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There was an event before the last senate session in which three senators, one of each demes, was asked their oppinion about the newborn future emperor Theodosius. My former senator was at the time the only senator of the White demes and therefore I assume he knew about the twisted nature of the Child. For the sake of the imperium and the preservation of House Serapis he would have kept that secret from the public, but revealed it to his closest allies within his own House in case the knowlege became useful in the future. His successor as senator to House Serapis would be one of those allies. So what I'm asking is:

Can I plot to unmask the Emperor? And/or plot to declare a Republic or install the Emperor's older brother to the throne?
 
You mean this image I suppose:

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As you can see, courtiers were asked for advice, not Senators - in this case members of the Imperial Council since they were the ones who had these titles. So although this would surely be interesting I have to say no, since your Senator was not among those asked for advice. Remember that there are hundreds of NPCs in the Sacred Palace alone, it's just they almost never interact with your characters.
 
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That's a pity. But there are still a lot of rumours about the Emperor in circulation. There's still a plague that carries his name. And there's still an older brother that was passed up for the throne. The Imperium is in chaos and every level of its rule are demoralised, likely even the Athanatoi and Varangians. The people need a scape goat, and who better than the man at the very top, who for some strange reason refuses to show his face and disprove the rumours that he is something not quite human?

Ample material for a plot.
 
I can't abandon the Arrius family after Marcus survived "interrogation". I'll submit the new Arrius when I have time. Things look bleak... but we've been saying that since CK2.

...who for some strange reason refuses to show his face and disprove the rumours that he is something not quite human?

You're right, the Augustus isn't quite human... He is something greater than Man! Really though, the timing of a mysterious Emperor and a heresy worshiping the royal family could not be better if Czoklet planned it.
 
That's a pity. But there are still a lot of rumours about the Emperor in circulation. There's still a plague that carries his name. And there's still an older brother that was passed up for the throne. The Imperium is in chaos and every level of its rule are demoralised, likely even the Athanatoi and Varangians. The people need a scape goat, and who better than the man at the very top, who for some strange reason refuses to show his face and disprove the rumours that he is something not quite human?

Ample material for a plot.

It sure is :) If you want to engage in some scheming you are welcome to do so during Faction Meeting and Senate Session. From perspective of game mechanics it's entirely possible for the Imperium to swtich from monarchy to republic, though from perspective of the story that would be... insane.

Having said that, I won't stop you from plotting against the Throne - remember however what you are talking about is high treason. Luckily back in September 2014 I knew it may come to this, so you can say that I'm prepared:

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;)
 
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And is there a chance such a plot would succeed, if the Senate supports it? We have been unable to use our fictional resources before in service of the Imperium (like the proposed private expedition to Serica). Can we now use our private funds to for example bribe the guards of the Senate so that they don't cut us down where we stand as soon as we announce our coup?
 
It depends. I won't say it would be impossible but right now there are only 3 Senators in the Senate and the Session will start in c. two weeks. Let's not get ahead of ourselves ;)

BTW with the first Faction Meetings I'm introducing a new element which will help you with role-playing. Stay tuned!
 
And is there a chance such a plot would succeed, if the Senate supports it? We have been unable to use our fictional resources before in service of the Imperium (like the proposed private expedition to Serica). Can we now use our private funds to for example bribe the guards of the Senate so that they don't cut us down where we stand as soon as we announce our coup?

Well admittedly the image of a band of middle aged and elderly senators who can't agree on what to order for lunch charging out of the senate hall with swords aided by a few bribed guards and some very confused servants into a line of Varangians and Imperial gun fire is kind of hilarious to imagine.
 
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Well admittedly the image of a band of middle aged and elderly senators who can't agree on what to order for lunch charging out of the senate hall with swords aided by a few bribed guards and some very confused servants into a line of Varangians and Imperial gun fire is kind of hilarious to imagine.
For some reason this image comes to mind:

59b848cc57b3588ef878db04d4559071.jpg
 
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Forget the ability to disband the Senate, am I the only one who wants to take land from the Church? What would that do, exactly? If people get to plot to overthrow you and make the Imperium a Republic, I'd like to know what the Imperium would be with a weaker church. The church can be reigned in until they accept Saint Markos as their true savior. ;)
 
Forget the ability to disband the Senate, am I the only one who wants to take land from the Church? What would that do, exactly? If people get to plot to overthrow you and make the Imperium a Republic, I'd like to know what the Imperium would be with a weaker church. The church can be reigned in until they accept Saint Markos as their true savior. ;)
Bonus to taxes and production but increased stability costs for this decision ?
 
Well admittedly the image of a band of middle aged and elderly senators who can't agree on what to order for lunch charging out of the senate hall with swords aided by a few bribed guards and some very confused servants into a line of Varangians and Imperial gun fire is kind of hilarious to imagine.

Heh, yes. We would hardly be charging alone, though. It would all depend on our ability to link up with rebellious groups in the population and provide them with resources in exchange for their support of our cause. There's a lot of desperate people in Constantinople just waiting to be armed, and the army is a demoralised mess. Once the Emperor is in the Senate's hands he would have no choice but to accept our terms (or be revealed as a beast-man).

The can't agree on anything point is a much greater problem.

Forget the ability to disband the Senate, am I the only one who wants to take land from the Church? What would that do, exactly? If people get to plot to overthrow you and make the Imperium a Republic, I'd like to know what the Imperium would be with a weaker church. The church can be reigned in until they accept Saint Markos as their true savior. ;)
The church has more resources than the state at this time, though. It would be easier for the church to institute a theocracy than for the feeble armies of the state to confiscate anything from the church.
 
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I'm keeping house Salamis. I had this story line where a white-supporting branch of the family gets the Senate sit prepared for ages but I can't make myself do it, each Senate session is critical for the Blues :D
Also, Czoklet, will it be possible to have a younger than 25 Senator if the rest of his house was exterminated?
 
Heh, yes. We would hardly be charging alone, though. It would all depend on our ability to link up with rebellious groups in the population and provide them with resources in exchange for their support of our cause. There's a lot of desperate people in Constantinople just waiting to be armed, and the army is a demoralised mess. Once the Emperor is in the Senate's hands he would have no choice but to accept our terms (or be revealed as a beast-man).

The can't agree on anything point is a much greater problem.
Well the Session will be the darkest everyone has seen uptil now I guess. Before, well occasionaly Reds served in the Army, Blues in the Navy but they were safe as commanders. Now they faced a plague that decimated their relatives and the few that survived were victim of the mob, a Mob motivated by anger and fear ; the remaining members had to flee for their lives, some must have their family killed, raped or worse.
I expect of you my fellow senators to show some PTSD at least against this :p
 
Also, Czoklet, will it be possible to have a younger than 25 Senator if the rest of his house was exterminated?
Considering the circumstances I may allow this - but it has to be justified in the biography!

IMPORTANT

Before submitting your character PLEASE read the rules which I quote below:

V. CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER CREATION

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SECTION 1: SENATORS AND NOBLE HOUSES
The Emperor is the sole ruler of the Imperium and God's Regent on Earth – however, as Basileus Markos III Angelos decided in his wisdom, even His Imperial Majesty needs advice from time to time. For centuries this was the task of the High Imperial Council but now, at the dawn of a new era, it was deemed necessary to lighten the burden of the Emperor's privy council by reviving one of the oldest institutions of the Romans – the Imperial Senate.

In this interactive AAR you may play the role of a Senator and by participating in the proceedings of the Senate influence actions of the Imperium both story-wise and game-wise. The role of the Senate is to issue new legislation and advise the Emperor every time and in every matter he deems necessary. You, as a Senator, are the member and a representative of one of the Noble Houses – moderately powerful and influential dynasties of the Imperium. Since „Europa Universalis IV” covers almost 400 years it is expected of you to play several characters, all members of the same House.

The rules which you can find below may look complicated but are rather simple when you get into it. If you are interested in participating in this interactive AAR, please read all of them carefully and follow the instructions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in this thread or via PM.

In „Imperium Sine Fine” you will be playing as two entities – noble House and its Senator.

The Noble Houses

Noble House is equivalent to dynasty in „Crusader Kings II”. As the game and story goes on, your characters may die but your dynasty lives on. But first a little background.

The Roman nobility consists can be divided basically in two groups. Minor nobles – aristoi – are numerous and serve the Imperium as officers, clerks, bureaucrats and other officials but their prosperity depends greatly on being in Emperor's favor. As small landowners, they wouldn't be able to maintain a lifestyle adequate to their social status without roga, cash salary paid to them for their military or civil service. On the other hand, some families managed to monopolize senior administrative and military posts in certain provinces of the Imperium and amassed extensive lands and wealth. These are dynatoi or „the powerful”, the most influential dynasties in the Imperium who, thanks to enormous latifundia and web of connections maintained for centuries, can field private armies of impressive size and posess the power equal to this of kings in Christian realms.

Your Noble House is somewhere in between these two extremes. Emperor Markos III Angelos decided to revive the Senate but this time based not on powerful patriciants but a sort of a „middle class” of nobility – not as powerful as dynatoi but much more influential than common aristoi. After all, what's the better way to curb the power of the magnates than to turn the lower nobility against them?

The Senators

Senators are characters played by you. They are members of your Noble House and they are the agents through which you can interact with me, the other people and ultimately with the world of this AAR. Think of them as your current character in „Crusader Kings II” while your Noble House is your dynasty.

Senators may do a lot of things, mainly debating during a Senate Session and voting, but they can also ask questions to the guests of the Senate during the hearing (played by me). As one of the Senators, you will be asked for counsel by the Emperor and you will be able to vote over important issues like chosing National Ideas, enacting National Decisions and Policies and chosing Missions.

Because „Europa Universalis IV” spans for almost 400 years, your character will die eventually – he may even be executed if deemed to be traitor of the Imperium! Keep this in mind while taking part in this AAR: you WILL have to make another character sooner or later. I expect to see a new generation of Senators more or less every 50-70 years.

SECTION 2: CHARACTER CREATION
You must create your character (Senator) and his noble House by using the following templates:

Noble House template:
Code:
[size=4][B]HOUSE <NAME>:[/B][/size]
[B]Name:[/B] House <NAME>
[B]Seat:[/B] <city> (<province>)
[B]Founded by:[/B] <NAME> in the year <DATE>
[B]History[/B]: <text>
[B]Notable members[/B]: <text>

Senator template:
Code:
[U][B]SENATOR TEMPLATE:[/B][/U]
[B]Name:[/B] <NAME>
[B]Residence:[/B] <city> (<province>)
[B]Year of birth:[/B] <DATE>
[B]Culture/nationality:[/B] <culture>
[B]Offices and titles:[/B] <text>
[B]Biography:[/B] <text>

And here are examples of how to properly use templates:



RULES OF CHARACTER CREATION

Of course there are some limitation on what character you may create. Here's are all of them listed - your Senator and noble House must fulfill them in order to be accepted:

GENERAL
  • In title of the e-mail you must include (1) your forum nickname (2) name of the House (3) Faction which your Senator joins or information that he doesn't join any Faction
  • Please use the terminology of this AAR: „Imperium” instead of "empire" or "Empire" etc. I reserve the right to suggest necessary changes in your applications in this aspect.
  • History of the noble House may be 500 words long.
  • Biography of the Senator may be 1000 words long.
  • All Senators die due to natural reasons at age of 85 years.
  • You may retire your Senator when he reaches the age of 65 years.

NOBLE HOUSE
  • Noble Houses of the players ARE quite wealthy and moderately influential (top 25% of the society)
  • Noble Houses of the players ARE NOT members of the dynatoi, the most powerful and wealthy Houses of the Imperium (top 1% of the society)
  • Noble Houses MAY have some small castles, villages together with fields and manors in cities.
  • Noble Houses MAY engage in trade, commerce and other economical activities within borders of the Imperium.

SENATOR
  • Senator MUST be male.
  • Senator MUST be Orthodox Christian.
  • Senator MUST be aristos (nobleman).
  • Senator MUST be at least 25 years old.
  • Senator MUST have some experience in service of the Imperium.
  • Senator MAY live in any province of the Imperium.
  • Senator MAY be of culture/nationality which exists in the Imperium (for example: Roman, Italian, Bavarian, Croatian, Aragonese, Polish etc.)
  • Senator MUST NOT be xenos, half-xenos or of mixed ancestry.
  • Senator MUST NOT be heathen (not-Christian).
  • Senator MUST NOT be of culture/nationality which doesn't exist within borders of the Imperium.

SECTION 3: CHARACTER SUBMISSION
Above all else please follow the rules – I'm jut one guy and with up to 24 Senators making sure everything is neatly organized may take a lot of time. So, you read the rules, created your noble House and Senator and now want to join the interactive AAR. Here's what you need to do:

(1) This is my first character ever
  • Send an e-mail to senate.of.the.imperium.romanum@gmail.com which contains (1) your noble House prepared using the template (2) your Senator prepared using the template.
  • When I receive your e-mail I'll let you know.
  • After I read your submission I'll give you my comments on what to change and whatnot.
  • You'll have to make the necessary changes and send the corrected versions of noble House and Senator.
  • When everything will be okay I'll give you my approval.
  • This means that you get seat in the Senate and may join the interactive AAR. Welcome and have fun!

(2) I already have seat in the Senate and I want to submit new character
  • Send an e-mail to senate.of.the.imperium.romanum@gmail.com which contains (1) your new Senator prepared using the template.
  • When everything will be okay I'll give you my approval.
  • Your character will be added to Album Senatorium.
 
Considering the circumstances I may allow this - but it has to be justified in the biography!

IMPORTANT

Before submitting your character PLEASE read the rules which I quote below:
Yeah, I will justify it, thanks :)
Another question-
I established in my biographies that the castle of Salamis and the cities around it have grown during the time of power of house Salamis (when it took over much of the trade in Greece along with house Raoul), and became a quite big city (for an Aristoi family). So will it be ok if my chracter's residence is castle Salamis? I mean, the world here is different than ours :p