NOVA ROMA - THE LEGION'S VEGAS

War, war never changes...

There was once a tale, ancient, even to the old world, told of a great being named Prometheus. Taking pitty on man, he stole fire from the heavens, his gift to a shivering, helpless creature, stumbling, frozen in the dark, sequestered among the littered bones of long dead ancestors who had been birthed and returned to dust, too afraid to reach from the cradle to a gloomy world Prometheus felt they ought to see.

Was he wrong?

With fire, resplendent and scorching, both, many descendants of that one enlightened soul were filled with a feral awe, a love for a world indifferent from them, independent and mechanical, a need for they, those that could comprehend and contrive, to belong to nature, to understand its secrets. This hunger to know a world illuminated by the torch lead many to straddle seas they had once fled, to pierce the sky they'd once thought endless and find a vacuous expanse, an eternal void into which they could forever flee the darkness of that cavernous, rocky cradle. The light of the fire illuminated what was best in man, too.

But what fire illuminates, it also raises to the ground. And if fire's light brought out man's inquisitive spirit, then fire's heat gave spark to kindling laid long before warhead met missile, and atomic fire ensnared the earth.

Millennia before the Great War, one tribe among the fractured millions humanity had banded into, understood this. To history, they were the Romans. They, above all other, encompassed the duality of the torch. With its light they built great wonders, exorbitant highways ran high above the ground they'd long graduated from, ferrying whole rivers of untainted water to their always quenched citizens. Drains sucked waste from their immaculate roads, and the people breathed the good air that the fire's promise finally birthed. But all this came at a cost. With fire's heat, Rome razed whole cities to the ground, cornered the tribes that had once peacefully encircled them, and carted them off in chains, branded with scalding metal, to be absorbed into the monolith - Rome's machine.

Rome was the solution to a problem the world burned before it could discover. At least, that is what the new Caesar believes. The world might not have died, had Rome, the torch-bearer, been allowed to succeed in its quest, to remake the world in its image, and its image alone. Nations, like the tribes Rome once obliterated, scrapped over resources each citizen believed it was their duty to hoard for their own motherland. That was the kindling, and when the heat of the fire man had been stacking for centuries became too great, the kindling took the spark, and the world was cleansed.

Caesar will not allow this to happen again.

It has now been three months since Hoover Dam was won by his Legion. Flags and crucifixes both line the tattered stilts of the highways leading up to New Vegas, his new Rome. And like the old world should have learned, all inside must be remade in the Legion's image, or be cut out at the root...

Because war, war never changes....



Nova Roma - The Legion's Vegas is a settlement RP based on the 2010 video game Fallout New Vegas, in which participants will take up roles as members of the new society growing up around New Vegas after its conquest by the Legion.

The Legion, for those of you interested by my intro but unfamiliar with Fallout (which would be a surprise), is a post apocalyptic society, created by Edward Sallow, one of the few remaining scholars, modelled aesthetically on Ancient Rome, which follows the philosophies of Utilitarianism, and, in effect, National Socialism (which I detest, just in case anyone was wondering). It follows the latter, partly out of Sallow's, who now styles himself as Caesar, egotism causing him to create a cult of personality around himself, and partly because Sallow believes National identities, or tribal identities as they have regressed to in post nuclear Nevada, where the game is set (duh, it's got Vegas in the title), and their inevitable conflict, is what lead to nuclear war (which is pretty sound logic). Therefore, he intends to replace the tribal identities, and the only national identity left in the wasteland, the (New) Californian Republic, with a monolithic culture based on Rome and lead by him.

In this RP, he has won the central conflict of the video game Fallout New Vegas, the battle of Hoover Dam, and now possesses both the ruins of New Vegas, and the dam as a source of power. It will be your job, as a potential participant, to take on the role of a member of this society, either helping or hindering its progress.

We will be following the Settlement Roleplay structure. You can make your character a humble slave, forced to participate in the many building projects that will be going on around town. You could play as a merchant (of slaves, if you want), either a member of the legion, or one of the few independents. You could play as a lifer in the legion (they absorb tribes, and raise the young as combatants) or a new recruit. You could play as a displaced citizen, or anything you can imagine, within reason.



These forums already give pretty good guidelines as to what to expect. I have put this in the casual section because I want it tobe laid back and fun. I don't care how often you post, however, I do ask that when you do, you try to keep your writing neat, well formatted, easy to follow, and longer than one paragraph, unless engaged in conversation with another player. I don't quality control the RP - so don't be shy if you're self conscious about your writing (we all are, and you're probably pretty good), just have fun.

However, since this RP is about a monolith culture, try to avoid putting things like "social recluse", "nervous", "introverted" etc. in your CS personality section, if you're playing a legion character. These personality traits would be weeded out. I'm not saying you can't play a damaged character (they're all probably pretty f***ed up anyway), but they shouldn't openly display it, nor should things like social acceptance be primary motivation. This is a cliché I've seen in RPing, but if it's unique to my experiences, sorry for the ranty addendum.







This should help give you some ideas as to where to position your character.



List of locations in New Vegas:






PajkaNight - Luci - Civilian Trader

Posting before going to bed... So TIRED....
EDIT: I nearly missed the SPECIAL part.

---

Luci "Lil' Devil"

Age:18
Gender: Female

Personality: While a bit cheeky at times, Luci has a deep fear of men, doing a fairly good job at hiding this fear until certain triggers cause her to react. Luci will be very protective of herself when being flirted with or have any sexual innuendo even hinted at her. She may even take it as far as threatening her 'attacker' life. She's not generally interested in adventure and such, mostly concerned about her own well-being and survival.

Backstory: Luci remembers as far back as her toddler years, countless times she has hugged and comforted her mother from being beaten and thrown around the house by her father, only to be push away and screamed at for 'getting involved with adult things'. She vividly remembers the sound of her mother's sobbing and the huff of Jet she would later over-dose on. This was her everyday life, that is until she ran away from her home in northern California, at the age of 15. She headed for New Vegas: the city of sin, and though she only stole 50 caps from her father, she still had to try and make her fortune somehow.

Unfortunately, Luci didn't have the funds to make it into the small world of flashing lights and the river of caps she imagined Vegas held. After many failed attempts at the Attomic Wrangler, a man watched her smugly, offering her a pass into New Vegas on one condition: She work at one of the casinos called Gomorrah. Luci accepted the offer without hesitation, eager just to step inside.
The young girl had been tricked, however, becoming into one of Gomorrah's prostitutes, having her life threatened if she were to tell anyone she was forced against her will. She lived in fear of the Omertas, especially Cachino, who did awful things to Luci and the other prositutes. Though this fear did not stop her from trying to steal snacks, shivs, or bobby pins; Such acts earned her the nickname: Lil' Devil.

Luci had just turned 18 the day the Legion Slavers took over Hoover Dam and New Vegas. Soon, the Legion arrived, knocking down the gates of New Vegas; This was Luci's chance for escape. Through all the bustling and fighting, the young girl did what she was best at: she ran as fast as she could managing to stay undetected from most everyone around her, to avoid becoming a slave, something she already felt she was with the Omertas.
The few months had past, and in that time the girl had managed to tag along with a few friendly caravan traders, learning to barter scraps for supplies in order to make it in the vast and deadly wasteland.

Clothing/Equipment: Wearing a light leather merc outfit that shows a lot of skin, along with a pair of goggles. A small flash for water, a pack of bobby pins, a nearly empty first aid kit, and salvaged tech and scrap packed into her Bramin's pack.

Weaponry: A switchblade, a 44. Magnum, and a single frag grenade.

Role within society: A Caravan Trader, roaming the wasteland to scavenge for mostly spare parts and scraps, though Luci has come across some valuable loot from time to time (Mostly from stealing it though).

SPECIAL: Strength 2, Perception 5, Endurance 8, Charisma 6, Intelligence 5, Agillity 9 and Luck 5

Before I make my character sheet, is there anyone who wants to roleplay a legion slaver party along with myself?

Caligula

Age: 26
Gender: Male


Personality: A true psychopath, Caligula is little more than a bully given a position of power. He follows the idea to treat everyone under him with contempt and give a fake smile to all those above him. If the Legion had not given him what he wanted he might have tried the fiends or other raiders, but the Legion gave him everything and even more. Caligula is aggressive, short tempered and violent.

Backstory: Raised in a small tribe in Arizona, the young man named "Kissed by Fire" for his red hair had an interesting upbringing. He learned to fight at an incredibly early age and seemed very talented to say the least. He was at a young enough age to become a legionary and his fighting skills served him well in training and practice. He than adopted, like so many others a roman name, wearing it with pride. Not because he liked for what it stood but because he liked the power that came with it.
It was with the legion he learned many important things. For one that power made right. He never gave a single thought if the principles of the legion were right. He never cared about right or wrong to begin with. However he liked to be above other people and a legion of slave owners was just to perfect for that. He also learned how to mask his feelings. To his superiors he was an excellent recruit, disciplined, a good combatant and faithful.
After he fought and survived the battle of Hoover Damn he was promoted to Urban Decanus and given a team of ten men. Since than he and his team became notorious in Freeside for being unnecessary violent with drug addicts and the like, taking stuff without paying for it and even being rapists, while getting away with it. Actually the Urban Praetor above Calligula is an old friend, who now and then turns a blind eye, still Calligula walks the thin line between accepted Legionary behavior and being a thug in an uniform.

Clothing/Equipment: Legionary Armor and Healing Powder

Weaponry: Machetes, 10mm pistol

Role within society: Urban Decanus

SPECIAL: Strength 7, Perception 6, Endurance 7, Charisma 3, Intelligence 4, Agillity 8 and Luck 5)

Can I ask what happened to the Boomers and Nellis AFB?

I mean; the Boomers didn't have an army; but surely with a working fighter jet and the know-how to pilot it, they must have at least done something to in someway protect themselves right?

What about the Brotherhood of Steel? They're also pretty well armed as well as mostly hidden.

Can I ask what happened to the Boomers and Nellis AFB?

I mean; the Boomers didn't have an army; but surely with a working fighter jet and the know-how to pilot it, they must have at least done something to in someway protect themselves right?

What about the Brotherhood of Steel? They're also pretty well armed as well as mostly hidden.

If the courier chooses to aid the Boomers and the Legion at the ending of the game, Caesar elects to leave them to their own devices, and they do use the bomber to patrol their patch of the Mojave from time to time.

As for the Brotherhood, there is an ending to New Vegas which was cut from the game but restored with a mod, in which Caesar allies with the Brotherhood, then turns on them and runs them out of the Wasteland.

For the purposes of this RP, we'll assume this is what happened to those factions.

So what is happening here?

I'm interested in this RP, I was considering making a Centurion or Legatus character since I feel we need some people higher up in the power structure but I'm still thinking about it.

Before I make my character sheet, is there anyone who wants to roleplay a legion slaver party along with myself?

If I don't do that, though, Jonesy, this sounds like a pretty cool idea too. Wanna talk it out and see what we can come up with?

So what is happening here?

I was waiting for the people who posted their interest in the other thread to come over here, but they seem to have gone off.

Right, I noticed I'd forgotten to put up my CS, so here it is for everyone to reference. I know the backstory is really, really long-winded, but it's more for my reference.

Name: - Titus Gracchus

Age: - 37

Appearance: -


Personality: - Afflicted with an excruciating, pus-weaping lesion in the right leg,Gracchus has become short tempered and irritable. The veteran legionnaire is prone to erratic and fitful bouts of rage, oftentimes upending tables he had been diligently working at, or striking out at muted guards keeping his watch. Gracchus' near twenty years with the legion have left him bitter and jaded, the enthusiasm and sense of purpose that had been imbued in him at the assimilation of his subsistent tribe reduced to a flicker as the Legion beat a bloody and endless path through the wastes, spilling blood and purchasing nothing with the boon of that sacrifice. However, his nihilism, tempered by his open handedness, perceptiveness, and his enduring capacity of mercy, have left him quietly hopefully that this new project might finally fulfil all the Legion had promised.

[b]Backstory: - Like many accomplished Legionnaires, Gracchus met the coming of the Legion as much with quiet, purposeful hope as with revulsion at the loss of his tribe. Truthfully, he had taken some small comfort in huddling around his tribe's campfire, soaking in primitive tales of an old world of excess and of plenty; where men needn't scrape through baked, dusted earth to find sustenance, but were liberated, to have purpose and meaning and consequence.

Gracchus found in the Legion, and its virtues of self-sacrifice, service and aversion to slothfulness, a sense of purpose he never could in his Liberty, and threw himself into the legion's brutal training almost with glee. To him, the scrap for survival with his tribe was never freedom, and very soon, he became to see eye-to-eye with Caesar, that the tribes the Legion conquered, destitute as they were, were really being saved by being absorbed into Caesar's war machine.

As soon as he was trained, aged, due to his profligate upbringing, twenty-one years old, he begged his superiors to place him under the command of Maxentius, by far the weakest and most bundling of Caesar's Centurions, and one he could easily surpass. After six years in his employ, the Centurion finally stumbled. On campaign in Utah, chasing down a particularly vicious chapter of the 80's tribe, Maxentius lead his column into a snare. Those Legion that survived the 80's crazed hacking were dragged back to their camp, no doubt to be used as trophies, or, in somewhere as desolate as southern Utah, as sustenance.

In desperation, Gracchus reached out to his guards. These, it seemed, were the most diminutive of the tribe - the party that had defeated Gracchus' collumn had worn ornaments from all corners of the wasteland, road signs, shawn strands of tyre, Brahmin skulls, anything that smacked of the abstraction of the old world, to befuddle and awe those the tribals encountered. The guards wore few or no such ornaments, and manned their post inside the blasted-dry-brick and iron walls of a hardy petrol-station; one which had stoically whethered the storms of as many as the seventeen nuclear warheads which had left black scars on the turf of the surrounding land. They were the runts, the outcast, the kind who picked at the scraps around the campfire, carried the equipment, enabled the glories of their bretherin.

Gracchus turned this bitterness to his advantage. Night by night, he told the guards his story, how the Legion had found him as diminutive as they, of how it lifted men from the dung of sustenance and gave each a purpose. Pretty soon, he stirred the same fire of purposefulness in the guards as Gracchus once felt himself, and, not three weeks after his capture, in the frigid night of the Utah plains, Gracchus eloped the camp with twenty-three of the 80s, and two whole crates of pristine old world fire-arms at his back.

On his return to Flagstaff, those Legion that had survived with Gracchus bore him in on their backs, hailing him with chants of Centurion before placing the bloodstained helm of the fallen Maxentius on his brow. Caesar, hearing the chants, invited Gracchus to an audience, formally bestowing on him the mantle of Centurion, and command of the 80s he had lead to the Legion. Gracchus' heraldic feat reminded Caesar of his own triumph among the blackfoots, and, with many successes in the field, Gracchus and Caesar cultivated a much more mutualistic relationship that most legionnaires could have ever hoped for or imagined, driven by their shared vision of a unified, virtuous and altruistic wasteland.

For many years, Gracchus was elated, his private hopes for the Legion were realised and reciprocated by its leader, and he would be his loyal disciple until the time of his demise. That was, until Gracchus first ran across the brutality of Legatus Lanius, who put to the sword any he chose, sometimes the weak, sometimes the sick, and sometimes those he deemed a sporting kill. In Lanius, there was nothing but mettle, he gave his men no purpose, only fear. Gracchus was fascinated and disgusted by him, both. In him, he saw all of the raw viciousness of the legion, a viciousness Gracchus had condoned and enabled for years, in the pursuit of some nobler goal. To Gracchus, the painful truth came worryingly into view - was his hope for the legion just a facade, an academic contrivance between he and its naive leader? Did it breed and cultivate monsters like Lanius, and was he destined to take control of the Legion entire?

It was this desire to outdo Lanius, to prove, dialectically, his mistake, that lead to Gracchus crippling. At Hoover Dam, Gracchus charged his men through the tunnels with abandon, desperate to end the battle and claim the human spoils before they could meet with Lanius' eager sword. But, in doing so, he threw tactics to the wind. Neglecting his scouts, he met a fierce wall of fortified NCR, and a ranger, one with a card marked for the Centurion at the head of this mad charge. The ranger placed two shells into Gracchus' leg and knee-cap before the snare Lanius had devised enclosed and overwhelmed him. Gracchus was crippled. After months, he could shuffle, limp at best, the uppermost of the wounds wept and opened periodically, and his waking hours were spent nose-deep in healing powder, or else blinding agony.

In Lanius' vision for the Legion, Gracchus would have been left to the one element left in the wasteland, but Caesar was more pragmatic. Recalling the rousing young man who had rallied so many "warriors" to the Legion's cause, he gave Gracchus and his men the greatest of tasks the legion would face, to mould Vegas and its citizens into a nova roma as its Praetor. Gracchus is simply unsure if he still has the belief, or the heart, to do so...

Clothing/Equipment: Studded Vexalarius armour plating, a small 80s-highway symbol affixed to one of the discs, bronzed calf and wrist-plates fashioned from gas-station metal, a helmet of blue-dyed plumage made from old wire-brushes, and a thick blue Cape. Also carries a pair of sunglasses, and other standard legion-issue equipment, like healing powder.

Weapons: Machette affixed to his right-hip. Revolver by left hip, sparingly loaded, as he rarely fights.

Role within Society: Urban Praetor

Special: Strength 3, Perception 7, Endurance 6, Charisma 9 , Intelligence 9, Agility 1, Luck 5

Posting before going to bed... So TIRED....
EDIT: I nearly missed the SPECIAL part.

---

Luci "Lil' Devil"

Age:18
Gender: Female

Appearance [+]

Personality: While a bit cheeky at times, Luci has a deep fear of men, doing a fairly good job at hiding this fear until certain triggers cause her to react. Luci will be very protective of herself when being flirted with or have any sexual innuendo even hinted at her. She may even take it as far as threatening her 'attacker' life. She's not generally interested in adventure and such, mostly concerned about her own well-being and survival.

Backstory: Luci remembers as far back as her toddler years, countless times she has hugged and comforted her mother from being beaten and thrown around the house by her father, only to be push away and screamed at for 'getting involved with adult things'. She vividly remembers the sound of her mother's sobbing and the huff of Jet she would later over-dose on. This was her everyday life, that is until she ran away from her home in northern California, at the age of 15. She headed for New Vegas: the city of sin, and though she only stole 50 caps from her father, she still had to try and make her fortune somehow.

Unfortunately, Luci didn't have the funds to make it into the small world of flashing lights and the river of caps she imagined Vegas held. After many failed attempts at the Attomic Wrangler, a man watched her smugly, offering her a pass into New Vegas on one condition: She work at one of the casinos called Gomorrah. Luci accepted the offer without hesitation, eager just to step inside.
The young girl had been tricked, however, becoming into one of Gomorrah's prostitutes, having her life threatened if she were to tell anyone she was forced against her will. She lived in fear of the Omertas, especially Cachino, who did awful things to Luci and the other prositutes. Though this fear did not stop her from trying to steal snacks, shivs, or bobby pins; Such acts earned her the nickname: Lil' Devil.

Luci had just turned 18 the day the Legion Slavers took over Hoover Dam and New Vegas. Soon, the Legion arrived, knocking down the gates of New Vegas; This was Luci's chance for escape. Through all the bustling and fighting, the young girl did what she was best at: she ran as fast as she could managing to stay undetected from most everyone around her, to avoid becoming a slave, something she already felt she was with the Omertas.
The few months had past, and in that time the girl had managed to tag along with a few friendly caravan traders, learning to barter scraps for supplies in order to make it in the vast and deadly wasteland.

Clothing/Equipment: Wearing a light leather merc outfit that shows a lot of skin, along with a pair of goggles. A small flash for water, a pack of bobby pins, a nearly empty first aid kit, and salvaged tech and scrap packed into her Bramin's pack.

Weaponry: A switchblade, a 44. Magnum, and a single frag grenade.

Role within society: A Caravan Trader, roaming the wasteland to scavenge for mostly spare parts and scraps, though Luci has come across some valuable loot from time to time (Mostly from stealing it though).

SPECIAL: Strength 2, Perception 5, Endurance 8, Charisma 6, Intelligence 5, Agillity 9 and Luck 5

Well detailed CS, very well done. I do tend to wonder what a person terrified of men would be doing anywhere near the sausage-fest that is the legion, but I think it would be interesting to have a character like this in the RP. It'll be a good chance to look at the regression in society, causing heavy gender-archetypes and a combatant approach to intersex relationships. So, accepted.

Caligula

Age: 26
Gender: Male

Appearance: [+]

Personality: A true psychopath, Caligula is little more than a bully given a position of power. He follows the idea to treat everyone under him with contempt and give a fake smile to all those above him. If the Legion had not given him what he wanted he might have tried the fiends or other raiders, but the Legion gave him everything and even more. Caligula is aggressive, short tempered and violent.

Backstory: Raised in a small tribe in Arizona, the young man named "Kissed by Fire" for his red hair had an interesting upbringing. He learned to fight at an incredibly early age and seemed very talented to say the least. He was at a young enough age to become a legionary and his fighting skills served him well in training and practice. He than adopted, like so many others a roman name, wearing it with pride. Not because he liked for what it stood but because he liked the power that came with it.
It was with the legion he learned many important things. For one that power made right. He never gave a single thought if the principles of the legion were right. He never cared about right or wrong to begin with. However he liked to be above other people and a legion of slave owners was just to perfect for that. He also learned how to mask his feelings. To his superiors he was an excellent recruit, disciplined, a good combatant and faithful.
After he fought and survived the battle of Hoover Damn he was promoted to Urban Decanus and given a team of ten men. Since than he and his team became notorious in Freeside for being unnecessary violent with drug addicts and the like, taking stuff without paying for it and even being rapists, while getting away with it. Actually the Urban Praetor above Calligula is an old friend, who now and then turns a blind eye, still Calligula walks the thin line between accepted Legionary behavior and being a thug in an uniform.

Clothing/Equipment: Legionary Armor and Healing Powder

Weaponry: Machetes, 10mm pistol

Role within society: Urban Decanus

SPECIAL: Strength 7, Perception 6, Endurance 7, Charisma 3, Intelligence 4, Agillity 8 and Luck 5)

An excellent, CS, accepted. One thing I will point out is that my character is the Urban Praetor, and he is a rather pious individual, unlikely to befriend a thuggish-type character. Perhaps their friendship is based on Gracchus' desire to reform Caligula, and Caligula's ability to disguise his predilections? In my character's backstory, he persuaded a group of tribals to join the Legion, perhaps Caligula was one of these, and Gracchus thinks of him as a son? I think we should talk about this a bit further, perhaps over PM?

@TTNoobs I thought she would be interesting to add. ^.^ I'll add her to Characters after you add yours. Just so GM is first on the list.

@TTNoobs I thought she would be interesting to add. ^.^ I'll add her to Characters after you add yours. Just so GM is first on the list.

All right, it's all yours!

@Pangusman

Hello, sorry it took me so long to get back to you, I hadn't noticed your post.

Making a Legatus character would actually be a fantastic idea. I mentioned in my (perhaps overly lengthy) OP that there might be some friction between the militaristic legionaries and those garrisoned in Vegas. Having a high-ranking military official would provide some interesting clashes, including with my character, the Urban Praetor. By all means, go for it. You're also more than welcome to have two different characters ( might myself), as long as you don't feel overwhelmed, and so could still buddy up with Jonesy. :)

@Jonesy Slave-Traders will probably provide the most potential for conflict. If you put up a rough CS, you could give people a better idea of the direction you're taking. I'm permitting a few people to take on second characters (maximum of two), so don't feel you have to wait and see.

I forgot to ask, How far from Vegas would the Legions territory reach? I'm assuming they would take the surrounding area but would they be occupying other settlements like Primm or Novac? Or would those places just be picked clean or something?

I forgot to ask, How far from Vegas would the Legions territory reach? I'm assuming they would take the surrounding area but would they be occupying other settlements like Primm or Novac? Or would those places just be picked clean or something?

Since Novac is quite a remote, indefensible location, I imagine the Legion just forcibly marched the population back to New Vegas as slaves, leaving behind only a small garrison as a sort of outpost.

Primm, on the other hand, is a walled town. With its proximity to the Goodspring source, I think the Legion will have garrisoned the town and have it marked for settlement soon.

Bump.

@PajkaNight Ah - thank you, but please don't bump the thread - I find it's a bit obnoxious for other users, and a little undemocratic for these boards. If people aren't interested, then I'll make my peace with that. It would take a drastic turnaround, seeing as this RP necessitates a large player-base.

Hey I haven't been on in a while, but is this still happening? Hopefully this post can let some more people see this thread, I'm really interested in this. I'm coming up with some ideas for characters in the meantime, I'll try and post it soon so we can entice some more people.

@TTNoobs Alright. Sorry.