Canis Domesticus

Turn 5 Senate Phase, Second War Votes and Combat Phase

Turn 5 Revolution Phase due 6/22, Monday

Senate Phase

Papirius rises ...

My Fellow Senators,

  I must admit I am confused to why not give Consul Cornelius the best fighting chance to defeat King Philip V of the Macedonians??  We all agree that we must attack Philip V this year before his forces become stronger, and according to Senator Terentius, if we withheld our Veteran Legions from the War, it would only give Consul Cornelius around 67 % chance for victory.  I for one wasn't satisfied with giving Consul Cornelius a 67% chance for victory, and that is why I proposed to send all the Legions to increase the odds for Consul Cornelius as best as we could.  No matter how much or little the increase was, Consul Cornelius deserved the best chance.  Since the Senators from the Factions of Finlandia, 100% Loyalus, & Coronus wish Consul Cornelius to fail, maybe not even come back alive, I as Rome Consul could not in good conscious NOT send Consul Cornelius out to fight a War as well armed & equipped as possible.  Since when do we allow petty disagreements among our Factions to come before what is best for the Rome?!?  King Philip V of Macedonia is the enemy and here we are arguing to not send the Veteran Legions because they might be killed?!?  "Save my Legion from harms way!"  "Don't send my Legion!"  "The Veterans are needed here in Rome!"  You want to coddle and preserve your Veterans for your own gain, but I WILL NOT let self ambitious Senators rule this Senate.  This may be my last term as Rome Consul, but as long as I am the Rome Consul this term, I will not coddle your Veteran Legions from harms way!  Since I have to change the next proposal for us to vote on, as much as I would like to ask for a revote on the last, I'm bound by our Law to change it, and so here is the next proposal...

  All the Fleets, All the Veteran Legions, and All but ONE Regular Legion to go with Consul Cornelius to fight King Philip V of the Macedonians.  The voting order will be the same as before with Caelestis Genus, Arborophilia, 100%Loyalus, Coronus, and the last votes will be from Finlandia.

  We can be here all day & all night long discussing this, and if 100% Loyalus, Coronus, and Finlania vote this down...  Then I will make no more slight change, OR perhaps if your mind is set on coddling the Veterans, then maybe the next proposal will be to send Consul Cornelius to fight the Illyrian Pirates!  Then, if you wish to send one of your Senators to fight King Philip V without the Veterans, then that is your choice.

Valerius rises to speak:

Ah, Papirius you never did that well in math did you, even when we were youths learning from the old our magister Idomeneus? It is not that we're coddling the Veterans, it is in fact, we are preserving them and keeping them in reserve for later more desparate situations while blooding new legions. The gods have decreed that any NAA over XVII gives the same result, so that whether we send enough legions to get a NAA of XVIII or of CCXVIII, the odds of victory are the same! But the losses in case of disaster or stalemate rise along with the number of extra troops deployed.

The CF total that Terentius cited is the OPTIMUM total – we attain a NAA of XVIII with minimum troops engaged to minimize any standoff (one quarter) or disaster (one half) result.

To make that concrete to you, consider this: if we send Cornelius (Mil=4) and XXIII regulars and I vet and suffer a disaster, we lose XII legions (one in twelve we lose the veteran); if we send Cornelius and CXXIII regulars and LI vets and suffer a disaster, we lose LXXXVII legions (around forty percent of which should be veterans).

There are only three reasons to send more than the optimum number of troops along with Cornelius:

a. To allow him to say he commanded the greatest host Rome has ever raised (i.e., to stroke his already considerable ego)

b. To try to kill off vets loyal to other factions

c.To up the chances that ego-bloated idiot will die in case of a D or S result.

ci.

To my mind, only the third is valid, but the price to Rome is too great.

Julius rises

The time has come to vote on the latest proposal by our esteemed consul. Arborophilia votes yes, reluctantly. A reluctance based on the state of Rome should he fail.

Cornelius realizes our cause is desperate, and is not unwilling to fight with a smaller force if one is given to him, although he is willing to fight in any case...no greater good can there be than to fight for Rome...even though one may perish in the attempt. His faction will deeply regret his loss, but if it can do Rome good, then it is worth the risk.

Valerius, by his insulting and belittling of Cornelius, a true hero fighting enormous odds, once again shows why he is considered by many a swollen pustule on the face of Rome - and this is not meant as an attack on his character or his countenance, but as a complete and accurate assessment of all he means to Rome. Perhaps he would prefer being in Britannia, where he can hobnob and share his meagre learnings with the blue skinned barbarians who call the place home, whom he doubtless feels a strong kinship for, since his ancestors obviously came from similar stock.

Julius shakes his head, and looks both thoughtful and saddened. "There is wisdom in what Valerius says about the odds and forces against us, but his reference to Cornelius as ego-bloated is incorrect....may I remind him that Cornelius was selected for this very dangerous task by the full Senate? And he bravely accepted? And as far as being ego-bloated...perhaps a closer perusal of a mirror will show Valerius a better example of which he speaks."

Aurelius follows his esteemed friend and also casts all 100%loyalus votes for the proposal.

Valerius addresses the Senate:

CORONUS apologizes to Cornelius if his ego was bruised by our earlier statement. Perhaps having a low card number reinforces his feelings of innate superiority, even over us patricians, while having a statesman card soon overshadow him reinforces his fear of inadequacy. I'll leave that to the historians to sort out.

But CORONUS does wonder why he insists on extra troops to the possible detriment of Rome. If not reasons a or c, then it must be reason b.

Had I not been stuck on that gods-forsaken island a couple of extra phases by a slip of the pen of Clerk of the Senate, I would have gladly commanded an additional 28 CF against the foe. I suspect Crafty Cunctator, who was delayed also, would have volunteered too. The remnant of CORONUS still in Rome advised the Senate as to the best plan of action, but the recent administrations seem to have their own agenda, and it hasn't necessarily coincided with the best long-term interests of Rome.

CORONUS votes 'NAY' to this unwise commitment of Rome's few defenders. CORONUS's position is clear. We should send exactly 29 CF into battle against Philip and 1st Macedonian, resting as many veterans as we can for the battles against 2nd Macedonian (Jove help us if we haven't defeated 1st Macedonian -- and there's a 36.11% we won't) and 1st Illyrian that the augurs predict for next year. The augurs also expect a new era (deck) in the next two years, bringing in ten new wars/revolts with it, including two more Macedonian wars (Mars help us if we haven't defeated 1st or 2nd Macedonian) and another dust-up with Carthage.

Senators!! Think long term! Protect Rome's reserves. Defeat this proposal!

Julius rises

I believe Valerius must have an inferiority complex, why else would he perceive Cornelius, only recently added to the senate, as innately superior? Surely a person's skills and abilities are more important than a name?

And as for Cornelius wanting the additional troops, even the most innattentive can perceive he doesn't want or need the additional troops. We voted yes, reluctantly I might add, to support the proposal of the Roman Consul. It is not always evil to support ones leadership, even though you may not agree with everything they do or say, and, unlike you, I believe the gods will support us in out time of need....Rome WILL survive....as long as true Romans are willing to stand in her defense.

CORONUS responds:

It is not the present Cornelius we specifically refer to, but the entire haughty gens Cornelius, which, at this point, he leads. And in this game, his gens defines his skills, etc.

There is better than a 1-in-3 chance that we will suffer a disaster or standoff. If the former we lose half the legions engaged, in the latter one-quarter. Both very bad when we're talking 25 legions.

Can Rome afford to lose half her legions only to face a reinforced Macedonian next year? NO!! Therefore she should not commit unnecessary legions to the fray and keep the best in reserve. Remember Murphius' Law "Whatever can do wrong, will".

Yes, there are those in the Senate who say we should keep to the Administration's line; "the RC knows best". But when the proposal is foolish to the point of polyannaism, true Romans say "No". Think of Rome several years ahead and don't mollycoddle a commander with extra troops that have no purpose.

We call on Cornelius to explain why he needs the extra troops. This should be interesting.

CORONUS will be sacrificing 29 young bulls to Mars to ask for his aid for the battle in any case. If more CF are sent, it will not be on our hands.

BTW: Where are we in the official voting order? CORONUS will withdraw its vote if it hasn't officailly come up yet in order to weigh FC Cornelius' answer.

Finlandia signals the Consul that they will be voting NAY when it is their turn to vote.

Rome Consul Papirius response...

Lets say a sea disaster or standoff does happen, and we send only the minimum with Consul Cornelius. Now the chance for victory drops because of loses. With the extra Legions, the chance of victory is still high even when a unexpected event happens. I believe we have all voted, and lets check with the Administrator what the final vote was. Then if I have to draw up another proposal I will, but if it passed, then it will be in the Gods & Consul Cornelius hands. May we all support him in his effort to defeat Philip V and bring the Macedonians to its knee.

The Clerk of the Senate affirms that all factions have indeed voted. Here is the final tally:

Caelestis Genus casts 9 votes in favor

Aroborophilia casts 10 votes in favor

100% Loyalus casts 12 votes in favor

Coronus casts 3 votes opposed

Finlandia casts 8 votes opposed

The motion passes 31 to 11.

Does the Senate wish to conduct any further business, or adjourn and await the results of Cornelius' actions in the field?

Papirius looks around...

I have no more state matters for voting on. I have already decided on the first pair of Senators for Consulship, to give a preview to allow debate while we eagerly await news of Philip V's demises, and Finlandia & Coronus should be happy that they will now have the voice if we vote Senator Fulvius & Senator Terentius in.

Pontifex Maximus Quinctius stands.

Tonight and until I hear news of Consul Cornelius's victory, I will be in the Temple of Mars praying for favor against the Macedonians, and praying to Neptune for safe passage to & from the Greek mainland.

Combat Phase

First Macedonian War

Rome strength: Cornelius (4) + 19 regular legions + 5 veteran legions = 33

Macedonian strength: 12 + Phillip V (6) = 18

Net Rome advantage: +15

TDR = 10 + 15 = 25: Victory, no losses, III legion becomes veteran. Cornelius gains 6 influence and 6 popularity. The state gains 25 talents. Unrest is reduced by 1.

Factions

Senators

Senators

Senators

Senators

Senators

Note: Senators in bold are Faction Leaders. Senators in italics are not in Rome.

Rome

Active Forces

Land Bills

Provinces

Term numbers in bold indicate that graft has been taken.

Forum

General Items:

Acilius (Influence: 3, Military 2, Oratory 2, Loyalty 7, 13 talents)

Inactive Wars

Active Wars

Unprosecuted Wars

Curia