d20 RPG Objects Legends of the Ancients - Macedon.pdf - RPG Objects - R5700

Charles Rice

Additional Design By

Paul King

Cover Artwork

Jeremy Simmons

INterior Artwork

Joseph Wigfield

Layout

Chris Davis

Play Testing

Ed Lennon, Corey Hodges, Paula

Rice, Ethan Ripplinger, Ryan Kelley,

Jay Fitzloff, Chris Hoover, Aaron

Wiggins.

www . RPGObjects . com

The ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are Trademarks

owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to

the terms of the d20 System License version 1.0a. A copy

of this License can be found at www.wizards.com. Portions

of this work are derived from the d20 System Reference

Document.

Macedon

Introduction

If you have no desire for a historical game, your

game taking place in a ﬁctional world of your own

design (or one of the many ﬁne published products

on the market) then the crunch and high-level NPCs

in Legends of the Ancients can still serve you.

Perhaps the PCs will travel to a distant land that

bears a striking resemblance to historic Carthage or

Macedon. In this case the game master can use the

timeline presented here and change the names of

well-known historical personages. He can also use

the new core class to represent the essential nature

of that country’s “edge”. The NPCs and NPC table

for the new core class provide a ready-made source

for encounter material when dealing with this new

nation.

If you do wish to run a historical campaign, then

some of the legwork has been done for you. The

timeline can serve as a handy reference source,

especially for players wishing to be from that area.

For the gamemaster, the timeline, core class and

NPCs serve as time savers, giving him a head start

for very little money.

To sum up, it is my hope that you will ﬁnd this

book worth the price you paid for it. While by no

means sufﬁcient to set a campaign in Macedon or

play out the events of the life of Alexander the Great,

it does provide the game master seeking to run such

a campaign a head start as well as being sufﬁcient to

allow Macedon to make an occasional appearance as

a minor player in a historical campaign.

India and Persia since the Stone Age and Chinese

military treatises as old as 2,637 BCE mention the

uses of mounted soldiers to protect the vulnerable

ﬂanks of an army.

Likewise in the Middle East the use of the horse

was well known and is mentioned in the Book of

Job. In later times the horse was used by the armies

of Persia and Greece, two military powers of the

ancient world who fought numerous wars against one

another. These soldiers lacked stirrups and saddles

but had access to the bridle and bit. These soldiers

were still not able to ﬁght efﬁciently from horseback

in melee, as their control over their mounts was

limited and their armament too light to allow for

combat against infantry forces, arrayed in phalanxes

and armed with weapons and armor of iron.

The combination of the bow and the horse, typiﬁed

by the Huns and Mongols changed that and armies

began to use (and breed) larger and stronger horses

to bear men wearing iron armor to combat this

new threat. It was Phillip II, King of Macedon who

realized that these heavy cavalry forces could do

more than protect the ﬂanks of his armies and counter

the threat of mounted archers: these forces could be

signiﬁcant offensive weapons of their own. While

Phillip created the army, he would not live to see it

ﬁelded; that would be left to his son, Alexander III.

A talented cavalry ofﬁcer himself who frequently led

the elite hetairoi or “companions” in his father’s early

campaigns, Alexander the Great would formulate the

tactics to bring lightning cavalry strikes to the ancient

world. These technologies and tactics would remain

an important part of warfare in the ancient world

for more than 600 years, undergoing evolutionary

changes but never being revolutionized from the 4 th

century BCE until the 4 th century CE. 1

Welcome to Legends of the Ancients:

Macedon, the second in a series

of mini-Legends sourcebooks

providing game masters with

historical information both as history

and game mechanics, allowing the

introduction of historical elements to

their fantasy d20 games. This sourcebook

focuses on Macedon, a nation that under Alexander

the Great conquered the entire ancient world.

What this book is and what it is not: As part of this

introduction I would like to address a comment made

by many who bought the ﬁrst product in this series.

Some felt Legends of the Ancients: Carthage to be

too short to adequately cover its subject.

The purpose for this series is not to be the end of a

game master’s historical study; it’s more accurate to

describe it as the beginning. In these sourcebooks you

will get information on an ancient culture in broad

strokes, as well as some mechanics to enhance your

fantasy campaigns. The goal is over the course of

numerous Legends of the Ancients books to slowly

piece in the world around ancient Rome, giving

information on some of Rome’s early enemies and

allies. This information could then be used as the

basis for a campaign set during the rise of Rome or

simply as a source for other nations to make their

appearance in Legends campaigns.

For example, a heavy cavalryman might make

an appearance in a Legends of Excalibur campaign

as a knight from a far distant land that has come to

Camelot to seek out the so-called greatest knights

in the world. Since the heavy cavalrymen presented

were still in use by the late Roman army they might

also serve as opponents of Arthur’s knights during the

War with Rome free campaign setting for that game.

Synopsis

Horses have been an important

component of warfare in

Asia and the Middle East for

millennia. Archeologists have

found evidence that horses were

domesticated in Assyria, Egypt,

Legends of the Ancients

Page - 2

Macedon

Timeline

BCE the empire of Alexander the Great has been

divided between three of his generals: Ptolemy I

(Egypt), Seleucus I (Asia) and Antigonus I (Macedon

and Greece).

ﬁrst time Christianity is carried to European soil. A

Macedonian girl named Lydia is the ﬁrst European to

convert to Christianity.

395 CE: The Roman Empire is split into Eastern

and Western Empires. Macedon falls in the Eastern

Empire, which will eventually be known as the

Byzantine Empire.

808 BCE: Caranus founds the

kingdom of Macedon, which he

rules for thirty years until 778

BCE.

276-239 BCE: Under Gonatus, the grandson of

Antigonus I, Macedonia once again becomes stable

and its occupation of Greece is strengthened.

222-179 BCE: Phillip V, grandson of Gonatus,

clashes with the Roman Empire, which has begun

to expand eastward. Phillip V ﬁghts two wars with

Rome, losing both. The result of these wars is that

Macedon loses control of Greece to the Romans,

being reduced to its original borders.

Cavalry

New Core Class

498-454 BCE: Alexander I expands the

borders of Macedon and ﬁghts as an ally of Persia in

its wars with Greece.

The cavalry are the professional

mounted soldiers that serve

with armies. As opposed to the

knight, who often adventures

alone on personal quests for honor,

or who act as powerful shock troops

when serving en masse with an army,

the cavalry serve as integrated part of the military

strategy of the force with which they serve. Cavalry

protect the ﬂanks and rear of their army, provide

long-range reconnaissance on the movement of

enemy forces and deliver attacks to the rear of

retreating foes. While the weapons and armor

employed by these soldiers change over the roughly

1,500 years of their dominance, their tactics and role

remain largely unchanged from the time of Alexander

the Great to the Russian Cossacks who “carried the

borders of Russia on the pommels of their saddles” to

the Confederate Cavalry of Robert E. Lee.

Adventures: Cavalry normally undertake

adventures in support of some military objective.

Perhaps they will ride ahead of an enemy force to

conduct reconnaissance or ride night and day at

breakneck speed to deliver an urgent message.

Characteristics: Cavalry are tough, ﬂexible

warriors who are most dangerous when mounted.

While a cavalryman can hold his own on foot, he will

seek to gain the advantages in mobility offered by a

453-413 BCE: Perdiccas II, son of Alexander,

instigates a conﬂict between Athens and Sparta

that sparks the 27-year long conﬂict known as the

Peloponnesian War. This war eventually draws in

nearly every Greek city-state and exhausts the entire

nation.

179-168 BCE: Phillip V’s son Perseus loses a third

war with Rome and is imprisoned. When Perseus dies

in an Italian prison Macedon attempts to rebel but

this rebellion is crushed by the might of the Roman

war machine.

413-399 BCE: Archelaus turns Macedon into an

economic power and reorganizes the Macedonian

army.

146 BCE: Macedon becomes a province of the

Roman Empire.

359-336 BCE: Phillip II develops an enormous

Macedonian war machine, including the use of heavy

cavalry as an offensive force for the ﬁrst time in

European history. With this army he conquers Illyria,

Thrace and Greece. The Battle of Chaeronea, which

takes place on August 2, 338 BCE is considered the

end of Ancient Greece as an autonomous nation. For

the rest of ancient history Greece will be under the

control of an external power.

65 BCE: Antiochus XII, last Seleucid Macedonian

king is defeated by the Roman Empire, which allows

Rome to gain control of the Asian territories won by

Alexander the Great.

30 BCE: Cleopatra VII, last Ptolemaic Pharaoh

falls to the Roman Empire. Rome now controls all

the territory of Alexander’s empire. The last of the

Macedonian rulers installed by Alexander have now

been deposed.

336-323 BCE: Alexander III conquers Persia, Egypt

and portions of India, developing the largest empire

the world had ever seen to that point.

51-63 CE: The Apostle Paul receives a vision

instructing him to travel to Macedon and preach.

This prophecy is revealed in the Book of Acts

16:9. Paul travels to Macedon and preaches, the

323-300 BCE: With Alexander’s death the vast

empire he carved out is thrown into chaos. By 300

Legends of the Ancients

Page - 3

Macedon

mount at the earliest opportunity.

Alignment: Cavalry can be any alignment. A

military ofﬁcer might be strictly lawful or he might

have chosen the cavalry because of the opportunity

to ride off alone or with a small detachment on

reconnaissance missions, removing him from the

direct control of his superiors.

Religion: Compared to other mounted combatants,

such as the knight or especially the paladin, the

cavalryman has no particular afﬁnity for religion.

It would not be unusual to ﬁnd members of cavalry

brigades worshipping deities that venerated travel or

horses.

Background: Cavalrymen are often horsemen

from an early age but their real education begins

when they join the military and learn formalized drill

and attack procedures, as well as their place in the

overall strategy of military campaigns. From then

on, while still a part of the military with which he

serves, the cavalryman will be separate from the foot

soldiers, employed on different missions and bunking

with his fellow cavalrymen, these soldiers

will form a breed apart and develop a

peculiar sense of esprit de corps with the

other mounted troops.

Other Classes: The cavalryman works

well with most other classes, providing

cover for soldiers on foot or scouting

ahead for potential dangers.

Role: The cavalryman ﬁlls the

role of the ﬁghter or “tank” well,

especially outdoors where he is

most free to use his mounted combat

abilities. While his combat ability

and hit dice make him a formidable

combatant on foot, the focus of his class

abilities make him less well suited to that

role than a Barbarian or Fighter.

Game Rule Information

Cavalry have the following game statistics.

Abilities: Dexterity makes the cavalrymen a

better horseman and also helps to compensate for

his inability to wear the heaviest armor. Strength and

Constitution make the cavalryman a more formidable

combatant while those seeking to lead will want a

high Intelligence and Charisma.

Alignment: Cavalrymen can be of any alignment.

Nobility (optional): Owners of other books in

the Legends series may want to substitute Nobility

for Alignment. In this case the cavalryman has no

Nobility requirements but gains double Nobility

awards for Bravery and suffers double Nobility

penalties for Cowardice.

Hit Die: 1d10

Class Skills

The cavalry’s class skills (and the

key ability for each skill) are: Handle

Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump

(Str), Knowledge (tactics) (Int), Ride

(Dex), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis)

Skill Points at 1 st Level: (2+ Int.

modiﬁer) x4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2+ Int.

modiﬁer

Class Features

All of the following are class features of cavalry.

Weapon and Armor Proﬁciency: The cavalryman

is proﬁcient in all Simple and Martial Weapons

as well as with Light and Medium armor (but not

shields).

Mounted Combat: At 1 st level the cavalryman

receives this feat as a bonus feat. He also gains a

competence bonus to attack rolls listed on the class

table that improves as the cavalryman gains levels.

Mounted Mobility: At 2 nd level the cavalryman

gains the effects of the Mobility feat without having

to meet the prerequisite. The cavalryman only gains

the beneﬁts of this feat while mounted and not

wearing heavy armor or carrying a heavy load.

Legends of the Ancients

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Macedon

TABLE 1: THE CAVALRY

Level

has one hour to rest (a mount is considered resting

if it is completely stationary and supplied with food

and drink for the entire hour). If used again while the

mount is fatigued then the mount becomes exhausted

until it has 24 hours of rest. If this ability is used

while a mount is exhausted the mount takes 1-6

points of lethal damage each round.

At 7 th level this damage becomes nonlethal. When

the mount’s HP are exceeded, rather than dying,

it simply slows to a walk. The rider can choose to

spur the horse again, which will kill the horse in 1-6

rounds.

Harry: The cavalryman is especially skilled at

attacking opponents on foot and gains the listed

bonus to damage rolls against opponents on foot. The

cavalryman only gains this bonus while mounted.

Ride-by attack: At 5 th level the cavalryman gains

this feat as a bonus feat. If the cavalryman already

has this feat he gains a bonus feat instead.

Mounted Endurance: The cavalryman’s rider

and mount gain the beneﬁts of the Endurance feat

at the level indicated. In addition to its usual effects

this also halves the amount of rest the cavalryman’s

mount needs to recover from use of the Spur class

ability.

Spirited Charge: At 9 th level the cavalryman gains

this feat as a bonus feat. If the cavalryman already

has this feat he gains a bonus feat instead.

Mounted Agility: At 10 th level the cavalryman’s

ability to control his mount and use its height and

mobility to his advantage is so great that he can no

longer be ﬂanked by targets on foot while mounted.

Like the Wind: While the cavalryman can spur

his horse to greater speeds in the short term, he also

learns how to increase his mount’s speed over long

distances. This ability increases the mount’s mile

per hour movement by the amount listed on the class

table and the mount can maintain this increased

movement for eight hours per day. For example a

light warhorse carrying a light load can move 6 mph

Base Attack

Bonus

Fort

Save

Ref

Save

Will

Save

Special

1 st

Mounted Combat, Mounted Combat +1

2 nd

Mounted Mobility, Saddle Leap

3 rd

Cavalry Mount, Spur +10’

4 th

Mounted Combat +2

5 th

Harry +1, Ride-by attack

6 th

+6/+1

Spur +20’

7 th

+7/+2

Spur (nonlethal damage), Mounted Endurance

8 th

+8/+3

Mounted Combat +3

9 th

+9/+4

Spur +30’, Spirited Charge

10 th

+10/+5

Harry +2, Mounted Agility

11 th

+11/+6/+1

Like the wind +1

12 th

+12/+7/+2

Mounted Combat +4

13 th

+13/+8/+3

Tall in the saddle

14 th

+14/+9/+4

Like the wind +2

15 th

+15/+10/+5

Harry +3

16 th

+16/+11/+6/+1 +10

Mounted Combat +5

17 th

+17/+12/+7/+2 +10

Like the wind +3

18 th

+18/+13/+8/+3 +11

Lightning attack

19 th

+19/+14/+9/+4 +11

Companion Mount

20 th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12

Harry +4, Like the wind +4, Mounted Combat +6

Saddle Leap: The cavalryman can fast mount

or fast dismount his horse as a free action without

making a Ride skill check so long as he is not

wearing heavy armor or carrying a heavy load.

Cavalry Mount: At 3 rd level the cavalryman gains

the ability to train a mount to serve as his steed in

battle.

Bonus Hit Dice: Extra eight-sided hit dice, each

having a Constitution modiﬁer.

Natural Armor Adjustment: An improvement to the

mount’s natural armor bonus.

Bonus Tricks: A number of bonus tricks the mount

learns as it gains experience. These tricks require no

time or skill check by the cavalryman to teach and

do not count against the normal number of tricks an

animal can learn.

Mounted Combat: The mount gains the mounted

combat bonus of its rider on its natural attack rolls.

Improved Speed: Each time this ability is gained

the mount’s speed increases by 10 feet per round.

Devotion: The mount’s devotion to its master is so

great that it gains a +4 bonus on all will saves.

Spur: The cavalryman can urge his horse to greater

speed as listed on the class table. This ability lasts for

1-6 rounds after which the mount is fatigued until it

Cavalry

Level

Bonus

Natural

Armor

Bonus

Tricks

Special

1-2

1 Mounted Combat

3-4

Improved Speed

5-6

Devotion

7-8

Improved Speed

Cavalry Level: The number of levels the

cavalryman and mount have been together (this is

required for the cavalryman to gain his mounted

combat bonus).

Legends of the Ancients

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