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Renegade Legion


Renegade Legion is a series of science fiction games that were designed by Sam Lewis, produced by FASA, and published from 1989 to 1993. The line was then licensed to Nightshift games, a spin-off of the garage company Crunchy Frog Enterprises by Paul Arden Lidberg, which published one scenario book, a gaming aid, and three issues of a fanzine-quality periodical before reverting the license.

Set in the 69th Century, the series allowed gamers to play out the battles between the "Terran Overlord Government (TOG)", a corrupt galactic empire, and the "Commonwealth", an alliance of humans and aliens. The focus of the plot, like with many strategy games, is to present a long term conflict to enable as many individual situations and environments as possible. Most of Renegade Legion deals with large, military battles to be played on hexagonal grid mapsheets in a turn-based rules system.

The setting can best fit into the space opera category. The themes involve large-scale military operations as the Terran Overlord Government (TOG for short) attempts to completely conquer the Milky Way Galaxy. There are many alien races involved, and stories often use elements such royal bloodlines, betrayal, and normally leave little room for a peaceful solution.

The back story to the setting has the human race exploring and colonizing many worlds in the galaxy, and coming into contact with several important alien races. After the Snow Plague that eliminates most of the human race, Earth is invaded and conquered by the Kess Rith, a reptilian alien race that can best be physically described as half iguana and half centaur.

Later the humans on Earth successfully rebel and drive off the Kess Rith by emulating the ancient Roman civilization. Over the span of centuries of time this new human movement, which started out as only a noble liberation of Earth and human colony worlds becomes a military dictatorship after a terrorist bomb kills most of the senate. The new government is then led by a Ceaser (dictator for life), and appoints a number of personal representatives called Overlords who wield nearly unlimited legal power. It is at this time that a significant disaffected portion of the TOG military defects to the Commonwealth, another human space faring nation smaller than the TOG. TOG becomes increasingly militant, engages in bloodsports, legalizes slavery, and reduces women to property of their father or husband in order to remove their right to vote as women often ruled against further military expansion and conquests. After defeating the Kess Rith, the new Terran Overlord Government continues their military conquest and attacks other nations who were neutral during their time spent under Kess Rith rule.


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