ROME 3.5
"WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN" - Fun and Frolics in 5th Century Western Roman Empire
"World Turned Upside Down" (WTUD) is a 3.5 edition Dungeon and Dragons campaign set in the Western Roman Empire. It begins in Britain in May 409 AD.
"World Turned Upside Down" (WTUD) is a 3.5 edition Dungeon and Dragons campaign set in the Western Roman Empire. It begins in Britain in May 409 AD.
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The Setting
The Player Characters (PCs) start off as members of a Roman military unit (known as a Comitatenses) based in the city of Eboracum. Eboracum is the capital of the Roman Province Britannia Inferior and is a major Roman military centre consisting of a substantial stone fort with a sizeable attached civilian settlement. The PCs are specialist auxiliaries attached to a conventional military unit made up of a mix of infantry (medium infantry spearmen, skirmishers and archers) and cavalry. |
In 408 AD the Roman legion based in Eboracum (the 6th Legion) was ordered to Gaul to deal with a rebellious Governor. At the time it was expected that the Legion would soon return but a year later and it has not come back. The instructions from Rome are that the Romano-Britons in Eboracum are now responsible for their own defence. Roman garrisons elsewhere in Britain were also withdrawn in 408.
The military unit the PCs are in is made up of ex-legionaries/auxiliaries who settled in Eboracum with their families and local Britons. The troops are equipped with a mix of ex-Roman materiel and traditional British weapons/armour.
The military garrison at Eboracum is attempting to maintain the military units stationed on Hadrian's wall but this is becoming harder and harder due to the absence of sufficient numbers of trained troops. To make matters worse, barbarian raiders have recently stepped up their depredations.
Scots and Picts are raiding from the north while Saxon and Frankish pirates are raiding the coasts. All of these barbarians have evil humanoids in their raiding parties.
When the campaign begins the commander of the garrison (known as the Comes Britanniarum) an ex-Roman soldier named Trebellius Maximus has ordered the PCs plus a detachment of 10 mounted infantry and 10 mounted archers to go to Hadrian's wall and relieve the garrison at Fort Vitellus. Trebellius is concerned that no reports have been received from the garrison since November 408. He fears the worst. The fort is two days march from Eboracum.
The PCs start with basic equipment plus riding horses and 80gp. You can select any reasonable armour and weapons with the following caveats:
- Plate Armour is unknown
- Asiatic weapons are not allowed
- Crossbows do exist but are rare
The game is a departure from the usual D&D medieval setting. That means that some character classes (eg Paladins) operate a little differently. I'll let you know of any changes.
The Empire is multi-cultural and multi-racial. Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, Half Elves and Hobbits are accepted as equals and share Roman citizenship. Half Orcs are present in the Empire but are regarded with some suspicion due to their prevalence in Barbarian warbands. There is no discrimination against different ethnic groups and people of varied backgrounds can be found all over the Empire. Britain for example has a sizeable expatriate community of Africans, Spaniards, Syrians, Greeks, Italians, Germans and Gauls amongst others.
The Empire is very tolerant of religions. The official religion remains the Roman/Greek pantheon along with Emperor worship but many other faiths exist. Christianity exists but unlike the orthodox history it is not the official religion of the Empire.
As far as monsters and other nasties, the Empire is still managing to prevent Barbarians/Monsters running riot though raids are common. Monsters and Barbarians lurk beyond the borders of the Empire and, as the Roman state decays, are making more and more inroads. Principal enemies are:
- Germans (Alemanni, Saxons, Franks, Sueves, Burgundians & Goths)
- Scots (actually Irish)
- Picts (inhabitants of Scotland - eventually overrun by the Scots)
- Persians (known as Sassanids)
- Moors
- Vandals
- Huns
With the exception of the Sassanids who are a sophisticated Empire no less advanced than Rome itself, all of the enemies listed above freely associate with various humanoids, the commonest being orcs, goblins and hobgoblins.
The military unit the PCs are in is made up of ex-legionaries/auxiliaries who settled in Eboracum with their families and local Britons. The troops are equipped with a mix of ex-Roman materiel and traditional British weapons/armour.
The military garrison at Eboracum is attempting to maintain the military units stationed on Hadrian's wall but this is becoming harder and harder due to the absence of sufficient numbers of trained troops. To make matters worse, barbarian raiders have recently stepped up their depredations.
Scots and Picts are raiding from the north while Saxon and Frankish pirates are raiding the coasts. All of these barbarians have evil humanoids in their raiding parties.
When the campaign begins the commander of the garrison (known as the Comes Britanniarum) an ex-Roman soldier named Trebellius Maximus has ordered the PCs plus a detachment of 10 mounted infantry and 10 mounted archers to go to Hadrian's wall and relieve the garrison at Fort Vitellus. Trebellius is concerned that no reports have been received from the garrison since November 408. He fears the worst. The fort is two days march from Eboracum.
The PCs start with basic equipment plus riding horses and 80gp. You can select any reasonable armour and weapons with the following caveats:
- Plate Armour is unknown
- Asiatic weapons are not allowed
- Crossbows do exist but are rare
The game is a departure from the usual D&D medieval setting. That means that some character classes (eg Paladins) operate a little differently. I'll let you know of any changes.
The Empire is multi-cultural and multi-racial. Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, Half Elves and Hobbits are accepted as equals and share Roman citizenship. Half Orcs are present in the Empire but are regarded with some suspicion due to their prevalence in Barbarian warbands. There is no discrimination against different ethnic groups and people of varied backgrounds can be found all over the Empire. Britain for example has a sizeable expatriate community of Africans, Spaniards, Syrians, Greeks, Italians, Germans and Gauls amongst others.
The Empire is very tolerant of religions. The official religion remains the Roman/Greek pantheon along with Emperor worship but many other faiths exist. Christianity exists but unlike the orthodox history it is not the official religion of the Empire.
As far as monsters and other nasties, the Empire is still managing to prevent Barbarians/Monsters running riot though raids are common. Monsters and Barbarians lurk beyond the borders of the Empire and, as the Roman state decays, are making more and more inroads. Principal enemies are:
- Germans (Alemanni, Saxons, Franks, Sueves, Burgundians & Goths)
- Scots (actually Irish)
- Picts (inhabitants of Scotland - eventually overrun by the Scots)
- Persians (known as Sassanids)
- Moors
- Vandals
- Huns
With the exception of the Sassanids who are a sophisticated Empire no less advanced than Rome itself, all of the enemies listed above freely associate with various humanoids, the commonest being orcs, goblins and hobgoblins.
