The game
Imperium takes place in Republican Era Rome. The first Game Turn was January,
200 BC, just a year after the Romans under Scipio Africanus defeated the
Carthaginians under Hannibal and ended the sixteen-year-long Second Punic
War. Each Game Turn covers one month of time in the virtual world of Imperium.
1.2. HOW TO WIN.
1.2.1
There are two ways to win Imperium - the public way and the personal way.
Neither is permanent:
1.2.1.1
The public way is to have your paterfamilias PC become the 1st Man
in Rome. You accomplish this by his having the best ranking in the
Overall Standings among all current PCs. Your Overall Standing score
is a combination of the points you have gained for participating in
Imperium's civil, military, religious, and cultural life as a PC and
the value of your PC's estates and villa urbana.
1.2.1.2
The personal way is simply to reach whatever wealth, power, or
other accomplishment goals you set for yourself. You want to be
the wealthiest tycoon of ancient times? The greatest general or
poet? Or maybe you'd just like to overthrow the Republic and become
Emperor? Go for it.
1.3 DESCRIPTION OF PLAY.
1.3.1
Each Game Turn you must communicate to the Umpire by e-mail the actions
you would like your PC to take, including your choice to take no actions
at all.
1.3.2 You
may also send private e-mail to other players and post public PC and
NPC "speeches" at various topics at the Imperium group board at Ancientworlds.
Posts at the group board made by your PC may help you gain points toward
your Overall Standing.
1.3.3 At the end of every
Game Turn - usually about every two Real World weeks - the Umpire will post
a summary of public news and player standings at the Imperium group board.
1.4 YOUR ROLE AS PLAYER.
1.4.1
Imperium is a game of generations. The Player Character (PC) you role-play
in Imperium is a family's current paterfamilias. As the game progresses,
you will guide a family's fortunes over time through successive heads of
the family.
1.4.2 You
may introduce other family members and personas into the game as Non-Player
Characters (NPCs) and speak through them by posting messages at appropriate
topics on the Imperium group board.
1.4.3 The
fate of your PC is truly in your own hands. Few events are decided
by chance alone. Submitting thoughtful, clear, complete instructions
to the Umpire and backing your ventures with adequate resources greatly
increases the likelihood that any action you propose will be successful.
Hasty, ill-conceived, or skimpy instructions for ventures run on a
shoestring are likely to result in unpleasant surprises.
1.4.4 The
only requirement for remaining on the roster of Imperium players is
to actively play the game. That's what Imperium is for. (If you don't
want to play, why join?) "Actively play" means:
(1)
You e-mail a report of your PC's actions (as
posted at the group board where required) to the Umpire at least
once during each Game Turn, even if it's to say you don't want to anything
but collect income for the Turn.
(2) You
post your PCs support or opposition for proposals up for a vote
at the Senate and Assembly topics of the Imperium group board.
(3) Post
your updated Player Status Report (Statrep) on the Player Status
Reports Thread at the end of each turn.
1.4.5 One e-mail and
a few minutes spent at the Imperium site once or twice every two weeks doesn't
seem an overly burdensome requirement for anyone who really wants to play
the game. The first Game Turn you miss this requirement, the Umpire will post
a notice in the Game Turn summary that your PC has fallen ill. If you fail
to participate in the subsequent Game Turn as well, the Umpire will announce
the death of your PC, drop you from the player roster, and let a new player
join the game.
1.4.5.1 We here at Imperium
recognise that players may, on occasion, have real-life issues that may temporarily
effect their motivation or ability to play the game and respect the levels
of participation as outlined in 1.4.4 above. For these periods players are
allowed to take a lower level of participation by emailing the umpire and
publicly posting their request to be allowed a period of reduced play for
a specified period. Players under this 'regime' will not be subject to the
consequences in 1.4.5 but will however be subjected to the following limitations:
(a) Income from all sources
will be HALVED for the duration of their hiatus in addition to any local events
that effect all players.
(b) Players who do not
maintain up to date statreps may not vote, nor may they make any financial
actions.
(c) Players under hiatus
may not attempt to assassinate other players.
1.4.6 GROUNDS
FOR EXPULSION FROM THE GROUP
1.4.6.1 Whilst "IN CHARACTER" posts can be as vitriolic as you wish,
OUT OF CHARACTER attacks on other players are strictly forbidden. Try
to remember that just because Lucius Optimus questions your PC's parentage
and makes your PC look a total fool it does NOT mean that the player who operates
Lucius Optimus hates you PERSONALLY! PC's should be allowed to
operate as their player wishes without fear of anyone taking it personally,
if you take insults badly how are you going to handle your assassination? Players
who make out of character attacks or insults about other players MUST remove
such offending posts within 24 hours and apologise to the player concerned
for crossing the line or they risk being removed by the umpire or being put
on warning (depending on the seriousness of the attack).
1.4.6.2 Ancientworlds
has a no-smut policy so keep your posts free from swear words, unless
they are in good latin!
1.4.6.3 Disruptive,
overly petulant or unruly players will be removed.
1.5 NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs).
1.5.1 Actions
by most NPCs (usually those holding various offices) are played by the Umpire.
The only NPCs a player is allowed to play "freely" (i.e. just like they were
his PC), are his PC's immediate family -- his wife and children. However:
1.5.1.1
RUMOR MONGERING. Players may post as NPCs at the Forum Gossip topic
of the Imperium group board to convey rumours or tidbits of information
to other players. Players are cautioned against posting messages that
create "facts" which give their PC an unfair advantage over other players
or that violate any game rules. Players are explicitly warned against
posting messages that serve as deus-ex-machina devices to get their
PCs out of trouble. Players who ignore these warnings should not be
surprised to have the gods turn such actions against them. When in
doubt, please e-mail the Umpire for guidance
1.5.1.2
ANONYMOUS SPOKESMEN. A player who wishes to post anonymous messages
at the Imperium group board may do so by posting them through the
Umpire. Just e-mail to the Umpire the word-for-word message you
want to post, and he will post it at the appropriate topic of the
Imperium group board as an NPC. The first anonymous post in a Game
Turn costs a player 10 D., the second costs 20 D, the third costs
30 D, and so on.
1.5.2 Players
may send "private" messages (as opposed to public speeches) intended for
NPCs to the Umpire via e-mail. The umpire will report the NPCs response by
e-mail.
1.6 THE ROLE OF THE UMPIRES.
1.6.1
The Umpire's duty is divided into two distinct offices: that of Creative
Umpire and Administrative Umpire.
The
Administrative Umpire; handles the routine administrative
tasks involved in running the game, maintains the various spreadsheets
for calculating outcomes of battle, trade, riot, rebellion revolt etc
as well as maintaining the Imperium Gazetteer and other Imperium related
resources. He does not handle creative or storyline aspects of the
game but reports events to the Creative umpire so that the creative
umpire may incorporate them into the game. Basically, if it needs rolling
a dice for it's his job.
The
Creative Umpire; advances the storyline, writes up events
that result from the work of the administrative umpire, replies to
in-game actions, strives to ensure fairness, and maintains order. He
also plays the role of NPCs when needed and adjudicates when questions
arise. Questions regarding the rules are adjudicated by the Rules Copyright
owner.
In
addition both umpires carry out the duty of the other when actions involve
their PC directly.
1.6.2 The fundamental "law" of
the game is that all players agree to abide by the rulings made by the
Umpire. He is the final authority on what actions are and are not
allowed in the game. The intent is to let you spend your time playing and
enjoying the game in a safe-and-sane atmosphere without becoming embroiled
in wearisome arguments over the rules.
1.6.4
The umpires may NOT make alterations of any sort to the rules
of Imperium. This
1.6.4
UMPIRE PC "LIMITATIONS".
A newly appointed
umpire's characters (if they have one) is/are subject to the following limitations
during his term of service.
1.6.4.1 The umpire's
PC may undertake all normal game activities/posts to improve their rankings
(except as noted below).
(a). Deleted
(b). The
same umpire
may not act as both prosecutor/defender and jury in a court case.
1.6.4.2 Any
action undertaken by the umpire that requires a DIE roll will have it's
result calculated by the other umpire.
1.6.4.3 The umpires both receive 50 CIV, 50
MIL and 50 REL points per turn of service
as umpire regardless of number or quality of posts. Niether
umpire qualifies for bonus points.
1.6.4.4 Umpire
PC's may not hold the office of Army Commander (including Proconsular
Commander, though he may be a ProConsular Governor).
1.6.4.5 Umpire PC's may not hold
any war-time military office, though they are free to hold office in a Legion
not in a campaign or war situation. Should the legion in which the umpire
PC is posted become involved in a war situation the umpire PC must be re-assigned
to another peace-time legion.
1.6.4.6
Any action undertaken by a player against an umpire's PC must be mailed
to the OTHER umpire who will post the action, decide on the odds of success
and make any rolls required posting
the result at the appropriate Imperium group board. If the player that
wishes to undertake the action wishes to enact it against the other umpire,
or if one or the other is absent, then the Rules
Copyright Owner shall replace the excluded officer (if necessary making
the rolls). This grants any player the appropriate anonymity from the umpire.
1.6.5
UMPIRE'S & OTHER IMPERIUM OFFICERS TERMS OF SERVICE
1.6.5.2 The Creative Umpire and Membership
Legate are selected by election once per year (real
time) in January. This is done by the umpire posting an election
notice, on the "Group Elections" thread at the Imperium board. The Administrative
Umpire is an office filled by appointment by the Rules
Copyright Holder only.
1.6.5.3 Players
wishing to run (or be Prorogued) for any of the above positions must post
their intention to do so within one week by posting on the "Group Elections"
thread. Once nominations have been closed the candidates will
have one week to make a campaign speech then voting will be carried out
via private ballot (e-mail to the outgoing umpire with cc to a non
candidate outgoing officer or other impartial senior player). Voting
is OBLIGATORY
in all elections, whether contested or not, with players able to cast votes
for or against solitary condidates.
1.6.5.4 Elected
officers take over their new positions in the first full turn following their
election.
1.6.5.5 Outline of Other
Imperium Officers
Group
Owner & Imperium Rules Copyright Holder: This life-time position is reserved
exclusively for Marco Berni who maintains all rights to the Imperium
rules.
Membership
Legate: To deal with applications for membership and assist the Umpires
in matters involving the players of Imperium.
1.6.6 EARLY
RESIGNATIONS & IMPEACHMENT OF UMPIRE
1.6.6.1 Any elected officer may terminate his term of office by posting
a resignation speech in the "Group Elections" thread giving advanced notice
of one full game term (two in the event of an UMPIRE, if possible)
1.6.6.2 Should
the players feel it necessary to un-elect a sitting CREATIVE UMPIRE,
then the procedures are as follows:
1.6.6.2.1 At
least FOUR players of 6 game months (or more) standing
must post statements declaring that they wish to " IMPEACH " the
UMPIRE on the "Group Elections" thread. This will automatically
give rise to an extraordinary election in the following game turn,
where any new candidates may run for election against the current UMPIRE
(if he chooses to stand) and the winner will be elected UMPIRE for
the remainder of the current term of office.
1.7 THE IMPERIUM BOARD AT
ANCIENTWORLDS
1.7.1 Each topic at the
Imperium group board at Ancientworlds has a specific purpose. Some topics are
for administrative and general Real World discussions, some are strictly for
postings "in-character" as part of the game. Please read the topic descriptions
before you post messages. Here is a list of the topics currently on the Imperium
group board:
ARENA - To be used by
the Arena Aedile or the Gladiatorial Aedile ONLY to post messages about various
games and to report the monthly gladiator standings.
ASSEMBLY - Where you
post Assembly proposals, rebuttals, and votes. Open only to players whose
Assembly Influence is greater than zero.
CIVIL OFFICE REPORTS
- Where holders of civil offices post reports pertaining to their official
duties and where PC's post details of all their public
and private works and purchases including estates, factories and slaves.
COURTS - For official
court messages, advocates' speeches, and other court-related messages.
FORUM GOSSIP - Where
all players may post as their PCs or NPCs miscellaneous rumours or information
they would like made public.
GAME
RULES - For Rules Copyright holder use only.
GAME TURN REPORTS -
For Umpire use only. This is where you can find various end-of-Turn reports,
player standings, and mentions of activity by other players that would be
known by the public.
GENERAL DISCUSSION
- Open to all players. This is where to post questions or ideas about the
game.
MILITARY REPORTS -
Where praetor-governors and holders of military offices may post reports
pertaining to their military activities.
RULES QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS - FAQ's and requests for rules clarifications.
SENATE - Where you
post Senate proposals, rebuttals, and votes. Open only to players whose
Senate Influence is greater than zero.
TEMPLE - Open to all
players. Where you may post messages about prayers, appeals to the gods,
sacrifices, gifts to temples, and other religious actions.
TRADE - Where trading
missions and slave market related activites are posted.
PLAYER STATUS REPORTS - Where players post a monthly updated
report of their pc's holdings, offices and other game standings in
the required format.
1.7.2 The
Umpire MAY* add upto 50 "bonus" points each TURN to
your PC's Civil, Military, Religious or Cultural values when you post "above
average" messages "in character" at Imperium group board topics. Points
will be awarded on the basis of:
1.7.2.1
ACTING - How well you stay in character; historical verisimilitude.
1.7.2.2
PLAY VALUE - The impact your message has on the game, it's relevance,
how well you move the game action along or contribute to its texture.
1.7.2.3
ELOQUENCE - The style of presentation; the wit, logic, or persuasiveness
of your argument.
1.7.2.4
CREATIVITY - I can't tell you what this means exactly, but I know it
when I see it.
*
- Note that the quantity of messages you post has little or no bearing
on the number of points awarded. However, there is such a thing as
posting "too many" messages in a given Game Turn. Blowhards & topic-hogs
beware. A reasonable number of typing, grammatical, and spelling errors
will be tolerated.
1.7.3 Messages
you post as an NPC do not earn your PC points. Use NPC posts to bring into
play items that you don't want attributed to your PC.
1.7.4 In character
messages posted on the forum gossip thread may earn upto
100 bonus cultural action points at Umpire discretion.
1.8 GAME TERMS. (Here
is a short glossary of terms used in these rules):
ASSEMBLY
INFLUENCE. The sum of your PC's Cultural Value + Family Reputation
Value + Military Value + Religious Value ratings. When you participate
in an Assembly vote, this is the "weight" of your vote.
SENATE
INFLUENCE. The sum of your PC's Civil Value + Military Value +
Religious Value + (2x Family Reputation Value) ratings. When you
participate in a Senate vote, this is the "weight" of your vote.
FAMILY
REPUTATION VALUE. Members of the patrician class begin the game
with a Family Reputation Value of 500 points. Members of the
Plebeian class begin the game with no family reputation value. To
this is added 1% of the sum of the Civil Values + Military Values
+ Religious Values + Cultural Values of the heads of your family
who have died during the game. This value is the legacy left behind
when a paterfamilias dies. Patricians who own factories, ships, or
other commercial enterprises have their starting rating cut in half.
VILLA
VALUE. The sum of the value in D. of your PC's villa urbana.
ESTATE
VALUE. The sum of the value in D. of all the land your PC owns.
Note that factories, ships, slaves, and other commercial holdings or
enterprises are NOT included in this value.
CIVIL
VALUE. The sum of all the points a PC has acquired for participating
in government. This includes both points for holding civil offices
and action points earned for carrying out political actions in the
Senate, Assembly, Courts, Arena and Civil Office reports threads consistent
with a players elected office or standing.
COMMAND
RATING. The sum of all the points a PC has acquired for participating
in military operations. This rating affects the combat results in any
military operation in which the PC participates.
MILITARY
VALUE. The sum of all the points a PC has acquired for receiving
military honors and holding military offices and carrying out their
military office. Note that messages posted at the Military Reports
topic of the Imperium group board earn Military action points. They
do NOT affect a PC's Command Rating.
CULTURAL
VALUE. The sum of all the points a PC has acquired for participating
in or producing public and private cultural events, structures and
art and for passing Assembly legislation.
RELIGIOUS
VALUE. The sum of all the points a PC has acquired for participating
in the religious life of Imperium. This includes both action points
earned for posting messages at the Temple topic of the Imperium group
board and points received for holding religious offices.
OVERALL
STANDING. The sum of your PC's Estate Rank + Villa Rank + Civil
Rank + Military Rank + Religious Rank + Cultural Rank + Family Reputation
Rank. The player with the lowest number is The First Man in Rome.
RANK. The
relative position of a player's points when compared to the points
held by others. (E.g., If Caius X. had a Civil Value of 100, Gnaeus
Y. had a Civil Value of 400, and Julius Z. had a Civil Value of 500,
then Julius Z. would be ranked #1, Gnaeus Y. would be ranked #2, and
Caius X. would be ranked #3.)
Copyright
1998 Richard DeBaun and Marco Berni 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006
No part of the preceding rules may be reproduced
in whole or in part or used in any way without the copyright holders
prior written consent.
