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This will be the more proper thread for my first scenario, Sikelias Basileus (King of Sicily). Progress will not be fast – I am used to the relatively easy editors of FW; I haven’t dabbled in the text files since before FW came out. This will be in ToT, which I still haven't quite gotten used to. I am also abroad for a few months and in some rather rigorous courses… but even if it gets quiet, I really want to finish this one, and I’ll surely return.
The Story:
Everyone knows about the Second Punic War – Hannibal gets all steamed at Rome, takes some elephants over the Alps, and serves the Romans up a few helpings of fresh, steaming Defeat before his campaign eventually runs out of steam and has to go back to Carthage, where he is later defeated and forced into exile.
Some people know about the First Punic War – The war for Sicily that saw the first Roman army on non-Italian soil (hint: it wasn’t their last foreign expedition). It’s easy to think of the Punic Wars as all Rome vs. Carthage whomp-fests, two giants slugging it out until one emerges victorious. But how did it all start? Surprisingly, with a man neither Roman nor Carthaginian. It started with a Greek.
Enter Hieron II. Called Hiero by the Romans, Hieron was born around 306 BC, and began his career in the military. He became an officer under one of the most interesting characters of the time, King Pyrrhus of Epirus. Once, Pyrrhus seemed to be the new Alexander of the West – his disciplined Epirote phalangites and terrifying elephants defeated the Romans time and again. Now, however, his reign in the west has come near to its ignoble end. His losses are proving heavier than imagined; already more than half his army lies beneath Italian soil, and the two great powers of the West – Rome and Carthage – are allied against him.
Hieron hasn’t been idle. Five years ago, Pyrrhus, the momentary “Sikelias Basileus,” left Sicily – the Greeks of Sikelia wanted nothing of his despotic rule – for his forces in mainland Italy. Hieron has used his considerable military and political skill to get himself chosen as commander of the military forces of Syracuse, one of the most powerful Greek cities of Sicily. The future looks bright – perhaps he could even be elected Tyrant, one day.
All is not quiet in the environs of Sicily, however. Unruly Campanian mercenaries, calling themselves "Mamertines" (Sons of Mars), once warriors under a previous Tyrant of Syracuse, have made nearby Messana their base, from which they rob and terrorize the people of Sicily. Hieron will have to deal with this menace once and for all – but his actions are unlikely to go unnoticed. It is clear to all that the alliance between Rome and Carthage will not last, and the Carthaginian domination of the Greek cities of Sikelia is beginning to chafe at the native inhabitants. Syracuse stands at a crossroads in history. Once city cannot stand alone… but prudent diplomacy may secure a great future for Syracuse. The right choice will make Syracuse great among nations – the wrong one will end in a brutal sack, the city in flames and the fields watered with blood. The year is 275 BC, and it is Hieron’s choice to make.
Whose side will you be on?
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Progress Report:
There’s no use giving you a progress report yet, until some concrete progress is achieved – but things will be posted here when they get done.
The Story:
Everyone knows about the Second Punic War – Hannibal gets all steamed at Rome, takes some elephants over the Alps, and serves the Romans up a few helpings of fresh, steaming Defeat before his campaign eventually runs out of steam and has to go back to Carthage, where he is later defeated and forced into exile.
Some people know about the First Punic War – The war for Sicily that saw the first Roman army on non-Italian soil (hint: it wasn’t their last foreign expedition). It’s easy to think of the Punic Wars as all Rome vs. Carthage whomp-fests, two giants slugging it out until one emerges victorious. But how did it all start? Surprisingly, with a man neither Roman nor Carthaginian. It started with a Greek.
Enter Hieron II. Called Hiero by the Romans, Hieron was born around 306 BC, and began his career in the military. He became an officer under one of the most interesting characters of the time, King Pyrrhus of Epirus. Once, Pyrrhus seemed to be the new Alexander of the West – his disciplined Epirote phalangites and terrifying elephants defeated the Romans time and again. Now, however, his reign in the west has come near to its ignoble end. His losses are proving heavier than imagined; already more than half his army lies beneath Italian soil, and the two great powers of the West – Rome and Carthage – are allied against him.
Hieron hasn’t been idle. Five years ago, Pyrrhus, the momentary “Sikelias Basileus,” left Sicily – the Greeks of Sikelia wanted nothing of his despotic rule – for his forces in mainland Italy. Hieron has used his considerable military and political skill to get himself chosen as commander of the military forces of Syracuse, one of the most powerful Greek cities of Sicily. The future looks bright – perhaps he could even be elected Tyrant, one day.
All is not quiet in the environs of Sicily, however. Unruly Campanian mercenaries, calling themselves "Mamertines" (Sons of Mars), once warriors under a previous Tyrant of Syracuse, have made nearby Messana their base, from which they rob and terrorize the people of Sicily. Hieron will have to deal with this menace once and for all – but his actions are unlikely to go unnoticed. It is clear to all that the alliance between Rome and Carthage will not last, and the Carthaginian domination of the Greek cities of Sikelia is beginning to chafe at the native inhabitants. Syracuse stands at a crossroads in history. Once city cannot stand alone… but prudent diplomacy may secure a great future for Syracuse. The right choice will make Syracuse great among nations – the wrong one will end in a brutal sack, the city in flames and the fields watered with blood. The year is 275 BC, and it is Hieron’s choice to make.
Whose side will you be on?
--------------------------------------
Progress Report:
There’s no use giving you a progress report yet, until some concrete progress is achieved – but things will be posted here when they get done.
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