Cults. Conspiracies. Poison. Stabbing. Blackmail. Seduction. Prophecies and rumors. Divine wrath — or possibly just bad weather.

It’s the eight hundred and twenty first year of the city of Rome, a year of bad omens and unrest. The Emperor is bloodthirsty and watches keenly for anyone who might be trying to overthrow him. The grain dole is running out and the people are going hungry. Romans are beginning to put their faith in foreign cults, as their old gods seem indifferent.

In this dangerous environment, Marcus is concerned with two things: his poetry, and keeping his patron Artus happy. But when Artus sends him to ask a secret question of an oracle, Marcus is forced to get involved, with conspiracies, politics, and a woman he is trying to forget.

Blood & Laurels is a new app using the Versu engine, which models character interactions and relationships. It moves away from the Austen-esque setting of our early Versu releases, and offers the player a high-stakes story in which it matters greatly how you treat other people and what opinions they form about you.

It's available now for the iPad, and our newly revamped website also contains a large helping of technical information for anyone who is interested in how such a system works behind the scenes.