Dark Albion: the Origin Thread

[RPGPundit]

Anyone still finding this interesting?

RPGPundit

[jadrax]

Yes.

[brunz]

Me too. When I'm doing the fantasy RPG thing, it's always more fantastic than this, but I'm happy to be a player in such a campaign, any time. Enough detail, eithout being overwhelming, and an interesting melding of English history and... LotFP, it seems (still haven't checked that out, though I did read your review).

Would like to hear about any PC activities that stand out, but more of the same would also be just fine. Seeing the process of a setting being fleshed out like this, is good stuff.

[deleted user]

Anyone still finding this interesting?

RPGPundit

Yes, it's the best stuff you've written -

I think LotFP as a system would be better with Small But Vicious Dog and it's Toffs and Toadys supplement to give it that extra flavour.

[RPGPundit]

As far as interesting things the PCs have done; so far in the first session they started out in the North, and rather than immediately choosing to serve either Lord Egremont or Sir John Neville, they decided to take advantage of the local chaos to go loot some empty noble's manors.  Along the way they ran into some trouble (when a noble's house they raided turned out to belong to a mad alchemist who had left behind a couple of monstrosities) and ended up having to join up with Sir John's band, and fought at the battle of Stamford Bridge where they distinguished themselves.

In the second session, a different group of PCs already in the service of the Earl of Westmoreland were sent out to the little village of Pembrookton to examine reports of a werewolf stalking the area.  It turned out to be not one but six werewolves; and the PCs had a hell of a time exterminating them.

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

Wiltshire and Berkshire

Wiltshire (often called Salisbury on account that this city dominates the county)  and Berkshire (sometimes called Oxford) are two land-locked counties in the southern center of Albion. They both have a long history of influence and are major populated areas.  That doesn't mean that they aren't without their places of adventure.  Much of the New Forest and some of the Windsor forest spill over into Salisbury, and the southern tip of the Rutland Forest (once known as "The Savage Forest") spills over into Oxford.  The area of Wiltshire was once the central spiritual capital of the religion of the old Gods, the Neutral nature gods, and many unusual centers of spiritual power can be found there.  There are considerable old Cymri barrows in the region, including the massive Silbury Hill, the largest burial mound in Albion (130 ft tall), located near the town of Avebury.  This is said to have been the burial place of King Sil, a legendary Cymric king said to have ruled the entire south 4000 years ago.  It is apparently protected by ancient pagan magic; and all attempts to tunnel into the hill have met with disaster; with those entering in never coming out, and the tunnels they dug seeming to disappear overnight. Salisbury also features the White Barrow, the longest barrow in Albion, 240 ft long at the surface, but believed to be only the top level of an extensive underground complex; the area near White Barrow has periodically been plagued by excursions of Goblins, leading some to believe that there is a Goblin city under that barrow. Berkshire also features the White Horse Hills, notable for the immense white chalk horse carved into one hillside; which are said to be dotted with ancient tombs; and are certainly home to both bandits and rebels as well as supernatural dangers.

Wiltshire: The territory of Wiltshire includes the major city of Salisbury, the town of Devises, and a variety of villages including Avebury.  It is also the site of the Stonehenge, the ancient circle of menhirs that was the epicenter of the old pagan religions. Salisbury, a major city, was once known as Sarum, and was a stronghold of one of the last major Cymri kingdoms east of Wales.  It was in Wiltshire that the last major battle between Anglemen and Cymri was fought, 800 years ago, for dominance of the area. The city is still divided into two parts called Old Sarum, which is on the Sarum hill, and New Sarum, which is the richer area around which the Salisbury Temple is located.  This temple was built in the reign of King Henry of Winchester (Henry III), during a period in which the town experienced massive growth and became one of the major cities of Albion.  The only other significant center of population (that is, with more than 1500 people) is the town of Devises, which is renowned for its fine ales; but Salisbury is also dotted with huge numbers of villages, as it is one of the most populous farming regions of Albion.
The area having once been a major center of the old religion, all of Wiltshire (and to a lesser extent, the counties that border it) is dotted with menhirs, large magical stones that were essential to the magic of the pagan Druids, now extinct.  Even now, any arcane magic-user casting a spell within close proximity to a menhir will cast the spell as though he were 1 level higher in power.  Most of these menhirs stand solitary in fields or forests, but there were some that were arranged into complex circles; in most cases those are now mostly rubble (and grant no additional bonuses), but there are two that are noteworthy.  The first is the Stonehenge, the circle of stones most holy to the old cymri pagans.  No one knows how old it is, but Cyrmi lore states that the stonehenge was made by the Fae, in the time when the Cymri were but brutish slaves of this immortal and terrifying race.  Lore has it that the Fae used the henge as a portal from which they could travel to anywhere in the world or in the fae realms.  The knowledge of how to do this, if it is even still possible, has long since been lost.  In the time of the Druids, the site was used for human sacrifice in the solstices and equinoxes, and to power mighty sorceries. The Druid order as true organization was destroyed by the Arcadians when they held the isle; and after the Arcadians left, the remnants of the Druid religion used Stonehenge primarily as a burial place for kings.  According to legend the King Uther Pendragon (father of the greatest cymric king, Artur) is buried here, as well as several other cyrmic kings of note. The Stonehenge today is part of the property of the Amesbury Abbey, and the monks actively and violently discourage anyone from approaching the site; from time to time powerful wizards have still attempted to access it and make use of its power, thus the Abbey usually has a handful of Clerics stationed there to guard against such an incident. For summoning purposes, Stonehenge still acts as a +10 thaumaturgic circle, and grants double the usual bonus for sacrifices if any sacrifices are made there; as well as treating any other spell cast within the circle (arcane or clerical!) as being cast by a character three levels higher than the caster.
The other major circle is perhaps even more unusual.  It is quite a bit larger than stonehenge, so large in fact that an entire village rests WITHIN the circle, the village of Avebury. The Avebury henge consists of a huge outer circle, with two inner circles contained therein.  The village is within the whole of the outer circle. According to legend, Avebury was the oldest village of free Cymri, and the circle around Avebury, though probably constructed by the Fae, was used to make it impossible for the Fae to attack the village.  On account of this the local villagers, though all apparently faithful adherents of the Unconquered Sun, were reluctant to do any harm to the stones.  In the time of King Edward III, a particularly zealous cleric named John de Hoby convinced the local lord and the peasantry that the stones were blasphemous, and began an effort to tear down the stones and bury them; but at the start of this venture there were a series of accidents, and later horrific deaths that seemed to happen in the night (de Hoby himself disappeared one night, the parish house where he was staying showing signs of a terrible supernatural attack the next morning and the local priest found completely insane and incoherent), sightings of fae, and finally, Salisbury became one of the first regions of Albion struck with the Black Death.  On account of this, the King himself ordered that the stones be restored and no further means be taken to harm them. Unlike Stonehenge, the stones of Avebury do not seem to be of any major use to human magic-users (aside from the usual bonus a menhir grants), or at least not any known special use, so there have been few problems related to that, though there will often be Magisters from Oxford or Cambridge present in the village, studying the stones.
Richard Neville (senior), the powerful Yorkist leader and Earl of Salisbury, is the theoretical ruler of this region; however, he is by ancestral ties based in the north, having obtained the Earldom of Salisbury through marriage, the last of the old earl's line being Neville's wife Alice.  As such, the Earl does not spend much time in this region.  In order to counterbalance the influence of the Nevilles in this county, the Mad King (or more accurately, Queen Margaret) granted the competing title of Earl of Wiltshire to James Butler, called "The Eireman"; a semi-barbarian chief of the Ormond tribe of Eire who has shown great loyalty to Albion and the King in helping to maintain Albion's power in Eire. Butler happily abandoned his native land and the life of a powerful savage chief in order to live the much more comfortable life of an Anglish noble, bringing along his younger brother John (who is, incredibly, training as a magister in Oxford!), leaving the rulership of the Ormonds in Eire to his youngest brother Thomas. James is fiercely fanatically loyal to the Lancastrians, and generally resented by the locals, who are mostly Yorkist.  The city of Salisbury's council of aldermen are entirely Yorkist in their sympathies.

Berkshire: This is a mostly rural county (well known for its farming as well as a booming wool trade), on the other side of the Thames river from Wiltshire.  It is notable only for the college town of Oxford, the oldest university in Albion, and still the most prestigious.  Oxford university was founded in the town by King William Rufus (William II), and later expanded by King Henry Curtmantle (Henry II).  It produces the greatest lawyers, scribes, doctors, and theologians of the kingdom, but is probably best known for its school of Magisters, developed as a means to train and at the same time establish certain levels of qualifications and state controls over the practice of magic among the upper classes.  At any time there are hundreds of students of magic in the town.  The current Magister Chancellor of Oxford is George Neville, who is a powerful though very young magician at only 21 years of age.  He was discovered to be gifted at a very young age, and has quickly outstripped his contemporaries in both knowledge and ability at magic; though certainly his ascent to the Chancellarium at such a young age is in part a political act based on the influence of his powerful family.
Berkshire was historically part of the territory dominated by the powerful De La Pole family; the Dukes of Suffolk, but this lineage has been disinherited after William De La Pole, also known as "Jackanape" for his foolishness and incompetence, was largely held to blame for the recent disastrous losses of Albion on The Continent.  The Star Chamber had ordered his arrest and he had been sentenced to banishment, but he was murdered while still on the ship crossing the channel of Albion.  His young son John De La Pole would be his heir; only 12 years old, John already hates the memory of the father he barely knew, for the humiliations and suffering he's been made to endure; and he hates the King who he holds responsible for his father's death (when others were at least as responsible for the losses on the Continent as his father was).  The young lad is determined that one day, whatever the cost, he will regain his family's title.

[The Traveller]

Moar paragraphs.

[RPGPundit]

Moar paragraphs.

Well, I'm glad you're liking it!

[The Traveller]

Well, I'm glad you're liking it!

Loving it, you need to either sticky it or put it into pdf form so it doesn't vanish into the endless depths of the internet at some stage in the future. I'd like to see maps and it broken down with details by region for easy access as well.

[RPGPundit]

Loving it, you need to either sticky it or put it into pdf form so it doesn't vanish into the endless depths of the internet at some stage in the future. I'd like to see maps and it broken down with details by region for easy access as well.

As for preserving it, don't worry. Once all the regions are covered, I'll probably move this to the Pundit's forum, and sticky it.

As for maps, I don't know if you need one really, since its basically identical geographically to medieval england.  In fact, if you can find a jpg of the board for either Columbia Games' Richard III or AH's Kingmaker, you'd have the maps I'm primarily referring to (along with an historical map of 15th century england).

I'm not sure what you mean by "broken down by region"?

RPGPundit

[The Traveller]

I'm not sure what you mean by "broken down by region"?

Well say I wanted to run a campaign in that London section - I need to be able to firstly find that section, get a quick overview, find the plot hooks, and use the rest as needed, with an emphasis on the highlights. I guess I'm referring to layout again really.

[RPGPundit]

Well say I wanted to run a campaign in that London section - I need to be able to firstly find that section, get a quick overview, find the plot hooks, and use the rest as needed, with an emphasis on the highlights. I guess I'm referring to layout again really.

Ah.. well I don't know how easy that would be to repair, really, at this point.  Its haphazard because its being developed haphazardly.  I guess maybe if somebody someday makes a PDF of this or something, maybe..

RPGPundit

[RPGPundit]

Dark Albion

The Severn River and the Cotswolds

The area around the Severn river includes three counties of note: Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester (often called Warwick).  It is a region dominated by the port city of Bristol, one of the most important cities of the kingdom.  A second major city is found in Worcester, the city of Coventry.  There are likewise several major towns: Gloucester (in Gloucester, obviously), Worcester and Kenilworth castle in Worcester, an the towns of Hereford and Shrewsbury in Hereford.   There are a great deal of villages as well; as a whole, this area is rich in commerce and population and is sometimes called "The Heart of Anglia".   North of where the Severn river meets there can be found a region of low rolling hills known as "the Cotswolds".  The cotswolds are rich in a particular type of yellow stone just under the soil, and many villages in the region are full of houses built of this material.   The hills themselves are quite peaceful and heavily populated, with a strong church presence and a conservative attitude; but those digging in the stone quarries have found a great number of huge bones, mostly of dragons, suggesting that at least at one time long this region was part of a kingdom of Dragons, though none has been seen in the hills in at least two or three centuries.
Hereford has a rich forested area known as the Forest of Dean, believed to be one of the oldest forests in the land.  It is a crown forest, used as a hunting ground for the king (the forest has a great number of particularly large and ferocious wild boars).  The Forest of Dean area is rich in coal and iron mines, as well as limestone quarries (these are worked by the Brotherhood of Free Miners, a company granted the exclusive right to mine here by the great King Edward Longshanks (Edward I), when the men of Hereford proved of great valour in his wars against the Scots Men.  One of the largest mining complexes is known as the Clearwell caves, a series of natural caves with several underground lakes that run deep into the earth; and the higher levels of which have been extensively used for mining iron as well as ochre; the lower depths of the cave are unknown, and the miners fear to go too deep, having sometimes had mysterious disappearances and heard terrible noises from the depths of the caves' lower regions.  The forest itself is full of huge trees, dark and deep areas of vegetation where few humans go; ancient barrows can be found in the depths of the forest. It is said that somewhere deep in the center of the forest is a sacred spring where the Arcadians, when they ruled this land, built a huge temple to the old Arcadian god Nodens (one of several deities they worshiped before turning to the faith of the Unconquered Sun).  Abandoned when the Arcadians became followers of the light of the Unconquered Sun alone, the ruins of the temple may still be filled with unknown riches.
The area of Warwick also has a large forest, the Feckenham Forest.  The crown has hunting rights here, and the forest is rich with deer, and wild boars (though not as large as those of the Dean forest), and some huge wild cats are said to hunt in the depths of the forest. The most problematic creatures in this forest are the wolves, however, which exist in great numbers and show considerable ferocity and intelligence.  Since the time of Edward Longshanks, a bounty has been paid to hunters in the town of Worcester of 3 shillings for each wolf's head they bring back from the forest. The Clerical order suspects that some evil forces (possibly Werewolves) may be behind the presence and power of the wolf population, and have tried at times to investigate this.  While the local population has certain forestry rights, the hunting of deer is strictly prohibited without the King's express consent; the forest Keeper (usually some prominent local knight, currently a member of the prominent Talbot family) is charged with preventing poaching, and the penalty for anyone caught poaching is 500 pounds or execution!
Also in Warwick there is a complex of stone circles, known as the Rollright Stones; these were said to be the petrified remains of an old Cymric king and his knights, turned to stone by an witch when the king sought to conquer all of Albion. The local peasantry still believe the place is a holy site, believing that touching the King Stone on the Summer Solstice brings protection, and warn visitors off from the area; attempts to destroy the stones has resulted in curses and misfortune.  Legend has it that once in a generation, the stone king and stone knights come back to life for one night, slaughtering any they can find before returning to their place.

Gloucester: This county is the beneficiary of the majority of the trade coming in to and from Bristol, as well as being a center point in the borders between southern Anglia, central Anglia, and Wales. In old Cyrmic and Arcadian times, the capital of this region was Cirenster, which today is barely a village; by the time of William the Bastard, the most important city in the region was Gloucester, after which the county is named, but since then its influence has steadily declined in favor of the port of Bristol, which has now grown to be one of the major cities of Anglia. Bristol's prominence is due to its being the most important port city for trade in the western coast of Anglia, and almost all the trade with Eire is done through Bristol. The city also receives a great deal of trade from The Continent, and its not uncommon for Iberian wines or swords made of fine Moorish Steel to be found in the markets here. Bristol is a free city with its own governing council of aldermen and mayor (the current mayor is the powerful merchant William Canynge, who owns no less than 10 merchant ships, the largest private fleet in the kingdom, and is a Lancastrian favorite of the queen), and at about 18000 inhabitants it is the third largest city in the kingdom (after London and York).  A significant part of Gloucester is crown land, and the most powerful noble family here is the relatively minor house of Lord Berkeley. The current lord, 60-year old Sir James Berkeley, is known as "James the Just" and is well liked by the people, though his eldest son William (age 29), known as "William Wassail", is well known to be a drunk and something of a scoundrel. His younger son, Maurice "the lawyer" (who studied law at Oxford) is known to be a far more responsible and serious person, and some have hopes that he will inherit the family title somehow.  The Berkeleys are nominally lancastrian, and the city of Bristol is mostly lancastrian, but most of the rest of the countryside of Gloucester favors the cause of Richard of York.

Hereford: This county is the most rural and least populated of the "heartland counties", party dominated by the forest of dean, and bordering the Welsh Cambrian mountains.  It is sometimes victimized by monsters, giants, or barbaric cyrmi tribes attacking from those mountains. The Mortimers, the descendents of Prince Lionel, a younger son of Edward III, were based in Hereford; this is the family of the mother of Richard of York.  As such, this county is very firmly Yorkist. Despite this, the other important family in the region, the Talbots (earls of Shrewsbury) are Lancastrian.

Warwick:  This county, also called Worcester, is truly found in the heart of Albion, and is a vital region of trade.  Its primary local industry is wool and textiles, and Coventry grew from being an important market town for these products to becoming one of the major cities of Albion. It is the newest of the major cities, and was only granted a charter as a free city in the time of Edward III. The city is famous for its perfect blue cloth, and the term "true blue" is used to describe cloth that has been authentically made in Coventry, as opposed to a counterfeit. The city also features massive (10 foot thick and 15 foot high) walls, with 32 towers and 12 gatehouses, making it the best-defended city outside London. The city of Coventry is dominated by Lancastrian influence, and would serve as a safer base of operations for the lancastrians than London.
The rest of Warwick is under the rule of Richard Neville (junior), the Earl of Warwick.  The eldest son of the Earl of Salisbury, he is only 25 years old, having inherited the earldom at the age of 6.  He has spent considerable time in Warwick since his teen  years, as a way to gain a name for himself outside of his family.  He is already well known not only for his personal power and wealth, and his family connections, but for being famed to be one of the most brilliant young nobles of the land. He has been quite politically active, and has become a hated enemy of the corrupt Duke of Somerset, using his intelligence to try to oppose the man at every turn; this has put him in direct conflict with Queen Margaret, and has made him (and all the Nevilles) the staunch ally of Richard of York.   It is suspected that Warwick will be every bit as intelligent in battle as he is at politics, though he has not had the opportunity to have this put to the test as of yet.  With the conflicts between Yorkists and Lancastrians growing worse daily, the Earl of Warwick has been raising a large army in the name of Richard of York in Worcester.

RPGPundit

[Joshua Ford]

I'm about to head off on my annual Euro roadtrip, but remembered this thread when I was sorting out the study. For inspiration for the Scottish/English border you could do far worse than read The Steel Bonnets, by George McDonald Fraser (of Flashman, McAuslan and Octopussy fame). It's a history of the families that raided the borders in the late medieval period:

//www.complete-review.com/reviews/frasergm/sbonnets.htm

I think it served as an inspiration for these figure ranges too:

http://sgmm.biz/borderreivers.html (and if not, it should have)

You may want to consider that the Scots shouldn't be stronger than Albion on their own (even if they unite), but the Auld Alliance could be in place at this point and perhaps a Bretonnian presence could be found north of the border, or at least their agents?

[RPGPundit]

Brettonian? Do you mean Frog Men?

RPGPundit