I agree. Rather than attempting to adhere to any historical basis for my interpretation of Iudian names, I decided to do my own take after months of development and tweaks:
Iudian praenomina are generally (though not always) used to refer to an individual. Rather than the often small cadre of praenomina that was present in history, I’ve endeavored to give most characters wholly unique names for reader accessibility, with some commonalities deriving from famed Iudian historical or religious figures.
Iudian nomen are generally (though sometimes I do use cognomen for this which derives from the individual’s preference, and I use praenomina when referring to Empresses) used to refer to individuals by their title (i.e. “Legate Lethungius" vs “Empress Julia”).
Iudian cognomen are only used by matricians, a handy method to identify who amongst the cast of characters are of that social class or are plebeians. Iudian cognomen denote the branch of the family whom the person hails from, with branches variably named after founders of the branch (such as the Galeria Ursiniae named after Empress Ursa), named after qualities of the founder of the branch (such as the Galeria Celeres who are named for Leta’s nickname, “the Quick”), or after the general geographic origin or residence of the branch (such as the Vitallia Hevernicae, named due to being the branch of the family from the province of Hevernica).
The Prefect themselves is a plebeian, as such they only have a praenomina and a nomen you select at character creation.
@Azan When deciding who to have Augusta marry, I would’ve liked the option to present all options to her and let her choose for herself. I’ve been trying to give her more agency in her rule, and as all options have positives and negatives, I feel like her input is important here.
Demo Stats
Victory Clock (Battle for the Spire): -3 (Success at <= 0)
Victory Clock (Battle for Kyro): -8 (Success at <= 0)
Arcanii Battle Strength: 50
Kyro Status: 3 (0 = Pyrrhic Victory; 1-2 = Incomplete Victory; 3 = Complete Victory)
Empire Status: Stability (53) Resources (54) Power (82)
Augusta Status: Unburnt Paragon (Combat) (Rhetoric)
I asked if the prefect had a cognomen because when making a custom name, your giving a prompt to create a name that refers to the whole family, even though I all ready written down a “last name”
This is asking you what the plural of the name is. Basically, Azan is asking you to supply male, plural, and female versions of your family name according to Latin/Iudian morphology. Let’s give an example.
You have a male prefect, and you want your family name to be Julius. You are asked three questions if you are a male.
Your family name. This is Julius.
Your family as a whole. Really, this is asking for a plural. You are given examples. Since Iudia is matriarchal, unlike Rome, the family name is a feminine plural. Following those examples, you would say Juliae.
What feminine members of your family use. This would be Julia.
I was basing that more on Roman naming conventions than anything in the text. Did you change that for Iudia to reflect their matriarchal structure, or am I missing something in Roman history?
That’s exactly it — the feminine is used here bc of the matriarchal society.
Julii is used in the Roman context because the general convention is to think of the male members of a Roman family as the most relevant. Although note that in Latin, the word gens is feminine so you’d still refer to the “gens Julia” when referring to the family, but Julii when referring to multiple members.
Damn. I thought I’d get some awesome epithet for almost singlehandedly saving the city. My character is a veteran, so I was smacking elite troops like they were rebellious children . It was soo satisfying.
@Iello That’s cool. It certainly gives a unique flair to it.
Just passing by to say how much I loved this WIP. Being a goody two shoes secret lover to a warcrime happy tyrant is something I didn’t know I needed, but now crave!
This game is also so similar to another game that I love, that I don’t know if it’s just a happy coincidence, the nature of the source material you both draw from (probably), or if it might have been an inspiration Talking about Expeditions: Rome. RPG, you make your choices while essentially taking up Caesar’s role in history. Because of that, if you choose to be a woman you can break the patriarchy in so many cool and really well-thought-out realistic ways.
Anyway, I loved this as much as I loved that. Great job, always eager for the next update!
I have played the game, but actually never really got off Lesbos (I believe it was?) because I got caught up with other things. It was fun from what I remember, I liked the Expeditions games as a rare historical fiction RPG experience.
I have had other game inspirations though, such as the Crusader Kings and Horizon games series and Age of Decadence.
Crusader Kings is a game I didn’t expect to see as an influence. Sure, it’s about realm management, but it’s a simulation game in an entirely different genre and with few of the plot beats I’ve seen in Shattered Eagle. What are some of the influences or ideas you took from it?
Well, for one, the five skills are all inspired from the main attributes of Crusader Kings.
Rhetoric: Diplomacy
Warfare: Martial
Economics: Stewardship
Subterfuge: Intrigue
Scholarship: Learning
But also the focus on intrigue and interpersonal relationships affecting politics and war was a major inspiration in general.
Thanks! I’ve corrected this error in my files, but since I’m actively working on the next go through for Chapter VII, I can’t fully upload the new file yet to COGDemos.
. It was soo satisfying.
