Introduction



Introduction

Each of the players is represented by a young Gaul who is just starting out in a certain unconquered and indomitable Gaulish Village. They are nephews and nieces of Vitalstatistix, Getafix, Fullyautomatix, Unhygienix, Cacofonix, Geriatrix, Asterix and Obelix (but not Dogmatix).

In this RPG the characters are young Gauls who aspire to become like their famous uncles. Each adventure normally begins with them being offered a chance to carry out a mission for Vitalstatistix the Chief, or Getafix the Druid. Occasionally adventures might come from other famous characters.

Initially these adventures will be close to home. Local towns, the Roman Encampments, the sacred woods and shores of their homeland are all ripe for low-level adventures. Later adventures will take them further afield. Such places as the wet shores of Brittania, the gloomy woods of Germania, the glory of Imperial Rome and the exotic River Nile all beckon to ambitious young Gauls.

Please note that there is almost no magic in this RPG. Only the Gaulish Magic Potion counts as magic, which is why so many people want its secret. Healing potions are a herbal restorative, not magic. There are various other narcotics and devices that may seem magic in their effect to the uneducated.

Attributes

Each character, including the Gauls, the Romans and various others, are described by a range of common attributes. These include:

|Strength; |This enhances your combat attack and damage; and determines your carrying capacity. |

|Vitality |This denotes; the maximum accumulated Ow!'s you can take before becoming unable or unwilling to continue (see |

| |section on combat); your speed and stamina; and how many jugs of wine you can drink before collapsing. |

|Wits |This enhances your knowledge and stealth skills. |

|Joie de vivre |This enhances your persuasion skills; and your chances with the opposite sex. |

|Luck |This represents your ability to survive the inevitable - by giving you so many re-rolls per day. Only Gauls have|

| |this attribute. |

New Gauls get fifteen points to distribute between the five attributes. Each attribute must be given one point and cannot be given more than five (initially - see Honour).

Professions

There are a number of professions open a to a young Gaul when he comes of age. Some of them are incredibly boring - such as becoming a Fishmonger or a Farmer, however a few allow a young Gaul to express himself in a more interesting way.

Each of these has a number of types of skill that are considered to be their professional skills (more on which later):

|Warrior | Close and Ranged Weapon skills are considered professional. |

|Druid | Knowledge and Persuasion skills are considered professional. |

|Bard | Bardic and Persuasion skills are considered professional. |

|Hunter | Stealth and Ranged Weapon skills are considered professional. |

|Noble | Persuasion and Mounted/Chariot Combat Skills are considered professional. |

Note that Druids, Bards and Hunters normally eschew the use of armour. They are not trained in its use and thus it is not as effective (you reduce the damage reduction given by the armour by one).

Honour

At the end of each adventure the young Gauls will return to the Village and relate their feats to their elders at the Great Feast. Here Getafix determines from the auguries (normally from the entrails of a roast boar) how much Honour they have accrued in the Village. Honour can then be traded for training to increase their attributes and skills. Basically your fellow villagers are giving you their time because they feel you have earned it.

• To increase an attribute by one point costs three Honour.

• To learn a new professional or common skill costs one Honour.

• To learn a skill from another profession costs three Honour.

• To become 'expert' in a skill (and gain a +1 to all rolls with that skill) costs two Honour.

• To master a skill that you are already expert in (and gain a +3 to all rolls with that skill) costs three Honour.

• For the princely sum of five Honour a Gaul can buy a Special Ability.

Special Abilities

These are unique abilities developed by the indomitable Gauls in their desperate fight for survival against Caesar and his Legions.

The Roundhouse: This allows the Gaul to punch each and every opponent in an adjacent square - so if they are totally surrounded this could be as many as eight unfortunate Legionaries. This is done instead of the character's normal attack and as such each attack is at a penalty of -1. Note that the Gaul must have one hand free to do this.

The Rubber Punch: This allows a Gaul to try and punch an opponent again after successfully punching them. There is no limit to the number of punches a Gaul can land in a round on an single opponent as long as he keeps hitting, and the opponent is able to continue - this cannot be combined with the Roundhouse. If the Gaul misses then the attacks cease. Note that the Gaul must have both hands free to do this. One hand grips the opponent firmly by the collar while the other metes out the punishment.

The Haymaker: Any time the Gaul causes an Paf! (see Combat below) with a punch, it automatically renders the victim unable to continue. Additionally the poor victim is lifted out of their shoes, drops their weapon and shield and their helmet flies off. Note that the Gaul must have one hand free to do this.

The Ballad of Cacofonix: Can only be chosen by a Bard. All people within earshot must make a Vitality roll or cease what they are doing and clamp their hands over their ears. The ballad last 1D6+Joie de vivre rounds. A Bard can only use this once per day. The Bard must be unengaged to do this.

Brew Healing Potion: A Druid taking a week to gather materials and work at a cauldron can make 1D6+Wits doses of Healing Potion.

Ululation of Teutatis: Any Gaul spending a round making this sound invigorates his fellows. For the next 1D6 rounds their Strength and Vitality is raised by one point each. A Gaul can only do this once per battle.

Epona's Whisper: A Gaul using this skill on a horse doubles its speed for 1D6+Joie de vivre minutes. A horse can only have this done to it once per day.

Bar-fighter: A Gaul who has had at least one jug of wine can use any improvised weapon as if it were a medium weapon.

Woodland Spirit: A Hunter who takes this ability can move unseen through woodland until he acts against his target.

Swirly Tattoos: A Gaul who fights naked increases his ability to distract his foes, reducing damage done by two.

Kit

Each new character will be equipped by his family with the best they have to spare for his adventures. This kit will be appropriate to the character's profession:

|Warrior | A helmet, a shield and a one-handed close combat weapon. |

|Druid | A staff and a sickle (this is a tool, not a weapon) |

|Bard | A lyre and a small weapon. |

|Hunter | A bow, a dozen arrows and a one-handed close combat weapon . |

|Noble | Light chainmail armour, a helmet and a one-handed close combat weapon |

In addition they will be given one dose each of Magic Potion and Healing Potion, and 4D6 Sesterces (Roman currency). This money may be used to buy extra kit from people like Fullyautomatix - the Village Smith and Armourer. They cannot buy extra potions.

They are assumed to have clothes suitable for their profession.

Fulliautomatix will charge the following, or accept suitable loot in barter:

Weapons.

|Dagger | 5 Sesterces |

|Sword | 20 Sesterces |

|One handed Spear |10 Sesterces |

|Axe | 8 Sesterces |

|Bow | 20 Sesterces |

|Arrows, per dozen | 3 Sesterces |

|Two handed Spear | 25 Sesterces |

|Two handed Axe | 20 Sesterces |

Clubs, slings and staves can be made for nothing by the character's themselves.

Armour.

Fulliautomatix can produce the following:

|Light Chainmail | 50 Sesterces |

|Gaulish Battle Chain | 150 Sesterces |

|Helmet | 30 Sesterces |

Additionally he can get his half-brother Semiautomatix, the Village leather worker, to produce:

|Thick Leather | 20 Sesterces |

|Shield | 10 Sesterces |

Generally most other kit must be bought from one of the nearby towns or perhaps from a Breton Tinker or Phoenician Trader.

The former occasionally visit the village with carts laden in domestic wares.

The latter set up a stall by their ship on the Village's beach. The Phoenicians often have quite exotic wares for sale including unusual weapons and armour. Phoenician Traders always stop at the Village if they are passing as it is the one place safe from Pirates along this coastline. They will also happily take on a few Gauls and let them work their passage.

The Village has only got a handful of horses and one old chariot (owned by Vitalstatistix). None of these are for sale.

Skills

All skills use a single D6 to determine success. If you are trained in a skill then you add the appropriate Attribute score to the dice roll. If you are just winging it (i.e. have no training) you only roll the D6 and pray to Teutatis.

If a character rolls a natural six on the die, he can then roll it again and add the resulting score to his six. If he rolls another six he gets to roll another die and so on.

Opposed skill rolls are where you are opposed by the direct or indirect actions of another. Each opposing character makes their skill roll and the highest wins. If the scores are tied one character can spend a point of Luck to tip the roll in his favour or both dice are re-rolled.

Unopposed skill rolls are where the character is up against the terrain, the elements, the gods or his own poor judgement. The character makes their skill roll and tries to beat a difficulty number determined by the GM. if the difficulty number would be less than six, or the minimum the character can score when rolling a one, the GM generally doesn't ask for a roll.

As a guide here are some example difficulty numbers:

|Easy | 7 |

|Difficult | 9 |

|Very difficult | 11 |

|Improbable | 13 |

|Impossible | 15 |

|Miraculous | 20 |

A new character can choose up to seven skills from his professional choices and the common list.

|Skill Type |Attribute |Skills |

|Combat Skills |Strength |Each weapon is an individual skill. |

|Knowledge |Wits |Druid Law, Herb Lore, Healing Lore, Latin, Greek |

|Persuasion |Wits |Bartering, Fast Talk, Rhetoric, Taunt |

|Bardic |Joie de vivre |Inspiring Song, Sarcasm, Epic Ballad, Enchanting Song, Love Poetry |

|Stealth |Wits |Stalk, Hide, Disguise Trail |

|Mounted/Chariot |Strength |Cavalry Fighter, Chariot Driver, Chariot Fighter, Flying Dismount |

|Common |Various |Climb (Str), Leap (Str), Swim (Str), Ride (Str), Carouse(Joie), Gamble (Wits), Lingua |

| | |Franca (Wits), Brawling (Str). |

Skill Descriptions

Druid Law [Unopposed]

The ability to resolve disputes between Gauls and get both of them to stop thumping each other long enough to shake hands.

Herb Lore [Unopposed]

The ability to find, identify, prepare, store and use useful herbs. It requires a sacred sickle. (see the appendix on Herbs)

Healing Lore [Unopposed]

The ability to restore at least some function to injured fellows.

Latin [Unopposed]

The ability to talk to Romans in their own tongue and to read their writings.

Greek [Unopposed]

The ability to talk to Greeks in their own tongue and to read their writings.

Bartering [Opposed]

An attempt to get a fair price from a merchant without thumping him.

Fast Talk [Opposed]

An attempt to persuade someone to do something they normally wouldn't.

Rhetoric [Opposed]

An attempt to persuade someone to agree with you. It can also change someone's opinion of you.

Taunt [Opposed]

The ability to encourage one or more opponents to attempt to close and beat holes out of you.

Inspiring Song [Unopposed]

Sung once in a battle it encourages your comrades to greater acts of derring do. They reduce damage done to them by one for the duration of the song.

Sarcasm [Opposed]

This can be used to demolish an opponent's reputation. They can oppose it if they have a Rhetoric, Fast Talk or Sarcasm skill of their own. If it succeeds the speaker reduces the opponent's effective Joie de vivre attribute to 1 for the rest of the day (and may provoke a fight).

Epic Ballad [Unopposed]

Spoken before a fight this inspires the Bard's comrades and adds one to their Luck for the duration of the fight. It takes a full minute to relate the ballad. If unused the temporary point of Luck fades away at the end of the fight.

Enchanting Song [Opposed]

Those who succumb to this bardic tactic are entranced by the Bard's song and will sit quietly and listen to it, ignoring most other distractions until the bard ceases singing. Attacking an enchanted person breaks the effect on everyone (stealing his horse or setting fire to his house counts as an attack).

Love Poetry [Opposed]

Used on the opposite sex this can be used to lure them into an amorous encounter.

Stalk [Opposed]

The ability to sneak up on an opponent unseen and unheard. It is opposed by the opponent's Spot or Listen skills whichever is more appropriate to the situation.

Hide [Opposed]

The ability to prevent oneself being found by an opponent who is searching for them. It is opposed by the opponent's Spot skill.

Disguise Trail [Opposed]

The ability to remove all traces of the passage of the Gaul and his comrades. It is opposed by the opponent's Spot skill.

Cavalry Fighter [Unopposed]

The ability to use weapons from a moving horse. Otherwise the Gaul suffers a penalty of -2 on attack rolls.

Chariot Driver [Unopposed]

The ability to control a chariot in a race or across a battlefield at speed. Failure can get messy.

Chariot Fighter [Unopposed]

The ability to use weapons from a moving chariot. Otherwise the Gaul suffers a penalty of -2 on attack rolls.

Flying Dismount [Unopposed]

The ability to be thrown off a horse or chariot (or your Shield-bearers) and land on their feet, whether deliberate or accidental. otherwise the Gaul will land in a heap and take one Ow!

Climb [Unopposed]

The ability to scale vertical surfaces like a squirrel.

Leap [Unopposed]

The ability to jump over gaps, ditches, prone opponents etc., like a goat.

Swim [Unopposed]

The ability to remain floating on and make progress through an area of deep water.

Ride [Unopposed]

The ability to remain in the saddle when proceeding at speed or over rough ground.

Spot [Opposed]

The ability to see that which is not immediately obvious. This can be opposed by others hide or stalk skills.

Listen [Opposed]

The ability to hear that which is not immediately obvious. This can be opposed by others stalk skills.

Carouse [Unopposed]

The ability to have, and help others have, a really good night out. A successful carouse can also attract members of the opposite sex and make friends you wish you hadn't in the cold, grey light of morning.

Gamble [Opposed]

The ability to break even in a game of chance - note that we do not say 'win'. The house always wins or it wouldn't be in business. Winning well against the House can be a dangerous pastime.

Lingua Franca [Unopposed]

The ability to make oneself understood to people of other nations by talking loudly and slowly and waving your hands about. Only basic information can be exchanged this way (i.e. Which way to the Forum? How much for the fish? A jug of wine and a boar please. How do you do?).

Brawling [Opposed]

This is a close combat skill. All Gauls like a good punch-up, even the women (and some would say, especially the women). A character with the Brawling skill can use his fists or an improvised weapon in close combat.

Combat

Special Note - Combat in the Indomitable RPG is entirely non-lethal. Fighting continues until one side or the other is unable or unwilling to continue. Foes that are downed can be beaten, robbed, interrogated, captured or simply allowed to crawl away. They are not killed. This is part of the Pax Gallica agreed between Vitalstatistix and Julius Caesar. To break this rule might initiate an immediate and costly real war between the two.

Most Roman Legionaries, from the four besieging camps, dread coming into contact with a Gaulish warband. If it were up to them they would simply hide and then slink away. However, there are always ambitious, officious or plain stupid Decurions, Centurions and Tribunes who think that the Gauls can be defeated and they drive their men into combat to get beaten again, and again and again. As a result most Legionaries will give up and flee once their officer or half the men in the patrol, Maniple, Cohort or Legion are out for the count. This may happen even sooner if Asterix or Obelix are identified as being amongst the marauding Gauls.

If the Romans beat the player characters they will either humiliate them, capture them or simply rob them - and perhaps all three. Experienced Roman Centurions generally do not like having captured Gauls in their encampments as it attracts all the worst sort of attention...

Initiative and movement.

Combat is fought in rounds of about twelve seconds in length. During this time there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, the throwing of insults, chairs, and various attempts to hit the opponents.

At the beginning of a fight all combatants roll initiative [1D6+Vitality]. They then act in that order, from highest to lowest for the rest of the fight or until they are unconscious. If a Gaul is tied with an opponent then the Gaul goes first. The GM may choose to roll just once for each distinct group of enemies.

On his initiative a character may:

• Move and then fight, or

• Fight and then move, or

• Use another skill and move, or vice versa, or

• Make a double move

A single move is measured in squares = Vitality x2. This called a character's speed. A character can move diagonally or straight, but cannot move through a square containing another person or an object or obstacle more than waist high.

Moving through a square adjacent to an opponent, who is already engaged in combat does not invoke an attack from them. However, if you wish to move through a square adjacent to an unengaged opponent, they may choose to engage you in combat. Make one attack and if the opponent wins he does damage and you are stopped there, your turn is over. If you win you may either do damage and end your turn there, or do no damage and continue your move. This can happen multiple times in a move.

Attacking an opponent.

To attack an opponent with a close combat weapon, a character must be in an adjacent square, and then makes an opposed skill check against his opponent. The winner causes damage to the loser, even if the winner is the character being attacked.

To fire a ranged weapon at an opponent there must be at least one empty square between the character and the target. The character must have an unimpeded line of sight to the victim and be inside the weapon's range. If a target is at least half-obscured by 'cover' then the following applies:

• Soft Cover [i.e. that which obscures vision but will not stop a missile] reduces the character's attack score by one.

• Hard Cover [i.e. that which obscures vision and may stop a missile] reduces the character's attack and damage scores by one.

If the target wins the opposed skill check he cannot cause damage to the firer.

Note that you cannot engage an opponent in close combat, nor defend yourself if attacked in close combat, with a bow, a sling or a ballistae. You can attack or defend yourself with a Pilum (though it counts a small weapon in close combat for the purposes of damage).

Damage.

Damage is measured in Ow!'s

The amount of damage caused by a successful blow equals 1D6 + Strength + Weapon Size. You get one Ow! for each three points or part thereof you score.

Three Ow!'s in one blow is a Paf! and can render an opponent immediately unable/unwilling to continue. They must roll equal to or less than their present Vitality on 1D6. If they fail they are out of the fight.

Accumulated Ow!'s will slowly reduce character's capability until they are unable/unwilling to continue. This is represented by temporarily reducing the character's Vitality attribute by one for each Ow! This will affect their movement speed.

Shields and armour can absorb damage from individual blows and thus reduce the number of Ow!’s generated by the blow

Weapon size.

Small weapons add nothing to the damage [dagger, ordinary punch, club, salmon, improvised weapon, dog bite etc]

Medium weapons add one to the damage [sword, one-handed spear, Gaulish punch, axe, pilum, bow, sling, staff, charging boar, kick from a horse]

Large and two handed weapons add three to the damage [two-handed axe/spear, ballistae, bear claws or bull horns]

Armour.

Armour reduces the damage from a blow before the number of Ow!'s are calculated.

Light armour stops one point of damage [thick leather, light chainmail]

Medium armour stops two points of damage [Legionary armour, Gaulish battle chain, German hide/fur armour]

Heavy armour stops three points of damage [Gladiator Myrmillo Armour]

Helmets stop one point of damage

Shields stop one point of damage [A character cannot use a shield if they are using a bow, sling or any two-handed weapon. A character with a shield who is damaged by a thrown Pilum may choose to throw their shield away instead of taking the damage - the primary purpose of Pila being to make shields useless]

Strangely, being completely naked (except for a wolfish grin) actually prevents a point of damage due to the opponent not knowing where to put their eyes.

Healing

If allowed to rest a character will recover one Ow! per hour. Rest means eating and sleeping, not marching, a little light fighting, or any other activity.

Characters who were unable/unwilling to continue can get up and begin to recover as soon as the fight is over. If they were on the losing side they generally crawl away to lick their wounds.

A character using the Healing Lore skill can double the rate of recovery for his resting comrades. This may be able to be increased further if they have the correct herbs and the Herb Lore skill.

A Healing Potion will restore a character to full health in one round, even characters who were unable/unwilling to continue. A character can take a potion themselves if they have one on their belt or are given one by a comrade.

Note that generally the only source of a Healing Potion is a Gaulish Druid. There are rumours that certain Greek and Phoenician physicians have developed their own versions of these.

Loot

The Gauls will acquire loot as they go along. Some of this they can sell or trade for better kit or various services during an adventure. Loot taken back to the Village finances the Great Feast at the end of each adventure, and if it is exceptionally generous may increase the Honour they receive as a result. All training in skills and special abilities in the Village costs only Honour, not money.

Every time they set out on a new adventure the characters will each have saved a number of Sesterces equal to 1D6 times their Wits attribute, unless the scenario dictates otherwise. They will also be given one Healing and one Magic Potion each by Getafix, unless the scenario dictates otherwise.

Appendix 1 - The Gods

The Gauls have a huge number of gods and spirits they revere. Other than the Solstice and Equinox festivals organised by the Druids, there is no formal religion as such. Each Gaul simply prays to whichever god or spirit he believes will help him at the time he needs it.

Most Gauls are very superstitious and often throw items of value, especially coins, into pools and fountains out of respect for the spirits. They are easily dismayed by 'bad omens' and Getafix spends much of his time dispelling these gloomy predictions of doom. Geriatrix, in particular, is a big one for omens and enjoys spreading bad news.

However, the Gaulish Gods do look kindly upon this last free Village in Gaul. This is why Getafix can make the Magic Potion, and why Gauls have a Luck Attribute.

Favoured gods include:

Teutatis - The god of the everlasting heavens. He is the one the Gauls believe stops the sky from falling on their heads. Vitalstatistix is a devout believer in Teutatis and has a phobia about the sky falling.

Epona - The goddess of horses. All riders and charioteers revere her.

Other nations' Gods:

Roman Gods are a vain and quarrelsome bunch, despite the best efforts of Jupiter. Most of their quarrelling is about whether to recognise Julius Caesar as a god in his lifetime, after his death, or even at all. They generally ignore the pleas of their followers (unless they are going to erect a really big temple in their honour).

The Greek Gods are the cousins of the Romans but are a distant and aloof bunch. They live on the top of the sacred Mount Olympus, where they interfere with the Greeks by inspiring heroes, seducing their women and sending down very cryptic oracular visions to mad old ladies. Their followers are few now as most Greeks seem more interested in secular philosophy and good eating. The exception being Bacchus who suits some Gauls very well.

The Egyptian Gods are exotic, highly specialised and generally very nasty. Each has its place in their pantheon and they never, ever change. The Pharaoh is considered a living God and as such has a very ordered yet luxurious existence. Real power lies with the priests.

The Germanic Gods tend to favour savage wars and plenty of sacrifices. Their main deity is Wotan, a bloody-minded deity with absolutely no redeeming features. Fortunately for their neighbours the Germans spend most of their time beating each other up in his name.

The Britannic Gods are basically the same as the Gaulish ones, with different names (and better manners). Britain has druids, though none know the secret of the Gaulish Magic Potion.

In any case most Gods take no direct actions upon earth, preferring instead to guide their priests and followers through visions and auguries. Most priests are pretty devout and work hard to meet their deities' demands. The exception is the Roman priesthood. These are often ambitious political appointees who use their sacred positions to advance their own careers rather than the needs of their Gods. The Vestal Virgins aren't...

Appendix 2 - Typical Enemies

The Humble Legionary.

These men signed up for twenty-five years, and now really wish they hadn't. Their main aim is to see their pensions.

If undirected Legionaries are lazy and cowardly. Under the direction of their Decurion or Centurion they can be moderately brave and really quite industrious. Threats of being fed to the lions or sent to the Eastern Front (the German Frontier) can normally get them moving.

- Strength; 3

- Vitality : 3

- Wits: 2

- Joie de vivre: 2

- Luck: 0 (as said above only Gauls have this attribute).

Combat Skills : Gladius, Pilum, Ballistae, Close Order Drill.

Knowledge: Latin, Construction.

Persuasion: Fast Talk.

Common: Climb, Leap, Swim, Ride, Carouse, Gamble, Brawling, A smattering of Gaulish

New Skills;

Close Order Drill [Unopposed]

Legionaries work best in tightly-packed formations. While in a solid formation they deduct two from any damage cause to them (but move at half speed). The key for the Gauls is to break into these formations.

Construction [Unopposed]

The ability of a group of Legionaries to throw up a camp, palisade, bridge, aqueduct, a set of Baths or an Insulae in double-quick time always amazes the Gauls. Legionaries actually like building because while they are building they are not fighting. Many are expert or even master builders.

The Ambitious Roman Officer.

Decurions, Centurions and Tribunes are generally here for two reasons:

1. To avoid service on the Eastern Front (though after a few months of dealing with the indomitable Gauls, a trip to the Teutoburgerwald looks quite attractive).

2. To further their political ambitions.

It is this last objective that gets their poor men in so much trouble time and again. Despite the Pax Gallica agreed between Julius Caesar and Vitalstatistix, every one of these officers realises the triumph that would be theirs if they could only rid their leader of these troublesome Gauls.

There are a strata of professional officers who have realised that their opportunity to rise any further has long gone. These are more like their Legionaries in that they are just trying to get to their pension alive. These men are used by the politically ambitious.

- Strength; 4

- Vitality : 4

- Wits: 3

- Joie de vivre: 3

- Luck: 0 (as said above only Gauls have this attribute).

Combat Skills : Gladius, Pilum, Ballistae, Close Order Drill.

Knowledge: Roman Law, Latin, Greek, Politics, Administration

Persuasion: Rhetoric

Mounted/Chariot: Cavalry Fighter

Common: Climb, Leap, Swim, Ride, Carouse, Gamble, Lingua Franca, Brawling

New Skills:

Roman Law [Unopposed]

The ability to resolve disputes between Roman Citizens or Legionaries and get both of them to stop thumping each other long enough to shake hands.

Politics [Unopposed]

The ability to judge the way the wind is blowing and further their ambitions, often by persuading simpler men to do their dirty work for them.

Administration [Unopposed]

Roman Officers often act as the project managers for the non-military work of the Legion and gain many useful (and often lucrative) skills and contacts.

The Roman Camps

The four camps are supposed to act as an effective cordon around the village of the indomitable Gauls. They are mandated with preventing these Gauls leaving, and thus keeping hope alive in the areas of Gaul now under the Pax Romana.

In effect they are little more than training gyms for the Gauls. All of Caesar’s effective fighting Legions are at the frontiers of the Empire driving back the barbarians. The ones around the village are the old lags, the garrison legions that no-one wants, and they know this. Not that most Legionaries mind, they are all for the quiet life. While the Gauls still have their magic potion these Legionaries know they are beaten.

This bugs the hell out of those officers who still harbour political ambitions though, and it is from these that the various hare-brained schemes to defeat the Gauls once and for all come from.

Each camp contains a mix of cohorts from various legions, and a few of auxilia - who provide the cavalry. The camps are well built and laid out in the classic Legionary pattern with the headquarters at the centre. Over the last few years the legionaries have tried to make themselves comfortable with the construction of baths and numerous tavernas. Unfortunately every few months an officer's clever scheme backfires and one or more camps are completely trashed by the Gauls. The Legionaries are used to this and actually seem to enjoy the reconstruction work.

Each camp maintains a schedule of patrols throughout its mandated zone of control. These are carried out by nervous maniples of Legionaries who tend to run for home if they see a shadow of a Gaul. As a result a regular, and virtually uninterrupted, trade goes on between the village and the local Romano-Gaulish towns.

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