It's just hit me

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Czernobog
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It's just hit me

Post by Czernobog »

Imagine this:


A world where the Roman Empire survived. A world where Imperial China stands strong.

A world of titanic battles. A world of heroes and villains. A world of classical antiquity paired with modern-day technology. The world of Imperial Wars.


'verse concept

As I've alluded to in the introduction, Imperial Wars is set in an alternate history in which the Roman Empire survived. Technology will be mostly modern-day, except for some soft and hard sci-fi things I'm still brainstorming, and the required psychics. There are two major powers in the world of Imperial Wars:

The Roman Empire
The classical Romans we know and love. A Jupiter-worshipping, slave-owning, ruthlessly efficient civilisation, with an empire stretching from the Baltic to Madagascar and the Americas to the Caspian.

The State of Han
The Chinese. A horrible, soul-crushing, callously beaureucratic hegemon ruled by an Emperor, with a few communist tendencies. Rules the whole of Eastern Asia, including Japan, as well as the Pacific islands and Australia. Has India and most of South America. Occasionally clashes with Rome, and is in the midst of a lukewarm war with it.

The Other PowersSmall kids on the block that try hard not to get crushed by the big guys. These powers are nothing next to the massive forces that occasionally attempt to conquer them, and so usually try to appease them. But if you help one power, chances are the other is going to get angry with you...

That's all I'm willing to write just now, so expect me to expand this part...
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Czernobog
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Location: Holy Terra

Re: It's just hit me

Post by Czernobog »

The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is one of the largest powers in the world, challenged only by the State of Han in the far east. Roman scholars have mapped the world, and it has a presence in every continent. Even the cold wastes of Austrinus Terra, that icy land around the South Pole of the world, have a Roman presence, though it is little more than a small military garrison.

Government

As obvious in its name, the Roman Empire is ruled by an emperor. Called the Princeps, or Imperator, he has absolute power over the state. No word is stronger than his, and his rule is unquestioned by all. If the Emperor says anything, his word is law. To refuse his orders is counted as Treason, so strong is his power.

The Emperor commands the Legions and all other military assets of the Empire, though he does this in name only and command is usually given to a trusted General or Admiral. He also has the power to command extravagant projects, such as the construction of whole cities or massive palaces, and essentially to do anything he wishes. Such power does not come without corruption, and some of the more well-known Emperors, such as Americus II, were, to put it bluntly, completely insane.

In ancient days the Emperor wore only a toga and a crown of laurels - today he wears golden jewellery, a crown festooned with diamonds and rubies and long red robes trimmed with gold and silver.

Territories

The Empire is divided into provinces. From the far-flung lands of Americus across the Mare Oceanus, to the Mare Caspianus that marks the edge of Europa, citizens of the Empire dwell. Beyond this place, the eastern border of the Empire, a great, uncivilised land of deserts and horse-riding savages lies, until a a semblance of order is reached in the State of Han. The Empire's only border with the people of Han lies in the province of Persia Superior, which is also the area of the border of the Empire of India (a protectorate of Han), and is continually disputed, with cross-border raids being common. Occasionally a fort or village is taken by one power, and is held until the other side musters troops, at which the power which took the fort or village retreats once again to its side of the border, which is sometimes marked by little more than a cairn of stones.

There are many provinces in the Empire, but the most far-flung is that of Americus. Only the east coast is inhabited, with the great city of Roma Nova and the great port of Ultima Cathargo. The mainland has been mapped by satellites, but much about it is unknown, though it is nominally under Roman rule. Rumours still persist of cities of gold, of a great confederacy of barbarians that has a government in the style of ancient Athens, but these are dismissed as the fancies of storytellers, although there are reports of strange barbarians occasionally attacking small towns (these reports are often dismissed).

Language

Latin is the official language of the Roman Empire, though the "pure" version, known as the Lingua Palatinus, is only spoken by priests and the Emperor's court. The other dialect, known as the Lingua Vulgaris, has had such a great amount of loanwords and grammatical rules entering it from various languages that it barely resembles latin anymore. The people of Americus have their own dialect of the Lingua Vulgaris that is almost incomprehensible to someone for Europa. There are, of course, other languages, often depending from location to location - from Germanic to Aramaic.

Military

The Roman military is divided into a great series of Legions. While in ancient days a Legion's size was 4200 up to 6000, today it can be as small as 2000 or as large as 100,000.

The navy is another of the oldest forces of the Empire. It has evolved greatly in its existence, from triremes to missile cruisers and from wood to steel.


The air force, also known as the Agema Aerius, is the youngest of the Roman military institutions, only existing after the invention of powered flight, and often the most ignored. Yet it has a pertinent role, from surveillance to transport to, when all else fails, bombing runs.

History

The history of Rome before the first emperor is lost in the mists of time. Little records survive, lost in the Great Wars, and thousands of legends have sprung up around it. Most concern the man who laid the foundations for the Empire - Ceasar. Little is known of him save the name, but he is most reknowned in that great myth-cycle, the Liber Ceasarus.

The Empire, from its founding, steadily grew and prospered, with little threats from enemies, until the Great Wars. These wars are:

The Christian Uprising
A war that started at Jerusalem and engulfed much of the eastern Empire, until the Seventh Battle of Sidon, at which the uprising was destroyed forever. It began as a massive spree of riots; mobs of Christians would burn temples and kill priests, for example, and ended as a series of huge battles which ripped across the Empire and burned in the people's memory forever.

The Seccession of Byzantium
Another war, shortly after the Christian Uprising, in which Byzantium and Asia Minor declared their independence from the rest of the Empire. This war ended in the famous Burning of Byzantium, in which the entire city was destroyed in fire and its armies utterly wiped out.

The Hun War
In which the Huns invaded the Empire, penetrating deep into Italy and almost reaching Rome until they were stopped by Flavius Aurelius. After this war, the Empire began to reach a semblance of stability, which it would retain until the Arabian Rebellion.

The Arabian Rebellion
This war was started by the self-proclaimed Prophet Muhammad, who attempted to set up his own state and called for holy war against the Empire. This finally ended with the crucifixion of this false prophet, however, some believe that the religion he started survived in hiding. Such rumours are obviously false.

After the Great Wars, the Empire began a long period of cautious rebuilding and expansion that lasted about 800 years. This period ended with the discovery of the lands of Americus, known after the Emperor in whose reign they were discovered. Rome began a technological explosion, as well as a period of rapid expansion that lasted for about 500 years. Then began the Han War, lasting for 30 years. Rome lost the lands around the Mare Caspianus, as tides of Han soldiers clashed with superiorly-equipped Roman Legionaries, until the war ended with the Peace of Rome, which neither side seeks to violate. For the moment...




To be continued...
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Czernobog
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Location: Holy Terra

Re: It's just hit me

Post by Czernobog »

Rome

Rome, also known as Roma in the Lingua Palatinus and Daqin among the Han, is the heart of the Roman Empire and its capital. Here we shall talk about its location, its architecture and other such things.

Location


Rome is situated between the Mare Mediterranus and the Mons Appeninus. Originally it was quite a small city, but now its easternmost quarter is at the slopes of the mountains, and its westernmost at the shores of the sea. The core, also known as the Old City, is the location of the heart of Rome and the most ancient buildings, based around the Seven Hills, and is surrounded by walls which mark the beginning of the New City. The districts of the New City are concentric rings around the Old, the buildings gradually growing larger and loftier, with manufactoria, templa, arenae, tavernae, insulae and other such buildings, the towers growing higher and higher and more beautiful and detailed, until one reaches the suburban areas, with many villae standing. This is the place where the rich people live, those who can afford to live in the countryside and not in the burned-out urban core that surrounds the Old City. The western reaches make up the merchant district, with ships and aircraft arriving almost daily to bring in fresh goods from distant lands, while the eastern districts are focussed around the military, with the rather drab and unassuming headquarters of the Legionis Urbana being the only major landmark in an area mostly made up of forts, garrisons and airfields. The Mons Appeninus, beyond the city boundaries, is home to a large system of caverns including the barracks for ten secret Legions and several caverns housing massive amounts of military. This is to retake Rome if it is ever captured, and to provide a place for the Emperor and his court to retreat to.

Architecture

Many of Rome's architecture is based on the Roman style. This style has changed little since the birth of the Empire, and is rigidly enforced with rules about the length of colomnades and the size of caryatids. An architect who breaks one of these rules may even face civil punishment, so heavily are they enforced. Some buildings are built in the Greek style, but this is relatively rare, and is usually the result of rich patricians wanting their homes to be unique. The Greek style is far less stifled by rules than the Roman style, and so includes a large amount of experimentation, as is the Egyptian style, which is even more rare in Rome.

Population

The population of Rome is incredibly hard to figure out. Censuses are made every year, and so the population is roughly guessed at to be about 60 million people, but exact figures are hard to come by since a large amount of peopled are never involved. In recent years it has become far more exact, but there is still a long way to go.

To be continued...
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Czernobog
Posts: 1315
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 9:27 am
Location: Holy Terra

Re: It's just hit me

Post by Czernobog »

Roman Vehicles

Ground vehicles

Most ground transportation in the Roman Empire consists of those vehicles called Essedi Ferrarii in the Lingua Palatinus, literally, "iron chariots" in the Lingua Vulgaris. Because the name is so long, it is often abbreviated to F.E, which is both plural and singular. Such things are far different from the traditional chariots, which are only used in races now. For instance, they require no horses to pull them, using engines instead. Second, they are often covered, among several other notable differences. Iron chariots have two versions: civilian and military. Military F.E are called Armaturae, meaning "armours". There are heavy and light armaturae, and they have a multitude of roles, which we will not discuss here.

There are larger variants of the F.E, called Omnibi Major (O.M) which also have several variants. There are O.M that are limited to tracks, versions that carry large amounts of people, ones that carry cargo, and many other variants which are impractical to list.


Aerial vehicles

The Roman Empire is not short of aircraft, also known as Essedi Volaticus ("flying chariots" in the Lingua Vulgaris), and these are often used to transport people from one side of the Empire to another. This service is state-run, although most Plebeians can easily pay for it. They have a military side, however, and the pilots of the Agema Aerius (meaning "air corps"), are among the best in the world, able to regularly outfly Han pilots and defeat them in a dogfight.

Among the Agema Aerius' craft are the Essedi Vacuus ("void chariots") which can go high above the atmosphere and even to the moon! Indeed, the Roman Empire has a garrison on the moon, which has been named Luna and is nominally part of the Empire. That is not the only thing the Empire commands in the void: satellites and space stations are everywhere, and there are rumours that the Agema Aerius is testing a fleet of sub-orbital nuclear bombers and is creating orbital weapons. In this respect Roman technology outstrips the Han, who have far more orbital craft, although they are less advanced.

Naval vehicles

The Roman Empire has certainly no shortage of ships. Its numbers are indexed, censused, and cross-checked constantly. The great majority are trading or transport vessels, which make up about 60 percent, while the other 40 percent is made up entirely of military vessels. There are thousands of ports, which are often part of cities or linked to them by long roads, or ar part of the many coastal and oceanic forts. Whole artificial islands are created solely for use as shipwrights, such is the size of the navy. Only the Han have a greater fleet, of which a small part (1 percent) is made up of massive super-vessels that would be aptly called floating fortresses. The Roman Navy has a tiny number of ships that match the size of the Han sea-fortresses, and these ships are definitely superior to their Han counterparts, being able to go faster and pack superior firepower, as well as having a flight deck and several hangars.

Civilian ships can also be converted into military ships, usually by the addition of weapons and the transformation of cargo holds into ammunition stores. This is only done in times of grave peril, such as in the Han War, the only time this has been done to date.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Siege
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Re: It's just hit me

Post by Siege »

Well, you've got me convinced at least. What name did you have in mind for this universe?
"Nick Fury. Old-school cold warrior. The original black ops hardcase. Long before I stepped off a C-130 at Da Nang, Fury and his team had set fire to half of Asia." - Frank Castle

For, now De Ruyter's topsails
Off naked Chatham show,
We dare not meet him with our fleet -
And this the Dutchmen know!
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Czernobog
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Re: It's just hit me

Post by Czernobog »

SiegeTank wrote:Well, you've got me convinced at least. What name did you have in mind for this universe?
Imperial Wars.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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