Praetorian Guard

The Praetorians are the elite special operations forces of the Nova Roman Empire.

Originally they were the bodyguards of the Senators and were ordinary soldiers who had received special operations training. After the South Cove Incident, however, the need for a more elite bodyguard was in order.

After the massacre of Roman senators by Lamoni in 2754 AVC, Tyrannvs Tiberivs Siricvs took over the nation of Nova Roma and the new Praetorians were reassigned to guard the Imperator first and foremost.

They are relatively few in number compared to other special operations forces, but their skill and valor makes up for their lack of numbers ten fold.

Generally they are not assigned on missions outside of Nova Roma and are, instead, used mainly for defensive operations. This was witnessed in the opening conflicts between Nova Roma and Lamoni when thousands of barbarous "gangstas" were attacking Roman military stations and civilians; the Praetorians were called in and silenced the uprising with no casualties.

Within the ranks of the Praetorians are the Nine, the nine Praetorians who are assigned to constantly guard the Imperator. They accompany him on diplomatic missions either internally or internationally abroad and are the most elite of the Praetorians.

Dressed in a gold-plated titanium cuirass with accompanying helmet and greaves, Praetorians are superbly armored. One would not see this, however, because their armor is usually covered by their royal purple togas and capes. When in ceremonial dress they pick up more classical weapons, the gladivs and a ceremonial hasta.

Training Method

The new process for training the Praetorians is extremely lengthy but the results have proven to outweigh the time needed. Each year, the Nova Roman government harvests thousands of eggs and a plethora of sperm to genetically engineer. From here, NovaTech scientists alter the genetic makeup of each egg/sperm pair to rid the cells of any genetic impurities and to insure near perfection. On average only about 100 of the pairs successfully make it through the genetic engineering, the rest either don't fertilize properly or are ruined during engineering. The remaining 100 pairs are the ones that have been successfully engineered and will be grown through means of in vitro fertilization. Nova Roma pays those women handsomely who are willing to go through labor and produce a child that they will never see.

After the final birth of the group, the children are taken to an undisclosed military training facility where they are raised day and night by NovaTech specialists. They are mentally, psychologically, and physically conditioned to be nothing but the smartest, the most loyal, and the strongest soldiers. For 18 years they are subjected to extreme tests of mental and physical ability and at the 18 year mark they are released into the general public: their ultimate test. If they can survive in such a radically different environment, then they have passed. If they cannot, then they have failed and are taken back to NovaTech HQ and executed.

In the end only some 50 Praetorians are left that have passed the tests, but they have passed those tests for good reason, and they are the true elite of the Nova Roman military.

Praetorians should never be confused with their more offensive brethren, the Arcani.