Tribunician Veto
T he Tribunes of the Plebs (there were 10 of them) can prohibit action by the Plebs or by a magistrate. A Tribune usually was using his tour in the office as a springboard to higher office and frequently the Tribunes were looking for a handout to fund future activity, and so the veto could be bought, and cheaply. Any action by the Plebs can be vetoed for 1d6 x2 talents. If a player owns a Tribune that round by event, then the veto is Free. A Demagogue is a very ambitious tribune, with expensive tastes. As tribunes could be intimidated by violent crowds and bad omens, the bribed veto only works on 1d6 =1,2,3,4. Obviously bribing a couple works better (more die rolls). Subtract 1 from the die roll when trying to stop a Senatorial or Magisterial action – there were ways around this in Roman law available to the Senate. Tame tribune of the plebs and Demagogues work every time (Tame tribunes are more afraid of their patrons and the demagogue owns the mob). Tribunes can be used to neutralize other tribunes, with a neutralization action costing the same as a normal veto, with the same success modifiers.

LAW COURTS
The various factions in Rome spent a great deal of time injuring each other in the Roman legal system. The two most common ways were a charge of treason or a civil lawsuit. A governor indicted for extortion and other injustices in office follows the procedure discussed earlier, as this is a state trial brought by a magistrate.

In a civil lawsuit, the player who sues must lodge a sponsio equal to the amount of the alleged crime in escrow. If the player who lodges the lawsuit loses, the accused is awarded the sponsio. If he wins, the supposed injured parties (usually NPCs) receive the equivalent of the sponsio from the loser.

This legal proceeding takes the following form – the accuser rolls 1D6, the defender 1D6, and each active player other than the accuser votes ABSOLVO or CONDEMNO. The accuser’s die roll are NPC votes for CONDEMNO and the defender’s die roll is votes for ABSOLVO and these are added to the players’ votes. If the player actually used the EXTORTION table, or a temple was looted in his province, then one CONDEMNO vote is added for each 10 talents gained by any means in his province (including normally legal ones). If more CONDEMNO votes are recorded than ABSOLVO, the conviction is applied, the sponsio paid, etc. 2 talents of bribery will change one of the die roll-generated pips to the other side. Bribing players to vote one way or the other can be settled by the players themselves.

The winning accuser receives 1 talent from his grateful clients, and +20 prestige. A losing accuser gets 10 prestige. The accused loses 10 prestige in any case, and loses 30 more if convicted.

In a treason trial (which also stands for some other more complicated Roman procedures, like religious crimes and negligence trials), the accuser must still lodge a sponsio, determined by 3d10 talents, unless he chooses to charge perduellio which is prosecuted in the assembly. The treason trial procedure is otherwise the same as a lawsuit. An accused convicted of normal treason is exiled as well as losing the sponsio. Convicted Treasonous players lose 50 prestige.

A trial by the assembly for perduellio works just like the making of a lex. When convicted, the accused is executed on 1d6 roll of 5,6 and exiled on 1,2,3,4. If exiled, the gold remaining in the player’s bank is reduced by 50 percent after paying the sponsio. Prestige is reduced to 20. Unless very wealthy, or with powerful friends, he should consider retiring from the game and starting a new character.

Note that while exercising the imperium, a player is IMMUNE FROM LAWSUITS, and a DICTATOR is immune from all lawsuits after his term is over.

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