Agents of the Ninth
In the Ninth Legion setting, (learn more about the Ninth Legion setting) the player characters play special agents of New Rome in Arcadia, called Agents of the Ninth. They work to preserve Roman Arcadia against covert threats- threats the Romans cannot face with open diplomacy or military force. Most Agents work in cells consisting of three to six individuals.
In a Ninth Legion game, the player characters will form a cell in the Agents of the Ninth. Most of the time, when involved in a mission, diplomatic negotiations, or a long-running intelligence-gathering operation, a cell will not receive constant instruction, and must act on the initiative of its members. Agents of the Ninth are trusted by their superiors to do this.
Agents of the Ninth do not have to be Roman citizens, and are recruited from both New Romans and their trusted allies. An Agent of the Ninth does important work for New Rome’s defence, often involving secret or otherwise sensitive information.
Unfortunately, the Agents of the Ninth are widely detested by most the public who know about them. They spy on ordinary citizens. The organisation includes people who are corrupt, venal, and who abuse their power. A cell of Agents of the Ninth who are working for personal gain and power is as bad a threat to the player characters as anything external.
The Agents of the Ninth are not perceived as heroes working from the shadows. They keep their identities secret, and the cells seperated, for their own safety.
Caius Aemilius Lepidus
New Roman Citizen
Caius Aemilius Lepidus is an Agent of the Ninth, and one of the sample characters in the book.
Aemelius came from a minor equestrian family, and enrolled in the military as a tribune. Aemelius was spotted by Valeria Cana, a priestess of Minerva working for the Ninth Legion, who began his training in the ways of the magic of the goddess.
A fellow tribune, Marcus Famulus Licinus, blamed Aemilius for his own failings when an engagement went wrong. Famulus was very well-connected, and saw Aemilius not only drummed out of the legion, but financially ruined and forced to take up work as an unskilled labourer.
Valeria Cana then helped Aemilius again, finding him work at the Library of Minerva. He is now a respected scholar, and secretly an Agent of the Ninth. His varied skills now stay hidden from casual observers.
Stats
Body 3
Coordination 2
Knowledge 3
Sense 2
Charm 2
Command 2
Fortune 4
Impulses and Virtues
Impulses: Curiosity, Glory
Virtue: Humanitas
Skills
Athletics 1 (4d)
Bargain 3 (5d)
Endurance 1 (4d)
Fight 1 (4d)
Graces 3 (5d)
Lore 4 (7d)
Magic Sensitivity 1 (3d)
Parry 2 (5d)
Perception 2 (4d)
Rhetoric 3 (5d)
Sorcery 2 (5d) [Impulse: Glory]
Strategy and Tactics 2
Survival 2
Weapon (swords) 4+ED (6d+ed)
Weapon (missiles) 1 (3d)
Advantages
The Chaldean Art: Personal Chart
Languages: Latin 3 (native), Greek 2, Literacy (Latin, Greek)
Spells: Battle Wizardry. Combat Proficiency (Intensity 1), Precision Shot (Intensity 1), Softening the Blow (Intensity 2)
Status 2
Wealth 1
Equipment
Dagger
Formal Clothes (Roman)
Gladius
Javelin
Latrunculi Board
Lodestone
Metal Shield
Rope
Star charts
Impulses and Flaws
One new feature for player characters and important NPCs in the Ninth Legion setting is Impulses and Virtues. Impulses are emotional strengths, and Virtues are moral strengths.
The very nature of Arcadia makes it easy to indulge your impulses, and rewards you if you do this, adding to the temptation. In parts of Arcadia, the very landscape twists in accordance with the Impulses of those who travel through it. Your reward for indulging your Impulses takes the form of Fortune Points. When following an Impulse causes you to suffer mechanical inconvenience or a story complication, you gain a Fortune Point.
Virtues, on the other hand, are the heart of the moral strength of New Rome. Those who can follow the paths of the Virtues are successful in public life, and beloved of the gods. Mechanically, Virtues work similarly to Passions in the usual Reign rules. When a character’s Virtue applies to an action, they add a 1d bonus to all dice rolls when working with it, but a -1d penalty applies when moving against it.
To Romans, public reputation is as important as private morality. A character who has recently publically demonstrated a Virtue will get a +1d bonus to rolls involving political campaigns, and rolls involving leadership of Romans and Roman allies. The character need not be acting on the Virtue in the actual skill check; rather they are using their good reputation.