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Roman Fort

LINE DEVELOPER Simon Powell

WRITING

Steven J. Black

EDITING Simon Powell

LAYOUT

Simon Powell

INTERIOR AND COVER ARTWORK Simon Powell

PRODUCT DIRECTOR

Simon Powell

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Steven J. Black

COPYRIGHT

This publication references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product. All referenced battlemaps are © DramaScape. DramaScape™ is a trademark of Simon Powell. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2013 Simon Powell. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the publishers. Permission to copy is granted for the Map Pages for personal use only. Internet: http://www.dramascape.net Contact: info@dramascape.net Facebook: www.facebook.com/dramascape Google +: https://plus.google.com/communities/102550450568 545190280

DSA0007- January 2015

Table of Contents Map Description ...................................................... 3

Using the Roman Fort .............................................. 3

Using the Roman Fort with our other products ...... 3

For the Honor of the Elephant ................................. 3

To Fell the Elephant ................................................. 4

Defenders of the Roman Fort .................................. 5

♠ Titus Varius, Roman Engineer ............................... 5

♠ Quintus Longinus, Roman Soldier ......................... 5

♠ Leonus the Lion Rider ........................................... 6

♠ Gallius Marcellus, Gaul Equitatus ......................... 6

Roman Artillerist ...................................................... 7

Roman Scorpions ..................................................... 7

Roman Milites (Soldiers) .......................................... 7

Barbarians Attacking the Roman Fort...................... 8

♠ Abelerd Falken, Chatti Commander ..................... 8

♠ Behrend Mauer, Chatti Warrior ........................... 8

♠ Adalwolfa Caedon, Cherusci Shaman ................... 9

♠ Galiena Holtz, Cherusci Scout ............................... 9

German Barbarian.................................................. 10

German Tracker ..................................................... 10

Sequels ................................................................... 10

Last Stand ............................................................... 10

Retribution ............................................................. 10

Reprisal .................................................................. 10

Divide and Conquer ............................................... 11

Character Cards ..................................................... 12

Map Layout ............................................................ 14

Map Overview ........................................................ 15

Printable Map ........................................................ 16

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Roman Fort

Map Description The terrain of the map is desert or barren as the result of the long siege on the fort has left the ground devoid of plant life. This makes the fort useful in desert conflicts such as during the Roman Parthian Wars in Armenia/Persia, the Punic Wars with Carthage in North Africa, and the Jewish revolts in Judea. However, the terrain can be explained as being devoid of plant life due to overgrazing and long sieges that have left it barren so that it can be of use in non-desert areas as well (such as most of Europe). The wooden walls of the fort act as an extended palisade with walkways all around the fortress. You can tell the fort has been under siege for a long time by the number of arrows and spears sticking out from the palisades and ballistae. These walkways are accessed by two ladders in the north and south walls and four ladders on the west and east walls. These palisades have higher battlements built into them accessed by wooden ladders for a better view of the battlefield. There are gates in the north and south walls. The placement of the ballistae within the fortress suggests attack from mostly the north and west making the north gate likely the main gate being attacked. The commander’s tent being situated in the south near the southern gate suggests the southern gate is a secondary gate for receiving supplies or conducting a retreat. The walls also have several guard towers behind the palisade, four next to the north wall, three next to the west and east walls, and two next to the southern gate. The inside of the fort has the aforementioned ballistae as well as tents and pavilions for the soldiers. The smaller red tents are for regular soldiers. The larger grey pavilions can be used for important services such as a mess hall, an armory, a storage area for other supplies like provisions and barrels of water, a field medic hospital, or a tent for officers. The circular red pavilion near the south gate is the commander’s tent. The two dark brown buildings near the south wall can be used for stables and a forge for blacksmiths to produce ammunition.

Using the Roman Fort The NPCs in this book were designed using Savage Worlds Deluxe from Pinnacle Entertainment Group and the Ultimate Roman Legions Guide from Mystical Throne Entertainment. Wild Cards are symbolized by the ♠ symbol. (M) denotes a Major Hindrance. (m) denotes a Minor Hindrance. These NPCs are designed so that the Player Characters can take control of either the Roman Legionnaires defending the fort or German Barbarians attempting to overrun the fort. The Game Master should feel free to change the NPCs herein to suit their campaign such as changing extras to wild cards and vice versa. Any mention of money is in denarii, silver coins of the Roman Empire. Feel free to change this to your Savage World setting’s fund type if different. The map, NPC flavor descriptions, and savage tales can all be used in any fantasy or historical setting without using the Savage World stats. Using the Roman Fort with our other products Our Western Keep has additional siege weapons such as catapults as extras that may be useful additions to the inside of the fort. Wagons Roll can be useful for wagons supplying the Roman Fort and horses for the Roman soldiers and German barbarians to ride. Our Forest Camp is an excellent location for the barbarians to ambush the group at night as they travel towards I Germanica with the elephant standard and our Wagon’s Roll plains path for the daytime chase. Our Saxon Village can be used as the German village being attacked in the sequel savage tale Reprisal. For the Honor of the Elephant The adventure Scout’s Service in the Ultimate Roman Legion’s Guide by Mystical Throne Entertainment can be run as a prequel to this adventure. Game Master’s may find the Saxon Village useful as a Chatti or Cherusci village and the

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additional Chatti and Cherusci NPCs in this book of use when running this adventure as a prequel. These raids into their territory anger both the Chatti and Cherusci Germans. Despite being bitter rivals for the same territory, the two clans decide to ally with each other and defeat the Romans in spring after the Roman incursions into their territory in the previous fall. The combined Chatti and Cherusci Germans beat V Alaudae back across the Danube River to their last bastion, a roman fort in Xanten, Germany. The Chatti siege the Roman fort on the western flank and the Cherusci on the northern flank. After a long siege, V Alaudae is on the brink of destruction, low on supplies and with even lower morale. Flavius Manlius feels some guilt about goading these German tribes in the previous fall campaign. He refuses to let V Alaudae’s elephant standard fall into these barbarians hands like the three Roman legions they had betrayed fifty years earlier. He feels the final German barbarian push is coming on the roman fort and he tasks the group to bring their standard to I Germanica, bring reinforcements, save them if possible, and avenge them if they cannot be saved. The group can play their own characters or use the four Roman wild cards in this book as pre-generated characters. Note that the Ultimate Roman Legion Guide also contains four additional Roman wild cards that may be of use as pre-generated characters. First Scene The group needs to fight their way through a full out German assault to escape the Roman Fort. We recommend at least 1 German Barbarian and 1 German Tracker per player character, with the addition of the wild card Behrend Mauer as their opposition when leaving the fort during the middle of this battle. This may even be an interesting time to use the rules for Mass Battles combat in Savage Worlds

Deluxe by running a mass battle combat round followed by a standard combat round with the results of both types of combats affecting the outcome of the battle as a whole. The Chatti and Cherusci have 10 tokens. V Alaudae has a mere 6 tokens, but a +1 bonus from their remaining siege weapons to the Knowledge (Battle) roll. The Roman forces use Flavius Manlius’ Knowledge (Battle) of d10. The German forces use Abelerd’s Knowledge (Battle) of d8. Second Scene The Germans also send a contingent of German trackers to ambush the standard bearers at night and prevent them from reaching I Germanica to plead for immediate reinforcement. We suggest our Forest Camp for this night ambush. We suggest two German trackers per player character for this encounter. Third Scene If they survive the encounter, our Wagon’s Roll plains path can be used for a daytime chase as they race to I Germanica ahead of the German trackers. For this scene, we suggest three German trackers per player character, with the addition of the wild card Galiena Holtz for this daytime chase as the finale. Game Masters can help the group out with several surprises such as artillery support from I Germania’s siege engines against the German trackers and sending Roman Milites on horseback to meet up with the group and turn back the German pursuers. To Fell the Elephant From a German perspective, the group can play their own characters or use the four German pre-generated characters with the goal of taking the Roman Fort in an all-out assault. After defeating V Alaudae, the group goes after the fleeing Roman survivors bearing the elephant standard before they can reach I Germania preventing them from knowing the fate of V Alaudae.

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Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6 Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Riding d6, Survival d6, Throwing d6 Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 9 (3); Toughness: 8 (2) Hindrances: Soldier for Life (M), Edges: Brawny, Shield Brother Gear: Gladius (Damage Str+d6), Pilum (Range 4/8/16, Damage Str+d6, Parry +1, Reach 1, breaks if

thrown), Pugio (Range 3/6/12, Damage Str+d4), 5 Plumbata attached to Scutum (Range 5/10/20, Damage Str+d4), Lorica Hamate (Armor +2, Torso), Imperial Helmet (Armor +3, Head), Scutum (Parry +2, Armor +4 vs. ranged shots that hit)

Notes: Most Roman Milites act as Infantry. Add a Horse, Riding from

Savage Worlds Deluxe for any acting as cavalry or scouts. Barbarians Attacking the Roman Fort ♠ Abelerd Falken, Chatti Commander Abelerd is a Chatti commander of many campaigns against the

Romans. His red hair is cropped short with a well-trimmed red goatee. He has brown eyes and a crooked

nose that appears bent from an old war wound.

Abelerd is a shrewd commander and his combined assault with

the Cherusci has nearly defeated V Alaudae. Abelerd wants the elephant standard as a trophy of his victory more than anything else. It’s a pity he will need to dispose of his Cherusci allies after the war is won and the elephant standard obtained…

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d4 Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1) Hindrances: Cautious (m), Greedy (M), Vengeful (m) Edges: Charismatic, Command, Command Presence, Natural Leader Gear: Axe (Damage Str+d6), Bow (Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6), Quiver (20 arrows), Leather Armor (Armor +1, Arms, Legs, Torso) ♠ Behrend Mauer, Chatti Warrior Behrend is a seasoned Chatti warrior of many campaigns. Although he is allowed to cut his long red hair and red beard and remove his iron ring after proving himself in battle last season, Behrend has chosen to remain unkempt. Behrend has said that one kill is not enough, that he is not a man until he has cleaved one hundred Romans in twain. He will not shave until then. His father and mother were slaughtered in Roman incursions into Chatti lands twenty years ago and he seeks revenge against them. Those who survive an encounter with Behrend describe him as a mountain of a man with green eyes with a gleam of madness to them and a large nose broken by many fights surrounded by a sea of red hair. Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8 Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Stealth d8, Survival d4, Throwing d8 Charisma: 0; Pace: 8+d10 Run; Parry: 6 (-1); Toughness: 7 (1) Hindrances: Illiterate (m), Vengeful (m), Vow (M: Kill 100 Romans to prove himself a real man) Edges: Berserk, Fleet-Footed, Frenzy, Sweep, Trademark Weapon (Great Axe) Gear: Great Axe (Damage Str+d10, Parry -1, 2 Hands), 2 Axe, Throwing (Range 3/6/12, Damage Str+d6), Leather Armor (Armor +1, Arms, Legs, Torso), iron ring

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Map Overview

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