@ChaosCircle Do we have an estimate on how many turns Eburacum will hold out without Arthur and Merlin there? If we manage to resolve the conflict with Novio-Calleva, would there be time to march north again to reinforce Eburacum?
If Arthur and Merlin are there, the rolls are biased in your favor so you would probably stalemate things until you run out of food in 3 turns.
If you just have the Legio Pendragon in Eburacum, and the rolls are better than average, you can hold out until you run out of food in 3 turns.
If Eburacum rolls badly enough (and it might, with its rolls reduced by +35 due to Merlin's absence), it could be crushed in a single turn without your Legion in support.
Novio-Calleva you basically have three options:
A) Be very aggressive, win an early victory and try to negotiate a peace. This can be accomplished in 2 turns. This would free up forces to march north but Eburacum's food supplies will be depleted and the Horde will have gained 10,000 more men.
B) Go for total domination of Novio-Calleva and try to swing a Novio/Calleva/Londinium/Dubris nation which would probably take you 4-6 turns depending on how aggressively you play your hand.
C) Stalemate Novio-Calleva and stall for time while you keep forces in the North. This will prolong the above options until Eburacum falls and your forces retreat South. Well, unless you roll well or badly.
Realistically, you can't save Eburacum you can only stall the Horde to buy time for you to consolidate power in the South in preparation for war with Warboss Skorcha.
Okay, so does anyone have any thoughts on what to do next?
We could aim to force a white peace with Novio-Calleva by repelling their assault on Dubris with one Legion, and then marching our troops north to reinforce Eburacum. However, that would still leave us exposed in the event that they renege and decide to launch a second attack against us. It would allow us to more effectively protect Eburacum, and either prolong or prevent its capture by the Orcs.
Alternatively, we could pull all our forces back, and abandon Eburacum, but close down the our southern flank by crushing Novio-Calleva. This would allow Eburacum to fall, strengthening the orcs and reducing their casualties, but it would also mean that we'd expand our powerbase considerably as well. There are some risks that this might hurt our reputation however, though this might be mitigated by the fact we'd be responding to aggression.
Edit:
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
Dubris has 6000 men, and with the benefit of walls, they are equal in strength to about 12000 men, matching the strength of the forces of Novio-Calleva. As such, I'm actually inclined to try risking an attack against Calleva. If it succeeds, then we'll get their reserves of 200 silver, and we should get their income of net 200 silver per turn, although there might be a turn of downtime for occupation. This would actually allow us to raise more troops, either to face them in the field, or to press the attack on Noviomagus itself. Moreover, if they lose Calleva, then they won't be able to support half their army.
While it does have its risks, it could also pay off very nicely. If they're forced to march their armies home, then quite clearly Dubris will be safe, and will be able to use their troops in battle alongside us as well.
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
I like this this choice. it is a bit of a risk but could allow us to build a power base up which we could then use later on for a counter attack against the orcs.
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
Could we possibly guide them to Londinium and increase our manpower, labor force, and the whatever skills the Lord of Eburacum and his court have? Or are they just fated to scattered to the other nearby cities looking for refuge?
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
Could we possibly guide them to Londinium and increase our manpower, labor force, and the whatever skills the Lord of Eburacum and his court have? Or are they just fated to scattered to the other nearby cities looking for refuge?
Could we try to convince them to abandon the city for now and retreat south so that they can guide their people and plan a possible counter-attack to take back the city with us?
Adhoc vote count started by ChaosCircle on Aug 3, 2019 at 3:39 PM, finished with 15 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
-[X][Martial] Construct Naval Cohort: While you possess two full Legions of well-trained soldiers, your merchants travel the coastlines of Europe entirely unprotected. While piracy is a minor problem, it is a problem. A navy won't pay for itself but it would certainly create military options that would otherwise be unavailable. With sufficient ships, you might even be able to transport entire Legions in a single voyage.
-[X][Intrigue] Gather Intelligence: Choose a city-state and hire spies to gather intelligence for you. It will provide a thorough accounting of their military and civilian situations. One might think a spy network would reduce the need for such focused intelligence gathering, but you'd be wrong. Invasions are too important to leave up to what random tidbits a network might acquire in the course of their regular operations.
-[X][Diplomacy] Trade with Dubris: They are in a vulnerable position and need all the friends they can get. In fact, they are willing to pay a little more to be certain of who their friends are. Why not take advantage of them? Obviously, this cannot be taken with invading Dubris and you probably should Pledge to Support them to guarantee your new trading partners sovereignty. No point in wasting an action on trade only to find that management has changed, eh?
-[X][Diplomacy] Pledge to support Dubris: Dubris's position is vulnerable after the Saxons raided them and a couple of its neighbors can easily conquer them because of it. With the support of your farmland and one of your Legions, you should be able to turn the tables on any attacker.
-[X] Send Arthur with the Legion to Eburacum: Arthur is one of the best generals in all of Britannia. It would be a shame for him to stay at home when his martial talents were needed on the battlefield. (+40 Martial, if you win the Martial roll you will gain +1 Martial. If you lose the Martial roll, you have a 5% chance of dying)
-[X] Send Merlin with the Legion to Eburacum: Merlin provides Pyromancy Battle Magic to support to One Legion. Requires you to take the Support Legion action. Provides +35 to Legion Rolls. There is a 5% chance of dying if you lose the Martial roll against Warboss Skorcha. However, without Merlin, you will be no match for Skorcha.
-[X][Martial] Send a Legion off to War (Eburacum): You have pledged to aid Eburacum against the onslaught of Warboss Skorcha and his horde. So, you have sent a well-supplied Legion to the North to defend them.
-[X][Sorcery] Support Legion: Maintaining the strategic enchantments of a major power is serious work and so is the work needed to support a military campaign. Normally, your advisor is available for one task or the other...but if you want to expend the resources to support him it is possible for him to do both. This allows a single sorcerer to maintain both your strategic enchantments and a single Legion in battle. Useful, if one does not want to pay for mercenaries.
Could we try to convince them to abandon the city for now and retreat south so that they can guide their people and plan a possible counter-attack to take back the city with us?
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
I am a little worried about the loss of reputation from abandoning Eburacum but a good point was made about the fact we will be responding to aggression and we will keeping an oath to protect them. I don't think we can effectively fight on two fronts and we aren't winning here anytime soon sadly. Better we keep one of our promises fully and attempted to have kept one but failed then to try to keep both of them and keep neither.
A) Be very aggressive, win an early victory and try to negotiate a peace. This can be accomplished in 2 turns. This would free up forces to march north but Eburacum's food supplies will be depleted and the Horde will have gained 10,000 more men.
B) Go for total domination of Novio-Calleva and try to swing a Novio/Calleva/Londinium/Dubris nation which would probably take you 4-6 turns depending on how aggressively you play your hand.
C) Stalemate Novio-Calleva and stall for time while you keep forces in the North. This will prolong the above options until Eburacum falls and your forces retreat South. Well, unless you roll well or badly.
Realistically, you can't save Eburacum you can only stall the Horde to buy time for you to consolidate power in the South in preparation for war with Warboss Skorcha.
I think if we want to go for the full annexation in the south then we want to leave the legion in Eburacum to buy time. Otherwise there seems to be a risk of Orcs rolling down to disrupt our dreams of full annexation.
I also think if we want full annexation then we're going to have to beat their army decisively. Trying to snipe their city will just lead to a negotiated peace of some kind.
So:
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
Keep fending off the Orcs for as long as possible so the dynamic duo can come South and take care of business. I feel all right about going all in as long as we have our main guys coming South to make sure we don't get tactical genius'ed out of the game.
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
Sorry, I'm a bit busy this week with family visiting so I'm just going to be behind. Unfortunate but life.
At people still voting, when I tally its kinda done but even if it wasn't it was 6-5 in favor of the one that won the original tally so I'll be sticking with that.
[X] Overwhelming force was the way to go. You lack your best commanders and it is better to throw the largest army you can at the problem, even if it creates the greatest risk of discovery in time for Novio-Calleva to call off their attack. You send 300 Silver Bars to support Dubris for the purposes of hiring mercenaries and send the Legio Britannia. Of course, this plan also leaves your capital vulnerable to attack should anyone seek to take advantage of your defenselessness. Defenselessness that might be discovered by Novio-Calleva spies who notice your preparations.
[X] Hold Eburacum but send Merlin and Arthur to relative safety in the South to support the coming conflict with Dubris.
[X] Withdraw your support from Eburacum. The city is a lost cause and with the Dubris situation, you need all your forces in the South. (Legio Pendragon, Merlin, and Arthur are available to assigned for Turn 3 to the Dubris situation. However, the Orcs will crush Eburacum relatively quickly compared to the other options.)
[X] Use this as an opportunity to stage a counter attack on Calleva. Dubris can hold off the enemy, 300 silver bars can buy enough mercenaries for your defense. Novio-Calleva will have only token garrisons in both of their cities. Calleva will be the furthest from their army and Novio-Calleva will have to maintain a force large enough to contain Dubris even if they move against the Legio Britannia immediately. This is a high risk, high reward option. You might capture Calleva or you might find yourself trapped between Calleva's walls and a larger army.
Dubris Conflict Update
Diplomacy, Rumors and Intelligence
Dubris and Eburacum Conflict Update
Turn 3
Dubris and Eburacum Conflict Update
Turn 3 Results
Dubris and Eburacum Conflict Update
You are His Majesty Arthur Pendragon and for the first time in your life you are running from a fight. The news from Londinium has forced your hand, you cannot let your home fall to defend Eburacum. That was just the cold reality of the situation.
Anger flowed through you at Novio-Calleva's opportunism, their cowardice to choose the moment when your forces were divided to strike. It was a cold-blooded, rational act. If they managed to defeat you in detail, they might be able to realistically win a war against you. You prayed that Albus Tiberius and Lord Remus were up to the task before them.
You and your men said your goodbyes to the Lord of Eburacum and your counterparts in their court. The stubborn fools would fight to defend their doomed city, optimistic that all of Britain would come to their aid against the orcs. After all, had Segontium not formed a Pact for this very purpose? Had you not come to their aid? There were reasons for their optimism, even if you disagreed with the odds of their hopes coming to fruition.
The truth was Eburacum's only hope was that you finished the war in the South quickly and returned before Eburacum was taken by the Warboss Skorcha. One could only hope that the Warboss would grow greedy and seek new conquests, satisfied with starving Eburacum into submission. Such an outcome would maximize the time you had to return and liberate the city from its would-be oppressor.
The news from the South was not encouraging, Albus had decided to march on Calleva in an attempt sever the head of the snake but Novio-Calleva spies had identified his plans before he could implement them. The First Calleva would reach Calleva in time to prevent his conquest, a conquest that would have ended the war decisively.
Thankfully, Albus had managed to hire the Order of the Shining Eagle to act as mercenaries to secure the city while he was gone. It was a compromise choice, given their tarnished reputation, but they knew better than to bring the ire of their sovereign down upon them. Suspect criminals given free reign was an unfortunate side effect of a war with few good options.
You are Legate Albus Tiberius, commander of the Legio Brittania, and your careful plans were for naught. The damnable Novio-Calleva and their spy network had discovered your plans in time to intercept you in the fields outside of Calleva although their time was poor. The Calleva Garrison remained behind the city walls, unable to reach the battlefield in time to make a difference. Small favors.
The Legio Brittania was arranged five men deep with the front of the force facing a similarly organized force in an open field. It was clear both commanders intended the simplest of tactics possible, to grind two armies into each other until one army lost hope and broke. It would be a bloody struggle but you would be damned if you were to allow the Novio-Calleva faction to simply waltz back into the safety of their city's walls. The bastards had started this war and you intended to finish it.
Carnage.
It was the only word that adequately described the brutal scene that unfolded before you. Wave after wave of men crashed against each other. They left bodies broken and bloody in their wake. In the end, the Legio Brittania's superior training prevailed. Inch by inch they pushed the infantry of Calleva back towards their city walls until the enemy broke and ran for the safety of the city's walls.
It was not a battle that poets would write about but it was a necessary one.
Afterwards, the Legio Brittania began to setup siegeworks to invest the city of Calleva and cut it off from supply. You hated that part of the job, the starving of a city's people, but it needed to be done. Calleva could not be allowed to stand after it launched its cowardly attack against fellow Britons while the Orcs marched! This bloody conflict would cut support to Eburacum when it needed it most!
Drust's spies reported that it would take about a year to truly strangle the city of Calleva. A year of conflict as the First Calleva would sally forth again and again in attempts to break the siege.
1D100+35 => 86 vs. 1D100+54 => 69 (Novio-Calleva is aware of your plans in time to react.) 1D100+35 => 39 vs. 1D100+35 => 94 (Albus Tiberius engages the First Calleva before they can reach the city.)
1D100+35 => 85 vs. 1D100+35 => 90 (Albus Tiberius hammers the First Calleva.)
1D100+35 => 87 vs. 1D100+35 => 128 (Albus Tiberius manages a decisive victory over the First Calleva and has cut Calleva's food supply lines.)
Legio Brittania gains +1 Veterancy from combat experience.
Londinium Losses:
Negligible losses; easily resupplied by reinforcements from Londinium.
Novio-Calleva Losses:
-500 Infantry
Novio-Calleva Order of Battle
Felix Africanus (Aeromancer) (+20 Sorcery)
Force Bonus: +15 Martial
Combat Roll: 1d100+35 (5000 man equivalent)
The First Calleva Infantry Division
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Commander: Felix Africanus
Supported By: Felix Africanus
Londinium Order of Battle
Albus Tiberius (+20 Martial)
Force Bonus: +15 Martial
Combat Roll: 1d100+35 (5000 man equivalent)
The Legio Britannia
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Mages: Hedge Wizards (Out of combat healing and minor non-combat boosts)
Commander: Albus Tiberius
No military man of Londinium was present at the battle but Drust's spies were present, as they would be at any major conflagration.
They reported it was more of a one-sided slaughter than a proper battle. The Dubris forces tried to sally forth from the city gates to break the siegeworks being erected around Dubris only to be crushed in minutes. If it wasn't for the fact that Londinium could supply Dubris by sea, she would be doomed.
The Dubris commanders intend to hold their forces within the city walls until relief arrives.
1D100+60 => 145 vs. 1D100+57 => 74 (Novio-Calleva successfully contains Dubris)
1D100+60 => 95 vs. 1D100+57 => 90 (Novio-Calleva successfully cuts supply lines to Dubris)
1D100+60 => 127 vs. 1D100+57 => 77 (Novio-Calleva is slowly starving the city of Dubris and her defenders)
Dubris Losses:
-600 Infantry from sallies.
Novio-Magus Losses:
Negligible losses; easily replaced by resupply from home.
Dubris Order of Battle
Lord Remus of Dubris (+25 Martial)
Valen of Dubris (+20 Sorcery, Necromancer)
Force Bonus: +12 Martial
Force Multiplier (x2): Safely behind the walls of Dubris.
Combat Roll: 1d100+57 (6,000 soldier equivalent)
The First Dubris Infantry Division
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (2)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Commander: Valen of Dubris
Mage Support: Valen of Dubris (+20 Sorcery, Necromancer)
The Second Dubris Archer Division
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (2)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 1000 (2 Cohorts)
Commander: Lord Remus of Dubris
Novio-Calleva Order of Battle
General Alexander Calleva (+25 Martial)
Revan of Noviomagus (Hydomancer) (+20 Sorcery)
Force Bonus: +15 Martial
Combat Roll: 1d100+60 (7,000 man equivalent)
The First Noviomagus Infantry Division
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Commander: Revan of Noviomagus
Supported by: Revan of Noviomagus
The Novio-Calleva Archer Division
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 2000 (4 Cohorts)
Commander: General Alexander Calleva
Action Success Tiers
DC +50 = Critical Success
Above DC = Success
DC to -5 Below DC = Partial Failure
-5 or more Below DC = Failure
-50 or more Below DC = Critical Blunder
Diplomatic Relations
Cataractonium: Hostile(-20)
Dubris: Friendly (27)
Lugdunensis: Friendly (10)
Moridunium: Friendly (10)
Most British Cities: Friendly (4)
Military Forces
Veterancy, Equipment, and Morale provide bonuses to Martial roles. Manpower advantages and disadvantages adjust the rolls accordingly.
The First Fleet
Veterancy: Green (0)
Equipment: Good (10)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 600 (1 Cohort, 3 Triremes)
Commander: Marcus Valeria
The Legio Pendragon
Veterancy: Blooded (1)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Mages: Hedge Wizards (Out of combat healing and minor non-combat boosts)
Commander: Arthur Pendragon
The Legio Britannia
Veterancy: Blooded (1)
Equipment: Average (5)
Morale: Strong (10)
Manpower: 5000 (10 Cohorts)
Mages: Hedge Wizards (Out of combat healing and minor non-combat boosts)
Commander: Albus Tiberius
Londinium
Revenue: +1000 Silver Bars / Season
Population: 100,000 (Max. 2 Legions) / Humans: 90%, Elves 8%, Orcs 2%
Stability: Very Stable (10)
Loyalty: Very Loyal (10)
Major Projects:
Watch Towers: Bandits are easily caught by regular patrols between towers and Londinium has plenty of time to prepare when faced with invasion.
City Walls: Londinium is protected by substantial fortifications which doubles the effective combat power of up to one Legion stationed in Londinium.
Traits:
Deteriorating Trade: Your wealth flows from a dying Empire whose deterioration will slowly strangle Londinium's economy. Every year, your silver income will drop by 50 until you hit -500 Silver Bars / Season. (40 Turns)
Jealous Neighbors: Your wealth is a double edged sword and your neighbors wish to take it from you. Anyone more powerful than you immediately declares war on you. You might think this ends when your trade revenue vanishes but you would be wrong about that. People will still believe they can bring the trade back.
Strategic Mods:
Diplomacy: +21
Martial: +42
Stewardship: +31
Intrigue: +54
Sorcery: +36 (+46 if related to Pyromancy)
Roman Traditions: You can raise proper Roman Legions from your populous city and Roman Legions are the best at what they do. This translates into a +10 to Martial rolls as long you are using a professional (rather than levied) army.
Genetic Traits: Elven Bloodline(80% Inheritable): Guarantees Major Lore / Sorcerer development options for heirs when inherited. Bookworm (50% Inheritable): +5 Sorcery and -5 Diplomacy. Gifted (50% Inheritable): +1 to all Stats Redhead (100% Inheritable): No stat modification Short (100% Inheritable): No stat modification Lithe (100% Inheritable): No stat modification Blue Eyes (100% Inheritable): No stat modification
Traits:
Sorceress: While she may not have the skill to practice a Major Lore, she is a sorceress in her own right and is as capable as any of your hedge wizards. ( Substantial assassination resistance due to your wife being able to cure poisons and other ailments. She is also more likely to notice the effects of such before a court physician would. )
Interracial Marriage: Elves and humans do not get along as well as they should and the net result is it will strain your marriage. This will lead to domestic and diplomatic complications depending on how racist the people you are dealing with are. It is not as bad as it would be in Moridunum, but it will be noticeable.
Council Merlin of Avalon
0/3 Wounds
Piety: 30
Sorcery: +25 (+10 if Pyromancy)
Mana: 2
Archmage of Pyromancy: Merlin has reached the pinnacle of the Pyromancer's Art and his skill with such magic is impressive (+5 to Pyromancy rolls). His specialty is the creation of fiery, enchanted weapons that literally melt metal armor and sets fire to those in leather. The value of such a power on the battlefield should not be underestimated.
Pyromancer (Dragonblooded): Merlin has a natural affinity to Fire Magic due to the fact that he is an eighth Dragon. This grants him access to the Lore of Pyromancy as well as a natural talent for its use. (+5 to Pyromancy)
Drust of Londinium
0/3 Wounds
Piety: 30
Intrigue: +23
Lovely Little Birds: A master of the honeypot, Drust's spies are mostly servants of the female persuasion. The passive intelligence he provides is on a scale no other can match. (+20 to Intrigue rolls against targets with the Lecherous trait.)
3.0 - Fall 410 CE, Diplomacy, Rumors, and Intelligence
Diplomacy Your Majesty Arthur Pendragon,
I am pleased to hear that you have honored my request and built powerful warships to help resolve the piracy problem that plagues the sea. Those damn Saxons are a menace to civilized society.
I have managed to scrape together a few ships of my own to assist with the anti-piracy patrols. Hopefully our combined efforts will be enough to put an end to the Saxon scum.
Governor Fabius Mercia of Lugdunensis
Action Locked: [Martial] Antipiracy Patrols: Now that you have a fleet, it is time to kill some pirates. This action will send your ships out along the coast of Gaul and Germania to hunt Saxon reavers.
Time: ?? Seasons, Reward: +1 Trade Route, Saxon raids on Brittania stop, +1 Reputation with all British cities.
Your Majesty Arthur Pendragon,
We are besieged by our mutual enemies from the Novio-Calleva alliance. We request that you dispatch one of your Legions to relieve us immediately. While your lieutenants have been able to supply us by sea in your absence, there is always the risk of Saxon intervention creating complications for us.
Lord Remus of Eburacum
[ ] Attack the Novio-Calleva's forces at Eburacum (Locks Legio Pendragon and Arthur to fighting in Dubris.)
[ ] Refuse. (No commitment. Some risk of supply lines being cut due to Saxon piracy/raids as your fleet is committed to anti-piracy activity and isn't convoying the supply ships.)
Rumors & Intelligence Western Empire
Honorious moves against the Visigoths: The Emperor has finally gathered an army large enough for him to feel comfortable in attacking the marauding Goths. After a month of skirmishes, the Goths foolishly gave the Emperor the decisive battle he was looking for and were soundly defeated. The Goths are retreating to northern Italy with Honorious in pursuit.
1D100 => 95
Constantine marches into Italy: The Co-Emperor Constantine has martialed the army he needed to crush the Goths. He has entered Northern Italy and is moving to trap the Goths between his army and Honorious's forces. The foreign king Alaric is trapped and is expected to be dead or captured by Winter. Of course, there is the question of whether Constantine and Honorious fight it out after that.
1D100 => 57
Vandals in the Mediteranean: The Vandal Reavers are marauding unopposed from Hispania to Egypt. They have disrupted the grain shipments to Italy and the major cities of Italy have been forced to rely on an ever shrinking supply of stored grain. It is feared that starvation will be a problem by Winter for the war ravaged heart of the Western Empire. Merchants are demanding Honorious take immediate action against the Vandals.
1D100 => 49
Saxon Reavers prowl the Sea: Seaborne trade in the Atlantic has begun to slow as Saxon pirates capture more ships with every passing day. Governor Fabius Mercia has launched three new ships to combat the threat but alone, he will fail. The Governors in Hispania have begun ship construction projects but delays in shipments of timber have slowed progress to a crawl. The Provinces of Gaul are also reporting villages are vanishing overnight, likely due to Saxon raids. Someone must do something and soon!
1D100 => 25
Raiders along the Rhine: Saxon reavers are raiding with impunity and hauling off women and silver in great quantities. Constatine's weakening of these defenses have left the local Governors scrambling to deploy their personal forces to fill the gaps. The situation is as bad but the raids seem on par with last season's assaults.
1D100 => 58
Tiberius Jovus the Usurper: A new contender for the throne of the Western Empire has risen in Hispania backed by unhappy merchants. His goal? To rebuild the naval power of the Empire to defend her seaborne trade. However, first the forces he has raised must defeat Constantine and Honorius. So, to that end, he marches on Italy.
1D100 => 22
Britain
Skorcha has met his match in Arthur Pendragon: The two fought to a stalemate in the lands north of Eburacum, despite the savages' advantage in numbers. The young king has shown himself an able commander even if he lacks the numbers to turn back the savage tide. This compares favorably to the "anti-foreign" Segontium Pact which stood by and did nothing while Eburacum tried valiantly to defend its lands.
Skorcha has committed to Eburacum: The Warboss Skorcha has his sights set on the northern city of Eburacum and its fall seems inevitable. Will the fractious southern cities band together to fight this menace? Or will he pick us off one by one? Only time will tell!
Viroconium has joined the Segontium Pact: The alliance has swelled to 25,000 fighting men with its newest addition. Will its magic be enough to counter the Horde's advantage in numbers? Will it continue to leave those outside its umbrella to their fates?
War in the South: The Novio-Calleva alliance has launched an attack on Dubris which has dragged the valiant Arthur's focus to the South. His pledge to protect Dubris has turned certain victory for Novio-Calleva to a roughly equal struggle. Much of Britain condemns Novio-Calleva's aggression, particularly as it has weakened Eburacum's defense!
Saxon raids Noviomagus: With Novio-Calleva's forces committed to war, the Saxons have found Noviomagus easy pickings. Their raid penetrated deep into the port city and they have ravished her. Warehouses emptied. Grain stores depleted. Men slaughtered. Women and children abducted as slaves! The Saxon menace must be stopped but it has certainly helped King Arthur Pendragon's side in the Southern war!
1D100 => 90
Segontium's Strange Stones: The mages of Segontium seem fascinated by the red jewels that fell from the sky. They have sequestered themselves in their homes and towers in some sort of project. It is unclear exactly what is happening but people report strange lights and unnatural sounds in the dead of night.
Whatever Segontium's mages have done, it seems to have progressed quickly as within a month strange ritual circles have been spotted near the major centers of magic. Each circle has had a red jewel at its center. The exact purpose of these circles is very much unknown.
Concerned priests have been seen visiting the Segontium's mages. However, when asked what the visits were about by Drust's agents, the priests just smile and reply, "Oh, just a new festival we are planning. I hope you will be there! The beer will be free!"
1D100 => 1
Dragons spotted!: The rumors of dragons have turned into a real problem. Drust's spies and reliable merchants have seen them dive down from the clouds to grab livestock in the fields that border the roads of Londinium. The damage so far seems minor enough but the farmers are clamoring for Arthur to hire some dragon hunters to deal with the problem. It is their livelihood at stake!
1D100 => 61
Something stalks our forests: Evidence of dark, satanic rituals have been confirmed by multiple reliable sources. These people have stumbled onto dismembered animals and other signs of witchcraft during the daytime. They also managed to report back before the sun had set. When asked for more details the next day, they seemed to have forgotten everything.
Drust sent his spies to watch for witches but they all returned empty handed. They were certain there were no witches in the woods, although they could not pinpoint a reason for that belief. Drust believes they have been bewitched and that the witches magic only works at night.
Farmers near the forests of Londinium have reported animals being torn apart in their fields by something unnatural. Cow limbs could be found hundreds of feet apart. Sheep were found torn to bloody shreds. There is no rational explanation except some unnatural beats now haunt the woods at night.
So far, at least, the problem seems relegated to farms within a few hundred feet of the forests' edge. Perhaps it will remain a minor annoyance?
1D100 => 37
Irish Raids: Minor raids by Irishmen have happened all along the western coast of Britain. Thankfully, the damage is spread over such a wide area that the impact on any individual village or city is negligible.
1D100 => 64
The Order of Saint Narcissus: The newest religious order in Londinium has been remarkably well behaved. There have been no real conflicts beyond other priests giving sermons against heresy with the obvious implications. The following of the Order has slowly grown and it is rumored that they can heal the sick. Perhaps they practice hedge sorcery? Regardless of the source, they seem harmless enough and will likely fade into the background of your bustling city.
1D100 => 79
The Order of the Shining Eagle: Drust's spies have confirmed that the Shining Eagle engages in criminal activity quite regularly. They have been demanding protection money from local merchants and burglarizing those that do not pay. This has led to people complaining to Drust about their losses and demanding that something is done.
However, it also seems confirmed that the Order of Shining Eagle is as skilled as Drust's people which means any act against them may lead to a long, shadowy war without a clear victory. You cannot simply march in the army and round them all up because you simply do not know who they all are.
Drust suggests recruiting them and funding them, he seems to think a bunch of criminals might be salvageable particularly given the extent of their counter-intelligence skills. The man may have a point but ultimately, they are going to keep stealing from your merchants. Can you really just tolerate such a problem long term?
1D100 => 7
Eburacum's Refugees: All of the Southern Cities find themselves housing refugees from the besieged city of Eburacum. Anyone with the will and the funds to escape the doomed city has fled South to start new lives. There are rumors that magical artifacts were looted and transported south as well, although no one knows what.
