Eldritch Rome: Important Figures
Contents |
The Frontini Household
Sextus Iulius Frontinus
Sextus hails from Spain, the same region as Trajan, and has known Emperor Trajan since childhood. Much as Trajan, Sextus rose through the ranks, and has achieved the impressive titles of thrice-consul and Legatus of Legio VI Ferrata in the recent Dacian wars, which marked the total defeat of a wild, barbaric people by the mighty armies of Rome.
Sextus is a competent administrator, and a superb general, but a poor politician: less skillful men than he have weaseled their way closer into emperor Trajan's favor, achieving with flattery and duplicitousness what Sextus can't, because of his honesty - to a fault - and stubbornness. The emperor himself prizes Sextus greatly as a soldier and as a comrade, which is perhaps why the consul's star has continued to rise over the last few years.
Sextus returns now as a hero of the war, having assisted in the crucial siege of Sarmizethusa and personally beheaded the king of the Dacians, Decebalus (this great honor was bestowed upon the general by Emperor Trajan himself). The player characters all come from Sextus' household.
Lucilla Frontina
Lucilla, like Sextus, comes from the Roman settlements in Spain, where the couple was first introduced to the then-future emperor Trajan. She is a loving and dutiful wife, and patiently ignores her husband's little indiscretions, but keeps a firm grip on the household, and especially on the money.
Appulus
The head of the Frontini servants, Appulus came with Sextus from Spain, where he served Sextus' father. Appulus is an old man, on his sixth decade, and knows Sextus almost better than his own family. He is far too old to be cooking or cleaning, but instead takes an organizing role, working under Lucilla to make sure the household runs smoothly and training the younger servants in their duties.
Brutus
Brutus is the family butcher, a man of thirty who is responsible for providing the Frontini with the finest cuts of local livestock.
Melanea
A liberta (former slave), Melanea was purchased by Sextus in Rome and freed soon after. Melanea is in her late teens, a blooming beauty from Moesia ((present-day Eastern Europe)) who is not afraid to use her looks to get what she wants. The whole household knows that Sextus and Melanea have been lovers since her purchase, but, as is usually the case in noble Roman families, everyone, including Lucilla, turns a blind eye to the affair so long as it does not spill over into Sextus' public life.
Celantius
The stable-master to the Frontini, providing them with the finest thoroughbreds of the day.
The Imperial Family
Emperor Trajan
Trajan hails from a non-patrician family in Spain, and rose through the military ranks during the reign of Emperor Domitian. After crushing a revolt in AD 89, Trajan became extremely popular in Rome itself, so much so that when the weak Nerva succeeded Domitian, political pressure compelled Nerva to adopt Trajan as his heir. After Nerva's death in 98, Trajan became Emperor.
Trajan is a very ambitious man (to hear him speak, he is Alexander the Great reborn), a remarkable military strategist and an adept politician, ready to let his councillors and aides work out the business of governance as they vie for power, while remaining largely above the fray. Trajan has been a patron of Sextus, a fellow military commander on the Danube even before the recent Dacian campaigns.
Trajan is a handsome, tall man, dressed in the Emperor's purple and often wearing armor.
For more information, check | Trajan's Wikipedia Page
Empress Pompeia Plotina
Pompeia Plotina hails from Gaul, from a wealthy and connected Patrician family. Married to Trajan since before his succession as Emperor, Plotina is a loving and faithful wife, and uses her power to promote better education, fairer taxation, help for the poor and tolerance among the Roman populace. Plotina is a great fan of [| Epicureanism] and tries to follow the maxims of that philosophy: temperance and absence of pain, in her life. She is a great fan of Legate Hadrian, and encouraged Trajan to adopt him.
For more information, check | Pompeia's Wikipedia Page
Ulpia Marciana
Trajan's sister, very close to him and Plotina
Vibia Sabina
Marciana's granddaughter and wife to Hadrian
Legate Hadrian
A clear favorite of Emperor Trajan, Hadrian hails from a wealthy aristocratic family that also has its roots in Spain. He has been an orphan since he was 10, and a ward of the Emperor for that long. In the recent campaign, Hadrian commanded Legio I Minerviae, but won fewer military honors than Sextus, preferring to stay in the back and play a support role.
Hadrian likes to ignore his Spanish roots and claim he is pure-bred Roman, though his love for Greek literature and philosophy has earned him the nickname "Graeculus" in some circles. He is almost as handsome as the Emperor, sporting a beard even at his young age and equally comfortable with politics and war, a quality Sextus definitely lacks.
For more information, check | Hadrian's Wikipedia Page
The Imperial Court
Architect Apollodorus of Damascus
This architect, engineer, designer and sculptor was discovered by Trajan while the latter was on military service in Syria. He is clearly also a favorite of the Emperor, but eschews political office for freedom to create. He crafted a wonderful bridge over the Danube that allowed the Roman forces to pass into Dacia en masse, and there are rumors that Apollodorus will head an ambitious building project in the Forum to commemorate the recent victory.
Apollo (he does not mind the shortened version) is short and bald, with sharp, piercing green eyes and a dark-olive skin. He is an argumentative person, and has been known to exchange harsh words with politicians and military men alike when buildings or siege engines are involved.
General Lusius Quietus
Originally a Berber Prince, Lusius was granted Roman Citizenship for supporting Roman legions in their attempts to subdue Mauritania, and became an equestrian under Domitian. He had a rocky career under that Emperor, but began rising quickly through the ranks under Trajan, distinguishing himself in the Dacian campaigns (where Lucius commanded a unit of bareheaded Berber cavalry). Lucius is seen as a strange, exotic man, which makes him the object of much discussion - and attraction - in the Roman court. It is whispered that his career will rise yet further, and that Lucius has ambitions to become Emperor himself, but those are but idle rumors... at this stage.
