Hack in the Dark - Warfare in the Dark Ages 250 to 1000 A.D.
The power of Rome was on the eve of destruction. The empire was facing relentless invaders who wanted a better life within the borders of the empire. Rome had built walls to keep these invaders out. The walls did not work and were abandoned. The monetary system was crumbling with trade falling and coinage debased. The reforms of Diocletian only enslaved the people to fixed social positions destroying the middle class while making the people of Rome dependant on government bread and circuses. Immigrants called foederati were given land taken by the government from Roman citizens. The senate of Rome was corrupt and completely disregarded the needs of the Roman people and the empire by selling political and civil service positions. The foederati¸ Arian heretics under the authority of petty kings called regales¸ persecuted the one social institution that had saved Rome from the Huns; the Church. The problems of Rome were the problems of the known western world from north to south and west to east. It was an age of change ending the Classical period and beginning a Dark Age. The light of the world would not be snuffed out. The flame was kept alive by mythic figures like King Arthur of Britain. Alfred the Great would rebuild the burned scriptoriums and churches instituting fortified towns called burghs. The Frankish king Clovis¸ at the edge of his francisca¸ established a new kingdom which would become France. Charlemagne would create a new empire and preserve the best of the old Roman empire. The scriptoriums of the Church kept the knowledge of the past alive within the walls of monasteries. Church leaders cared for and defended the people feeding the poor and ministering to the sick in the transepts of the churches as the barbarians repeatedly robbed and ravaged the country side. In the middle east and North Africa great Moslem scholars would also preserve literature and mathematics. Militarily the barbarians rained death and destruction with new tactics and new weapons. The foot slogging Roman legionaries now spoke in German tongues. Heavily armored lance and bow armed cavalry dominated the battlefields of Europe and the middle east. Hack in the Dark takes miniature gamers back to those dark days. It is the job of the player to utilize all the tactics and weapons of the period to either defend civilization or to bring it down. Players can find support on line at our site: http://www.classicalhack.com.. Here you will find errata¸ FAQ¸ system up dates¸ you can contact the author directly and many other interesting items including¸ designer notes¸ articles on Hack in the Dark and much more. Look for other LMW Works Products which are used with this title. ;