Roman Empire Campaign
- Thread starter fuindordm
- Start date
Aus_Snow
First Post
I have it. But I'm not quite sure what you'd be wanting or expecting from it. I thought it was OK, but not brilliant (FWIW).
Are you going to be running 3e, for example? If so, you might find something like Green Ronin's 'Eternal Rome' to be of more immediate use. However, Eternal Rome avoids Christianity in game terms, pretty much entirely IIRC, leaving that for the Testament sourcebook (which is excellent, IMO).
Are you going to be running 3e, for example? If so, you might find something like Green Ronin's 'Eternal Rome' to be of more immediate use. However, Eternal Rome avoids Christianity in game terms, pretty much entirely IIRC, leaving that for the Testament sourcebook (which is excellent, IMO).
I picked up the GURPS Imperial Rome book years ago out of a discount bin, and I've used it as source material for several D&D games. I ended up picking up GURPS Ancient Greece and Egypt just to round out the set, and I've never played a game of GURPS in my life.
If you're going to be running 1e, odds are the 2e Rome book will be close enough for the rules to be useful although I never picked up any of the green-cover splat books so I can't help you with specifics. One benefit to using historical settings is encylcopedias make pretty good sourcebooks too. (That was the idea behind my True20 Carthage game anyway.)
If you're going to be running 1e, odds are the 2e Rome book will be close enough for the rules to be useful although I never picked up any of the green-cover splat books so I can't help you with specifics. One benefit to using historical settings is encylcopedias make pretty good sourcebooks too. (That was the idea behind my True20 Carthage game anyway.)
The 2Ed books were OK.
And while I can't speak directly to the quality of the GURPS Imperial Rome book, if its as good as their other historical sourcebooks, its worth at least checking out, if not buying outright.
(BTW, I don't like GURPS.)
And while I can't speak directly to the quality of the GURPS Imperial Rome book, if its as good as their other historical sourcebooks, its worth at least checking out, if not buying outright.
(BTW, I don't like GURPS.)
ephemeron
Explorer
Gaming treatments of Rome tend to focus on earlier periods than you're interested in (heck, historians tend to neglect the period you're interested in in favor of earlier eras), and Constantine's world is very different from Augustus'. Zenobia is based on the Roman world circa 260 AD, which makes it the only RPG I know of set in the late Empire.
For general historical background, you might take a look at Peter Brown's The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750; I think it's still the standard textbook on the period.
For general historical background, you might take a look at Peter Brown's The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750; I think it's still the standard textbook on the period.
Ogrork the Mighty
Explorer
I have the 2E green sourcebook on Rome and I thought it was pretty good. Not from a game mechanics POV, but from a historical POV.
Terramotus
First Post
Crack a history book. I recommend The Collapse and Recovery of the Roman Empire by Michael Grant. It's relatively short, and if you know a good deal about the Empire of Augustus, it's a great way to see how the Crisis of the Third Century totally changed the situation within the Empire.
You can supplement that with a good book on daily life in the Empire. There are tons, and some are very accessible. Daily Life in Ancient Rome by Jerome Carcopino should be more or less available and useful for you.
I'm currently running a fantastical Iron Heroes game set during the Crisis of the Third Century, but I've got a pretty good background in history, so I don't do a lot of research for each game other than some Wikipedia browsing. I'm not intent on 100% accuracy either, just a good feel.
And honestly, you don't need that much knowledge to pull it off. Just know more than your players and plan your adventures well so you know exactly what historical tidbits you're going to throw in where.
Note, I just checked on prices to provide a link, but Amazon has it listed for $80.00. That's crazy. I picked it up for $5.98 at my local Half-Price Books. I'd recommend buying one of the used copies through Amazon for cheap.
You can supplement that with a good book on daily life in the Empire. There are tons, and some are very accessible. Daily Life in Ancient Rome by Jerome Carcopino should be more or less available and useful for you.
I'm currently running a fantastical Iron Heroes game set during the Crisis of the Third Century, but I've got a pretty good background in history, so I don't do a lot of research for each game other than some Wikipedia browsing. I'm not intent on 100% accuracy either, just a good feel.
And honestly, you don't need that much knowledge to pull it off. Just know more than your players and plan your adventures well so you know exactly what historical tidbits you're going to throw in where.
Note, I just checked on prices to provide a link, but Amazon has it listed for $80.00. That's crazy. I picked it up for $5.98 at my local Half-Price Books. I'd recommend buying one of the used copies through Amazon for cheap.
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