Legion vs. Legion



raiths are divided into one of 8 Legions, depending on their manner of demise. Originally this was intended by Charon to bring those of similar deaths together under a Deathlord that could help them work toward spiritual Transcendence. Later Charon denounced the idea of Transcendence, but the Legions remained organized by death in order to maintain the order of the Hierarchy.

While the 8 Legions all operate under the Hierarchy umbrella, upon the disappearance of Charon each Legion became more inwardly focused. Thus while each still claims allegiance and loyalty to Charon’s Hierarchy, each Legion is now nearly equally focused on their own gains and potential power in the Shadowlands. Souls are the currency of the Underworld, and as such the more souls a Legion can claim as their own, the stronger the Legion can present itself as a force to be reckoned with.

This very concept of souls as power causes a natural rift between the Legions, all the way from Deathlord to lowly Legionnaire. However, while these rifts and tension will be more pronounced in some Necropoli, in others it will be barely noticeable. Some Legions will have several members in any given area, while others will be hardly represented… if at all. There also is an intense need for forming ‘working’ relationships with other Legions. After all, if your Legion has alienated each of the other 7, it is unlikely that yours will succeed in its quest for ultimate power and control.

While ultimately each Legion member is supposed to swear loyalty to his or her own Legion, local Anacreon, and Deathlord, each Legion member is still just an average person-turned-wraith. As such, it will be natural for a wraith to form friendships (known as Circles in the Shadowlands) with other wraiths from similar backgrounds, with similar ideas, or common interests, regardless of Legion affiliation. This can be thought of in much the same way as if a member of the U.S. Republican political party forms a personal friendship with a member of the U.S. Democratic political party. While each has very different political outlooks and agendas, they might both share a love for roleplaying games and thus become good friends. Such personal ties can actually be powerful tools in the political arena. For instance, a friendship could be a very good reason for someone to sway his or her otherwise neutral vote to a vote in your favor. You have then established a favor system in which you may be expected to help out that person or their Legion if the need arises. It very much becomes a system of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” between certain Legion members, all based upon a friendship formed from an unrelated common interest.

Thus a highly political balancing act is necessary. One must learn how to relate to and please other key Legion members, while at the same time not betraying the very ideas that your own Legion is based upon and promotes. If one is successful, it is likely that they will earn the respect of many regardless of affiliation, and thus more easily move up the political ladder of power.

Also, since souls are the currency of the Underworld, favors may be bought or sold with captured wraiths. Slavery is not an unheard of concept in the Underworld and Thralls abound. It is also key to note that if a Legion member is not particularly careful of those who they offend, he or she may end up as a Thrall for sale themselves!

Another political angle to consider, besides the favor system, is the Hierarchy’s policy on contact with the living, which is simple: Don’t do it, or we’ll turn you into a cooking utensil. However, each Legion is willing to bend the rules for its own – all the while coming down on violators from other Legions like a ton of soulforged bricks. The trick then, for most wraiths, is to break the Dictum only when there are friendly members of one’s own Legion around. In these paranoid times, accusations of Dictum violations fly as fast and furious as did accusations of Communism during the McCarthyism era of US politics. A well-timed charge of Dictum violations, even if the target is innocent – or acquitted – can take a wraith out of his stride for days, weeks or even years - getting someone who is “in the way,” out of the way.