Starting Scenario

Midafternoon (15.00) you lie down in the Triclinium on your respective couches to enjoy watered wine and small-talk before dinner; main meal of the day. Soon the first courses are served, simple-ish food without too much Garum sauce or Eastern spices. Though this is all the rage in the progressive circles, you are all used to soldiers’ fare and the complicated foods would likely upset your stomachs. In fact part of the reason Gaius Caecilius conceived the idea to go, was the almost revolting tastes of his family. His two friends also rightly guess that he wanted to get away from his rampant females and the inevitable confrontation with them and that each day in their company makes him loathe himself a bit, for not taking it, but they discretely do not mention it.

Seems the chef has Fish Day, for the appetizers are Minutal Marinum (seafood fricassee), Sarda Ita Fit (Tuna) and Scillas (Big Shrimps).

For the main course there is Minutal Marinum (seafood fricassee), Aliter Baedinam Sive Agninam Excaldatam(Steamed Lamb) and roasted doves on the table carried in. Wine is from Gaius Caecilius’ own vineyards and is an excellent Red Falernae. Evening draws near and dessert table is carried in with Dulcia Domestica (Housemade Dessert) and Aliter Dulcia with mulsum (4 parts wine - 1 part honey) and apple cider for refreshment.

Despite Gaius Caecilius’ and Caius Cominius’ attempts at keeping the talk to pleasantries, and despite the slave women catering to their needs, Lucius Cornelius soon brings up the subject nagging him; what to do?

As they all know Lucius Cornelius has ambition burning in him but not the means. Not even Gaius Caecilius’ not inconsiderable means as a successful merchant could buy more than Questorship, which is likely to come anyway, but not a favourable one unless bribes changes hands, and the Aedileship coming after is immensely costly, requiring millions of Denarii to occupy. Lucius Cornelius does not have the means for this and neither the blood nor the app. half million in bribes it costs to be Plebeijan Tribune. He is thus prevented from pursuing the public career his blood demands, and no Crassus is likely to help him (Caesar was in a similar situation till Crassus lent him millions), this irks the proud Lucius and his friends so wish they could help him.

The question basically is whether joining Caesar in Egypt is worth the effort. It seems hopeless as Caesar’s wars seems won, but there is little alternative. Rather the question is whether Lucius Cornelius’ wound is healed sufficiently and how to secure a position ensuring loot as well as heroic efforts noticed by Caesar, “Who doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” and can bestow favours as he please, raising even old enemies to high position in his clemency.

Caius Cominius can hardly participate in this discussion, being a lowly solder of the Plebs, so his attention wanders while the other repeats the arguments again and options, thinking of his old Centurion Marcus Sextus Agelastus. A hard man and turned almost mad when returning from the Gallic Wars to discover his farm burned and family missing, wonder what happened to him…



Meanwhile at a nearby Villa Rustica a man screams in agony and begs for mercy, for the pain to stop and his torturer calmly, dispassionately replies, “Tell us what you know of the Aedui gold, then I stop”. The man’s begging turns to sobbing before he starts to talk.

As he finishes, his torturer leaves the room, stepping across a naked woman’s body, evidently raped before killing and turns to the little bowlegged and hard-to-notice man outside, “kill him and let your thugs loot the place, then burn it to the ground. And find all the slaves, I suspect some are still hiding in outbuildings and we want no witnesses to survive to tell that it was more than a mere robbery”.

“Yes, Me’lord”, the bowlegged man replies.

As the torturer leaves the bowlegged man starts shouting orders at a mixed group of bandits; escaped slaves, hired gladiators and mere thugs starts carrying out his instructions.



A few hours earlier Gaius Caecilius’ slave herders noticed a disturbance at the nearby isolated Villa of Clodia Metelli. Her name is enough to ensure scandal, and the herders basically keep an eye on her doings because she is one randy female and there is no vice so perverted that she will not try it, thus one can often get an amazing show from the distance by grazing one’s sheep nearby and being men, the herders do this, taking turns at the spectacle. However, tonight there is no show; or rather it seems that there is something wrong, people are fighting it seems. Perhaps bandits…

In any case the herders decide to go and let the Magister Pecorum know despite the 2-hour distance to Gaius Caecilius’ Villa. The Magister Pecorum cannot decide, so he asks the Vilicus (overseer, steward), who tells him to gather as many herders under arms as possible while he goes and lets the Dominus know.

As you arrive in the hills overlooking the Metellii Villa flames erupt from the main building while armed ruffians are scouring the rest for loot and slaves.

Player One, "Titus" (Palle):

2 Gladiators, 5 Bandits, 10 Commoner Guards.

Starts spread out in the compound in groups spread out with minimum 8’’ between them.

Victory Conditions

Kill the hidden slaves (”Downed” result will equal death in this battle) and escape (escape being paramount).

Player Two, Lucius Cornelius (Jan):

Characters, 3 shepherds, 5 slave shepherds

Starts anywhere along the further end of the table.

Victory Conditions

Grab at least one slave alive and either escape with him/her or drive the villains off.

Player Three, Clodia’s Villicus (Oleg):

Slave Shepherd (General), 7 slaves.

Starts hidden anywhere in the compound.

Victory Conditions

Reach Lucius Cornelius and either escape with him/her or drive the villains off.



The scenario is meant for the good guys to win and thus start the campaign and should be fairly easy for them.



Lucius Cornelius and Gaius Caecilius decided that though banditry is not an uncommon occurrence in the war-torn Italy, it was their duty to aid other nobles in need (even Clodia Metelli) or avenge them and especially discourage slave revolts and commoners attacking their betters. They told the Magister Pecorum to gather the herders, donned their armour themselves, and set off with them to rescue or avenge their peers.

As the companions approached, Lucius Cornelius on horseback, the others with the sheepherders on foot, a sight more fitting for the campaign in Gaul greeted them; ruffians were spread out, looting the compound, pillaging, burning and raping everything they found while the main building was ablaze and unapproachable.

The sheepherders flinched a bit, but the hardened veterans led them in a charge into the compound yard, stopping there to get an overview of the situation. Meanwhile Clodia Metelli’s Villicus had gathered most of the surviving slaves in the loft of a barn, determined to hold out till the rescue he was certain would come, arrived. A few unfortunates were spread out in the compound, but only two of them were killed before Lucius Cornelius arrived and one heroic soul hiding in the pigsty even tried to kill the ruffian leader from behind, with no luck, before escaping across the compound wall.

Meanwhile the villains tried to form a line across the yard, facing Lucius Cornelius and the companions, while others continued the slaughter. A slaughter that was quickly turned against them as Gaius Caecilius entered a stable where three villains had just killed a poor old woman and quickly slew them all. Meanwhile a few ruffians were caught in the open under a barrage of stones and rubble from the barn and as their own sling fire against the sheepherders and Lucius Cornelius proved ineffective, so they charged to pull the noble from his horse and loot his corpse. At least so they hoped…

Fortune turned against the untrained ruffians and as the veterans of many battless, supported by their determined shepherds, wishing to prove themselves to their master and his heroic friend, started cutting them down, the small bowlegged man leading the villains decided discretion was the better part of valour and made his way to the wall to climb it and escape.

Unfortunately for him the slaves in the barn spotted him and turned their barrage on him with a vengeance to avenge their friends, taking him down as he was scaling the high wall.

Lucius Cornelius and Caius Cominius cut down a few more enemies from sheer battle rage, and then accepted the rest surrendering; only to interrogate them and the surviving slaves. Strangely, the assassin-rogue leading the villains had disappeared, despite being downed at the foot of a high wall and in clear sight.

Interrogation revealed that Clodia Metelli had entertained a guest for a week, this guest being known by the name “Sextus”. However, the Villa was attacked in the early evening by a band of 17 thugs led by a small, bowlegged man whose breath smelled of onion, and the nobles captured while the slaves fled, hid or were cut down.

Soon after the capture a “noble” dressed to hide his real identity turned up who ordered Clodia Metelli gang raped, much to the pleasure of the ruffians (she was a very beautiful woman, in fact Lucius Cornelius probably enjoyed her favours at least once despite the age difference), and who tortured Sextus till he revealed something only the noble heard, though it is not unlikely that the bowlegged man listened in. The thugs do not know either’s identity as they were hired in Subura by “Bowleg” under the name “Titus” to do a dirty job with rich rewards and a considerable down sum.
A personal slave of Clodia Metelli with a habit of snooping had heard some of the nobles’ conversations in the week preceding the attack though. The guest’s name was Sextus and he had been a slave with the German Haerudi tribe in Cimbri Chersonesos for ten years since the battle with Ariovistus. While there he had gleaned a smattering of German from them and learned that 13 Talents of gold had been stolen from the Aedui and taken to Cimbri Chersonesos, he infers they sacrificed it in their holy lake as he knows that is what they do with all war booty. The slave believes that the nobles intend to equip some sort of expedition to get their hands on that gold.

Lucius Cornelius then ordered Caius Cominius execute the ruffians and slaves, which was promptly done. Though Caius Cominius Dolabra complained a bit that he is not an executioner, he is not squeamish either and he is used to obeying orders quickly and efficiently.

The friends then rode home for some more wine and to deliberate what to do.