The General ⚔️

Episode 4 of Echoes of the Unnamed For 3-6 investigators of levels 6-8

“In the perfect formation, we march to our own extinction.” - Sergeant Chaos

Introduction

The Iron Prefecture’s armies move like clockwork beneath Commander Steel’s calculating gaze. Every battle becomes an exercise in mathematical certainty, each soldier a component in a grand geometric equation. Yet across Steel’s face, a single diagonal scar defies their perfect patterns - a reminder that true combat cannot be reduced to numbers alone.

Act 1: The Strategic Citadel 🏰

The Perfect War Room

The command center pulses with living battle maps and whirring tactical engines, every surface covered in endless calculations.

Scene: Battle Planning > Commander Steel traces perfect geometric formations: “War is mathematics. Nothing more.” > A junior officer reports: “Sir, the guerrilla forces… they’re not following any pattern.” > Steel’s scar throbs visibly: “Then we shall teach them perfection.”

Command Features: - Tactical engines project troop movements in crystalline precision - Battle maps recalculate victory probabilities in real-time - Officers move like chess pieces across strategic floors - Every wall displays interlocking combat equations

Pattern Recognition

Players might observe: - Troops moving in perfect geometric formations - Officers speaking in mathematical terms - Strategic displays showing only perfect outcomes - Steel’s scar pulsing when plans go awry

Act 2: The Training Grounds ⚔️

Formation Fields

Where soldiers learn to surrender individual combat instincts to the greater pattern.

Scene: Perfect Drill > “Left! Right! Calculate! Strike!” > Sergeant Chaos watches from shadows: “They’re not soldiers anymore. They’re variables.”

Training Features: - Geometric drill patterns etched into grounds - Soldiers moving with mechanical precision - Combat calculators measuring perfect strikes - Pattern-enforcement fields

Act 3: The Old War Room 🗝️

Sergeant Chaos’s Haven

Hidden beneath the citadel, where true tactical thinking survives.

Military Horrors: 1. Formation Entities (HP: 90, AC: 17) - Manifest as perfect geometric shapes - Attack in synchronized patterns - Enforce tactical conformity - Drain combat initiative

2. Strategy Spectres (HP: 70, AC: 16)
   • Calculate perfect counterattacks
   • Move with mathematical precision
   • Eliminate tactical uncertainty
   • Convert chaos to order

Act 4: The Final Battle ⚡

The Convergence

Steel attempts to perfect warfare itself, triggering a clash between pattern and chaos.

Boss Fight: Commander Steel (HP: 150, AC: 19) - Phase 1: Formation Master - Controls troop movements - Creates geometric battlefields - Forces pattern compliance

• Phase 2: Perfect Strategist
  • Calculates all possible outcomes
  • Manipulates battlefield geometry
  • Enforces tactical certainty
• Phase 3: The Scar’s Truth
  • Chaos breaks through patterns
  • True combat emerges
  • Perfect formations shatter

Resolution Paths

Breaking the Pattern

Players can: - Introduce random tactics - Trigger Steel’s scar memories - Disrupt formation geometries - Embrace combat chaos

Saving True Combat

Success requires: - Preserving tactical initiative - Breaking formation control - Freeing the soldiers - Restoring warrior spirit

Aftermath and Hooks

Immediate Effects

• Return of individual combat
• Tactical creativity resurfaces
• Soldiers regain initiative
• Patterns echo in movements

Future Threads

• Market calculations emerge
• Trade patterns form
• Economic certainty looms
• Perfect commerce threatens

DM Guidance

Creating Atmosphere

• Describe mechanically perfect movements
• Contrast instinctive and calculated combat
• Emphasize the horror of controlled warfare
• Build tension between order and chaos

Key NPCs

Commander Steel - Speaks in battle mathematics - Moves with geometric precision - Troubled by the scar - Remembers true combat

Sergeant Chaos - Uses guerrilla tactics - Teaches combat instinct - Resists battle patterns - Understands true warfare

Appendix: Random Events

Battlefield Disruptions (d6)

1. Pattern interference
2. Formation break
3. Strategic anomaly
4. Tactical chaos
5. Combat memory
6. Military rebellion

Combat Horrors (d6)

1. Living formation
2. Perfect soldier
3. Pattern enforcer
4. Strategy ghost
5. Mathematical battle
6. Tactical void

“True victory lies not in perfect formation, but in the chaos of courage.”