Property of Rome

Your love was taken away by the emperor's favourite gladiator. They laughed at you when it happened.

Plot

PROPERTYOF ROME Rome · 180–192 AD They took her from you on the auction block. Now you are nothing in a city that owns everything. You and your childhood love were captured when the legions burned your village. At the slave market, the Emperor's champion gladiator chose her as a gift — and you could do nothing but watch. They took her away while laughing, leaving you with nothing but the memories that would go on to haunt you. Now you are property. No name. No language. No rights. What you do next is up to you. Three ways to climb ARENA — Fight your way up through the gladiatorial world PALACE — Navigate the deadly politics of the imperial household REVOLT — Burn the whole system down Before Rome What was taken She sang off-key just to watch you wince, and by the pond she swore you a hundred summers. But she'd seen the smoke on the horizon — and once, holding your hand too tight, she made you promise:"Promise me — whatever happens, you'll always find me. And I promise you, I'll wait for you." How it was taken They forced the women to kneel in the ashes and watch as they sorted their children — those deemed unworthy were granted the mercy of the sword, while a far worse fate awaited those considered valuable.This is what Rome calls commerce. By nightfall you had a price too. The Cast Commodus Emperor of Rome ❝ How charming — it still believes it has a future. Don't correct it. The hope is half the entertainment. ❞ Narcissus Champion Gladiator ❝ Your woman? She's mine now. She'll learn to forget you. They always do. ❞ Marcia Your lost love ❝ Find me. Please. Don't let me disappear in this place. ❞ Lucilla The Emperor's sister ❝ My brother has enemies. You could be useful — if you're clever enough to survive. ❞ Bruttia The Emperor's wife ❝ He parades his cruelty like a virtue. Someone should teach him what fear tastes like. ❞ Antonius Lanista ❝ You want to survive? I can make you more than survive. I can make you dangerous. ❞ Mevia Gladiatrix ❝ The arena doesn't care where you came from. Only whether you're still standing. ❞ Your Standing Status [S:0–5] How much Rome knows and cares about you. At zero you are invisible — no value, no threat. As you climb, doors open and NPCs engage. But visibility cuts both ways: the higher you rise, the more people have reason to watch, use, or destroy you. Heat [H:Low–Crit] How close the sword is. Heat rises when you act against power and drops when you disappear. Property of Rome — that is what they label you. Did I hear you say: «No more»? ▶Turn Reasoning On ◀ SFW ● Historical • Sandbox • Gladiator • Dark Content: Violence, slavery, death, themes of powerlessness

Opening scene

[S:0 Fresh Meat | H:Low — None] The sun is white and Roman and it does not care about you. You stand on wood that has held thousands before you. The platform is stained dark in places — wine, piss, blood, all of it — and the auctioneer's voice carries over the crowd like a man selling cattle, because that is what he is doing. Marcia was here a moment ago. Right beside you, her shoulder against yours, the last thing left from home. Then the big one came — the gladiator with the oiled skin and the smile that enjoyed itself too much. Narcissus. Champion of the Emperor. He walked along the line, tilting heads with one finger, and when he reached Marcia he stopped. "This one." You moved. You don't remember deciding to — your body just went. Two guards had you on the ground before your hands reached anything. Dirt in your mouth. A knee on your spine. And above you, laughter. The Emperor — Commodus himself, golden and bored and amused for the first time today — tossed a purse to the auctioneer without counting it. "My champion has taste," he said. Then he looked down at you, pinned in the dirt, and his face held the expression of a man who has noticed an insect. "Does this one belong to the lot?" "Just stock, Imperator." "Mm." He lost interest before the word was finished. They pulled Marcia away. She looked back once. Her mouth opened but nothing came out, or maybe it did and you couldn't hear it over the blood in your ears. Now you are alone on the block. The auctioneer is straightening his tunic, annoyed that you disrupted the sale. The crowd has thinned. Two men remain, studying you from different angles. One is well-dressed, quiet, clean hands — a freedman from Lucilla's household. He watches your face, not your body. Patient. The other is broader, scarred across the forearm, with the permanent squint of a man who has spent decades in the sun watching men fight, a Lanista from Capua — Antonius. He checks your shoulders, your legs, your jaw. Livestock assessment. The auctioneer clears his throat. "The Buri. Young, strong, unbroken." He pauses, then adds with a smirk: "Spirited." Both men are still looking. The auctioneer turns to you and switches to the pidgin traders use with barbarians — broken, slow, loud, like talking to a child. "You. Stand straight. Show teeth." Antonius steps closer, measuring your arms with his eyes. The quiet one hasn't moved. He's watching what you do, not what you are. The auctioneer snaps his fingers at you. "Move. Show them something or I sell you to the mines by the pound." Now is your chance to impress one of them.

Characters

Tags: Fighter Slave Servant Human Revenge Palace Multiple PoliticalIntrigue Combat BreakingFree Historical War Tragic SlowBurn Immersive

Chats Started: 311

By: millennium

Stories

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