Barbarians: Berbers

Advantages: Hard to kill (+2), Absolute direction, Detect mirage (+1), 1 point in each of the following skills: Riding (camel), Merchant, Packing and 2 points in Survival: Desert.
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Disadvantages: Tech level 2, No written language, Limited arable land (agricultural products 1 and a half times as expensive), Code of honor: Hospitality.

Barbarians: Scythians

Advantages: Animal empathy, acute vision (+2), Animal products (live stock, leather, meat, butter etc.) half price, 1 point in the following skills: Survival: Plains (unless another terrain would be more appropriate), Riding, Equestrian acrobatics, Weather sense, and Animal handling.

Disadvantages: Tech level 2, No written language ( to learn how to read they must learn a foreign language to skill level 6 and pay for a 10-point literacy or 5 point semi-literacy advantage, The Scythian language is closely related to Pahlavi and Scythians can learn Pahlavi at half cost). No settled homeland (agricultural goods and manufactured goods double price).

Barbarians: Gauls

"Their aspect is terrifying...They are very tall in stature, with rippling muscles under clear white skin. Their hair is blond, but not naturally so; they bleach it, to this day, artificially, washing it in lime and combing it back from their foreheads. They look like wood-demons, their hair thick and shaggy like a horses mane. Some of these are clean shaven, but others-especially those of high rank, shave their cheeks but leave a moustache that covers the whole mouth and, when they eat and drink, act like a sieve, trapping particles of food...The way they dress is astonishing: they wear brightly coloured and embroidered shirts, with trousers called bracae and cloaks fastened at the shoulder with a brooch, heavy in winter, light in summer. These cloaks are striped or checkered in design, with separate checks close together and of various colors.
---Diodorus Siculus
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The gallia comata-hairy Gaul-was the boogieman of the Roman world. Hannibal might be who Roman nannies threatened naughty children with, but Gauls be what adults talked about after the children went to bed. Gauls represented everything Romans did not want to see in themselves. They were passionate, excessive, chaotic and undisciplined. To make them more frightening they were savage warriors who wanted Roman lands. In fact the Gauls were, to the game's historical present, the only army ever to sack Rome herself in CCCLXVI a.u.c.

Much of what we know about Gauls comes from Julius Caesar's The Gallic War (Commentarii de Bello Gallo), which is unfortunate since it is a essentially war propaganda writen by an enemy general to justify his one of the most expensive wars in Roman history.
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Advantages: Normal HT score 11, Acute Smell and Taste, 1 point in the following skills: Survival: Woodlands (unless another terrain would be more appropriate), Naturalism, Tracking, Fishing, Intimidation, Weather sense and Herbalist.
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Disadvantages: Tech level 2, No written language (for a Gaul to learn how to read they must learn a foreign language to skill level 6 and pay for a 10-point literacy or 5 point semi-literacy advantage).
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Social Structure:

Status level -2: Outsiders (Gl namhaid) have no place in any tribe and therefore no kin to protect them. They can be killed without fear of reprisal. An outsider might be a foreigner living in Celtic territory or a Celt who has been rejected by his clan for some crime, allowing their war-chief to die in battle or being on the losing side of a power struggle. This is a -10 point disadvantage.

Status level -1: Thralls (Gl sclabhai)are slaves. They have no freedoms and must work for another, however their owner will protect them from harm and a penalty must be paid if they are killed. This is a -5 point disadvantage.

Status level 0: Tribesmen (Gl duime) are the balk of the Celtic population.

Status level 1: Druids (Gl draoithe, Ln druides) are the priests and priestess of Gallic society. They are specialists in natural world, law and moral order. They act as judges, mediators and ritualists. They officiate sacrifices (including, so it's said, human sacrifices). It is believed by many that they have magical powers. This class and this class only gets the following advantages at half price: animal empathy, beast-kin, plant empathy, tree-kin. This class has several sever restrictions, which if broken will lower the character to status level -2. This is a 5 point advantage.

Status level 1: Bards (Gl file) are knowledge specialists. Bards study poetry and lore, though have a broader area of expertise than is indicated by these restrictive categories. They train their memories from a young age and most have eidetic memory (this class and this class only can buy eidetic memory at half price). They are encyclopedias, libraries, propagandists, advocates and entertainers. This is a 5 point advantage.

Status level 2: Lord (Gl tiarna)are the ruling class among Celts. They look after the welfare of their people and maintain order and defense. Each lord is the leader of a community of between 300 and 700 free adult Gauls and can field an army of male warriors equal to 20% of the community (60 to 140 warriors). The lord also has 4 above average warriors as a personal body guard. This is a 10 point advantage.

Status level 3: Chieftain (Gl taoiseach)are lords who lead a community of between 600 and 1100 free Gauls, fielding an army of 20% of this total (120-220 warriors). In addition each chieftain commands the loyalty of between 4 and 8 lords. A chieftains bodyguard is made up of 5-15 fine warriors. This is a 15 point advantage.

Status level 4: King (Gl ri, Ln rix)are really just very powerful chieftains. A king leads a community of between 1000 and 1800 free Gauls, an army of 20% of this total (200-360 warriors), the loyalty of 5-10 chieftains and a bodyguard of between 20 and 40 excellent warriors. Thus the least powerful theoretical king can field an army of 2151 warriors and the most powerful can field an army of 4481 warriors (for comparison a typical Roman legion of this period is 5120 men). This is a 20 point advantage.

(Status level 5: High king usually there is no high king, but occasionally due to circumstances or unusual talent one King will gain the allegiance of 4 or more kings and becomes a high king. The high king leads a community of 2000-4000 free Gauls with 400-800 warriors and a body guard of 60-100 outstanding warriors. Vercingetorix is an example of a high King, so would Boudica and King Artur, though, being Britons, they are not technically Gauls. This is unavailable as an advantage)

Dates and Calendrics

A Roman year has 12 months. Each month has a kalendae (kal.), a nonae (non.) and a idus (id.). The months are as follows:

Martius....31 days...Kal. 1st...Non. 7th...Id. 15th

Aprilis....29 days....Kal. 1st...Non. 5th....Id. 13th

Maius....31 days....Kal. 1st....Non. 7th....Id. 15th

Iunius....29 days...Kal 1st....Non. 5th....Id. 13th

Quintilis....31 days...Kal 1st...Non. 7th....Id. 15th

Sextilis....29 days....Kal 1st....Non 5th...Id 13th

September....29 days...Kal. 1st....Non. 5th....Id. 13th

October....31 days....Kal 1st...Non. 7th....Id. 15th

November...29 days....Kal 1st....Non 5th....Id 13th

December...29 days....Kal 1st...Non. 5th....Id 13th

Ianuarius....29 days...Kal. 1st...Non. 5th...Id 13th

Februarius...28 days....Kal 1st...Non. 5th....Id. 13

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Some important dates are:

Kal. Mar. Matronalia.

p.d. I Id. Mar. Equirria Secunda.

Id. Mar. Bacchanalia.

Daily Life: Women

Rome was a very sexist society and there are disadvantages to being a woman in Roman society (-10 points). This does not mean that female characters are helpless or unplayable, but there are certain restrictions on female characters. The situation for women in Rome was quite good by ancient standards. Women could own property (though not inherit it), travel freely outside (something high born Greek women can not do) and occasionally band together to demand political rights. However, Roman women were legal considered minors who were always under the authority of a man; usually a husband or father but in rare circumstances a brother. A powerful female character can usually manipulate her father or husband to achieve her ends. Roman women can not run for public office or join the military, but can run businesses and usually have extensive social networks.

Daily Life: Social Classes and wealth

Social Class
Rome is a very class conscious society. Every character or NPC (non-player character) fits somewhere in the social hierarchy. Class distinctions are only minimally transferable between cultures, so while a character might be a high born patrician in Rome, he or she is unlikely to be given any special treatment by Germanic tribesmen (the tribesmen will respect a well-born Romans wealth or power, but that is a different story). The following is a brief overview of Roman classes. Note that these are only available to characters in a Roman milieu, other societies will have their own class structure.

Level -4: Slaves (Servi and Ancillae) are the bottom rung of the social ladder. They are literally the property of someone else and have very few rights (though they are not completely rightless). Slaves make up a sizable proportion of the population of the Roman republic, up to a third of all people in Rome were slaves. Masters can treat slaves anyway they see fit, but truly depraved punishment (like feeding slaves to eels) will draw censure. Further, slaves have no legal standing (in game terms any citizen can accuse a slave of any crime and he is automatically guilty, though the master might defend his valuable property). Slaves are assumed to be illiterate (literacy costs 10 points) though several slaves were quite well educated (e.g. the pedagog). Most slaves are forbidden to carry weapons, the exception of course is gladiators, but then only in special circumstances. Slavery is a -20 point disadvantage, by definition all slaves are dead broke.

Level -3: Non-Romans (Barbari) are non-Romans living in Roman territory. Non-Romans living in non-Roman societies can not be this social class. The Roman legal system does not apply to you. Not all "barbarians" are barbaric. Thragak the Skull crusher is a barbarian, but so is Syphax the wealthy Syrian slaver and Euphrosyne the Greek philosopher. Barbarians rarely become citizens. This is a -15 point disadvantage.

Level -2: Freedmen (Libertini) is a freed slave. They can not run for public office and are required to do work for their former master. Their children are full citizens. This is a -10 point disadvantage.

Level -1: Riff Raff (Ignoti) are the scum of Roman society; actors, beggars, con men, dancers, jugglers, pickpockets, pimps, political muscle, prostitutes, thieves and thugs. These are disreputable citizens or outright criminals. They are distrusted by more respectable folk. They are usually dead broke or poor, but organized criminals remain ignoti no matter how much money they make. This is a -5 point disadvantage.

Level 0: Plebeians (Plebeii) are the "good Roman folk", the bulk of the Roman population. Mostly farmers, common solders or small craftsmen. They tend to be struggling, average or comfortable. This level is neither an advantage or a disadvantage.

Level 1: Pleneians of distinction (Plebeii) are still plebeians, but usually craftsmen, artisans or small traders. They tend to have a little more wealth and more skills. This is a 5 point advantage.

Level 2: Equestrian (Equites) are the heart of the Roman business world.

Level 3: Equestrian with distinction (Equites) are upwardly mobile equestrians. Often derided as the nouveau riche (think of Trimalchio in the Satyricon), they nevertheless served an important role in the Roman economy.

Level 4: Minor Patrician (Patricii)

Level 5: Patrician (Patricii)

Level 6: Senatorial Patrrician (Patricii)

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Wealth

Level -3: Dead Broke: You have almost nothing. You live on the street or someone else's house. Starting money: 4as. Points: -25.

Level -2: Poor: You work hard but get almost nothing from it. You live in a tenement (insulae), but are in danger of losing it. You have a pot to piss in, barely. Starting money: 10d. Points: -15.

Level -1: Struggling: Think 2oth century college student. You live in a tenement, you have roommates, you have one nice set of clothes. You work hard, bit don't make much money. Starting money: 25d. Points: -10 points.

Level 0: Average: You have an established household and enough for a modest family. You live in a tenement, but a nice one. Starting money: 50d. Points:0.

Level 1: Comfortable: You live with your parents or in laws in a nice house (domus), you can keep up with fashion, you have nice things. Starting money: 100d. Points: 10.

Level 2: Wealthy: You have a nice house of your own. You set fashion. You have some household slaves and maybe a few clients. Starting money: 250d. Points: 20.

Level 3: Very Wealthy: People envy you. Starting money: 40a. Points: 30.

Level 4: Filthy rich: You never have to worry about money unless you want to. Starting money: 200a. Points: 50.

Level 5: Opulent: You the equivalent of a millionaire. Starting money:8 talents of silver. Points: 75.

Level 6: Princely: You are one of the richest people in the Republic. Starting money: 670 talents of gold! Points: 100.

Cost of Food and Drink

(a=aureus, d=denarius, q=quinarius, s=sesterius, du=dupondius, as=as, qd=quadrans)
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Food prices can vary, often leading to riots.
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Loaf of bread 1as (characters who are poor or dead broke get 1 loaf of bread FREE once per day in the city of Rome)
Wine
....Terrible....cup 1qd...gallon 1q1d....amphora 6d
....Fair....cup 1as....gallon 1d....amphora 10d
....Good....cup 1 du....gallon 2d....amphora 20d
....Excellent....cup 1s....gallon 4d....amphora 2a
....Outstanding....cup 1d....gallon 16d....amphora 6a14d
....Flawless....cup 3d...gallon 1a23d....amphora 19a17d