Bodenolf Free Regiment

Soldier, sit you down and idle
At the inn of night for aye.

Unbalanced scales

Lucas Rajan should feel satisfied.The war is over. Eorzea has won.He returned from the revolution in Ala Mhigo. He built an empire and turned it over to his people. Their futures are secured.But the chill touch of rage is never far. Its hand is so easy to hold when it is politically expedient.

History: A personal story

This story is intended as part of Lucas' MSQ. I'm taking a break from DMing from the back seat, and I am going to indulge myself!Now that Lucas has orchestrated the sale of Aetherscale Enterprises to its employees, it's clear the rumors he dodged about not being a true monetarist were far more than rumors. He's spent years appearing harmless and has taken great pains to avoid political harm to himself while building wealth and power over many campaigns and ventures.But now the cat is out of the bag. Lucas Rajan is a royalist. And, they whisper, he might just be a revolutionary.

The plan

In order to mitigate political harm, and to continue gaining power while public with his politics, Lucas intends to place front and center his nationalistic pride in Ul'dah. He is organizing an expeditionary force (the St. Bodenolf Free Regiment) to hunt down Garlean remnants and seize their wealth and machina for profit.He walks a thin line with his goals. While the former Ala Mhigan rebel would have this action further his commitment to freedom and liberty for once conquered lands, it would be all too easy to take too much from the imperialists, or to intimidate others into obsequiousness.And then there is the blood his heart would have him spill to balance the scales for so many comrades, and his own brother.

Call to arms

The BFR is currently recruiting soldiers of all stripes and all manner of auxiliary. It is advertised as a means to bring glory to Ul'dah and its oldest ally, Ala Mhigo, while getting a little payback and bringing aid to those once under Garlemald's thumb. And it pays well.Lucas will be reaching out to potential recruits from the BFR. But if you're interested, do reach out! Lucas Rajan in game or MithrilDM#6221.While the scope of the story is larger than many past stories, recruitment is intended to play out organically.

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The story

The following link provides a recount of the story summary, from start to finish, as recorded in the appropriate channel for such reports!https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nFbqljyNjxkFYLv0t3iyQP4gapvtNRf49fT95zPSeKA/edit#

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who took part in the story! This list is taken from the Discord roster at the end of the campaign:

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RP Prompts

The following is a tally of all the answers to RP prompts in the BFR! It also includes other fun, creative contributions, both in the Google doc and the other links.Prompts:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12rGwIO1NUt1HE9MjBrRmEJZS3D9o9vG61bxxFGURGqQ/editUniforms:
https://bfruniforms.carrd.co/#Ranks:
https://bfrranks.carrd.co/

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The BFR will return again...For Fortune and Freedom.

Find here the final details of the story

Final battle

Sangrid, Gisela, Booshie, Jaran, O'rylah, Arslang and I'radebh (and mammet-Saoirse!!) plunged into The Dig to deal with Tarquinius once and for all as he tried to power up the golem. He turned out to be a pathetic loser — a mad, power hungry man sacrificing his own soldiers and officers for glory and strength.However, due to the BFR's victory on the field, the golem was still contained, and quite vulnerable. They were able to overpower it to some extent, and O'rylah even took Tarquinius' head off with a well-placed shot. The situation had, after all, become quite messy, despite the desire to bring Tarquinius back for trial in Ariel.The battle was fierce, with single blows from the golem capable of devastating multiple people with multiple wounds at once, and with it all, the party was surrounded by grim carvings of blood being spilled upon a red sun in heretical Azeyma worship.During the fight, the elusive B.D. showed up as a shadow and made everything more complicated.He began to drain the golem of its power, revealing why he helped Tarquinius in the first place. To distract the team from stopping him, he activated two weapons on the golem, one which would devastate the BFR with powerful magic, focused on Captain Rajan. Another would level Ariel.The party had to make a decision, and chose defending the BFR first.Luckily, they were able to fight so well, they stopped BOTH attacks in before it was too late!Sangrid drank dragon's blood, and used the power to damage the golem core, but it wasn't quite enough. However, Saoirse piloted a mammet infused with anti-gravity power thanks to research by House Sotelier ( @Sangrid (specialist, outrider) ), @Saoirse Quincy (AO) (CA) [Crys] , @Veata Aydelotte (Aux. Scout) , @O'rylah (chief sergeant) (CA) , and @Yuno (aux. healer, enchanter) . She used that power to take over the golem, and finish destroying its core!Ultimately, B.D. made away with HALF the power he came for, as the party had focused on saving the BFR and Ariel. But he didn't make off with all the power. He left, cursing Sangrid for previously slaying his other lieutenants, and someone called "The Painter" who he claimed previously hindered him.

Victory

The BFR's march into the highlands was more successful than could have possibly been imagined. After a cunning strategy brought about the liberation of Ariel, dedicated specialists and teams of soldiers made the march to Tarquinius' stronghold go off without a hitch. Along the way, Captain Rajan's proficiency as a commander grew.The final battle was more decisive than expected, with hundreds of lives saved, and many Garleans freed from their oppressive commander allowed to return home.Even the ultimate showdown with Tarquinius and his mysterious benefactor, B.D., was a rousing success, with both the BFR and the village of Ariel saved at the last minute from magical mayhem. Though B.D. has escaped, and we know not why he empowered The Yellow Riders and Tarquinius, The St. Bodenolf Free Regiment has won.

Last Word

But now, soldiers, auxiliary, you return home. Starlight is here. Magic and wonder await you at home. Peace and rest are well deserved.But the choices you made on this campaign, and the lives your choices lost, may weigh heavily. No matter how decisive victories may have been, the choice to fight at all means too many families will learn their sons and daughters will never return home. They will not have Starlight.The BFR, and its investors, have no shortage of loot to divide up, and gil to earn from this expedition. Was it worth it?

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