Except that she’s in a minority. I’d prefer we have the option of dodging the fiction trope of a barely teen actually exercising authority. It’s more likely that what she’d do is maneuver to help another would-be regent take us down.
Augusta can’t “simply” countermand our orders if we are regent. There’d need to be an agreement among our opponents over who should replace us.
I had plans for how this route of the story would go, but yes, suffice to say it would likely have led to poor outcomes for the Prefect. However, I have quite a few variations of Augusta to write and some branches need to be pruned for the health of the story overall. As the most variable character of the story, there are many ways she can develop, for good or ill.
Now that’s a complex question, one touched on in Chapter VI and more so in Chapter VII. Who holds the power in Iudia now? Augusta is a child, and the Prefect is her guardian and the Prefect of the State, but Augusta is still Empress/First Citizen and Vicegerent of Gaia, with all the powers vested in those titles. If Augusta says one thing and the Prefect says another, who does the citizen obey? Who does the Praetorian Guard obey?
There’s no one answer to the question. The main theme of the game is the nature of power, and power can rest in the eye of the beholder. A high strength Augusta may well try to exert her will over the Empire without taking the Prefect’s guidance, while a low or moderate strength Augusta would consider a trusted Prefect’s counsel and accept it, and a Puppet Augusta might not even speak up at all.
They don’t have a concept of minority in Iudia? I personally think it would be more likely for someone to say “I should be regent” rather than “I should do what a 13 year old says”. Sure, you’d absolutely frame your actions as being “in the name of the Empress” if you didn’t want to obey the Prefect, but I think her reign would be constrained until she came of age and that’s a big part of why child rulers are always in a super precarious position.
Although, I guess we do see what a herd of cats the Council in general is, so their fractiousness probably does play in strong Augusta’s favor. Particularly if the Prefect is unpopular.
They do, but the concept of minority can get muddled when it comes to the head of state, particularly as Augusta will only be two years (as of Chapter VII) away from her legal adulthood. If she was say, eight or ten, that would be very different.
Technically, the Prefect can exercise their guardianship over Augusta to get her to do what they wish, but that’s on paper. In reality? That may be less clear depending on circumstances. It isn’t as if the Prefect can hope to sue in court to exercise their guardianship over the sovereign herself.
Suffice to say Augusta will still be constrained by her minority even as a high strength character. There will be things she simply cannot do and places she cannot go no matter her stats by virtue of it. If she wasn’t, there wouldn’t be as much room for the player to exercise choice in the story.
After all, the reason why the Prefect holds as much sway over policy before the story starts and in Act I is because of Julia’s absence on campaign or because of her sickness. A healthy, adult ruler (who wasn’t a puppet) wouldn’t allow for a Prefect of the State to have as much agency, and the Prefect is the main character of the story for a good reason, not Julia or Augusta.
Right. According to the law, Augusta is a minor, and we her guardian, with power to manage her affairs. But, as is true with real regencies of older teens, when you get to the level of monarchs, that simple legal statement essentially ceases to exist. At that point, how much power a regent versus the monarch holds depends on how politically powerful each is.
We at best hold the loyalty of one of Iudia’s four main power brokers (the Senate, the military, the Church, and the foederati) and are the head of none of them, nor can we expect the populace to support us at this juncture over a previous Empress’ daughter. That may all change in the future, but as of now all major factions would rather see Augusta on the throne than us. So if we order a soldier to escort a dignitary out of the palace and Augusta refuses, although we technically have the power of state, the soldier is likely to at best hesitate and worst outright refuse.
I guess this is like GoT with Joffrey (who’s about Augusta’s age in the novels). Cersei can’t control him very well despite being “Queen Regent”, but Tywin, as first minister, can once he’s in the capital.
Cersei could have controlled him better, she was just unwilling to go hard against her son, a compunction Tywin lacked (also she was a woman which carried its own baggage). The Prefect would do well to learn from her mistake, in say scenarios where they’ve sired a Tyrant Augusta.
The normal Tyrant Augusta isn’t that similar to a ruler like Joffery from ASOIAF, I’d say. She’s growing to be more calculating and plotting, as shown in Chapter VI. For example, a Tyrant Augusta trained in Scholarship will instead spread rumors about Victoria to counter rumors of illegitimacy rather than crushing the dissent violently. In the scene after the council in Chapter VI, she outright says she’s trying to be more subtle than her mother.
However, the Burned Tyrant will be more aggressive and openly vindictive in her decision-making. It won’t be a complete change of personality, none of the Burned conditions are, but there will be differences.
How is a burned Paragon Augusta going to handle the crisis?
Paragon Augusta is defined by her idealism and compassion, even a measure of naivete. She wants to use her position as ruler of Iudia to preserve peace and help as many people as she can. This is why she’s in favor of negotiating with Victoria’s faction in Chapter VI.
The Burned Paragon has been confronted - and scarred by - the cruelty of Iudia in a way her counterpart simply hasn’t. But rather than adopting a colder or more cynical attitude like the Tyrant Augusta, she still strives for her idealistic goals…but she is no longer sure she can truly accomplish them. Her attitude is more melancholic, aiming to help as many people as she can but more painfully aware of her inadequacies and limitations. Unlike the Burned Tyrant, whose traumas compel her to be more aggressive and vindictive, the Burned Paragon is riven by doubt, which drives her to be more desperate to achieving her lofty ideals for as many as possible.
The Burned conditions aren’t fail states for Augusta, but they do represent developments in her personality and worldview stemming from her trauma, which affect her dialogue and some of her actions.
If I remember correctly, in Julia’s will Augusta is immediately elevated to the rank of Empress. The only thing the Prefect is is her guardian which, while has some powers, pales in comparison to that of the Empress.
The Prefect of State is a counselor, not a ruler. It has been stated before, they work behind the scene while the Empress makes decisions and rules.
She’s a fabrication made by a otherworldly being called “Azan” in a place called “earth”!
Insane stuff, I know!
The Paragon Burned path is greatly appealing to me. But the journey to it is certainly not. The pain through which I must go to see intriguing character development for best daughter…
Man, All of yall are talking about crucifying folks here meanwhile I want to create the Beauty that is the Impregnable Theodosian Walls. I mean Look at them!!! They are the most beautiful things in the world and surpasses mere lofty political deadlocks!!!
It hurts so much. I’m still scarred by repeatedly getting that outcome and struggling how the heck to succeed in the timer to save her.
Yessss, another Augusta comic! I love these. I have no idea who Elya is, though. Should I?
great work with the drapery of the purple toga, especially in the first panel
Makes a lot of sense. Would’ve been a fun route to explore but it’s a lot of complexity under the hood. I think it makes sense to just turn that into paragon or tyrant — it reminds me of Augusta’s poor reaction to trying to baby her when her strength is higher.
Yes, it’s very interesting isn’t it? In one of the previous chapters, the prefect can just dismiss the council over the objections of a high strength Augusta and the council obeys. They know where the real power is and they’re used to the prefect.
But things are a little different now. Not a lot, but a little. And while the prefect has been making alliances, other parties must be evaluating Augusta. Is it a better play to side with her? Could they become the next perfect by doing so? It’s part of why I’ve been curious to get our ally’s thoughts on Augusta, too.
Augusta’s education, strength, and alignment may play a role in all of this too.
And you’d think the power behind the throne holds all the cards but, well: history teaches us that this isn’t always the case.
I’m an Aurelian Walls guy. I prefer the original home of the Senate and People (surprise!).
Elya is her older, mildly more mature, more experienced counterpart, play I, the forgotten one
A good choice, But sadly they dont compare to the ample beauty of functionality that is the Theodosian walls. Revolutionary Three wall structure!
Ah! I’ve never played that. I keep wondering if I should.
The Theodosian Walls are definitely iconic and famous. But when it comes to beauty, I actually like the aesthetics of the Aurelian Walls. The city gates are gorgeous. I have fond memories of walking along the walls.
While I vastly prefer Roma to Constantinopolis, when it comes to the latter, I actually find the sea walls more scenic. Especially with the harbors and Boukoleon Palace. I think it’s more visually interesting than Blachernae on the outer walls. (The Great Palace, on the other hand, seems kind of boring — the Palatine palaces at Roma have more visual grandeur).
I have no idea how I missed this WIP until a few days ago, but I finally finished it today—and it’s absolutely wonderful! Really enjoyed it.
It’s been quite some time since I played this wip. A lot of new stuff for me. I really liked the goddess reveal. Makes more sense why a version of Rome is ruled from … not Rome or Constantinople. My brain is now picturing her as a Crusader Kings playing AI. That’s a scary thought, because I play that game and have visited the reddit. Wouldn’t want to be a character in some of those players games.
I think I did pretty well for my first playthrough. Although my skeptical warrior mc probably won’t react well when he inevitably figures out the connection between his ocular headache and the return of his beloved wife. Ouch!
I focused on warfare and rhetoric. Not sure if I could have passed the needed checks with a third focus, but is seemed to work pretty well with the only real failure seeming to be the assassin investigation. Also my green eyes seem to have bled into my black hair. Here are my stats after some save-scuming mostly for curiosity sake.
I tried to focus on two allies also, with significantly less success. I picked the barbarians and the hostage prince. Managed to convince Julia to ally with the barbarians but ended up killing the prince.
Victory Clock (Battle for the Spire): -1 (Success at <= 0)
Victory Clock (Battle for Kyro): -2 (Success at <= 0)
Arcanii Battle Strength: 58
Kyro Status: 3 (0 = Pyrrhic Victory; 1-2 = Incomplete Victory; 3 = Complete Victory)
