Your character is a native of one of the Roman provinces, near the bottom of a social pyramid as monstrous as those ancient tombs of the pharaohs in Ægyptus. To you and your family, it's never really made much difference who the kings are, all you know is that you're poor and you don't like the Romans. Basically, you live the same way your family has for countless generations: working full-time to pay your damned taxes, barely any better off than a Phrygian slave.

But you know you're better than this life. Your parents may not have done anything with their lives, but you could do something with yours. There's money in this world, and anyone heavy in brains and brawn and maybe a little light in morals could get it. Just a question of how, really. Besides, through the scrimping and saving of your family over generations, you've managed to end up with some money, and to be honest, you're getting used to a lifestyle much better than any Phrygian will ever know. The only question is where to get more when what you've got runs out.

After all, you've seen what money can do for you. For all the bad the Romans have brought, at least they built good roads, and trade is booming in your home town. Lots of people pass through, and many of those people are rich. The things you've seen! Fine furs, silks, wines, perfumes, all sorts of luxuries—that's a way to live. Well, plenty of grain comes through too, but that's beside the point.

Yes, that's a way to live. The only question is, how?