It was the year 53 BCE and the Roman Republic was thriving. However, there was something more pressing than even Mark Antony's infiltration of the Egyptian throne, the Scipii's conquests in southern Carthage and Mauritania and even Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. There was something that the Roman Nobles and Rich could not get enough of. Silk. This one rare cloth was so valuable its cost rose well above that of gold. And so to acquire this lucrative product, they gathered men from across the Roman Republic to begin this journey. They would begin in Southern Pontus (One of Rome's Allies) where they had a small camp set as a pseudo embassy/ border patrol post. From there they would travel through Armenia from whom they'd acquired the rights to move through. Once through Armenia they would need to secretly move through the generally hostile Parthian Empire and reach Arachosia after moving through Scythian nomadic lands. Once they arrived in Arachosia (A Alexandrian Hellenistic State) they would secure documents that explained where it came from and follow the directions until they could make contact with their people.
Commanded by Legate Augustinus Flavius of the Scipii (who formerly fought the Carthaginian rebels in south eastern Mauritania and a tribe of nomads in Macedon) they were well equipped and commanded with good men, armor, weapons, and foodstuffs. Augustinus knew that his family's fame had diminished since the Second Punic War and that they were always viewed as Greeks rather than true Romans, so he saw this as his chance of redeeming their loss in popularity and tipping the balance back toward them. For the Expedition he was given men from the regions of Rome, Samnium, Siracusa, Macedon, and to a lesser degree from Epirus, Athens, and Sparta. They in total numbered 55 men and were trained as Roman elites. The Greek soldiers would act partially as translators.
NOTE: This is a character based rp and you may have a maximum of two characters. In addition I may allow mercenaries to be hired by Augustinus later on.
NOTE ALSO: This is based of an actual expedition that occurred around this time. Little details are known but only two survived along with several translators translating from Latin to Greek to and Indian Local language and through several Chinese dialects only to be executed in front of the Han Emperor after asking for the secret recipe.
Equipment Allowed:
Personal Weapons: ( *Required and one of the First Two Required)
- Spatha
- Gladius
- *Pugio
- *Hasta
- Javelin
- Pilum
- Plumbata
Body Armor: (Pick One of the Two)
- Lorica Segmentata
- Lorica Hamata
Limb Armor:
- Manica
- Greave
Shield: (*Required)
- *Scutum
Helmet: (*Required)
- *Imperial Gallic Helmet
Misc: (*Required)
- *Loculus (Satchel)
- *Water Skin (For Carrying Water, starts out full)
- *Patera (For Cooking with and eating and drinking)
- *Small Miniature Shovel (For obvious reasons and entrenchment)
- *Sudis
- Jewelry
- Denarii
Clothes (Worn under your armor and for casual meetings, pick one or more)
-Tunic (Basic Clothes of the Era)
- Focale (Recommended as it is a sweat cloth worn around the neck and good for covering bleeding wounds)
- Balteus (Recommended if you want a sword belt)
- Braccae (Old Style Trousers)
- Sagum (Kind of like a cloak but shortened for easy mobility and armor
- Paenula (A Roman styled and designed Poncho)
- Caliga (Like Cleats but with sharp spikes on the bottom, very standard footwear)
- Pteruges (A Short and fancy cloak worn by noble soldiers)
Foodstuffs: (Be reasonable in amount)
- Loaf of bread
- Salted and/or Smoked Meat (Similar to jerky)
- Small Bottle of Watered Down Wine
- Small Bottle of Passum (Raisin Wine; Not too alcoholic)
- Salted Snails
- Mollusks (Clams, Oysters and Mussels.Doused in Wine for preservation)
Rules: (Three strikes and you're out)
- Obey the OP
- Be Realistic
- No God Mod
- No Metagaming
- OOC flaming
- Realize that you can die (but I will refrain from killing PCs)
-Remember that we fight in Line Formation
Commanders of each line and their Rank (And a * if they are open to an app)
Maro Lucinius - Centurion Princeps Prior and Tribune, Decanus of the First Line
*Thracius Gnaeus - Decanus of the Second Line
Antonius Brennus - Decanus of the Third Line (Therefore the Decanus who helps communicate the Imperator's commands to the Centurion Princeps Posterior)
*Lucius Aulus - Centurion Princeps Posterior, Decanus of the Fourth Line
*Tiberius Marcus - Decanus of the Fifth line
Application: (I will allow one rper to hold the banner and ten Greeks and Macedons)
Name:
Age:
Rank: (Before being put in the Scouting Army)
Appearance (Describe it):
Ethnicity:
Province of Origin:
Who's line are you going to apply to?:
Equipment: (Listed Above)
Early Roman Ranks:
Tiro (Recruit)
Miles (private)
Munifex: (Supply Carrier; Equal to Miles)
Discens (trainee; above Miles, specialized in one or more weapons)
Cornicen ('the horn blower') equal to Discens
Cornicularius ('administrator'; works with the Imperator; unique unit; above Discens but typically does not get promoted)
Vexillarius (Flag Bearer; Discens, similar conditions to Cornicularius)
Signifer ('the standard bearer'; same as Vexillarius except it had the units flag)
Aquilifer ('the eagle bearer'; held a staff with the republic's symbolic eagle on top
Decanus (Above Discens; Leads an eight man unit)
Duplicarius ('second in command to the Decurion who commanded a single turmae')
Centurion Princeps Posterior ( above Duplicarius;Leads the back half of a unit)
Centurion Princeps Prior (above Centurion Princeps Posterior; Leads the Front half of a unit)
Tribune (Coordinates with other units; above Centurion Princeps Prior)
Imperator (above Tribune; controls an entire unit)
Legatus Legionis: (A Legate of a Legion which in this case is a unit of 55 men)