The Lost Legion!

[SHARK]

The Lost Legion

Greetings!

In my campaign, there is a Vallorean Legion that has been caught in a huge magical storm that has transported them to a remote continent, far from home. In this scenario, the players are in command of some 15,000 troops, and the enchanted environment prevents them from simply teleporting “home” as it were.J Now, the players are of epic levels, and very powerful. However, it is their responsibility to take care of this legion and their other followers and cohorts.

This force is about to encounter a huge foreign empire ruled by human/half elementals (water) that rule a large empire that is dominated by rainforests, (like those found in Peru). What kind of interactions do you think they would have, and what kind of hazards do you think they would have to endure? The empire of human/half-water elementals are Lawful Neutral in alignment, and very wealthy.

I appreciate your insights!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Methuslah]

Well, a lot would depend on the relative power levels of the legion and the empire - is this a Spanish Conquistadors vs. Aztecs situation? If it is even, then I suspect your group would try to sneak through the Empire, avoiding open confrontation - you PCs could then scout ahead looking for narrow wasy through - mountain passes, rivers, etc. Maybe try to start a slave revolt as a diversion, to cause enough general upheaval to allow the Legion to pass through unharmed.

If the Legion has the advantage, then fighting through is a possiblility, but conquest is also another one, especailly if the Empire is wealthy. In this case, the troops would want to grab as much gold as their could on their way through - maybe despite the orders of the PCs.

 

[LuYangShih]

The Paladins in the Vallorean Legion will detect a few citizens in the new Empire they encounter as evil, and kill them, which will result in the LN Empire seeking to utterly annhilate these invaders who are murdering innocent citizens. ;P

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

The rainforest will not have well travelled roads as the watery nature of the locals allow swift and natural travel through the local environs

Although a large empire, few large cities actually exist, the locals prefer to live in peaceful coexistence with nature rather than deface it for a traditional city atmosphere

The sheer resources required to support 15,000 people will be a problem. The Legion will be forced to forage and destroy local flora and fauna in a BIG way. I'm sure the locals won't like it and there will be some conflict.

They may employ guerrila tactics to guide the main force away from vulnerable positions while buying time to gather a unified effort of resistance - perhaps SUBTLY steering the Legion towards
a place ideal for a watery ambush of the gathered empires army

want more?

 

[Darklance]

Idea.

There was a historical fiction series by Harry Turtledove some time ago. The first in the series was called "Misplaced Legion" I believe.

Anyway, Turtledove is a Byzantine historian who firmly believes that the Roman legions were not replaced by their Calvary heavy counterparts because the legions were not working, simply because of citizen shortages, training time, and monetary expenses. It was much cheaper to hire pre trained mercenaries. The main problem with this however is that mercenaries are usually not very loyal, sometimes not especially well trained, and a few other shortfalls.

In the series, a Caesarian era scouting cohort is transferred from Gaul in a magical storm resulting from a druid enchantment. There they are enlisted as mercenaries in a empire much like that of the Byzantines. They go on to heavily impress the empire by their flexibility, loyalty, and downright effectiveness (being infantry).

They really show their effectiveness in facing a horde much like the Turks. It's Turtledove's way of saying that the legions are still effective.

Perhaps your empire can be one that has lost it's martial routes and now relies on mercenaries....I'm too lazy to finish this thought so I'll leave it to you.

 

[Polydamas]

Try reading Xenophon's Anabasis for some inspiration.

http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext98/anbss10.txt

 

[Leopold]

can i play in your game SHARK? Please! Once!!!

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

The real question is what sort of needs and fears the empire has.

If they are indeed a sophisticated and worldly empire with a great deal of wealth, they were probably develop a force backup option, but mostly work to integrate the legion into whatever defense system they have.

The first thing they will probably do is remove all the people from the legions path and try to make contact with them on an official level. Soon afterwards they will make certain to supply the legion with food and material on their terms and move the legion out to an area where it can be watched and exploited without expending too many of their resources.

Traditionally you would transport such a force across your empire to an area where it would be utterly dependent on you and in a very threatened/foriegn area.

That sort of dynamic is why some historians believe that the lost legions of Crassus ended up in Northern China on the Mongol frontier living in a Village that acquired a Roman style name.

 

[Darklance]

Yes but then they were enslaved so they didn't really have much choice in the matter.

 

[JoeGKushner]

A large part of what can happen is going to depend on the background of the current setting.

For example, is everone lawful neutral? Are there any evil sorts in politics who would try to use this new legion to carve it's own way into the empire? Perhaps weakenining the empire itself until this individual can step in to save the day?

Then there are outside forces. Was it really a freak storm that brought the legion here? Such accidents may have some type of guiding hand behind them. Can every member of the troop be accounted for? Are there any infilitrators from the homeland who insured that the group would wind up here?