Making Senatorial Offices worthwhile with realistic 'Republic'
This thing has always bugged me in RTW. Your characters got elected to the Senate Offices like Praetor and Pontifex Maximus for example, but did it affect anything? Did it give any worthwhile bonuses?
For example, Lucius Julius (the starting Julii heir) got elected to Pontifex Maximus. Historically, this was a very, very prestigious position, being the chief of religious matters of whole of the Roman Republic. But in the game, it is virtually useless, just like any other position. All it gives is probably a few stat bonuses for some time until you are elected out.
I suggest boosting those bonuses to a very high level. Being a Consul doesn't simply mean that you would get a trait with a few stat enhancements. And these positions should come with some special powers which are available only to the holder of that position. That will surely make it worth getting elected to that post. For example, becoming a Censor would heavily reduce the corruption in the settlement the Censor is staying in, while it also reduces corruption lightly in the whole of Roman Republic.
Secondly, the government system was really bad in RTW. Rome was a republic that time, and had two Consuls, both being elected. In that game, it was the SPQR faction with hereditary succession, mostly (if not always) controlled by the Maxentius family. In the name of the 'republic' a player gets only a few useless positions for a temporary period, and missions of course. And how come a Consul is on lower rank than Pontifex Maximus?
There should be a proper Roman Republican government this time, for the sake of realism that CA is working so hard for.
They can implement 'internal factions' system like that of Europa Universalis - Rome. Each character will join up a faction which are actually Military, Civic, Religious, Mercantile or Populist factions. It will affect which stats they are good in, and which offices they can get elected in. A character of your family who is of other faction than your leader will be less loyal to him. But with the semi-rigid campaigns of TW games, it is only optional. (I again say OPTIONAL, not COMPULSORY, for those who jump up to oppose the suggestions)
Secondly, there is a strict need for a Cursus Honorum. A character needs to be Quaestor before he can become Aedile. Then after being Aedile for some time, he is qualified for being Praetor. Unlike in RTW where anyone can be elected anywhere, there is a strict need for a proper ladder to the top.
And NO simple elections are necessary. In RTW, they were more like random events in which anybody could get elected to anything. For this game, I suggest using Cursus Honorum so that only qualified characters would get elected to high positions, and elections being held out every 10 years
It will make a great experience because CA is also focusing on the Roman political intrigue, which is surely going to work well if they implement these systems. And it will make becoming the Emperor actually interesting, realistically portraying the intrigue and conflicts and troubles faced by Sulla, Marius, Caesar and finally Octavius himself.
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Originally Posted by weirdoascensor
