Rel
Liquid Awesome
Oh, one other thing that's been bugging me is an error that I made when writing up the story. I'm not going to go back and correct it now because it is easily explained below:
When the party learned about the Emorian invasion of the Fodor Valley, the number of Legions invading was not two, but SIX. That puts the number of Imperial troops encamped near the mouth of the Fodor at more like 15,000 than 5,000. If this strikes you as overkill compared to the 500ish able bodied warriors among the whole of the Fodor Tribes then you're correct.
But that doesn't mean that Flavius is a fool by any stretch. First remembering that he has absolutely no clue that an army of Orcs is descending upon him then consider:
- He's been building up the military for some time and has the spare troops to mount this invasion and still keep a firm grip on the Sythian border.
- The fierce naval campaign that the Imperial Navy (returned to some of its historical might thanks to his own programs) has waged against the Corsairs of the Crescent Sea has made the trade lanes to the northern continent safer than they've been in a hundred years. Keeping his troops supplied will be easy and he'll be able to quickly ship home large quantities of slaves and raw materials (mostly furs but also high quality timber and medicinal herbs not found in Emor). Thus the invasion will pay for itself fairly quickly.
- His enemy in this invasion is comprised of troops who are highly skilled at living off the land, know it like the back of their hand and are used to using guerilla tactics to good effect. Trying to hold the Northlands with a smaller body of troops is just asking for some small garrison to get masacred by roving bands of barbarians.
- Even after the invasion is complete, he's going to have to withstand years of occupation with partisan attacks on patrols and such. Better to invade with a huge force that can destroy as many potential partisans in the first engagement as possible.
- A sound military victory that brings home lots of slaves with a small cost in the lives of his soldiers will make his confirmation at the next Emperor upon the death of his father a mere formality.
- He is not blind to the dangers of the Blackpeaks. He knows full well that they are rife with evil humanoids and that a thousand-strong army of Orcs invaded the Fodor Valley just last winter. He will need troops on hand to defend the area once it is his.
- Once the invasion is done, he'll want to shift some of these troops to re-occupy the towns of the Lost Northern Provinces (Notably Glynden and Aquae Sulis at this point) to encourage an influx of pioneers. Having the Empire spant the northern continent from the Dragon's Tail to the Blackpeaks puts a VAST amount of raw resources in his hands that will make his reign as Emperor the one where the Glory of the Empire is Reborn.
I will also note that the players widely regarded Flavius as a real bastard for launching this invasion. But that's not how I feel about him. Sure, he's opportunistic and ruthless for hitting the Fodor tribes while they're down. And he is unwittingly playing into the hands of the Banites (who he thinks are all but destroyed). But he is doing what he thinks is best for his people and stands to increase the holdings and security of the Empire by an enormous ammount with little risk (so he thinks). Unfortunately he doesn't have all the facts at hand that the PC's do and his "low risk invasion" is about to turn into a major debacle...
When the party learned about the Emorian invasion of the Fodor Valley, the number of Legions invading was not two, but SIX. That puts the number of Imperial troops encamped near the mouth of the Fodor at more like 15,000 than 5,000. If this strikes you as overkill compared to the 500ish able bodied warriors among the whole of the Fodor Tribes then you're correct.
But that doesn't mean that Flavius is a fool by any stretch. First remembering that he has absolutely no clue that an army of Orcs is descending upon him then consider:
- He's been building up the military for some time and has the spare troops to mount this invasion and still keep a firm grip on the Sythian border.
- The fierce naval campaign that the Imperial Navy (returned to some of its historical might thanks to his own programs) has waged against the Corsairs of the Crescent Sea has made the trade lanes to the northern continent safer than they've been in a hundred years. Keeping his troops supplied will be easy and he'll be able to quickly ship home large quantities of slaves and raw materials (mostly furs but also high quality timber and medicinal herbs not found in Emor). Thus the invasion will pay for itself fairly quickly.
- His enemy in this invasion is comprised of troops who are highly skilled at living off the land, know it like the back of their hand and are used to using guerilla tactics to good effect. Trying to hold the Northlands with a smaller body of troops is just asking for some small garrison to get masacred by roving bands of barbarians.
- Even after the invasion is complete, he's going to have to withstand years of occupation with partisan attacks on patrols and such. Better to invade with a huge force that can destroy as many potential partisans in the first engagement as possible.
- A sound military victory that brings home lots of slaves with a small cost in the lives of his soldiers will make his confirmation at the next Emperor upon the death of his father a mere formality.
- He is not blind to the dangers of the Blackpeaks. He knows full well that they are rife with evil humanoids and that a thousand-strong army of Orcs invaded the Fodor Valley just last winter. He will need troops on hand to defend the area once it is his.
- Once the invasion is done, he'll want to shift some of these troops to re-occupy the towns of the Lost Northern Provinces (Notably Glynden and Aquae Sulis at this point) to encourage an influx of pioneers. Having the Empire spant the northern continent from the Dragon's Tail to the Blackpeaks puts a VAST amount of raw resources in his hands that will make his reign as Emperor the one where the Glory of the Empire is Reborn.
I will also note that the players widely regarded Flavius as a real bastard for launching this invasion. But that's not how I feel about him. Sure, he's opportunistic and ruthless for hitting the Fodor tribes while they're down. And he is unwittingly playing into the hands of the Banites (who he thinks are all but destroyed). But he is doing what he thinks is best for his people and stands to increase the holdings and security of the Empire by an enormous ammount with little risk (so he thinks). Unfortunately he doesn't have all the facts at hand that the PC's do and his "low risk invasion" is about to turn into a major debacle...
