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 129 BC in Sinope, Laodice is the sister of Mithridates the Great. To avoid being forced to marry her brother, she fled to an alternate dimension where she conspired with the Roman general Pompey to defeat and exact revenge on Mithridates.
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 in 158 AD in Lugdunum, Liv lived as a dancer assassin during the times of Marcus Aurelius, but was cast into an interdimensional speculum by a jealous Commodus. Transported to the 26th century, she flourished as a singer soldier who spearheaded a major troop recruitment campaign.
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.
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 in 137 BC in Aventicum, Margaux was the mischievous daughter of an eccentric Helvetian sundial craftsman who discovered a telekinesis device in her father’s possession which she purloined and used to dominate her enemies in the gladiator arena.
Born 288 AD, Scout was born to parents exiled to Britannia after their defeat by Probus in 278 AD. Having won multiple archery contests, she was captured by time traffickers from a Romanesque 20th century AD alternate dimension to compete as a shopping mall gladiator.
Born 2145 AD in Luxor-Thebes, Ram is a degenerate carnie who operates the “Daedalus Drop” carnival ride at the midway in the Neo-Carthage souk. This tower—a thrilling descent emulating the mythic fall of Icarus—has become a premier attraction under his management. Unbeknownst to Ram, a conspiracy is unfolding to sabotage his ride; nefarious actors intend to orchestrate a fatal malfunction to assassinate a prominent individual, placing him unwittingly at the heart of a dangerous plot.
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 141 AD in Rome, Acquilina is a loyal temple guard who is always on the lookout for her troublesome sister, Eleanora, who frequently sneaks through the interdimensional portal in search of a good party.
Born in 163 AD in Barcino, Rasmus, a common thief, was caught stealing and sentenced to fight as a gladiator against Emperor Commodus. Having no fighting experience, he was easily cut down, yet amazingly he survived and is believed to be blessed with magical healing powers.
Born 201 BC in Petra, Gamila was a servant of at the Temple of Dushara. One day she spoke a strange incantation which opened an interdimensional portal that transported her to a 28th century AD alternate dimension where she was forced to fight as a gladiator.
Born 213 BC in Rome, Cambria and her sister Ursula were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Cambria, who had a history of brawling in the streets in her youth, was installed by her patrician father as a military commander in a reserve unit to keep her busy and out of trouble.
Born in 130 BC in Cirta, Thyra was a battled hardened daughter of King Jugurtha who betrayed her benighted father to Sulla and later became the leader of a zombie-hunting cohort in Volubilis.
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.
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© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
