GM Ukyo's Rise of a Hero campaign arc

Game Master Ukyo

He blushes a bit at that, then turns to the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming down here and greeting us. It means alot to see those you fight for appreciate your work. Caratos is the shining example of all that is honor and strength. We just needed to give a personal example to that pirate! We serve the Emporer of Caratos, but more importantly, we serve the people of Caratos through loyal service to him. I know these pirates have been a thorn in our work here, but we all work, tirelessly, to protect you from them, to learn how to defeat them. It seems like all others, they respond to strength tempered with blood and skill. Now that we know, we will keep fighting them, to make the waters here safe, and to keep you safe.
We will keep reminding these pirates that they will pay in blood for each Caratiosian they dare harm!

Long live Caratos! Long live the Emporer! Strength and Honor!"

As you begin to speak suddenly your voice booms, carrying across the entire crowd on magical sound runes so that even the farthest listener can hear you clearly..

As you finish your speech, the crowd erupts into cheers and clapping and a hundred thousand voices all at once! It's several minutes before things quiet down again and order is restored, the Lord's Major then steps forward, her voice booming just like yours, "Ok then, we all have work to do and this valiant crew, her captain and lord, need rest. So return to your posts and your assignments, by the grace of the gods and the glory of Caratos."

The people begin to disperse immediately, but it still takes half an hour to clear so many people.

The Lord's Major turns to you, her voice no longer booming, "Excellently done young man, now... lets go below for a bit and then we'll go see the Lord's Commander."

"Thank you, Ma'am" and he'll follow her below deck.

When you get below she sits in the captain's chair, "So, tell me about the battle, what happened..."

He leaves nothing out...

"Well, ma'am we were rounding a bend when the corw's nest reported 2 ships, one was flying Caratosian colors, the other a pirate. I had an aside with the Captain, and we decided to attack the pirate vessel so she could break away. We had intended to use hit and run tactics, using our believed superior speed, but we got too close and the mast was hit. We saw the Caratosian vessel get away, then we were boarded by the pirates, we fought them off...they were using enchanted iron weapons, much to thin, but they had great numbers. I fought on the deck with the men from the onset, and a larger man with enchanted gear appeared, and I called him out, we fought for a time, and he hit me hard enough to send me skipping accross the deck, but when I got up for more it gave him pause. He recalled his men, and warned me he'd kill me, were we to ever meet again. I told him I'd welcome such a fight, and to stay alive for our next meeting. The skiffs they came over in, glided throughthe water, and the speed in which their ship limped away on oars lent the Captain to believe they were all enchanted. None of them had identifiable runic markings, but they all...smelled...of enchantment.
After they left, I aided in triage and healing, till we put into port.
All in all, we lost a dozen or so men, but claimed twice that number ourselves."

the iron weapons you recovered were not enchanted in any way, and they didn't seem to have any enchanted properties, in fact the only one that did was the leader you fought, the skiffs and ship were enchanted though

She listens without interrupting, once you've finished she asks for details, "The man to your left, what was his name? How many men did he kill? What did he do once you were boarded?" She'll ask who the men that stood at your back were, she wants every detail you can give her and her mind is a steel trap, any inconsistencies she catches and clarifies. She'll keep you there for at least a couple hours, then she'll dismiss you and call in the captain.

As you step back on the deck you see a few crewmen and half a dozen men and women with tool belts on. The crewmen all stop and salute you, a new found respect in their demeanor.

He'll nod and return the salute. "Thank you all for the journey, it's been an honor to fight with you. Let's hope the return trip is a little less eventful." He says the last bit with a smirk.

Has he been cleared to deboard? If not he'll go clean his armor and weapons, and secure his belongings.
If he is, he'll go see the Doukas immediately, and retrieve his belongings later.

You are clear to disembark.

You won't make it off the docks however before people salute you... you'll practically walk with your fist on your breast as everyone that passes you salutes even when decorum says they don't need to!

You'll make it half way to the administrative building, passing grey and tan tents, when a private will run at you, your about to throw him when you realize it's your brother Remius, just as he hugs you!

He goes stiff as he realizes what he's doing and jumps back, saluting you, but he's grinning ear to ear and clearly holding back tears, "SIR!" and his voice cracks.

"Ha! At ease private. It's good to see you! How long have you been here?"

He grins from ear to ear, "About a day!"

"Were you on that ship that was attacked?"

He nods enthusiastically, "And you came and saved us, it was amazing, we watched from the deck, well I mean I couldn't really see anything but, I heard about it!"

"Well, I wasn't about to let my little brother get snatched up on his first tour, was I?"

"Which post have you been assigned to?"

He grins at your first comment, then shakes his head, "I don't know, it's been so crazy with what you did and all the officers trying to react to that..." he shrugs, "I haven't been assigned anywhere yet."

"Well I'm on my way to see the Doukas. So I don't want to keep him waiting. What unit are you with and who is your CO? I'll come find you when I'm done."

He nods, "I'm assigned to the 498th Infantry Regiment, my CO is Lord's Major Saternis Varinus, but I report to Corporal Hathos."

The administrative buildings are actually wooden now and look new, it's three separate buildings in the shape of a 'U' or will be when the third one is finished. The Caratosian flag flies in the center of the courtyard made by the buildings, with the Militia flag next it to slightly lower, and the Anesti family crest flag slightly lower next to that.

The center building of the U has half a dozen entrances that are all unmarked single doors. You pick one at random and step through into a long narrow hallway that runs the length of the building, there are twice as many doors on the opposite wall and the one directly in front of you is open and leads to an office, a Lord's Sergeant looks up from some paperwork on his desk as you poke your head in, not getting up he says, "Lost Lieutenant? Who're you looking for?"

"No sir, I'm reporting as ordered to the Doukas. Lt. Von Andronicus, Komis of Andronica."

He gestures towards your left, "War room Sir." then he goes back to whatever he was working on.

You turn left and go down the hall, past about four doors, you hear a large argument going on up ahead, as you get within 8 feet of the next door you hear a table overturn and the sound of office supplies and papers flying, several junior soldiers come scurrying out of the room looking afraid, they bolt past you without even seeing you. You hear the Doukas' voice for the first time, loud and full of command, "Lord's Major stand down!"

You stand in the door frame, the Doukas is standing in front of a chair, having just risen to his feet, his hand on his sword hilt. You see a tall sun elf in Lord's Major uniform, his sword half drawn, his face beat red! Across from him and the focus of his attention is a Lord's Captain, he's equally angry and has his hand on his own sword hilt. A large table is on it's side, separating the two men. Maps and figurines representing troop placements and movements lay scattered all over the floor.

They don't seem to have seen you yet.

He actually may have a look of disappointment on his face, but stands at attention, nonetheless.
After a moment, he'll announce himself.
"Lt. Titus Von Andronicus, reporting as ordered, sir."

The Lord's Major slams his blade back into it's sheath and glares at you, "What Lieutenant?" he snarls.

Before you can answer, the Doukas growls, "The both of you are dismissed, Von Andronicus come in." as the Lord's Captain starts to leave, he recognizes your name and nods to you respectfully and you can't help but notice all the ribbons on his battle battered breastplate, including multiple Heroic Combat Engagement (HCE) Awards and Combat Achievement Medals (CAM)... the metals are gone from beneith the ribbons. (When you activate the spell in an award the metal is used up in the casting)

After the Lord's Captain leaves, the Lord's Major declares in a self righteous tone, "I want him gone Von Anesti... Gone!" and he storms past you, trying to shoulder you as he does, you brace and he bounces off, causing one of his ribbons to tear a small hole in his dress uniform. It's a MAM, Militia Achievement Medal... earned for noncombat actions, often given to officers not capable on the front lines.

The Doukas sighs and stands, "Senior Sergeant, get some boys in here to clean this mess up" then he looks to you and smiles, "Well done lad, you saved damn near 250,000 men yesterday!" and there's no signs of the previous stress.

He smiles, as he's never seen the Doukas smile, and it's infectous.
"It's my honor to serve, M'Lord. We only did what was necessary. Xenon smiled on me, for when I arrived I learned my little brother Pvt. Remius Von Andronicus was on that ship...had we been a day earlier or later..." he shivers at the thought of losing everything he had gained to go rescue him, becasue he knows he would have.
"If I may ask, sir, have I been summoned here in a military capacity, or as your Komis, sir? Did that passionate display have anything to do with me?"

"Both, and no nothing to do with you at all, and both actually, though I expected to get some political push back on your promotion, after what you did it'd be political suicide if I DIDN'T promote you." he chuckles, "I'm not one for pomp and ceremony, and you don't strike me as the type either, but it boosts morale, so tomorrow there'll be an official award, but I signed the order this morning, your officially Lord's Captain Von Andronicus." He waits for your reaction before continuing...

He is clearly flabberghasted.
How many jumps in rank is that?

LOL it's the next rank after Lieutenant... granted you've held it just under a year when the standard is 3-4 years as a Lieutenant, but your not the fastest ever, though you may be the youngest or at least among the youngest, ever to hold the rank.

Lieutenant
Lord's Captain
Lord's Major (Most officers retire at this rank)
Lord's Commander (only about 8 of them)
All Lord's Commander (only 1)

Ok then, different reaction.
He nods. "Thank you, sir."

The junior soldiers return and begin putting the room back together, The Doukas gestures towards the door, "Lets walk and talk, get out of their way while they work." and he'll lead you out into the courtyard.

"While I don't generally question the internal decisions of my men, I must ask, do you think it's wise, having an orc as Dominus?"

"Yes, it is. Not to lecture you sir about the idea that is Caratos, but that's what we do. We don't conquer, we make everyone into good caratosians, sir. That gave them the chance, and Dominus Grush has proven they can act in th Komis' best interests, and contribute. He also provides great insight and intelligence on orcish society and tactics. They, under my senior seargent, have proven to be quick studies as warriors."

Earlier I said you saved 250,000 lives, upon thinking about it there's just no way there was that many, it's a zero too much, it was meant to be 25,000 lives, so ret-con that please

He listens without interrupting, when you finish he says, "I have fought orcs, and I have my reservations, but what you've done seems to be working. You've shown again and again sound judgement both militarily and administratively."

He continues, "Interesting that you should mention the Caratosian way..." he smiles, "It's also the Caratosian way to reward success. As I said I called you hear both for militia and political reasons. I'm assigning you more assets to expand your authority, 1000 slaves, 10 carpenters, 10 masons, 5 engineers, and the supporting staff for them. I want you to build a second, and then a third, Komis... Baron Von Andronicus."

He holds up a hand to stop your reply, "As Lord's Captain, you'll oversee the defense of the Andronica Barony, so you'll need more men. You have leave to take half a Cohort. You may also wish to increase your building efforts, to that effect I can't offer to give you more, but if you can pay their wages I can double what I've already arranged, I've already figured it up in case you are able, it'd be 50 silver per month." Finally he lowers his hand so you can speak.

A Team is 4 soldiers, there are two teams to a squad, there are 4-8 squads to a Centura, there are 4-8 Centura to a Cohort and 8 Cohorts to a Legion. Thereby a full Cohort is 512 soldiers

"Baron, sir? Well, I hope to acquit myself well. Two promotions in one day..."
He thinks a bit.
"I think I can afford to pay the extra staff, sir. While I'm here, i wanted to discuss some other projects I've been working on..."
He'll go over his hopes to start horse ranches, and also Xion's rune transfer box, and it's current stage of development.
"We have proven it can work...but greater distance requires more materials...it's expensive to test, but I think my engineer Xion Blackfoot will get it down to managable amounts with more testing. I envision a network of boxes, so information can be passed as close to realtime as possible...I'm sure you can instantly see the military benefits." He says the last bit with a smile.

The Doukas nods, "I'll put out that we want to capture some horses, when we do I'll send them your way. Then you train some of your men to use them and send them back to me. Maybe we'll find a way out of this supply mess."

In regards to the communications idea his eyes light up, "And you say it's working? How much does it cost?"

In case you've forgotten, it'll take about 100 gold crowns worth of enchantable brass per box

I told him it was expensive

"One enchantable brass bar per box."

He whistles, "Your not kidding," and he shakes his head, "Not much I can do for you there, that kind of funding I don't have to spare. But you build up the barony and you'll get there."

He leads you back into the office where the table is up and covered with maps of Salbatica, figurines representing units cover the map and disks representing combat engagements pepper the area as well. It looks nothing like the more traditional battles of the mainland. There's no clear lines that are enemy vs. friendly controlled lands. The enemy attacks behind the lines as often as they do in front of it.

"Well then," he picks up a document off his desk, "The 739th Salbatican Cohort, build it well." and he hands you the document.

"I will do my best, sir." and accepts the document.
"I will make the necessary appointments and promotions of my own for the Barony, and make it happen."
He looks over at the map on the table.
"How goes the war?"

He shakes his head, "We keep throwing resources at the problem and gain no ground." and he shrugs, "perhaps your horses will be able to change things. As for now, just worry about the task in front of you and let me worry about the bigger picture. You have plenty to do, I'll let you to it."

"Thank you, sir" he salutes.

at this point its on you to tell me what your doing.

Ok will post that when I gots time...

Well, first what you do is promote the Minotaur, who is celarly the best canidate for...oh wrong character...

Hippotus Magelos is getting a promotion to Komis. He will decide who among his vassals deserves, if any, to be promoted to hippotis.
I will look at the 2 or three best canidates for Komis out of the dominus I have left, and grant them hippotis titles, and let them start up fledgling komis after we divy up the land we've been given.
They will be assigned dominus at first...the weakest of my current will be split up amongst them all so thier "dragging down-ness" will be diluted, until they can be replaced, unless I don't have anymroe of them.
Derbin is getting promoted to LT an will be base commander of the fort and barracks that will be constructed in a strategic location.
Tertius is promoted to Senior seargent.
One thing I will do a bit differently is having tertius confer with Derbin to identify people capable of special forces, and create a "seal team" of sorts. He knows from experience that for some missions a talented small group can complete tasks larger scale forces can't.
While in port horus he will ask the captain to put out feelers for the kind of men he's looking for, from lt's on down: men that aren't necessarily set in their ways, and understand that all enemies are eventual civilians, and be ready to work with any race or creature to meet Caratos' goals. He will interview LT's first, pick them, then confer with them on choosing sergeants, and them let the sergeants pick thier corporals and privates. This needs to be done within a month or two, then we march back home.
he will of course be picking up his brother, and will lsiten to his input as far as the enlisted men go...

Ok, the only thing I wasn't expecting was promoting Derbin to LT instead of Lord's Sergeant...

You'll be at it about a week, it's slow going as your standards are high and the Lieutenants you've interviewed so far only one has seemed worthwhile. You'll be sitting with her and your brother in the bar tent having a drink while your brother tells you about this new girl he's decided he will marry.... someday... if her current mission doesn't get her killed... Her name is Cybii Von Andronicus... He tells you this story about how she was an orphan who had to pick a name when she joined the militia so she choose Andronicus because it was a dead name she said... then she asked for permission to keep the name and be part of the family, he granted it... She's SOOOO beautiful and smart and witty and fun and did he mention beautiful? She can sing and play music and she's a Sergeant in the Navy! (He whispers; and I think she's code 4!)

The LT, a broad faced dwarven woman from the Von Stonefoot family, just smiles indulgently at your brother, much as a mother might. She spent 15 years enlisted before putting on the LT brass studs. She's a no nonsense type of person, who believes that "discipline and effort grease the wheels, good judgement and innovation is the machine!" She drinks plenty but slow enough that she never shows even the slightest signs of intoxication.

As your sitting there you'll see the Lord's Captain you briefly met at the Doukas' office, he looks split between anger and depression, he's holding a beer mug but as you watch he doesn't drink from it. No one talks to him, though you'll see a handful of junior soldiers look concerned, though leave him be.

Ok yeah make that Lord's Sergeant, I didn't mean to skip a rank...

I'll have to recruit miss Von Andronicus...
He'll use her eye to help identify other LT's...

He'll look at the Lord's Captain up at the bar, then ask the new LT..
"What's his story?"

You brother says she's stationed out of port Argys.

She shrugs, a surprising lack of the typical dwarven accent to her voice, "He's a hero around here, I know that... never seen him sulk before though, just got back from the front lines," She snorts, "As if there WAS a front line in this war." and she sighs, "He refuses to play politics, and he offends his superiors, but he's a good soldier, this is all hearsay though, I haven't worked for him."

Meant the dwarf LT to help keep an eye out for new LTs...

"Well, I'm not known for subtlety..." He'll get up and go order a beer at the bar. He'll nod to the LC and say "Sir".

I thought you meant the dwarf LT.

The Lord's Captain looks up at you, glances at your shoulder, and nods, "If half of what I've heard is true, you earned that second bar on your shoulder, I'm just Xavier to you now..." he gestures towards the seat across from him, "Probably not wise of you to be seen with me, political suicide and all that."

Titus chuckles.

"Politics. I've never been very good at it. Probably why I spend my time with family, and other soldiers, not bureaucrats. But, I suppose since I'm both a Lord's Captain and a Baron now, I'll have to cope somehow." he says with a wry grin.

He snorts softly, "You do that and you'll end up like me, heading back to the mainland to the 235th." He sounds truly miserable, though his mug is still full and he doesn't sound as if he's been drinking at all.

You'll recognize the 235th, it's the unit that Derbin was assigned to when you found him in the capital, dealing with petty nobles and bureaucrats.

"Well, if I may be so bold, I am forming a new Cohort, at the Doukas' request to defend my new barony. If you've earned every one of those medals, as I suspect you have, I'd have a probelm wasting talent.
You'd have a place there, and you will have to fight and lead men. Let me know, and I'll see what I can do. My senior seargent came from the 235th, and I'd not wish that on any serious military man."

He gives you an incredulous look, "You think to take on the lord's major Von Thane?" he shakes his head, "You'd need eight balls in your pants to win that fight!"

"I have the Doukas asking me to form a cohort vs a lord's major with a personal grudge? I also happen to be the guy who's timely action just saved 25 thousand of our countrymen. Question is does he want to take me on. How bad did you piss him off?"