Following the formation of the Sky Guard and in the aftermath of the first few expeditions into the Warrens, it became clear that unspeakable dangers lurked in the deeps. Not wanting to constantly lose its finest warriors to the horrors found there, the leaders of Kalzasi instituted the formation of the Dead Legion. In the centuries since, it has ascended to a place of curious reverence in the culture of the city. Criminals who commit particularly heinous crimes are “consigned to serve in the Dead Legion”. The length of their service is determined on a case by case basis but is usually a decade if not longer. The Legionnaires hold no rank, no status in society, no rights or privileges. Their sole purpose is to be sent into the deeper reaches of the Warrens and to be pitted against the monstrosities that dwell there. This is most often a suicide mission. Each conscripted Legionnaire wears a collar that if need be, can incapacitate them if they get out of line and fail to obey the orders of the Sky Guards placed in charge of them. Sky Guards are only permitted to execute Legionnaires in the most extreme circumstances.
For as many low-lives as there are in the Legion, there are those who willfully consign themselves to the Legion. Whether this is because they want to test themselves against the creatures of the deep, because they feel they’ve lost their way, or because they simply see no other way of contributing to society, they are never turned away. These individuals do not typically wear the collars of their conscripted counterparts as their service is voluntary. They are, however, branded with the mark of the Legion. Legionnaires are not paid but they are fed, clothed, and given comfortable albeit basic housing by the Sky Guard. Because of the curious service that the Legionnaire’s provide, volunteers are viewed with a sad or melancholy reverence. While the conscripted are never allowed to wander away from Mistreach Keep when not in the Warrens, volunteers are free to come and go as they please on the condition that they must always answer a summons when issued.
Volunteers serve until the conclusion of their contracted service. Failure to honor the terms of their service will result in the voluntary status being converted to conscript. When roaming the city, those bearing the brand of the Dead Legion as a volunteer are often given tokens of thanks. Drinks in taverns are often paid for by observers. Meals are often gifted to them and rarely will a volunteer go without somewhere to lay their head to rest. These things are done in recognition of the fact that it is certain that the volunteer has essentially signed their own death warrant. This, coupled with choosing to keep the city and its territories safe from the monsters below is what the people are honoring. Volunteers serve a minimum of one year in the Legion. Most do not last to the conclusion of their service.
Among the conscripted, there have only ever been three conscripts to successfully see their sentence to completion. Two of them went on to become Sky Guards who then continued serving alongside the Legion. The third left Kalzasi for parts unknown.
To serve in or alongside the Dead Legion is to lead a grim life. It is not boastful. It is not prideful. Both the Legionnaires and the Sky Guards who fight alongside them are marked by the things they see and experience in a dark brotherhood.
Playing as a Legionnaire
Characters are more than welcome to join the ranks of the Dead Legion. However, a life lived in service as a Legionnaire is not an easy one. Few live more than a handful of years in their service. For the conscripted, it is a death sentence. For those who volunteer their service, it is harrowing and garners immeasurable respect among the citizens of both Kalzasi and the Sky Guard in particular. While conscripted have no skill requirements, they are viewed as cannon fodder for the beasts that lurk in the deepest regions of the Warrens, to be a volunteer requires a distinct level of skill. While the Sky Guard welcomes all volunteers, they will not mindlessly pit a willing soul against the horrors of the deeps and strongly recommend those stepping forward do so adequately prepared.
Legionnaire Recommended Skills
Melee Offensive Weapon (Close Ranged)- 25 XP
Fighting Skill (Unarmed Combat/Wrestling)- 25 XP
Defensive Weapon Skill (Shield/Bucklet etc.)- 25 XP
Ranged Weapon Skill (Shortbow/Crossbow etc.)- 25 XP
Survival- 25 XP
Navigation- 25 XP
Hunting- 25 XP
Tracking- 25 XP
Disclaimer: Players adopting the role of a Legionnaire do so at their own risk. Moderators have every right and authority to intercede if it is seen that the status of Legionnaire is being treated flippantly. The purpose and intent behind the Dead Legion is to lend gravity to the terrors faced within the Warrens. It is, at its core, a means of executing criminals while forcing them to still serve some purpose for the greater good of society. Additionally, the Sky Guards serving alongside Legionnaires are among the most skilled and elite in the entire guard. Ideas of trying to stage a revolt simply for the “edge” of it will be quickly quashed unless they are very carefully planned and executed.
Accommodations
Volunteer Wage (Basic)- 4 gp/day
Volunteer Wage (Intermediary)- 6 gp/day
Volunteer Wage (Advanced)- 9 gp/day
The life of a Legionnaire is not a glamorous one however there is a distinction between those living accommodations provided for convicts versus those afforded to volunteers. Convicts are provided no wages. They are housed in the inner most portion of Mistreach Keep, nearest to the entrance to the Yawning Chasm. The convicts of the Dead Legion are housed in open bay cells that are kept clean. A bath house is provided for them as well as a dining hall where all meals are served communally. Convicts are afforded a single locker within which they are allowed to store personal items. Convicts are not allowed to carry items that could be considered weaponry of any sort when not on assignment. Every convict is fitted for a pair of bracers that serves as the market for the Dead Legion as well as the shackles that keeps them from escaping. The bracers are the physical embodiment of their sentence as Legionnaires. The bracers are both a marker and a form of binding as they are enchanted to ensure that the convicts uphold the oath that they must take upon being sentenced to the Dead Legion. While within the walls of Mistreach Keep, convicts are not required to wear the bracers. Beyond the walls of Mistreach, they are made to wear them.
Volunteers to the Dead Legion find themselves in a somewhat different situation depending on the nature of their volunteerism. A volunteer who elects to join the Dead Legion and does so as self-imposed punishment for a crime they then confess to, will be given the same accommodations as a convict. A volunteer who is joining the Dead Legion simply out of a desire to do so is provided a private room with humble furnishings that, while simple, is well kept and comfortable. The rooms are located in a section not far from the open bay living quarters of the convicts but afford more privacy by far. These volunteers are free to come and go as they please. Volunteers to the Dead Legion receive a pair of bracers just like the convicts.
Daily Routine
Each Legionnaire is assigned a schedule that supplements the regular patrols performed by the Sky Guard. The Dead Legion are not always sent forth into the darkest deeps of the Warrens and several of them typically accompany various patrols across the city of Kalzasi and its territories. Legionnaire’s work in shifts of five days per week with at least two days off for rest or recreation where possible. Daily tasks include mining labor down in the mines of the First Deep of the Warrens, clearing out a pocket of monstrosities that is either impeding resource collection in the Warrens, preventing an incursion, or assisting in construction and fortification efforts. Teams of both Sky Guard and Legionnaire’s are summoned in the event of a breach.
For convicts, recreational activities are confined to Mistreach Keep. They are allowed to train and spar in the same areas where the Sky Guard are.
Legionnaire’s and Magic
Mages do not go without punishment for breaking the laws of Kalzasi. House Briathos and the Circle of Spells work alongside the battlemages of the Sky Guard to ensure that magic is guided properly within the city and its territories. Volunteers to the Dead Legion are free to use their magic however they see fit, so long as they continue to do no harm to Kalzasi and its citizens. Convicts are only permitted to perform feats of magic under the supervision of a Sky Guard battlemage or an approved official. Convict mages in the Dead Legion are outfitted with an abjinurium collar that prevents them from using their powers. It is only removed when necessary. Mage convicts will only ever be assigned to tasks in the presence of a Sky Guard battlemage or an approved official capable of properly monitoring them.
Rank and Structure
Officially, Legionnaires hold no rank in the hierarchy of Kalzasi’s military but those who have proven themselves are sometimes entrusted to lead other groups of Legionnaire’s where it is deemed wise. Volunteers to the Dead Legion who distinguish themselves in the face of the horrors that the Legionnaire’s must often battle are sometimes entrusted to lead others, including the Sky Guards assigned with them. These matters are considered on a case by case basis as needed by the unit commanders. Generally speaking, the Legionnaire’s are typically sent out in groups catered to handle the task they are assigned. As a rule of thumb, there are always at least two Sky Guards for every five Legionnaires. Members of the Dead Legion are never assigned with rookie guardsmen as only the most skilled and capable Sky Guards are entrusted with the task of overseeing and accompanying the Dead Legion on its missions.
