Merry Christmas, Legionnaires

 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2: 8-11 NIV) 

May Christ bless you on this most blessed day.

The Legion vs. the Lich

From the journal of Kentarch Elias Palatini, commander of the Chimera Legion on Chovoli Island.

The Legion received a plea for help from the neighboring island of Koryfogrammi. It seemed their capital, Epineio was under attack from an army of undead. Although not part of the Empire, we enjoyed good relations with the Koryfogrammoi. Things had quieted down on Chovoli, so I decided to send a detachment to assist.

Given the seriousness nature of the emergency, I led the expedition with my pentecontarch at my side.

Pentecontarch Basilius Akephalos Kydones

After a short voyage we arrived at Epineio. An army had already gathered and was preparing to move out. It had formed into two divisions. Our forces were split between the two. Basilius commanded the legionnaires in the first division while I led our troops in the second.

We marched toward the invading horde of undead. We rushed into battle and smashed into the zombies. But we discovered that they could withstand horrific wounds that would fell a normal man. We learned to strike mortal blows. Our troops were then able to drive deep into the enemy line. But then we were horrified to find that those zombies we had felled had returned to battle! The more we struck down and the further we penetrated, the more we found ourselves surrounded.

We then discovered that the enemy horde was led by what the Varangians call a lich - an undead necromancer.

"Kill the lich!" came the command. It was the only way to defeat our foe.

I lost track of Basilius, but I believe he led a force on the left flank. He destroyed scores of the abominations, but still they kept coming.

I led an attack on the right flank. We managed to cleave our way through the zombies. Lo, there before us was the lich!

"Charge!" I cried, and we rushed forth. We reached the lich, and I even managed to strike it with some powerful blows. However, I believe it had some magical protection, and survived my attack. Then undead reinforcements arrived and pushed my force back.

We continued to battle on the flank, but swarms of zombies prevented us from reaching the lich again. Yet it seems that we provided a useful diversion. Elsewhere, the allied army broke through and slayed the lich. Without its control, the zombies collapsed. Victory!

Game Notes

Last Sunday we drove up to Crest Haven, an Amtgard chapter in West Palm Beach, to participate in their coronation event. I used a Greek translation of their name for the name of the island and capital city:

• Koryfogrammi = Crest
• Epineio = Haven

The forces of Crest Haven battled a lich and his army of zombies. Players formed into two teams, with each taking taking turns as the undead army. Josh aka Lord GrRakt played the lich.

Robb and I made the trip up. We were split between the two teams. My narrative represents this by putting us in different divisions. Of course, we did not command any players, but in my imagination, we were at the head of our legionnaires.

I managed to reach the lich once and got in a couple of strikes. Amtgard liches have 4 points of armor, so it takes quite a few hits to kill one. I did not quite get enough hits. Fortunately, my teammates were able to break through and kill him. 

The good guys won both battles. Yay!

The Legion Allows No Bull

From the journal of Kentarch Elias Palatini, commander of the Chimera Legion on Chovoli Island.

We received the following report:

After many centuries of sleep, the great mountain at Chòvoli's center shuddered, shook, and reminded us all that it was still very much alive. From it's depths, a mouth to the Kòlasi opened and the great mountain vomited forth ancient horrors long imprisoned. Unnatural, fetid monsters whom desire revenge and human flesh to slake their fell hungers...

Shortly thereafter, we received reports that a bull-headed monster began to prey on one of the inland villages. I led a detachment of the Legion to investigate.

We tracked the monster to its lair in the mountains. The monster's cave was only accessible by a narrow entrance, so I sent in a scout. We only heard horrific screams. I sent in another scout. Moments later, he came back, bloodied and terrified. At the time, he could only stammer in fear. 

Later, he would report:

Hellish snarls and piercing screams echo off the walls of the cavern as you step foot into the labyrinthian corridors of the great mountain. The air is stale, thick with the cloying scent of decaying corpses and other unsavory smells. You hold your torches aloft, trying to see further into the unsettling darkness... it's almost as if the dark is trying to suffocate your light source. It grows warmer with every step. Soon, sweat cascades down your faces. The snarls soon become frenzied howls of delight, a final terrified scream acts as the crescendo to this macabre symphony & then silence...and there you see it. The Minotaur crouched over the corpse of an Imperial Scout, the man's intestines dangling from the creature's monstrous lips as it turns it's gaze toward you. Surrounded by half rotten corpses and the skeletal remains of it's previous victims, The Minotaur rises. A bloodied great axe clutched in it's hands. It roars and charges towards you!

Right, I thought. No time for fiddling around. Let's get to it.

"We're going in" I commanded. "Spread out if you can, swarm the beast, and slay it! Remember, we the Chimera Legion are brave as lions, fierce as dragons, and stubborn as goats. Let's go!

A little poetic license. I wish I had said that for real.

I charged into the den of evil, my soldiers behind me. I entered the cave and spotted the form of the Minotaur. It swung its great axe at me. I dodged, then charged in. The beast backpedaled, trying to get its axe into play. I pressed close, then swung. My finely honed blade struck, lopping off a horn. The creature bellowed in pain and rage, then struck me with a backhand blow of its powerful arm. It sent me flying into the cave wall. I slid to the cave floor, dazed.

My pentecontach Basilius  was next into the fray. The beast struck with its axe, sundering Basilius's shield. He lashed with his spathion but the blade did not penetrate the creature's thick hide. The axe swung around again, smashing into the pentecontarch's ribs. His armor saved him, but the blow was powerful enough to knock him senseless.

By now, the rest of the detachment had entered the cave. They ferociously swarmed the Minotaur, slashing and jabbing. The beast lay about with its axe, smashing shields to bits and cleaving into my brave warriors. But they gave back as good as they got, and soon blood was streaming freely from the beast. Still, it fought with a devilish fury.

Finally, one legionnaire named Xander ducked past the great axe and buried his blade deep into the Minotaur's side. The beast bellowed in pain and stumbled backward. Had the Legion defeated the Minotaur?

But no, the beast merely drew out the blade, and charged at Xander. As it did Legionnaire Xylo (Ashley roughly translated into Greek) lunged. Her blade sunk deep into its vitals. It faltered, dropped its axe, and collapsed to the ground.

We did it!

Our proud heroes "Xylo" and Xander with their spoils of war - the bull horns and its great axe.

Game Notes

Pardon the poetic license in the above account. We actually ran the scenario multiple times, and the account is an amalgam of multiple replays.

The Minotaur has heavy armor, can break shields in one strike, and has the equivalent of Amtgard's True Grit, which allows a dead character return to life.

Initially, we fought the Minotaur one-on-one. As the Minotaur, I killed the other three. Then Robb (Basilius) was the Minotaur against me. Once again, the Minotaur won. These one-on-one fights are represented by the tale of the scouts.

We then did 3 legionnaires vs. the Minotaur. First up, I fought the other 3. I managed to kill Basilius before Ashley and Xander swarmed and killed me. This battle is the inspiration for the account of the beast's death. Then Robb was the beast. Like the account, I charged the Minotaur. My strike knocked off Robb's horns. Unfortunately, it also knocked off his glasses. We paused at the moment to find his glasses. Then we decided to halt for the day. For the above account, I moved around events so it would make more narrative sense.

The two reports came from some fiction that Robb posted on our Facebook page.