Ancient Realms Campaign

Time Line of Events:
60 b.c. - 40 b.c.

The Ancient Realms campaign focuses on the turmoil of the period in which Gaius Julius Caesar conquered the Gauls and then turned about on Rome and his competitors, eventually seeking to proclaim himself King of Rome, and God in Egypt. It also focuses on Egypt and the machinations of Cleopatra, young schemestress who had many, many husbands, all victims of her vampiric charm. This period therefore falls from 60 b.c. during the formation of the first Triumvirate, and ends four years after Caesar’s death when Octavius and Antony establish dual rulership of Rome.
To make this period of history accessible to the average role-playing campaign, I have chosen a specific period of history, namely that period which includes Caesar’s campaigns against the Goths to his assassination and the rise of the second Triumvirate. By focusing on a twenty-year period, the hope is that a sufficiently detailed, specific structure can be assembled about this time in history which will lend itself well to a long-term campaign that can start the characters out as young adventurers in 60 b.c., and lead them in to the thick of it all, and perhaps even get to participate in some world-changing events, by 40 b.c..
I prefer focusing on the Roman Republic as a way of avoiding the overwhelming specific details and foci which one would find in a campaign set during the time of Imperial Rome, and also to allow the campaign plenty of options for the exploration and discovery of periphery kingdoms and territories or Rome, which have not necessarily been so romanized at this time as to have lost a flavor of fresh discovery. Additionally, the Parthians are a strong, but not critical, foe to the Republic during this time, and much of the conflict that can be found is due to internal civil war (or the Gaulish conflicts). With so much varied conflict going on, a party of adventurers will have plenty of opportunity to get involved or stay away, as according to the interest of the players in a military or independent campaign.

The Secret History of the World
Throughout the time line, information which is not actually historical in the real world, but either is mythical, magical, or just deviant from history will be presented in italics. Such information will usually reflect the secret world hidden just beneath the polished historical veneer. The magical cults and societies which have pervaded man since time immemorial had their hands deep in the maelstrom of this time period, and things were clearly not as they seemed in the history books.
There are a variety of prominent cultic faiths that appear throughout the centuries of Rome’s existence. These were known as the Mystery Cults, and among the real-world cults were followers of Mithrais, Bacchus, Cybele, Isis, and others. The influx of other cultures and their acceptance as a plurality of beliefs was what made Rome so successful at integrating the many regions of the world it touched upon. What worked for it so well was also an element of it’s downfall; the later rise of Christian faith was an anathema to the Romans, for the Christians would not bow before the emperor or any other deity, and such acknowledgment was blasphemous and incomprehensible.
During the Rise of the Triumvirate and the fall of the Republic, the plurality of faiths, as well as the Roman State Religion, are strong. The Ancient Realms campaign assumes that for every well-documented or at least visible Mystery Cult, there were probably five others about which no knowledge persisted. Since it is assumed that magical practices were real, and capable of genuine effects, the Ancient Realms campaign by extension assumes that many of the interesting events in history did, in fact, have sorcerous events shaping and molding the course of human events.
In this alternate-history of Rome, it is also assumed that on the periphery of civilization, there are many hidden races and dark, ancient beings which can be communicated with by those who know, or feared and slain by those who unwittingly stumble upon them. Some of the more interesting species which might have a presence are mentioned in the text below, as well.

The Time Line

60 Gaius Julius Caesar returns from campaigning in Iberian Spain to Rome. Pompey and Crassus join with Caesar after he is elected consul, forming the First Triumvirate.
Soldiers in Caesar’s army learn of a sanctuary, long abandoned, but supposedly filled with hidden riches (the Collado de los Jardines). This temple was apparently guarded by a lion-dragon servant of Melqart, the Herkalieon, or something similar, for they were all killed and found dead and dismembered at the base of the secret trail days later.

59 Caesar has served his first term as consul at this time. Caesar is proclaimed the Proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum and Transalpine Gaul. Pompey marries Julius Caesar’s daughter, Julia. Livy is born. During his first year, the senator Magius Serranus approaches him, offering entry into the Mercurians, an esoteric cult of sorcerers dedicated to the ancient Greek magician Hermes Trismegistus. Caesar accepts.

58 Caesar begins campaigning in Gaul. During this period, the Celts of Britain ally themselves with the Gauls against Caesar. Caesar’s first victories are against Helvetii and Ariovistos. He continues campaigning through year 50.
Salamis, principle city of the Isle of Cyprus, is annexed by the Romans. The Senate in Rome appoints Claudius as Tribune. Consul Cicero is exiled.

57 Scythopolis becomes the principle trade link and founding city of the Decapolis, or League of Ten Cities, comprised of itself and a cluster of other cities across Jordan. Scythopolis was seiged by Pompey in 63 when Judea was conquered, and rebuilt into a pagan city by its current ruler, Aulus Gabinius. The League of Ten Cities is only loosely attached to Syria.
In Rome, Tribune Clodius and Milo bring riots in the streets, and consul Cicero is allowed to return.
Caesar brings defeat to the Belgae and Nervii.

56 The Romans defeat Veneti at sea. Later in the year, the Conference of Triumvirs is held at Luca. .

55 After pushing the conflict in to Germany, Caesar holds a council of leading Gauls in Samarobriva for possible resolutions to the conflict. In the end, late in the year Caesar turns about and invades Britain. Crassus and Pompey are both re-appointed Consuls in Rome.

54 Caesar continues to invade Britain. The powerful Belgic tribe leader Casivelaunus of Southern Britain agrees to pay tribute to Rome. Marcus Crassus remains in Samarobriva with the hostages, booty, grain, and archives. They all spend the winter here, with three armies posted along the river. Julia, wife of Pompey, dies. Revolts begin in northeastern Gaul.
The clans of the Sidhee in Britain draw deep into the hidden woods and conclaves of the land to avoid the frightening invaders. The druids of Britain advice peace to Casivelaunus, and encourage the furtherance of peaceful relations in the wake of the mystical recession.

53 Crassus and his forces are defeated and killed by Parthians at Carrhae. This disastrous defeat is Rome’s greatest defeat against the Parthians.
Once again winter is waited out in Samarobriva by the Roman legions.
Crassus and his army was defeated at the hands of a Parthian coalition of Chaldean Magi, who have promised alliances with Mithradites which will insure his quest for immortality. These magi call upon older, pre-Mithraic Zoroastrian cults, using the powers of the Drauga, the primevil demiurge, and the Nasa-Druj, the bringer of the dead, to facilitate the Roman defeat. Crassus’ arrogance was but one part of the massacre....

52 Avaricum, last bastion of hope for the principle Gallic leader Vercingetorix, is seiged by the Romans in the Belgica region. This is the deathblow of strong Gallic opposition. In Rome, Milo kills Tribune Clodius. Pompey is declared sole consul in Rome. Caesar sieges and brings down Alesia. Roman forces in the deep woods of Belgica searching for escaped prisoners are assaulted by tribes of hideous, non human ghouls. They narrowly escape with a few odd captive specimens and some amazing tales. These specimens are added to the list of curios which are put into the arenas.
In the Mediterranean Sea, several ships are assaulted by pirates, among whom are minotaurs, claiming to be long-descended sons of the near-forgotten Minotaur of Knossos. This is no surprise, since minotaurs rank among the oddities of Rome’s arenas, captured in the wilderlands of Scythia and even Armenia, along with cyclopes and other such beasts.

51 Cleopatra VII, at age 18, gains the throne of Egypt through marrying her brother and husband, Ptolemy XIII Philopator II. The Parthians invade Syria.
Mithraic faith is one of the few beliefs to stand against the Drauga cults which pervade the Parthian forces. Mithraism gains strong ground among warriors and commoners in Syria during this time. The power of the Nasa-Druj is called upon often to raise the dead as warriors against the Parthian enemies.
In Egypt, Cleopatra is indoctrinated in to the Isis Cult, and granted visions of the future to guide her in events to come. It is thanks to this insight which she is able to act against Philopater in the future.

50 Caesar conquers Gaul, which falls under his armies. Even so, the north-eastern territories of Belgica remain largely out of control to anyone save hardy locals.

49 After evidence becomes clear that the senate and Pompey are jealous and worried about Caesar, they decide to plot against him. Caesar realizes his position, and so marches on Rome. Caesar crosses the Rubicon to start civil war against Pompey and his forces. Civil war will last for five years. Pompey takes leave of Rome to head for safety in Greece. Caesar is granted dictatorship for 11 days in Rome while he quells the civil war. Caesar heads to Iberia and defeats Pompey’s forces amassed there.
With his new-found divination magic he has learned, and the backing of the Mercurians, Caesar is well-prepared to deal with the dissention to his power. Not even an assault on his troops by perytons, summoned to destroy him o n his return from Gallica, succeeds.

48 During this time, Egypt’s King Philopator and his young wife and sister Cleopatra quarrel, and he tries to kill her. She flees to the safety of family alliances in Syria, and then returns with an army which assaults Philopator, who is holed up in the eastern fortress of Pelusium.
The civil war turns against Pompey as Caesar’s forces annihilate his defenses in Greece at the Battle of Pharsalus. Pompey flees to Egypt to seek sanctuary with Philopator. Pharsalus falls as he flees, coming under Caesar’s control.
The city of Thurii becomes the staging ground for an insurrection against Caesar by Marcus Caelius Rufus, but he is captured and executed. Rufus had sought to employ the skills of a necromancer named Gaia Nasica, who worships Pluto, Orcus, and other underworld gods, but she failed to support him.

47 The Alexandrian War ensues. Pompey is betrayed by Philopator who offers his head to Caesar, who is newly arrived in Egypt. Caesar instead meets with Cleopatra first, and she, on being presented to him, has sex and comes to bear his son.
Philopator renews the civil war at this time, leading an army to the Pharaoh’s Lighthouse, where Caesar is cornered and escapes by swimming under a hail of arrows, meets with an allied army of Arab Nabateans, and calls them in to crush Philopator’s forces. Philopator dies in the aftermath of the battle.
Cleopatra also marries Ptolemy XIV, her murdered husband’s younger brother. Caesar proclaims Cleopatra Queen of Egypt. In his absence, Rome proclaims Caesar dictator for a second time, and civil war erupts in the streets of Rome once more.
Herod becomes governor at Galilee.
The first fire at the Library of Alexandria happens, apparently part of the civil war.
The fire at the Library of Alexandria is staged by cultists of the secret magian Order of Drauga, that they might steal precious arcane scrolls held by the Library’s own keepers , which include the Mercurians. The Ancient Arab-Egyptian cult of the Faceless Ones resurfaces during this time in the Secret War to aid Caesar and try to woo him over to their side. Caesar takes a manipulative approach, without committing to anything.

46 After a trip to Rome, Caesar head for Africa, which is made a Roman province. Caesar returns to Rome With Cleopatra and his son. She tries to convince him to adopt the Egyptian religion, become a god-king, and her his god-queen. He likes the idea privately, but won’t acknowledge it publicly. Caesar’s forces crush the still more resistance of Pompey’s rebellious troops at the Battle of Thapsus, led by Scipio and Cato (who commits suicide later). Also during this time he makes several motions through his retainers to receive title of Dictator-for-Life, but refuses it when observing that the public seemed restive, instead taking the consulship for a third time.
The Roman calendar is reformed, and the Julian Calendar introduced b Caesar.
Thousands of scrolls are taken to Rome with Caesar on his return at this time, gifts from Cleopatra, taken from the Library at Alexandria. These gifts are in fact an exchange between the magicians in Egypt and the Hermetic Order in Rome. Hidden within these scrolls are the occultic rituals which insure Caesar’s passage to demigodhood. These scrolls never make it to the order.

45 Caesar adopts his nephew Gaius Octavius as heir. In Spain, the final republican resistance is crushed at the Battle of Munda. In Egypt, Caesar has himself proclaimed a god and temples are founded in his worship. In Rome, he begins riding an Egyptian chariot through the streets, and his actions infuriate patriots such as Brutus.
Caesar creates an uproar at his pronouncements, and is cast from the Mercurians by the secret council. Caesar orders specific members of the senate and elite who belong to the Order killed for treason, sparking the move which comes about on the ides of March, when the unwitting patriots are manipulated in to assassinating Caesar for his treasonous actions. During the time sped in Egypt, Caesar seeks to solidify his relations with the Faceless Ones and their promise of allegiance and immortality. This causes a catastrophic break in the Mercurian order.

44 On the ides of March, Caesar is murdered by patriotic conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius Longinus. In May and June of this month, Roman astronomers observe a reddish comet so large it can be seen in daylight. This is believed to be the visage of Caesar, ascended to godhood. Mt. Etna erupts during this time as well.
Caesar’s nephew, Gaius Octavius, returns to Rome from Greece.
Cleopatra poisons her husband to make room for her son, born also of Julius Caesar. Young Caesarion is renamed Ptolemy XV and reigns over Egypt with his mother.

43 A second triumvirate consisting of Mark Antony, Octavian (Octavius now renamed Gaius Julius Octavian), and the High Priest Lepidus is appointed. During this period, Rome descends into Civil War, with Brutus and Cassius opposed to the second triumvirate. Cicero is murdered. The poet Ovid is born.

42 Brutus and Cassius commit suicide after being defeated by the Second Triumvirate, which sought to destroy Caesar’s murderers.
Some suspect that Brutus and Cassius didn’t really commit suicide, but were driven to such madness by di Manes conjured by Lepidus., a practicing Manist.

41 Mark Antony, rising in power, establishes his palace at Cilicia. Cleopatra visits him and with her charms she manages to gain all concessions she needs for Egypt. Antony eventually follows her back to Egypt to live with her in opulence. This leaves his wife, Fulvia, to openly defy Octavian as rightful heir to the throne and more civil war erupts.

40 Fulvia is driven to Greece in retreat from Octavian’s forces. She soon falls ill and dies, but before this happens, Antony finally returns. Cleopatra is pregnant in Egypt with his children. Antony establishes a truce with Octavian, blaming the conflict on his dead wife, and he and Octavian spit the empire in two, Antony getting the eastern half and marrying Octavian’s sister Octavia in the bargain. Cleopatra is enraged and has twins.
Herod is appointed King of Judea at Rome.
Mark Antony hands over all 200,000 scrolls of The Library at Pergamon to Cleopatra, who adds them to the Library of Alexandria, making it the greatest existing library. This presumably happens before she becomes enraged with him.
The Parthians invade the province of Syria, but are repelled by Antony’s general Publius Ventidius by 38.
The city of Thurii is besieged by Sextus Pompeius, who is mocked for his efforts by Antony.
The Parthians begin a new invasion of Syria this year. For the next two years, Roman forces led by Antony’s general Publius Ventidius will battle the Parthians, eventually driving them out of the province.


....And so concludes the snippet of history in which the Ancient Realms campaign chooses to focus. There are a wealth of resources to provide you with all the titillating details of what transpires from this period onward, in to the glory of Imperial Rome. Hail Caesar!