Life and Death in Old Athens

Come witness the Golden Age of Athens, from its emergence as a world power in the wake of the Persian Wars (480 BC), to its subjugation by Phillip II of Macedonia in the wake of the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC): a one-hundred-and-forty-two year period that has defined the Western world for more than two millennia. It is the time of the great statesmen like Themistocles, Pericles, and the brash Alcibiades; of the great philosophers like Socrates and Plato, of writers like Herodotus and military-minded Thucydides, and of the great playwrights like Aeschylus and Euripides. Art and architecture reached its zenith in the Golden Age, transforming war-scarred Athens into the greatest city of its age.

This is the world of ATTIKA.

ATTIKA: Life and Death in Old Athens is a storytelling game where characters are part of the social and political structure of Athens. As a Citizen they can take an active role in the struggles of Democracy by speaking before the Assembly and the Law Courts, by being elected to positions of power, and by discharging the various duties (liturgies) associated with their standing. Yet, as a Metic, a Wife/Widow, or a Hetaira, characters are barred from public politics but can still wield great power behind the scenes, by advancing in the right social circles and accumulating wealth and favors.

Athens is a place where political and social success comes at the expense of others. Enemies will be made along the way . . . enemies who will use political or legal means to see the characters ostracized and exiled; who will risk offending the gods by forging false oracles, bearing false witness, and — if it comes to it — spilling the characters’ blood.

With each session of ATTIKA, characters will pose questions about the world around them, questions like: “Is vengeance just?” or “Can a woman decide her own fate?” or even “Do the gods interfere in the affairs of mortals?” The answers arise from play, from the struggles the characters endure, and have the potential to change the course of history.

History in ATTIKA is not fixed; the actions of the characters will have an impact on the legacy of Athens. And while touchstone events like the Peloponnesian War WILL still occur, the deeds, actions, and reactions of the characters can change the complexion of the event even as it changes the characters, themselves.

ATTIKA: Life and Death in Old Athens, a storytelling RPG by Scott Oden (Men of Bronze, Memnon, The Lion of Cairo), built around William Stearns Davis’ A Day in Old Athens. It is powered by the Principia system created by Tony Dowler.