SUMERU & SEED — HOW HISTORY IS FORGED INTO CARDS
Design Philosophy
Valuing History: The Craft Behind Every Card
At Sumeru & Seed, we do not assign content by abstraction or balance-by-feel. Our guiding principle is simple:
Nothing in the Sumeru & Seed card universe is invented lightly. Every image, description, and value is the result of historical research, archaeological evidence, and scholarly debate.
Our cards are built through a collaborative process—drawing on the work of historians, archaeologists, and economic historians—supported by primary sources, academic references, and quantitative analysis.
What you see on each card is not speculation, but the outcome of research, discussion, and careful reconstruction. This principle applies to every card in the Sumeru & Seed card universe.
Designing a Historical City Card | Geography & Territory
A Historical City card is not a description of a place, but a structured model of how a city functioned within history. Every attribute on the card is derived from real historical constraints and translated into a consistent system.
Visual Representation of Rome
The artwork combines Rome at its imperial peak with elements that still exist today. The Colosseum is shown complete, representing its original form, while surviving walls appear in their present, partially ruined state. Unlike many ancient cities that have vanished, Rome endures, and its remaining structures continue to reflect a history that was never lost.
The Three Core Attributes
Defense — Physical Protection
Defense measures how difficult a city is to conquer. It is determined by the strength of fortifications, the materials used in construction, and the scale of the defensive system. Rome’s massive walls, advanced engineering, and durable materials such as tuff, travertine, and concrete place it among the most defensible cities of the ancient world, resulting in a Defense value of 9.
Endurance — Survival Over Time
Endurance measures how long a city survives through history. It is based on total lifespan, continuity of habitation, and the impact of destructive events such as sackings or burnings. Rome endured over 2,700 years of history, survived multiple invasions, and was never permanently abandoned, resulting in an Endurance value of 10.
Prosperity — Population & Economic Scale
Prosperity reflects the scale of a city at its peak and is primarily based on population. Larger populations indicate stronger economies, higher production, and greater administrative capacity. With a peak population exceeding one million, Rome was the largest city in the ancient world, resulting in a Prosperity value of 10.
Supporting Factors
Additional information on the card, such as garrison capacity, wall materials, and urban scale, does not form separate attributes but directly supports the three core values. Rome’s ability to sustain around 150,000 troops, for example, reinforces its high Defense and Endurance, rather than acting as an independent score.
Why These Values Matter Together
Each attribute represents a different dimension of civilization. Defense reflects how difficult a city is to conquer, Endurance reflects how long it survives, and Prosperity reflects how large and powerful it becomes. A city is strong only when these three interact. A rich city without defense is vulnerable, a fortified city without population cannot project power, and a large city without endurance cannot survive history.
From History to Card
The design process follows a consistent method. Historical data such as population, destruction events, and construction techniques is collected and verified, then normalized across civilizations so that cities like Rome, Chang’an, and Ctesiphon can be compared. This information is translated into structured attributes using consistent rules and ranges, and finally balanced within a unified system.
Design Philosophy
A Historical City card is not an artistic interpretation, but a structured translation of history into a playable system, where population becomes prosperity, time becomes endurance, and wall material becomes defense.
Designing a Military Unit Card | Armies & Warfare
An Example of How We Create an Iberian Cavalry Card：
The values on this card are derived from historical evidence, not abstract game balance. Each statistic is calculated from documented weapons, armor, unit scale, and battlefield performance.
- Attack (9) reflects the Iberian cavalry’s use of long spears and curved swords in aggressive flanking and wedge assaults, effective against exposed infantry but not designed for frontal shock.
- Defense (6) is limited by light to medium protection, small round shields, and loose formations, making the unit vulnerable in prolonged or head-on engagements.
- Speed (8) represents high battlefield mobility gained from light equipment and agile horses, allowing rapid maneuver, pursuit, and disengagement.
- Morale (7) is based on tribal resilience and persistent resistance against Rome, strong in short engagements but lacking the cohesion of fully professional armies.
- Unit Size (1,000 horsemen) reflects historically attested cavalry contingents—large enough for tactical impact, but insufficient for sustained independent operations.
- Armor Type (Medium Cavalry) accounts for Montefortino-style helmets and partial protection without full heavy cavalry equipment.
Together, these values form a unit that performs as it did historically: Drawn from Spain’s fierce hill tribes, the Iberian cavalry were well-armed, disciplined, and deadly. With curved swords and long spears, they drove into Roman flanks in loose wedge formations, resisting Rome relentlessly and fighting to the very end.
Designing a Commander Card | Historical Figures & Leadership
Designing an Artifact Card | Legend & Cultural Heritage
Roman Silver Skyphos
1. Starting from Ancient Sources, Not Modern Assumptions
Our valuation begins with a primary ancient reference:
Emperor Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices (301 CE), one of the most detailed economic documents to survive from antiquity. The edict is used here as a late-imperial silver benchmark, not as a direct price reference for the late Republic.
The edict records: Silver, pure, in bars or coins – 6,000 denarii for approximately 300 grams.
This establishes an official late-imperial benchmark of material value:
about 20 denarii per gram of pure silver.
2. Accounting for Monetary Debasement
The Roman denarius was not a stable unit across time.
- Early Imperial denarius: ~3.9 g of silver
- Late Imperial denarius: largely nominal
Using the edict’s silver benchmark, we can calculate that the denarius had lost roughly 98–99% of its original silver content, representing a ~78× debasement relative to the early standard. 6000d x 3.9g / 300g=78
This step allows us to translate raw metal weight into real purchasing power, rather than misleading face value.
3. Verifying the Artifact Itself
The card is based on a documented 1st century BCE Roman silver skyphos, with a recorded weight of approximately 327 grams, supported by archaeological parallels and a verified Christie’s auction record：
A Roman parcel-gilt silver skyphos, dating to the late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE, measuring 10.8 cm in height and weighing 327.2 g, sold at Christie’s in 2004 for USD 623,500.
Converted purely by silver content and adjusted for debasement, this yields:
≈ 83 denarii in raw material value.
But this number is only the beginning, not the conclusion.
4. Why Raw Silver Is Not the Final Value
No Roman elite purchased a luxury vessel as bullion.
A silver skyphos of this quality required:
- Highly trained silversmiths
- Specialized urban workshops
- Repoussé and relief decoration
- Polishing, finishing, and quality control
In Roman wage terms:
- A common laborer earned roughly 1 denarius per day
- A skilled artisan earned 2–4 denarii per day, often more for elite commissions
Such a vessel would require weeks of skilled labor, meaning labor and workshop costs alone could match or exceed the value of the silver itself.
5. Craftsmanship and Social Premium
Roman luxury silverware functioned as:
- Banquet display objects
- Status symbols
- Markers of elite identity
Historical evidence consistently shows that finished luxury goods commanded multiples of their raw material cost, reflecting:
- Scarcity of skilled craftsmanship
- Commission-based production
- Social prestige attached to ownership
This premium was not speculative—it was structural to Roman elite culture.
6. The Final Standardized Value
Combining:
- Raw silver content (~83 denarii)
- Skilled labor wages (~40 denarii)
- Workshop overhead (~20 denarii)
- Craftsmanship and status premium (~20 denarii)
- Merchant Margin (~30 denarii)
The Roman Silver Skyphos is therefore standardized on the card at:
Ancient Value: ~200 denarii
This figure represents total economic cost, not bullion equivalence.
7. Cross-Cultural Balance
To allow meaningful comparison across civilizations, values are also expressed using a neutral interregional unit:
Imperium Trade Value：200 denarii ≈ 20 tael Silver ≈ 2 tael gold
Under this system, 1 denarius ≈ 3.9 g of silver, 10 denarii equal 1 tael of silver, and 10 taels of silver equal 1 tael of gold.
This ensures Roman, Han, Parthian, and steppe economies are compared on material reality, not nominal coinage.