Rejected Dissertation presentation by Artimus Hier 2019, Boudica’s Legacy
Whilst the details of Boudica’s rebellion and cruel treatment by the Roman Empire have been well documented and argued in the hall of academia, my research has uncovered a possible legacy that has gone unexamined. I speak of Boudica’s Legacy, whilst the famous statue of her daughters conjures images of a powerful and wrathful force, the true scar she left upon the Roman Empire lasts far longer than she or her daughters did. With my findings so far, I have every reason to believe that her famous toppling and beheading of statues was in fact a year’s long guerilla war, that the children of children fought. Once funding is granted and access to the Vatican’s Restricted Library is granted, I will be able to uncover the darker side of the rebellion and the measures a desperate monarch is willing to take to retain power.
Dissertation proposal rejected by the committee, reason given, conspiracy and lack of reliable source material prevents any credible ability.
Additional notes, Artimus Hier is no longer with the university program and has not responded to any communications regarding revised proposals. A forwarding address to a post box has been provided, the post box is sublet by PMC Black Lake.
Having lost her rightful claim and brutal treatment of her people, her family and herself in 60 CE Boudica did indeed lead a rebellion that successfully pushed the Romans onto the backfoot.
Having successfully destroyed the towns of Calumodunm (Colchester), Verulamium (Saint Albans) and finally Londinium, slaughtering 70 to 80 thousand people. This sudden boon of death was not unnoticed by the resident ghoul population of the British Isles. The invasions and rebellions provide a constant and bountiful harvest of flesh to store and enjoy.
On one night during sacking of Saint Albans, one of these detestable creatures were captured by a scouting party, who suffered heavy losses in killing most of the vile creatures. When the beast was brought to Boudica it spoke of the evils the Romans had visited upon her and her daughters, how they were also blood kin and would help to support the war effort. They had even taken in the young who had been banished 9 months after the Roman example of its women, they had clothed, cared and even feed the children left behind.
The foul being even went as far as to offer a token of tribute, at this Boudica headed the vile creature and had its remains burnt. The token, however, a gnarled ghoul finger in the shape of an “o” was kept as a trophy. In time some of these children had been spotted in the ruins of the sacked Colchester and London, leaving behind treasures and trophies of defeated Romans. The true asset of Boudicas Legacy was the uncanny ability of the ghoul-like children to tunnel and sabotage Roman fortifications, statues and even assist on the battlefield itself.
Many have been told of the Battle of Watling Street 61CE, where a 10,000 strong Roman Legion bested Boudica’s undisciplined horde of 230,000, slaying 80,000, a direct receipt of the losses suffered by Boudica’s hordes. By encircling the vast horde in a valley, the Roman Legion shield wall was able to grind down the overwhelming forces and show the power of order of the forces of chaos, or so we are to believe.
Whatever the truth of the battle, Boudica was never seen again and is believed to have taken a poison to avoid capture by the same Roman Empire that had created such a fire in her soul. With her army was routed and leaderless, the Romans ruled the British Isles for some 350 years. During that time, her Legacy lived on, in the abandoned and discard children of the Roman Empire, who would be taken in by the Ghoul-like children who had assisted in the rebellion and refused to capitulate to the Roman Invaders.
The Legacy of Boudica are small fragile looking children, in a darkened ally way or burial pit they could look like an urchin scavenging for good or food, but by torch light they recoil. Having adapted to subterrain living they have pallid skin, dull eyes and have broken and shattered fingers, turning to claws with the consumption of human flesh and the teachings of their Ghoul sires.
They lurk underground, near burial pits and any powerful Roman building or statue, even going as far as to help with rebellions whenever they rise, the Legacy of Boudica is there to lend support on the battlefield by tunneling under Roman lines, fortifications and prized constructs. The Legacy lack the ability the face a foe in single combat and prefer to destroy building foundations, killing those caught in the collapse. They take in any abandoned child they find, and some have been observed waspily raving of a “Mother” who they will offer stone, bronze and Roman heads to in tribute to the “Mother” who gave them an eternal rebellion to fight.
They have been known to work in small packs of 8 and with large projects will gather up to 100 to erode and crush the Roman’s structures.
STR: 30
CON: 30
SIZ: 30
DEX: 70
INT: 30
POW: 40
HP: 6
Damage Bonus: -2
Build: -2
Magic Points: 8 – 10% chance the leader will know the spell Summon Ghouls.
Move: 8 – can tunnel through dirt at 6
ATTACKS
Attacks per round: 1 – d3 brawling 35%
Climb 60%, Dodge: 35%, Stealth 50%, Listen 50%, Spot Hidden 70% in dark, 30% in daylight.
Armor: Normal weapons are effective against Boudica’s Legacy.
Sanity Loss: 1/1d6 when seen, d6/d10 when involved in a collapse caused by Boudica’s Legacy.
Sabotage: The Legacy will attempt to tunnel and destroy buildings, fortifications or create pit traps against legions or high value structures. One of the Legacy will act as a leader and organise the others, that Legacy will attempt a Str Roll, each additional legacy working on the effort will add 5 to the Str Roll to damage building foundations. A Successful Str Roll will create mild damage to the foundations, which is easily repaired above ground. A Hard Str Roll will cause the building to lean, requiring underground repairs. An Extreme Success will destroy the structure, causing a d6 of crushing damage to any inside the structure, include 1 d6 of damage for each point of Size the building has. The Size of the structure will also dictate how long the effort will take, a Size 4 or below takes d4 days, a Size 5 – 9 takes d4 weeks and anything above Size 10 takes d4 months. A Successful Dodge Roll halves the damage and a Hard Dodge Roll negates the damage fully.
A career educator, dramatist, and newly minted author. Debuted as part of the Golden Goblin and Shoggoth.net collaboration Kickstarter project “Terrors of OctoberNomicon”. A long-time fan of horror and a constant companion to the void and an avid tabletop wargamer. He regularly streams Call of Cthulhu and Pathfinder @https://www.twitch.tv/danielanddice and will soon be releasing his own Miskatonic Repository scenario for Call of Cthulhu, “Operation Wagey Cage”.
