Chapter 2: The Tribune’s Gambit

Applying Guy Sclanders’ Methodology

Session Overview

A Tribune arrives from Rome with sealed Senate orders regarding the spear. That night, Germanic raiders attack in force — with suspicious timing. The party must defend the fort, expose the Tribune’s real agenda, and decide what to do with a man who might be right for all the wrong reasons.

Level: 4 → Advance to 5 at session end Duration: 3–4 hours Key Goal: Discover who the Tribune really serves — and whether to trust him Theme: Loyalty vs. Survival (first test)

Guy Sclanders’ Principles Applied

Pressure Cooker: Tribune’s authority creates a new power dynamic before the party has recovered from Session 1. The raid removes the option to think carefully.

OGAS Integration: Tribune, Legate, Vercingetorix, and Varro all have clear competing goals this session.

Three Clue Rule: Three independent paths to discovering Tribune Lucius is working for Brutus. Party only needs to find one.

Pre-Session Preparation

Props & Handouts

Handout 4: The Tribune’s Sealed Orders (Official)

SENATUS POPULUSQUE ROMANUS

By authority of the Senate and the consulship of Titus
Quintius Crispinus:

Tribune Lucius Valerius Maximus is hereby empowered to
act in the Senate's name in all matters pertaining to
the artifact recovered at Fort Vindolanda.

All military personnel are ordered to render full
assistance. The Legate's command is suspended pending
senatorial review.

In nomine Senatus Populique Romani
(Let the party read this — it is real and official)

Handout 5: The Encoded Letter (found in Tribune’s quarters)

[Write on paper using a simple Caesar cipher — shift each
letter 3 positions back. Players can decode with DC 14
Intelligence, or a character with thieves' tools / Cipher
proficiency gets advantage]

Plaintext:
"The artifact must not reach Rome. By any means
necessary. Our mutual friend's ambitions depend on
its permanent removal. You know what to do.
                                    — G.C.B."

Physical Props: - A wax seal stamp (improvised: press a ring into clay) for the official orders - A red-cloaked figure miniature to represent the Tribune - Update the red d6 corruption dice if any characters gained corruption in Session 1

Reactive World Setup

Before the session begins, confirm what happened in Session 1 and update NPC positions:

NPC	Their State at Session 2 Start	Active Agenda
Legate Corvinus	Furious. Humiliated by the Tribune’s arrival. Publicly compliant.	Plotting to get the spear back into his possession before Rome takes it
Augur Cassia	Has had three new visions since the spear was retrieved. Barely sleeping.	Watching the Tribune obsessively — she senses something wrong with his aura
Centurion Varro	Quietly arming and positioning his most trusted men near the spear.	Protecting the party whether they want it or not
Tribune Lucius	Just arrived. Performing confidence he doesn’t feel.	Complete his mission from Brutus; get the spear destroyed without his fingerprints on it
Vercingetorix	Camped two miles north with 80 warriors. Scouts watching the fort.	Waiting for an opportunity; knows the Romans are distracted

Scene 0: Cold Open (5 minutes)

Start in media res — the moment before everything gets worse.

The morning BEFORE the Tribune arrives. Dawn watch. One of the fort’s gate sentries has been found dead — throat cut, no struggle, no tracks. Carved into the wooden palisade beside him, deep and deliberate:

ROMA CADIT. (Rome falls.)

Read aloud (slowly):

Dawn. Someone is shaking you awake before the trumpet sounds.

Outside, a cluster of soldiers stands at the north gate. At their feet, Sextus — the sentry you spoke to last night, the one with the bad knee who always complained about the cold — lies with his throat open and his eyes still surprised. No tracks. No blood trail. No explanation.

Centurion Varro crouches beside the body. He looks up at you. His voice is very quiet:

“This was done by someone who knew his patrol route. Someone inside the walls.”

He points to the carving in the wood.

Before anyone can speak, a trumpet call from the far side of the fort: three long notes, the signal for visitors on the road.

Through the south gate, riders in gleaming armor approach.

DM Direction: Don’t let them investigate the sentry’s death now. The world has immediately moved on. They’re holding an unsolved murder in their hands while an entirely new crisis walks through the gate.

The Sextus Murder: A Three Clue Rule Mystery

The dead sentry is not a dropped thread. It’s the first evidence of Brutus’ reach – he has a sleeper agent inside the fort. The agent (Decanus Quintus Flavius, a 12-year veteran who owes his family’s debts to a man connected to Brutus) killed Sextus when Sextus caught him tampering with the spear’s storage chains the night before. He then carved “ROMA CADIT” as misdirection – making it look like a Germanic or dissident act – and left the fort with the Tribune’s entourage, hiding in plain sight.

The party doesn’t need to solve this in Session 2. But the clues are here.

Clue 1: The Wound

DC 13 Medicine on the body:

The cut is precise. One stroke, left-to-right, from behind. Sextus had no defensive wounds.
Someone who knew exactly where to stand and how to move. This is trained work, not rage.
The blade angle indicates a right-handed attacker shorter than Sextus – and Sextus was short.

Clue 2: The Boot Print

DC 14 Investigation near the carving:

One clear boot print in the mud below the carved message. Legionary-issue hobnail, size small, but the wear pattern is unusual: the inside heel is heavily worn, indicating a man who turns his foot slightly when he walks.
If the party has a chance to observe the Tribune’s entourage before they leave: Decanus Quintus walks exactly like this. DC 15 Perception to notice it while watching the departure.

Clue 3: Varro Knows Something

If the party asks Varro directly about Sextus:

“Sextus had the north gate rotation memorized to the hour. Anyone who wanted to know when he’d be alone had three options: bribe him – which didn’t work, I knew him – watch the rotation board – which is in the principia – or ask someone who knew the schedule. There are forty men who know that schedule.”

If the party asks whether anyone left with the Tribune: “One man asked for transfer papers this morning. Fast. I’ve been trying to remember his name. Quintus something. Twelve-year man. Quiet.” This is as far as Varro goes – he doesn’t have proof, just a feeling.

Scene 1: The Tribune Arrives

Tribune Lucius Valerius Maximus enters the fort like he owns it. Young — too young for how polished he is. Rings on every finger. A cloak trimmed with purple. Six Praetorian Guards at his back, sitting their horses like statues of iron.

He surveys the fort the way a merchant surveys damaged goods.

Read aloud:

“Fort Vindolanda.” He says the name as if tasting something mildly unpleasant. “Smaller than I expected. And considerably less tidy.”

He dismounts without waiting for assistance, hands his reins to a Praetorian, and strides toward the principia without being escorted. The Praetorians fall in around him like a moving wall.

“I’ll need the artifact secured in my quarters by the second hour. I’ll need the Legate removed from command by the third. And I’ll need whoever is responsible for this” — he gestures at the fort in general — “to explain to me why it took three days for Rome to hear about a divine weapon being unearthed on my frontier.”

He stops and looks at the party directly for the first time.

“You must be the ones who retrieved it. Good. You’re promoted. You work for me now.”

Tribune’s Official Orders: - He carries sealed Senate orders (Handout 4 — real and legitimate) - The spear is to be delivered to Rome immediately - The Legate is relieved of command pending investigation - The party is designated “Special Envoys of the Senate” — higher authority than the Legate within this fort

Immediate NPC Reactions: - Legate Corvinus: Controlled fury. Accepts the orders publicly, seething privately. He will be a problem later. - Augur Cassia: Visible distress. Whispers to the party at the first opportunity: “The omens around this man are confused. I cannot see his purpose clearly.” - Centurion Varro (quietly, to the party, when Tribune is out of earshot): “I’ve seen ambitious men from Rome before. That one is afraid of something. Afraid men do stupid things.”

Three Clue Rule: Discovering the Tribune’s True Agenda

The party needs to learn that Lucius is working for Senator Brutus and his goal is to prevent the spear reaching Rome (not to retrieve it). Three independent paths — finding any one is enough.

Clue 1: The Encoded Letter - Search Tribune’s quarters (DC 16 Investigation, or pick the lock DC 14) - Find a locked dispatch box — inside, the letter (Handout 5) - Decoded, it names Senator “G.C.B.” ordering the artifact’s “permanent removal” - Cassia can identify the cipher pattern if shown it (she’s seen similar Senate correspondence)

Clue 2: The Tribune’s Behaviour - Watch him carefully during the raid (Scene 2) — DC 14 Perception or Insight - The Tribune and his Praetorians take no action during the assault. They withdraw to the principia and secure it — not the walls, not the gate. They’re protecting the spear room, not the fort. - Afterward: Tribune pushes to accelerate departure, citing “raider intelligence.” Why the rush? - Varro: “Defenders defend the people. They defended the artifact. Ask yourself why.”

Clue 3: Varro’s Network - If the party asks Varro directly about the Tribune (no check needed): - “I did some asking around. That Tribune was posted to the financial investigation commission six months ago — investigating military supply embezzlement. Guess who was embezzling? Start with which Senators have frontier contracts.” - With DC 13 History: “G.C.B.” points to Gaius Cassius Brutus — known for his ‘Republic’ rhetoric and enormous wealth

Scene 2: Investigation Window

The party has several hours before departure. The fort is tense; every soldier knows something political has happened.

Talking to the Augur: Cassia is in the shrine, surrounded by omen tablets, looking exhausted. > “Three days ago I dreamed of the spear in Rome. The Capitoline ran with blood. There were cheering crowds.”

She reveals the spear’s true history if the party hasn’t already learned it: it was used by a mortal hero to kill a minor divine being — one of Mars’ demigod sons. Mars cursed it: whoever wields it with ambition will be consumed by war.

“The Tribune knows this. He isn’t taking it to Rome — he’s making sure it never arrives. Someone in Rome fears what it can do in the right hands. Or the wrong ones.”

Talking to Centurion Varro: > “Twenty years. I’ve served twenty years. You know what I’ve learned? The men who sail into a fort from Rome and relieve the commanding officer — they’re not solving problems. They’re managing them. For someone else.”

He’s positioned six of his veterans near the spear’s storage room. Quietly. He doesn’t explain, but if the party asks: “Because if that Tribune tries to move it tonight without telling anyone, I want to know about it immediately.”

Confronting the Tribune: He’s charming and deflects with practiced skill. DC 16 Insight to sense he’s performing more than he’s saying. If pushed hard (Persuasion DC 17 or evidence in hand), he drops the act slightly: > “Let’s say, hypothetically, that some artifacts are more dangerous in Rome than outside it. Let’s say someone with the ear of half the Senate has a plan for this particular artifact that does not end well for anyone living. Let’s say I was sent here to prevent that, not to enable it.”

He will not name Brutus unless the party produces the decoded letter.

Scene 3: The Raid

That night. The timing is not a coincidence.

Germanic raiders attack in force — and Vercingetorix the Red is leading them.

Read aloud (alarm horns sounding):

The first arrow takes a sentry off the wall before the alarm horn sounds.

Then the drums start — Germanic war drums, deep and rhythmic, surrounding the fort on three sides. Torchlight beyond the palisade: dozens of torches, maybe hundreds.

Centurion Varro’s voice cuts through the confusion: “WALLS! ALL SOLDIERS TO THE WALLS! Where in Pluto’s name are those Praetorians?”

The Praetorians are nowhere near the walls. Through the principia window, you can see torchlight — they’re inside, around the spear.

Encounter Structure

Phase 1: The Walls (2 rounds) Raiders swarm with ladders and grappling hooks. The party can: - Man the walls: melee attacks as ladders are pushed back (Athletics DC 12) - Use the ballista: 2d10 piercing, requires 2 people, DC 12 Dex to aim - Direct the legionary response: DC 13 Persuasion/Intimidation to keep frightened soldiers at their posts

12 Tribal Warriors (waves, not all at once), 2 Berserkers on the ladders

Phase 2: The Breach (3 rounds) Raiders use a battering ram on the west gate. The wood holds for 3 rounds before giving. The party can: - Defend the gate itself: massive melee fight at the chokepoint - Find another way to stop the ram (fire, dropping stones, cutting the rope) - Rally a counter-charge with Varro’s veterans

Centurion Varro fights alongside the party — use Veteran stat block. He’s worth three normal soldiers.

Phase 3: Vercingetorix (arrival at breach)

When the gate falls, a giant of a man steps through — red-haired, iron-armed, wearing a Germanic chieftain’s torc and carrying a war spear that could skewer two men. He surveys the chaos with calm eyes.

Read aloud:

He doesn’t charge. He walks.

The fighting parts around him. Legionaries step back. He moves like a man who has walked through battlefields his entire life, which he has.

He looks at the principia. Then he looks at you.

In accented but clear Latin: “The God-Killer is here. I can feel it from here. I came for the God-Killer. I did not come for you.”

Vercingetorix (use Gladiator stat block, CR 5) — but he doesn’t attack the party unless attacked first. He wants to reach the spear. His agenda: the spear killed his grandfather three generations ago. It is a sacred wound in his people’s history.

Decision Point during the fight: How do they handle Vercingetorix? - Fight him directly — very hard at level 4, winnable but costly - Let him reach the spear — Cassia is horrified; the Legate uses this as evidence of treason - Talk to him — DC 15 Persuasion: “Tell me why it matters to your people and I’ll listen” — he stops fighting. This costs the party a round but opens a future alliance.

Scene 4: The Tribune’s Move

After the raid. Soldiers tend wounds. The gates are being repaired. Three raiders were captured.

The Tribune appears, immaculate as ever, with his Praetorians.

Read aloud:

“Well,” he says, looking at the carnage. “That was unfortunate.”

He turns to the Praetorians: “Arrest them.”

One of his guards moves to flank the party. The Tribune’s voice is flat, businesslike:

“These soldiers conspired with the raiders. They signaled the attack timing from the walls. I have witnesses.”

From the far side of the courtyard, the Legate steps forward. His expression is unreadable.

“I concur with the Tribune’s assessment,” he says.

Centurion Varro takes a slow step to stand beside the party. His hand moves to his gladius. “Do you,” he says.

Decision Point — the confrontation:

Option	How	Consequence
Expose the Tribune	Produce the decoded letter or Clue 2/3 evidence	Praetorians hesitate; Varro intervenes; Tribune trapped. Rolls to next session politically complicated.
Fight	Combat: Tribune + 6 Praetorians (CR 2 each)	Extremely dangerous. Victory means they’re fugitives from Rome.
Negotiate	DC 16 Persuasion with at least one clue in hand	Tribune offers private deal: “Help me destroy the spear my way and I’ll make this go away.”
Flee with Vercingetorix	He’s still in the fort or just outside — if the party treated him respectfully	He offers forest refuge: “My enemy’s enemy.” They’re now fugitives but with a powerful Germanic ally.
Surrender	Give the spear to the Tribune	He thanks them politely. They’re confined to quarters. Session 3 starts as prisoners being transported to Rome.

Conclusion

Advance to Level 5

Whatever happens, the party now knows three things: the Tribune is working for someone powerful in Rome, Vercingetorix has a legitimate grievance against the spear, and at least one of the people they’ve been trusting is not fully what they seem.

Seed for Session 3: wherever they end up, they’re moving — deeper into the forest, or toward Rome, or as prisoners. The world is no longer containable within Fort Vindolanda.

DM Notes

OGAS This Session

Tribune Lucius Valerius Maximus - Objective: Earn his father Brutus’ respect by completing this mission - Goal (this session): Get possession of the spear and arrange its destruction without leaving evidence of Senate involvement - Agenda: Use legal authority to isolate the party, then manufacture a crisis that justifies destroying the spear - Secret: He’s not convinced destroying it is right. Cassia’s arguments are getting through. He’s doubting the mission.

Vercingetorix the Red - Objective: Protect his people from Roman expansion - Goal (this session): Reach the spear and either destroy it or take it back to his tribe’s custody - Agenda: Attack the fort while Roman authority is disrupted by the Tribune’s arrival — the timing is deliberate - Secret: He’s been watching this fort for weeks. He knows more about the spear’s history than any Roman.

Vercingetorix: The Reluctant Alliance

If the party treats him with respect during the battle, he becomes the most important NPC of Sessions 3–4. He knows: - Where the sacred grove is (a day’s travel into the Teutoburg Forest) - That the spear cannot be destroyed anywhere except there - That the ritual requires a willing sacrifice — his grandfather tried and failed because the sacrifice was unwilling

He will not volunteer this information to Romans who disrespect him. He will tell them everything if they acknowledge his people’s claim on this history.

How he speaks: Economical. Poetic when moved. Never afraid. Occasional dry humor that surprises people.

“Romans name everything they find. That is how they believe they own it.”

“I have been dying from a sickness for two years. I fight anyway. Your spear will not frighten me.”

“Your fort smells of fear. My camp smells of wood smoke. Fear is the worse smell.”

Vercingetorix: What He Knows

Vercingetorix carries three generations of knowledge about the spear. He will not volunteer this. He shares it in pieces, based on how much the party earns his respect. Use this table as a guide:

Trust level	What he shares
None (fought him, ignored him)	Nothing. He says: “Romans do not earn knowledge. They take it. I will not give you this.”
Low (treated him as an enemy but stopped fighting)	“The spear has a name in my language. It means ‘the thing that should not exist.’ My grandfather helped seal it. He did not think Romans would find it.”
Medium (talked to him, acknowledged his people’s claim)	The above, plus: “It cannot be destroyed by Roman hands alone. There is a place. A grove. One day’s march into the Teutoburg Forest, past the Vitulans river. My people know the way. You do not.”
High (openly respected his people, treated him as an equal)	All of the above, plus: “The grove requires a willing sacrifice. Not blood. Something real. My grandfather’s ritual failed because the Roman soldier who volunteered chose something he did not actually care about. The grove knew.” This is the core ritual mechanic for Session 3, given early.
Complete trust (proved by action)	“I am dying. I have perhaps a year. This is my last campaign. I chose this one because of the spear. If your party destroys it, my people’s three-generation wound closes. That is enough for me.” This unlocks Vercingetorix as a full ally for Sessions 3 and 4 – he will go to the grove himself.

Vercingetorix Extended Dialogue

Beyond the battle scene, he speaks like this across the session:

When offered food: “I eat what my men eat. You may sit with us if you wish. It is not insult to eat plainly.”

When the Tribune dismisses him: “That man’s father bought his rank. I can tell by how he holds his shoulders. A man who earned his place does not carry himself like borrowed furniture.”

When asked why he raided the fort tonight specifically: “The god-killer woke. I felt it from my camp. So did every warrior with a spirit-sense in three tribes. You brought it to the surface. It announced itself.”

When someone asks if he fears Rome: “No. I have met Romans who were worth fearing. You might be among them. I have not decided.”

Varro Contingency

If Varro is killed during the raid:

The party loses their most reliable ally inside the fort and the primary witness who can speak to the Tribune’s suspicious behaviour. Adjust as follows:

The Tribune’s false accusation in Scene 4 is significantly harder to refute (Varro was the one who would have contradicted him). Add +3 to the Persuasion DC for any negotiation option in Scene 4.
Cassia takes on some of Varro’s role: she can verify the Tribune’s inaction during the raid (she was watching from the shrine).
Three legionaries who served under Varro for more than five years will step forward to defend the party without orders, citing Varro’s standing orders: “He told us: if something happens to him, trust the party. His words.” This gives the party a moment of loyalty they didn’t expect.
Varro’s personal effects are looted from his quarters by the Tribune’s men within the hour. Inside his locked dispatch box (DC 14 to pick): a letter to his wife and a brief note to the party: “If you’re reading this without me, the Tribune moved faster than I expected. Don’t trust the Legate either. Trust yourselves. – V”

Session 2 to Session 3 Transition

Whatever ends Session 2, Session 3 begins from a specific position. Confirm which ending applies and use the matching opening.

Session 2 ending	Session 3 opening
Tribune exposed, arrested	Party is free but politically exposed. The Legate is temporarily back in command and not grateful. Session 3 begins with them leaving the fort under their own terms – but Rome now knows their names.
Party fought the Praetorians	They’re fugitives. Session 3 begins 12 hours later, in the forest. They left fast with what they could carry. Vercingetorix found them at the treeline.
Negotiated a deal with the Tribune	Uneasy alliance. Session 3 begins with the Tribune traveling with the party – unwillingly, but cooperating. He’s useful and he knows it and he’s not happy about it.
Fled with Vercingetorix	Session 3 begins in his camp, two miles north. They’re Roman soldiers in a Germanic war camp. They’re safe only because he said so.
Surrendered (party gave up the spear)	Session 3 begins with them as prisoners being escorted to Rome by Praetorian Guard. The spear is in a sealed crate on a wagon ahead of them. The road to Rome takes six days.

Pacing

This session runs hot from the start – the dead sentry, the Tribune’s authority disruption, and the raid should feel like one continuous cascade with no breathing room. That’s the pressure cooker. The decision at the end is the first moment of genuine stillness. Use it.

Corruption Tracking

If any character attuned to or touched the spear in Session 1, they get dreams again. Before Scene 3, the player with the highest corruption level describes their dream to the table — the spear shows them the fort burning, their comrades dead, and themselves standing over the ruins holding it. They wake covered in sweat. Don’t make this mechanical yet; just make it felt.

Skill Audit: Session 2

How to run these checks at the table:

DC 13 Medicine (Sextus murder, body): - Land 5 below: Short blade, from behind. One stroke. That is all they can say. - Exact: The weapon was a Roman legionary dagger. The angle is consistent with someone shorter, or someone kneeling. This was practiced, not panicked. - 5 above: He had already drawn his own blade. He had time to react and did not. He knew the attacker, or something he was watching mattered more. Give the player this observation and let them hold it.

DC 14 Investigation (ROMA CADIT carving): - Land 5 below: Latin, recent, last 12 hours. - Exact: Practiced hand, written fast, listening for something while carving. Not a message for the party. A cover. - 5 above: The tool marks match a specific military chisel type. The Faber Decimus has three. One came back this morning with a chipped edge. Write “chipped edge” in your notes: this pays off when they look at Decimus.

DC 16 Insight (Tribune performance): - Land 5 below: He is performing. You can see that much. What is underneath it: not visible yet. - Exact: Anxiety, not confidence. The performance is good but it is covering something. - 5 above: He is reading from a script. He has been told what to say. He hesitates before the fourth and seventh statements – the ones furthest from what he actually believes. Give the player those two specific moments by name.

Temporal gate: Tribune’s doubt (Scene 3 only):

One round. One check per player. DC 14 Insight. This check only exists while the Tribune is delivering his false accusation in Scene 3.

On success: He hesitates before “enemies of Rome.” Half a second. His eyes move to Varro (or Varro’s absence) before he continues. He has been given lines and is not fully committed to them.
What it opens: Negotiation DC in Scene 4 drops from 17 to 14. The player can invoke the hesitation directly: “You paused. You know this isn’t true.”
Why the window closes when it does: Once he finishes the accusation and leaves, he has committed. The doubt sealed over the moment he completed the speech. He cannot go back and he will not. Catching him before he finishes is catching him before the choice became a fact.

Cascade unlock: soldier at the wall (Scene 2 battle) (DM only)

This check has an upgrade path. Run it both ways:

DC 13 exact: Soldiers hold. That is the job done.
DC 17: Soldiers hold AND note a name: Flavus, 19 years old, first posting, the one who was about to break. He remembers who held the wall for him. Write his name in your session record now. He appears in Session 4 as an escort volunteer. He does not need to be recruited: he recruits himself.