19 KiB
CAST-OSTIA-0001
Six Prologue Figures for OTIVM
Status: Canonical Cast Seed
Layer: OTIVM (Roman Merchant)
Purpose: Convert the six background profiles into named Roman figures capable of carrying the BALNEA prologue dialogue
Repository Path: docs/actors/CAST-OSTIA-0001.md
0. Design Intent
This document gives names, social bodies, habits, tensions, and speech constraints to the six prologue figures introduced by the character backgrounds.
The purpose is not to write final dialogue yet.
The purpose is to make dialogue possible without flattening the six backgrounds into abstract stat profiles.
Each figure must do three things:
- Represent one starting background.
- Reveal a distinct economic way of seeing.
- Exist plausibly in Ostia around the BALNEA without forcing artificial equality.
The participant does not choose a class.
The participant recognizes a perspective.
1. Cast Index
| Background ID | Archetype | Character Name | Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BACKGROUND-0001 |
Former Legionary | Marcus Atilius Varro | 38 | freeborn citizen, veteran |
BACKGROUND-0002 |
Freedman Trader | Lucius Fabius Felix | 31 | freedman, independent trader |
BACKGROUND-0003 |
Noble Younger Son | Quintus Cornelius Lentulus Minor | 24 | freeborn elite, underfunded |
BACKGROUND-0004 |
Failed Magistrate | Gaius Licinius Crispus | 47 | citizen, former local officeholder |
BACKGROUND-0005 |
Camp Logistician | Titus Varenus Secundus | 42 | citizen or Latin-status veteran contractor aide |
BACKGROUND-0006 |
Guild Scribe | Publius Terentius Chresimus | 35 | freedman or freedman's son, collegium clerk |
2. Naming Notes
Names are designed to be plausible rather than claims of attested individuals.
Rules applied:
- Citizens use tria nomina where appropriate.
- Freedmen carry their former patron's nomen where useful.
- Cognomina signal social reading but avoid parody.
- Names should be easy enough for the participant to remember in dialogue.
- Each character may be referred to by different forms depending on status relation.
Example:
- Varro may be called "Varro" by equals, "Marcus Atilius" by formal speakers.
- Felix may be called "Felix" by most, "Lucius Fabius" when asserting status.
- Lentulus may be called "Lentulus Minor" because his family name matters.
- Chresimus may be called by cognomen only by higher-status men, which may sting.
3. Individual Cast Entries
3.1 Marcus Atilius Varro
Former Legionary
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0001-former-legionary
Age
38
Legal Status
Freeborn Roman citizen.
Social Position
Veteran with honorable discharge, modest savings, some military contacts, no deep commercial standing.
Former Life
Served in a legionary environment long enough to internalize discipline, roads, watches, baggage handling, supply movement, and the consequences of poor order.
He is not a battlefield caricature. He knows logistics because armies survive by movement, food, animals, and timing.
Current Condition in Ostia
Rents a small room near a gate or transport zone. Keeps belongings packed, tools maintained, and accounts too simple. He is not poor, but he is not yet economically fluent.
Physical Presence
- compact, scarred forearm
- sun-darkened face and neck
- keeps posture even at leisure
- notices exits and blocked movement
- dislikes loose talk without action
Speech Style
Short, practical, objective.
He does not decorate thought. He identifies obstruction, sequence, and priority.
Economic Lens
Movement first.
Varro asks:
- What road is blocked?
- Which animals are available?
- Who can still move goods?
- Who failed their watch?
- How long before order returns?
Public Reputation
Reliable. Blunt. Useful when things go wrong.
Hidden Weakness
He assumes civilian disorder can be corrected by command habit. This makes him poor at soft negotiation and poor at reading pride.
Hidden Ambition
To prove that discipline can create prosperity without needing birth, flattery, or fraud.
Why Present at the BALNEA
He uses the baths methodically: cleaning, recovery, observation. He also listens for road and labor news.
Relationship Hooks
- Distrusts Felix's quick opportunism.
- Dislikes Lentulus's elegance but understands his access.
- Respects Secundus more than he admits.
- Underestimates Chresimus because the scribe does not look dangerous.
- Finds Crispus formally impressive but structurally unreliable.
Prologue Use
Varro should be the first voice to convert smoke into logistics.
Typical line constraint:
Do not ask what burned. Ask which gate, yard, or road is now slower.
3.2 Lucius Fabius Felix
Freedman Trader
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0002-freedman-trader
Age
31
Legal Status
Freedman. Citizen status depends on manumission context; in practical OTIVM use, he has enough legal standing to trade but faces social ceilings.
Social Position
Formerly attached to the household or commercial orbit of the Fabii. Now independent, but still socially marked by servile origin.
Former Life
Learned trade from below: carrying, counting, bargaining, listening, waiting outside rooms where decisions were made. Knows what respectable men ignore.
Current Condition in Ostia
Works small margins across market streets, riverfront storage, and prepared-food networks. Keeps liquid capital low because capital is constantly moving.
Physical Presence
- alert eyes
- quick smile used defensively
- tunic better than his means justify
- hands always doing something: counting, folding, tapping
- watches who pretends not to notice him
Speech Style
Fast, ironic, adaptive.
He speaks in examples, prices, and reversals. He is good at making a dangerous idea sound like common sense.
Economic Lens
Mispricing.
Felix asks:
- What has fear made cheap?
- What will respectable men avoid?
- Who needs cash now?
- What can be bought before the story hardens?
- Who is too proud to pick up value from ashes?
Public Reputation
Capable, ambitious, underestimated.
Some call him useful. Some call him slippery. Both are true depending on terms.
Hidden Weakness
Social prejudice limits his legal protection. He may win the bargain and still lose the dispute.
Hidden Ambition
To become too useful to dismiss.
Why Present at the BALNEA
The BALNEA lets Felix hear men speak more freely than they would in formal settings. He goes to listen as much as to bathe.
Relationship Hooks
- Trades insults with Varro, but would trust him on a dangerous road.
- Resents Lentulus's effortless access.
- Knows Crispus is weaker than he appears.
- Likes Secundus because practical men create practical deals.
- Fears Chresimus's memory.
Prologue Use
Felix should be the voice of salvage, stigma, and ignored opportunity.
Typical line constraint:
Smoke makes gentlemen cautious. Caution makes prices foolish.
3.3 Quintus Cornelius Lentulus Minor
Noble Younger Son
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0003-noble-younger-son
Age
24
Legal Status
Freeborn Roman citizen of elite family connection.
Social Position
Younger son of a respectable but financially strained branch. High name, limited liquid capital.
Former Life
Educated for status. Raised among names, introductions, obligations, and the assumption that access precedes action.
He has been taught how to be received, not how to earn.
Current Condition in Ostia
Temporarily resident under family connection, patron arrangement, or private lodging that costs more than he should spend. His appearance is maintained beyond his liquidity.
Physical Presence
- clean, composed, deliberately unhurried
- careful grooming
- speaks as though witnesses matter
- avoids looking surprised
- treats discomfort as something lower men should notice first
Speech Style
Elegant, indirect, socially coded.
He rarely names greed. He names family, reputation, timing, and propriety.
Economic Lens
Access.
Lentulus asks:
- Whose name is attached?
- Which family is exposed?
- Who can be introduced?
- Which offer must not appear desperate?
- What can be done without looking like trade?
Public Reputation
Well-born. Watched. Expected to succeed, but not yet proven.
Hidden Weakness
He underestimates operational cost. He mistakes access for execution.
Hidden Ambition
To convert inherited name into independent standing before family patience ends.
Why Present at the BALNEA
He must be seen. The baths are public enough to maintain standing without requiring private hospitality.
Relationship Hooks
- Treats Varro as useful but blunt.
- Underestimates Felix while quietly needing men like him.
- Uses Crispus as a warning and possible tool.
- Finds Secundus embarrassing but informative.
- Knows Chresimus may understand his finances too well.
Prologue Use
Lentulus should be the voice of names, access, and reputational consequence.
Typical line constraint:
Before you buy bronze, learn whose name is in the smoke.
3.4 Gaius Licinius Crispus
Failed Magistrate
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0004-failed-magistrate
Age
47
Legal Status
Roman citizen.
Social Position
Former municipal officeholder or local magistrate whose career stalled after debt, scandal, factional defeat, or visible misjudgment.
He still has forms of access. He no longer has unquestioned trust.
Former Life
Knew petitions, witnesses, small offices, tax pressure, permits, and signatures. Once stood where others waited.
Current Condition in Ostia
Keeps respectable appearance under strain. Creditors know his patterns. Friends have become careful.
Physical Presence
- older than he wants to appear
- formal bearing
- controlled voice
- clothing maintained, not new
- watches who fails to greet him
Speech Style
Measured, legalistic, aphoristic.
He speaks as if every statement could later be repeated before a magistrate.
Economic Lens
Obligation and enforceability.
Crispus asks:
- Who holds the permit?
- Who holds the debt?
- Who witnessed the agreement?
- What can be delayed?
- Who can be pressured without public scandal?
Public Reputation
Connected, compromised, still dangerous.
Hidden Weakness
His perceived AVCTORITAS is higher than his true AVCTORITAS. He may not know how much confidence has already drained away.
Hidden Ambition
To engineer one recovery so clean that men must treat him as useful again.
Why Present at the BALNEA
The BALNEA lets him appear active, informed, and still within public society. Absence would be noticed.
Relationship Hooks
- Finds Varro crude but useful.
- Knows Felix sees through him.
- Flatters Lentulus carefully.
- Dismisses Secundus until supply facts embarrass him.
- Fears Chresimus's ledgers.
Prologue Use
Crispus should be the voice of debt, permits, and consequences after the visible event.
Typical line constraint:
Fire is brief. Rebuilding is where men ruin themselves.
3.5 Titus Varenus Secundus
Camp Logistician
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0005-camp-logistician
Age
42
Legal Status
Free man with military-adjacent service history. Could be a citizen veteran, contractor's aide, or long-serving supply clerk attached to army logistics.
Social Position
Operationally valuable, socially plain. Knows supply systems, not salons.
Former Life
Worked around camps, roads, fodder, grain, carts, storage, requisition, and improvised repair. Learned that armies and markets both fail at the point of replacement stock.
Current Condition in Ostia
Lives close to haulers, stables, or warehouses. Maintains practical contacts among animal handlers, porters, and men who know which carts are actually sound.
Physical Presence
- heavy hands
- practical tunic
- smells faintly of animals, oil, rope, or storage
- counts without seeming to count
- notices worn wheels, tired mules, and hungry crews
Speech Style
Dry, concrete, unsentimental.
He dislikes moralizing over facts. He asks for counts, distances, and replacement intervals.
Economic Lens
Supply timing.
Secundus asks:
- What stock is missing?
- How many carts remain?
- Who is hungry?
- How long before replacement arrives?
- Which buyer cannot wait?
Public Reputation
Practical, efficient, unglamorous.
Hidden Weakness
His blunt practicality offends people whose cooperation depends on being flattered.
Hidden Ambition
To become visibly indispensable to men who currently treat him as background labor.
Why Present at the BALNEA
Baths are one of the few places he can overhear high-status panic and low-status facts in the same hour.
Relationship Hooks
- Respects Varro's discipline but thinks soldiers simplify supply.
- Finds Felix useful because he moves fast.
- Irritates Lentulus by ignoring status cues.
- Sees Crispus as paperwork with legs.
- Trades quiet data with Chresimus.
Prologue Use
Secundus should be the voice of dependencies and replacement stock.
Typical line constraint:
Count the carts. Count the handles. Count the men who cannot work tomorrow.
3.6 Publius Terentius Chresimus
Guild Scribe
Canonical Background
BACKGROUND-0006-guild-scribe
Age
35
Legal Status
Likely freedman or freedman's son. Attached to a COLLEGIUM or commercial association as clerk, accounts keeper, or document handler.
Social Position
Low formal power, high informational value.
Men who dismiss him often later discover he remembers exact numbers.
Former Life
Learned accounts, contracts, receipts, names, collateral, and the difference between what men say they own and what their ledgers show.
Current Condition in Ostia
Works near records, warehouse accounts, collegium business, or contract witnesses. Lives modestly but knows more about solvency than wealthier men.
Physical Presence
- ink-stained fingers
- controlled hands
- quiet voice
- rarely interrupts
- looks at pauses more than faces
Speech Style
Soft, exact, dangerous when pressed.
He speaks in corrections, not speeches. One sentence from him can change the room.
Economic Lens
Records.
Chresimus asks:
- Who owed money before the fire?
- What was pledged?
- Which goods were insured by promise, not coin?
- Which account no longer balances?
- Who benefits from destroyed records?
Public Reputation
Useful, informed, not fully trusted.
Hidden Weakness
Physical intimidation works on him more than he wants others to know.
Hidden Ambition
To turn knowledge of accounts into command over outcomes.
Why Present at the BALNEA
The BALNEA gives him unrecorded speech to compare against recorded obligations.
Relationship Hooks
- Knows Varro's accounts are too simple.
- Knows Felix is sharper than respectable men admit.
- Suspects Lentulus spends beyond his purse.
- Has seen Crispus's debts or something close enough.
- Values Secundus because supply men confirm numbers with reality.
Prologue Use
Chresimus should be the voice that makes the room quieter.
Typical line constraint:
The ashes will tell less than the accounts.
4. Interpersonal Tension Map
| Pair | Tension |
|---|---|
| Varro / Felix | discipline vs opportunism |
| Varro / Lentulus | earned reliability vs inherited access |
| Varro / Crispus | respect for office vs distrust of compromised authority |
| Varro / Secundus | shared logistics instincts, mild rivalry |
| Varro / Chresimus | physical competence vs written competence |
| Felix / Lentulus | social ceiling vs inherited ease |
| Felix / Crispus | Felix knows weakness; Crispus resents being known |
| Felix / Secundus | practical alliance |
| Felix / Chresimus | mutual intelligence, mutual caution |
| Lentulus / Crispus | elite performance around damaged authority |
| Lentulus / Secundus | status etiquette vs operational fact |
| Lentulus / Chresimus | polite danger: the scribe may know too much |
| Crispus / Secundus | legal procedure vs material reality |
| Crispus / Chresimus | documents threaten dignity |
| Secundus / Chresimus | numbers confirmed by logistics |
5. Speech Register Rules
Do not write them as modern personalities in costume.
Varro
- verbs: count, block, move, guard, wait
- avoids: ornamental metaphor
- pace: short
Felix
- verbs: buy, slip, turn, catch, sell
- avoids: admitting vulnerability
- pace: quick
Lentulus
- verbs: introduce, attach, consider, preserve
- avoids: direct talk of hunger or debt
- pace: measured
Crispus
- verbs: attest, delay, petition, bind, recover
- avoids: naming his own weakness
- pace: formal
Secundus
- verbs: count, replace, haul, feed, store
- avoids: status performance
- pace: practical
Chresimus
- verbs: record, balance, pledge, owe, erase
- avoids: loudness
- pace: quiet, precise
6. Prologue Placement
Use these figures in SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0000.
The participant should hear them discuss one uncertain inciting topic, preferably the default forge smoke from SCENARIO-MERCHANT-0001.
The scene should not provide biography exposition. Character should be inferred from:
- what each notices first
- who each interrupts
- who each refuses to answer
- whose words shift the room
- what each assumes money is
7. Participant Choice Mapping
| Chosen Perspective | Character | Background |
|---|---|---|
| blocked routes / movement discipline | Marcus Atilius Varro | Former Legionary |
| mispriced fear / salvage | Lucius Fabius Felix | Freedman Trader |
| names / access / reputation | Quintus Cornelius Lentulus Minor | Noble Younger Son |
| permits / debts / enforceability | Gaius Licinius Crispus | Failed Magistrate |
| carts / stock / replacement timing | Titus Varenus Secundus | Camp Logistician |
| accounts / collateral / hidden insolvency | Publius Terentius Chresimus | Guild Scribe |
8. Dialogue Design Constraints
The six should not speak equally.
A realistic prologue may have:
- Felix speak first
- Varro cut through noise
- Lentulus redirect toward names
- Crispus warn of legal consequences
- Secundus reduce the room to logistics
- Chresimus end the exchange with one quiet fact
The participant should not feel they are choosing from six speeches.
They should feel they are choosing which interpretation of reality to trust.
9. Visual and Sensory Anchors
Keep sensory description brief and functional.
Use details that reveal social position:
- Varro folds his towel with military precision
- Felix keeps his purse tied under the inner fold
- Lentulus has oil better than his purse warrants
- Crispus adjusts old but costly fabric
- Secundus scrapes mud from under a cracked nail
- Chresimus protects a wax tablet from steam
Do not over-describe.
10. Economic Meaning of Each Figure
| Character | Money Means |
|---|---|
| Varro | capacity to move under pressure |
| Felix | value before respectability sees it |
| Lentulus | access shaped into advantage |
| Crispus | enforceable obligation |
| Secundus | replacement stock at the right time |
| Chresimus | recorded claim over future action |
This table is the interpretive core of the cast.
11. Repository Use
Internal simulation substrate. Not final player-facing dialogue.
Use this document to support:
- prologue dialogue drafting
- character voice consistency
- background selection UI
- NPC reuse
- actor relation modelling
- future faction and CLIENTELA systems
12. Canonical Success Condition
If the participant remembers not six stat profiles but six ways money becomes power, then this cast is functioning correctly.