D&D: Buddying Up With The Boros Legion – Guilds Of Ravnica
They are Legion–and they fight for Truth, Justice, and the Ravnican Way. Come meet the heroes of the Boros Legion.
The Boros Legion are a band of devout warriors, devoted to the concept of justice. They protect Ravnica against corruption, tyranny, and lawlessness that threaten the lives of the people. They combine the force of the law, military strength, and a desire to shape Ravnica into a just society. Believing that justice is the highest ideal, they will go outside of the law to try and defend those who cannot save themselves–but as you might imagine, sometimes this can lead the more zealous members of the Legion to err in their judgement. Either way the Legionnaires of Boros are a shining bastion to the commoners of Ravnica.
The Boros Legion is an exemplary guild for anyone who wants to be a knight in shining armor. They are heroes, through and through (at least from their point of view) and are characters of action. They are deciders and doers, who will not sit back and watch idly as Ravnica is threatened. And their faith is rewarded, in general–given that they are headed up by Angels. In Ravnica’s ancient history, the archangel Razia founded the Boros Legion, and heralded them through the long years up until the decamillennial event when she was slain.
Boros is a legion recovering from trauma–and a legion working to keep to the ideals that once guided them even as the world around them shifts and crumbles. Now that the Guildpact is bound to a Planeswalker, they have begun increasing their vigilance–wary that Gruul Marauders or Dimir infiltrators might work to bring them down during one of Jace’s absences. But by and large, the Boros know that truth and justice are on their sides. The Angels embody the ideals they hold dear, and work to try and ensure that the Legion upholds them.
As a Boros Legionnaire, you are a soldier. Whether human, minotaur, goblin, elf, or vedalken, all are welcome in the ranks of the Legion. And as a raw recruit, you might have been motivated by their ideals, perhaps you were saved by some of their soldiers, perhaps you sought a chance to be a hero–whatever the case, Boros Legionnaires can expect to be proficient in Athletics and Intimidation, and can draw upon their Legion Station to try and access any Boros garrison in Ravnica. This ensures your party will always have a safe place to rest, and if there’s a medic stationed there, they can help heal your wounds.
As you might expect from a legion, their bonus spells are suited for war and reflect divinity. Fire Bolt and Sacred Flame are the cantrips that form the basis of all Boros casters–and you’ll find spells like Guiding Bolt and Beacon of Hope to help buff your party while smiting your foes. And as you grow in the ranks of the Boros Legion, you will start to make a career for yourself. Once you’ve carried out a few successful missions, you’ll become a Sergeant. As a Sergeant, you’ll have authority over a small squad of soldiers–drawing on 1d4 of them as needed.
Having distinguished yourself as a Sergeant, there are many options available to a skilled Boros Legionnaier. You might become an elite soldier, perhaps joining the ranks of the Skyknights or the Wojek League. These are special roles within the Guild, and give you access to special equipment when on Legion duty. The Skyknights get access to a Skyjec roc, which is a CR 2 monstrosity that works as a flying mount for loyal knights. The Wojek League, on the other hand, is military police and intelligence. These are scouts and spies and commandos who look for threats to Ravnica wherever they may be–even if they’re from within the ranks of the Boros Legion.
For more typical soldiers, though, promotion results in becoming a Brigadier, which means you are now responsible for missions and tasks that can’t be done by a lone person–or even an adventuring party. A Brigadier has command of six squads of five soldiers, and you can assign them to various tasks within your jurisdiction as you see fit. You can call on five soldiers to personally aid you on a given mission, and more importantly gain access to the Boros Charm, which lets you cast Crusader’s Mantle or Haste once before vanishing–or if you want something more offensive, you can use the Charm to cast Guiding Bolt as well. Casting a Guiding Bolt using the Charm means you’ll regain hit points equal to the damage the Bolt does.
After becoming a Brigadier, you might become a Sunhome Guard, which is another leite soldier. They are responsible for defending the Guildhall–and will receive missions revolving around protecting the guildhall, Sunhome, which is located in the Tenth District of Ravnica.
If you choose to continue the normal advancement though, you’ll become a Boros Captain, meaning you can now call upon 2d4 soldiers as your personal retinue, commanding four brigades in general. Your tasks will focus on keeping a district safe–you’re as much Watch Commander at this point as you are warleader. And you’ll have a Comfortable Lifestyle to show for it.
Live long enough and you’ll become a Commander, which means you have leadership of a major garrison in the Legion. You’ll be in direct contact with the angels of the Legion, and the Guildmaster, Aurelia, will often task you with a complicated, multi-step objective like improving recruitment, or figuring out how to deal with Dimir infiltration, and so on.
This might be one of the more straightforward Guild Rank systems–these are fantastic little subsets of rules, and this one help ground your character in the world of the game. There are subordinates under them, tasks above them, pressures on the character from all angles. And all angels. Especially when your Guildmaster is a CR 23 Angel:
And as you can see, she does not joke around in combat. She and the other Battleforce Angels are deadly when they take to the field. And it feels good to see more and more NPCs come with abilities that enable the rest of the encounter around them. At any rate, that’s the Boros Legion.
Enjoy for now–and until next time, Happy Adventuring!
