Birth of the Republic 509-264 BC

By Roberto A. Ullfig

Covering the period from the expulsion of the last Roman king, Tarquinius Superbus, and the establishment of the Republic to the 1st Punic War.

Note: These rules are written with a 6-player game in mind. Rules for fewer players are given towards the end.

Overview

Two new periods (each with a new deck) are played before the Early Republic period. The game begins with the Latin period and deck (15 cards) followed by the Italian period and deck (16 cards) before finally entering the Early Republic from the original game. The 1st Punic War is not necessarily the first war in the Early Republic as it is shuffled into that deck. On average 6 new turns are inserted before the Early Republic begins. Several rules are inactive at the start and only come into being as play proceeds.

Latin Period 509-390 BC

Setup

Rome begins with 30t and 2 Legions; 1 Active War, and 1 Leader begin in play:

1st Latin War 499-493
Active War
2/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D3/S18; 10t Spoils
Victory allows Tax Farmers 1 & 2 to be played.
Strength x 2: 2 related Wars

Tarquinius Superbus ?-495
Leader
+1 to 1st Latin War; D7/S14; Treat as Drought while in play
Eliminated when 1st Latin War is defeated

Annual Revenue

Annual Revenue at start is 30t. (-10t on turn 1 due to active War). The State should therefore have a total of 46 talents after collecting annual revenue and paying maintenance for 2 legions on turn 1.

The State's Annual Revenue is increased by victory over certain wars as noted on the war card's description and listed here:

Veientine War : +10t
2nd Latin War : +10t
1st Samnite War : +10t
2nd Samnite War : +20t
3rd Samnite War : +20t

Defeat of all five of these wars would therefore make the annual revenue equal to 100t, as in the normal game.

Legion Pool

Rome begins with 2 active legions and 5 legions in the Pool so it can only muster a maximum of 7 legions at the start. Rome cannot build any fleets until the Early Republic at which time it can build as many fleets as it can build legions. The State's Legion Pool is increased by victory over certain wars as noted on the war card's description and listed here:

Veientine War : +3 legions
2nd Latin War : +3 legions
1st Samnite War : +2 legions
2nd Samnite War : +5 legions
3rd Samnite War : +5 legions

Defeat of all five of these wars would therefore make the Legion Pool equal to 25, as in the normal game. Note that only the Pool is increased in size - the legions must still be paid for in order to be used.

HRAO

There is no Consul at the start. The HRAO is determined via normal rules using the senator with highest influence (oratory in case of ties).

Senators

1. Shuffle senators #1 through #18 and deal 3 to each player.
2. Senators #19 and #20 are shuffled into the Early Republic Deck.
3. Reletter Statesman #18A (Flamininus) to #18B.

Brutus

The player who receives #10 Junius is given this Statesman which he MUST play during Initial Intrigue:

#10A L. Junius Brutus ?-509
Statesman
Mil 4, Ora 3, Loy 9, Inf 7, Pop 1
Voids 1st Latin War D/S.
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

Red Cards

Take 12 Cards from the Early Republic:

Blackmail
Seduction
Harbor Fees
Mining
Tax Farmers 1-6 (not playable at start)
2 Tribunes

plus 6 NEW Red Cards:

#5A Appius Claudius 340-273
Statesman
Mil 1, Ora 5, Loy 9, Inf 5
+1 to Population Rolls.
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

#8A M. Furius Camillus 445-365
Statesman
Mil 5, Ora 3, Loy 8, Inf 5
Voids Veientine War D/S.
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

#18A L. Quinctius Cincinnatus ?-435
Statesman
Mil 5, Ora 2, Loy 9, Inf 1
Voids Aequian and Volscian War D/S.
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

#xA Military Leader
Statesman
Can be assigned to any senator currently without a Statesman; gives that senator +2 Military rating (Maximum of 5).
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

Marriage
Intrigue
Player can make one Unopposed Persuasion Attempt against any senator in the Forum during his initiative. This counts as the faction's persuasion attempt. Discard after use.

Tribune
Intrigue

Shuffle all 18 cards; deal 2 Red cards to each player, the remaining 6 are shuffled into the Latin Deck.

Latin Deck (15 Cards; 9 Black, 6 Red)

Volscian War ca. 494-455
Active War
2/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D6/S15; 5t Spoils
Victory allows Tax Farmers 3 and 4 to be played.

Aequian War ca. 494-455
Active War
2/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D6/S15; 5t Spoils
Victory allows Tax Farmers 5 and 6 to be played.

Veientine War 483-396
Active War
4/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D9/S12
Victory increases Annual State Revenue by 10 talents and adds 3 legions to Pool

Coriolanus ?-?
Leader
+2 to Volscian War; D3/S16
Eliminated when Volscian War is defeated

Sack of Rome 390
Event
Rome is sacked! Unrest is increased by 3, and 3 Mortality chits are drawn which can effect any senator in play; however, senators whose chits are drawn are considered captured and are only killed if not ransomed before the next Forum phase. Also, the State must immediately pay 30t. Discard at start of next Forum Phase.

Plebian Secession 494
Event
Treat just like a Drought Event.
Discard at start of next Forum Phase.

Plebian Secession 449
Event
Treat just like a Drought Event.
Discard at start of next Forum Phase.

Agrarian Unrest 485
Event
Treat just like a Drought Event. During the upcoming Senate Phase the Presiding Magistrate MUST propose a Type I Land Bill immediately after the Prosecutions phase. This proposal cannot be vetoed. Whatever the result of the vote, Land Bills can now be proposed normally. Discard at start of next Forum Phase.

The Twelve Tables 450
Event
All senators who have an office (except for the Pontifex Maximus) immediately lose their office along with 1 influence. Instead of electing 2 Consuls this turn, elect 3 Consular Tribunes (see Special Rules for Consular Tribunes). All senators are eligible to become CT except for the Pontifex Maximus. Censors are elected beginning next turn. Add one to this turn's Population Phase roll. Discard at start of next Forum Phase. Note that the HRAO will probably change because of this event; use normal rules to determine HRAO.

plus 6 Red Cards (see above)

Italian Period 390-264 BC

Statesman

Sort out the 5 Early Republic statesman. Shuffle 3 of these statesman into the Italian Deck; the remaining 2 statesman are shuffled into the Early Republic Deck. IMPORTANT: None of these statesman can be played prior to turn 6's Revolution Phase.

Italian Deck (16 Cards; 7 Black, 9 Red)

2nd Latin War 340-338
Active War
4/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D4/S18
Victory increases Annual State Revenue by 10 talents and adds 3 legions to Pool.
Strength x 2: 2 related Wars

1st Samnite War 343-341
Active War
2/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D3/S18
Victory increases Annual State Revenue by 10 talents and adds 2 legions to Pool.
Strength x 2: 2 related Wars; Strength x 3: 3 related Wars

2nd Samnite War 327-304
Inactive War
5/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D10/S17
Inactive until attacked or matched
Victory increases Annual State Revenue by 20 talents and adds 5 legions to Pool.
Strength x 2: 2 related Wars; Strength x 3: 3 related Wars

3rd Samnite War 298-290
Active War
8/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D5/S17
Victory increases Annual State Revenue by 20 talents and adds 5 legions to Pool.
Strength x 2: 2 related Wars; Strength x 3: 3 related Wars

Pyrrhic War 280-272
Active War
7/0; -10 per Turn if Active; D7/S16; 10t Spoils; [Attacks: Sicily]
Strength of War is reduced by 4 after a combat result other than a Victory or Defeat. Discard with no Spoils at start of Forum phase if strength (not including Leader) is less than 1.

Pyrrhus ?-?
Leader
+3 Pyrrhic War; D9/S15
Eliminated when Pyrrhic War is defeated or discarded.

Plebian Revolt 287)
Event
Treat as Severe Drought (+2 Unrest each Population Phase) until the Hortensian Law is passed (see Special rules), when it is discarded.

Appian Works 312-308
Intrigue
Playable during the Senate Phase after Censor Election by a faction that controls the Censor. Censor gains 2 Popularity and Unrest is lowered by 2. The State must immediately pay 10t from the Treasury. Cannot be played if there is less than 10t in the Treasury. Discard after use.

Scandal
Intrigue
Playable during a player's Initiative, in lieu of a Persuasion Attempt, against any senator in Rome. Target senator loses DR Popularity. Player must have a senator in Rome when this card is played. Discard after use.

plus:

3 Tribune (from Early Republic)
1 Influence Peddling (from Early Republic)
3 Early-Republic Statesman (see above)

Special Rules

I. Mortality Phase

No changes.

II. Revenue Phase

1. State Annual Revenue changes (see above).

2. Note that Land Bill costs are the same as in the Early Republic.

III. Forum Phase

1. Random Events Table (Latin and Italian Period)

Roll	Event
3	Mob Violence
4	Natural Disaster (-25t)
5	Drought
6	Evil Omens (-10t)
7	Epidemic
8	Refuge
9	Ally Deserts
10	Evil Omens (-10t)
11	Ally Deserts
12	Manpower Shortage
13	Allied Enthusiasm (+25t)
14	Enemy Ally Deserts
15	Allied Enthusiasm (+25t)
16	Enemy Ally Deserts
17	Enemy Leader Dies
18	Another New Alliance

2. Evil Omens, Natural Disaster, and Allied Enthusiasm monetary effects are halved during the Pre-Early Republic Period. The Pontifex Maximus' fine from Evil Omens is only 5t (this, if he can't pay the 10t for the Omens).

3. New Alliance events are treated as Another New Alliance for all wars from the Pre-Early Republic Period (i.e. War is discarded with all spoils). Clarification: This can be applied during any period. For example, a New Alliance rolled during the Early Republic can be treated as Another New Alliance when applied to a Pre-Early Republic War.

4. Note that a Period is immediately entered when a card from that deck is drawn. For example, all rule changes pertaining to the Early Republic take effect the turn that a card is drawn from the Early Republic deck.

IV. Population Phase

No changes.

V. Senate Phase

1. A Censor cannot be elected (nor Prosecutions made) until the turn after The Twelve Tables event (Latin Deck) is drawn. Note that prior consul markers are always awarded for office per normal rules (even before The Twelve Tables event occurs).

2. Land Bills cannot be proposed until after the Agrarian Unrest Event (Latin Deck) is drawn.

3. Tribunes (including a Statesman's free tribune) cannot be played until after the Hortensian Law is proposed and passed. This Law is not represented by a card.

3a. Hortensian Law: If, and only if, the Plebian Revolt is in play, the Presiding Magistrate MAY make this special proposal at any time after the Prosecutions phase. The proposal is voted on normally. If passed, the Presiding Magistrate gains 2 Popularity but loses 2 Influence and the Plebian Revolt event is discarded. After this proposal is passed, Tribunes become playable. This proposal cannot be vetoed.

4. Rome can build a maximum of 7 legions at the start; defeat of certain wars adds more legions to the Pool. Rome cannot build fleets until the Early Republic and the maximum number is the same as for legions.

5. Consular Tribunes (CT): CTs are elected instead of Consuls on the turn that The Twelve Tables event is drawn. A senator elected as CT gains 2 Influence, regardless of the Period, and a Prior Consul marker. Any and all CT's can be sent to war. The Presiding Magistrate is the CT with the most influence (oratory breaks ties). Note that The Senate Phase ends when the PM leaves Rome. A Dictator appointment requires all three to agree. A CT cannot be elected Consul next turn; otherwise, treat a CT just like a Consul.

6. Influence Gains/Losses are modified using the following table:

Office	Latin	Italian	Early
Pontifex Maximus	+5	+5	+5
Dictator	+3	+5	+7
Consul	+3	+4	+5
Censor	+3	+4	+5
Master of Horse	+1	+2	+3
Consular Tribune	+2	+2	n/a
Minor Conviction	-3*	-4*	-5*

*: applies to Popularity as well.
All other influence/popularity gains/losses remain as in the Early Republic

VI. Combat Phase

1. Veteran legions are not created until the Early Republic.

2. Legions and Military Rating: remember that Military Rating in excess of the number of legions in an army is unused. Example: 2 legions and a commander with Military Rating of 5 has an army strength of only 4.

VII. Revolution Phase

1. Commanders cannot become Proconsul until the Early Republic. They always return to Rome with their army during the Revolution Phase (even if not victorious) and cannot rebel. The return of the army in this case would not negate the prosecution status of the war. Clarification: If a war would normally be considered prosecuted, it is still considered prosecuted after the army returns.

2. The Tax Farmer concessions cannot be played until certain wars are defeated:

Tax Farmer 1 and 2 - 1st Latin War
Tax Farmer 3 and 4 - Volscian War
Tax Farmer 5 and 6 - Aequian War

3. A Latin Period Statesman (including the Military Leader card) is discarded if he is in play at the start of the Revolution Phase in the Early Republic; ALL his possessions EXCEPT for his office are transferred to the family card. He cannot be prosecuted next turn for the office and he is eligible for Consul regardless what office he had held. The family card of a Latin Period Statesman is placed beneath the statesman if it is ever found to be in the Curia or Forum. Possessions refers to all chits, Influence, Popularity, Prior Consul, etc. on the Senator. A Latin Period Statesman must be discarded if still in a player's hand at this time.

4. Early Republic Statesmen cannot be played until turn 6.

VIII. Other

1.The Games, Population, Combat Results, Land Bill, and Popular Appeal table remain the same as in the Early Republic.

HRAO Tie Breaker

In addition to rule 9.1 from the rulebook, if there still a tie for HRAO, i.e. more than one senator with highest influence and equal oratory, then the final tiebreaker is lowest Senator ID number.

D/S Percentages

War	%D/S	Notes
Pyrrhic War w/leader	25.9
Veientine War	23.2	Camillus voids D/S
1st Latin War w/leader	14.8	Brutus voids D/S
2nd Samnite War	13.9
Volscian War w/leader	12.5	Cincinnatus voids D/S
Pyrrhic War	9.7
Volscian War	9.2	Cincinnatus voids D/S
Aequian War	9.2	Cincinnatus voids D/S
3rd Samnite War	4.2
2nd Latin War	1.9
1st Samnite War	1.0

Manifest

Start

18 Senators (#1-#18) - deal 3 to each player
18 Red Cards - deal 2 to each player
  Blackmail
  Seduction
  Marriage (NEW)
  Harbor Fees
  Mining
  Tax Farmer 1*
  Tax Farmer 2*
  Tax Farmer 3*
  Tax Farmer 4*
  Tax Farmer 5*
  Tax Farmer 6*
  Tribune**
  Tribune**
  Tribune** (NEW)
  Appius Claudius (NEW)
  Furius Camillus (NEW)
  Quinctius Cincinnatus (NEW)
  Military Leader (NEW)
Junius Brutus (NEW) - given to player with #10; must be played at start
1st Latin War (NEW) - starts in Forum
Tarquinius Superbus (NEW) - starts in Forum

30 talents in treasury
2 active Legions
5 Legions in Pool
State Annual Revenue is 30 talents
HRAO will be Brutus (#10A) unless he dies in the Mortality phase.

* - Tax Farmers cannot be played until after certain wars are defeated.
** - Tribunes cannot be played until after the Plebian Revolt is discarded.

No Censor election until the turn after The Twelve Tables is drawn.
No Land Bills can be proposed until after Agrarian Unrest is drawn.
No Proconsuls until the Early Republic.
No Veteran Legions can be created until the Early Republic.
No Fleets can be built until the Early Republic.

Latin Deck (15 cards; 9 Black, 6 Red)

6 Red cards left over from above
Volscian War (NEW)
Aequian War (NEW)
Veientine War (NEW)
Coriolanus (NEW)
Sack of Rome (NEW)
Plebian Secession (NEW) - Drought
Plebian Secession (NEW) - Drought
Agrarian Unrest (NEW)
The Twelve Tables (NEW)

Italian Deck (16 cards; 7 Black, 9 Red)

Influence Peddling
Tribune**
Tribune**
Tribune**
Appian Works (NEW)
Scandal (NEW)
Early Republic Statesman*
Early Republic Statesman*
Early Republic Statesman*
2nd Latin War (NEW)
1st Samnite War (NEW)
2nd Samnite War (NEW)
3rd Samnite War (NEW)
Pyrrhic War (NEW)
Pyrrhus (NEW)
Plebian Revolt (NEW)

* - Early Republic Statesman cannot be played until Turn 6's Revolution Phase.
** - Tribunes cannot be played until after the Plebian Revolt is discarded.

Early Republic Deck (27 cards; 12 Black, 13 Red, 2 Senators)

8 Wars (including 1st Punic War shuffled into deck)
4 Leaders
2 Senators (#19 and #20)
5 Concessions (2 Grain, Land Commissioner, Armaments, Ship Building)
4 Tribunes
1 Assassin
1 Secret Bodyguard
2 Early Republic Statesman

Discard all Latin Period Statesman during the first Revolution Phase.
Commanders can now become Proconsul.
Veteran Legions can now be created.
Fleets can now be built.

5 Player Game

1. Remove 3 senators (but not #10 Junius) from #1-#18 and place them in the Curia. Deal 3 senators to each player.
2. Mining and Harbor Fees begin the game in the Forum. Deal 2 Red cards to each player.
3. Rome starts with 40t in the treasury instead of 30t.

4 Player Game

1. Remove 2 senators (but not #10 Junius) from #1-#18 and place them in the Curia. Deal 4 senators to each player.
2. Deal 3 Red cards to each player.

Optional Rules

1. Regulus

[Use this rule to make the game a little easier.]

Shuffle the folowing Senator card into the Latin Deck (after senators have been dealt):

#31 Atilius
Senator
Mil 3, Ora 2, Loy 8, Inf 3

Discard if in Curia during Middle or Late Republic.

Shuffle the following Statesman into the Italian Deck:

#31A M. Atilius Regulus ?-250
Statesman
Mil 4, Ora 2, Loy 8, Inf 4
Voids 1st Punic War Naval Battle D/S.

Note: Senator #31 can never be in the Curia during the Middle or Late Republic; if death sends it there it is instead removed from the game.

A Mortality Chit with #31 must be added to the game. Remove the chit if Senator #31 is removed from the game.

2. Spurius Cassius

[Use this rule to make the game a little easier.]

Add the following Latin Period Statesman to the initial Red Card distribution:

#24A Spurius Cassius ?-?
Statesman
Mil 1, Ora 4, Loy 6, Inf 3
May propose 1 Land Bill/Year even before Agrarian Unrest
Discard during the first Revolution Phase of the Early Republic

Note: When played, the player gets Senator card #24 which he must play beneath the Statesman. Senator #24 can never be in the Curia prior to the Middle Republic. if death sends it there it is instead shuffled into the Middle Republic Deck.

3. Making the Game Harder

Remove the Military Leader and/or the Appian Works card.

Strategy Tips

Latin Period

Wars - There are only four wars including one active at the start. They should be relatively easy to defeat unless combat rolls are low or the Statesman that void their D/S numbers aren't available. However, with only 7 legions at the start their prosecution could be difficult. It is important to remember that the military rating of a commander added to the legion strength cannot exceed it, so with only 2 legions the maximum force you can get is 4 regardless of the commander's rating. Going after the Veientine War as early as possible is a good idea because it adds 3 more legions to the Pool. The biggest decision with regards to Wars is whether to attack two of them simultaneously or concentrate on one of them, when there are more than one. Dictator prerequisites are the same and since none of these wars can have a strength >= 20, three active wars are required; a Dictator should be rare.

Funds - This is a major challenge. The Sack of Rome costs the State 30t, and combined with an Evil Omens or Natural Disaster, the loss could be 40t or 55t. Since Rome needs to build as many legions as possible early on, the State needs all the funds it can muster. Until the Gallic Invasion is drawn, all players should seriously consider contributing as much as they can. With only 15 cards in deck there's 1 in 3 chance of the card being drawn on turn 1. Note that the lucrative concessions don't enter the game until the Early Republic so money will be severely strained in the early going.

Unrest - The second major challenge. There are _four_ cards that increase the unrest. Since players will need to contribute, there'll be little money left for games and Land Bills can't be proposed until the Agrarian Unrest card is drawn. The Type I Land Bill proposal required by that card can be a two-edged sword since 20t is a a big hit on the Treasury early in the game. A good source for popularity is fighting wars, but since the Field Consul goes to war first, it could be difficult to send the Rome Consul to a war. This is one good reason for attacking two wars in one turn. Appius and Brutus are of course good canditates for Rome Consul.

Italian Period

Wars - One more war than the previous deck and two of them (2nd Samnite War and Pyrrhic War) have considerable D/S percentages. Making conservative attacks against them could easily lead to some of these Wars remaining active into the Early Republic, a situation which might not be avoidable anyway.

Funds - The Treasury situation improves as long as the Wars are defeated.

Unrest - Not as big of a problem as the previous deck since there is only one card that increases the unrest and Appian Works is a cheap way to lower the unrest. As long as the Plebian Revolt is dealt with, the Unrest will not be a problem unless it was already high entering this period.

Early Republic (as compared to the Early Republic scenario)

The State Treasury will probably be much less at the start of the Early Republic (less than 100 compared to nearly 200); however Rome should have a stronger army of Legions though no Veterans. There is a problem with this situation though and that is that the 1st Punic requires lots of fleets to attack and the Senate will not have the money to build many. Note that Rome won't have any fleets when it enters the Early Republic. If the 1st Punic War is drawn early on, Rome may not be able to attack it. The only way to possibly prevent this situation is for major contributions from the factions on the turn the Early Republic begins.

Since the 1st Punic War is shuffled in the deck, it's now possible for Hamilcar or Hannibal to die before a Punic War is drawn, so the war situation is slightly better in a way; however, since one or more wars from the previous deck could still be in play this tends to balance the difficulty. Also, since Flamininus could start with more influence than normal (because of Cincinnatus), the Macedonian situation is a bit trickier.

Design

The intent of this scenario is to act as a setup for the main course, The Early Republic. I thought that 6 turns would be sufficient so 250 years are greatly compressed. Also, the Senate probably did not function like it does in the normal game so liberties are taken with history.

There are historical inaccuracies in this scenario since 250 years are compressed into a mere 6 decks. Brutus is generally accepted as being the first Consul and was instrumental in the expulsion of the King but he did not partake in the "1st Latin War" (which was more like a revolt). That general was A. Postumius Albus who won the war at Lake Regillus. Likewise, Tarquinius Superbus probably had nothing to do with this war. I've just condensed all these events into one. I didn't add Albus since he has no family card and I thought Brutus should be in, being the first Consul.

The Twelve Tables were Laws that were written up over the course of two years by the Decemvirs (10 men). There were no Consuls during those two years - the Decemvirs taking their place. It is not clear whether the intent was for the Decemvirs to be a permanent institution but a revolt overthrew the second Decemvir. Consular Tribunes are probably unrelated directly to the Decemvirs. I'm trying to represent the political chaos here by using them.

The Latin Period statesman are retired because I didn't want them to hang around for more than 250 years! Just discarding them would be no good since then a player would have little incentive to build them up. I didn't want the Early Republic swamped with Statesman.

References

Too numerous to mention but most notable are the works of Livy and "The Beginnings of Rome" by T.J. Cornell.