Reading Group--Caesar's Legion

[Maldur]

"whereas Caesar is like a young, hungry lion"

What age was Caesar at the time? It seems that he wasn't really young and inexperienced by then. He was angry it seems, eager to get this over with. I feel he wants to stop the civil war and take his (in his own eyes) rightful place as ruler of Rome.

In assigning D&D classes to Caesar, a large amount of levels Bard seem appropriate, as do levels of Aristocrat and/or Fighter.

I don’t think there is a place for paladins in the roman war-machine. Making your own (moral) decisions is not done. The "zum bevel" mentality, following orders completely and totaly, seems the norm. NO exeptions! Paladins is a more romantic view started in the late Middleages. Not from times where the brutality of the battlefield is the norm, iso the etiquete of the tourney-grounds.

The paladin is something from stories not from real-life!
( great stories, but just stories)

 

[mmadsen]

In assigning D&D classes to Caesar, a large amount of levels Bard seem appropriate, as do levels of Aristocrat and/or Fighter.

If we add some of the Bard's abilities (e.g. Inspire Courage) to the Aristocrat, I think we have a useful class that represents a talented leader of men.

 

[jgbrowning]

caeser class

not to rain on anyones parade but caeser would have no magical (supernatural) abilities. there wern't any.

you'd need to make skills a lot more important.

just my .002$

joe b.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Well, indeed, if we were to stat up Caesar for a non-fantastic, historical simulation game, then of course Caesar wouldn't have anything magical.

However, since we are playing D&D, and if we were to translate Caesar into a D&D world, there would be some justification for configuring magical properties and abilities. In addition, if one were to assume or be inspired by the various aspects of Roman mythology, then there is also ample room for justification of mystical properties or attributes. The Romans, after all, *believed* in the mystical and the magical. They believed that different people, especially emperors and great heroes, were blessed by the gods. It seems to me that Caesar could fall into either or both categories.

So, seeing that we are also discussing how Caesar's Legion might inspire or contribute to our D&D games, feel free to play with and speculate on a mystical Caesar appropriate for various D&D games.

mmadsen, that's some good ideas. Bard abilities combined with Aristocrat, and perhaps some Fighter levels would seem to work quite well.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[mmadsen]

Re: caeser class

not to rain on anyones parade but caeser would have no magical (supernatural) abilities.

There's a reason I didn't think the spellcasting Bard fit Caesar well, but, really, what D&D ability could possibly fit Caesar better than Inspire Courage? Certainly Inspire Courage doesn't have to be a supernatural ability.

 

[mmadsen]

If we add some of the Bard's abilities (e.g. Inspire Courage) to the Aristocrat, I think we have a useful class that represents a talented leader of men.

By the way, the Star Wars Noble basically does this -- as does the Rokugan Courtier.

 

[Maldur]

I wasn't really refering to the spellcasting bard, more the use of speech and retoric to inspire/lead/rally his troops.

So Im agreeing with you on this

That crummy "I did everything right but you messed up " speech was a major bad roll.

 

[mmadsen]

Just wiped that little town off the face of the map. No UN to complain to there. Oh, wait...Rome was the UN...ah, well, it certainly was a different time, then, wasn't it?

I'm sure there are many groups who feel the same way about the US and the UN.

It is interesting that in towns later encountered, they opened their gates, and cooperated with Caesar. Who says that being ruthless doesn't gain cooperation?

For ruthlessness to work, I think you have to convince your enemies that "that was a mere fraction of my power!" If, on the other hand, you mount a surprise attack against a powerful enemy, you're just going to fill the giant with a terrible resolve to crush you.

If you have a paladin order a town "Plundered" so that he can make an example of the town in order to achieve a greater strategic cooperation with nearby towns through the campaign, that isn't going to feel good, or very "chivalrous"--but then again, I have often argued that many of the philosophies that surround paladins are not the ideas of the original ruthless and noble, Knight-Templars, which paladins are clearly based off of...

You could easily run a campaign where Paladins resembled Mujahideen more than 1950's radio-drama cowboys or superheroes.

Such, it seems, where much of the philososphy comes from, rather from the real mud, slaughter, and difficult decisions that have to be made by everyone involved in ferocious war that is unchained in the real world, rather than the tournament world.

The Arthurian tales and their examples of chivalry were as much for the ladies of the court as for the knights.

What if there were Lawful Good paladins serving in such an army, where the army's supreme commander--in this case Caesar--gives the order for you--a junior commander, and a paladin--to "Plunder the city!" The men under your command--including you--are to rape, plunder, and slaughter the entire population. That's certainly a point of tension for a paladin, now isn't it?

I wouldn't expect a true Lawful Good Paladin to last long in any military.

 

[mmadsen]

The victorious troops drank the town dry, with, according to Appian, Caesar's German cavalrymen in particular ending up disgustingly drunk. Germans, in general, Appian remarked, had no head for drink, especially wine. A similar observation would be made by Tacitus a century later.

Oh, those Germans and their fire-water!

Seriously, does every culture decide that others can't handle their liquor? Or were the German barbarians at that time less accustomed to alcohol than the Romans?

 

[Maldur]

The german troops were probably accustomed to drinking low alcohol beer, so when you get your hands on good, strong wine and start drinking in the same tempo as you drink beer...

or the germans were just very roudy drunks instead of the disiplined drunkiness of the legions besides the german mercenairies probably didn't have the harsh disiplinairy measures when they showed up late at guard duty the next morning.
As a legionair you just could not get "really" drunk, your expected to perform at a certain level the next morning.