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 in 261 AD in Olisipo, Dobiteina and her husband Arco are time slaves who toiled as resurrection gladiators in a distant time and place. After living thousands of lifetimes, they escaped and returned to the 3rd century AD where they triumphed with advanced tactics and equipment in the colosseum.
Born in 2251 AD in Nyssa, Zoron is a prodigal equestrian and degenerate gambler who lost his entire ancestral fortune on cyberchariot races. After failing to repay a loan, a shylock took his eyes as collateral and replaced them with a Giordi visor, which is programmed to shut off if he misses any future payments.
Born in 2169 AD in Syracusae, Zino was a logistics officer in Rome’s hellacious campaign against the Dacian vampire scourge. Now a pencil-necked attorney and accountant for the profligate Governor Mazar, Zino finds himself torn between helping his old comrades uncover the grisly murder of a cyborg pleasurebot and maintaining his precarious position in the baroque society of Neo-Carthage. The stakes are even higher as suspicions point towards his employer, forcing Zino to navigate a perilous path where loyalty and self-preservation are constantly at odds.
Bruno and his brother Bostar, bastard sons of Hasdrubal Barca, were exiled to fight in the gladiator pits of Parthia. They were saved by brother Hannibal, who traveled through an interdimensional portal to rescue them from eternal servitude.
Born 311 AD in Gordion, Alce volunteered to battle as an interdimensional gladiator in place of his half-witted brother, Alberic, who was caught stealing silverware. Now he fights in a shopping mall arena in a Romanesque 20th century AD.
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 2125 AD in Leptis Magna, Octimius is the North African legate to Rome, using his diplomatic status to smuggle rare artifacts, interdimensional tech, and military-grade cybernetics to the Empire’s extraterrestrial elite. A trusted ally of Neo-Carthage’s governor and the cyborg Emperor Caligula, Falco leverages bribes, blackmail, and insider deals to maintain his untouchable position. His operations fuel the dark underbelly of Roman society, making him indispensable—and untouchable—in the empire’s most dangerous circles.
Born in 201 AD in Valentia, Bern, a friend & guard of Emperor Severus Alexander, traveled through a dimensional portal to gain intel on German invaders, but was lost in time and the delay resulted in the assassination of Severus by his own troops.
Born 275 BC in Ancyra, as a child Dania was abducted by aliens and pressed into planetary defense service in a distant solar system.
Born 178 AD in Skara Brae, Fergus is a landed equestrian from a tranquil island paradise. He sprang into action upon learning of Severus and Caracalla’s invasion of Caledonia. Utilizing his extensive network of merchants, spies, and dimension hoppers, Fergus tainted a rack of lamb with a lethal COVID-XIX variant acquired from the Han Empire. This dish was served to Emperor Severus, leading to his premature death and the subsequent halt of the invasion.
Born 389 BC in Sparta, Sisko was an unfortunate Spartan warrior captured by time traffickers from a dystopian Romanesque 20th century AD alternate dimension to compete in a gladiator arena at a shopping mall.
Born in 131 BC in Jutland, Storm was a blacksmith in the disastrous war against the Roman forces of Gaius Marius. After their defeat, his wife, Oda, was enslaved as Marius’ concubine and he was cast into a dimensional portal to serve as a gladiator in a parallel universe of a Roman atomic age.
Born 121 BC in Jutland, Cindi was a defiant warrior captured and enslaved by Gaius Marius at the Battle of Vercellae. Refusing to submit to concubinage, she was dispatched to an atomic age alternate dimension where she toils as a scullery maid and comfortess in a high-altitude air cruise liner zeppelin.
Born in 105 AD in Rome, Damianus Sanga is second in command of the Lost Cohort, which disappeared on campaign in Caledonia. Sanga and his comrades were whisked to an alternate dimension where they were equipped with hi-tech weapons and armor by sympathetic local tribes seeking new allies.
Born 2174 AD in Saldae to a patrician Vandal family, Thora is the hotel concierge at the Atlanta Hotel in Neo-Carthage and the enduring wife of the bitter and crippled junkie veteran Wulfric. Thora possesses a quiet strength and a deep sense of loyalty, caught between her disapproval of Wulf’s dangerous extortion schemes and her unwavering support for him. As a result, she provides a stabilizing force and moral compass for her husband while longing for a more peaceful and stable life.
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romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
