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Trivvalian Penal Legions
Trivvalian Penal Legions
Throughout the History of the Book, the Church of the Greater Science’s Private Army, there has been the Templars - The Immortals, The Ten Thousand. The fabled monsters that keep the rites of the Church true, and the faith pure. The Thousand warriors, organised to fight under their own discipline. Warriors strong and true, their fanatical vigour only matched by their level of Genius – although some say Genius and Insanity are two fruit in the same bowl. The Ten Thousand: an ancient wonder that has survived into the modern era – true and pure Nobility, Warriors of the Faith.
Following them are the Sco Guard, the picture perfect army for a perfect Religion. Defenders of the Faith, they fight wherever Bastions of the Righteous hold out against Barbarian Warbands. Fighting off a hundred continents, in a hundred regions the Guard are always on the warpath. Fighting amongst native forces against invaders, the Guard protect where they can. Always short of men they adopt forces into their own as they go, cannibalizing remnants of foreign regiments into a Legion of their own.
Finally, where no hope is to be found, in far flung fronts in lost conflicts, those that are Lost and Damned in the eyes of the Gods and Society fight. Murderers, Rapists, Kidnappers, Heritics – men and women from Nations around the Worlds fight to redeem themselves in Society’s eyes, so that they may have a hope of ascending into the Eternal Bliss. The Penal Legions fight in a hope to gain a foothold, and buy time for the Guard and Templar’s to bring their guns to bear. The Damned Legion are always looking for fresh meat to supply their always dwindling forces.
Following them are the Sco Guard, the picture perfect army for a perfect Religion. Defenders of the Faith, they fight wherever Bastions of the Righteous hold out against Barbarian Warbands. Fighting off a hundred continents, in a hundred regions the Guard are always on the warpath. Fighting amongst native forces against invaders, the Guard protect where they can. Always short of men they adopt forces into their own as they go, cannibalizing remnants of foreign regiments into a Legion of their own.
Finally, where no hope is to be found, in far flung fronts in lost conflicts, those that are Lost and Damned in the eyes of the Gods and Society fight. Murderers, Rapists, Kidnappers, Heritics – men and women from Nations around the Worlds fight to redeem themselves in Society’s eyes, so that they may have a hope of ascending into the Eternal Bliss. The Penal Legions fight in a hope to gain a foothold, and buy time for the Guard and Templar’s to bring their guns to bear. The Damned Legion are always looking for fresh meat to supply their always dwindling forces.
The Lost and the Damned
The Penal Legion
“ Intereo ut redemptor”
The Penal Legions are forces of the Book consisting almost entirely of convicted criminals, debtors, and other transgressors.
Crimes resulting in sentence to a Penal Legion can range from murder, minor heresy, cowardice in battle, desertion, to as simply as failing to return a library book and being the unlucky one at the bottom of the Judge’s Shitlist. By serving in the Penal Legions these individuals are given the chance of redeeming themselves in the eyes of the Gods and the Society they derive from.
The Penal Legions are not armies in their own rights, but are usually attached to other regiments and armies in battle, and are useful where greater numbers are necessary to win the day. They are regarded as expendable, as death is the point of serving. They are often used to test enemy defenses or press a false charge to bait a trap.
Troops sentenced to the Penal Legions serve from fifteen years to life. Most die in their very first battle, herded into the enemy gunfire and dying by the hundreds. A few, the born killers, somehow beat these merciless odds and survive through numerous battles. In extremely rare cases a penitent might be granted the God's forgiveness in a way other than dying in battle, by performing some incredible act of heroism. These redeemed men then enter the Sco Guard as regular Troopers, but usually disappear soon after leaving you to speculate several years later if that Templar you saw was really the same man.
Crimes resulting in sentence to a Penal Legion can range from murder, minor heresy, cowardice in battle, desertion, to as simply as failing to return a library book and being the unlucky one at the bottom of the Judge’s Shitlist. By serving in the Penal Legions these individuals are given the chance of redeeming themselves in the eyes of the Gods and the Society they derive from.
The Penal Legions are not armies in their own rights, but are usually attached to other regiments and armies in battle, and are useful where greater numbers are necessary to win the day. They are regarded as expendable, as death is the point of serving. They are often used to test enemy defenses or press a false charge to bait a trap.
Troops sentenced to the Penal Legions serve from fifteen years to life. Most die in their very first battle, herded into the enemy gunfire and dying by the hundreds. A few, the born killers, somehow beat these merciless odds and survive through numerous battles. In extremely rare cases a penitent might be granted the God's forgiveness in a way other than dying in battle, by performing some incredible act of heroism. These redeemed men then enter the Sco Guard as regular Troopers, but usually disappear soon after leaving you to speculate several years later if that Templar you saw was really the same man.
The Penal Legions
“Nex Pro Inhonesto”
The Legions enforce a strict policy of ‘Discipline before Dishonour’, and what little time each force has before it’s deployment that is not spent on basic warfare is placed to training the Discipline of the Excons. Most convicts that are received are ex-gang members or former organised crime, and it is easy for them to fall back in the habit of doing what’s told when they are told. However, to ensure that everything runs smoothly the Penal Legions employ the Allied Governments ‘Restrainer’, a small explosive collar that helps guarantee discipline. With the ‘Restrainer’ in place, the motto Nex pro inhonesto really comes into play.
To augment the collars and the Discipline training, those Legions that have the time go through some severe conditioning. Some critics claim that this is a form of Brainwashing, but many pass it off as a conspiracy theory and the Legions strongly encourage those that do.
Within the Legion some ‘trusted’ Legionnaires are given a degree of command, usually these are the fanatics and not entirely sane men and women who have somehow managed to survive their first campaign. These men and women are usually those with a high survival instinct and command units on almost suicidal tasks.
To augment the collars and the Discipline training, those Legions that have the time go through some severe conditioning. Some critics claim that this is a form of Brainwashing, but many pass it off as a conspiracy theory and the Legions strongly encourage those that do.
Within the Legion some ‘trusted’ Legionnaires are given a degree of command, usually these are the fanatics and not entirely sane men and women who have somehow managed to survive their first campaign. These men and women are usually those with a high survival instinct and command units on almost suicidal tasks.
The Criminal Code:
- - I am not a volunteer, nor a conscript, and so I no longer have control over my life.
- – We are to become brothers in arms, all fighting for the Greater Good in the eyes of the Gods.
- – I am thankful to the gods for giving us this chance to prove ourselves.
- – I must present myself as the finest example of the Penal Legion.
- – My weapon is my lifeline to freedom, I am to care for it with my life, to respect it, and it is the only way to freedom.
- – I must fight to the end, surrender is never an option. The enemy will not treat you better that you receive from the Book.
- – We will not desert. Deserters will not survive.