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I love Rome-on-Elbe. Also not a lot of ppl thinking about the consequences of the Hellenic Age never ending, or at least being extended out by several centuries -- especially on the Indus. Should make for much stronger ties/knowledge of the far east in the west, even if there's about the same relative amount of poo poo written/transmitted as irl e. bad snipe, last imperator update on end of last page
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Jan 20, 2023 22:24
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The Carthaginian empire is also way smaller than Rome ever was: so there's liable to be much less impact on Europe. No big criss-cross of roads and monumental architecture, but also, we have to talk about what the non-punic peoples are like, then.
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Jan 20, 2023 22:27
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NewMars posted:The Carthaginian empire is also way smaller than Rome ever was: so there's liable to be much less impact on Europe. No big criss-cross of roads and monumental architecture, but also, we have to talk about what the non-punic peoples are like, then. Honestly I could see a big gradient between various celtics and punics culture depending on how the Barcids are ruling over Iberia and the various celts (and non-celts) there.
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Jan 20, 2023 22:34
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There's also the big elephant in the room in the form of the Huns not having happened yet, so the Germans haven't been pushed south and east as much as they historically were
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Jan 20, 2023 22:48
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Okay, next post is the epilogue — like I said, it’s fully narrative, so if that’s not your thing just skip past it, you won’t miss anything important The first Imperator-CK3 vote will be up tomorrow or the day after
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Jan 21, 2023 00:27
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You know what would be hilarious? If germany-rome ends up fusing with the carthaginian colony somehow.
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Jan 21, 2023 00:29
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EPILOGUE Somewhere in Toscana Sometime after the birth of Christ, and before the death of Ragnar The sun descended over a dead city. Hanno walked through ruins dappled black, orange and red. Shadows were everywhere, flaring into empty pedestals and alcoves, flitting between lonely pillars and collapsed buildings, firing a brief and temporary life into those stone and marble half-figures that were still standing. The old gods cling to his place, Hanno’s mama always said, pinching his hooked nose as she did so. She also told me to avoid them, he reminded himself, but something about these ruins always drew him back — especially at sunset, when the city seemed to capture something of its lost glories. It was best seen from above, so Hanno slowly made his way up the hill that the city had once crowned. The ruins went well beyond, of course; this place had been vast, claiming several hilltops and stretching down to the river beyond, with hundreds of hundreds of people living within, lords and knights and conquerors… But that was a long time ago. Shaking his head, Hanno pushed onwards and onto the upper slopes, which, he thought, must’ve been the temple district of the old city, because it was populated by dozens of statues and idols — all formless, weather-beaten things. They might’ve been beautiful, once, but whoever hammered the gems and precious things from their faces had not been gentle, and now they were just faceless ghosts. Although... there was one statue that still remembered something of its history, and as usual, Hanno stopped for a moment to gaze up at his likeness. Immense, drowning in vines and mosses, featureless like the rest of his kin, and yet he was reaching out for the skies, a broken thunderbolt clutched in fist. Hanno didn’t know his name; he was a ruin, like everything else in this dead city, but even so… there was something unnerving about him. Something that whispered of defiance, and fury, and vengeance to come. Hanno stood there for a long time, lost in shapeless thought. It wasn’t until a shiver nibbled at his neck that he was shaken from his reprieve, and he finally tore himself away from the forgotten god with a curse. “Need to be back before dark”, he murmured with a glance at the sky. He was big, for his age, and stronger than many of the men in his village, but his mother constantly worried after him. Especially since aba left… So Hanno quickened his pace, keeping his eyes low and feet moving, over collapsed arches and through weed-choked buildings, step after step on the half-sunken path that wound ever upwards. He was breathing hard when he finally crested the hill, a sudden flood of fading sunlight washing over him. Hanno walked to the rocky outcroppings that shouldered the hill, allowing himself a short rest to take in the vistas. From there, the pinnacle of the hill, he could see the land (and ruins) for leagues all around — the surrounding hillocks marred with memories of their own, a glimmer that was the winding river far below, greens and blacks sweeping beyond, and… and… And a band of men, clad in steel. Hanno went to ground in a heartbeat, rolling into a dense thicket of shrubbery. Tanit save me, how did I not hear them? They were close, very close, he must’ve been lost in his own thoughts. Foolish, but even so. Who are they? Strangers, that much is sure… Strangers bearing steel. I just need to stay still, Hanno told himself. Yes, I haven’t made a sound, I’m off the paths, and they don’t know I’m here… if I still myself, silent myself, they’ll be here and then they’ll be gone… But when he heard their voices — guttural, harsh, alien — something primitive took ahold of him. Before he knew what was happening, Hanno was on his feet and bounding away, rushing down the path that led down the hill, the sounds of fury and metal chasing after him, ruin and rubble strewn about, and—and then the world was turning over and onto him, the ground was beating at him, his mouth was full of mud and blood, his eyes shone with light, and the rest of him was afire with blinding, crippling pain. It felt like an eternity before Hanno remembered where he was, and when his eyes finally pried themselves open, he found five faces leering down at him.  A ragged half-scream escaping his throat, Hanno tried to back away, only for another jolt of pain to paralyse him. He closed his eyes with a whimper, and the strangers around him erupted into peals of laughter. They were huge, all of them. Their hair was long and unwashed, their faces were smeared with paint and strange symbols, and they were weighed down by heavy leather turned black with age. They had swords at their sides, and weapons already in hand — axes, mostly, though one of them was fingering a small, nasty-looking knife. One of them said something, his tone sharp and mocking, and had his companions wheezing for breath again. Hanno suddenly felt very small, but he didn’t let his guard down. He had heard from his cousins about the ‘giants’ coming down from the sea, full of brute violence. He hadn’t believed them, of course. He had laughed at them, in fact, and asked whether these giants came with goat-men and talking mice. He wondered whether they would laugh when they found his bones — and when that thought sprung to mind, Hanno realised… I’m about to die. He didn’t want to believe it, but as he gazed at the hulking figures looming over him, glittering with steel and venom, he knew that they were going to kill him, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it… unless… unless… But before he could so much as move a muscle, one of the giants shouldered past his companions and heaved his axe over his head. Another jolt of blinding pain swept through Hanno as he tried to scramble away, but it was futile — he blinked, and the axe was already whistling towards him. Then there was a spark, and everything was still. The stranger was still standing over Hanno, eyes agleam with the shine of death. But his axe was on the ground, knives on either side. Hanno turned his gaze onto his saviour — but this man had his own fierce eyes locked on his companion. Is… is he their chief? Hanno’s mind was slow, plodding from thought to thought, but he could see that there was some contest between the two men. They didn’t speak but for a word or two, staring doggedly at each other for a few heartbeats… or minutes, or hours, Hanno could not tell. It was the larger man who finally broke, the one who tried to kill Hanno. He tore away with an ugly scowl, muttering poison under his breath as he swiped at his axe and strode into the opposite direction. The chief then shifted his stony gaze to the rest of his men — and one by one, they followed their chastised companion down the hill… until it was only him, and Hanno, and the wraiths that watched over them. He was smaller than his companions, Hanno noticed, once he’d brought his galloping heart to heel. Smaller than them, but still taller than any man he had seen before. He had mottled skin that was almost as dirty as the beard tucked into his belt, and was armoured in fading leather and rusting scale… and yet he had enormous rings glimmering on fingers, and heavy chains hanging from the neck. His eyes were small and bright, green like Hanno’s, who slowly realised that this man was not simply staring at him, he was studying him. Before Hanno could figure out why, the stranger spoke: “You… home?” Hanno’s eyes widened. He knows our words. They were twisted about and haltingly-said, but Hanno certainly understood them. The man waved a massive, hairy hand at the ruined city. “This home? Patria? Home?” What does he mean? Hanno swallowed a painful lump in his throat. Is… is he asking if I live here? Where aba and mama are? If I have even a father? Why? What does he want? After another stretch of silence, the stranger took a step towards him. Hanno noticed that he had something else slung about his neck, amidst the jewels and chains — a wooden pendant. A hammer, maybe. Or a cross. Hanno couldn’t be sure, in the dying light. And again, the man cast his enormous hand at the ruins around them, but this time he whispered, “This… Roma?” Still, Hanno had no idea what he was talking about. He had to do something, however, so before the giant came any closer, Hanno shrugged. That much, thank the gods, the brute understood. He nodded slowly, and after a moment, he dropped to his haunches, pulled grass from the ground, and smelled it… then he stood again, and threw his arms behind him, into the distance… then he turned to the sunset, and pointed down to where the river wound its way into the sea… and slowly, Hanno understood what this stranger was asking. Do you know this place? Do you know the ground, the fields, the villages and towns that surround these ruins? Do you know this country? Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Hanno nodded. The stranger caught it, and his face split into a fearsome smile. He raised a hand and pointed at himself. “We fight, we take,” he said carefully, and then he pointed at Hanno, and said, “You come, you fight, you take.” Hanno blinked. The man raised his eyebrows. After a few moments, the man rolled his shoulders. “We be by water,” he said. “We leave with sun.” Then he shrugged again, and turned away. Hanno was still on the ground, clammy with sweat. What was that? His head felt heavy, and he realised that his lips were crusted with blood. Fight? Fight?! Where are they going? What are they going to do? He wanted to say something, to shout out, to demand that that madman explain what he was on about, but as Hanno climbed to his feet and started after him, the words died in his throat… Because far below, the river was crawling with longships. In the midst of the ruins that sat atop the hill, Hanno waited. He waited for a long time, until the sun was sunk and the city was dead and dark again. hashashash fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Jul 16, 2023 |
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Jan 21, 2023 00:32
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 Carthage no longer rules the waves.
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Jan 21, 2023 01:08
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NewMars posted:You know what would be hilarious? If germany-rome ends up fusing with the carthaginian colony somehow. oh they'll be fusing with a carthaginian colony somehow alright
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Jan 21, 2023 01:11
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don't worry, those Romans will be the subject of a very chaotic vote
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Jan 21, 2023 01:20
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Note for those reading the epilogue: Toscana is Tuscany.
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Jan 21, 2023 02:58
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Well, poo poo. It seems that in usurping Rome's throne, we will now have to contend with Rome's enemies. And enemies that Rome had never dreamed of, besides.
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Jan 21, 2023 05:16
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NewMars posted:Note for those reading the epilogue: Toscana is Tuscany. Which means our Norse friends are a little too north, and this is probably Pisa
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Jan 21, 2023 06:02
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Rome was delenda est'd so hard, even the name of Latium was forgotten to history. Centuries from now historians will try to sttch together the broken pieces of the South Tuscan language.
Luca_024 fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Jan 21, 2023 |
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Jan 21, 2023 06:17
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yeah, I'd say we ransacked Rome enough (it's still decolonised as of 250 CE) that most of the peasants, farmers and other natives wouldn't have known much about that city that once had an empire 300 years ago historians and stuff obviously would've known about them, though -- especially since Rome still sorta kinda exists up north
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Jan 21, 2023 13:19
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With the deifying of their previous kings, and their position in germany, it look's like this Rome is going for the AI backup up of a sort of Holy Roman Empire of sorts.
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Jan 21, 2023 14:53
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Ralepozozaxe posted:With the deifying of their previous kings, and their position in germany, it look's like this Rome is going for the AI backup up of a sort of Holy Roman Empire of sorts. This time it will be Holy, and Roman, and also an Empire
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Jan 21, 2023 15:00
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These Romans coming from afar on ships, speaking a mixture of Germanic and Latin… oh my god we created the english
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Jan 21, 2023 16:31
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Truly the English were an inevitability
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Jan 21, 2023 17:12
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These Germano-Romans are a thing of beauty 
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Jan 21, 2023 18:11
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Looks like Normans be Normans’ in all the multiverses.
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Jan 21, 2023 18:20
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Weavered posted:Looks like Normans be Normans’ in all the multiverses. Welcome to Normal Island
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Jan 21, 2023 18:29
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 Vote! This first vote concerns the great powers of late antiquity — the Republic of Carthage, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Seleukid Empire — and whether the years intervening between Imperator and CK3 are going to be a ‘golden age’ or a ‘dark age’ for each of them… Carthage A - Golden Age B - Dark Age C - LET THE DICE DECIDE (roll a d2 and go with the gods)  Ptolemaic Egypt A - Golden Age B - Dark Age C - LET THE DICE DECIDE (roll a d2 and go with the gods)  Seleukid Empire A - Golden Age B - Dark Age C - LET THE DICE DECIDE (roll a d2 and go with the gods)  ——— Fair warning — the actual degree of these golden/dark ages will be determined by dice rolls, so if the thread votes for Carthage to have a golden age, then that might mean anything from ‘a cultural flourishing but territorial stagnation’ to ‘we conquer/colonise the whole of the Mediterranean’; on the other end of the spectrum, a dark age for Carthage might mean anything from ‘a slow decline over the centuries’ to ‘a vicious civil war and numerous sackings that lead to Carthage completely collapsing’. For now, though, it’s simple enough — vote once for Carthage, the Ptolemies and the Seleukids.
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Jan 21, 2023 20:58
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Carthage C, Ptolemaic C, and Seleukid C.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:03
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CAA in that order. Carthage I'd be happy with whichever way it went, the Ptolemaics have to Luhood fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Jan 21, 2023 |
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Jan 21, 2023 21:08
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Roll them bones C C C
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Jan 21, 2023 21:08
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wokow6 posted:Carthage C, Ptolemaic C, and Seleukid C. Not an emptyquote
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Jan 21, 2023 21:09
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B B B Let true Dark be cast upon the world.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:09
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C C C
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Jan 21, 2023 21:10
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C for Carthage, B for the Ptolemaic Kingdom, A for the Seleucids.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:12
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C C C
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Jan 21, 2023 21:16
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C C C it up.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:19
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B I like to think that an equivalent to the Justinian plague is going to ravage our trading Empire and weaken the central authority to the point when the ruling families take power over their weakened domains. C The same plague that ravaged Carthage is going to be a toss up for Egypt. They are far more centralized and it is possible they may survive or they may not. A The Seleucids without Rome and India to bother them had a golden age with minor border skirmishes. The main factor is going to the influence of the Christians.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:27
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B B B Change is always good and big blobs are always stagnating. We’ve got three ancient power blobs that need taking down a peg. Plenty of Berbers, Arabs, Germans, Slavs, Vikings and Celts ready to help, never mind the Huns disease and famine.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:34
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B B B Let darkness wash across the lands like an endless gaggle of goths.
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Jan 21, 2023 21:49
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C C C
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Jan 21, 2023 21:50
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Kangxi posted:C C C C for CARTHAGE
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Jan 21, 2023 21:52
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B A B
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Jan 21, 2023 21:58
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C, C, C
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Jan 21, 2023 21:59
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B C A
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Jan 21, 2023 22:08
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