Caster Arentine

Small City, population 7,277: (79% human, 9% dwarf, 5% half-orc, 3% elf, 2% half-elf, 2% other)

GP Limit: 3,000 gp

Cash on Hand (Total for City): 5,450,250 gp

Imports: Ale, armor, charcoal, fodder, food, glass, horses, leather, metal, paper, pottery, rope, stone, weapons, wine, wood.

Exports: None.

Community Authorities

General Damer Bors (LG male dwarf paladin 9 of Derena), Mage-Commander Crimmin Quirt (CG male human sorcerer 10).

Military Formations

Seventh Legion: 4999 troops, as follows.

3000 heavy infantry—1 colonel (ari 4/ftr 2), 3 captains (ari 2/ftr 2), 6 lieutenants (ari 1/ftr 2), 2 junior lieutenants (captains’ aides; ari 1/ftr 1), 3 master sergeants (ftr 6), 6 senior sergeants (ftr 4), 24 sergeants (ftr 2), 24 corporals (ftr 1/war 1), 2931 legionaries (325 war 6, 1194 war 4, 1412 war 1).

The backbone of the Seventh Legion is its heavy infantry, armored and armed with long spears to fight in close order as pikemen. Their officers are responsible for enforcing strict discipline in order to keep morale up and ensure that these troops follow orders instantly and without question. A stiff leavening of veterans in the ranks bespeaks the unit’s long record of successful warfare against opponents ranging from Ferendi nomads, to dragons, to ravening monsters from the mountains and hills throughout Arentine Province.

500 heavy cavalry—1 captain (ari 2/ftr 2), 2 lieutenants (ari 1/ftr 2), 1 junior lieutenant (captain’s aide; ari 1/ftr 1), 1 senior sergeant (ftr 5), 6 sergeants (ftr 2), 6 corporals (ftr 1), 483 cavalrymen (war 1).

500 light cavalry—1 captain (ari 2/ftr 2), 2 lieutenants (ari 1/ftr 2), 1 junior lieutenant (captain’s aide; ari 1/ftr 1) 1 senior sergeant (ftr 5), 6 sergeants (ftr 2), 6 corporals (ftr 1), 483 cavalrymen (war 1).

The cavalry forces included in the Seventh Legion are organized into two wings of 500 troops, consisting of officer corps and soldiers. In combat, the captains and full lieutenants each command a force of 161 cavalrymen. The junior lieutenant and senior sergeant are included in the captain’s command during engagements. Both assist the captain for administrative purposes, as well.

The light cavalry are armed with lances and swords, and also pack composite bows that allow them to dismount and fight as dragoons. Their horses are lightly armored with studded leather barding, and their usual role in an engagement is to provide screening and reconnaissance, or to harry supply lines or fleeing opponents.

The heavy cavalry are used as shock troops, preferably where they can outflank the enemy and deploy their heavy lances and armored mounts into the side or rear of a foe that has been forced to engage the main body of the Seventh Legion. At times they are also combined with the light cavalry to slow down enemy units attempting to outflank the main body of the legion’s forces.

999 archers—2 captains (ari 2/ftr 2), 4 lieutenants (ari 1/ftr 2), 1 junior lieutenant (captains’ aide; ari 1/ftr 1), 1 master sergeant (ftr 6), 2 senior sergeants (ftr 4), 8 sergeants (ftr 2), 8 corporals (ftr 1/war 1), 973 archers (war 1).

Unlike in the cavalry, the junior lieutenant in the archery cohort of the Seventh Legion actually commands troops in battle—albeit with the support of an experienced master sergeant. The command is divided into seven sections, each containing 139 rank-and-file archers armed with composite longbows. The Seventh’s archers fight as skirmishers, providing a screen in front of the legion’s heavy infantry in order to mask their maneuvers and formations. As the enemy closes, these lightly armed bowmen fade back to take shelter behind their comrades’ tighter, more solid formation.

First Arcane Artillery: 18 sorcerers (2 8th-level, 2 5th-level, 4 4th-level, 10 2nd-level), 7 wizards (1 8th-level, 2 4th-level, 4 2nd-level).

The First Arcane serves on the front lines in combat, supporting the Seventh Legion with destructive magic that rains fire and ice upon their foes. Its wizards and sorcerers pride themselves on their ability to thin the ranks of an onrushing barbarian horde or to soften up a rogue dragon before their mundane comrades deliver the final stroke. All 25 members of the artillery squadron hold officer rank as a consequence of the extensive training and education they undertake as preparation for duty.

Thirteenth Engineering Company: 200 combat engineers—3 adepts (1 8th-level, 1 4th-level, 1 1st-level), 4 aristocrats (1 6th-level, 1 3rd-level, 2 1st-level), 3 bards (1 8th-level, 1 4th-level, 1 2nd-level), 184 experts(1 12th-level, 2 3rd-level, 6 2nd-level, 174 1st-level), 4 rogues (1 1 4th-level, 1 3rd-level, 2 2nd-level), 4 wizards (1 6th-level transmuter, 1 4th-level conjurer, 2 1st-level generalists).

The surveyors and craftsmen of the Thirteenth Engineering Company, by comparison to their comrades in the Seventh Legion and the First Arcane, are quiet and unassuming. But their presence underpins the entire district’s prosperity. Through their hard work and expertise, Arentine Provice enjoys broad, smooth roads and outstanding flood control. The engineers also serve as a consulting resource for private construction projects in the region, making it easier for architects and builders to ply their trades.

In battle, the Thirteenth Engineering Company serves a variety of catapults, ballistae and other engines of war. Unlike the First Arcane Artillery, its spellcasters concentrate on improving the effectiveness of these weapons instead of making direct attacks on the enemy. The unit also erects battlefield obstacles and performs demolitions to hinder enemy maneuvers. In siege engagements, they function as sappers and counter-sappers.

Other NPCs

62 adepts (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 59 1st-level), 61 aristocrats (1 7th-level, 2 3rd-level, 581st-level), 7 barbarians (1 4th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 7 bards (1 7th-level, 2 3rd-level, 4 1st-level), 7 clerics (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 1791 commoners (1 13th-level, 2 6th-level, 4 3rd-level, 1784 1st-level), 7 druids (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 66 experts (1 10th-level, 2 5th-level, 4 2nd-level, 59 1st-level), 7 monks (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 7 paladins (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 7 rangers (1 5th-level, 2 2nd-level, 4 1st-level), 15 rogues (1 10th-level, 2 5th-level, 4 2nd-level, 8 1st-level), 7 sorcerers (7th-level, 2 3rd-level, 4 1st-level), 7 wizards (1 7th-level, 2 3rd-level, 4 1st-level).

Caster Arentine is one of a large number of fortified camps, or “casters,” used by the Aureshan military. Visitors unfamiliar with the Imperial Legions of the Aureshan Empire might expect to find a collection of semi-permanent buildings erected behind a log and earth palisade and ditch, similar to the temporary fortifications employed as operational headquarters when these soldiers are on campaign. But as one of the oldest fortified camps of the Imperial Legion, Caster Arentine has had time to become something much more substantial.

This castellated military base lies to the north of the large city of Areta, and stands at the mouth of Ismar Pass, which leads across the Arentine range into the Stone Plains. Initially the fortifications were intended to discourage the Ferendi nomads of the desert from trying to raid into Imperial territory, and occasional raids do still occur. But the population of the surrounding province is growing, bringing conflicts with the more dangerous wildlife in the region, and the garrison now spends nearly as much of its efforts on monster hunting as on the suppression of the Ferendi. With the growth of the local population, police duty has also begun to drain the garrison’s resources because the Imperial Satrap’s guards only serve the city of Areta, not the settled areas outside the city. The Seventh Legion and its 5000 legionaries serve as the garrison for Caster Arentine, and for the past twenty years it has shared quarters with the First Arcane Artillery and the Thirteenth Engineering Company.

General Damer Bors commands the garrison for this caster despite his divided loyalties as both a general officer of the Imperial Legion and a paladin in the church of Derena. If his experience and talent were the only factors to consider when determining his seniority in the Legion’s officer corps, General Bors would rank higher than he does. He was promoted to the rank of general thirty years ago when the previous incumbent died in action against a rogue dragon, and Bors subsequently led his forces to victory against the wyrm. After a well-deserved commendation for his excellent work, his senior general officers breathed a sigh of relief—Caster Arentine’s out of the way geographical location makes the posting a good place for politically awkward but militarily competent commanders like Bors. For his part, Bors knows that he is being kept out of sight and that the progress of his career has been stunted because of his religious ties. He resents these facts even as he acknowledges that the duties of his command at the caster are especially suitable to one with his training and spirituality.

The First Arcane Artillery is commanded by Mage-Commander Crimmin Quart, an obstreperous sorcerer with a penchant for practical jokes. The cadre of mages under his command is fractious and difficult to control, and the antics of Quart’s troops suggest that they consider themselves only nominally under the command of General Bors. Mage-Commander Quart enjoys the respect of every sorcerer and wizard in his unit, and uses that to ensure that none of the constant dares, wagers, and rivalries between his subordinates gets far enough out of hand for the General to catch wind of them. General Bors considers the First Arcane almost more trouble than it is worth during quiet times but valuable beyond gold and jewels when trouble rears its head, and relations between him and Quart are cordial but distant as a result.

At the other end of the social spectrum in Caster Arentine, a good-sized settlement consisting of tavern keepers, prostitutes, drug dealers, gamblers, and others who cater to the appetites of the soldiers has sprung up around the walls of the camp. The result is an unusually orderly and quiet red light district and trading quarter that eventually melds into its more riotous counterpart before the gates of Areta. The district immediately surrounding Caster Arentine is patrolled heavily by military police from the garrison, and disruptions from legion personnel are dealt with harshly. Areta’s end of the red-light district is controlled by the City Watch, and the smaller organization is spread too thinly to provide the same degree of oversight.