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Author Topic: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread  (Read 99216 times)

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #45 on: July 13, 2011, 03:33:27 AM »
Quote from: finarvyn;467905
An interesting thread. I used to play the old board game Kingmaker (based on the Wars of the Roses) and often thought that the map would make a fun fantasy England campaign. Your Albion write-up sounds like if could fit this concept quite well!



The neat thing is that the board breaks England down into political regions, has spaces for movement, and the game already has dozens of noble houses with coats of arms and army strengths. That could be useful as well.



Kingmaker is a great game, and I have both that game and Columbia's "Richard III", both of which feature awesome maps set in this period.  I will likely be using one or both of these in some way during the campaign.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #46 on: July 13, 2011, 06:05:36 AM »
Quote from: RPGPundit;467960
That's quite good, and I may use it.  Is it actually based on local folklore in any way, or did you make that up?

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Local folklore. It's about 2 miles from my house. Local schools still have trips to the forest to visit these sites.

Field Place (Shelley's old house) is about 500 yards away from me, but that's a few centuries too advanced!

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #47 on: July 13, 2011, 04:49:44 PM »
Excellent! I'll be making use of that in my campaign, then.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #48 on: July 13, 2011, 06:28:05 PM »
Quote from: One Horse Town;467917
Sussex:

St. Leonards forest is an ancient and foreboding place with many ill-fated rumours surrounding it. About half-way between Horsham and Pease Pottage are the Lily Beds, an area of the forest carpeted in Lily-of-the-valley. The plants grow where St. Leonard's blood spilled during his battle with the Dragon of St. Leonards forest during the 6th century.

Reports of serpents persist to this day and they are curious in that their approach can often be predicted by an offensive smell.

Tales also tell of the ghost of Squire Paulus, whose headless ghost leaps up behind riders, gripping them fast around the waist until they leave the forest edge.

Deep within the forest is Mick Mill's run - a half-mile track on the forest floor where plants and trees alike will not grow. The legend states that a woodsman met the Devil in the forest and ran for his life, the fiend close on his heels. Where the Devil's feet touched the earth, plants refuse to grow.

A crumbled tower now overgrown was said to be the abode of the St. Leonard's vampire. A sad creature with a rotted nose and maudlin manner. Brave souls who venture into the heart of the forest report strange lights coming from the crumbling edifice but refuse to investigate. The previous Sherrif lost both his own life and those of his 2 mastiffs whilst near this place.


Good stuff. Do you have a (book or online) source that tells the tale of the St. Leonard's vampire?
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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #49 on: July 15, 2011, 11:42:15 AM »
Quote from: Cole;468072
Good stuff. Do you have a (book or online) source that tells the tale of the St. Leonard's vampire?


Eek. There's a book on vampires that covers it, but it's in storage at the moment.

Chronicles of the Vampire?

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #50 on: July 15, 2011, 11:43:59 AM »
Quote from: One Horse Town;468280
Eek. There's a book on vampires that covers it, but it's in storage at the moment.

Chronicles of the Vampire?


I'll take a look at the couple of history books I have on the subject and see if it's in either of them. If I find it I'll mention it.
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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #51 on: July 15, 2011, 12:45:20 PM »
St Leonard's also has a 9' serpent, a headless spectre and the Mike Mills Race - where a notorious smuggler challenged the Devil to a race.

THE ultimate guide to England's legends - set out county-by-county is called The Lore of The Land by Westwood and Simpson, I've seen it on Amazon and eBay.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #52 on: July 15, 2011, 04:50:58 PM »
I've added the section on the Northern Marches and the Bishopric of Durham to the main page, skipping to that section on account that its where the game will be starting, tomorrow.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #53 on: July 17, 2011, 04:24:59 AM »
Well, I'm happy to say that the first session was a big success.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #54 on: July 19, 2011, 04:39:15 PM »
Updated first post for Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #55 on: July 19, 2011, 08:09:04 PM »
Good stuff. I'm enjoying reading this, and it shows an impressive understanding of British history.

Obviously I'm shocked and appalled that my own county is portrayed as a bunch of savages!
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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #56 on: July 20, 2011, 02:58:24 AM »
Quote from: spaceLem;468910
Good stuff. I'm enjoying reading this, and it shows an impressive understanding of British history.

Obviously I'm shocked and appalled that my own county is portrayed as a bunch of savages!


Does it make you feel any better that in my campaign, "Scots Man" is actually a class?

The party actually has a Scots barbarian/mercenary NPC with them. In the first game session, he murdered the Earl of Doncaster with a claymore in an alley in Durham.

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #57 on: July 22, 2011, 01:36:27 AM »
A Few More Notes on Clerics:

As explained previously, the Clerics have their own order within the Church.  Its immensely powerful, on account that only the Clerical Order has magical power derived from the Unconquered Sun.  It is the ability to make miracles that automatically leads one to be inducted to that order, whether one was previously a priest, or a layman.

The Clerical hierarchy is thus very influential in the church, but at the same time the nature of this structure is a natural way to sideline Clerics from being able to dominate the church as a whole.  The Clerical order must obey the dictates of the Church; and while the Supreme Commander of the Clerical order (currently Thomas of Iberia, a nation which manifests a large number of Clerics, perhaps out of necessity of needing to oppose both local chaos-cults, the barbaric Basques, and the southern caliphates of the moorish followers of the god of the Crescent Moon) is answerable to no one but the Pontifex (currently Pontifex Nicolaus V), at the same time no Cleric can gain the rank of Bishop, Cardinal or Pontifex.

In exchange, they are virtually a law unto themselves.  In all nations that follow the Unconquered Sun, clerics have special privileges, are treated as Knights regardless of their social class at birth, do not have to follow many of the secular laws, and need only answer to their commanders in the order and local priests of the rank of Bishop or higher.

Clerics meet in special temples, and have their own priories and abbeys.  There are male and female clerics, each living in separate priories; and indeed, there are few places where women can achieve more independent agency, respect, or authority than within the clerical order (certainly in comparison to living in a regular sequestered nunnery).  Even so, there are still limitations based on gender, women cannot rise to the rank of captain, commander or high commander (much less supreme commander) of the order, and female lieutenants are quite rare.

Within the order, the rank structure establishes rules of obedience; rank is connected to the level of initiation that a Cleric has achieved, which is in turned tied to the level of divine magic they are capable of demonstrating.  There are seven circles within the clerical order, corresponding to the seven levels of clerical magic.   When a cleric demonstrates that he has been blessed with a higher level of magic than previously held,  he is initiated to the next level, unveiling another point of the "holy heptagram", the special and secret symbol of the order.

The inner teachings of the order are a closely-guarded secret, but revolve around the symbolism of the various planets in their orbit around the Unconquered Sun, and are said to culminate with an ultimate union with the Unconquered Sun itself, a mystical state of return-to-godhead beyond the comprehension of normal man. Clerics are sworn never to reveal their secret teachings to outsiders, though many have also said that any who was not a cleric would be incapable of understanding these teachings.  

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #58 on: July 23, 2011, 03:30:40 PM »
The Knights of the Royal Star:
The Order of the Royal Star is the foremost order of knights in the land of Albion.  It was founded by the Mad King's Great-great-grandfather King Edward III, who ruled Albion for over 50 years and was generally considered a good king.  It is rumoured that Edward conceived of the order after visiting the Holy City of Heliopolis in a crusade. The order consists of men chosen by the King to serve in defense of the King and the Realm, all of whom must be among the greatest warriors of the land, all men of chivalry, and all sworn to brotherhood.  They meet under usual circumstances at least once a year as an order, though typically the men of the order of the Knights of the Star will be the King's army commanders and advisors, so they are often together more frequently than that.  The "Star Chamber", the room in the royal palace after which the king's council of advisors is now named, was first built as the meeting place for the Order of the Knights of the Royal Star, and it is still there that they gather (the room is so named also because it features an impressive ceiling made to look like the night sky).  It is a known fact that the "royal star" is the planet Venus, which emerges in the morning heralding the coming of the Sun.

What is less known are the secret teachings given to the Knights of the Royal Star, to which all inductees are sworn to secrecy.  There can never be more than 26 Knights of the Royal Star; that is, 25 plus the King himself.  There are ritualistic reasons for this, revolving around the numbers 1, 25, 2, and 13.  Much of the ritual's significance is largely lost today, because the interpretation of the ritual was meant to be secret, and from King Edward's time its depth has been partially lost.  Knights of the Star today are taught is that the Morning Star is a symbolic feminine "consort" of the Unconquered Sun, and that her true name is Wisdom.  They are taught to treat opponents who are not servants of Chaos with chivalry and honor, and that Wisdom marks the Sun and Moon alike, as both are reflections of a higher Light and Fire, which are the true nature of the spiritual Sun.  These thoughts are nearly heretical, and most Knights today would be shocked if they knew that most of Edward's ideas about the order were in fact inspired by his encounters with the Tariqat, also known as the suwwuf or "wise ones", the miracle-working mystics of the religion of the Crescent Moon, who are the Saracen culture's equivalent of the Clerics of Albion and the Continent.

The High Commander of Clerics in Albion is always an honorary member of the Knights of the Royal Star, and have reported to the Pontifex that the order is faithful to Law and in compliance with the faith of the Unconquered Sun.  This may be due to the fact that in truth, the secret rites of the Knights of the Star and the truths that they reveal are not unlike those of the secret rites of the Clerical Order itself, where the 2nd Circle deals with the nature of Wisdom and the union of masculine and feminine in the spiritual realm, in the 3rd Circle it is implied that the Sun in the sky is but a pale reflection of the "true" Unconquered Sun, in 4th Circle it is revealed to the cleric-initiate that the Unconquered Sun and the Crescent Moon are in no way enemies as they share the same light, and by the 5th Circle it is revealed that the true nature of Law is an ineffable Light.

Furthermore, there is spiritual proof of the orthodoxy of the Knights of the Star, in that its initiates gain spiritual power.  Any who goes through the initiation as a Knight of the Star gains the divine gifts of being able to Detect Evil at will, and Protection From Evil once a day.  This power is kept a secret, Knights being told to use it only with great care and in circumstances that demand it.

Sadly, the Knights of the Star are, at present, an order divided.  The Mad King was initiated to the order only upon reaching the age of majority, and it may be he was unready for the revelations and esoteric power of the initiation, as it was shortly after that he began his descent into madness.  As such, selections for new candidates for the Order of the Royal Star were made by Thomas De Scales, the current Commander of the Order.  Many of those so chosen were of Yorkist inclination, including Richard of York himself, as the order is not meant to be a political organization (indeed, all those chosen to be Knights of the Star may be rich or poor, as low in rank as a humble knight, but must all be proven warriors (usually of at least 5th level, excepting the King himself), and known as leaders of men).  Today, the order threatens to split into Yorkist and Lancastrian sides; if a war begins, Knights of the Star may find themselves fighting on opposite sides.

Of the current roster of the Order, the following knights are favorable to the Lancastrian camp:
King Henry VI ("the Mad King")
Sir Thomas de Scales (a humble knight but current Commander of the order)
Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham
Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset
Sir Ralph Boteler, a Captain of Calais
John Viscount Beaumont
Sir Richard Wydeville

The following would be favorable to the Yorkist Camp:
Sir John Falstaff (friend and fighting companion to King Henry the Great)
Richard of York, Duke of York
Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury
William Neville, Lord Falconberg
John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk
Sir Henry Bourchier

The following are neutral and would be expected to remain neutral:
Sir John Beauchamp
Thomas Stanley, Sovereign King of the Impenetrable Isle of Mann (who has been invited to join but has not yet had the opportunity to be initiated into the order)

In addition, the current high commander of the Clerical Order, Thomas Beckynton, is an honorary member of the order.  He wants peace above all but will favor the King should there be war.
Also, foreign kings have sometimes been given honorary membership in the Knights of the Star, but these do not receive initiation, or the spiritual benefits that confers, nor are they counted against the total of knights allowed in the order.  Current Honorary Members include Prince Henry "the Navigator", of Iberia, King Afonso V of Portugao in Iberia, King Alfonso V of Aragon and Neapolis, and King Casimir IV Jagiellon of the Commonwealth. All of these Kings, in exchange for the honor of membership, have promised to "all-ways receive well any Knight of the Star who should visit their lands".

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Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #59 on: July 28, 2011, 05:02:30 PM »
Dark Albion Campaign; Middlesex Expanded

The city of London is the capital of Albion, and has been for most of its history, certainly since the unification of Albion under William the Bastard.  The city's history is much older than that; it was a Cymri village originally, and was later chosen by the Arcadians as their capital in the time when Albion was a province of Arcadia; at that time the city was called "londinium".

It is the largest city of Albion, with a population of nearly 30000 people. The only other city that even compares in size to this is York, which has a bit over 20000.  All of the other major cities of Albion: Newcastle, Coventry, Norwich, Bristol, and Salisbury, have over 10000 but under 20000 people.

London is a vile large sprawling filthy den of infamy, for the most part. Filled with cut-throats, disease, mobs, fanatical movements of all stripes (political and religious), and dark cults; it is also where one must go to gain influence and power, or to find knowledge, rare artifacts, valuables in trade of all kind, training, or rich patrons.  The ruler of London is, in theory, the Lord Mayor.  This is a relatively minor title from the point of view of the kingdom as a whole, but it is one that the lower gentry will sometimes kill each other over the chance of obtaining it.  The current Lord Mayor of London is Stephen Forster.  Since the time of King John Lackland, the mayor has been chosen not by royal appointment but by election, held by the powerful Livery Companies (or trade guilds) of the city.  By law, the Lord Mayor must have previously served at least one term as city sheriff, and be a present or past Alderman of the city (member of the city council). Elections are held every year on the day of the Saint-Celestial Mikael (29th of September).  Voting is by show of hands, but any liveryman present may demand that a second vote, by ballot, be held a fortnight later.  This often ends up happening as a political maneuver.  There is a great deal of scheming and occasional violence that takes place in the struggle to win the mayoralty.  The day after the election is finally ratified, the Lord Mayor proceeds in a parade to the royal courts of justice to swear allegiance to the King; this is known as the "Lord Mayor's Show", and is a great procession and feast with much pomp; mayors often try to outdo the prior holders of the office in terms of how much is spent on pomp and pageantry for the event.
In spite of the grandeur of the office, there are at least two groups that hold more power than the Mayor in the city: the Livery Companies, and the London Mob.

The Livery companies are the trade guilds of the city, they control monopolies on the trade relevant to their company.  Anyone wishing to participate in a given trade must first join the company as a "freeman" of the company; you can attain to that position by virtue of inheritance (if your father or grandfather were members), or by servitude (after serving a period of 7 years as an apprentice to the company).  Some companies also allow one to enter by "redemption", which is the paying of a substantial fee to skip the period of apprenticeship. Companies often grant honorary membership to people of note, usually those people have no training in the trade involved and are not expected to work in that trade.  After serving for a certain minimum period of time as freemen (usually either 3, 5, or 7 years), a freeman can ascend to the rank of "liveryman" by vote of the company liverymen.  Each livery company has its own "livery hall", where the members meet regularly to conduct business.  The liverymen of all the different companies unite in a Common Hall, in order to exercise their traditional right to elect the sheriffs and mayor of London.
There are 48 officially warranted Livery Companies (that is, companies that have a charter and a right therefore to exclude any others from practicing their trade) in London, more than in any other city, though most cities have a good number of equivalent trade guilds. The first 12 companies are known as the "great twelve" and are the most powerful companies of the city:
1 The Worshipful Company of Mercers (General merchants)
2 The Worshipful Company of Grocers
3 The Worshipful Company of Drapers (Wool and cloth merchants)
4 The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
5 The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
6 The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
7 The Worshipful Company of Skinners (Fur traders)
8 The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
9 The Worshipful Company of Salters
10 The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers
11 The Worshipful Company of Vintners (Wine merchants)
12 The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers

After the great 12, in order of antiquity, you have: The Worshipful Companies of Dyers, Brewers, Leathersellers, Pewterers, Barbers (Barbers, surgeons, and dentists), Cutlers, Bakers, Wax Chandlers, Tallow Chandlers, Armourers and Brasiers (Armour makers and brass workers), Girdlers (Sword-belt and dress-belt makers), Butchers, Saddlers, Carpenters, Cordwainers (Fine leather workers), Painter-Stainers, Curriers (Tanned leather dressers), Masons, Plumbers, Innholders, Founders (Metalworkers), Poulters, Cooks, Coopers (Barrel makers), Tylers and Bricklayers, Bowyers (Longbow makers), Fletchers (Arrow makers), Blacksmiths, Joiners and Ceilers (Wood craftsmen), Weavers, Woolmen, Scriveners (Court document writers and notaries public), Fruiterers, Plaisterers (Plasterers), Stationers (paper makers) and Broderers (Embroiders).

There is considerable dispute between the Company of Taylors and Skinners as to which is the older company, to the point that the members of the two companies will often engage in violent brawls against each other, and that they have over the years maneuvered at one time or another to have their order of precedence switched.  The feud has no sign of abating.

All of these powerful guilds have to a considerable extent defined the city of London as it currently exists, many of them have entire neighbourhoods of the city dedicated to their trade, giving origin to street names like "cordwainer street", "old fish street" (where the Fishmongers are based), "Bread street", "goldsmith's row", etc.

But perhaps even more powerful than the Livery Companies is the Mob.  London's underclass survives largely by begging or by crime (as well as the occasional day-labour).  The livery companies have a stake in all three pursuits, and street gangs are often financed on the sly by the local company, to provide security of sorts to the neighbourhood and its business, and sometimes to act as strongmen in conflicts with other companies or rival groups in the city.  These street gangs, often associated to the Livery Companies, accordingly tend to operate in similar ways to the companies themselves, and refer to themselves in fanciful titles like "The Worshipful Company of Free-gentlemen of London" or "The Antient Company of Stranglers". Of course, these various "thieves' guilds" have no official recognition whatsoever.

But oftentimes, charismatic gang leaders can end up becoming powerful agitators of the population of the city as a whole, and the famous "mob" forms, a mass of city folk barely controlled that seems to act with a mind of its own to commit violence or destruction in the name of some cause or another.  Most recently, the mob has been raised on three occasions: first, in a series of riots in protest against the corrupt chancellors of the Mad King.  Second, ironically, to fight off the revolt raised in the countryside by the rebel leader known as Jack Cade (also known as "Jack Make-Amends").  Despite the fact that Make-Amends sought much the same goals as the mob itself had in their earlier riots, when Jack and his ragtag army of rebels entered into the city, the mob of London turned against him.  He had managed to raise up an important part of the south in rebellion, murdered the Lord High Treasurer of the time, and several allies of the Queen's faction, but when Jack entered London and began acting too lordly for his own good, the London Mob's leaders took umbrage at this country bumpkin coming in and trying to usurp their authority, and ended up slaughtering Jack and his men on the London Bridge. The third time and most recent time the mob rose up of late was to declare itself in support of Richard of York, committing violence against a number of Lancastrian supporters and plunging the city into lawlessness until the Star Chamber was forced to submit to the mob's will and call Parliament; the Parliament, where the Yorkists have greater influence, was only too glad to order Richard of York's return to Albion from Eire.

Important landmarks in London include the Tower of London, the London Bridge, St.Apollonius' Cathedral, and the Cleric Charterhouse Priory.  The Tower of London was once a royal castle (first built by the Cymric king Lud, though wholly rebuilt several times after that) and is now used as a prison for the most important (usually noble) prisoners awaiting trial.  The courtyard of the Tower is used to behead those prisoners sentenced to death.  The garden of the tower is filled with ravens, and it is said that if the ravens ever leave the tower completely, then Albion will fall to conquest.
The Bridge is a mighty construction which crosses the Thames, out of London and into the town of Southwark, on the southern shore of the river. The heads of executed traitors are traditionally stuck on pikes on the bridge.  The southern side of the Thames is more swampy, and has a reputation as a place where criminals go to hide out or have secret meetings.
The Cathedral of St.Apollonius is the largest of several temples of the Unconquered Sun in the city; several kings have been crowned here, and more than a few are buried here as well. The Cleric Charterhouse Priory is found outside the city wall, and some of the surrounding farmland belongs to the Clerical Order for their benefit; the Charterhouse has 25 clerics stationed there permanently (though there could be room for up to 200 clerics staying there at any given time). The Priory features an impressive Clerical Temple, as well as a Hospital first built 100  years ago in the time of the Black Death; the Clerics here treat those suffering from maladies or injuries that they find worthy of their care.

Also outside the city walls is the Savoy, a private palace belonging not to the crown but to the house of Lancaster.  It is where the Mad King and the royal family usually reside when they are in the London area.  The grounds of the Savoy feature a village and a small hospital which is run as a charity from the queen's personal treasury.
Both the Charterhouse and the Savoy are outside the legal authority of the Mayoralty of London; thus the forces of the London Sheriff may not enter there.  This has occasionally led to criminals wanted by the Sheriff's office escaping the city walls and hiding or taking sanctuary in either the Charterhouse or the Savoy, though of course there they would be subject to the justice of the Clerical Order or the house of Lancaster.

London is located on the Thames river, and the region immediately surrounding the city is known as Middlesex.  It is the land's major center of commerce and agriculture, an important region to control if you want to rule the country. The area of Middlesex is littered with small towns and villages that are satellites to the city of London, making it by far the most urbanized area of the whole land.

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