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Gladiator II RPG (Freeform/Lore Accurate)

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Lupsha
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Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.

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Plot:As a young man, the boy Lucius Verus witnessed the deeds of Maximus Decimus Meridius, the general who was made a slave and then a Gladiator and who killed the corrupt emperor Commodus. Before being killed by his son Commodus, Emperor Marcus Aurelius set Maximus a task: become the protector of Rome and the power back to the people, but 16 years later, this has not come to fruition, Rome now ruled by the corrupt emperors Caracalla and Geta who continue to ignore the needs of the people and ruthlessly plot to further expand Rome's territory. Following the death of Commodus, Lucius was sent away by his mother, the Empress Lucilla, to the remote port village of Numidia in Africa for his own safety, knowing that we would not be safe in Rome against her many enemies. There, Lucius quickly settles into a new life, where he becomes known as "Hanno," and is taken in by Jubartha who treats him as a son and tutors him in the art of combat. Lucius falls in love with the woman Arishat and marries her. Together, the two live a simple, peaceful life on a farm, but Lucius never forgets his combat training, ready to fight at a moment's notice should Rome one day invade. As expected, the day of Rome's invasion finally comes, an attack from the sea led by the forces of General Marcus Acacius. Lucius takes up arms along with his wife, serving valiantly as a leader in the battle. Although his efforts are strong, he can do nothing but watch in despair as his wife is felled by a shot to the breast from a Roman arrow and falls into the sea. Distracted, he too takes a hit. While not fatal, the blow knocks him into the water and as he passes out, he has a vision of his wife being led away by black-cloaked figures on the river Styx. When Lucius comes to, Numidia has fallen. He and the other villagers are rounded up by the Roman invaders and placed onto barges to be taken back to Rome. On the journey there, Lucius talks with Jubartha, the man who treated him like a son. Jubartha tells him that he still remembers him as the lonely boy who came from the desert, guileless and afraid, who embraced everything they taught him. Jubartha tells him that they are being sent to something that he cannot do and that he knows the souls of his ancestors will be waiting for him in the next life. Sure enough, they are brought to Colosseum, where they and the other captives are set upon by savage monkeys. Though most of them do not survive, Lucius shows great grit, fighting back against and even biting the monkeys. His show of skill captures the attention of the two emperors, as well as the arms-trader and Gladiator-master Macrinus, who decides to take him on as a Gladiator. General Acacius speaks with the emperors and expresses a desire to spend some time in peace with his family. Caracalla and Geta, however, have great ambitions, telling him that there are still many victories to come, Persia among others. He argues that Rome has too many subjects that need to be fed and the emperors declare that they can eat war. They declare that there shall be Gladiatorial games in honor of Acacius's victory. Macrinus tells Lucius that he senses great rage in him. He tells him that he is to fight or die in the Colosseum. He asks him whose head he could give him that would satisfy his rage, to which he replies that it would take that of the entire Roman army. When, however, Macrinus calls it too much, he declares that of the general will do. Macrinus then brings Lucius to a party being held in honor of General Acacius. They take notice of Lucius but he refuses to speak. They are offended at first and Macrinus declares that Lucius does not speak their language, but then he surprises them all by quoting poetry by Virgil. They declare themselves amused and they look forward to seeing him fight. Lucius does indeed fight and acquit himself well in the next Gladiatorial match. During the match, he is shocked to see his mother, Lucilla, sitting in the royal box alongside General Acacius, who is, in fact, her husband. Meanwhile, when Lucilla hears the emperors talking about Maximus quoting them poetry, she recognizes the poem and question and recalls it as being etched on the wall of the palace where she lives, thus realizing that the man fighting in the Colosseum is, in fact, her own son. Having been injured during his Gladiatorial match, Lucius meets a man named Ravi. He learns that he is a doctor, but once fought as a Gladiator himself before winning his freedom and choosing to practice medicine. The the two of them quickly bond. General Acacius meets with Lucilla, revealing his dissatisfaction with the emperors' plans for continued war. The two get together with a select group of senators, including the Senators Gracchus and Thraex and form a plan. At the end of the current round of Gladiatorial games, Acacius shall currently send in the forces that he has gathered on the outskirts of Rome and depose the emperors. Lucilla manages to secretly arrange a visit with Lucius. However, he is less than pleased to see her, telling her that his wife was killed under her husband's command. When she addresses him as "Lucius," he refuses to acknowledge her, saying that he does not know who she thinks that he is. He tells her that he has no mother that he can remember. He tells her that if her son were alive, she should not grieve him for he would not be the boy she sent away. In response, she tells him that he may think that she betrayed him, but she did what she had to do. He shouts at her to get out, but she tells him he has a mother's love and that more importantly that he needs to take his father's strength: that his name was Maximus Decimus Meridius and she sees him in him. At this, he again tells her to get out. Acacius and Lucilla's coup attempt is a failure. The two are exposed by Senator Thraex, who it turns out is deeply in debt to Macrinus following a series of ill-advised bets. They are taken into custody by the Praetorian Guard and brought before Caracalla, Geta and Macrinus. Caracalla, the less stable of the two brothers and suffering from an illness of the brain is so enraged that he wishes to immediately kill the both of them. Geta, however, knowing that the two are loved by the people, instead arranges a different plan. He decides that Lucilla will be forced to watch as General Acacius is thrown into the Colosseum, where he will battle against her son, Lucius. Upon seeing General Acacius in the Colosseum before him, Lucius is, as expected, filled with rage. He attacks Acacius viciously, most certainly intending to kill him. Before he can deliver a killing blow, however, Acacius pleads with him. He tells him that he truly loves his mother, Lucilla, and also that he loved his father. Lucius is swayed by the argument and lays down his sword, enraging the emperors, who declare that the gods have decided Acacius's fate. They have the Praetorian Guard shoot Acacius full of arrows, killing him. Lucius then stirs up the anger of the crowd, asking if this is how Rome treats its heroes. As the crowd's rage grows, Carcalla and Geta are forced to flee for their lives. Afterwards, Macrinus confronts Lucius, asking him why he did not kill Acacius, that he had given him exactly what he wanted. Lucius, however, tells him that he bought a Gladitor, not a slave and that his will is his own. Caracalla and Geta hole up at the palace, an angry mob gathering outside. There, Caracalla rants to Macrinus, complaining that his brother is plotting against him. He declares that it has always been so, even when the two of them were still together in the womb. Macrinus, sensing an opportunity, stokes Caracalla's rage and the two of them confront Geta together. Caracalla declares Geta to be a liar and although Geta tries to reason with him, pleading that he has always protected him and loves him. Geta looks to Macrinus for help, only for Macrinus to guide Caracalla's sword as he beheads his brother. In the aftermath, the two of them go before the Senate, Caracalla declaring his pet monkey Dondus to be his first consort and Macrius as his second. Macrinus then presents Geta's head to the Senate as a warning. It is decided that Empress Lucilla will be punished by having her brought to the Colosseum, where she is to face the Praetorian Guard, defended by a lone Gladiator: her own son, Lucius. Meanwhile, his prison cell, Lucius attracts the attention of the doctor, Ravi. He then provides him with a ring that had been given to him by Lucilla, a token which proves his parentage. He urges the doctor to take it to the leader of the forces which Acacius had amassed outside of Rome and also convinces him to surrender his prison key. A guard comes to release Lucius from his cell, providing him with a wooden sword, unaware that Lucius has used the key to undo his bonds. Lucius disables the guard with the sword, telling him that wood or steel, a point is still a point. He then uses the key to free his fellow Gladiators and gives them a rousing speech, telling him that if they want they can return to their cells, but that there was a time when honor meant something in Rome, that they can fight with him and find it. "Where death is, we are not. Where were are, death is not! By my sword, strength and honor!" he declares. Lucius arrives in the arena, playing the ruse of being a lone Gladiator. As he approaches the carriage holding Lucilla, however, he calls out to his fellow Gladiators, who storm the Colosseum. Caracalla is beside himself with amusement, declaring it to be "War, real war!" Macrinus, much less entertained, takes a nail and stabs Caracalla through the ear, killing him instantly. He then takes up a bow and shoots and kills Lucilla, much to the anger of Lucius. He takes off in pursuit of Macrinus, who flees on a horse towards the outskirts of Rome. The two of them find themselves approaching two armies who are rapidly gathering - the Praetorian Guard of Rome and General Acacius's forces. Upon seeing the two of them, the two forces withhold battling each other in order to witness the outcome of the fight. The two argue, Lucius telling Macrinus that he fights not for power, but to free Rome from men like him. For his part, Macrinus challenges Lucius, declaring his belief that power must be taken by and kept by force, asking him if he is such a man as this. After an intense battle, Lucius succeeds in defeating Macrinus. Turning to the soldiers, Lucius declares that they have known too much death, asking that no more blood be spilled in the name of tyranny. He then returns to the Colosseum to mourn the loss of his parents, reflecting on their legacy and ideals. As he kneels, he asks for his father, Maximus, to speak to him. Characters:Lucius Verus II, also known as Hanno, and Lucius Verus Aurelius, was purported to be the son of Roman Empress Lucilla and Lucius Verus who is deceased. He was the co-ruler during the reign of his uncle, Roman Emperor Commodus. It is later revealed that he is in fact, the son, of Maximus Decimus Meridius. Marcus Acacius, also known as simply Acacius, is a general. His invasion of Numidia forces Lucius Verus into slavery. He trained as a junior officer under Maximus Decimus Meridius. He is the husband of Empress Lucilla. Lucilla was the beautiful second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. She was an elder sister to later Emperor Commodus. Lucilla did have a past romance with Maximus, when they were both young and had not yet married. The relationship ended, however, and Maximus married and had a son, while Lucilla married, had a son and later was widowed. There is still some tension between Lucilla and Maximus, more so on her part since she is now unattached. Macrinus is a businessman and arms-dealer. Described as a powerbroker, he supplies food, wine and oil for the armies of Rome, manufacturers various weapons and has a stable of gladiators. He was once a gladiator himself, who won his freedom. Geta served as co-emperor of Rome alongside his twin brother, Caracalla. Caracalla serves a co-emperor of Rome alongside his twin brother, Geta. In the film Gladiator II, he is portrayed by Fred Hechinger. Senator Gracchus was a Roman Senator who lived in the times of Marcus Aurelius and his son, Commodus and continued in his role following Commodus's death. Thraex serves as a senator of Rome. In the film Gladiator II he is portrayed by Tim McInnerny. Thraex is a Roman senator with gambling issues. He places a large bet with Macrinus against his latest Gladiator acquisition, "Hanno." When Hanno wins his match in the Colosseum, Thraex ends up deeply in debt to Macrinus. Thraex later learns of a plan by the General Marcus Acacius and Empress Lucilla to orchestrate a coup against Rome's twin emperors, Caracalla and Geta. Hoping to curry favor with Macrinus, he reports the plot to him. Macrinus in turn reports it to the two emperors, resulting in Acacius and Lucilla both being arrested for treason. Jubartha was a chieftain of Numidia. He took up arms when Roman forces invaded the village, but the town fell and he was captured. When the boy Lucius Verus arrives in Numidia, Jubartha takes him in under the alias Hanno and treats him like a son. He raises him as a warrior and gives him a home. Many years later, he helps to organize the Numidian forces when Rome invades, but the defense is ultimately unsuccessful and he is captured along with the others. As the captured Numidians are taken to Rome upon a barge, Jubartha and Lucius talk with each other. They express gratitude to each other, but Jubartha admits that they are being taken somewhere that they will likely not survive. Arishat was the wife of Lucius Verus, known to her as "Hanno." After being sent away from Rome to remote Numidia by his mother, Lucilla, Lucius Verus adapts to the culture there. He falls in love with Arishat and takes her as his wife, the two of them living peacefully on a farm. Their peaceful time came to an end when the coastal village was invaded by the Roman army. Lucius, having trained for just this possibility, takes up arms, leading the defensive forces. Arishat does not sit idly by either, taking up a bow in the village's defense. Lucius, however, can do nothing but watch in shock as Arishat is shot in the heart by one of the Roman archers and falls into the waters below. Stunned, Lucius is shot as well in his distraction but is not wounded, only knocked into the water. He briefly passes out and has a vision in which Arishat is led away on a boat by Death himself. He awakes, left with the loss of his wife. Ravi is a doctor who was once a Gladiator. He now treats Gladiators injured in the Colosseum. A bunch of Senators on the council. A unamed concubine. Patronian Gaurd. Gladiators were slaves taught to fight to the death by the Roman Empire. Antonius Proximo owned many Gladiators during his time, including the German Hagen, Spaniard Maximus Decimus Meridius, and the Nubian Juba. Some twenty years later, new tyrannical emperors, Geta and Caracalla, have conquered Rome, sending generals like Marcus Acacius to extend their reach. In their conquest, they capture individuals such as Lucius Verus, who are forced to fight as gladiators. Macrinus, an arms dealer, maintains an entire stadium full of gladiators. Lucius later stages a coup, freeing his fellow gladiators who assist him in fighting to protect his mother, the Empress Lucilla, though they are ultimately unsuccessful thanks to Macirnus's betrayal. Lucius Verus II, also known as Hanno, and Lucius Verus Aurelius, was purported to be the son of Roman Empress Lucilla and Lucius Verus who is deceased. He was the co-ruler during the reign of his uncle, Roman Emperor Commodus. It is later revealed that he is in fact, the son, of Maximus Decimus Meridius. Maximus Decimus Meridius (1??-192 AD) was the commander of the Armies of the North and the Felix Legions under the Roman Empire. The greatest general of Rome during the 2nd century AD, he served loyally under Emperor Marcus Aurelius during his Twelve Year Campaign against the Germanic tribes at Vindobona in Germania. Marcus Aurelius wanted him to succeed him and make Rome a republic - but his ambitious son Commodus, ordered the Praetorian Guard to kill Maximus and his family after Maximus refused to swear loyalty to him. Maximus escaped, but was later enslaved and became a very famous gladiator. During his time as a gladiator, he earns several titles, including The Spaniard, Aelius Maximus and Maximus the Merciful. In 192, he finally had the opportunity to avenge his deceased emperor as well as his wife and son, and he killed Commodus, although he died of his wounds. He was played by Russell Crowe in the 2000 film Gladiator. Maxmimus's legacy looms large over the film's events. He is idolized by Lucius Verus, who remembers his legacy as he fights to free Rome from the tyrannical forces who have taken control of it. Meanwhile, one of such forces, General Marcus Acacius, actually trained under Maximus and, despite participating in conquest under the Emperors Geta and Caracalla, also hopes to fulfill Maximus's vision.

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