[IW] Roman Centurion (Rome-3)

[Michele]

LIVIUS PERTINAX HESPERIANUS
Roman Centurion (Rome-3)

(c) copyright 2010 Michele Armellini

Base Setting: GURPS Infinite Worlds

Total Points: 200

Age: 36 Height: 6'2" Weight: 180 lbs. Description: A very tall, tanned Roman with closely cropped black hair

ST 12 [20] HP 12 [0]
DX 11 [20] Will 13 [0]
IQ 13 [60] Per 13 [0]
HT 11 [10] FP 11 [0]

Basic Speed: 5.5 Move: 5
Basic Damage: Thrust 1d-1, Swing 1d+2
Basic Lift: 28
[Total Attributes: 110]

DR: 0 Dodge: 9 Parry: 10 (Shortsword) 9 (Spear) 10 (Brawling) Block: 0

Reaction Modifiers: +2 to +5 (Charisma, Reputation, Status).
Fright Check: 15 (Combat Reflexes).

ADVANTAGES AND PERKS: Ally (75%, on 12 or less; his Signifer) [6]; Charisma +1 [5]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Fit [5]; Legal Enforcement Powers [5]; Military Rank 4 (Senior Centurion) [20]; Reputation +3 (Corona Muralis, military and patriots, all the time) [6]; Status 1 [0, free from Rank]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
[Total Advantages: 72]

DISADVANTAGES AND QUIRKS:
Bad Temper (on 12 or less) [-10]; Code of Honor (Roman) [-10]; Curious (on 12 or less) [-5]; Duty (to Army, on 15 or less) [-15]; sense of Duty (Rome) [-10]. Intolerance (Huaracans) [-1]; Somewhat stubborn [-1]; Still likes recon missions [-1].
[Total Disadvantages: -53]

SKILLS: Administration-12 [1]; Area Knowledge (Western Hesperia)-13 [1]; Armoury/TL5 (Small Arms)-12 [1]; Brawling-12 [2]; Driving/TL5 (Autosteamer)-10 [1]; Engineer/TL5 (Combat)-11 [1]; Fast Draw/TL5 (Ammo)-12* [1]; First Aid/TL5-13 [1]; Gambling-13 [2]; Gunner/TL5 (MG)-11 [1]; Guns/TL5 (Musket)-13 [4]; Hiking-11 [2]; Intelligence Analysis/TL5-12 [2]; Interrogation-13 [2]; Intimidation-13 [2]; Jumping-11 [1]; Knife-12 [2]; Leadership-14 [4]; Navigation/TL5 (Land)-13 [2]; Observation-13 [2]; Riding-10 [1]; Savoir-Faire (Military)-13 [1]; Shortsword-12 [4]; Soldier/TL5-14 [4]; Spear-11 [2]; Stealth-12 [4]; Strategy (land)-12 [2]; Survival (Desert)-13 [2]; Tactics-14 [8]; Tracking-14 [4]; Traps/TL5-13 [2].
* Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
TECHNIQUES: none.
[Total Skills and Techniques: 69]

TL: 5 Cultural Familiarities: Roman [0].
LANGUAGES: Latin (native) [0]; Navajo (spoken: broken, written: none) [1]; Mandarin (spoken: none, written: broken) [1].
[Total Cultural Familiarities and Languages: 2]

EQUIPMENT:
Livius Pertinax owns a small family apartment in Heracliopolis, but it's in bad repair since he mostly lives elsewhere, in barracks. He owns a young slave, Paulus, who carries out a valet's duties. Livius makes use of the army's horses when he absolutely needs one; it means his mount will be of questionable quality but he doesn't care. He owns a fine-quality gladium, the standard armor for his rank (chainmail hauberk over cloth armor, an impressive helm with face guards), and both his old pilum fulguralis (musket) with bayonet, and an officer's black-powder weapon: the equivalent of an unwieldy cavalry pistol.

BIOGRAPHY:
Livius was born in a legionnaires' settlement in North-Western Hesperia (South-west of the Great Lakes in North America). The son of a decurion, his family followed his father's postings, and the longest one was in the border regions of Hesperia, in what is Arizona on Homeline. As a boy, he loved outdoor life and the desert, and he spent a lot of time with the native exploratores (scouts) employed by the Roman garrisons. He learned a lot from them, and as soon as he was old enough to enlist, he became a valuable member of the recon detachment of his unit.
A plebeian by birth, he might have spent all his life and his military career not above the rank of decurion, like his father. But he was smart, a fact that was not lost on his father's patron, a senior officer. He was promoted. When an opportunity came up to volunteer for real war, he did not miss it, and was deployed to Nova Lusitania (South America) for an imperial effort to conquer the Andean people of the Huaracans. The campaign was a failure overall, but not without tactical successes for the Roman Eagles, and one of them propelled Livius's career; he was the first one into the breach during the assault on a fortified mountain pass, and he was deservedly awarded the prestigious Corona Muralis decoration. He also gained the nickname of Hesperian from the local troops he commanded, and an intolerance for the Huaracans (given that he saw what they did to prisoners). The nickname remained even now that he's back in Hesperia.
Today, Livius commands a vexillatio (detachment) in Castrum Novum, the most advanced outpost in North-Western Hesperia (which is in the valley were Hermosillo lies on Homeline). The garrison is soon to be reinforced; the governor of the Maia province has a grand plan in mind (see below).

MODUS OPERANDI:
Livius is used to lead his men from the front in any pitched battle. He still carries the musket that shows he came from the ranks, and can use it effectively, unlike most of his peers. As an officer, he is competent enough and what with his Leadership, Charisma and Reputation, he can inspire his men (and his Bad Temper and Intimidation can also do wonders in case of confrontations). He is more intelligent than dexterous, but this has served him well.
Nowadays, anyway, pitched battles are rare in the region where he serves, and his job is what he likes best: long patrolling, counter-raiding, small skirmishes. His recon skills are put to good use here; maybe his being Curious is what spurred him in this direction. For a desert recon specialist, he's a bad horseman, and that's why he tried the autosteamers; but those only work on a decent Roman road network.
Given that he was a good officer to task with recon duties, during his previous assignment he happened to come into contact with prisoners and unfriendly natives, whom he interrogated. His commander then decided he'd be the legion's intelligence officer, and he acquired skills in this field, too. This is why he has picked up some basic knowledge of the written form of another enemy's language, though he finds it utterly abstruse.
Livius still is a plebeian and a no-nonsense soldier in his heart. He never had time or taste for fancy Greek poetry, fine Aztec art, or fashionable gossip. He has no Savoir-Faire for high society, and knows nothing about Current Events in Heracliopolis, let alone in Roma. He will be uneasy in the company of refined officers or civilians, and he might well have to keep his temper in check. "Pertinax" as a family name refers to the famous stubbornness of his grandfather and father; he's less stubborn than them, but he's certainly short-tempered.
His ally is a senior NCO, his signifer Marcus Germanus, a fearsome fighter and a true friend.

ENCOUNTERED: When not out in the desert with his recon troopers, Livius spends most of the time in the barracks, training his men, practicing, or doing administrative work. Occasionally he dines in the frontier town that has sprung up around the castrum. In theory, there is a civilian magistrate ruling there, but out there in the border region it would be quite hard for him to overrule any decision by Livius (whence his Legal Enforcement Powers).

CANONICALITY:
Livius makes no use of house rules.

[Michele]

ADVENTURE SEEDS:
The Conquest of Fu-Sang (GURPS Alternate Earths): the governor's grand plan is to conquer the Chinese kingdom of Fu-Sang (Homeline's San Francisco). It is protected by terrain and by the presence of warlike Dineii tribes, but the governor thinks that it would be worth the investment, and plans to buy the native's goodwill – or to wipe them out. The man to deal with them, either by gold or by steel, is Livius. The vexillatio is going to be brought up to legion strength. The PCs can be new legionnaires, or members of Livius's chosen recon team, …or native Americans.
Corona Navalis (GURPS Alternate Earths): with the same premise as above, but the governor has in mind a two-pronged strike. He has managed to build a steel mill in Portunovus (Mazatlan), and he's now going to build a couple of steam-powered battleships. While infantry advances through the native's territories, these ships will single-handedly defeat the obsolete Fu-Sang navy. That is, provided that Chinese spies don't get wind of the enterprise. Livius is transferred to Portunovus to keep the secret and then lead the marine detachment. PCs can be specialized personnel involved in the project, Livius's soldiers, locals with an agenda of their own, or agents of the Chinese.
Cultural Clash (GURPS Alternate Earths): the vexillatio is turned into a full legion because the natives' raiding has increased (maybe because Fu-Sang is expanding?). Livius is no longer the commanding officer; a new commander has arrived, with several new officers. The legatus is unfortunately a wimpy fop, mostly accompanied by young men who don't care about military service. To make it worse, one of the new officer is, on the contrary, another man from the ranks, and he's a half-blood; Livius would normally like such a man, save for the fact that this one is terribly rash. The officers' mess risks becoming, well, a mess.
Interference from Beyond (GURPS Infinite Worlds): the governor's plan actually is a Centran plan. Centrum seems to have assessed that striking down Fu-Sang will be a key step towards world domination for Rome, and they have already infiltrated among the senators (see also below).

RECRUITMENT BY OUT-TIMERS:
Livius has no special capabilities that would make him an interesting recruit as a local agent. However, his position is near what Centrum seems to deem a cusp. Actually recruiting him would be tricky, however. Many military men just pay lip service to Roman ideals and patriotism, nowadays; but Livius is dead serious about all that. Serving a foreign power from beyond his world, instead of Rome? That is not going to go down well with him. Unless, of course, that power shows him that another power has already recruited, say, the governor, and that Livius would be working in Rome's interests, at the end of the day…

- written by Michele Armellini (miarmel@tin.it)

[Michele]

Well, the threads about Roma Aeterna and Roman tactics inspired me, it seems.

[Icelander]

Given that Corona Civilis and Corona Graminea are both higher decorations than the Corona Muralis, I'd count it as being no higher than Reputation +2.

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Given that Corona Civilis and Corona Graminea are both higher decorations than the Corona Muralis, I'd count it as being no higher than Reputation +2.

Thanks for your suggestion.
The Corona Graminea was very seldom given to anyone who wasn't a general or field commander, ditto for the Obsidionalis. The Civica was also rare. I'd put them all in the +4 class. Please consider that GURPS WWII reckons that campaign awards can be counted as +1. You'd have phalerae to take into account, and other lesser coronae (Castrensis, Aurea).
Note that the Muralis acknowledges no small feat of personal bravery.
There is a certain granularity.

Apart from that, have you got any general comment? Thank you again.

[Tzeentch]

The corona obsidionalis/corona graminea (they are the same thing) vanished at the end of the Republic, with only one known unit citation in 363 AD. The corona civica also largely vanished during the Principate.

Source:
Maxfield, Valerie. The Military Decorations of the Roman Army (University of California Press, 1981).

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Michele

Apart from that, have you got any general comment?

There's really no spice there, he's an average commander without having anything which makes him stand out, he might as well be part of the furnishings' description.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Originally Posted by Michele

Apart from that, have you got any general comment?

You mean, apart from suggesting you submit the character to the NPC Repository? ;)

(It's the same website that has the Monster Repository, but the NPC section is underutilized so far...)

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Tzeentch

The corona obsidionalis/corona graminea (they are the same thing) vanished at the end of the Republic, with only one known unit citation in 363 AD. The corona civica also largely vanished during the Principate.

Sure. So if I want decorations for the Roman army of _Rome-3_, I can either come up with something entirely made up... or, for that Roman flavor, take some liberties and assume the whole list was reintroduced by some nostalgic emperor. I'd vote for the second option. After all, the basic premise of modern Roman, eternal Roman, Roma in space worlds is unrealistic, that is, that the civilization is still recognizably Roman after all these centuries.

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

There's really no spice there, he's an average commander without having anything which makes him stand out, he might as well be part of the furnishings' description.

He has risen from the ranks. Possible in the Roman army, not that common in most TL5 armies.

He is a Military Rank 4 officer who doesn't necessarily need to rely on locally hired scouts of dubious loyalty to do his scouting. That might be a lifesaving difference in this context, and again, I don't see it as particularly common for officers of that rank at TL5.

He is the TL5 equivalent of an S-2 for his legion. Even when and where an army has an intelligence officer at this level, I don't think he's the same as any colleague of his that can only lead line troops in battle.

Actually, I think all those points are so not-average that I felt I had to explain them in the biography with some good rationale. YMMV, of course.

That all being said, it's not as if we have dozens of Roma Aeterna characters, including average ones.