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 25 BC in Tavium, Nyssa is a skilled seamstress and reveled in creating elaborate costumes for herself and others to wear at masked soirees. She was known for her ethereal beauty and her ability to transform into any character – past, present or future.
Born 2135 AD in Leptis Magna, Mordax ascended from a lowly sanitation supervisor to governor of Neo-Carthage, exploiting his addiction to vice and skill in political manipulation. Handpicked by cloned Emperor Caligula following a fabricated scandal to oust the previous governor, Mordax luxuriates in his power. Yet beneath the city, a cloned Hannibal leads a rebellion, threatening his opulent dominion.
Born 351 BC in Neapolis to wealthy landowners, Litasha is a clairvoyant who uses avian divination to search through time for her abducted sister, Alkaia.
Born 681 AD in Toletum, Willi was a monk entombed by invading Caliphate forces in the catacombs, where he discovered an interdimensional portal that led him to the early 21st century AD. Now he resides on Ebusus as a full-time raver and fervent PLUR warrior.
Born 88 BC in Philippopolis, Rhys was a slave who joined forces with Spartacus during the Third Servile War, but fled through an interdimensional portal at the Temple of Hera in Paestum to the 1980s AD where he became a roadie for the thrash metal band, Pontifex Maximus.
Born 181 AD in Adrianople, Groucho is a stand-up comedian and estranged brother of Emperor Maximinus who travels interdimensionally to lampoon political leaders in the public forum, only to disappear through a portal before he can be arrested.
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.
Born 383 AD in Toletum, Amala, the spoiled daughter of an affluent lord, is more interested in sticking it to the man than settling down with a man.
Born 125 AD in Emerita Augusta, Mads is an ancestor of Ferdinand Magellan and a former slave who, after being released from servitude on a Roman quinquereme, became an interdimensional explorer and the first ancient citizen to visit hedonistic late 20th century AD.
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 132 BC in Cirta, North Africa, Izara came from a tribe of futuristic warrior women who traveled through a dimensional portal in Egypt to change the course of history by tipping the balance against Gaius Marius and his Roman legion in the Jugurthine Wars.
Born 123 BC on the mystical isle of Læsø, Sigrid comes from an advanced tribe of wealthy salt barons with access to interdimensional travel. When not gallivanting through the future, she spends her time training champion ‘golden retriever’ canines on her remote, bucolic island paradise.
Born 179 BC in Sidon, Tanith was a merchant’s wife who escaped Carthage during the destruction by Cato the Elder by sneaking through an open interdimensional portal at the Temple of Melqart. To her chagrin, Tanith landed in the 22nd century benighted kingdom of Neo-Carthage where she keeps a low profile as a shopping mall retail clerk.
Born 375 AD in Alexandria, Anka was a temple guard and student of the mathematician Hypatia. Unable to prevent Hypatia’s murder by Christian zealots, Anka embarked on a pilgrimage through space and time seeking truth and justice.
Born 2175 AD in Alexandria, Aker is a clerical assistant at the Library of Alexandria Innovation Hub where researchers have developed the “Giza Glasses”, a groundbreaking AR technology that enables wearers to temporarily inhabit bodies across dimensions. Night after night, Aker sneaks into the library’s vault to use the glasses, immersing himself in the lives of ancient pharaohs to experience firsthand the splendor and challenges of divine rule.
Bookmark the RomanPunks Y.at page for quick access to all our links:
© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
