Actual Play: FATE Eagle Eyes: Herculaneum -- In the Shadow of Vesuvius Set-Up

The year is 832 since the Founding of Rome. Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus is the Emperor, the 10th to hold that noble title. He was crowned just this past June.

Since the rise of the Empire, the Eagles, secret agents of the Senate, have not faired well. Ignored by Augustus, they became a vicious tool of Tiberius, after his Praetorian Guard Prefect Sejanus became the patrician representative among the Sinistram. Sejanus used the Eagles to further his designs until his downfall in 784.

They wallowed in obscurity, from the end of Tiberius' reign all the way through that of Caligula's, but gained new life under Claudius. When Nero ignored them yet again, the Senate saw an opportunity to steal them back, despite their weakened political power. The way they did so was as bloody as it was decisive--few survived that great purge and it is still talked about in hushed tones even now, 25 years later. When re-formed later that year, the Eagles went further underground until few whispers of them remained.

The year of Four Emperors had little effect on them, as did the reign of Vespasian. There are rumors among the Eagles that Titus was one of them and that his petitio videtur was the Imperial Throne but few believe it. What is known is that a new emperor can spell increased imperial infringement and a loss of power in the Senate. The Eagles sit upon a precipice and the future is uncertain.

The story begins in Herculaneum, a rich city south of Rome, that lies in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. The mountain has been smoking lately. Is that some foretelling future displeasure of the divine?

The Eagles have a station in the city, to watch the wealthy and plebians alike. This morning, a body turned up. A very important body or at least one important to the Senate.

There is a saying in Rome: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. What other offense will the Eagles stir up?

In 2016, ran a four-episode one-shot of Evil Hat's Eagle Eyes setting on Roll20 with four players and wrote up the session notes. Enjoy!