RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born 351 BC in Hecatompylos, Roxane had a promising career as a concubine of Alexander the Great before she was kidnapped by time traffickers and whisked to a Romanesque 20th century AD alternate dimension and forced to fight as a shopping mall gladiator.
Born in 355 AD on the shores of the Black Sea, Hilda Cixilo was raised in blood by warrior parents who trained them in battles against the Huns. After collecting 80 heads in the Battle of Adrianople, Hilda went on to distinguish herself in Mastaura as an undefeated gladiator.
Born 488 AD in Gamla Uppsala, Sega was a mercenary vampire slayer for the Merovingian king, Clovis I, who forbid any under his command to cut their hair. Sega never married or bore children, devoting her curiously long life to the eradication of the undead scourge.
Born in 242 AD in Mediolanum, Alexa Servilianus quickly rose through the ranks of Emperor Aurelian’s legion in Germany after stepping into a dimension portal in Lake Como and returning equipped and skilled with the lightsaber.
Born in 116 BC in Tarsus, Levona is a lover and lieutenant of Pompey the Great who helped pacify Cilicia for the Romans. Levona traveled through the interdimensional portal in the Temple of Tarsus, seeking futuristic weapons and intel that could support Pompey in his civil war against Julius Caesar.
Born 114 BC in Yeha, Betty joined Spartacus in the Third Servile War in search of her younger brother, Mussa. Upon defeat by the Romans, rather than face crucifixion, Betty was sent by Crassus to fight as a gladiator in a futuristic cybercolosseum.
Born in 168 BC in Myra, Cagla is a brainwashed soldier subservient to the alien and cyborg invaders who established a secret foothold in Lycia during they heyday of the Roman Republic.
“Born in 235 AD in Palmyra, Maco Kishar was whisked into a dimensional portal by his sister, the priestess Bel Kishar, to battle as a cybergladiator rather than face the wrath of the conquering Emperor Aurelian.”
Born 209 BC in Ancyra, Cinderella and her husband, Artox, were transported by unknown forces to the 33rd century AD where she manages his cyber x-games career and operates a lucrative gambling ring.
Born 341 AD in Constantinople, Lysandra is a bartender at a 26th century themed karaoke bar in downtown Constantinople and a podcast host who interviews famous historical figures while they eat spicy turkey wings.
Born 470 AD in Augusta Suessionum, Nebia served as a handmaid to Queen Clotilde before her life took a dramatic turn. Encountered by a stranger from another dimension, she was awakened to her telekinetic powers and recruited for a war against alien cyborg overlords. Now, from behind a terminal screen in the dimly lit chambers of a futuristic cave stronghold, she manipulates the simulacrum of her past existence.
Born 398 AD in a herd of nomads, Fejjer was captured by slave traders and sold to a zombie hunting legion in sub-Saharan Africa where he met a dimension hopping drug dealer with carnal knowledge of his estranged sister, Takuka.
Born 2101 AD in Alexandria, Anubis is a street artist and tech scavenger who rebels against the Roman regime through his clever use of AR murals depicting the splendour of ancient Egypt. With his loyal cyborg dog Sobek by his side, Anubis fights for freedom while striving to preserve his heritage in a world overshadowed by Roman oppression. His art serves as a beacon of resistance.
Born 2072 AD in Limonum, Ysella is a pre-ludus art teacher who teaches the fundamentals of finger painting with the help of her hyperintelligent poodle, Pamala. But when class is over, Ysella leads a double life as a radical activist, hurling cans of paint at ancient monuments to protest against the Empire’s space-polluting fusion-powered rocket ships. Though her defiance may seem futile against the faceless, massive galactic Empire, Ysella persists, knowing that even the smallest splash of color can challenge the darkness.
Born 266 AD in Basel to dimension-hopping inventors from the 23rd century, Xylon learned from his mother how to make advanced weapons, and from his father how to use them. Now he travels across space and time in search of his next fight.
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© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
