OSR Commentary On GW1 Legion of Gold By Gary Gygax, Luke Gygax, & Paul Reiche Ill & B2 The Keep on the Borderlands

 Over the holiday weekend we got together & played quite a bit (more on that later on). But what came to mind was our old GW1 Legion of Gold adventure romp. And the fact that the module was never resolved per say. Was GW1 ever actually resolved?! Was the Reaper A.I. destroyed per say? 

GW1 Legion of Gold By Gary Gygax, Luke Gygax, & Paul Reiche Ill premeired in Nineteen Eighty One. And Legion of Gold leaves more question then answers. Even though GW1 is for first edition, this module has been played in first, second, and fourth editions of Gamma World over the years. But GW1 leaves more questions then answers. Such as the fact that the Barony of Horn has to be employing other adventuring parties to have emassed such a powerful presence in the region. And this was made even more evident by this thread on the Piazza website here. What if the Barony of Horn is actually a wasteland warlord living in the shadow of the Orgs?! 
But what were the Legion of Gold's original purpose before the programming of Reaper was perverted by the ages?! There are several things that can be deduced from the cybernetic menaces. One they are immune to all mind influence magicks & powers, two they are under the direct control of the A.I., and two they have a very limited decision making abilities. 
So the Legion of Gold are the perfect weapons to use against the brain lasher menace. And yes, I do realize that this is Mutant Future but hear me out. Check out the Mutant Future wiki entry on them; "The Brain Lasher (also known as Mind Flayers) is a sinister humanoid alien. Its head resembles an octopus, with a round mouth lined with four large suckered tentacles, and four small, slime dripping tentacles. Its lanky body is humanoid, but it has four fingers on each hand, all of the same approximate size with no distinguishable thumb. The tips of its fingers have retractable, hollow claw-like talons. It wears clothing, but its visible hide reveals metallic green and copper colored, swirling patterned slimy skin.

"Brain Lashers are very intelligent and have powerful minds. They will often attack by stealth and subterfuge rather than full out assault. They will try to capture their enemy with henchmen, instead of intervening outright. If they intervene, they prefer to soften threats with mental attacks, before they close in by grasping the opponent’s heads. Once grasped, the hollow claws will puncture the skull in a few seconds, and instantly suction the victim’s brain into accessory stomachs within the Brain Lasher’s forearms. Once the slimy probes reach the brain, the victim is instantly killed, and the Brain Lasher will have all the victim's knowledge and memories. They may retain some key details (usually stuff that will give them a tactical edge), but much of it (typically the mundane things that are of no importance) will go away after 24-hours."

Jeff Dee artwork used without permission from S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks

"It is rumored that Brain Lashers come from some other, distant world, which may not be impossible due to t their ability to plane shift. Others have said that Brain Lashers have control of alien technologies, which they wield to further their goals of domination, power, and enslavement."

"Brain Lashers are usually loners, and they do not operate in large numbers unless motivated by a common cause - such unions rarely last, as they are constantly scheming for power. They prefer to live deep in the depths of the earth, often occupying dangerous underground ruins or deep, expansive caves. They will usually have a bond of Homo erectus slaves - usually about 30 - which they create from humans with ancestral form, and breed as slaves for excavating their dwellings and using for other unspeakable tastes.

"As aliens, they live in spaceships or high-tech bases, and they make use of alien technology. They use ancestral form and genetic manipulation to spawn strange creatures or even living instruments."

Brain Lashers card stock characters from Skirmisher publishing available here. 

If we look deeper into GW1 then we find that the Barony of Horn's borders are perfect to drop in Gary Gygax's B2 Keep on the Borderlands. The Brain Lasher menace sits quietly in the background waiting patiently to feed on the PC's. 

So the Barony of Horn becomes very important as it allows the PC's to be recognized as legitiment minor royals taking on the role of wasteland or wilderness barons themselves. And this is especially true when these two old school resources are combined with Adventurer, Conqueror, King's Barbarian Conquerors  of Kanau.