid left anywhere in Britain!

RPGPundit

The problem with that statement is that people tend to hide beliefs and be very secretive when people are trying to kill you for them.

Also, the game IS Alternate History and obviously has fantasy elements, so why the hell complain about the historical inaccuracies? Just makes no sense to me. Its obvious to me that the game was written to be fantastical Roman Alternate history game.

I have played Roma several times and it is one of my favorite games. It can be played as a straight historical game or as more of a Roman flavored fantasy and anything between.

Well personally I don't care much about historical innacuracies.  Honestly, it could be Romulans with harpies and I'd be cool with it.

Does anyone have any information on the system that they could offer up?  I downloaded the character sheet and (other than being scared of the toner loss in potentially printing even the b&w version) I must admit that I find it a bit intimidating.