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Fan Forums => The RPGPundit's Own Forum => Topic started by: RPGPundit on June 30, 2011, 05:53:19 PM

Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 30, 2011, 05:53:19 PM
(Edit: Dark Albion (http://www.dcrouzet.net/heroes-witchery/?page_id=206) is now a major OSR setting product, with two supplements thus far. Follow the link above to purchase it, or the newest supplement Cults of Chaos  (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/187942/Dark-Albion-Cults-of-Chaos)here)

I. OVERVIEW:



Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century. That means that Henry VI is on the throne and he's gone mad. His wife Queen Margaret is either "the scheming bitch who is controlling everything" or "the only hope of resisting the corrupt noble lords who plot to ruin the kingdom", depending on who you ask. The realm is caught up in a great conflict between the royal family (the Lancaster branch of the Plantagenet dynasty) and their cousins of the York branch; who's leader is the charismatic and powerful Richard of York. Consistently denied what he and his supporters felt was his rightful place of influence over the kingdom, Richard has now made the claim that he is the rightful King of Albion, , by virtue of being the product of various lines of royal descent, some of which did indeed have an arguably better claim to the throne than the Lancasters (who achieved the throne by usurpation only 50 years ago). Desperate negotiations are under way to attempt to avoid civil war, and desperate preparations on all sides are taking place in case it cannot be avoided.


A. THE GOVERNMENT:


Henry VI (in his early 30s) is the Mad King, who spends long periods of time catatonic, interspersed with brief periods of mad delirium, and very brief spates of lucidity. Even before he went mad, he was never a good king; having come to the throne at the age of one, and having been mostly a puppet of powerful aristocrats ever since. The real power behind the throne is Queen Margaret (in her early 20s), who has built up an alliance of noblemen to back her interests... oh, and those of the King, of course. The government of the kingdom is done from the noble council known as the Star Chamber, but there is also a Parliament, which is called periodically and has certain powers, most notably the giving of titles and offices. The commons, clergy and nobility all have representation of different kinds in the Parliament, and thus powerful men (like York) who are kept excluded from the Star Chamber (by the queen), can still manipulate their way into great power when the Queen finds herself forced to summon Parliament. There are several factions of nobles in Albion, who are increasingly being lumped into one of two groups: the followers of the "Red Rose" of Lancaster, or of the "White Rose" of York. Among the most powerful and influential families are the Nevilles (including the Earl of Warwick, who is seeking an alliance with York), the Percys and the Beauforts (both supporters of the house of Lancaster and thus currently in power).

Aside from this, regions are divided into Counties and Duchies (as well as some Bishoprics ruled by the high clergy of the Church), ruled by aristocrats (though these must conform to the King's laws in their rule), and a few free or "chartered" cities, like London and York which are governed by a lord mayor and a council.


B. RELIGION:


The dominant religion in Albion is the monotheistic Church of the Unconquered Sun. This faith, which took hold over the pagan gods of Arcadia almost 1500 years ago, dominates most of the known world, outside of Frogland and barbaric countries like Scots Land, Eire, or the faraway lands of the Rus. South of the middle sea, and in parts of Iberia, the civilized men there (of very distant exotic lands like Turk Land, Araby, or Saracen Land) follow another Lawful deity, the god of the crescent moon. But very little is known about that by the average Angleman.

The Church answers ultimately to the Pontifex in faroff Arcadia, but here in Albion it is the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who is the ultimate spiritual authority; his power is not absolute, however, and the various bisoprics throughout the land exert great authority. The common people participate in daily prayer to the Sun, weekly temple services on Sunday, and many feast days in honor of the different Saints of Law.

The average priest has no magical power; there are those priests, however, who develop miraculous gifts, magic from the Unconquered Sun; who are then given a special classification; they are Clerics, called upon to fight against evil however they will, as champions of the Unconquered Sun. The order of Clerics has significant power, but must respect the authority of the Bishops and the head of the Clerical Order is answerable to the Archbishop. Even so, the fact that they alone have the power to work miracles gives them a great deal of influence and clout, both among the common people and in the church hierarchy.

The earlier faith of Albion was the tribal worship of the Old Gods, Neutral spirits of nature still worshiped in parts of Cambria, in remote places in the Pennine Mountains and the forest of Sherwood, and by some backwards rural communities in various areas (particularly Salisbury, which was the ancient center of power of this pagan faith). Likewise, both the Eiremen and the Scots Men still worship the Old Gods. There are no clerics of the Old Gods in Albion, though in Scots Land and Eire there may still be druids who have miraculous power from these nature deities.

There are also the Dark Gods, gods of Chaos who have many different (usually inhuman) forms and natures, that are worshiped by the Picts and some of the Cymri, as well as by secret cults in Albion. Worship of Chaos is strictly forbidden in Albion, and the penalty is death. These gods grant no miracles, though they can grant arcane power, either to magic-users or in the form of other dark gifts.


C. MAGIC:


Spellcasting is a very rare art in Albion, but it is not without its adherents. Sorcery and witchcraft are prohibited on pain of death, but magic as such is not; if the magic-user is (at least on paper) a follower of the Unconquered Sun. Thus, the difference between what grants you a place on the pyre and what does not is often a matter of luck, class, and actions.

Wise men and women of the lower classes may know a little magic; and the Cymri Travelers are skilled magic-users, but open practice of their magic would risk being denounced as a witch, so they must be very cautious in how they use them. The gentry and nobility have also produced magic-users, who style themselves Conjurers or Natural Philosophers; they are often learned men who are likely to be trained as scholars in the prestigious university of Oxford or the slightly less prestigious university at Cambridge. They call their magic a science, and even the king and most nobles will have conjurers as advisors. But even then, there is a certain danger in their practice; their higher breeding and education permits them to study and practice in the open, but if they make political enemies with power, they might find themselves accused of consorting with demons or worshiping Chaos, and end up losing their heads. The Church is often hostile to those conjurers who do not give them sufficient respect or who cross them. Of course, many of these peasant wise-women or upper-class conjurers really ARE involved in Chaos Cults, which only complicates things further.


D. MINORITIES:


There is only a limited amount of racial diversity in Albion; aside from the Anglemen who make up the bulk of the population, there are also some of the Cymri that continue to exist as barbarians in Cambria, but also some descendants of Cymri stock who refused to adopt the culture or ways of the Anglemen. These are known now as the Travelers, known for their colorful dress and migrant nature, they travel from place to place selling cheap wares, performing as entertainers, or living as thieves; alone or in small "tribes". They are known for being practitioners of sorcerous magic and are generally treated in a range from tolerance to open hostility; prone to be persecuted or blamed for any misfortune that may strike a community where they pass through, though likewise sometimes called upon for their expertise in either thuggery or magic. Likewise, some Scots men have traveled south, exiles from their clans for the most part, to work as mercenaries in Albion. They are seen as what they are, barbarians, but are often respected for their capacity for violence. In London as well the largest port cities (Bristol, Newcastle, Southampton or Chester) men from more exotic lands may be found. But for the most part, Albion is a pretty insular place.


E. TECHNOLOGY/WARFARE:


There is no standing army in Albion; each noble is responsible for raising up his own troops, the vast majority of which will be peasants, as well as mercenaries. Knights are the lowest class of nobility (though still far above the common man) and are the officers of these forces. The Knight is still the great powerhouse of warfare, on mighty steeds armed with lances and plate mail.

Black Powder is still in its infancy; the bombard (cannon) is a new and often unreliable technology, more common in parts of the Continent than on Albion; even so, forces on both the Lancastrian and Yorkist sides of the brewing conflict are purchasing Cannon. The Hand Cannon or Arquebus is still practically unheard of here, though it exists on the Continent; its acceptance in Albion has been severely slowed due to the pride the locals have for the Long Bow, which they feel was responsible for their victory over the Frogmen at the battle of Agincourt. Even so, a few of these quite expensive, unreliable weapons have begun trickling in.


F. DANGERS/ADVENTURE:


There are still many parts of Albion that are wild and dangerous. Ruins abound from earlier peoples, be they barrows in Salisbury, in the depths of the great forest of Sherwood, the Pennine Mountains, the wild lands of Cambria, the swamps of the Wash, or the frontier brutality of the Northern Marches. Monsters of various sorts lurk in these dark uncivilized pockets. In the cities, cults of chaos plot, as well as more mundane thieves guilds. Bandits loot the countryside, some portraying themselves as "rebels" in these troubled times. Tales are told of treasure-hordes from ancient kingdoms before the time of the Anglemen, still waiting to be found in the depths of mountain caverns. Dragons and Giants exist, though they are dwindling and it has been centuries since either made themselves seen in the civilized regions.

The Fae, the inhuman beings who once ruled this isle, were eventually overthrown by the Cymri they held as slaves, after the Fae had bred with some of them and given them secrets of magic; but it is said the Fae were not extinguished, only forced away into some other world; and in some magical places the border between the realm of Fae and the world of men becomes tenuous. From these places, the Fae may seek to bring chaos to the world of men, either raiding themselves, or sending forth Changelings (creatures that can mimic the appearance of a man) to do their bidding.

Goblins too were once slaves of the Fae, and stories are told that the Goblins were not wiped out, but live on in vast underground cities deep beneath Albion.

Undead of all types are not uncommon; those poor men who have not been given the proper burial rites may rise again as ghouls, zombies or skeletons; ancient pagan kings may haunt their barrows as Wraiths or Wights; and servants of the Dark Gods may be granted a foul mockery of eternal life, not united with the Eternal and Unconquered Sun, but in this physical realm as vampires or liches. Demons too, and more incomprehensible extra-planar beings, may be set free to roam in our world by evil or careless magicians.



II. REGIONS:



Albion is divided into a variety of fiefdoms, some very small, others quite large. The largest landowners are the Church, the Crown (house of Lancaster), the house of York, then the house of Neville, the house of Beaufort, the house of Percy, and then various other nobles.

While there are no central regional administrations, the important areas of Albion can be divided into the following:


A. LONDON:


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".

London is found in Middlesex, the region immediately surrounding London; a major center of commerce and agriculture, an important region to control if you want to rule the country. 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.


B. THE EASTERN COAST:


The eastern coast is a region consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent; the southern half of Albion's eastern coastline. It was where the Anglemen first arrived on the island over a thousand years ago, and is full of places of historical and religious significance, as well as modern economic and strategic import.

The limits of the eastern coast region are at its northernmost point the bay known as "The Wash", an estuary region with tricky tides and bordered by swampland known as "The Fens" (a wild area, commonly inhabited by bandits and more than a few swamp creatures), and at its southernmost point the White Cliffs, huge natural cliffs of chalk that provide an excellent natural defensive position against invasion from The Continent.

1. NORFOLK:

The northernmost county of the eastern coast, historically known as Angleland, it was one of the first regions occupied by the Anglemen when they arrived in Albion. Today it is the most populous county in the east coast, and holds the populous and important city of Norwich, as well as the important port of Yarmouth. Caister Castle overlooks Yarmouth, and is the manor of the legendary knight Sir John Falstaff, hero of Agincourt. This portly knight fought alongside the great Henry V (father of the Mad King), and later used his plunder from Frogland to build this mighty keep. He is now 76 years old, though still an imposing figure, and he favors the claim of Richard of York. The Duke of Norfolk, John Mowbray, likewise supports York.

2. SUFFOLK:

South of Norfolk, this smaller county features the port town of Ipswich and a few historical sites of note. It was ruled by the Duke of Suffolk (William De La Pole, also known as "Jackanape" for his foolishness and incompetence), who was largely blamed for the recent disastrous losses of most of Albion's holdings in Frogland, was imprisoned and later murdered by Yorkists en route to exile on The Continent. His son John De La Pole is only 12 years old, and has been disinherited.

Aside from Ipswich, Suffolk also features the pilgrimage site of Bury St.Edmund, where the Angleman king Edmund was buried alive by Cymri barbarians after being defeated in battle; Edmund is considered a martyr of the church of the Unconquered Sun. Not far from Ipswich there is also the site known as Sutton Howe, the burial mound of Raedwald, first king of the Anglemen to invade Albion, and founder of Ipswich, his ancient capital. The area has of late become a haunted place, through dark sorceries or as an omen of the current troubles of the kingdom. It is said that ghosts or ghouls of ancient anglish raiders with axes and horned helms can be seen at night, stalking the area.

3. ESSEX:

The third county in the eastern coast, Essex contains the peaceful quinqueroi forest, and the town of Chelmsford. It is ruled by the 50 year old Earl of Essex, Henry Bourchier, a Yorkist married to Isabella, one of Richard of York's daughters. His brother, Thomas Bourchier, is the Bishop of Ely and Henry is campaigning strongly on his brother's behalf to have him succeed the "Cursed Cardinal" Kemp as Archbishop of Canterbury on the latter's seemingly inevitable demise from the magical wasting disease he has long suffered.

4. HUNTINGDON AND HERTFORD:

Further inland, the regions of Huntingdon and Hertford are governed by the knightly Devereux family, also Yorkists. Huntington is the site of Cambridge Collegium, the second and lesser of the universities of Albion, which has nevertheless produced many a noble Magister, using magecraft for the service of law (and of course, a few chaos-worshipping heretics and evil sorcerers). Hertford has the town of St.Albans, an important pilgrimage site featuring the tomb of Albinus, the first great saint of the Unconquered Sun in Albion.

5. KENT:

The southernmost county of the eastern coast, this is the site of the White Cliffs, and the important "Cinque Ports", five port cities which receive the largest amount of trade from the Continent, as well as one of the most important bases of the Anglish fleet. The title of Warden of the Cinque Ports is a very important office in the land, currently held by the Duke of Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, a strong supporter of the Mad King. The two most important ports in Kent are Dover (right on the White Cliffs) and Sandwich. These form the supply lifeline to the fortified city of Calais, the last of Anglia's holdings on The Continent.

Kent is also where the town of Canterbury can be found; this is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest ranking priest of the Unconquered Sun in all of Albion, in direct line of episcopal descent from Augustine of Canterbury, the first Bishop of the Unconquered Sun in Albion. This town of about 3000 inhabitants features the incredible Canterbury Cathedral, which has been engaged in a constant process of construction for the last 400 years. It is a sprawling massive temple to the glory of the Unconquered Sun, and it is finally nearing completion (it is thought that the Great Bell Tower will finally be complete in another 50 years or so). It also features an abbey, a nunnery, and a Clerical Temple and priory.

The current Archbishop of Canteruby is the ailing 74 year old John Kemp, known as the Cursed Cardinal. A lancastrian, he was a deeply political and corrupt clergyman who profited greatly in the past 16 years of his holding the see; in the last two years he has been suffering from a horrific wasting disease that most agree is of a supernatural nature. His allies claim it is a sorcerous curse brought about by Yorkists, his enemies claim that it is the Unconquered Sun punishing him for his wickedness. The "Cursed Cardinal" has sought desperately for some cure, but to no avail, and is has been the last several months lingering in his deathbed, his body already looking like a rotting corpse.


C. THE SOUTHPORTS


The region of the Southports includes the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset, as well as the Isle of Wights. This is an important and wealthy region of Albion with a long history; it was a powerful center of the Cymri tribes that once ruled the island, then a major center for the Arcadians when the island was one of their farthest-flung provinces, and eventually a center of power for the Anglemen once they had conquered it in turn.

The region features two important forests: the tame Forest of Windsor (which is in this territory as well as Berkshire county), which is a property of the King and used as his hunting grounds as well as to provide timber for the Fortress of Windsor in Berkshire; and the wild "New Forest" in Hampshire. The latter was in fact an old forest (the Arcadians considered it a cursed place, and named it the "Forest of Spinoii"); later, during the reign of the legendary king Arctur, it was known as the Forest Camelot, as it was near his capital city of Winchester, then named Camelot. It was during this period that much of the forest was cut down by druids and warriors, who cleared it of much of its monsters. However, some four centuries ago William the Bastard wished to restore that area as a hunting ground, and evicted no less than 36 villages from that land to reforest it (hence "New Forest"). Peasant magic-users among the villagers took their revenge by awakening ancient evils within the forest, and today it is considered a cursed place again. No less than three of William's royal descendants died in the forest: his son and then heir Richard died killed by a monstrous creature of mist within the forest; 20 years later Richard's younger brother King William II "Redface" died in the forest while on an adventure there, shot through the lung by an arrow from his close friend Lord Tyrell when the latter was deceived by an illusion, and William's grandson Richard Henry "Shortstockings" was likewise killed there, said to have been strangled by a living tree. There are no less than 250 different barrows there, burial grounds of ancient Cymric chiefs; dangerous places of the dead, but said to still be filled with treasure.

1. SUSSEX:

One of the old Anglemen kingdoms, and at one time the most powerful of these, the area of the town of Hastings in Sussex was the site where William the Bastard invaded from Normandie (today part of Frogland), and defeated Harald the Unready, uniting all of Albion under his rule and establishing the Plantagenet dynasty. Today the site is commemorated by the Battle Abbey.

This county is mostly a peaceful place these days, but it was recently the site where the rebellion of Jack Make-Amends began, and the local peasantry are still in a state of vicious unrest against what they see as corrupt and despotic noblemen. They generally blame the nobility, and not the Mad King himself, for the poverty and ills of Albion.

Sussex is governed by the Earl of Arundel, William FitzAllan, who is married to one of the daughters of the Earl of Salisbury, and is a supporter of the Yorkist cause.

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.

2. HAMPSHIRE:

This region is part of the County of Sussex, and includes the port towns of Chichester and Portchester, as well as the major port town of Southampton. It is also the location of the town of Winchester, which was once known as Camelot and was the capital of the kingdom of Logrys during the reign of the legendary Cymri King Arctur, who of all the Cyrmi came closest to unifying the whole of Albion under his rule. Today the town of Winchester is only a shadow of its former glory, and almost nothing remains of its legendary history; it is however the site of Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest and most impressive cathedrals to the Unconquered Sun. The most important nobleman in this region is possibly Sir John Howard, a brother in law of the Duke of Norfolk and staunch supporter of the Yorkist cause.

3. DORSET:

This county is the territory of Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Sommerset, Constable of England, a descendant of John of Gaunt and thus cousin to the royal family, and the stalwart ally of Queen Margaret and the Lancastrian cause. Somerset was deeply impoverished at the time of his ascension and has managed to work his way up to tremendous wealth, mostly through political maneuvering. He is one of the chief causes of the complaints against the Mad King's counselors, accused of severe corruption. He has a personal feud with the Neville family, and particularly the young but brilliant Earl of Warwick, with whom he has had multiple disputes at court. It was Somerset who replaced Richard of York as commander of the forces in Normandie, and instead of capitalizing on Richard's successes there, he led a string of defeats that culminated in the loss of all of Albion's possessions on the Continent except for Calais, making him one of the most hated men in the land. What's more, he enriched himself at this time to the gargantuan sum of over twenty thousand pounds. When Parliament was convened and named York as Lord Protector, York managed to have Somerset imprisoned, but he was freed earlier this year when the King seemingly regained some lucidity and ordered York's protectorate overturned. The Mad King and Queen Margaret's support of Somerset has been one of the chief causes leading to the increased hostilities and the likely outbreak of civil war.

The largest (and darkest) part of the New Forest is found in Dorset. Aside from that, its only significant town is the port of Weymouth.

4. THE ISLE OF WIGHTS:

This cursed and haunted isle was feared by the Cymri as a place where the veil between the worlds was particularly weak. The Arcadian legions, unaware of this, established a fort there. They were eventually besieged and slaughtered by dark monstrosities, and the isle remained unpopulated by humans until the time of William the Bastard, when that king attempted to purge the island of its evil. He established the Castle of Carisbrooke in the northern end of the Isle, in a relatively peaceful area known as the Fair Valley.

Though the castle and surrounding village have remained populated since then, it has passed from one noble family to another, all meeting grisly ends to their dynasties over the centuries. Some 70 years ago it was invaded by Frogmen, but they were held off by the castle's inhabitants, and the monstrosities on the rest of the island eventually forced them off. Some 40 years ago, in the time of King Henry the Great, the local Abbey was discovered to have been entirely subverted to the worship of Chaos; Henry's men purged the place and burned it to the ground. The Mad King gave the Isle to his childhood friend Henry Beauchamp, whom he personally crowned King of the Isle of Wight; but Henry died less than two years later.

Now a Crown Property of Albion again, and administered by a castellan, the village of Carisbrook has recently been disturbed by a spate of disappearances and very recently by the discovery of a series of tunnels underneath the village and castle, as well as signs that some of the local population have taken to dark witchcraft; this is all believed to be connected and that a cult of witches have been kidnapping men, women and children to torture or sacrifice for dark rituals. The rest of the island aside from the castle and village is mostly wild, the inland parts of the isle being exceedingly dangerous. Its name makes it clear that there are obviously undead on the isle, as well as creatures of chaos, and it is said that there may also be temporary or permanent gateways to other planes here. There are also many rumours of great treasures and objects of power hidden away in the forests of the isle, tempting the incredibly brave or foolish.


D. DEVON, CORNWALL, AND SOMERSET


Devon and Cornwall have always been their own special part of Albion, that for a long time resisted being incorporated to the customs and ways of others. The men of this region are neither Cymri nor Anglemen of descent, but Gallic, the peoples who occupied Normandie before the Anglemen. It is not the most hospitable of territory, much of the inland areas consisting of hilly moors most notable for fog and damp. The Dartmoor in Cornwall is the largest of these, and the Exmoor in Devon comes close thereafter.

1. DARTMOOR:

Dartmoor is a vast untamed region of central Cornwall of high cold hills, with very acidic soil, making it difficult for anything to grow. Even up until just 400 years ago, these moors were crawling with goblins, who had long since driven out humans who were there before them. But around the time of William the Bastard, Cornishmen decided to take back the moors, slowly encroaching on goblin territory and killing the foul creatures where-ever they were found. Today, much of the moors is in human hands, though goblins are still seen in the least hospitable areas, ready to slaughter anyone they come across. The humans here may not be much better; these fiercely independent men live almost like barbarians, in small villages composed of longhouses where they have no chief and share resources, they recognize no lord and mostly want to be left alone; though if a winter is particularly difficult, it is not unheard of for a desperate band of dartmoor men to go raiding some of the more civilized areas outside the moors.

Aside from the Goblins and the Dartmoor men, the Fae are often found in these hills, pixies in particular, as well as ghosts of different varieties. The church attempted to erect a series of stone crosses to mark the routes through the moors and offer some protection to travelers, but unfortunately many of these, while still useful as landmarks, have themselves become haunted, enchanted by Fae, or used as a place of ambush for bandits.

2. EXMOOR:

The Exmoor is a coastal moor that the crown reserves a right to as hunting territory. It is much less rugged than the dartmoor, featuring an important castle and a number of pleasant towns whose population earns their livelihood by sheep farming. The lonelier parts of this rather vast natural territory feature old ruins, of ancient settlements of almost all the people who ever lived in Albion; ancient bridges of stone that still stand, even a few stone circles, places of druid magic. The most notable legend, however, is that of the Beast of Exmoor, a monstrous creature that is said to have the body of a huge cat with black fur that may or may not have any of the following: wings, a scorpion's tale, tentacles, two or three heads, fiery breath, an eagle's head, a man's head, horns, a serpent's head, etc. Whatever this creature is, it certainly seems to be real, having killed many sheep from the time men dared to settle in Exmoor. There may even be more than one of it.

3. SOMERSET:

In Somerset, you have hill country and forest, as well as considerable swampland all over the coast of the bristol channel. In the latter, you will often find bandits and other lawless men hiding out. The Minedeep hills are limestone hills in the center of the region, that have been excavated and tunneled since time immemorial. There are ancient and abandoned mines from Cymri times (and perhaps even farther before), Arcadian mines of lead and silver, and of course, modern mining continues, under the control of various Abbeys in the region who have been granted mining rights by the crown. From time to time, they attempt to re-open old mines, needing brave men to venture in and secure them. Aside from that, there are countless barrows and natural caves in these hills as well. Finally, the forest of Westbury is an extension of the Forest Camelot, but far less dangerous.

4. CORNWALL:

The far southwestern tip of Albion, according to legend Cornwall was once a powerful kingdom in its own right, of Galic men who ruled both Cornwall and the part of Normandie known as Bretonie. Cornishmen have always been fiercely different, fighting historically with both the Cymri and the Anglemen at different moments, though they favored the Anglemen who were of the same blood as them. When William the Bastard conquered all of Albion, he deposed the last Cornish king, Cadoc, but made him Earl of Cornwall as compensation. That line has since died out, and Cornwall is now a Crown Duchy, traditionally given to the eldest son of the king. Currently, the one-year-old Crown Prince Edward is the Duke of Cornwall. Apart from a few smaller port towns, the most important port town in the Duchy is Plymouth, often an important port for the royal fleet.

5. DEVON:

This divided Duchy is a scene of much conflict in this troubled time. The highest lord of the region is Henry De Holand, Duke of Exeter; a nephew of the Mad King through his mother's side. Henry Holland is known to be savage, cruel, unpredictable in temperament, and fanatically Lancastrian. He despises Richard of York, in spite of (or more likely because of) having married York's daughter some 7 years ago. The relationship is not a good one. So famous is Henry Holland for his cruelty that the popular torture device known as the rack has been recently nicknamed "The Duke of Exeter's Daugther". He controls the important port town of Exeter.

After him comes Thomas Courtenay, the Earl of Devon (based in the town of Okehampton), also Lancastrian but someone far more caught up in local problems. The Courtenays have a long-running feud with the Bonville family of Devonshire knights, who have struggled to wrest power over the Devon countryside away from the Duke by political means. Since Courtenay has failed to one-up the Bonvilles, who are Yorkists and aided by Richard; the Courtenay family has taken to open violence instead. Thus Devon has a micro-version of the same bloodshed being seen now in the north between Percy and Neville. Finally, the Bonnville family themselves are new nobility, the current Baron Bonville obtained his minor title from a mere knighthood because of his heroics on the Continent. The Bonville family have allied themselves to the Yorkist cause, hoping to take advantage of chaos to rise to new social heights, and displace their hated betters, the Courtenays.

6. SOMERSET:

Like Dorset, this territory is ruled by Edmund Beaufort, the powerful (and incredibly corrupt) Duke of Somerset. The most notable features of this county are the pilgrimage towns of Bath and Wells, and the abbey of Glastonbury. The latter is a mystical site of great antiquity, and now a Cleric's Abbey for those clerics who seek out retirement from the world's affairs. Wells features a number of healing springs that were once sacred to the old druid religions and that some believe in to this day, though for the most part it would seem the "real" springs have lost their power, dried up, or been misplaced. On the other hand, Bath features the great Aqua Sulis, the waters of healing, a place sacred to the Cymri, Arcadians, and later sanctified by the Church of the Unconquered Sun alike.

The old baths have been built over by a massive Cleric Temple, and the Clerics control access to the baths. It is said that to this day, those who are gravely ill, injured, cursed, blind or lame, and receive the Cleric's permission to bathe in the waters, will either be purified (if so chosen by the Unconquered Sun) or they will be released into a quick death. Bath is the headquarters of the Clerical Order in Albion, and its High Commander Thomas Beckynton can be found here, when not at Calais fighting the Frogs; and there is always a relatively large concentration of Clerics to be found throughout Somerset.


E. 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.

1. WILTSHIRE:

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.

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.

2. 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.


F. 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.

1. 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.

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.

2. 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.

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 a 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.

3. GLOUCESTER:

This county is the beneficiary of the majority of the trade coming into 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 f
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Butcher on June 30, 2011, 06:04:56 PM
Good stuff.

I'd be peeved if I was French, though. :D
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on June 30, 2011, 06:22:47 PM
Is there an alternative to Albion?

I think it is somewhat over used in an RPG context.

Commonwealth of Shires perhaps?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: danbuter on June 30, 2011, 08:01:11 PM
Cool stuff. I also think the name Albion is very appropriate.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 30, 2011, 09:09:37 PM
It was either that or Angleland.

Anyways, as to the French, they can basically go fuck themselves anyways, but I should point out that the setting makes it pretty clear that the majority of people who live in most of "france" of that setting are in fact humans, and the monarchy of England (the Plantagenets) are descendants of the legitimate human rulers of that realm (like they were in real life).  Only the current "ruling class" of "Frogland" are inhuman monstrosities; which is something I suspect the average frenchman might have agreed with anyways.

I note with some amusement that you don't suggest that the welsh would be pissed off at being half-elves, or the Scottish or Irish at being savages.  

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: ICFTI on June 30, 2011, 09:24:02 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466232
It was either that or Angleland.


might i suggest "loegria" instead?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 30, 2011, 09:35:20 PM
Quote from: ICFTI;466235
might i suggest "loegria" instead?


Not recognizable enough, except to historians or Pendragon players.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kaz on July 01, 2011, 12:33:09 AM
And Loegria doesn't roll off the tongue like Albion.

I like this a lot, Pundit, but I think I would rather see the historical figures used more as a basis for the characters in your setting than brought in whole cloth. My preference, at least.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on July 01, 2011, 03:01:06 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466232

I note with some amusement that you don't suggest that the welsh would be pissed off at being half-elves, or the Scottish or Irish at being savages.


The nations of Britain and Reigions of England are always taking the piss out of each other and if anyone gets offended they're called humourless.

It's a cultural thing.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Imperator on July 01, 2011, 04:56:10 AM
Good stuff, Pundit. Keep the ideas coming :)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 01, 2011, 05:11:40 AM
Quote from: Kaz;466245
And Loegria doesn't roll off the tongue like Albion.

I like this a lot, Pundit, but I think I would rather see the historical figures used more as a basis for the characters in your setting than brought in whole cloth. My preference, at least.


Well, the way I see it, rather than take a historical figure and then make a second-rate imitation out of it; I think its cooler to take the historical figure and push him into exaggerated overdrive.  Henry VI is full-on batshit; Warwick is and Amber-level evil genius, etc etc.

Rather than start with something less than historical reality, start with historical reality and dial it up to 11.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on July 01, 2011, 07:07:12 AM
I would be tempted to do something more historic with Scotland than just writing them of as barbarians. If anything, in this time period they are more civilised than the English.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 01, 2011, 11:27:26 AM
You absolutely need the place to be overrun by jug eared weak jawed inbred nobles, with random behaviours driven by their monochrome genetic heritage, stretching from porking the livestock through to full blown bathing in intestines psychopathy. There's historical reality pushed to 11.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on July 01, 2011, 01:14:29 PM
That's not just history that's the present ;)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 01, 2011, 01:47:44 PM
Quote from: jadrax;466263
I would be tempted to do something more historic with Scotland than just writing them of as barbarians. If anything, in this time period they are more civilised than the English.


I don't see why.  Frankly, its far more useful to have Scotland as the ultimate "savage frontier".  And I mean, there can be all kinds of little kingdoms from one clan or another there, but the main gist of it is that once you're north of Hadrian's Wall, there's no safety-net of civilization, however illusory, that you get when you're in, say, Salisbury.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 01, 2011, 02:32:50 PM
Great stuff! I'll certainly be making use of it.

Are the inhabitants of Frogland allusions to Warhammer's Fimir, or did you have something else in mind? Just curious here, I'd be inclined to spin them as Fimir.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on July 01, 2011, 02:51:40 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466291
I don't see why.  Frankly, its far more useful to have Scotland as the ultimate "savage frontier".  And I mean, there can be all kinds of little kingdoms from one clan or another there, but the main gist of it is that once you're north of Hadrian's Wall, there's no safety-net of civilization, however illusory, that you get when you're in, say, Salisbury.

RPGPundit


To each their own, but that doesn't really fit in with Dialling up the Historical Reality to 11 though. Anyway, you already have Ireland is the Savage Fronter, which makes duplicating it in Scotland rather redundant.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on July 01, 2011, 02:59:33 PM
Bit hard for it to serve the frontier role when it's over one of the most treacherous stretches of sea in the world :S

I think most people respect Scotland as a cultured and civilised country we just prefer to think of them represented by Glasgow on a Saturday Night.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 01, 2011, 03:42:19 PM
Quote from: Aporon;466298
Great stuff! I'll certainly be making use of it.

Are the inhabitants of Frogland allusions to Warhammer's Fimir, or did you have something else in mind? Just curious here, I'd be inclined to spin them as Fimir.


I was thinking of them along the lines of Blackmoor's "Temple of the Frog". But you'd be of course welcome to think of them however you like.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 01, 2011, 03:45:54 PM
Quote from: jadrax;466306
Anyway, you already have Ireland is the Savage Fronter, which makes duplicating it in Scotland rather redundant.

Plus, the plantations in Ulster, leading to many of today's troubles, didn't start until the middle of the 16th century.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 01, 2011, 03:54:05 PM
Anyways, the main thing is that I fail to see what would be gained from having a civilized Scotland.  How would that improve the campaign?  Especially compared with the alternative, where you can have the Scots be dangerous clever barbarians if need be?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 01, 2011, 04:01:37 PM
Well you could have Scotland and Ireland as the last bastions of art, culture, and civilisation, while everyone in Albion is terrified of the watery-eyed lunatics orfing everyone's 'ead as the offcolour neurons in their heads fire out of sequence. Sort of like the Return of the Jedi. I believe Michael Moorcock wrote something along those lines, although the title escapes me.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on July 01, 2011, 04:03:17 PM
Guard 1: "I say what's that large orange hedge moving towards us"

Guard 2: "That's not a hedge that's the Scotts"
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on July 01, 2011, 04:18:28 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466315
Anyways, the main thing is that I fail to see what would be gained from having a civilized Scotland.  How would that improve the campaign?  Especially compared with the alternative, where you can have the Scots be dangerous clever barbarians if need be?

RPGPundit


Depends on the campaign, but a political enemy to the north that is stronger, faster, more developed and pretty much better across the board strikes me as a far more interesting situation than a bunch of barbarians. They are the great foes that might just wipe England of the map if people aren't careful. Which gives a lot of scope for politicking. Especially when the Scottish Crown is worn by James II, whose love artillery led him to attempt to invade the Isle of Man (of course he died when a cannon he was testing blew up, but if anything that's even more awesome). On the anti Monarch side a more historical version of Scotland also gets you 'Black Douglas' and his league of nefariously named Scottish gentlemen into the bargain. (Honestly, nothing can make a campaign better than 'Black Douglas' dispatching 'Alexander "Tiger" Lindsay' from his highland castle to deal with the PCs!)

In WFRP terms, Scotland is the Middenland to England's Riekland (Or even possibly the other way round when it comes to artillery).
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ian Warner on July 01, 2011, 04:29:39 PM
How about a mysterious isolationist kingdom that the Albioners percieve as a savage wasteland but is in fact about a century ahead of them.

The "Savages" they see are just the footsoldiers/workforce
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Spinachcat on July 02, 2011, 01:30:28 AM
Funny you posted this! Lots of good ideas. I have been playing around with a dark medieval fantasy OD&D retrowhatever and I went with the idea of 987 with the overwhelmingly corrupt Church promising the return of the Lord in 1000. I wanted to go with the king slain, war of nobles, church collapsing under corruption, rise of witches and warlocks and Britannica being the only nation not yet conquered by the Devil. In addition to dungeons, there would be actual entrances to the Underworld whose lower caverns would lead to Hell.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 02, 2011, 02:13:25 AM
Quote from: The Traveller;466317
Well you could have Scotland and Ireland as the last bastions of art, culture, and civilisation, while everyone in Albion is terrified of the watery-eyed lunatics orfing everyone's 'ead as the offcolour neurons in their heads fire out of sequence. Sort of like the Return of the Jedi. I believe Michael Moorcock wrote something along those lines, although the title escapes me.


I basically reject the idea that Scotland at this time was more advanced.  Certainly it was (very briefly) in a state of superior stability to England, but that's about it.

As for what others have mentioned, re. the invasion of the Isle of Man, Black Douglas, etc, can still end up being used in this campaign; all you have to assume is that some regions of Scots Land are relatively stable and have relatively advanced culture or have strong relations with enemies of Albion (ie. the Frogmen).

Anyways, people can obviously do what they will, but I think I'm sticking to the whole Scots-as-relative-barbarians concept.  Maybe closer to Dwarves in some ways, ie. fairly advanced in certain areas but with a culture that is more restricted in what it cares about.  Whereas the Picts are just basically evil savages.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 02, 2011, 02:14:20 AM
Quote from: Spinachcat;466355
Funny you posted this! Lots of good ideas. I have been playing around with a dark medieval fantasy OD&D retrowhatever and I went with the idea of 987 with the overwhelmingly corrupt Church promising the return of the Lord in 1000. I wanted to go with the king slain, war of nobles, church collapsing under corruption, rise of witches and warlocks and Britannica being the only nation not yet conquered by the Devil. In addition to dungeons, there would be actual entrances to the Underworld whose lower caverns would lead to Hell.


Well, that sounds nice too, though far  more over-the-top than my setting.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: baduin on July 03, 2011, 05:50:02 PM
Scotland would be interesting as a barbarian kingdom. It could be a dangerous military adversary of England, when the King manages to unite all the clans, and at the same time a lawless adventuring ground. There is a long tradition of such descriptions - eg Walter Scott.

You have outright primitive Celtic barbarians - Highland Clans, half-civilized treacherous bandits - Border Clans, and in the middle most civilised Lowland Scots - the source of the power of the king - but the rural areas are still ruled by mostly lawless lords and knights. In cities there is a certain tendency to heresy, religious enthusiasm and witch-burning. Highland Clans are nearly Pagan.

Pics should be based on Machen and Robert Howard (Worms of the Earth). They used to be a barbarian tribe worshipping Chaos gods (as in Howard's Conan stories), but the sorcery and Chaos worship caused them to degenerate. They are now soulless creatures of Chaos; when they emerge on the surface, they assume a mostly human, if degenarated shape, but underground and even above ground at night they tend to change, sometimes subtly, sometimes quite obviously. They can became mostly animal-like. When the influence of Chaos grows, esp during ceremonies, sacrifices, their hands and legs can fuse together and they can become snake-like. During the greatest ceremonies with human sacrifices, whole tribes can fuse together into one ooze-like creature.

Picts like to abduct women and children, for use in sacrifices, but primarily to keep their genetic stock from degenerating so far they become permanently an ooze. Their chiefs are most human of them - they marry exclusively abducted women.

Picts can be threatened into cooperation, but cannot be converted from Chaos-worship. Any attempt is meaningless, since they think exclusively in Chaos-categories, and cannot even understand what it means not to worship Chaos. This applies mostly to chiefs and sorcerers, because other Picts speak only in their own language, which to all non-Picts seems to consists only of animal-like screeches and is unintelligible.

Consequently, Picts have very primitive technology - and cannot be taught anything higher - but powerful magic.

Kings of Scotland have some kind of pact with them and occasionally use them in war, but try not to do this too often or to be too obvious about it - Chaos worship is not that popular amongst their (other) subject, esp. the witch-burners of cities.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: S'mon on July 03, 2011, 06:22:13 PM
Is there a reason for having Ulster rather than Dublin region as the centre of Albion settlement in Ireland?  Historically Ulster was a centre of resistance to English expansion, which is why the English/British sent the lowland Scots and other planters in there in the 17th century, to replace a particularly bloody minded bunch of Irishmen with closely related but Protestant settlers.  If you look at a map of the British Isles, Ulster is not an obvious place for England to *start* colonisation of Ireland.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 04, 2011, 12:15:51 AM
Quote from: baduin;466473
Scotland would be interesting as a barbarian kingdom. It could be a dangerous military adversary of England, when the King manages to unite all the clans, and at the same time a lawless adventuring ground. There is a long tradition of such descriptions - eg Walter Scott.

You have outright primitive Celtic barbarians - Highland Clans, half-civilized treacherous bandits - Border Clans, and in the middle most civilised Lowland Scots - the source of the power of the king - but the rural areas are still ruled by mostly lawless lords and knights. In cities there is a certain tendency to heresy, religious enthusiasm and witch-burning. Highland Clans are nearly Pagan.


Yes, that sounds quite good.  Of course, Scots Land wouldn't always have a "king", other than "the guy who would be king if any of the clans besides his own paid any fucking attention to him".  Its only every two or three generations that a guy comes along with sufficient personal charisma, power, or luck to be able to really gain some power over the imposing Clan chiefs.

Quote
Picts should be based on Machen and Robert Howard (Worms of the Earth). They used to be a barbarian tribe worshipping Chaos gods (as in Howard's Conan stories), but the sorcery and Chaos worship caused them to degenerate.


The Tcho-Tcho are my direct influence for the Picts, in fact.

Quote

Kings of Scotland have some kind of pact with them and occasionally use them in war, but try not to do this too often or to be too obvious about it - Chaos worship is not that popular amongst their (other) subject, esp. the witch-burners of cities.


I would not see that as appropriate; to me, the actual Scots are barbarians, and mostly pagans, tending toward a neutral alignment, but basically good.  The picts, on the other hand, are purely entropic; and the Scots fear and despise them.  One of the factors that has really prevented the Scots from being able to really put an effort into breaking Hadrian's Wall and doing much more serious warfare with Albion is their long-term conflict with the Picts.

This, I think, makes for an interesting plot device; the Scots Men can be a serious threat for a long period of time in a campaign, only to have a sudden Pict threat (possibly involving the summoning up of some horrific supernatural evil) giving cause for an alliance between Anglemen and Scots, however temporary.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 04, 2011, 12:22:57 AM
Quote from: S'mon;466475
Is there a reason for having Ulster rather than Dublin region as the centre of Albion settlement in Ireland?  Historically Ulster was a centre of resistance to English expansion, which is why the English/British sent the lowland Scots and other planters in there in the 17th century, to replace a particularly bloody minded bunch of Irishmen with closely related but Protestant settlers.  If you look at a map of the British Isles, Ulster is not an obvious place for England to *start* colonisation of Ireland.


You'll note that the place where I try to be the most historical is England/Albion itself, and radiating away from that epicenter it all becomes vastly  more fantastical or ahistorical.
In the case of Eire, the thing that pushed me toward Ulster was simple: most people who aren't historians tend to think that north=english allies and south=fiercely independent.  But there's one other more important detail that absolutely sealed the deal in my mind when thinking up where in Eire should be the Anglish power-base:  Richard of  York's second title is Earl Of Ulster.  At what would be the starting point of this campaign, he would also be just returning from a very successful period of several years in Eire, governing the place in the name of the Mad King (though in fact, sent there as a political maneuver by Queen Margaret to try to keep him away from power and prevent him from being able to qualify for other far more profitable offices).

The Pale in the actual time in history this setting imitates was mostly a pretty pathetic place; the Earldom of Ulster a century and a half or so earlier was a far more interesting one; with English nobles trying to hold onto control there by the skin of their teeth in the face of seriously aggressive locals.  So for that part of the setting I dipped backwards into the past.  Just like I dipped forward into the future for the term "Star Chamber" (and misapplied it) because it just sounds much cooler for the name of the King's personal cabinet of advisors than the "Privy Council".

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Elfdart on July 04, 2011, 11:58:52 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466236
Not recognizable enough, except to historians or Pendragon players.

RPGPundit


I guess "Chavistan" or "Rosbifia" would be out of the question.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 05, 2011, 03:34:38 AM
Quote from: Elfdart;466664
I guess "Chavistan" or "Rosbifia" would be out of the question.


Quite.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 05, 2011, 04:14:13 PM
Dark Fantasy England Campaign Pt.2

So, some very nice responses to my earlier post.  So much so, that the players of my Starblazer campaign have decided they want to give it a try; so we're going, for the next while at least, to be splitting that campaign between Starblazer and this "Albion" campaign.

Time to add some material, then:

Additional Background: In the year before the campaign begins, the world finds itself full of dark omens.  At the battle of Castillon, the last Anglemen holdings in The Continent aside from Calais were lost to the Frogmen.
For reasons no one knows, the skies were full of dark clouds for much of the year, and this winter has been the coldest in known memory.
The realm of Burgundia is caught up in a rebellion in the Ghent region, crushed by the end of the year by Duke Philip the Vile.
In Scots Land, the tribes are (as usual) at war; the two chief clans, the Bruces and the Douglases, meet for peace talks, and at the meeting High Chief James Bruce brutally murders chief William "Black" Douglas, eliminating the leader of the chief opposition to his rule of the Scots hordes.
And finally, and most shockingly, at the end of the year the news reaches Anglia that Old Byzantium is fallen, devastated by the Turk. At this point only the small mountain kingdom of Wallachia stands between the Turk armies and the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, in Anglia, the claims of Richard of York become harder and harder to ignore.  The Star Chamber has empowered the Duke of  Buckingham to act as a negotiator, and he is trying to arrange a compromise to prevent the whole nation from slipping into war.  There are already serious conflicts in the Northern Marches between the powerful and feuding Percy and Neville families, who despise each other.  The Percys support the Mad King, while the Nevilles are supporters of York.  Up till now, the conflicts between these families have been skirmishes reporting many injuries, but only deaths of a chicken here or a dog there.  However, the conflict threatens to escalate as Thomas Percy Lord Egremont (age 32), the younger son of the 52-year old Earl Henry "Hotspurs" Percy, and sharing in his quick temper, has taken to raiding villages belonging to the Nevilles and destroying peasant property.  He has gathered a gang of young knights, thugs, and malcontents, dressing them up in the red and black colours of his house; and they run havoc in the northern marches, challenging all who are on the roads, and picking fights with known sympathizers, retainers or even peasants pertaining to the Nevilles, as well as any who dares to wear the white rose of York.

Recently, he has met with a response from 23-year old Sir John Neville, third son of the powerful Earl of Salisbury (and younger brother of the Earl of Warwick), who has raised up his own band and is similarly raiding Percy holdings.  Lord Egremont responded by menacingly surrounding the keep where John's older brother Thomas was having his wedding party, Egremont's 700-or-so men menacing violence for several hours, before finally killing two hens and a dog and leaving for the safety of a Neville castle.  When he heard of this affront, Sir John responded by raiding the ancestral manor of the Percys (unoccupied for the season, as Earl Hotspurs was in the south) and setting fire to it.  Lord Egremont and his cousin Richard Percy retaliated the next day attacking an unoccupied Neville manor.

Now, both families are calling together their retainers and bannermen, and all sides truly worry at the possibility of tens of thousands of soldiers murdering each other in the North.  Both Queen Margaret and Richard of York are trying to calm their respective allies, to prevent things from spiraling out of control, but everywhere in the North there is anarchy and what amounts to medieval gang warfare.

Area Detail: The Eastern Coast
The eastern coast is a region consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent; the southern half of Albion's eastern coastline.  It was where the Anglemen first arrived on the island over a thousand years ago, and is full of places of historical and religious significance, as well as modern economic and strategic import.
The limits of the eastern coast region are at its northernmost point the bay known as "The Wash", an estuary region with tricky tides and bordered by swampland known as "The Fens" (a wild area, commonly inhabited by bandits and more than a few swamp creatures), and at its southernmost point the White Cliffs, huge natural cliffs of chalk that provide an excellent natural defensive position against invasion from The Continent.

Norfolk: The northernmost county of the eastern coast, historically known as Angleland, it was one of the first regions occupied by the Anglemen when they arrived in Albion. Today it is the most populous county in the east coast, and holds the populous and important city of Norwich, as well as the important port of Yarmouth.  Caister Castle overlooks Yarmouth, and is the manor of the legendary knight Sir John Falstaff, hero of Agincourt.  This portly knight fought alongside the great Henry V (father of the Mad King), and later used his plunder from Frogland to build this mighty keep.  He is now 76 years old, though still an imposing figure, and he favors the claim of Richard of York.  The Duke of Norfolk, John Mowbray, likewise supports York.

Suffolk: South of Norfolk, this smaller county features the port town of Ipswich and a few historical sites of note.  It was ruled by the Duke of Suffolk (William De La Pole, also  known as "Jackanape" for his foolishness and incompetence), who was largely blamed for the recent disastrous losses of most of Albion's holdings in Frogland, was imprisoned and later murdered by Yorkists en route to exile on The Continent. His son John De La Pole is only 12 years old, and has been disinherited.
Aside from Ipswich, Suffolk also features the pilgrimage site of Bury St.Edmund, where the Angleman king Edmund was buried alive by Cymri barbarians after being defeated in battle; Edmund is considered a martyr of the church of the Unconquered Sun.   Not far from Ipswich there is also the site known as Sutton Howe, the burial mound of Raedwald, first king of the Anglemen to invade Albion, and founder of Ipswich, his ancient capital. The area has of late become a haunted place, through dark sorceries or as an omen of the current troubles of the kingdom.  It is said that ghosts or ghouls of ancient anglish raiders with axes and horned helms can be seen at night, stalking the area.

Essex: the third county in the eastern coast, Essex contains the peaceful quinqueroi forest, and the town of Chelmsford.  It is ruled by the 50 year old Earl of Essex, Henry Bourchier, a Yorkist married to Isabella, one of Richard of York's daughters. His brother, Thomas Bourchier, is the Bishop of Ely and Henry is campaigning strongly on his brother's behalf to have him succeed the "Cursed Cardinal" Kemp as Archbishop of Canterbury on the latter's seemingly inevitable demise from the magical wasting disease he has long suffered.  Further inland, the regions of Huntingdon and Hertford are governed by the knightly Devereux family, also Yorkists.  Huntington is the site of Cambridge Collegium, the second and lesser of the universities of Albion, which has nevertheless produced many a noble Magister, using magecraft for the service of law (and of course, a few chaos-worshipping heretics and evil sorcerers).  Hertford has the town of St.Albans, an important pilgrimage site featuring the tomb of Albinus, the first great saint of the Unconquered Sun in Albion.

Kent: The southernmost county of the eastern coast, this is the site of the White Cliffs, and the important "Cinque Ports", five port cities which receive the largest amount of trade from the Continent, as well as one of the most important bases of the Anglish fleet.    The title of Warden of the Cinque Ports is a very important office in the land, currently held by the Duke of Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, a strong supporter of the Mad King. The two most important ports in Kent are Dover (right on the White Cliffs) and Sandwich.  These form the supply lifeline to the fortified city of Calais, the last of Anglia's holdings on The Continent.   Kent is also where the town of Canterbury can be found; this is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest ranking priest of the Unconquered Sun in all of Albion, in direct line of episcopal descent from Augustine of Canterbury, the first Bishop of the Unconquered Sun in Albion.  This town of about 3000 inhabitants features the incredible Canterbury Cathedral, which has been engaged in a constant process of construction for the last 400 years.  It is a sprawling massive temple to the glory of the Unconquered Sun, and it is finally nearing completion (it is thought that the Great Bell Tower will finally be complete in another 50 years or so).  It also features an abbey, a nunnery, and a Clerical Temple and priory. The current Archbishop of Canteruby is the ailing 74 year old John Kemp,  known as the Cursed Cardinal.  A lancastrian, he was a deeply political and corrupt clergyman who profited greatly in the past 16 years of his holding the see; in the last two years he has been suffering from a horrific wasting disease that most agree is of a supernatural nature.  His allies claim it is a sorcerous curse brought about by Yorkists, his enemies claim that it is the Unconquered Sun punishing him for his wickedness.  The "Cursed Cardinal" has sought desperately for some cure, but to no avail, and is has been the last several months lingering in his deathbed, his body already looking like a rotting corpse.


I want to thank my faithful reader "Walldock" for the tip on Sutton Hoo, and I would encourage others to share any ideas they may have as to developing this setting further; with the idea generally being to take elements from local lore, historical sites, or the history of this time, and twist them into concepts with adventuring potential.

Look for more updates in the future.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 07, 2011, 03:19:28 AM
Regarding the power level overall. In the Albion setting, I envision the vast majority of people to be 0 or 1st level characters. If it wasn't clear enough in the description, most Priests of the Unconquered Sun are 0-level priests with no spells. In fact, the only priests with spells are Clerics, who are a special order within the church.
Fighters will likely be the most probable characters to have a level or three, then specialists. Magic-users are pretty rare, though there have been a few at times that have risen up to immense power.

As a whole, if you're about 9th level in the setting, you're a real top-class badass in Albion. The most powerful characters in the world would be somewhere around 15th-17th level.

Who are the most powerful of each of the four core classes in Albion itself?

Well, the most powerful fighter is a tough call. Certainly the most powerful in living memory was probably King Henry the Great (Henry V), who was a brutal and spectacular killing machine. Sir John Falstaff, one of the last of his generation, is probably the highest level fighter in the land; but at 76 years of age is definitely well past his prime. Richard of York is definitely a high-level fighter, which is one of the things that has strengthened his cause.

The highest level Cleric in the land is the High Commander Thomas Beckynton, head of the Cleric order in Albion. At 64 years of age he is far from his prime, but his miraculous powers make up for that to some extent, and he still splits his time between Albion and Calais, where he is always looking for some way to hamper the growing power of the chaos-worshiping Frogmen. He's high level, but not the most powerful Cleric Albion has known (in recent history, that was probably High Commander Roger Bacon, a couple of centuries earlier). Beckynton interprets the Mad King's madness as a kind of holy state, and has acted as his personal priest in the times the king has been lucid (the king, when sane, is an extremely devout man dedicated to the study of religion). He is thus a strong opponent of the Yorkist cause. Even so, the clerical order is threatening to be split along Yorkist and Lancastrian lines, as many influential commanders in the order support the Yorkist cause, including the young and promising Cleric Captain Robert Stillington.

The highest level magic-user in the land is sometimes difficult to judge; as many of these keep their power level or even their identities secret. Certainly, Albion is currently going through a period of relative darkness in this area, with few truly great or powerful magicians. Its a noteworthy example that the current Chancellor Magister of Oxford, usually one of the highest-powered magic users in the land, is Ralph Neville (son of the Earl of Salisbury and younger brother to the Earl of Warwick), who ascended to that post in part because of political connections but also because he is a 22-year old wunderkind in the magical arts. Despite his immense talent, he is unlikely to be more than mid-level magic user.

Obviously, its basically impossible to say who the highest level Specialist would be, they don't tend to advertise or compare notes. But its pretty clear that Albion does not have a vast number of truly learned men (if you're talking about academic Specialists); on the other hand, the major cities have some excellent thieves and assassins, so its quite possible that the highest level character in all of Albion right now might just be a Specialist, though he certainly wouldn't want that to be common knowledge.

But basically, the point is that the setting is one where high level characters tend to be rare, and there is something of a gap in their prevalence at this point in the setting timeline, this being a dark age when the greatest and noblest warriors are dead, scholarship in both mystical and academic arts has yet to truly experience a "renaissance", and the church is in a somewhat corrupt and dubious state of decline (last year, even the Unconquered Sun itself seemed to wane in power, with the overly-long winter, the too-short summer, and the excess of dark clouds throughout much of the  year).  All of this basically adds up to giving the player characters an opportunity to end up becoming both powerful and renowned, if they're lucky enough to live that long...
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: danbuter on July 07, 2011, 05:11:55 AM
How about Picts being similar to the cave dwelling raiders in "The Thirteenth Warrior"?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 07, 2011, 04:51:19 PM
Quote from: danbuter;467049
How about Picts being similar to the cave dwelling raiders in "The Thirteenth Warrior"?


Its been so long since I saw that film that its hard for me to recall; how would those differ from the descriptions I've given for the picts in this thread so far?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 07, 2011, 05:20:37 PM
quick note on weapons and armor: as in the LotFP system, any class can theoretically use any weapon or armor.  However, there are certain social conventions that limit this.  The only people allowed to visibly carry weapons in the cities are the city guard, billeted soldiers stationed in the city, and the nobility (men of knightly rank and up), who have as one of their privileges the right to carry swords openly.

In the countryside, which is often a violent place, those who have armor and weapons may often choose to travel with them.  However, those of a lower social background who go around heavily armed or armored may be suspected of planning to engage in banditry or rebellion, or other illicit activity, unless they have a good way to justify their actions.

The city guard and soldiers on active duty would wear armour in urban areas, but if anyone else does (even a noble) it would be seen as highly suspicious and would likely lead to that person being at the very least questioned.  If you're wearing armor, its a sign that you're likely to be planning to do violence.
Plate Mail is the exclusive privilege of the knightly nobility (and up, earls, dukes, princes and kings can obviously wear plate mail as well). A commoner or villain (city-dweller) who is not of noble blood does not have the right to wear plate mail.

The sole exception is Clerics, who are a special social class unto themselves regardless of birth (though within the clerical order some distinctions may still be made for social background, obviously), and Clerics are theoretically allowed to use any armor or weapon they wish to in the service of the Unconquered Sun.  Note that this doesn't mean that all clerics go around doing so; there are many clerics who are not "crusading" clerics at all, and who use their power to heal the sick or perform other works of wonder without dedicating themselves to violence.

There is theoretically nothing stopping magic-users or specialists from wearing armor or using whatever weapon they wish to; except the aforementioned social class limitations, and of course, encumbrance rules affecting their special abilities.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 09, 2011, 02:11:31 AM
What's the PCs' role?

That depends on what they want it to be.  I'm guessing that my PCs, who play this setting in my game, will likely end up being a group of slightly dubious adventurers who will split their time between going on traditional-D&D-esque excursions to dark places for the loot, and fighting for one (or both) of the two warring houses.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 11, 2011, 01:15:05 AM
If anyone has any suggestions or ideas for the other regions to be developed for the setting, please present them.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 12, 2011, 03:19:28 AM
3. The Southports

The region of the Southports includes the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset, as well as the Isle of Wights.  This is an important and wealthy region of Albion with a long history; it was a powerful center of the Cymri tribes that once ruled the island, then a major center for the Arcadians when the island was one of their farthest-flung provinces, and eventually a center of power for the Anglemen once they had conquered it in turn.   It features two important forests: the tame Forest of Windsor (which is in this territory as well as Berkshire county), which is a property of the King and used as his hunting grounds as well as to provide timber for the Fortress of Windsor in Berkshire; and the wild "New Forest" in Hampshire.  The latter was in fact an old forest (the Arcadians considered it a cursed place, and named it the "Forest of Spinoii"); later, during the reign of the legendary king Arctur, it was known as the Forest Camelot, as it was near his capital city of Winchester, then named Camelot.  It was during this period that much of the forest was cut down by druids and warriors, who cleared it of much of its monsters.  However, some four centuries ago William the Bastard wished to restore that area as a hunting ground, and evicted no less than 36 villages from that land to reforest it (hence "New Forest").  Peasant magic-users among the villagers took their revenge by awakening ancient evils within the forest, and today it is considered a cursed place again.  No less than three of William's royal descendants died in the forest: his son and then heir Richard died killed by a monstrous creature of mist within the forest;  20 years later Richard's younger brother King William II "Redface" died in the forest while on an adventure there, shot through the lung by an arrow from his close friend Lord Tyrell when the latter was deceived by an illusion, and William's grandson Richard Henry "Shortstockings" was likewise killed there, said to have been strangled by a living tree.  There are no less than 250 different barrows there, burial grounds of ancient Cymric chiefs; dangerous places of the dead, but said to still be filled with treasure.

Sussex: one of the old Anglemen kingdoms, and at one time the most powerful of these, the area of the town of Hastings in Sussex was the site where William the Bastard invaded from Normandie (today part of Frogland), and defeated Harald the Unready, uniting all of Albion under his rule and establishing the Plantagenet dynasty. Today the site is commemorated by the Battle Abbey.  This county is mostly a peaceful place these days, but it was recently the site where the rebellion of Jack Make-Amends began, and the local peasantry are still in a state of vicious unrest against what they see as corrupt and despotic noblemen.  They generally blame the nobility, and not the Mad King himself, for the poverty and ills of Albion.  Sussex is governed by the Earl of Arundel, William FitzAllan, who is married to one of the daughters of the Earl of Salisbury, and is a supporter of the Yorkist cause.

Hampshire: this region is part of the County of Sussex, and includes the port towns of Chichester and Portchester, as well as the major port town of Southampton. It is also the location of the town of Winchester, which was once known as Camelot and was the capital of the kingdom of Logrys during the reign of the legendary Cymri King Arctur, who of all the Cyrmi came closest to unifying the whole of Albion under his rule.  Today the town of Winchester is only a shadow of its former glory, and almost nothing remains of its legendary history; it is however the site of Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest and most impressive cathedrals to the Unconquered Sun.  The most important nobleman in this region is possibly Sir John Howard, a brother in law of the Duke of Norfolk and staunch supporter of the Yorkist cause.

Dorset: this county is the territory of Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Sommerset, Constable of England, a descendant of John of Gaunt and thus cousin to the royal family, and the stalwart ally of Queen Margaret and the Lancastrian cause.  Somerset was deeply impoverished at the time of his ascension and has managed to work his way up to tremendous wealth, mostly through political maneuvering.  He is one of the chief causes of the complaints against the Mad King's counselors, accused of severe corruption.  He has a personal feud with the Neville family, and particularly the young but brilliant Earl of Warwick, with whom he has had multiple disputes at court.   It was Somerset who replaced Richard of York as commander of the forces in Normandie, and instead of capitalizing on Richard's successes there, he led a string of defeats that culminated in the loss of all of Albion's possessions on the Continent except for Calais, making him one of the most hated men in the land.  What's more, he enriched himself at this time to the gargantuan sum of over twenty thousand pounds.  When Parliament was convened and named York as Lord Protector, York managed to have Somerset imprisoned, but he was freed earlier this year when the King seemingly regained some lucidity and ordered York's protectorate overturned.  The Mad King and Queen Margaret's support of Somerset has been one of the chief causes leading to the increased hostilities and the likely outbreak of civil war.
The largest (and darkest) part of the New Forest is found in Dorset. Aside from that, its only significant town is the port of Weymouth.

The Isle of Wights: this cursed and haunted isle was feared by the Cymri as a place where the veil between the worlds was particularly weak.  The Arcadian legions, unaware of this, established a fort there. They were eventually besieged and slaughtered by dark monstrosities, and the isle remained unpopulated by humans until the time of William the Bastard, when that king attempted to purge the island of its evil.  He established the Castle of Carisbrooke in the northern end of the Isle, in a relatively peaceful area known as the Fair Valley.  Though the castle and surrounding village have remained populated since then, it has passed from one noble family to another, all meeting grisly ends to their dynasties over the centuries.  Some 70 years ago it was invaded by Frogmen, but they were held off by the castle's inhabitants, and the monstrosities on the rest of the island eventually forced them off.  Some 40 years ago, in the time of King Henry the Great, the local Abbey was discovered to have been entirely subverted to the worship of Chaos; Henry's men purged the place and burned it to the ground. The Mad King gave the Isle to his childhood friend Henry Beauchamp, whom he personally crowned King of the Isle of Wight; but Henry died less than two years later.   Now a Crown Property of Albion again, and administered by a castellan, the village of Carisbrook has recently been disturbed by a spate of disappearances and very recently by the discovery of a series of tunnels underneath the village and castle, as well as signs that some of the local population have taken to dark witchcraft; this is all believed to be connected and that a cult of witches have been kidnapping men, women and children to torture or sacrifice for dark rituals.  The rest of the island aside from the castle and village is mostly wild, the inland parts of the isle being exceedingly dangerous.  Its name makes it clear that there are obviously undead on the isle, as well as creatures of chaos, and it is said that there may also be temporary or permanent gateways to other planes here.  There are also many rumours of great treasures and objects of power hidden away in the forests of the isle, tempting the incredibly brave or foolish.  

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: finarvyn on July 12, 2011, 05:50:26 PM
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!

(http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Map%20Games/kingmaker/kingmaker.jpg)

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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: One Horse Town on July 12, 2011, 07:33:11 PM
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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 13, 2011, 03:32:34 AM
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.



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?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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!

(http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Map%20Games/kingmaker/kingmaker.jpg)

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.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: One Horse Town 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?

RPGPundit


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!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 13, 2011, 04:49:44 PM
Excellent! I'll be making use of that in my campaign, then.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Cole 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?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: One Horse Town 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?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Cole 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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: deleted user 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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/jan/21/highereducation.classics), I've seen it on Amazon and eBay.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 17, 2011, 04:24:59 AM
Well, I'm happy to say that the first session was a big success.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 19, 2011, 04:39:15 PM
Updated first post for Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: spaceLem 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!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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.  

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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".

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit 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.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 29, 2011, 03:20:55 PM
Anyone still finding this interesting?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on July 30, 2011, 04:28:06 AM
Yes.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: brunz on July 30, 2011, 05:22:02 AM
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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: deleted user on July 30, 2011, 06:25:23 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;470743
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 (http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/2011/07/small-but-vicious-dog-steals-hearts.html) and it's Toffs and Toadys (http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/2011/07/sbvd-toffs-and-toadys.htm) supplement to give it that extra flavour.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 31, 2011, 04:27:30 AM
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
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 04, 2011, 07:24:42 PM
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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on August 04, 2011, 09:24:24 PM
Moar paragraphs.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 05, 2011, 01:12:41 PM
Quote from: The Traveller;472021
Moar paragraphs.


Well, I'm glad you're liking it!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on August 05, 2011, 02:06:37 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;472083
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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 06, 2011, 02:25:54 AM
Quote from: The Traveller;472095
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
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on August 06, 2011, 07:29:21 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;472162
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.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 07, 2011, 01:50:16 AM
Quote from: The Traveller;472200
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
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 09, 2011, 06:17:32 PM
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
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Joshua Ford on August 09, 2011, 08:52:21 PM
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:

http://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?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 10, 2011, 02:42:03 AM
Brettonian? Do you mean Frog Men?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Joshua Ford on August 10, 2011, 04:00:45 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;472949
Brettonian? Do you mean Frog Men?

RPGPundit


That would be them - maybe the original Wild Geese fight for them against the Empire.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 11, 2011, 03:08:07 AM
Well, the thing is, the Frog Men are chaos-worshiping monsters.  They'd be more likely to make excursions involving the Picts, and against the Scots Men.  The Scots Men could obviously be open to alliance with other forces of the Continent, particularly Burgundy; but as I presented them they have a good healthy fear of chaos, having had to deal with the subhuman pictish terror since time immemorial.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 12, 2011, 01:28:52 AM
So in other news there's at least one reader/fan of this setting who is planning to try to make an amateur PDF of the settting after its done.

I wonder if someone would be interested in making it into something quality, a free sourcebook kind of deal?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 14, 2011, 02:57:11 AM
Races in Albion:

In the albion setting there aren't standard demi-human races.  Elves exist as the "Fae", they are ancient and powerful alien beings that at one point had enslaved the ancient cymri of Albion.  They still exist on another plane and at times can appear to wreak havoc.  There are no dwarves or halflings, at least none that have been mentioned thus far.

In my actual campaign, I've replaced the racial classes of elf, dwarf and halfing with "Cymri Traveler", "Scots Man" and "Midget", respectively.

The other races that have all appeared in the descriptions of the setting are all generally hostile to mankind in different degrees: the undead, the frog men, goblins, dragons, giants, lycanthropes, and of course demonic or quasi-demonic monstrosities.  That's by no means an exhaustive list, though generally speaking the average human being in albion (unless he participates in a campaign to go fight the Frog Men on the Continent) could easily spend his entire life without encountering an intelligent non-human creature. So on the whole, in the setting, humans dominate and supernatural or non-human intelligent creatures are rare.  Of course, adventurers are likely to run into them with much greater frequency.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: P&P on August 15, 2011, 12:39:53 PM
I once did something fairly similar, except it was set about 700 years earlier, in the time of the Heptarchy.  Seven kingdoms in England, plus a couple in Wales, one in Cornwall and a few in Scotland, plus invading Viking hordes.

Not much of it is in an organised and publishable state yet, but I did get quite a way forward with a hex map at a scale of 5 miles to the hex, and I saved the basic outline.  You could add details to that, if you wanted.

Template map of Great Britain at 5 miles to the hex (http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af199/Xluzu/GBbasic.png)

Any help to you?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 16, 2011, 03:31:44 AM
Honestly? Not that much. Even if it had at least geographical features built-in, that would have been more useful;  moreso than that if it had city-places and names of course.  But a big green space in the shape of England isn't something I can really use for very much, particularly since I've got no map-making skills to develop it.

But hey, maybe its useful to someone else. Thank you for posting it!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 19, 2011, 01:39:18 PM
I had forgotten to mention that last week the timeline in the campaign advanced a year, and the War between the Yorks and Lancasters has begun. From the PC's perspective, however, it looks as though everything has been resolved.  They were on the Yorkist side, and helped the Earl of Warwick make a brilliant attack strategy to capture the city of St.Albans where the King was holed up with 2000 men, resisting attack.
Warwick sent the PCs through the tunnels, tombs and catacombs he knew were beneath the city, ordering them to find a way up into the city from behind its walls.  After fights with giant rats and zombies, they did so, and Warwick's forces took the city by surprise, killing the hated Duke of Somerset, and capturing the Mad King.  Henry "Hotspurs" Percy also died in the battle, and the incredibly-violent Duke of Exeter was captured on his way to relieve the Lancastrians, so it looks like a general and total disaster for Lancaster; only Queen Margaret and her infant child managed to escape, and really what could they do?

Richard of York wanted to kill the king right then and there, of course, but he recognized that many of Albion's nobility would not be happy with that, and that it could cause more problems for him than it was worth; so Warwick convinced him instead to summon parliament and find  a legal way to insure that Richard would be king.  So here's Richard, all his enemies vanquished, the king in his hands, and he still doesn't get the crown, at least not yet.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 21, 2011, 01:42:27 PM
Dark Albion Campaign: Lincoln, Leicester, and Rutland

The area around Lincoln has long been dominated by its both favorable and unfavorable qualities of being in between London and York.  Indeed, in the present conflict, the various important noble houses of the area are starkly divided between Yorkist and Lancastrian factions, and while none of the major players in the conflict are here, it is ominously suspected by many that if a full-blown war erupts, many of the battles could be fought in this region.
The other thing that dominates the region is the terrain; the fairly inhospitable bay known as The Wash, and the swampland known as "The Fens" that surrounds most of it, are right in the border between Lincoln and Rutland. The Rutland Forest (once known as the "Forest Savage"), once the greatest, darkest, and most magic-infested forest of Albion, is now only a shadow of its former self thanks to centuries of industry and civilizing crusades, and it is currently being deforested at a rapid pace, its periphery being safe of all but a few wolves, but it still covers considerable parts of Leicester and Rutland, and its deepest recesses still hold much danger.
The Fens contain a number of amphibious monsters; and at one time contained some primitive tribes of savage Cymri who had fled to lives of banditry in these swamplands as they were displaced by the Anglemen, though these tribes are believed now to be extinct.  They also contain a considerable number of holy men, Clerics or simple hermits who have gone to live out their days in isolation and contemplation in the deeper parts of the Fens, and sometimes to struggle against any malefic forces that may yet exist there.

Lincoln: In ancient times, this county was an important kingdom of the Cymri, known as the Kingdom of Lindsey.  Eventually overrun by the early Anglemen invasions, it became part of the Anglish kingdom of Mercia.  Some two centuries before the time of William the Bastard, this region was conquered by invading Danesmen, under the rule of Ivar Ragnarson, and its people to this day have both physical and cultural traits surviving from that period. Like the rest of Albion, it was conquered by William the Bastard some 400 years ago, and many of its lands were given over to the Church of the Unconquered Sun to help propagate the faith in this land of heathen danesmen.  As such, today the county of Lincoln has more temples and abbeys of the faith than any other region of Albion.  It is today a less important area than York, but it is still very prosperous thanks to the wool trade; it also features rich farmland in the area around The Wash; the only significant port town in all of the Wash is Boston, which is nevertheless unable to handle larger ships and so is limited in its capacity for trade. The town of Lincoln, once the ancient capital of Lindsey, is the largest settlement in the county; it was once, long ago, the third largest city in the land; but today has suffered centuries of decline. Parts of the town suffer from periodic flooding of the River Witham, the town has been a frequent victim of plagues, and it is no longer a major market center.  All of this gives the people of the area a general attitude of pessimism, which frequently manifests as discontent against anyone who they can blame for their misfortunes; there have been frequent revolts based in Lincoln, and Cymri Travelers have often been persecuted here, including frequent public executions on (usually baseless) charges of witchcraft. There is considerable Lancastrian land in Lincoln, including considerable estates owned by the Queen; and the most powerful noble family here, the Viscounts of Beaumont, are Lancastrian.

Leicester: Leicester is a landlocked county south of the River Trent.  About a third of the county is still taken up by the Rutland forest, though much of it is being cut down for farmland and with each generation the forest decreases.  Occasionally, some terrible discovery or creature is encountered in this process, and so Leicester has of late had more need for adventurers than this centralized county would usually require.  The county has no major cities and Leicester is its only significant town, but it has important trade in livestock, agriculture, and knitted goods.  There are several important families based in Leicester; the most prominent of these are the Roos family, led by Baron Thomas Roos.  He owns lands north of Leicester town, and is a stalwart Lancastrian.  His main rival is William Hastings, a prominent son of a knightly family who has become a close ally of the Earl of Salisbury, and as such is a yorkist.  Hastings has been recently appointed Sheriff of Leicester, a position that gives him great authority to uphold, or abuse, the King's law.  Another important nobleman of Leicester is Richard Wydeville, Baron Rivers.  Wydeville is now 50 years old, but he was known in his youth as the "Handsomest man in Albion"; he is one of the youngest survivors of the battle of Agincourt, having served there as a mere boy, as the personal squire to King Henry the Great; and was knighted after the battle, making him one of the youngest knights in the history of Albion.  He is nominally Lancastrian, but is not very fierce in his allegiance; his 18 year old daughter Elizabeth is known as the "most beautiful in albion"; and she was married at 15 to Sir John Grey, another powerful knight of the region. She has one son by him, Thomas.

Rutland: Rutland is a very small county located in a patch of very fertile land pinned between the worst of The Fens on one side, and the thickest of the Rutland Forest on the other. Its a fairly backwards place, though its people are quite proud.  There are no cities, or even large towns here, only very small towns and villages; the most prominent center of population in Rutland is Fotheringhay Castle, which belongs to Richard of York.  Richard's youngest son, also named Richard, was born here three years ago.  It is thus unsurprising that the local peasantry have Yorkist sympathies as they have been well treated by that family.
The other important family in Rutland are the Tiptofts; though the current sole male member of that family is almost never in residence.  The previous Baron Tiptoft died some 13 years ago, and his son, John Tiptoft (made Earl of Worcester some six years ago) has had a sterling career mostly outside of Rutland; he showed talent for learning and magical aptitude in his youth and convinced his father to let him study for the Magisterium at Oxford, which he did with great honors.  He allied himself to the Queen's party and was appointed treasurer of Albion and later a member of the Star Chamber. He has taken care to appear for the moment to be a fair and objective player in the game of politics, and expects that should Richard of York take power, his good relations will allow him to continue on his career; even so, he is at the same time planning for an extended journey to the Holy Lands of the Sun, where he hopes to investigate some ancient and arcane secrets, and expects that by his return the political situation will have become clear enough that he can strategically place himself on the side of whoever has secured power.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 24, 2011, 05:04:38 PM
Someone on the blog asked for clarification about the Magisterium (whether Oxford was the only college in Albion that offered the title of magister), and about the relationship between magic and the Church of the Unconquered Sun (whether the Church would wish to exterminate all magicians, would go around burning young people with magical talent before they could be trained by the magisterium, or what have you, etc.).  Here is my reply:

There are only two Magisteriums in Albion: in Oxford and Cambridge.  Both of these also teach all of the traditional Liberal Arts and Sciences.   Aside from that, you have people from the middle or upper classes that are taught by individual magicians; these could be as talented as anyone from Oxford, but they would not have the title of "magister".  Women of higher classes in Albion will usually learn to be magicians in this manner, since the colleges would not admit them. This does not make them outlaws or the like, though it would make them less "socially protected" than someone with a title behind their name, from possible accusations of witchcraft and the like.  In the peasantry, you have "wise men" and "wise women" who pass down their often rustic knowledge of magic from parent to child or to a protege in the same village; these can sometimes become powerful magicians, but are MUCH more vulnerable to accusations of practicing "witchcraft" or venerating chaos, and could often even be turned on by their own communities if the community is struck by a disaster (and there are no local Cyrmi Travellers in the area to blame).

Essentially, being a "Magister" means that you are titled, you have social respect, and you're highly educated in MORE than just the practice of magic.  It also means that you're part of an institution that is loyal to the church and the crown (even if individuals in that institution may, and often do, end up being disloyal and doing evil).  It gives you social cache and protection.

The church does not automatically denounce magic as the work of force of Chaos; they recognize the difference between those faithful to the Unconquered Sun (especially Magisters) who use magic for the sake of good, and those who literally worship the Chaos gods or use their magic to spread evil.  Both Oxford and Cambridge, as well as continental colleges of magic like the great college at Cracovia, maintain very close relationships with the Church and especially the Clerical Order, for the sake of positive PR.  The Church basically understands the value of magic; though of course they fear it as potential competition for power; so they will be troubled and often find themselves at odds with individual magicians who seem to put themselves politically, economically, or socially against the interests of the Church; and there have probably been more than a few magicians falsely accused by the church of serving Chaos, because those individual magicians have caused trouble for the church.

In short, a magician who goes to the temple on the day of the Sun, and prays to the Sun four times a day, and doesn't get in the church's way, is very likely to have very good relationships with the church; and far from burning anyone, the church would likely try to direct any young person of appropriate social background with magical talent INTO the magisterium, because they acknowledge that someone trained within the Magisterium system would at least be somewhat less likely to end up serving Chaos than someone who is trained privately or learns magic by other means

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ladybird on August 25, 2011, 02:23:18 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;473131
Well, the thing is, the Frog Men are chaos-worshiping monsters.


And in the game.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 26, 2011, 10:43:53 AM
Quote from: Ladybird;475616
And in the game.


I see what you did there!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 28, 2011, 01:25:21 PM
Dark Albion: The Game

I'm not really intent on doing a session-by-session play by play on the blog, maybe on the companion thread over at theRPGsite, but I thought I'd mention that last night my team finally came into their own, having survived a trip "north of the wall" to Scots Land, and come back laden with treasure (both what they stole from a vicious one-eyed giant, and what they misappropriated from the bribe they were meant to give James McBruce to stop him from attacking Albion).  They caused all kinds of chaos in the ongoing civil war between the Scots Clans, and hope that would be enough to prevent the Scots from trying to break through the poorly-manned Wall now that Henry "Hotspurs" Percy is dead.

Anyways, the point is that now the team is finally, after 4 sessions of play, past level 1.  They're up to level 2 or 3.  Of course, that's just with the character they chose to run in this session (they all have 2 characters, and choose which one they run at the start of each session).

Basically, that was the deal last night, it was a really great game session.  At some point, I'll be telling you about our group; at the moment it is the most popular (as in largest) group of the campaigns I'm running, full up with 6 players; 2 of them women, one of them a first-time gamer.  All 12 PCs (and two in-group NPCs) currently working as agents of the Neville family, either the Duke of Westmoreland, or the Earl of Warwick; and wearing the white rose of York.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 04, 2011, 01:16:44 PM
Dark Albion: The Isle of Mann

It is called "The Impenetrable Island", the fortress isle which is Albion's vassal state, created as a defense against Scot and Eire piracy that was once rampant in the Eirish Sea.  Now, it is a major cause of Angleman piracy in the Eirish Sea, though the powerful Stanley family that rules the isle would deny it.  Most of the people of the Isle are not pirates of course, just a small group of full-time pirates mixed with a larger group of part-time pirates (fishermen who resort to piracy during hard times).  All the men of the isle are hard rugged people, who's ways seem one step removed from those of a barbarian from the point of view of the sophisticated men of the great cities of Albion.
Legend has it that the Isle was raised out of the sea, in ancient times, by the Fae using their powerful sorceries.  If this is true, no one remembers for what purpose they would have done such a thing; though the abundance of magical creatures found here even to this day would support  the possibility.  The natives of the isle claim that it is called the Isle of Mann because the old Cymri sea-god, Manannan, once ruled the seas from this isle.

It is known that there have been men living on the island for thousands of years, though we do not know if these earliest inhabitants were Cymri or some other race; they left behind huge stone megaliths that can be found throughout the isle.  Some of these were arranged in stone circles, like those of Mull Hill on the isle.  Like those found in Albion itself, they have the quality that 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.  Mull Hill itself is said to be haunted by otherworldly beings that come out of the "portals" formed by the stones, when the stars are right. Some small burial mounds, similar to barrows, are also found on the isle.

The isle was certainly far from "impenetrable" for most of its history.  It is speculated that Cymri druids might have fled here when the Arcadians conquered most of Albion, the isle becoming a sanctuary for them; but in any case these were later overrun and wiped out by invaders from Eire, who set up the isle as a base from which to conduct raids (piracy) of the coastal areas of Scots Land and Albion.  Later still, around the time of King William the Bastard, the isle was invaded and conquered by Northmen Raiders, led by Godred Whitehand, who also conquered parts of the north of Eire.  He was a vassal king of the King of the Orkney Isles, a Northman kingdom based on the dark islands off the far north coast of Scots Land. His dynasty ruled for 200 years, until the last of his line, King Magnus, died and the isle was invaded by Scots Men who defeated the native Manxmen at the battle of Ronaldsway.  The Scots proceeded to engage in an expanded campaign of piracy and aggression against Albion from that isle, finally prompting the mighty King Edward Longshanks to send a force to take the Isle, which they did with relative ease only 20 years after it had fallen into Scots hands.

Even so, for the next fifty years the isle suffered continual attacks from Scots raiders which were dealt with varying degrees of successful defense.  In this time, rulership of the isle passed from one Angleman family to another, at one time being the possession of the Montacutes, then the Scropes, then the Percies, until finally some 50 years ago it was given by King Henry IV Bolingbroke to Sir John Stanley in perpetuity, giving Stanley and his heirs the title of King of Mann as a vassal to the crown, in exchange for homage and the payment of two falcons at the coronation of all future kings. John Stanley began work, later continued by  his son, to create a series of fortifications around the isle and to improve the port town of Douglas, to protect the isle from any further aggression; it has since come to be known as the "impenetrable isle", mainly through a significant effort of "PR" trying to augment the impression the level of patrol and defenses the island has developed under Stanley rule.  His grandson Thomas Stanley is the current King of Mann.

The territory of the Manx Kingdom includes a number of smaller isles; many of these are uninhabited.  One of these, Patrick Isle, is the base of the Stanley family, where the mighty Peel Castle sits.  This castle was originally built by Northmen, but has been completely remodeled by the Stanley Kings into an incredible coastal fortress.  Whether or not the whole of the isle is as "impenetrable" as the Stanleys would like people to believe, it is likely that Peel Castle itself would be extremely difficult to successfully besiege. Two other isles, "Michael's Isle" and the "Calf of Mann" are nominally uninhabited, but are used as havens by both fishermen and pirates.

The main isle itself is a combination of hills of varying sizes (some that could be called very small mountains; Snaefell, the tallest of these, is said to be able to see six kingdoms from its peak: Mann, Eire, Scots Land, Albion, Wales, and the sea kingdom of Manannan), steep cliffs, (mostly shallow) beaches,and in the north extremely flat valleys.   It is a cold rocky environ where little grows. The population tends to live around the coast in small villages, the interior of the island is sparsely inhabited by humans if at all; and the only settlement large enough to be even called a "town" is Douglas. Douglas has a permanent population of only a few hundred people, though this is at any time of the year boosted by the presence of sailors, fishermen, traders, and pirates.  It features an abbey and a market, the recently refurbished port and its defenses, and little else.

The "Manxmen" (who are a mix of Cymric, Eirish, Northman, Scot and some Anglish blood) are nominally followers of the Unconquered Sun, but many of the common people give little heed to the sun god, and are very close to pagans, venerating the forces of nature and especially the Sea (though few these days would go so far as to openly worship Manannan).  The Isle is a wild place, full of monsters of different kinds.  The Fae are sighted quite commonly here, usually close to the monoliths or circles of stones; but it is also said that a bridge built on the road between the villages of Oakhill and Kewaigue is a place of Fae presence, to the point that few men dare to cross it at night, and only do so during the day after saying prayers or leaving offerings. A particular race of very large hairy Ogres are said to live in caves in the hills, these are called Buggane, and have foul tempers.  Only one generation ago, a Buggane was responsible for destroying the church at the village of Trinian, he was said to have torn off the roof of the church with his bare hands.   Manx children and women fear Sprites and Satyrs; they exist in the forests of the isle and the former are said to kidnap human children and replace them with shape-shifting changelings, while the latter are said to have their way with women, who will then give birth to a satyr or other monstrosity.  The coastal waters of the isle are also said to be the abode of marine monsters, huge fish or serpents, as well as fish-men or other even stranger creatures. Finally, there are more than a few haunted places in the isles, including Peel castle itself, where the grounds of the castle are said to be occasionally visited by a phantasmal black dog with black eyes.  Rumor has it that at times it has attacked and killed individuals, and legend has it that whoever it gazes upon is cursed to die shortly thereafter, even if they escape the dog itself.

The Stanley family have largely remained neutral thus far in the conflict between the White and Red rose.  Thomas Stanley, the current king, has pledged his loyalty to the house of Lancaster, but maintains good relations with the house of York, he is unlikely in any case to leave his isle to come to the aid of either side.  His eldest son Thomas, now aged 20, is presently in Albion as a squire to the Mad King; and while he serves the King's household he too makes no effort to act in a partisan fashion nor has he participated in any conflict thus far.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 10, 2011, 01:21:35 PM
Dark Albion: Nottingham

Nottingham is the name for the region also known as Derby; the region north of the river Trent, east of Chester, and south of York. It is most notable for being the site of the Sherwood Forest, one of the larger forests remaining south of the mountains (with a total size of about 75000 acres).  The Sherwood Forest occupies the whole area north of the town of Nottingham, bordered south and east by the river Trent, and it north end spills over slightly into South York.  It is dense along the river, and thins out somewhat becoming more cultivated along the middle, around Sheffield, then becomes dense again as it reaches the foothills of the Pennine Mountains.  As such in these days the forest is sometimes considered in two parts, Sherwood and "East Sherwood".

This forest is believed to have been part of the farthest extent of the Danesmen conquerors of this region in the time before William the Bastard, and legend has it that brave Danesmen adventurers slew most of the monsters that the forest held, explaining why since that time it has largely held few of the terrible creatures other forests of this size are known to hold.  From at least the time of William the Bastard, it was a favored hunting ground of Anglish kings, until the time of King Richard Lionheart.  The Lionheart spent most of his decade of rule away from Albion, fighting in crusades against the Saracen followers of the Crescent Moon to retake the holy city of Heliopolis and the Holy Lands of the Sun; while away he left his brother, the future King John Lackland, as his regent.  John Lackland was deeply unpopular, and in the area around Nottingham the local Sheriff of the time took great abuses in both taxation and the removing of certain traditional hunting rights that local citizenry had within the forest.  The result was that a band of rebels took up arms against the Sheriff, led by a charismatic bandit known as Robin Hood, said to be famed in archery.   He named his band the Merry Men, and these outlaws made it impossible for the agents of the King to operate safely in Sherwood forest, essentially turning into their free domain.

The original Robin Hood eventually died, only to be replaced by another "Robin Hood".  In all, it is believed there were at least ten men who took that title; though each was less beloved by the people than the last, as the ideals of the original concept were whittled away.  Finally, the last one was so godawfully bad that he killed the franchise, at least for now.  The Merry Men, however, were never fully removed; and continue to operate in the area of East Sherwood, their numbers going through periods of being reduced by successful campaigns against them from the local constabulary only to be replenished regularly through outlaws and other desperate men joining their ranks. Today, in these increasingly lawless times, the numbers of the Merry Men have swelled yet again, so much so that it is dangerous for anyone to cross East Sherwood who might look worth robbing.  The current Merry Men have also taken up something of a political slant once again, declaring that they are fighting against the corruption that is rampant in the land, but they have not declared sympathy for either side of the conflict between the White and Red Rose; instead, they are more like anarchists; out to steal from the rich, of any colour.

The western Sherwood also has its share of bandits, smaller in numbers and far less famous; but its more real dangers are to be found at the foothills of the Pennine Mountains; from these hills there are occasional incursions of monsters, goblins, and the like.  The hills in this area feature many ancient burial mounds, with all the potential treasures and dangers that can entail; there are also a few ancient monoliths and one large stone circle, Arbor Low, which is mostly ruined (and offers no magical benefit in its present state).
There are a number of caves, some natural and many artificial (ancient mines) that can be found in both sides of the Sherwood and in some areas outside the forest; most of these are uninhabited; some in the Sherwood are used as hideouts for bandits, and in the "West" Sherwood can sometimes have dangerous creatures.

There are no large cities in Derby, and only two sizable towns: Nottingham and Derby.  Most of the county is under the rule of the House of Lancaster; and is governed by a Sheriff, who was originally based in Nottingham but in the last century the title moved to Derby; the position of High Sheriff of Nottingham and Derbyshire is one of the most honorable and powerful titles  attainable by non-nobility, given by Crown appointment.  The current High Sheriff is John Stanhope.
Since the county seat was moved from Nottingham to Derby, the former town has experienced a slow but notable decline, and the latter has grown considerably in size, wealth and importance.  Naturally, Derby and its environs tends to be Lancastrian, while Nottingham and its surroundings favors the house of York who they hope will return them to their rightful place of importance in the county.  In addition, there are territories in the south of the county that belong to the powerful Hastings family of knights; who are staunch Yorkists and seek to build up support for Richard of York's cause in that region.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 21, 2011, 02:42:42 PM
Dark Albion: The County Palatine of Chester

Chester is a small fertile region that finds itself nestled between the forbidding Pennine Mountains in the north, and the Cambrian Mountains in the south.  It is on the border between Albion and north Wales, between the Mersey and Dee rivers, and north of the Severn.  Some of the eastern Sherwood spills over into this county.  It was established as a County Palatine, a special region, by King William the Bastard; it has its own special parliament which operates independently from the regular parliament and consists of the local nobility.  In practice, it is effectively crown land, since the Earldom of Chester has been a title of the royal family since the time of King Edward Longshanks. Other than the Lancastrians, the second-largest property holder in Chester is the Duke of Buckingham.

Chester is notable as being the place where King Henry Bolingbroke forced King Richard II to abdicate in his favor (Richard II later dying of mysterious circumstances). This usurpation was directly responsible for the conflicting claim to the throne from the house of York (Richard of York being a descendant of two of the other descendants of Edward III, and the Mad King being the descendant of the Bolingbroke line with less legal claim to the throne, but that took the crown by force).

The land in Chester is not the most fertile, though it is good for the production of dairy, and the county is famous for a good trade in a particular kind of "Cheshire" cheese. Hunting also provides a very prosperous fur trade, exported to all parts of Albion and the continent from the port of Chester town.  Part of the territory is quite rich in salt deposits and salt mining is a major industry.  Chester is a relatively peaceful region though it sometimes suffers incursions of banditry or monsters from either of the mountain ranges it borders.  In the foothills of the Pennines, where the Eastern Sherwood begins, there is a particular monument of note: the Bridestones.  This is a stone circle, partially destroyed (and thus holding no special magical benefit to spellcasters), within which there is the entrance to a three-chambered cairn, 100ft long by 100ft wide. It is believed to be the ancient tomb of a Cymric prince and princess, and was clearly a site of religious importance to the old pagans.  Whatever was once contained therein was long since ransacked, but rumours continue to abound that there may be a further, deeper complex of ancient chambers nearby, possibly accessible from the Bridestones by some secret means.

The area of the Pennine Mountains that is found in Chester is referred to as "The Roaches", and from its highest peaks (on a clear day) one could see the entirety of Chester and beyond, to the distant peaks of the Cambrian mountains. Somewhere in these mountain ranges there is said to be a pond known as the Mermaid's Pool, which is believed to connect to an underground series of pools and subterranean lakes and rivers that lead all the way to the Ocean; yet the Mermaid's pool itself is poisonous if drunk and has no fish.  Legend has it that once a year at midnight on the eve of the Spring Equinox, the Mermaid herself appears in the water of the pool.  She is said to be a creature of chaos of enchanting beauty; who will grant the secret of immortality to those who know the secret way to approach her; but to all others she uses her power of enchantment to drag them deep within the depths of the pool, presumably to their deaths.

Chester has no cities, but it does have two notable towns within its boundaries: the port town of Chester, and the town of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennine Mountains.
Chestertown was founded as a fort settlement by the Arcadians during their rule of the isle, during the reign of the great warrior-emperor Vespasian, who years earlier had participated in the Arcadian conquest of Albion.
During the invasion of William the Bastard, Chester was one of the last of the old Angleman towns to resist his new regime; and after defeating them he established a castle by the town to govern over the Cheshire folk, and pacified Chester county by putting it under special rule as a county Palatine. It is notable for its port market being a state-of-the-art two-floor covered "gallery" building, and for the unique black-and-white checkered pattern on most of its buildings. It features very prominent and sturdy city-style walls, unusual for a town of its size; the wall was constructed for defensive purposes in centuries past when Irish and Scots piracy-raiding was a common threat in the area.

Manchester is a somewhat smaller but still significant town located in the foothills of the Pennine Mountains.  It too was first founded by the Arcadians.  According to legend, some of the earliest temples to the Unconquered Sun were built there by Arcadian legionnaires.  It is also known that in Arcadian times Manchester was a center for magical study in the isles, including (according to legend) being the home-base of a number of relatively sinister cults, who may also have had secret meeting places in caverns and catacombs near or under the town.  It has always been a small market town, and for a long time was known as a rough and tumble peripheral settlement, but has recently started to grow in fortune, particularly as in the past century a number of refugees from the Anglemen holdings in the Continent (conquered by the Frogmen) emigrated to the town; most notably skilled weavers who have considerably increased the town's trade. A local nobleman who had taken the priesthood, Thomas De Ware, received permission to begin construction of a seminary in the town for the training of priests of the Unconquered Sun, the only one in this area of Albion; though 30 years later construction is not yet finished, the seminary has already begun operating and has started to increase the stature of the town as well.

Manchester is also notable for a particular and bloody festival that is held 40 days before the Spring Equinox,  on a feast day traditionally known as Shrovetide, marking the start of the last 40 days of the winter.  Every Shrovetide the town of Manchester engages in a sport they call "shrovetide foot-ball", where two rival teams (the city team and the team of the "united" parishes surrounding the city) engaged in a ritualized all-out brawl to try to get a roughly foot-long ball made from an inflated pig's bladder from the center of town to one of either marker or "goal" points at the two ends of the city; players are allowed to do this by any means, and it is not uncommon for severe injuries or even deaths to occur among players, and not infrequently among spectators (either at the hands of players, or at the hands of supporters of the rival teams).  Manchester is not the only town in Albion with this kind of tradition, though its version is particularly large and lawless, and there's no doubt that it is the most famous in the land for its level of brutal "football fanatics".  The Crown has officially banned the practice, since the time of King Edward III, under pain of imprisonment, but at least in Manchester this has not deterred the games from happening and the ban has never been enforced in the town.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 22, 2011, 01:57:35 AM
I hope people are still enjoying this!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on September 22, 2011, 06:27:52 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;481006
I hope people are still enjoying this!

RPGPundit


Yep.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on September 22, 2011, 12:06:04 PM
Absolutely, it rocks :)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on September 22, 2011, 12:57:03 PM
This is excellent stuff, Pundit!  I learned something new today, having never heard of the Shrovetide football tradition before.  I am *definitely* going to include this in my next fantasy game as a strange custom that must be negotiated by the players at some point.

And even better, Shrovetide football is still played...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Shrovetide_Football

I like the modern rules:

    * Committing murder or manslaughter is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
    * The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
    * The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack etc.
    * Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
    * Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
    * To Score a Goal the ball must be tapped 3 times in the area of the Goal.


-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on September 22, 2011, 01:30:49 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;480851

Manchester is also notable for a particular and bloody festival that is held 40 days before the Spring Equinox,  on a feast day traditionally known as Shrovetide, marking the start of the last 40 days of the winter.  Every Shrovetide the town of Manchester engages in a sport they call "shrovetide foot-ball", where two rival teams (the city team and the team of the "united" parishes surrounding the city) engaged in a ritualized all-out brawl to try to get a roughly foot-long ball made from an inflated pig's bladder from the center of town to one of either marker or "goal" points at the two ends of the city; players are allowed to do this by any means, and it is not uncommon for severe injuries or even deaths to occur among players, and not infrequently among spectators (either at the hands of players, or at the hands of supporters of the rival teams).  Manchester is not the only town in Albion with this kind of tradition, though its version is particularly large and lawless, and there's no doubt that it is the most famous in the land for its level of brutal "football fanatics".  The Crown has officially banned the practice, since the time of King Edward III, under pain of imprisonment, but at least in Manchester this has not deterred the games from happening and the ban has never been enforced in the town.

RPGPundit


Brilliant!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 23, 2011, 02:02:22 AM
I'm glad you liked that part, I'm particularly proud of it.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 25, 2011, 03:47:06 AM
Well, we've played our fifth session, and only now has a character actually died.  The group's midget died when his life was drained away by the touch of a Fae Mummy, after the party had broken the seal and entered into an ancient Cairn in the Black Mountains of Wales.

Frankly, I was surprised more than anything by the fact no one else had died until now.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 27, 2011, 04:26:07 PM
Dark Albion: Marches of Wales

The Welsh Marches are the easternmost half of wales, and are divided into two regions: Glamorgan and Powys. The name of the region refers to the period of the Angleman conquest of Wales, which began under William the Bastard but took over a century to complete.  The Welsh "Marches" (border territory, between Albion proper and the Welsh kingdoms to the west) were the first area in Wales to fall under Anglish control.  The Anglish lords set up to govern these territories had certain privileges and independence, owing direct fealty to the King of Albion; but it was not until the time of King Edward Longshanks that the area became fully conquered and controlled by the government of Albion.  Even to this day huge areas of Powys are basically barbaric mountain territories, still governed by human and sub-human tribes of wild Cymri and Troglodytes who recognize no outer law.

Glamorgan
Long ago, Glamorgan was once a powerful Cymri kingdom, called Escavalon.  Some legends hold that the legendary King Arthur was crowned here, before moving his capital to Camelot. This area in southern Wales is a vale of beautiful pastoral and farm land. It features no large cities, but has one major port town, Swansea, and two smaller but important towns: Cardiff, and Newport (both also port towns but lacking the facilities to handle major shipping).  As a result of long having been a battleground between conquering Anglish and native Cymri forces, there are more castles and fortifications scattered around Glamorgan than possibly any other county.

The center of Glamorgan features the Black Mountains, which are really the southernmost tip of the Cambrian Mountains.  These "mountains" (more similar to large hills) feature rich deposits of coals and metals of all kinds, and have all manner of modern and ancient mines; some long abandoned.  Some of the oldest mines in this region are believed to date back to the time that the Fae ruled over the isles and the Cymri men were but slaves; some of these mines may still be lost in the depths of the hills, and contain unimaginable treasures (even when their mineral deposits are long since depleted).
This area, as well as the parts of the Forest of Dean that spill over into Glamorgan, are also littered with Chambered Cairns and Long Barrows, ancient burial places of the first great magic-using half-fae Cymri Chiefs.  Many of these have been long since despoiled but there are also still cairns and barrows being discovered regularly, some spending years before anyone dares approach them, for the cairns of Glamorgan are often protected by terrible magic and more than occasionally, by powerful undead.  It is not unheard of that raids of savage Cyrmi tribesmen will occur in the northern border of the black mountains with Powys, or even that more dangerous monsters (Manticora, Giants, or even Dragons) may occasionally come out of that more dangerous region to cause trouble.

Swansea is the only significant port town in Glamorgan, though Cardiff and Newport also have port facilities.  It is nevertheless eclipsed by the likes of Bristol, which sees far more trade.  Its other great resource besides trade is the nearby copper mines, and it is the largest copper producing site in all of Albion.  The local petty lords governing here have been of Anglish descent (from the Mowbray family, relatives and allies of the Duke of Norfolk) for the last 200 years.

Cardiff is the second largest town in Glamorgan, dating back to an Arcadian legion town; though it may have been populated and abandoned long before that by Cyrmi, and deep below the town there may even be the buried ruins of a Fae city.  Cardiff deteriorated in importance after the Arcadians left the isle when their empire collapsed, but the area was renewed by William the Bastard when he constructed one of the first Anglish castles in Wales here (Cardiff Castle).
As recently as 50 years ago, there was conflict here when the barbarian Cyrmi Wizard-Chieftain Owain Glyndwr swept down from the Cambrian Mountains through the Black Mountains and laid waste to the town of Cardiff. Glyndwr had been hired as a mercenary knight by the inept king Richard II, and after the latter was deposed (and probably murdered) by King Henry Bolingbroke, Owain broke into open rebellion, declaring himself "Prince of the Welsh", and rose up an army of barbarian Cyrmi and welsh peasants (as well as disaffected welsh soldiers and knights loyal to Richard II).  He fought the new crown, and particularly the Percy family who had been put in charge of crushing the rebellion, for 8 long years, until finally he was defeated after Henry the Great's rise to the throne.  He manged to escape back to the mountains with his followers, and was never captured; its even possible that through his Cyrmi magic, Glyndwr may yet live and wait in some mountain Crag for another opportunity to wreak havoc in Wales. Today, Cardiff is one of the many possessions of the Earl of Warwick, though he's rarely found here.

Newport is a third port town, smaller than the other two, though still important because it was once known as Caerleon, the capital of the Cymric kingdom of Escavalon.  Legend has it that it was here King Arthur was crowned. It was the center of the worship of the Unconquered Sun in Wales, and the town and the region surrounding it had converted from cymri paganism to that faith long before the Anglish conquest. There are still old ruins of the much larger city of Caerleon (and older Arcadian ruins dating from the time that Caerleonum was an important Arcadian city) found in the surrounding countryside. Like Cardiff, Newport was attacked by Owain Glyndwr during his revolt, though the town was taken rather than razed and served for some time as Owain's "capital".

Aside from the Mowbrays and the Earl of Warwick, the other two important noble influences in Glamorgan are the Duke of Buckingham (who has extensive holdings in the Black Mountains, granting him considerable income from mining operations) and the Ap William clan, currently lead by William Ap William, who has the Anglish title of Lord Herbert.  The latter is not the only Welsh noble in the region, but is by far the most powerful; he has a longstanding rivalry, and hatred, for the Tudur clan that govern in neighbouring Pembroke; and this rivalry has caused him to hold strong allegiance to the Yorkist cause, as the Tudurs are staunch allies of the Lancastrian Mad King, and especially to Queen Margaret (the Tudurs now being connected by marriage to the Lancastrian line, through the marriage of Edmund Tudur to the Mad King's young cousin Margaret Beaufort; and the head of the Tudur clan, Owen Tudur having married the Mad King's widowed mother).  It is William Ap William's hope that a Yorkist victory will mean the extermination of the Tudur line.

Powys:
The region known as Powys, right in the center of the Cambrian Mountains, has no cities or towns, and precious few villages that would be considered part of Albion's law. The mountains past the borderlands with more civilized regions in the north, west and south are completely savage, ruled by degenerate barbarian tribes of Cyrmi from tall primitive mountain forts known as Crags.
This region of Wales was historically ruled not by the Fae, but by Dragons and Giants who were allies of the Fae (mostly, some legends hold that these may have at time warred with the Fae).  Today, there are still Dragons, Giants, and monstrosities of all kinds in the mountains, though these are much more rare than before.  The barbarian Cyrmi are the main presence in the region, but there are also a race of cave-dwelling sub-humans, taller and hairier than regular humans, known as Troglodytes.  They are even more savage and brutal than the Cymri, and are known to like the taste of human flesh.
The barbarian tribes of Powys resisted invasion from the Arcadians, the old Anglish, and the Northmen, never being conquered fully by any of these.  The tribes have sometimes operated as alliances and different petty kingdoms, uniting under powerful men or dynasties and then falling back into chaos after the bloodline weakens. At the time of William the Bastard, after this first "king of all Anglia" had taken Anglia proper, he sent some of his powerful and most loyal lords to secure the Marches of Wales; the Earl of Montgomery at that time marched with powerful forces to subdue Powys, and even built a great fortress in Powys, Montgomery Castle.  The barbarian tribes might have been fully subdued, had not Montgomery and William the Bastard suffered a falling out that led the former to revolt against the latter; Montomery was executed, and this allowed the great Cyrmi chief Llewelyn ab Lorweth to unite the cyrmi against the Anglish, driving them out of most of Powys and destroying Montgomery Castle, whose ruins are still found in the mountains, deep in barbarian territory.
The latest great chief was Owain Glyndwr, who raised up a mighty force of Cyrmic barbarians supported by disenfranchised Welsh soldiery and fought with considerable success against the Anglish forces for many years; he was stopped but never fully defeated, and fled back into the mountains; it is unknown if he yet lives, though over 40 years have passed (even so, he was known to be a powerful magician and may have found ways to preserve himself through dark means).
At the start of the rebellion, Glyndwr originally considered taking over the ruins of Montgomery Castle as his headquarters, but he ruled this out; it is thought that this was due to strategic considerations, but some believe that there was something now occupying the castle that led even Owain to pause.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 29, 2011, 01:21:49 AM
So, crazily enough, I've started a second Albion campaign out of the blue! This one is in english, with the Wench and a group of our friends.  Needless to say, I'm very happy with this development, as getting The Wench to actually play an rpg is not easy.

RPGpundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Mark Plemmons on October 05, 2011, 01:27:17 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;466215
I've been thinking a lot about how I would do a "WFRP" version of England. I refuse to call it Weird Fantasy, but a dark and gritty kind of fantasy world that's relatively low on magic and monsters alike, but high on violence and strife, and the supernatural when found can be pretty fucking problematic.

Note that my assumption here would be doing this as a kind of setting for running LotFP, not WFRP, the title was just to understand that like WFRP made germany into "The Empire", so too would I seek to make England into "Albion".


Okay, I haven't read the whole post, and I know little about WFRP, but "Dark Albion: doing to England what WFRP did to Germany" sounds to me like fried gold.

(That means good.)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 06, 2011, 10:46:36 AM
Quote from: Mark Plemmons;483719
Okay, I haven't read the whole post, and I know little about WFRP, but "Dark Albion: doing to England what WFRP did to Germany" sounds to me like fried gold.

(That means good.)


Wow, thank you.  I'll note that you don't really need to know anything about WFRP itself, the mention of it is just in reference to how WFRP's basic setting, "The empire" is a dark-fantasy parody of renaissance Germany.  Likewise, Dark Albion is a dark-fantasy parody of 15th century England.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: spaceLem on October 06, 2011, 07:35:57 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;481006
I hope people are still enjoying this!


Been a bit pre-occupied with other things, but yes -- this is brilliant stuff. Please keep it coming!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 07, 2011, 03:09:54 PM
Quote from: spaceLem;483957
Been a bit pre-occupied with other things, but yes -- this is brilliant stuff. Please keep it coming!


Thanks. Will do.  Not sure what more to do once I finish the different regions, though.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 13, 2011, 04:10:58 PM
Lancaster

County Palatine of Lancaster is another area directly controlled by the King, in his quality as Duke of Lancaster.  It includes within its border a significant part of the Pennine Mountains (it is bordered by the mountains on the north and east; and by the Mersey river to the south), and the towns of Lancaster, Lathom, and Liverpool.  Only the valleys in the coastal areas have any significant population, while the Pennine mountains are very sparsely populated, at least by humans.
Though not as dangerous perhaps as the welsh Cambrian mountains, the Pennine mountains are still what could be considered an uncivilized region.  There are no barbarians like the Cymri savages found in the former, but the Pennines do have their share of bandit encampments, who prey on merchants doing the difficult crossing from York to Carlisle.
More dangerous, however, are the nonhuman dangers found in the depths of the mountains, (fortunately) usually far from the mountain crossings used in regular commerce.  In these deeper areas of the Pennines a variety of magical creatures are known to exist, including griffons, dragons and giants (though not in as many numbers, it would appear, as there are in the Cambrian mountains), but more importantly there are considerable populations of goblins in the Pennines.  They live in cave complexes and, it is even rumoured, in huge underground cities, some say within entire mountains, possibly even connected to other goblin cities by deep underground roads. Much of this is rumour, but enough encounters with goblins have occured to give weight to these possibilities (which have increased recently with the chaos and conflict in the north caused by the feud between the Percies and the Nevilles).
There are even stranger creatures in the mountains, inconceivable monstrosities that were perhaps the product of dark wizardry or the ancient experimentation of the Fae.

Even the "safer" areas on the edges of the Pennines have their dangers.  Pendle Hill, a very tall (1800ft) hill in the foothill region of the Pennines, is just one good example.  The people of Pendleton village at the base of the hill have reported strange visitations and hauntings for many years now; and there are consistent rumours that dark witchcraft abounds in secret covens hidden among the population.
On the other hand, the major forest in the region, the Forest of Denness outside Lancaster, is thoroughly pacified. It is a hunting forest for the King; though a number of families in the Lancaster region also have special hunting rights; these men are known as Bowbearers, and all descend from ten families selected by King William Rufus when the Denness became a royal forest; originally, they were meant to "carry the king's bow" when he hunted, but this evolved into a set of legal rights by which only Bowholders are allowed to carry bows within the forest boundaries, a right they enforce with extreme vigour.

Aside from the royal family, the other noble family with major holdings in Lancaster is the Stanley family, the Kings of the Isle of Mann. They are direct rulers of the small town of Lathom, and the majority landowners of the slightly larger township of Liverpool.  The region of Lancaster is governed in the King's name by the High Sheriff of Lancaster, a position usually given to a prominent member of a knightly family; the current High Sheriff is Nicholas Byron, who inherited the position from his father, Sir John Byron.  Byron is of course a loyal Lancastrian, as are the majority of the people of this county.
The county capital is Lancaster, the only population center in the county with slightly more than 1000 people.  It features Lancaster castle and a prominent market.  The High Sheriff governs from here, and the strictness with which law and order is applied in the region has given the town of Lancaster the nickname of the "hanging town".  Neither crime, nor dark sorcery, nor rebellion of any kind is tolerated here, or even the suspicion of any of the above.

Lathom is a very small town, only technically considered a town due to legal status, though in fact under any other circumstances it would be a village, having slightly less than 500 people. It is notable as being the traditional manor of the Stanley family, their place of origin before becoming the Kings of the Impenetrable Isle of Mann.

Liverpool is another very small town on the shore of the Merseyside bay.  It features a small port, which was once more prosperous than it is today; the town having declined considerably over the last two centuries, being overshadowed by the major port of Chester to the south. Its port facilities do not allow for ships larger than medium-sized fishing boats, and the bay is full of eels, and occasionally giant eels or other sea serpents have been known to attack ships. It is a town due to its historical size, but its population has declined by half over the last two hundred years, currently hovering around 600-700 people.  It is known mainly for its fishing trade (particularly eels), and for the artistic qualities of its citizenry; the poverty and misfortune of the town for some reason tending to produce fine balladeers.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 15, 2011, 11:03:39 AM
I've been thinking of redoing the northern marches, which seem quite sparse now compared to the other entries; but I'm trying to find what local folklore could be added to it.
Anyone got any ideas?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: brunz on October 16, 2011, 07:09:29 AM
I'll have to think on that one (or read, more like). But I just wanted to say that I'm glad this is still going, anyway.

Thanks. :)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 17, 2011, 01:03:57 AM
Quote from: brunz;485305
I'll have to think on that one (or read, more like). But I just wanted to say that I'm glad this is still going, anyway.

Thanks. :)


Thank you!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 23, 2011, 02:43:59 AM
So as of this last adventure, this very night, the group was in Sussex, and learned that this troubled county is still filled with unrest.   Even four years after the rebellion of Jack Make-Amends, the rebels are still spotted all over the countryside in different bands, which today act like little more than small armies of brigands.

One of the largest of these was encountered by the PC group, in the form of Sir Wyatt Scar, operating out of Pevensy with 180 men.  Many of them, like Sir Wyatt, being veterans of the wars on the continent against the Frogmen.   His band, among many others, all but controls the countryside in Sussex, so that only large well-armed groups can travel between the towns without risk of assault.  Rumor has it that Scar even has a hedge-wizard with his band, and the poverty of the Pevensy garrison and the strained resources of the earl of Arundel are such that these bands act with impunity.

Ironically, it may only be a problem solvable by full-scale war between the two factions vying for Albion's crown.  If rather than the cold war with very occasional skirmishes (and only one full-scale battle), the situation should change so that Lancastrians and Yorkists were at each other's throats for a prolonged period, many of these men would be capable of finding fruitful and prosperous work in the armies of the combatants.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Glazer on October 23, 2011, 10:10:49 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;485164
I've been thinking of redoing the northern marches, which seem quite sparse now compared to the other entries; but I'm trying to find what local folklore could be added to it.
Anyone got any ideas?

RPGPundit

Although not folklore per se, I'd recommend reading up on the Border Reivers for inspiration. There's a website here:

http://www.borderreivers.co.uk/

... and googling should find others. Also, if you can track it down, The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser (of Flashman fame) is a brilliant book on the subject. You can get it from Amazon in the UK, but not sure how easy it will be to find in your neck of the woods.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on October 23, 2011, 11:19:19 AM
Quote from: Glazer;486188
Also, if you can track it down, The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser (of Flashman fame) is a brilliant book on the subject. You can get it from Amazon in the UK, but not sure how easy it will be to find in your neck of the woods.


I am reading The Steel Bonnets even as we speak, and I also highly recommend it.  Although the heyday of the border reivers was more like the 16th century, the patterns of anglo-scottish conflict go back to the 13th century.  It would be a cool addition to your setting for certain.


-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 24, 2011, 11:42:53 AM
Quote from: Glazer;486188
Although not folklore per se, I'd recommend reading up on the Border Reivers for inspiration. There's a website here:

http://www.borderreivers.co.uk/

... and googling should find others. Also, if you can track it down, The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser (of Flashman fame) is a brilliant book on the subject. You can get it from Amazon in the UK, but not sure how easy it will be to find in your neck of the woods.


Fantastic! Thank you very much.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 29, 2011, 10:43:51 AM
Posting the poisons thing too here, for completion:

A note on Poisons in the Albion setting

A couple of my players in this game have been asking about this, one of them has even started to set up an apothecary's lab; they're very interested in poisons.

However, I don't want this to turn into a poison-fest, and the simplest means to avoid this seems to be to point out the difficulty in natural poisons being truly deadly, particularly in the sense of "dipping your dagger".

The most deadly poisons available by natural means in this setting are more useful ingested than injected. They can be prepared into poisons by a skilled apothecary or alchemist, differing from the natural state in both the ability to mask the taste and the deadliness of the effect.

Of course, there are many UN-natural poisons that would be far more deadly than those listed here; you just won't find those with bushcraft.  You'll find them by harvesting the bodies of deadly magical monsters in dark places, engaging in powerful rituals of magick to summon forth the dew of chaos, or making pacts with the Foul Cat of Slime to draw forth the venom of its extraplanar teat.

For any poison or herb to be made into an effective dose, a certain amount of money must be spent (note that the costs below are for production, not retail value), and a test of the alchemy/apothecary skill must be made (many herbs or poisons have modifiers to the base skill, representing ease or difficulty to prepare).  Modifiers to the bushcraft skill represent the difficulty in finding the specific herb. Most poisons or herbs take one day to prepare a given dose, and one day of searching with bushcraft to find herbs in the wild.
The following is a list of some common poisons, followed by other herbs which can be found by those with bushcraft and prepared by those with skill in alchemy or apothecary skills:

Poisons:
Arsenic: bushcraft:n/a  preparation:+0 cost:20sh Arsenic is a poisonous powder that must be ingested.  Its taste can be detected by skilled food tasters. 1d6 turns after ingesting the victim feels nausea and may experience vomiting or diarrhea; after 2d6 hours the victim must save vs. poison or become incapacitated for 1d6 days, after which he must make a second save vs. poison or die.
(Cantarella: preparation: -2 cost:50sh A more powerful variant of the same, still ingested. Tasteless, colourless and odourless. Both saving throws are at -2)

Autumn Crocus: bushcraft:+0 prep:+1 cost:16sh This poison is effective ingested, but is one of those rare venoms that can be made into an effective poison to put on a blade or arrow (as an injected poison, it costs 150sh per dose!).  The ingested form causes an immediate burning sensation in the throat, and then in 2d3 hours it causes severe and bloody diarrhea, then convulsions, and respiratory failure.  The victim must save vs. poison or become bedridden; if he is bedridden after 1d3 days he must make a second saving throw or die. The weapon-variety of this poison must hit and do damage to take effect, if it does so the victim must make a saving throw vs. poison with a +2 bonus after 2d3 rounds, or suddenly drop dead from a massive heart failure.

Belladonna: (aka Deadly Nightshade): Bushcraft: +1 preparation: +0 (takes 2 days) cost:10sh  useful in small doses for medicinal purposes as anesthetic and to aid sleep (in said use, the cost of preparation is only 3sh), the poison version will create disorientation when drunk, and make a person highly susceptible (save vs. poison or will answer questions posed with disinterested candour); anyone affected by belladonna must make a save vs. poison with a +3 bonus or will die within 1d6 hours.

Bullrush: bushcraft: +0 Preparation: +4 cost:3sh  Bullrush can be prepared as a simple sleeping concoction, in which case its cost is only 6p, and its effect is to aid in getting a good night's sleep.  As a poison, it can be ingested to cause the person taking it to fall into a drugged sleep within 1d6 turns of having taken it, being unable to stay awake unless they make a saving throw vs. poisons.  They will be unable to be roused for 2d6 hours.

Cow Wheat: bushcraft: -1 Preparation: +2 cost:6sh Cow-wheat is ingested, and will cause its victim terrible headaches, suffering a -1 to attack and skill rolls.  Additionally, if they fail a save vs. poisons, they will become utterly confused and incoherent, incapable of effective communication or any kind of activity requiring mental clarity for 1d12 hours.

Cyanide: bushcraft: +0 prep: +0 cost:30sh derived from bitter almonds or laurel, cyanide is a very deadly poison when ingested.  Its fumes are equally toxic if burnt.  It leads to unconsciousness from respiratory failure and death if a save versus poison (with a -2 penalty) is not made after 2d6 rounds.

Darnell: bushcraft: -2 preparation: +0 cost:10sh  When drunk, a person must make a save vs. poisons or go blind for 1d6 hours.

Deathcap: bushcraft:+0 prep:+0 cost:6sh A mushroom, when ingested it causes abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, leading to renal failure.  Victims must save vs. poison with a +2 bonus or die after 1d10+5 days.

Foxglove: bushcraft:+0 prep:+0 cost:4sh  ingested, it causes pain and difficulty breathing, and may cause cardiac arrest.  1d3 turns after taking it, save vs. poison to avoid death; however, its symptoms are identifiable to doctors; and by inducing vomiting, giving charcoal, and fruit juices, the effects can be significantly nullified, granting a +6 to the saving throw if a skilled physician makes the correct diagnosis.

Hemlock: bushcraft:+0 Preparation:+2 (takes 2 days) cost:6sh  Hemlock is a deadly poison that is ingested; it is of very noticeable flavour, however, making it difficult to use for assassination.  Anyone who ingests it must save vs. poison or will die in 2d6 hours; feeling no pain but only a gradual numbness and paralysis that creeps up the body until one can no longer breathe.

Henbane: bushcraft:+0 preparation:+2 cost:16sh Henbane can be used to make a healing medicine that can heal an extra +1hp overnight, though drinking it causes a deep sleep (one will not awaken normally from it for at least 10 hours, though if violently roused they may save vs. poison to see if they wake; the sleep being interrupted negates the healing bonus) that usually brings strange dreams with it.  In more powerful essence, henbane is a poison, identifiable by a telltale rash, leaving its victim confused before falling into unconsciousness as above; after 10 hours go by, the victim must save vs. poison with a +1 bonus, or will die.

Leopardsbane: bushcraft:-3 preparation:+3 cost:12sh This plant can be used to make a poison that is effective against animals of various kinds, including cats of all varieties, dogs or wolves, and horses.  Animals susceptible to the poison that eat it will die within 1d6 turns of ingesting if they fail a save vs. poison (felines of all varieties suffer a -2 to their saves).  Humans who eat it will feel unwell for several days, but suffer no other ill effects.

Mandrake: bushcraft:-2 prep: +4 (takes 4 days to prepare) cost:10sh  A plant long associated with witchcraft, taking small doses of this drug will produce a hallucinatory trance where the user will experience visions.  Prepared as a poison, it must be ingested and works in 1d3 turns, causing loss of bowel control, nausea, unconsciousness, and then potentially death.  Characters must make a save vs. poisons with a +1 bonus, or fall into a coma and die within 1d2 turns.

Wolfsbane: bushcraft:+1 prep: +0 (takes 2 days to prepare, as a poison) cost:20sh Very well known in its natural form for its capability to stave off wolves or were-wolves, this plant can also be prepared as a significant poison. As a poison, it can be ingested, or made into an unguent that is absorbed through skin. In either form, the immediate effect is a tingling sensation, then numbness and tightness of breath as well as blurred vision.  It later causes paralysis and then potentially death.  Ingested, death will occur in 1d6 hours if the victim fails a saving throw vs. poisons.  Taken from a weapon injury, death will occur in one turn if the victim fails a save versus poison.


Medicinal herbs:
All-heal: bushcraft: +0 preparation: +3 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost: 10sh  The application of All-heal has a 4 in 6 chance of enhancing natural healing from injuries; in which case a character who takes it will heal at a rate +1 hit point per day for the next week (this is aside from any other bonuses to medical treatment)

Bloody William: bushcraft:+2 prep:-3 (takes 3 days to prepare) cost:6sh  Despite its name, this flower is used to make an antitoxin, useful against scorpion stings. If taken, for the next 3 days after ingestion it grants a +4 bonus against scorpion stings; it is ineffective if taken after being stung.

Cow Parsnip: Bushcraft: +0 preparation: -2 (takes 1 week to prepare) cost: 14sh.  Prepared as a medicine, it can potentially cure sufferers of (non-magical) insanity.

Goat's Rue: bushcraft: +0 Preparation: -3 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost: 30sh  When prepared as a potion, this serves as a countertoxin to many common poisons, granting a +2 bonus to saving throws against poison effects; it must be taken before the poison save is rolled.

Hare's Ear: bushcraft: -1 preparation:-2 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost: 6sh This herb is made as an ointment that is effective at treating a variety of skin diseases.

Horehound: bushcraft:+3 preparation:+0 (takes 4 days to prepare) cost:10sh  This creates a very powerful antitoxin, though only against INGESTED poisons; ingesting it after being poisoned (but before making any final saving throws) will cause the victim to vomit copiously, to aid greatly to the likelihood of survival. Characters taking horehound are granted an immediate saving throw vs. poison (with any bonuses or penalties that the poison in question would cause), which if they succeed annuls any further poison effects.  If they fail the roll, they will still get to make the regular saves.  Anyone taking horehound is extremely ill, incapable of taking any actions, for 24 hours after taking it.

Make-bate: bushcraft:-2 preparation:+0 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost:5sh  This herb can be used to make a potion or unguent effective against scorpion stings.  It must be applied within 1 round of being stung, and provides a second saving throw against the venom's effects.  Should a venom be so powerful as to cause instant death, the anti-toxin will be of no help.

Marjerome: bushcraft:-2 prep:+0 (takes one week to prepare) cost:12sh  This plant can be made into a liquor that when drunk will completely counter the effects of hemlock.  The herb must be taken before any saving throw is made.

Masterwort: bushcraft: +3 prep:-3 (takes 3 days to prepare) cost:15sh (much more expensive in times of plague)  This herb can be ingested as a protection against the plague; anyone exposed to the plague who has taken this medicine within the last 3 days gets a +4 bonus to saving throws against infection.

Milkwort: bushcraft:+3 prep:-4 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost:20sh  This plant is used to make a medicine to protect against cholera.  Anyone who takes it will get a +4 bonus to saving throws against infection with cholera; or if already infected a +4 bonus to all saving throws thereafter.

Navew: bushcraft: +0 prep:+0 (takes 5 days to prepare) cost:15sh  Prepared as a potion to be in drinks or food, it will grant a +1 bonus to any saving throws should that food or drink be poisoned.

Serapias: bushcraft: -2 prep:+3 (takes 4 days to prepare) cost:20sh  This rare herb is extremely useful as a healing medicine.  Whoever is administered it falls into a deep sleep for 24 hours (during which time they can only be awakened with great effort, and even then can only be lucid and remain awake if they save versus poison; waking them negates the curative effects), after which they will recover +1d3 hit points over the usual amount.

Snake Caltrop: bushcraft:+0 preparation:+1 (takes 4 days to prepare) cost:10sh  This herb, made into an unguent, can help counteract snake venom.  It must be applied IMMEDIATELY after taking a snakebite (within 1 round), and provides a second saving throw against whatever poisonous effects the snake venom causes. Should a snake's venom be so powerful that it causes an instant death effect, the unguent will not be of any assistance.

Spiderwort: bushcraft:-1 prep:+3 (takes 2 days to prepare) cost:20sh  A useful cure for spider bites.  If taken immediately after being bitten by a spider (within 1 round) it will provide a second saving throw against whatever poisonous effects the spider venom causes. Should a spider's venom be so powerful that it causes an instant death effect, the medicine will not aid the victim.


Alchemical Concoctions:
(these do not require a bushcraft roll to find, they are made purely from the lab)

Alkhalest: prep:-1 cost:12sh a very powerful acid, this will burn through almost anything other than glass.  When preparing this substance, if the alchemist fails he must make a saving throw vs. magical device. On a natural 1, it causes an explosion that does 2d6 points of damage to the user (as well as the standard damage to the laboratory).  A vial of alkhalest if thrown on an individual will do no damage on the round it is thrown, but will do 1d6 points of damage to the victim on the next 2 rounds thereafter. A single vial can be poured on wood or leather and burn a hole through it in 1 turn, or through metal or stone in 2d6 turns.

Aqua Regia: prep:-1 cost:60sh another powerful acid, capable of burning through organic material. On a natural 1 in the saving throw while creating this substance, the alchemist will do 3d6 damage to himself, but only half the usual damage to the lab equipment.  If the vial's contents are thrown at a living thing, it will do 2d6 damage for 1 round.

Aura Fulminata: prep:-1 cost:116sh A very expensive explosive, this material is extremely volatile.  Even a light shaking of the substance could cause it to explode (in the event of such a shake, saving throw vs. paralysis to avoid setting it off). Each batch of this material will cause 6d6 points of damage when it explodes to everything within 30ft (save vs. breath weapon for 1/2 damage).  In the event the alchemist rolls a natural 1 during his saving throw while preparing this substance, he will cause a massive explosion to his laboratory, doubling the usual lab damage and doing 12d6 points of damage to himself (save vs. breath weapon for 1/2 damage).

False Gold: prep:-3 cost:24sh This produces a nugget of counterfeit gold, worth 1d4 pounds IF it is not detected to be false. An alchemist, expert accountant, or certain other professionals will be able to tell relatively easily, upon examination, that this is not true gold, but ordinary people may be fooled.

Asbestos: prep:-1 cost:12sh  This procedure produces a cloth material which can be worn to grant protection against fire.  Effectively made, it allows the wearer a +1 bonus against all varieties of fire-based saving throws (including magical fire), and will reduce any damage from normal non-magical fire by 1 point per die of damage (even if this reduces the damage dealt to zero).  It does not grant said reduction against magical fire.  A natural 1 by the alchemist when creating this substance indicates the alchemist will inhale toxic fumes, reducing his constitution by 1 point permanently.

Gunpowder: prep:+0 (takes one week to produce enough gunpowder for 30 small-arms shots, or 15 cannon shots). cost:6sh This is an essential substance for the use of bombards and black-powder weapons, popular on the Continent but not yet common in Albion.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 11, 2011, 04:42:25 PM
Dark Albion Game: The Northern Marches, additional material

The Northern Marches are considerably less civilized as a region than central Albion, and become increasingly more lawless the further north you get, with a slight reprieve in the populated areas near Hadrian's wall, most notably on the Easternmost and Westernmost coastal regions of the marches. In the west, the area around Carlisle and Cockermouth castle is the stronghold of the Percy family and is highly lawful, while in the east, the Anglishmen have long since taken territory north of the Wall, in order to secure the less-developed fortifications on that side.  The first such expedition was undertaken by King John Lackland, who razed the area of all clan-holdings after the clans north of the wall in that area refused to pay proper tributes.  Some time later, King Edward Longshanks (also known as "The Hammer of the Scots") marched with his army and took over the region, and established a frontier fort/town he named Berwick.

After Edward Longshank's conquest, Berwick gradually became a deeply valued trading post over the course of the next 20 years, where Anglishmen could exchange goods and resources from the Scots men in exchange for all variety of goods that the Scots would not normally have access to.  But as Longshank's successor, King Edward Caernarvon proved himself to be a weak and incompetent king, this became a cause for the unification of the Scots clans to attempt to retake the town and plunder it of its riches.  They did not succeed in this until 1318; after which they held the lands for 15 years, until Caernarvon's successor Edward III (who proved far more competent than his father and ruled for over fifty years) retook the territory.
Since that time Berwick and the buffer region around it has served once again as a zone of control to prevent Scots men incursions into northern Albion; and as a place to trade with those Scots clans which are mostly peaceable.  However, the recent chaos (particularly following the death of Henry "Hotspurs" Percy at the battle of St.Albans) will certainly embolden the Scots clans and they may attempt to reconquer Berwick yet again.

The border regions between the western and eastern ends of the Wall are far less stable. In these areas, through which pass the Pennine Mountains and many heavily-forested regions it is much harder to hold the peace.  At one time, when the Wall was fully manned, it was not uncommon for merchant caravans to travel all along the length of the Wall (along the southern side of it, of course) to get from Carlisle to the Berwick region. But in recent generations this has become far more difficult, as even the Percy family can ill-afford the huge costs of both gold and man-power to fully man the Wall's forts, so many stand unoccupied or with only a token force.   What's worse, in some of these areas unscrupulous wardens may accept bribes from bands of Scots men to be allowed to go through the wall, in order to raid in Anglish territory.  These raiders, some of which have gained great fortune in these practices, are known as Reivers.
Of course, during his several decades in charge of the Wall, Henry "Hotspurs" Percy had severely punished such corruption, and hung, drawn and quatered more than a few provably corrupt (or even suspected-to-be corrupt) wardens. Yet even then the practice didn't halt completely, and after Hotspur's death it may be even harder for his heir to prevent.

The Neville family have used these problems against the Percys, frequently promising that should they take control of the wall, they would make use of their immense family wealth to fully secure it from Scots incursions, and put an end to the Reivers once and for all.

Additional defense against bands of Reivers falls to small knightly holdings along the lonely and isolated border regions; Towers, halls, and small keeps in isolated areas, where a single knight or family of very low nobility can rule as absolute despots over an isolated and ignorant village of commoners. These men are a law unto themselves, and sometimes feud and struggle with one another, or act as near-outlaws in their disregard for convention or the laws of the King.  They have their own set of rules nonetheless, these petty northern lords, and support and fortify their influences through alliance and intermarriage, at least among those who are not feuding.

One of the most powerful exemplars of these petty northern lords would be the Featherstonehaugh family, located nearly in the mid-point between one end of the Wall and the other. They hold a large stone tower and a common manor hall, and rule over a handful of tiny villages in the Pennine region.  The current lord of the manor is Matthew Featherstonehaugh, though he is governing in absentia from his farmhold not too far off, in terror of what Featherstone Manor holds.  The ruler prior to Matthew, Sir Thomas Featherstonehaugh, was responsible for a tragedy of epic proportions and dire connotations.  Having no male heir, he had arranged for the marriage of his only daughter, Cecily, with her cousin Timothy Featherstonehaugh (Matthew's older brother).  Cecily, however, did not wish for this union, as she had fallen in love with Richard Ridley, also known as "Hardriding Dick", a flamboyant son of another petty noble family that had long had a rivalry with the Featherstonehaugh family; knowing that their love was forbidden, the two met and consummated their love, swearing adoration to one another eternally, at the site of an ancient druid grove, the "Raven Stone", so named from an odd-shaped possibly sacrificial stone found therein.  Sir Thomas would not accept any such heathenry, of course, and after beating his daughter he forced her to marry Timothy and held large celebrations in honor of the event.
Dick Ridley would not give up so easily, and he arranged for Cecily to ask her young groom if she could accompany him on a hunting trip to the nearby woods. She was to lead him to the Raven Stone, where Dick and his brother William and cousin Hugh would ambush the couple and steal Cecily away so they could run off together. Unfortunately, Timothy took his cousin Nicolas along, and when they were ambushed the men all fought amongst each other. Nicolas managed to kill Hugh and William Ridley before succumbing to his own wounds; and when Timothy was about to run Dick through with his sword, Cecily got in the way and was fatally stabbed.  Dick killed Timothy immediately afterwards, and in anguish over his beloved's death, he killed himself over the Raven Stone.

The result of all this carnage in this place of powerful and ancient magic had terrible consequences; Dick's blood spilled as sacrifice over the stone led to the stone's power trapping the souls of all of those involved in the fight to continue to exist as ghosts; this was discovered the night after the gruesome battle, when together all six ghosts fell upon Featherstone manor on the night of the bridal feast, and caused Sir Thomas to die in terror.

Now young Matthew Featherstonehaugh, the remaining heir, is left to deal with a haunted cursed manor, and the survivors of the Ridley clan demanding blood feud for the deaths of their sons in the flower of manhood.  And this is but one example of the strange and macabre events that are all too common in these border territories, where law and civilization run thin, and ancient magic and supernatural influence are more powerful.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 26, 2011, 12:22:18 PM
Dark Albion: Southern Scots Land

Scots Land could be just written off as a barbaric waste, and frankly, huge swaths of it are.  But that doesn't make it uninteresting wasteland! Scots Land is a truly dangerous place that can nevertheless hold the promise of great rewards for those souls brave enough to try to cross north of Hadrian's Wall.

First there is the question of getting across.  Obviously, one easy way is by boat, on either of the two coast lands. Another, harder way, would be to try to bribe your way through; usually this is only feasible (and less likely to get you hung) in the poor Wall-forts in the inhospitable middle region of the wall, where the men there are poorly staffed and with poorer morale.  In central Northumbria, it is a known scandal that corrupt guardsmen in some of the smaller forts give passage to Scots "Reivers" to march south to plunder from local farmlands or livestock herds. So they would certainly not think twice of looking the other way while a group of Anglemen used their gate to cross.
A third way, probably the easiest, would be to have some kind of special permission, to be on official business. Of course, this special permission must come from fairly high up, and meet with the approval of Lord Percy, Earl of Northumbria and current Warden of the Northern Marches.  He's unlikely to approve of any such request from anyone who wears the white rose of York. There are certain merchants that pass through with a charter to trade in Berwick; these merchants are from Durham and Newcastle, and their charter is quite ancient; others attempting to cross to sell goods in Berwick without such ancient permissions would be rebuffed.

The last way is to try to climb the wall; since its as high as 60' at some points, you'd better be very sure you've got a great climber, or some magic that allows you to fly, or at least not to fall.

Once north of the wall, what you'll run into depends a great deal on where you crossed it. In all points, you'll be facing a cold harsh land of vast forests, hills and mountains, filled with savage animals and even more dangerous monsters that are all but extinct from all but the wildest places in Albion.  Creatures like giants, cyclops, dire wolves, and even dragons.

But some areas have more semblance of civilization than others.  Berwick, north of the eastern terminus of the Wall, has already been detailed previously as a place under direct rule by Albion, and thus a peaceful home base for would-be Scots Land adventurers.

It isn't the only place that may seem familiar to Anglemen, however.  One will seem almost like home, if "home" were to become a truly lawless place where the strongest sword gets to rule (though some say Albion is fast turning into that anyways).  The place I refer to here is what is known as the "Debateable Land".  The "debate" in question, of these lands which are found just north of the western end of the Wall, is that they are nominally part of the territory of the High Chief of the Scots (currently the McBruce clan), but in practice they are ruled by Anglishmen.  Not Anglemen who act on any authority of the Anglish crown, but rebels and escaped criminals with bounties on their head.  The men who have settled in the Debateable lands are all cut-throats and scum, or their descendants; who have fled to Scots Land because it was the only choice left to them other than a hangman's noose.  Banding together, they have formed their own petty fiefdoms in this territory, where the stronger of them rule over the natives and the weaker Anglemen alike. There is no true system of government in the Debateable land, save that might makes right; and so which petty murderer, rapist, horse-thief or heretic gets to call himself Baron, Earl, Duke or sometimes even King of the Debateable Lands (and the title they claim is usually inversely proportionate to their stability of rule, as well as their projected life expectancy) tends to change hands very very quickly in these parts.

One recent shift in the balance of power in these lands is the arrival of the Armstrong Clan.  This clan of argumentative but bold Scots Men fled here for the same reason anyone does, to escape justice.  They were a powerful border clan supportive of the claims of the chief known as "Black" Douglas; but when he was murdered and his forces decimated by the Bruce Clan, the Armstrongs were forced to flee their homes.  Entering the Debateable lands, they quickly made peace with the local Anglish Bandit-lords (for good reason, the Armstrongs still featured 3000 fighting men). At this point, the current "lords" of the Debateable Land, Thomas Hodgson and Adam Blackadder (both north Anglish outlaw sons of knightly families, the former from the area of Carlisle, the latter from Berwick) agreed to make an uneasy truce with each other and the Armstrongs' bold leader, John Armstrong, making the Debateable lands a powerhouse of military might, a force to be reckoned with.  This is not expected to last, as its the sort of thing that will make both the Percys in Albion and the Bruces in Scots Land very nervous indeed. Of course, the problem may end up resolving itself, as three such bold, reckless, and ruthless men as these are unlikely to be able to hold together as allies for too long.

East of the Debateable lands and west of Berwick, there is the region known as Liddesdale.  Dozens of Scots clans live here, most of them quite petty, and they frequently feud with each other when they aren't "reivering".  The Armstrongs and the Douglases, the two most powerful of the Liddesdale clans, were basically wiped away from power here after the fall of Black Douglas; and the Bruces claim their rule.  However, the Douglas line is not extinct, "Red" Angus Douglas, a cousin of Black Douglas, and his family still live here, at the time reduced to banditry as outlaws in hiding from the wrath of the Bruces. Even so they have many supporters among the clans here, and should the Bruces prove to try to overstep the gap between their claimed authority and their real capacity to enforce their rule, Red Douglas could lead the next uprising against them.

One site of particular note, near the center of the border area, is Hermitage Castle. An incredible, and most say impregnable, square block of a fortress built by the Anglish during their early invasions into Scots Land, it was managed for many years by the Anglish De Soulis family. The family fought for the Anglish dominance north of the wall, and its most famous son, William de Soulis, served under King Edward Longshanks, the "Hammer of the Scots".  Soulis was knighted by King Edward, but was far from a normal knight; the services he rendered were magical, having studied as a magister under a chaos-worshipping Scots wizard known as Michael Scot.

After it became clear that the territory his family had painfully staked out was too far from the eastern coastline to be held by the Anglish, Wiliam De Soulis remained there, determined that he would be lord of the region by his own dark power.  He ruled over his territory from the mighty castle, using demons as his servitors and oppressing the local Scots population. He killed the then-chief of Clan Armstrong when the latter tried to prevent the rape of his daughter at De Soulis' hands.  When the clans rose up against him, he made a secret treaty with the new Armstrong leader, promising him an alliance of force to rule over all others. When the young Armstrong came to Hermitage,  De Soulis broke this promise and murdered  him, violating the near-sacred laws of medieval hospitality.  Finally, a bold group of Scots adventurers managed to overpower De Soulis when he had left Hermitage castle to perform a dark ritual at the Nine Stan Rig, an ancient Elvish stone circle.  They bound him in lead and boiled him alive.

But his story does not end there.  De Soulis returned to life somehow, as an undead being of still-incredible power, a lich. Limited by his state, he rules only Hermitage Castle and its close surroundings, but has been attributed in the 150 years since his "death" with many horrid crimes, and still brings terror to the hearts of all good Scots.  The very land around Hermitage has changed; no trees or bushes will grow near it, no ivy nor flowers grace its grim walls, as if nature itself rebels against the un-natural presence of the walking-dead wizard within it.

There is a troubling rumour that "Red" Angus Douglas had been seen riding to Hermitage, some say to make a dark pact with William De Soulis for some power that would restore his family and lead the Douglases to rule over all the Scots clans; while many claim these are just the whispered lies of the Bruces, it is conceivable that Red Angus would stop at nothing, even consorting with a living devil, to get his revenge against the hated Bruce clan. If he has made some kind of pact with the Lich of Hermitage Castle, then it could mean dark times ahead not only for all of the Scots, but for Albion as well.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 27, 2011, 10:08:53 AM
No Scots Land hate?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Butcher on November 27, 2011, 05:18:56 PM
Stop fishing for complements, it's great and you know it. :D

If Dark Albion is your WFRP, this is your Thousand Thrones/Border Princes (esp. the Debatable Lands). If that's the feel you were going for, bravo.

Good stuff.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 28, 2011, 01:51:10 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;492077
Stop fishing for complements, it's great and you know it. :D

If Dark Albion is your WFRP, this is your Thousand Thrones/Border Princes (esp. the Debatable Lands). If that's the feel you were going for, bravo.

Good stuff.


That's exactly what I was going for.  Mind you, the Debateable lands were a real place/phenomenon; the Anglo-scottish border was pretty fucked up right until the union of the two crowns.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on November 28, 2011, 05:12:27 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;492244
That's exactly what I was going for.  Mind you, the Debateable lands were a real place/phenomenon; the Anglo-scottish border was pretty fucked up right until the union of the two crowns.

RPGPundit


After having recently finished The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser I think that you hit it spot on.  The institution of the border Wardens isn't part of your Dark Albion narrative (frankly it is more of a 16th Century thing anyways) but it is also gaming inspiration...the Keep on the Borderlands takes on a whole new life if the PCs are agents of a Warden.

I like the undead angle on Hermitage Castle.  Nice touch.


-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 29, 2011, 09:40:39 AM
Quote from: The Good Assyrian;492303
After having recently finished The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser I think that you hit it spot on.  The institution of the border Wardens isn't part of your Dark Albion narrative (frankly it is more of a 16th Century thing anyways) but it is also gaming inspiration...the Keep on the Borderlands takes on a whole new life if the PCs are agents of a Warden.

I like the undead angle on Hermitage Castle.  Nice touch.


-TGA



It seemed a natural choice, what with all the wickedness attributed to De Soulis...

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 17, 2011, 12:22:26 PM
Dark Albion: Northern Scots' Land

The far north of Scots' Land is barely explored by Anglishmen, it is exceedingly hostile territory.  The only civilized men who sometimes can be found there is along its shorelines, where mostly pirates of various nationalities have used its coasts to hide out, sometimes bury treasure, and trade with the locals.  These pirates are generally well received in the middle areas (the "upper lowlands") of Scots' land, where the tribesmen will be (usually!) welcoming to those who do not fly under foreign powers but fly the black flag.  They will trade with these pirates, and many young Scots' barbarians will join their crews.

Perhaps the most apt port in the region is the natural harbour known as the Firth of Forth, and there is found a meeting place of the barbarian tribes which has become a de-facto pirate town, called Edinburg (ironically, the suffix -burg is old Anglish, and it is likely the name was given by Angle raiders who may have used the town in its early post-pictish history).  This pirate town features a large volcanic hill known as "Castle Rock" upon which sits, unsurprisingly, a castle, albeit a primitive one of the Scots variety.  It is known that this is the farthest reach of the Arcadian legions in the time that they rules over these isles, and the style of this castle is reminiscent of the Arcadian legion fort.
Legend has it that Edinburg was once the border with Pictish territory, and that this terrifying diminutive race of demi-human chaos-worshipers had fought off the Arcadians until they retreated behind the wall of Hadrian; and afterwards constructed a dark temple to their Worm-god in this place.  It was not until around fifty years before the time of William the Bastard that a great coalition of Scots tribes managed to take the temple and raze it to the ground, defeating the dark pict fanatics and their chaos-sorcery.  The leader of this assault was one of the great high chiefs of the Scots, Malcolm Forranach (known as "Malcolm the Destroyer"). The picts were forced north into the highlands once again, and since that time the Firth of Forth has been in Scots hands.  It was his son, Malcolm Largehead chief of the Cinnaeda clan, that built the first castle on castle rock, after Scots wise men purified the land.
The Scots would fall in and out of having high chiefs as murder and civil wars kept them destabilized, and in the time of King Edward Longshanks (the "Hammer of the Scots") the Anglish armies marched as far north as and briefly captured Edinburg.  It was some time after this that the Bruce clan rose to prominence as one of the most powerful Scots clans, and a branch of this clan, the Randolphs, captured Edinburg and continued to reign there for about a hundred years, until they were eliminated and the Bruces began to rule there directly through a governor entitled as a "Laird Provost".  The town provides a great deal of wealth to the Bruce clan through their dealings with pirates as well as with trade from the Northmen kingdoms.

Albion has attacked Edinburg by sea on several occasions, taking or destroying Edinburg castle on multiple occasions, but have never been able to secure such a northernly area for very long, distracted by internal issues or more important conflicts on the continent, or simple lack of funds or will on the part of Anglish monarchs.  The town currently has a population of about 4000, making it by far the largest settlement in Scots Land. The Provost has recently built a new wall around the town, and acquired a huge cannon the Scots call "Big Meg" from the Duke of Burgundy, intended to defend the castle against any further Anglish or other foreign invasions.

Aside from the castle and the port, which features a number of taverns built there by old pirates of various nationalities who have decided to live out their days in this backwater at the edge of the world, most of the buildings of the town are highly unremarkable, a variety of styles do exist as the huts of the scots tribesmen mingle with houses built as temporary or permanent homes by pirates and smugglers of all parts of the Continent, as well as Northmen longhouses.  The Church of the Unconquered Sun has some slight presence here and even a small temple (the temple of Gilion), but it is forbidden to seek converts among the pagan Scots men, and there are some shrines here to the Scots' nature gods.   There is a market in the town, and one can get most common supplies that could be found in the Anglish countryside here as well; the Bruces built a "Belhouse" at the entrance to the market, which collects a tax (of "a tenth part and a half a tenth", or 15%) on anyone who wishes to sell anything in the market. There are also a surprising number of jeweler's workshops in the town, making new jewels out of stolen plunder to be later resold on the Continent.

Northwards of the Firth is where the highlands begin, and this is Pictish territory.  There are many other terrible creatures here, and basically man has no power here; but the most dangerous to humans are probably the Picts, as the many other terrible monsters may be more powerful but they do not have the rabid hatred that Picts hold for all other intelligent races not their own.  The Picts were probably created by the Elves in the same way humans were, and are physically quite similar to them, so much so that it may even be possible that they can interbreed; it is likely they were a slightly earlier, more savage prototype.  The Picts escaped into the mountains, either after the fall of the elves or because they were set loose abandoned by the Elves due to limits in their utility, and were quickly embraced by the dark gods of Chaos.  In particular, they worship the Worm-god, the god that crawls beneath the earth.  They live in caves in mountains and hills, though Pictish tribes occasionally migrate to other areas when they are driven out or conditions become unhospitable.  At times, small tribes of Picts can be found well into the lowlands, even as far as the border regions near the Wall.

Picts are brutish and violent, vicious and savage. They have very limited knowledge of technology, but they are tough fighters; they do not use armor and only have primitive weapons but they cover their naked bodies in blue woad that makes them mostly immune to the effects of pain; and they have great knowledge of poisons, particularly poisonous mushrooms which they use on their weapons.  They almost always fight to kill; save on some very rare occasions where they might capture someone suitable to offer them up to the Worm God.  This poor victim is not always sacrificed; instead they are occasionally transformed by the slime of the worm-god's subterranean shrine into a horrific chaos mutation.  The Pictish chiefs are also their priests, and are almost always two: one male and one female, in the pictish language called Father Worm and Mother Worm.  These priest-chiefs have always been mutated by exposure to the slime of the worm-god and are usually gifted with magical knowledge or spell-like abilities.  Any humans spotted by a tribe of picts in the highlands will be hunted down relentlessly.

Further north, past the northern coast of Scots Land are the Orkney Isles.  These Isles have been visited by Scot and Northman alike, but their ruler is said to be an ancient pagan witch-queen, kept either alive or undead through dark magic.  Her name is Morrigaine, and she is a servant of the gods of Chaos.  She has ruled from that isle for at least a thousand years, as she features in the tales of the legendary Cymric king Artur (some accounts say she is his half-sister); and one she served to bring evil and disorder to all the lands of the north including Albion, but it seems that her powers have waned over time, perhaps consumed in the need to put great effort into maintaining her un-natural existence.  She still has absolute power in the Orkneys, but her influence extends to other places only through agents: Northmen raiders (who's influence has also been on the wane for hundreds of years now), pirates and other criminals that make pacts with her, and power-lusting evil mages from all parts who have visited her to learn how to serve her and Chaos.  On more than one occasion in the past, the Clerical order had sent forces to try to dispatch her, but all have met with failure; in the last couple of centuries the policy of the church and the Order has been containment, to oppose her agents and keep her isolated, theorizing that her power is likely to continue to wane until her eventual entropic demise.

Still further north of the Orkneys one approaches the northern end of the world.  Scholars know very little about this icy wasteland, for very few have been there and survived; but academic understanding holds that at the very northernmost peak of the world (for academics, like skilled sailors and navigators but unlike the common people, know the world to be round and not flat) there is a huge mountain, a terrible volcano that is said to hold within its caldera a gateway into the very Infernal Realms themselves. From here, all manner of dark evils emerge to plague the world.  Most would think it utterly mad to ever want to visit such a place, but of course there are rumours of great powers and treasures to be found there, and every once in a while somesuch madman undertakes an almost-inevitably doomed expedition to find the polar mountain; much more rarely, deranged and twisted survivors manage to return to speak with horror about what they found before their decline into lunacy or death.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: selfdeleteduser00001 on December 18, 2011, 01:24:49 PM
This is simply excellent. In a blast of prose you've detailed a setting and potential campaign to play with for a few weeks or years. Well bloody done.

Is it also populated with monsters, or are they largely the other humans?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: tellius on December 18, 2011, 05:47:25 PM
RPGPundit, I'll add my praise to all the others. This is made of awesome. Please keep it up and I hope you release it in some form someday.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 19, 2011, 10:36:07 AM
Thank you both, guys.  Tzunder, Albion has all kinds of monsters, but always in the lonely places of the wilderness, or the barrow-mounds or other tombs, or in ancient and forgotten Arcadian catacombs under a big city.  

What you don't have are non-humans wandering the streets with humans; monsters are real and everyone knows it, but the civilized world is a human world and the typical peasant or burgher can live their entire lives without ever actually seeing a Ghoul or a Goblin or one of the Fae Elves, or a Giant or a Troll or a Dragon or a Pict, or even one of the Frog Men unless they're unlucky enough to be forced to go fight for the king's claims on the Continent.  And they would count themselves very lucky and thank the Unconquered Sun if they never did see any of those things, because they know that all of them are terrible and from Chaos and thus inimical toward mankind.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: B.T. on December 20, 2011, 04:40:58 PM
Pundit, I'm liking the thread, but you need to format your first post better.  My eyes get dizzy trying to read that wall of text.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 21, 2011, 02:26:55 PM
Quote from: B.T.;496311
Pundit, I'm liking the thread, but you need to format your first post better.  My eyes get dizzy trying to read that wall of text.


I wouldn't know how to so here, really. But at some point I hope someone might help me make something more presentable, maybe once the basic setting material is done.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on December 21, 2011, 04:46:01 PM
Wonderful stuff, as usual!  Just out of curiosity, were Robert E. Howard's portrayal of the Picts (ala Bran Mak Morn) an influence?


-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 22, 2011, 11:14:04 AM
Quote from: The Good Assyrian;496481
Wonderful stuff, as usual!  Just out of curiosity, were Robert E. Howard's portrayal of the Picts (ala Bran Mak Morn) an influence?


-TGA


Yes, they absolutely were a major influence, along with him and Lovecraft's mutual bromance-fear of short -heighted races that seemed to have no common link to european celto-germanic-slavs-latins.  I'm pretty sure that Howard and Lovecraft both believed that the Basques, Picts, and equivalent races in Africa and Asia (the "Tcho-tchos"?) literally weren't entirely human.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: JongWK on December 22, 2011, 01:11:13 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;496455
I wouldn't know how to so here, really. But at some point I hope someone might help me make something more presentable, maybe once the basic setting material is done.

RPGPundit


We can talk... :cool:
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 23, 2011, 10:02:06 AM
Quote from: JongWK;496682
We can talk... :cool:


Very well!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on January 13, 2012, 07:30:32 PM
Dark Albion: Yorkshire

Collectively, Yorkshire is the largest region in Albion, though it is in practice divided into three administrative counties: North Yorks, East Yorks, and South Yorks.  It is perhaps the most important region in Albion outside of Middlesex, and features the second-largest city in Albion: York, which is sometimes deemed the "capitol of the north".  It is the titular base of the House of York, of which the claimant to the throne, Richard of York, is the current head. However in practice Richard and his family have relatively little to do with the region; they rarely spend any time here, and the city of York has Lancastrian sympathies, perhaps out of the feeling that Richard has done little for them as Duke of York and would be unlikely to do more for them as King of Albion.

Yorkshire as a whole is bordered on the north by the River Tees (marking the dividing line between Yorkshire and the "true North"), on the east by the North Sea, on the west by the Pennine Mountains, and on the south by the Humber and Trent rivers and Derbyshire. East Yorks and South Yorks are divided by the Ouse River, which flows into the Humber. The coastal area is mostly composed of steep cliffs, the only part of Yorkshire useful as a major port is the mouth of the Humber where the port town of Hull is found. South Yorks consists of mostly marshy land prone to flooding, with a dry central area known as the "Vale of York"; this is where the best farmland in Yorkshire is found, and it is also where the city of York is located.  The vale's geographical conditions allow it to enjoy generally milder weather than would be typical of the rest of the north, though southern Anglemen visiting York still complain.

North Yorks is more mountainous.  The region where North Yorks contacts the Pennine Mountains is known as the "Yorkshire Dales"; a series of river valleys with tall hills surrounding.  The Dales are used as pasture land primarily, as the region is poorly suited to farming, its vast valleys accentuated by limestone hills giving the whole area somewhat barren and bleak look.

The hills around the dales are full of cave systems, many of them featuring a variety of dangerous creatures.  One of these, "Gaping Gill", is a crater with a hole in its center, dropping 350ft straight down into an underground river.  Locals believe the river connects to the vast networks of caverns used by goblins and other dark creatures.  Indeed, if there's any truth to these stories, the Yorkshire dales seem to be surest evidence.  The Mossdale Caverns are known to extend deep and wide throughout the region; one intrepid band of adventurers having managed to explore about 10km inside before being forced to turn back through a heavy goblin attack; less than half of that party made it back to the surface.
In some areas of the Dales cavern entrances seem to emerge out of deep gashes in the Earth; while on occasion new sinkholes open up without warning, to some deep underground entrance, sometimes killing sheep or some poor shepherd.  The "East Gill" cave, found close to "gaping gill" but seemingly unconnected, is an apparently small cavern system that seems to be completely covered in deadly Green Slime.
There are of course other caverns that have been tamed, as well as man-made mines, to mine for lead and iron which are both found in abundance in the Dales.  From time to time, the miners accidentally dig into another cave system, sometimes with deadly results as the mines are discovered and attacked by Goblins or some other new monstrosity.

East Yorks, in turn, features the Yorkshire Wolds and the Yorkshire Moors.  The Wolds are a region of low hills, traversed by a long valley known as the "Great Wold Valley", and the Moors an area of rolling highland with sparse vegetation and frequent fog.
The Wolds are largely a settled region, having been populated regularly at least since the time of the Northmen invasions prior to the conquest of William the Bastard; though clearly prior to that there were waves of Cymri settlement here, and areas of the Wolds feature the typical Barrow Mounds and Henges of that culture, though in less prominence than in the south of Albion.  Since they are less well known, however, some of the Barrows may yet have been undisturbed since the time that the ancient Cymri chieftains were buried in them, with all their treasures. This region also features the Rudstone, which at 25ft tall is the largest menhir in all of Albion. It is assumed to have been set up by the Cymri, but its use is unknown, it demonstrates no known magical properties.

The Moors are a far less hospitable area of wet hills, damp bogs, limestone belts and occasional religious settlements. Some legends have it that some of the earliest free humans to have escaped from slavery, when the isle of Albion was still ruled by the Fae, hid and settled in the moors. If so, little evidence has been found of this as of yet.   There are a few scattered abbeys found in the moors, the largest of which is Byland Abbey; these are places of solitude and refuge, and the monks are given charge to keep watch over the moors against lawlessness or danger, not to mention the spirits or other chaotic influences often found in such bleak places, as well as to working these lands as best they can.

Yorkshire was extensively settled in the time of the Arcadian Empire; the city of York having originally been the Arcadian city of Eburacum, founded in the time of the great emperor Vespasian; he had earlier, as a soldier, done many heroic acts in Albion as part of the Arcadian legions who conquered it for the emperor Claudius.
Some time after the fall of Arcadia, the region was conquered by the early Angles, and then again by the Northmen, who invaded from across the North sea in great longships.  The city of Eburacum itself was conquered by the Northmen under their great King Ivar the Boneless, who slew the Angleman King Edmund Martyr.  The Northmen altered the name of Eburacum to the northmen name of "Jorvik", which later came to be called "York" by the Anglish.  The Northmen ruled York and the counties of the north for nearly 200 years, until the Northman king Harald Hardrada was slain in battle by the Anglish king Harold the Unready; who in turn was killed in battle very shortly afterwards by William the Bastard, invading from the Anglish lands on the Continent to eventually conquer and become the first King of all Albion.  It took five years for William the Bastard to fully conquer the north, during which time he was obliged to commit great acts of brutality in his conquest, and later repressed the local population severely to prevent uprisings; the generally poor relations between the north and south of Albion to this day are in no small part a consequence of this. William the Bastard found himself king of a northern land which had largely been re-paganized by the Northmen, followers of the nature-gods of thunder and storm rather than the Unconquered Sun; to remedy this he sponsored many great cathedrals and abbeys in the region, and created the Archbishopric of York, second only to the Archbishopric of Canterbury in importance in the Anglish church.

North Yorks is the least populated of the three counties of Yorkshire, the only sizable town found therein is Middleham, which was founded by William the Bastard's nephew Alan Rufus; it is presently the site of Middleham Castle, owned by the Earl of Warwick.  The town of Middleham is a bustling market town featuring a particularly large swine market.  The two great noble families of influence in North Yorks are the Nevilles, the family of the Earl of Warwick, who are key supporters of the Yorkist cause, and the Cliffords, who are firm Lancastrians and despise the house of York, particularly after the death of the elder Lord Clifford at the first battle of St.Albans.  The younger Clifford, his heir, is a favorite of Queen Margaret and has sworn that he will not rest until every last member of Richard of York's family is dead. Few men are as zealous in the cause of the Red Rose as he.

East Yorks is more populated, featuring the port town of Hull at the mouth of the Humber river. A relatively new town, it was founded by King Edward Longshanks and its full name is "King's Town upon Hull". It is a chartered town with its own council, and was used by Longshanks as his home base during his lengthy campaigns against the Scots Men.
The town of Whitby is a smaller and much older port, incapable of operating as a major port and thus remaining relatively poor and provincial compared to Hull.  It is governed by a nearby abbey, and is mainly a fishing village though it also has a trade in boat-building.  Whitby features some unusual laws established by the abbots, including the fact that convicted poachers are spared from punishment if they can build a "penny hedge", a small wooden hedge that must be made using only a knife of a single penny's cost, and that must be capable of withstanding three tides.
The only other town of note in East Yorks is Beverley, a pilgrimage and market town founded by the saint John of Beverley.  A stunning cathedral has been built here to house his bones and pilgrims regularly gather to venerate him.
Large areas of East Yorks are controlled by the church of the Unconquered Sun through abbeys, but there are several important noble houses that have influence here as well. Most notably, the Nevilles hold properties here, as well as their hated enemies the Percy family. The former are Yorkists and the latter Lancastrian, but their feud goes beyond the present conflict and is deeply personal. Both branches of the Neville family, the branch belonging to the Earl of Salisbury and the branch belonging to the Earl of Westmoreland, have influence in this region.  The latter are less devoted to the Yorkist cause than the former, and have strategically maneuvered their allegiance as they see fit between Lancaster and York. The major holder for that branch in East Yorks is William de Neville, the younger brother of the Earl of Westmoreland, who was the keeper of the Mad King when he was imprisoned in Windsor Castle after the battle of St. Albans.  When Westmoreland made a deal with Queen Margaret, it was William, following his brother's command, who allowed the Mad King to escape to Coventry, causing great difficulty for the Yorkist cause.  Nevertheless, since then both Westmoreland and William de Neville have made gestures of reconciliation with their cousin the Earl of Salisbury, as their alliance with Queen Margaret has not proved as favorable to them (or detrimental to the Percys) as they had perhaps hoped.

South Yorks is the county that holds the great city of York.  It is a great walled "fortress city", the seat of the Archbishop of  York, featuring "York Minster", the single largest cathedral in Albion (still under construction, after 230 years, and due to be completed in another 12!), and an important market city second only to London.  Behind its thick gargantuan walls the majority of the town is full of what the locals call "snickleways", labyrinthine winding narrow streets that a non-local would find almost impossible to navigate.  It is known as a city filled with "churches and taverns" (over 20 of the former, and unknown hordes of the latter), and the characteristics of the typical patrons of both are common in this city. As previously mentioned, the city is Lancastrian in allegiance.
The other two towns of importance in South Yorks are Doncaster and Sheffield. Doncaster was chartered as a town by King Richard Lionheart, and currently has about 2000 people, about one-tenth the size of York.  However, its a significantly wealthy town, thanks to a thriving grain market.  Doncastrians are looked upon with serious resentment by almost everyone else in the county, who claim that even the lowliest doncastrian thinks himself an earl and puts on airs, and that the men of that town are all effeminates; jokes about the conceit or proclivities of Doncastrians are rampant.
Sheffield, the third significant town in the county, has almost the opposite reputation. A small market town it is famous throughout Albion for the skill of its bladesmiths, who are said to produce the finest knives and swords in Albion, comparable only to the finest of steel blades of the Continent. It has long been rumoured that the smiths have learned some kind of secret method of forging that allows them to make such fine pieces, some even suggest it to be a kind of alchemy or magic. The armour produced by these smiths is also of excellent quality and of particular artistry, often ceremonial pieces gilded with silver or even gold. Of course, the prices for such pieces make them inaccessible to all but the wealthiest of men.
The major political powers and landholders in South Yorks are the Archbishop of York, the house of York, the crown (at this time the house of Lancaster), and the Earl of Shrewsbury.  The latter, John Talbot, is a loyal Lancastrian and currently the Lord Treasurer of Albion.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on January 14, 2012, 09:42:55 AM
bumped, to compete with 5emania.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 12, 2012, 10:45:37 AM
Dark Albion: Calais

The Last Fortress.  Albion's final toehold over the Continent, remnant of a once great territorial possession of the Anglish kings.  It has been called the "Brightest Jewel" (of the Crown of Albion) on account of its being an incredibly rich center of trade; but it has also been a place of intense warfare these last many years, as the front line in an on-and-off but never-ending conflict with the dreaded Frog Men.

Once, the Kings of Albion ruled much of the northern half of what is now called Frogland. This was through inheritance, being the descendants of William the Bastard, the son of the Duke of Northmandy.
The southern parts of modern Frogland were owned by a variety of rulers, most particularly the human Capetians, and great territories in the east and south under the control of the Duchy of Burgundy.

When the Frogmen came out of the great swamps of Paris, having gradually recovered their numbers in secret after nearly being wiped out of existence in a great crusade some three hundred years earlier, they quickly destroyed the forces of the Capetians.  The King of Albion at that time, Edward III of Windsor, made a claim to being legitimate king of all the lands north of the Pyrenees Mountains and west of Burgundy, and proceeded to launch a new crusade against the Frogmen. At that time, the rulers of Calais had rebelled against Anglish rule, having made secret dealings with the Frogmen; Edward's first order of business was to beseige Calais for 11 months, after which he brought out the six burghers who were the rulers of that city, forcing them to carry their own ropes to be hung; they expressed such penitence however, that Edward's queen Phillipa begged him to spare their lives, and they were sentenced to exile instead.  This won over the people of Calais who have since then been fiercely pro-Anglish (it has helped that in the following two centuries a great number of Anglishmen from Albion have settled there).   Edward expanded the port to make it one of the great ports of the north of the Continent, and the principal port of trade to and from Albion and the Continent.

The city of Calais has a population of about 12000; it is ruled by the crown via a governor who holds the title of "Captain of Calais". Representatives from Calais also have seats in the Parliament.

Calais is not in an auspicious position for natural defense, and as it is bordered by the sometimes-hostile duchy of Burgundy, and now also by the always-hostile Frogmen, Albion has spent a great fortune in nearly constantly upgrading the city's fortifications, making it one of the greatest fortress-cities in the world.
The loss of the rest of the Angle territories on the Continent has made the defense of Calais critical; it is for this reason that the crown of Albion currently benefits from an uneasy alliance with Duke Philip of Burgundy; the latter is known as an evil ruler who has long been suspected of worshiping Chaos; his court is deeply corrupt and he's rumoured to have dozens of bastards.  For some time, Philip had been in a secret alliance with the Frogmen, considering it more important to thwart Anglish ambitions on the continent; but after the Frogmen betrayed him in 1439, Philip switched sides and is now  said to despise the Frogmen more than the most pious of Anglish clerics.  He has entered into a prolonged war with them, and alliance with Albion. He has styled himself "Grand Duke of the West". The Anglishmen trust him only inasmuch as they are certain of his deep hatred for the Frog.

Aside from the city itself, Albion now only controls an area of land surrounding the city, just enough to provide basic resources for the city (though it is also supplied considerably through shipping).  This area of farmland is known as "the Pale".  The area of the Pale is about 52 square kilometers, and the total population is about 33000 (including Calais).  The land immediately around Calais is mostly farmland but other parts of the Pale are swampland; ideal for Frogman incursions; the Anglish have created a set of canals to drain the swamp and for shipping purposes, and they ardently patrol these regions.

The city of Calais itself is set upon an island connected by a bridge to the mainland of the Pale. There are those who say the island of Calais is not natural, but was constructed either by the Arcadians or possibly by the Fae.

The central feature of the city is the Market Square, where goods arrive from all over the Continent: Burgundy, the Hapsburg principalities, the Canton Confederacy, the Commonwealth, the lands of the Teutons, Arcadia, Iberia, the remains of Byzantium, and Iberia. At the right time of year, almost anything can be bought or sold here.  The Great Temple of Calais overlooks the market, and is the only temple of the Unconquered Sun on the continent done in the Anglish style of architecture.
The great Watchtower is a massive lookout in the fortifications, and predates the Anglish control of the city.

In recent times, the garrison and commanders of the city have been firmly in the camp of Richard of  York, supporting the Yorkist cause because of Richard's victories against the Frogs, and because of their hatred for the incompetent and corrupt nobles the house of Lancaster sent before and after Richard, that caused the loss of all Anglish territories but Calais.  The people of the city live in fear of what might happen if weak rulers or prolonged civil war in Albion should lead Calais to be abandoned.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 13, 2012, 02:12:06 PM
Hope everyone's still enjoying this!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on February 14, 2012, 01:54:16 PM
I find it interesting.  In fact, I had been weighing the option of using the setting as a backdrop to a "march warden" style campaign for the game I am currently putting together.  I am leaning towards a Tekumel campaign concept for that game at the moment, but I have filed my ideas for Dark Albion away for future use.

As an aside, I was looking at adapting some old D&D modules for Dark Albion.  I thought that "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" would be a good fit for the setting, for example. "Keep on the Borderlands" would also be ok with some retooling perhaps.  Any other suggestions for the lazy DMs out there?

-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on February 14, 2012, 01:57:36 PM
Man, Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh...I ran that module like 20 times in 3e.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Good Assyrian on February 14, 2012, 02:26:15 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;514477
Man, Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh...I ran that module like 20 times in 3e.


I didn't know there was a 3e version of the module.  I just recently got my hands on a copy of the original version in a load of old D&D modules I got my hands on a few months ago.  I had never seen it before.  It looks like a real gem.  And it has a more gritty feel that I think suits the Dark Albion idea.


-TGA
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on February 14, 2012, 02:27:14 PM
Quote from: The Good Assyrian;514484
I didn't know there was a 3e version of the module.  I just recently got my hands on a copy of the original version in a load of old D&D modules I got my hands on a few months ago.  I had never seen it before.  It looks like a real gem.  And it has a more gritty feel that I think suits the Dark Albion idea.


-TGA


There isn't - there is a great NWN module though, which I also used as a basis for PnP play.
Title: The East
Post by: Bilharzia on February 14, 2012, 09:44:50 PM
This is a jaw-dropping amount of work and hilarious to read about places I know. There's something though that jumped out when I read it which is your inclusion of Kent with the east coast, you say:

The eastern coast is a region consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent;

East Anglia (+Essex) does make sense as a region but geographically and culturally it's definitely distinct from Kent.

From your description of Kent -
Kent: The southernmost county of the eastern coast,
this would be better said:
Kent: The easternmost county of the southern coast,

Essentially, it fits in with the southern coast, your Southports but not the east. Going south from East Anglia you run into London and the Thames, the Thames Estuary and then into Kent, Canterbury and so on.

Also, in the way that Kent neighbours France, the East is closest to the Netherlands and the Frisian Islands. If you wanted the East to have a particular flavour this influence could be an element. Smuggling, for example, and everything that goes with it, was a big part of the local economy in the region.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 15, 2012, 02:35:47 PM
Quote from: Bilharzia;514598
This is a jaw-dropping amount of work and hilarious to read about places I know. There's something though that jumped out when I read it which is your inclusion of Kent with the east coast, you say:

The eastern coast is a region consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent;

East Anglia (+Essex) does make sense as a region but geographically and culturally it's definitely distinct from Kent.

From your description of Kent -
Kent: The southernmost county of the eastern coast,
this would be better said:
Kent: The easternmost county of the southern coast,

Essentially, it fits in with the southern coast, your Southports but not the east. Going south from East Anglia you run into London and the Thames, the Thames Estuary and then into Kent, Canterbury and so on.

Also, in the way that Kent neighbours France, the East is closest to the Netherlands and the Frisian Islands. If you wanted the East to have a particular flavour this influence could be an element. Smuggling, for example, and everything that goes with it, was a big part of the local economy in the region.


I see, and you've got a point. Anglia at least certainly is very different from Kent, yes.  At least from what I've heard; I've actually been to Kent, but never to Anglia.

I was trying to go for a division based on the presence of "Frogland", though; in that Kent, Essex and Anglia face those parts of the Continent where there is much commerce (Calais, Burgundy, the principalities, the commonwealth, the lands of the Teutonic Knights, the Northlands, etc); whereas Sussex and Hampshire, etc. are facing lands that were once Albion's, but are now over-run with the Frogmen, and thus they are definite losers in this slight "alternate history", as you just don't trade with the Frogmen.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 15, 2012, 02:37:57 PM
Quote from: The Good Assyrian;514475
I find it interesting.  In fact, I had been weighing the option of using the setting as a backdrop to a "march warden" style campaign for the game I am currently putting together.  I am leaning towards a Tekumel campaign concept for that game at the moment, but I have filed my ideas for Dark Albion away for future use.

As an aside, I was looking at adapting some old D&D modules for Dark Albion.  I thought that "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh" would be a good fit for the setting, for example. "Keep on the Borderlands" would also be ok with some retooling perhaps.  Any other suggestions for the lazy DMs out there?

-TGA


That's a great idea to think about; I've actually used in my campaign, as far as non-original adventures go, material from Vornheim, Death Frost Doom, Keep on the Borderlands, and Temple of the Frog (albeit with some modifications).  The rest has all been my own adventures.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 26, 2012, 09:44:45 AM
Ahhh, sandboxes.

So my players go to the Isle of Wights last night, and they don't fight a single wight.  Big chaos-cult though, and they ended up nearly destroying Carisbrooke Castle.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 08, 2012, 03:05:12 PM
Dark Albion: Pembroke and the Principality of Wales

The land of Wales was once a powerful independent kingdom, last holding of the Cymri or "first ones", the race half of men and half of Fae that once ruled the whole isle but were driven out by the later Anglemen who founded Albion. Three hundred years ago the kingdom was finally added to Albion, and now this sparse land of mountains, forests, and coastal habitation are property of either the houses of York or the crown, excepting Pembroke, which belongs to the family of Owain Tudur, the last descendant of King Rhys, last king of Wales.

This region consists of the county of Pembroke, the Principality, and the isle of Anglesey.  Pembroke is a coastal region with the Cambrian mountains on its northern end; the principality (also known as Caernarvon) is mostly mountainous with some settlements on the northern coastal region.  Anglesey is an island consisting of low hills with rural coastland and some sparse settlements.

Before the Cyrmi ruled this region, it was a core homeland region of the powerful kingdom of the alien and chaotic elven creatures known as the Fae, who ruled by magic and for whom the other races of Albion (including the Cymri humans and goblinkind) were slaves.  In the most remote areas of this region some of the ancient Fae ruins might still be found, dark places (of which now usually only the subterranean parts remain) with deadly monstrosities and  powerful magic.  When the Fae became decadent and their civilization on this plane began to collapse (some theorize in part due to addiction to the terrible "purple lotus powder"), the Cymri overthrew their masters and drove them out of the world into the Fae realms beyond.  According to legend, the oldest Cymri kingdoms preserved a great deal of the Fae magic, which had been taught to some of the Cymri slaves (particularly those who had elven blood in them), but over time the purity of the Fae blood declined, magical artifacts that could not be reproduced were lost or destroyed, and the Cymri became mostly barbaric.  Eventually, the majority of the Welsh people were converted from their heathen religion to the faith of the Unconquered Sun, save a minority of Cymric gypsies who still follow the "old ways" to this day.  Modern "anglicized" Welshmen tend to look very poorly upon these gypsies in spite of their common ancestry.

A powerful Cymric kingdom ruled in these lands, resisting the Arcadians, the Northmen, and successive waves of Anglish invaders, until the time of King Henry Curtmantle, when the last king of Wales, King Rhys, was forced to surrender his independence.  The northern region (what is today the principality) continued to fight for its independence under its Prince Llewellyn, until after his death the territory was finally conquered by King Edward Longshanks. Since that time, the region of Caernarvon has been controlled by the Anglish crown, while Pembroke continued to be governed by welsh lords, especially in this time by the powerful Tudur family, who are descendents of King Rhys.

The dominant geographic feature of this region is the Cambrian Mountains.  These forbidding mountains are still very barbaric places, where the Cargs (forts) of degenerate Cymri tribes can still be found, as well as some of the Giants and Dragons who ruled this land even before the Cymri. The entire Cambrian mountain region is beyond most Anglish law, and the native cymri tribesmen tend to be quite hostile to outsiders.

Pembroke: This county is mostly flat land until you get to the north where the county includes the southernmost tip of the Cambrian mountains and the western end of the Black Mountains.  Between these and the valleys there are some foothills and the Forest Fawr, a hunting forest that in this age is relatively tame, though very occasionally suffering the incursion of some wandering creature from the mountains.  Pembroke is the most populated of the regions in this area.  It has no major cities, and the only important towns are Pembroke, Carmarthen and Cardigan.  Pembroke is the seat of the Earl of Pembroke, currently Jasper Tudur, and the home of the entire Tudur Clan (patriarch Sir Owain Tudur, who married the Mad King's mother after the death of King Henry the Great; and his sons Edmund, Earl of Richmond; Owen Tudur the Cleric, and Jasper Tudur). It features Pembroke Castle, a magnificent and well maintained structure, some 400 years of age.
Carmarthen is, according to legend, the oldest town in Wales. It was also the birthplace of the greatest magister in Anglish history, the wizard Merlin. In the center of the town is a great oak tree, said to have been planted by Merlin himself; the wizard prophecied that if the oak should ever fall, so would the town.
Cardigan is a small walled market town with a castle and a very minor port, and is renowned as a center of welsh music and poetry.
Politically the Tudurs dominate Pembroke, and they are fiercely loyal to the house of Lancaster.  Sir Owain Tudur married the widowed queen of Henry the great, and his sons are half-siblings on their mother's side to the Mad King. They have thus been loyal supporters of the Lancastrians in the struggle against York, and have in turn been rewarded with greater power and honor, two of Sir Owain's sons being made Earls. In addition, Owain's son 22-year old son Edmund grew up as a hostage/ward of the Mad King, and has recently been married to the king's 9-year old cousin Margaret Beaufort in an effort to provide an alternate line of succession to rival the line of York. Should Edmund and Margaret have a son, he would have a strong claim to the throne and could replace Richard of York as next in the line of succession after Henry's infant son Edward of Lancaster.

The Principality of Wales:This region is mostly occupied by the Cambrian mountains, including the great Mt.Snowdon, the largest mountain in Wales.  Legend holds that this mountain is in fact the tomb of a great giant, Rit Gawr, who was said to have terrorized the mountains until he was slain by the great king Arthur.  Aside from Gawr's underground tomb, the mountain or one of the surrounding cliffs is also said to be the hiding place of the legendary Golden Throne of the ancient Cymric Kings.  East of Mt. Snowdon is the lake Glaslyn (the "blue lake"), which is plagued by a horrifying monster or race of monsters known as the Afanc. Also near Snowdon is a powerful standing stone known as the Maen Du'r Arddu, said to be of Fae origin; through which the Fae still travel to and from this world; the spellcasting power of magicians is enhanced by the stone, allowing them to cast spells in the area with effects as though they were 3 levels higher than their actual level. However, aside from the chance that Fae or other monstrosities might emerge from the stone, the stone itself has a powerful chaotic effect; anyone who spends a night by the stone will be affected by its power: it could have a positive effect, increasing the subject's mental attributes; or it could have the effect of shifting their alignment to chaotic, or in the worst cases it may cause terrible chaotic mutations in the more unfortunate subjects of its power.
The settled region of the principality is relatively sparsely populated, featuring only the small towns of Caernarvon, Conwy, and Harlech. Caernarvon and Conwy are dangerously close (within view) of the edge of the Cambrian mountains, and have historically been subject to raiding parties of Cymri savages or monsters emerging from the mountains. Caernarvon was the historic seat of the Prince Llewellyn, the last welsh ruler to resist Anglish rule. After the region was conquered by the Anglish, they built Caernarvon castle to rule over the town and region. Caernarvon is directly across the straight from Anglesey isle, which is also visible from the town.
Conwy also features a castle and walls built by Edward Longshanks after the region was conquered.
Harlech is further south in Tremadog Bay, still dangerously close to the Cambrian mountains. Harlech Castle, also built by Edward Longshanks, was captured by the rebels of Owain Glyndwr, the barbarian chief who united the mountain tribes and sought to conquer wales some 40 years ago. The town itself dates back to the era of the early Cymric kings, and according to legend was once a capital of the region at a time of a great war between the Cyrmi and the Eirish, long before the Arcadians arrival in Albion.

The principality is ruled directly by the crown, usually through a noble appointed as "Chamberlain of North Wales".  There are certain Anglish nobles here who control territories in the principality dating back to the times of Edward Longshanks, or even earlier to the invasions of William the Bastard.  The largest of these landowners is John Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk.  There are no major welsh lords in the principality.

Anglesey: The isle of Anglesey, separated from Walesby a small straight, is known in the cyrmic tongue as Ynys Dywyll, the "dark isle". Legend has it that it was a major holding of a powerful Fae lord, who in a conflict with other elven lords used most powerful magic to separate the isle from the mainland. The isle is littered with menhirs and standing stones said to be of elven origin, 28 of these in different areas still contain power enough to grant wizards who cast spells near them a +1 bonus to their effective caster level.  There are also a number of dolmens hidden in the isle, ancient tombs of Elvish lords, some of which are sealed by magic and have not yet been explored, certain to hide traps and possibly abominations to protect the treasures therein. A smaller island just off the western coast of Anglesey, the Holy Island, is littered by both standing stones and burial chambers, and is only inhabited by a fortified monastery; the isle is full of monstrous creatures and frequent visitations from the Fae realms.
Anglesey is rich in copper and features extensive copper mines, which have more than once dug their way into underground chambers filled with terrors.  Some mines have been abandoned either due to these hazards or because they were fully exploited, but many others remain in operation.
The isle was one of the last welsh regions to convert to the church of the Unconquered Sun, and the people of the isle continue to have fairly heathen superstitions and views.  Nevertheless the church's authority is now strong on the isle, and the islanders do consider themselves followers of the Sun.
The only important settlement on Anglesey isle is the small town of Beaumaris, which features a castle and a small port.  There are several farmsteads in diminishing size and frequency emanating from Beaumaris; additionally, the coastline on the northern side of Anglesey are frequent temporary settlements for both Anglish and Eirish pirates, who often harass local shipping in the Eirish sea, in spite of the Anglish crown's efforts to combat them.
Anglesey is governed as part of the Principality of Wales, usually through the Constable of Beaumaris Castle.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on March 08, 2012, 03:53:44 PM
Very impressed with the Wales write up, I think I could easily run a whole campaign just with that.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 09, 2012, 06:50:48 PM
Quote from: jadrax;520648
Very impressed with the Wales write up, I think I could easily run a whole campaign just with that.


Thank you.  Of course, wales is one of the adventuring-intense areas of the albion setting.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 10, 2012, 02:57:59 PM
Also, I'm nearing the end of what could be written about this.  Maybe I could write some more about Eireland, or The Continent, and some other details of society or such things.  But the core is about done.

So I wonder if someone wants to put this mess together into a sourcebook?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 13, 2012, 01:38:53 PM
So, no takers?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on March 13, 2012, 01:41:49 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;521387
So, no takers?

RPGPundit


What are you looking for?  It wouldn't be too hard to make a pdf out of this.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on March 13, 2012, 02:20:11 PM
I have pretty much all of it in a loosely organized .doc already. Let me see what I can do, or convince someone else to do :D

Edit: What i have so far is here...

http://www.mediafire.com/?2u8gjdve0busmih

... if anyone wants to take it and play around.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 14, 2012, 12:38:06 PM
Quote from: misterguignol;521390
What are you looking for?  It wouldn't be too hard to make a pdf out of this.


I don't know.  My thought was to make it into some kind of nice PDF that could be easy to read, for use with LotFP.

I think there could be two strategies to this: the first would be if it was just made into a free setting, and someone put it on their old-school site where people could download it or something.

The second would be if I were to add some more material, encounters, NPC details, a timeline of events, etc., and someone collaborating with me were to make maps or put in illustrations and it became an actual product For Sale.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 29, 2012, 06:29:46 PM
Just a note for now that this campaign, both of them actually (the English one and the Spanish one) continue to be doing very well; its interesting too how the one group is Lancastrian and the others Yorkists, and so the same events end up happening through very different perspectives.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on March 31, 2012, 08:29:57 AM
I read this full setting description Pundit.  Very interesting.  I will have some ideas I'm sure to pass along.  It was getting to me reading at length and the various parts in the thread.  So, I organized it onto one document.  It is completely unchanged.  I simply added a few more headers and inserted a few paragraph breaks.  I also integrated the various parts into the document where they are intended completely unchanged.  All grammar and everything else is unchanged, as well.  It is just a formatting and layout, without actual editing what-so-ever. I can give a few suggestions on those aspects too, if you would like to hear them.  The document follows on the next post.  Hope this helps others read Pundit's setting.  I can send the plain text and/or doc file to you, if you would like them Pundit.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on March 31, 2012, 08:40:05 AM
I. OVERVIEW:



Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century. That means that Henry VI is on the throne and he's gone mad. His wife Queen Margaret is either "the scheming bitch who is controlling everything" or "the only hope of resisting the corrupt noble lords who plot to ruin the kingdom", depending on who you ask. The realm is caught up in a great conflict between the royal family (the Lancaster branch of the Plantagenet dynasty) and their cousins of the York branch; who's leader is the charismatic and powerful Richard of York. Consistently denied what he and his supporters felt was his rightful place of influence over the kingdom, Richard has now made the claim that he is the rightful King of Albion, , by virtue of being the product of various lines of royal descent, some of which did indeed have an arguably better claim to the throne than the Lancasters (who achieved the throne by usurpation only 50 years ago). Desperate negotiations are under way to attempt to avoid civil war, and desperate preparations on all sides are taking place in case it cannot be avoided.


A. THE GOVERNMENT:


Henry VI (in his early 30s) is the Mad King, who spends long periods of time catatonic, interspersed with brief periods of mad delirium, and very brief spates of lucidity. Even before he went mad, he was never a good king; having come to the throne at the age of one, and having been mostly a puppet of powerful aristocrats ever since. The real power behind the throne is Queen Margaret (in her early 20s), who has built up an alliance of noblemen to back her interests... oh, and those of the King, of course. The government of the kingdom is done from the noble council known as the Star Chamber, but there is also a Parliament, which is called periodically and has certain powers, most notably the giving of titles and offices. The commons, clergy and nobility all have representation of different kinds in the Parliament, and thus powerful men (like York) who are kept excluded from the Star Chamber (by the queen), can still manipulate their way into great power when the Queen finds herself forced to summon Parliament. There are several factions of nobles in Albion, who are increasingly being lumped into one of two groups: the followers of the "Red Rose" of Lancaster, or of the "White Rose" of York. Among the most powerful and influential families are the Nevilles (including the Earl of Warwick, who is seeking an alliance with York), the Percys and the Beauforts (both supporters of the house of Lancaster and thus currently in power).

Aside from this, regions are divided into Counties and Duchies (as well as some Bishoprics ruled by the high clergy of the Church), ruled by aristocrats (though these must conform to the King's laws in their rule), and a few free or "chartered" cities, like London and York which are governed by a lord mayor and a council.


B. RELIGION:


The dominant religion in Albion is the monotheistic Church of the Unconquered Sun. This faith, which took hold over the pagan gods of Arcadia almost 1500 years ago, dominates most of the known world, outside of Frogland and barbaric countries like Scots Land, Eire, or the faraway lands of the Rus. South of the middle sea, and in parts of Iberia, the civilized men there (of very distant exotic lands like Turk Land, Araby, or Saracen Land) follow another Lawful deity, the god of the crescent moon. But very little is known about that by the average Angleman.

The Church answers ultimately to the Pontifex in faroff Arcadia, but here in Albion it is the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who is the ultimate spiritual authority; his power is not absolute, however, and the various bisoprics throughout the land exert great authority. The common people participate in daily prayer to the Sun, weekly temple services on Sunday, and many feast days in honor of the different Saints of Law.

The average priest has no magical power; there are those priests, however, who develop miraculous gifts, magic from the Unconquered Sun; who are then given a special classification; they are Clerics, called upon to fight against evil however they will, as champions of the Unconquered Sun. The order of Clerics has significant power, but must respect the authority of the Bishops and the head of the Clerical Order is answerable to the Archbishop. Even so, the fact that they alone have the power to work miracles gives them a great deal of influence and clout, both among the common people and in the church hierarchy.

The earlier faith of Albion was the tribal worship of the Old Gods, Neutral spirits of nature still worshiped in parts of Cambria, in remote places in the Pennine Mountains and the forest of Sherwood, and by some backwards rural communities in various areas (particularly Salisbury, which was the ancient center of power of this pagan faith). Likewise, both the Eiremen and the Scots Men still worship the Old Gods. There are no clerics of the Old Gods in Albion, though in Scots Land and Eire there may still be druids who have miraculous power from these nature deities.

There are also the Dark Gods, gods of Chaos who have many different (usually inhuman) forms and natures, that are worshiped by the Picts and some of the Cymri, as well as by secret cults in Albion. Worship of Chaos is strictly forbidden in Albion, and the penalty is death. These gods grant no miracles, though they can grant arcane power, either to magic-users or in the form of other dark gifts.


C. MAGIC:


Spellcasting is a very rare art in Albion, but it is not without its adherents. Sorcery and witchcraft are prohibited on pain of death, but magic as such is not; if the magic-user is (at least on paper) a follower of the Unconquered Sun. Thus, the difference between what grants you a place on the pyre and what does not is often a matter of luck, class, and actions.

Wise men and women of the lower classes may know a little magic; and the Cymri Travelers are skilled magic-users, but open practice of their magic would risk being denounced as a witch, so they must be very cautious in how they use them. The gentry and nobility have also produced magic-users, who style themselves Conjurers or Natural Philosophers; they are often learned men who are likely to be trained as scholars in the prestigious university of Oxford or the slightly less prestigious university at Cambridge. They call their magic a science, and even the king and most nobles will have conjurers as advisors. But even then, there is a certain danger in their practice; their higher breeding and education permits them to study and practice in the open, but if they make political enemies with power, they might find themselves accused of consorting with demons or worshiping Chaos, and end up losing their heads. The Church is often hostile to those conjurers who do not give them sufficient respect or who cross them. Of course, many of these peasant wise-women or upper-class conjurers really ARE involved in Chaos Cults, which only complicates things further.


D. MINORITIES:


There is only a limited amount of racial diversity in Albion; aside from the Anglemen who make up the bulk of the population, there are also some of the Cymri that continue to exist as barbarians in Cambria, but also some descendants of Cymri stock who refused to adopt the culture or ways of the Anglemen. These are known now as the Travelers, known for their colorful dress and migrant nature, they travel from place to place selling cheap wares, performing as entertainers, or living as thieves; alone or in small "tribes". They are known for being practitioners of sorcerous magic and are generally treated in a range from tolerance to open hostility; prone to be persecuted or blamed for any misfortune that may strike a community where they pass through, though likewise sometimes called upon for their expertise in either thuggery or magic. Likewise, some Scots men have traveled south, exiles from their clans for the most part, to work as mercenaries in Albion. They are seen as what they are, barbarians, but are often respected for their capacity for violence. In London as well the largest port cities (Bristol, Newcastle, Southampton or Chester) men from more exotic lands may be found. But for the most part, Albion is a pretty insular place.


E. TECHNOLOGY/WARFARE:


There is no standing army in Albion; each noble is responsible for raising up his own troops, the vast majority of which will be peasants, as well as mercenaries. Knights are the lowest class of nobility (though still far above the common man) and are the officers of these forces. The Knight is still the great powerhouse of warfare, on mighty steeds armed with lances and plate mail.

Black Powder is still in its infancy; the bombard (cannon) is a new and often unreliable technology, more common in parts of the Continent than on Albion; even so, forces on both the Lancastrian and Yorkist sides of the brewing conflict are purchasing Cannon. The Hand Cannon or Arquebus is still practically unheard of here, though it exists on the Continent; its acceptance in Albion has been severely slowed due to the pride the locals have for the Long Bow, which they feel was responsible for their victory over the Frogmen at the battle of Agincourt. Even so, a few of these quite expensive, unreliable weapons have begun trickling in.


F. DANGERS/ADVENTURE:


There are still many parts of Albion that are wild and dangerous. Ruins abound from earlier peoples, be they barrows in Salisbury, in the depths of the great forest of Sherwood, the Pennine Mountains, the wild lands of Cambria, the swamps of the Wash, or the frontier brutality of the Northern Marches. Monsters of various sorts lurk in these dark uncivilized pockets. In the cities, cults of chaos plot, as well as more mundane thieves guilds. Bandits loot the countryside, some portraying themselves as "rebels" in these troubled times. Tales are told of treasure-hordes from ancient kingdoms before the time of the Anglemen, still waiting to be found in the depths of mountain caverns. Dragons and Giants exist, though they are dwindling and it has been centuries since either made themselves seen in the civilized regions.

The Fae, the inhuman beings who once ruled this isle, were eventually overthrown by the Cymri they held as slaves, after the Fae had bred with some of them and given them secrets of magic; but it is said the Fae were not extinguished, only forced away into some other world; and in some magical places the border between the realm of Fae and the world of men becomes tenuous. From these places, the Fae may seek to bring chaos to the world of men, either raiding themselves, or sending forth Changelings (creatures that can mimic the appearance of a man) to do their bidding.

Goblins too were once slaves of the Fae, and stories are told that the Goblins were not wiped out, but live on in vast underground cities deep beneath Albion.

Undead of all types are not uncommon; those poor men who have not been given the proper burial rites may rise again as ghouls, zombies or skeletons; ancient pagan kings may haunt their barrows as Wraiths or Wights; and servants of the Dark Gods may be granted a foul mockery of eternal life, not united with the Eternal and Unconquered Sun, but in this physical realm as vampires or liches. Demons too, and more incomprehensible extra-planar beings, may be set free to roam in our world by evil or careless magicians.



II. REGIONS:



Albion is divided into a variety of fiefdoms, some very small, others quite large. The largest landowners are the Church, the Crown (house of Lancaster), the house of York, then the house of Neville, the house of Beaufort, the house of Percy, and then various other nobles.

While there are no central regional administrations, the important areas of Albion can be divided into the following:


A. LONDON:


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".

London is found in Middlesex, the region immediately surrounding London; a major center of commerce and agriculture, an important region to control if you want to rule the country. 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.


B. THE EASTERN COAST:


The eastern coast is a region consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent; the southern half of Albion's eastern coastline. It was where the Anglemen first arrived on the island over a thousand years ago, and is full of places of historical and religious significance, as well as modern economic and strategic import.

The limits of the eastern coast region are at its northernmost point the bay known as "The Wash", an estuary region with tricky tides and bordered by swampland known as "The Fens" (a wild area, commonly inhabited by bandits and more than a few swamp creatures), and at its southernmost point the White Cliffs, huge natural cliffs of chalk that provide an excellent natural defensive position against invasion from The Continent.

1. NORFOLK:

The northernmost county of the eastern coast, historically known as Angleland, it was one of the first regions occupied by the Anglemen when they arrived in Albion. Today it is the most populous county in the east coast, and holds the populous and important city of Norwich, as well as the important port of Yarmouth. Caister Castle overlooks Yarmouth, and is the manor of the legendary knight Sir John Falstaff, hero of Agincourt. This portly knight fought alongside the great Henry V (father of the Mad King), and later used his plunder from Frogland to build this mighty keep. He is now 76 years old, though still an imposing figure, and he favors the claim of Richard of York. The Duke of Norfolk, John Mowbray, likewise supports York.

2. SUFFOLK:

South of Norfolk, this smaller county features the port town of Ipswich and a few historical sites of note. It was ruled by the Duke of Suffolk (William De La Pole, also known as "Jackanape" for his foolishness and incompetence), who was largely blamed for the recent disastrous losses of most of Albion's holdings in Frogland, was imprisoned and later murdered by Yorkists en route to exile on The Continent. His son John De La Pole is only 12 years old, and has been disinherited.

Aside from Ipswich, Suffolk also features the pilgrimage site of Bury St.Edmund, where the Angleman king Edmund was buried alive by Cymri barbarians after being defeated in battle; Edmund is considered a martyr of the church of the Unconquered Sun. Not far from Ipswich there is also the site known as Sutton Howe, the burial mound of Raedwald, first king of the Anglemen to invade Albion, and founder of Ipswich, his ancient capital. The area has of late become a haunted place, through dark sorceries or as an omen of the current troubles of the kingdom. It is said that ghosts or ghouls of ancient anglish raiders with axes and horned helms can be seen at night, stalking the area.

3. ESSEX:

The third county in the eastern coast, Essex contains the peaceful quinqueroi forest, and the town of Chelmsford. It is ruled by the 50 year old Earl of Essex, Henry Bourchier, a Yorkist married to Isabella, one of Richard of York's daughters. His brother, Thomas Bourchier, is the Bishop of Ely and Henry is campaigning strongly on his brother's behalf to have him succeed the "Cursed Cardinal" Kemp as Archbishop of Canterbury on the latter's seemingly inevitable demise from the magical wasting disease he has long suffered.

4. HUNTINGDON AND HERTFORD:

Further inland, the regions of Huntingdon and Hertford are governed by the knightly Devereux family, also Yorkists. Huntington is the site of Cambridge Collegium, the second and lesser of the universities of Albion, which has nevertheless produced many a noble Magister, using magecraft for the service of law (and of course, a few chaos-worshipping heretics and evil sorcerers). Hertford has the town of St.Albans, an important pilgrimage site featuring the tomb of Albinus, the first great saint of the Unconquered Sun in Albion.

5. KENT:

The southernmost county of the eastern coast, this is the site of the White Cliffs, and the important "Cinque Ports", five port cities which receive the largest amount of trade from the Continent, as well as one of the most important bases of the Anglish fleet. The title of Warden of the Cinque Ports is a very important office in the land, currently held by the Duke of Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, a strong supporter of the Mad King. The two most important ports in Kent are Dover (right on the White Cliffs) and Sandwich. These form the supply lifeline to the fortified city of Calais, the last of Anglia's holdings on The Continent.

Kent is also where the town of Canterbury can be found; this is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest ranking priest of the Unconquered Sun in all of Albion, in direct line of episcopal descent from Augustine of Canterbury, the first Bishop of the Unconquered Sun in Albion. This town of about 3000 inhabitants features the incredible Canterbury Cathedral, which has been engaged in a constant process of construction for the last 400 years. It is a sprawling massive temple to the glory of the Unconquered Sun, and it is finally nearing completion (it is thought that the Great Bell Tower will finally be complete in another 50 years or so). It also features an abbey, a nunnery, and a Clerical Temple and priory.

The current Archbishop of Canteruby is the ailing 74 year old John Kemp, known as the Cursed Cardinal. A lancastrian, he was a deeply political and corrupt clergyman who profited greatly in the past 16 years of his holding the see; in the last two years he has been suffering from a horrific wasting disease that most agree is of a supernatural nature. His allies claim it is a sorcerous curse brought about by Yorkists, his enemies claim that it is the Unconquered Sun punishing him for his wickedness. The "Cursed Cardinal" has sought desperately for some cure, but to no avail, and is has been the last several months lingering in his deathbed, his body already looking like a rotting corpse.


C. THE SOUTHPORTS


The region of the Southports includes the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset, as well as the Isle of Wights. This is an important and wealthy region of Albion with a long history; it was a powerful center of the Cymri tribes that once ruled the island, then a major center for the Arcadians when the island was one of their farthest-flung provinces, and eventually a center of power for the Anglemen once they had conquered it in turn.

The region features two important forests: the tame Forest of Windsor (which is in this territory as well as Berkshire county), which is a property of the King and used as his hunting grounds as well as to provide timber for the Fortress of Windsor in Berkshire; and the wild "New Forest" in Hampshire. The latter was in fact an old forest (the Arcadians considered it a cursed place, and named it the "Forest of Spinoii"); later, during the reign of the legendary king Arctur, it was known as the Forest Camelot, as it was near his capital city of Winchester, then named Camelot. It was during this period that much of the forest was cut down by druids and warriors, who cleared it of much of its monsters. However, some four centuries ago William the Bastard wished to restore that area as a hunting ground, and evicted no less than 36 villages from that land to reforest it (hence "New Forest"). Peasant magic-users among the villagers took their revenge by awakening ancient evils within the forest, and today it is considered a cursed place again. No less than three of William's royal descendants died in the forest: his son and then heir Richard died killed by a monstrous creature of mist within the forest; 20 years later Richard's younger brother King William II "Redface" died in the forest while on an adventure there, shot through the lung by an arrow from his close friend Lord Tyrell when the latter was deceived by an illusion, and William's grandson Richard Henry "Shortstockings" was likewise killed there, said to have been strangled by a living tree. There are no less than 250 different barrows there, burial grounds of ancient Cymric chiefs; dangerous places of the dead, but said to still be filled with treasure.

1. SUSSEX:

One of the old Anglemen kingdoms, and at one time the most powerful of these, the area of the town of Hastings in Sussex was the site where William the Bastard invaded from Normandie (today part of Frogland), and defeated Harald the Unready, uniting all of Albion under his rule and establishing the Plantagenet dynasty. Today the site is commemorated by the Battle Abbey.

This county is mostly a peaceful place these days, but it was recently the site where the rebellion of Jack Make-Amends began, and the local peasantry are still in a state of vicious unrest against what they see as corrupt and despotic noblemen. They generally blame the nobility, and not the Mad King himself, for the poverty and ills of Albion.

Sussex is governed by the Earl of Arundel, William FitzAllan, who is married to one of the daughters of the Earl of Salisbury, and is a supporter of the Yorkist cause.

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.

2. HAMPSHIRE:

This region is part of the County of Sussex, and includes the port towns of Chichester and Portchester, as well as the major port town of Southampton. It is also the location of the town of Winchester, which was once known as Camelot and was the capital of the kingdom of Logrys during the reign of the legendary Cymri King Arctur, who of all the Cyrmi came closest to unifying the whole of Albion under his rule. Today the town of Winchester is only a shadow of its former glory, and almost nothing remains of its legendary history; it is however the site of Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest and most impressive cathedrals to the Unconquered Sun. The most important nobleman in this region is possibly Sir John Howard, a brother in law of the Duke of Norfolk and staunch supporter of the Yorkist cause.

3. DORSET:

This county is the territory of Edmund Beaufort, the Duke of Sommerset, Constable of England, a descendant of John of Gaunt and thus cousin to the royal family, and the stalwart ally of Queen Margaret and the Lancastrian cause. Somerset was deeply impoverished at the time of his ascension and has managed to work his way up to tremendous wealth, mostly through political maneuvering. He is one of the chief causes of the complaints against the Mad King's counselors, accused of severe corruption. He has a personal feud with the Neville family, and particularly the young but brilliant Earl of Warwick, with whom he has had multiple disputes at court. It was Somerset who replaced Richard of York as commander of the forces in Normandie, and instead of capitalizing on Richard's successes there, he led a string of defeats that culminated in the loss of all of Albion's possessions on the Continent except for Calais, making him one of the most hated men in the land. What's more, he enriched himself at this time to the gargantuan sum of over twenty thousand pounds. When Parliament was convened and named York as Lord Protector, York managed to have Somerset imprisoned, but he was freed earlier this year when the King seemingly regained some lucidity and ordered York's protectorate overturned. The Mad King and Queen Margaret's support of Somerset has been one of the chief causes leading to the increased hostilities and the likely outbreak of civil war.

The largest (and darkest) part of the New Forest is found in Dorset. Aside from that, its only significant town is the port of Weymouth.

4. THE ISLE OF WIGHTS:

This cursed and haunted isle was feared by the Cymri as a place where the veil between the worlds was particularly weak. The Arcadian legions, unaware of this, established a fort there. They were eventually besieged and slaughtered by dark monstrosities, and the isle remained unpopulated by humans until the time of William the Bastard, when that king attempted to purge the island of its evil. He established the Castle of Carisbrooke in the northern end of the Isle, in a relatively peaceful area known as the Fair Valley.

Though the castle and surrounding village have remained populated since then, it has passed from one noble family to another, all meeting grisly ends to their dynasties over the centuries. Some 70 years ago it was invaded by Frogmen, but they were held off by the castle's inhabitants, and the monstrosities on the rest of the island eventually forced them off. Some 40 years ago, in the time of King Henry the Great, the local Abbey was discovered to have been entirely subverted to the worship of Chaos; Henry's men purged the place and burned it to the ground. The Mad King gave the Isle to his childhood friend Henry Beauchamp, whom he personally crowned King of the Isle of Wight; but Henry died less than two years later.

Now a Crown Property of Albion again, and administered by a castellan, the village of Carisbrook has recently been disturbed by a spate of disappearances and very recently by the discovery of a series of tunnels underneath the village and castle, as well as signs that some of the local population have taken to dark witchcraft; this is all believed to be connected and that a cult of witches have been kidnapping men, women and children to torture or sacrifice for dark rituals. The rest of the island aside from the castle and village is mostly wild, the inland parts of the isle being exceedingly dangerous. Its name makes it clear that there are obviously undead on the isle, as well as creatures of chaos, and it is said that there may also be temporary or permanent gateways to other planes here. There are also many rumours of great treasures and objects of power hidden away in the forests of the isle, tempting the incredibly brave or foolish.


D. DEVON, CORNWALL, AND SOMERSET


Devon and Cornwall have always been their own special part of Albion, that for a long time resisted being incorporated to the customs and ways of others. The men of this region are neither Cymri nor Anglemen of descent, but Gallic, the peoples who occupied Normandie before the Anglemen. It is not the most hospitable of territory, much of the inland areas consisting of hilly moors most notable for fog and damp. The Dartmoor in Cornwall is the largest of these, and the Exmoor in Devon comes close thereafter.

1. DARTMOOR:

Dartmoor is a vast untamed region of central Cornwall of high cold hills, with very acidic soil, making it difficult for anything to grow. Even up until just 400 years ago, these moors were crawling with goblins, who had long since driven out humans who were there before them. But around the time of William the Bastard, Cornishmen decided to take back the moors, slowly encroaching on goblin territory and killing the foul creatures where-ever they were found. Today, much of the moors is in human hands, though goblins are still seen in the least hospitable areas, ready to slaughter anyone they come across. The humans here may not be much better; these fiercely independent men live almost like barbarians, in small villages composed of longhouses where they have no chief and share resources, they recognize no lord and mostly want to be left alone; though if a winter is particularly difficult, it is not unheard of for a desperate band of dartmoor men to go raiding some of the more civilized areas outside the moors.

Aside from the Goblins and the Dartmoor men, the Fae are often found in these hills, pixies in particular, as well as ghosts of different varieties. The church attempted to erect a series of stone crosses to mark the routes through the moors and offer some protection to travelers, but unfortunately many of these, while still useful as landmarks, have themselves become haunted, enchanted by Fae, or used as a place of ambush for bandits.

2. EXMOOR:

The Exmoor is a coastal moor that the crown reserves a right to as hunting territory. It is much less rugged than the dartmoor, featuring an important castle and a number of pleasant towns whose population earns their livelihood by sheep farming. The lonelier parts of this rather vast natural territory feature old ruins, of ancient settlements of almost all the people who ever lived in Albion; ancient bridges of stone that still stand, even a few stone circles, places of druid magic. The most notable legend, however, is that of the Beast of Exmoor, a monstrous creature that is said to have the body of a huge cat with black fur that may or may not have any of the following: wings, a scorpion's tale, tentacles, two or three heads, fiery breath, an eagle's head, a man's head, horns, a serpent's head, etc. Whatever this creature is, it certainly seems to be real, having killed many sheep from the time men dared to settle in Exmoor. There may even be more than one of it.

3. SOMERSET:

In Somerset, you have hill country and forest, as well as considerable swampland all over the coast of the bristol channel. In the latter, you will often find bandits and other lawless men hiding out. The Minedeep hills are limestone hills in the center of the region, that have been excavated and tunneled since time immemorial. There are ancient and abandoned mines from Cymri times (and perhaps even farther before), Arcadian mines of lead and silver, and of course, modern mining continues, under the control of various Abbeys in the region who have been granted mining rights by the crown. From time to time, they attempt to re-open old mines, needing brave men to venture in and secure them. Aside from that, there are countless barrows and natural caves in these hills as well. Finally, the forest of Westbury is an extension of the Forest Camelot, but far less dangerous.

4. CORNWALL:

The far southwestern tip of Albion, according to legend Cornwall was once a powerful kingdom in its own right, of Galic men who ruled both Cornwall and the part of Normandie known as Bretonie. Cornishmen have always been fiercely different, fighting historically with both the Cymri and the Anglemen at different moments, though they favored the Anglemen who were of the same blood as them. When William the Bastard conquered all of Albion, he deposed the last Cornish king, Cadoc, but made him Earl of Cornwall as compensation. That line has since died out, and Cornwall is now a Crown Duchy, traditionally given to the eldest son of the king. Currently, the one-year-old Crown Prince Edward is the Duke of Cornwall. Apart from a few smaller port towns, the most important port town in the Duchy is Plymouth, often an important port for the royal fleet.

5. DEVON:

This divided Duchy is a scene of much conflict in this troubled time. The highest lord of the region is Henry De Holand, Duke of Exeter; a nephew of the Mad King through his mother's side. Henry Holland is known to be savage, cruel, unpredictable in temperament, and fanatically Lancastrian. He despises Richard of York, in spite of (or more likely because of) having married York's daughter some 7 years ago. The relationship is not a good one. So famous is Henry Holland for his cruelty that the popular torture device known as the rack has been recently nicknamed "The Duke of Exeter's Daugther". He controls the important port town of Exeter.

After him comes Thomas Courtenay, the Earl of Devon (based in the town of Okehampton), also Lancastrian but someone far more caught up in local problems. The Courtenays have a long-running feud with the Bonville family of Devonshire knights, who have struggled to wrest power over the Devon countryside away from the Duke by political means. Since Courtenay has failed to one-up the Bonvilles, who are Yorkists and aided by Richard; the Courtenay family has taken to open violence instead. Thus Devon has a micro-version of the same bloodshed being seen now in the north between Percy and Neville. Finally, the Bonnville family themselves are new nobility, the current Baron Bonville obtained his minor title from a mere knighthood because of his heroics on the Continent. The Bonville family have allied themselves to the Yorkist cause, hoping to take advantage of chaos to rise to new social heights, and displace their hated betters, the Courtenays.

6. SOMERSET:

Like Dorset, this territory is ruled by Edmund Beaufort, the powerful (and incredibly corrupt) Duke of Somerset. The most notable features of this county are the pilgrimage towns of Bath and Wells, and the abbey of Glastonbury. The latter is a mystical site of great antiquity, and now a Cleric's Abbey for those clerics who seek out retirement from the world's affairs. Wells features a number of healing springs that were once sacred to the old druid religions and that some believe in to this day, though for the most part it would seem the "real" springs have lost their power, dried up, or been misplaced. On the other hand, Bath features the great Aqua Sulis, the waters of healing, a place sacred to the Cymri, Arcadians, and later sanctified by the Church of the Unconquered Sun alike.

The old baths have been built over by a massive Cleric Temple, and the Clerics control access to the baths. It is said that to this day, those who are gravely ill, injured, cursed, blind or lame, and receive the Cleric's permission to bathe in the waters, will either be purified (if so chosen by the Unconquered Sun) or they will be released into a quick death. Bath is the headquarters of the Clerical Order in Albion, and its High Commander Thomas Beckynton can be found here, when not at Calais fighting the Frogs; and there is always a relatively large concentration of Clerics to be found throughout Somerset.


E. 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.

1. WILTSHIRE:

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.

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.

2. 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.


F. 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.

1. 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.

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.

2. 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.

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 a 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.

3. GLOUCESTER:

This county is the beneficiary of the majority of the trade coming into 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 p
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on March 31, 2012, 10:14:04 AM
Very impressive, Kuroth!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on March 31, 2012, 08:26:34 PM
Quote from: misterguignol;525001
Very impressive, Kuroth!


It is just a little layout assistance to allow everyone an easier time reading it in a forum.  With the scroll aspects of a forum, I chose to use a light outline structure to ease a reader’s organization of the content.  I think it may help locate aspects that could be expanded or reviewed too.  So, it is my bit of assistance to Pundit for his project.  

It is great that it has worked well in game!  The character of the setting that is developed in game would be a great place to consider expansion and revision Pundit.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 01, 2012, 07:59:55 PM
Extremely impressive, Kuroth.  Would you have any objection to me editing the first post of this thread to your new format?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on April 01, 2012, 08:49:05 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;525407
Extremely impressive, Kuroth.  Would you have any objection to me editing the first post of this thread to your new format?

RPGPundit


Not at all!  Glad it was helpful too you Pundit.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on April 02, 2012, 12:22:59 AM
Were you planning to use a standard War of the Roses map for this Pundit, or are thinking of modifying a political or thematic map of the period to fit the setting details?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 02, 2012, 12:44:00 PM
Thanks Kuroth, now I won't have to do this :D Ditto on the map Pundit, what do you use?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 12:51:10 PM
That's awesome. I want to do something with the Froglands now.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Butcher on April 02, 2012, 02:01:51 PM
Speaking of the Froglands, I've been reading quite a bit of WFRP 2e setting stuff lately, including Grail Knights and Barony of the Damned, and their ersatz-France (Bretonnia) isn't too flattering either. (Though it could be argüed that their ersatz-Germany isn't that great, either.)

Makes me curious for what a similar Medieval Europe-like setting would look like, written by one or more French gamers of similarly snarky disposition. Benoist, do you feel up to the challenge? Or hell, maybe this game already exists and I don't know about it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on April 02, 2012, 03:03:57 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;525642
Speaking of the Froglands, I've been reading quite a bit of WFRP 2e setting stuff lately, including Grail Knights and Barony of the Damned, and their ersatz-France (Bretonnia) isn't too flattering either. (Though it could be argüed that their ersatz-Germany isn't that great, either.)

Makes me curious for what a similar Medieval Europe-like setting would look like, written by one or more French gamers of similarly snarky disposition. Benoist, do you feel up to the challenge? Or hell, maybe this game already exists and I don't know about it.


That would be interesting actually, I don't get the impression that the average French person is taught to look at ancien regime France particularly positively, where as Britain tends to look back at the similar period as a golden age unmatched by anything apart from the Victorians. It would be interesting to see if that came through the writing.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 03:17:44 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;525642
Speaking of the Froglands, I've been reading quite a bit of WFRP 2e setting stuff lately, including Grail Knights and Barony of the Damned, and their ersatz-France (Bretonnia) isn't too flattering either. (Though it could be argüed that their ersatz-Germany isn't that great, either.)

Makes me curious for what a similar Medieval Europe-like setting would look like, written by one or more French gamers of similarly snarky disposition. Benoist, do you feel up to the challenge? Or hell, maybe this game already exists and I don't know about it.


I've been actually thinking about it for quite some time. I like the "Froglands" approach to be honest. What I'm not liking is the blanket state of the kingdom depicted in the notes here. This would need more variety, like a kingdom that's basically at work with ancient curses... it could be developed into something really great and worth gaming for its own sake is what I'm saying. I understand the original premise is to make Albion the focus of the setting where Germany was for WH, and this explains that in regards to the "Froglands" here.

I would just develop this into a much more complicated regional tapestry myself.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 03:19:22 PM
Quote from: jadrax;525708
That would be interesting actually, I don't get the impression that the average French person is taught to look at ancien regime France particularly positively, where as Britain tends to look back at the similar period as a golden age unmatched by anything apart from the Victorians. It would be interesting to see if that came through the writing.


That is correct. Most French people actually think real history started with the French Revolution nowadays. They might know the names of a few kings, that there was a One Hundred Years war at some point, then Versailles, the Fronde a little bit, but not much more than that.

Thanks, Revolutionary douchebags, for killing my country's History.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 02, 2012, 04:44:33 PM
Hey, try being German and getting anyone other than nerds like us to look farther back than Hitler. Many folks don't even know why Germany was in WWI.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on April 02, 2012, 04:54:44 PM
Quote from: Sigmund;525806
Hey, try being German and getting anyone other than nerds like us to look farther back than Hitler. Many folks don't even know why Germany was in WWI.


The Uni where I did my history degree has a sort of cross-cultural exchange program thing (I think its part of the town twinning stuff), and the tutors where always saying how much they hated it because the German students had no clue at all about their history.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 05:03:56 PM
Quote from: Benoist;525720
That is correct. Most French people actually think real history started with the French Revolution nowadays. They might know the names of a few kings, that there was a One Hundred Years war at some point, then Versailles, the Fronde a little bit, but not much more than that.

Thanks, Revolutionary douchebags, for killing my country's History.

Then again, without those Revolutionary douchebags, you might either not have a country to speak about (not at least in our meaning of the term "country"), or the education to understand what term country meant anyway.

Unless you come from the nobs, in which case...


PS. The lack of knowledge and interest in history is really universal, and I don't think the contents of the past itself have much to do with it. More likely is the fact that history is unappealing to majority of youth population, who on the other hand, fall to the trap of cinema's bastardization of it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on April 02, 2012, 05:14:26 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;525842
The lack of knowledge and interest in history is really universal, and I don't think the contents of the past itself have much to do with it. More likely is the fact that history is unappealing to majority of youth population, who on the other hand, fall to the trap of cinema's bastardization of it.


I don't think that's an accurate assessment. For starters lack of knowledge and lack of interest are not connected, kids get taught what they get taught. The interesting thing is where various states put their cut off points in schools. In Britain its 1066, its very rare anyone in the general public knows about 'British' history in detail before that (although that said, they will know some bits of Roman history pertaining to Britain). It seems to me the cut off point for France is the Revolution and in Germany its post WWII.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 05:17:16 PM
Quote from: jadrax;525861
I don't think that's an accurate assessment. For starters lack of knowledge and lack of interest are not connected, kids get taught what they get taught. The interesting thing is where various states put their cut off points in schools. In Britain its 1066, its very rare anyone in the general public knows about 'British' history in detail before that (although that said, they will know some bits of Roman history pertaining to Britain). It seems to me the cut off point for France is the Revolution and in Germany its post WWII.

Political agendas certainly play a part, I'll agree. But most kids also have little interest in actually learning the history itself - which results in little desire to look beyond the lessons, and learn it outside of school.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: boulet on April 02, 2012, 05:32:27 PM
Quote from: Benoist;525720
That is correct. Most French people actually think real history started with the French Revolution nowadays. They might know the names of a few kings, that there was a One Hundred Years war at some point, then Versailles, the Fronde a little bit, but not much more than that.

Thanks, Revolutionary douchebags, for killing my country's History.


I'd put a bit of the blame on history teachers, who (I bet) aren't médiéviste and have a hard time making Middle Age study interesting to their students. I'd but another scoop of blame on feudal history which is quite obscure and difficult to explain without copious amount of details (like nobles genealogy, Roman heritage, Catholic dogma, complicated tax systems, alien system of caste etc..)    

When Napoleon steam rolls across Europe, it's rather simple to depict: he had crazy ambitions, one of the first national armies and some bullshit progressive agenda about bringing freedom to nations, installing democracy and/or striking down tyrants (lol). Explaining the 100 years war is a pain in the ass in comparison.

The French revolution ruined a lot of stuff but it's a little disingenuous to put the body of the blame on it for a lack of historical knowledge. What in more than two centuries of archives compiling and archeology, work that's been done both within and without French borders, we aren't able to come up with pretty a detailed picture of Ancien Régime? Of course we are. If you meant to say that Middle Ages have a puny place at school and/or are taught the most boring way possible then I'm with you. It surely wasn't my teachers who made me interested (later) in the subject.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: boulet on April 02, 2012, 05:42:04 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;525842
More likely is the fact that history is unappealing to majority of youth population, who on the other hand, fall to the trap of cinema's bastardization of it.


Bastardization can be atrocious. I still have a sour taste in my mouth from the kung fu fighting scenes in Brotherhood of the Wolf. OTOH we could have  good and fun movies about not so well known part of history. Two birds with one stone... that would be awesome, like a gateway drug to history or sth.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 05:44:48 PM
Quote from: boulet;525898
Bastardization can be atrocious. I still have a sour taste in my mouth from the kung fu fighting scenes in Brotherhood of the Wolf. OTOH we could have  good and fun movies about not so well known part of history. Two birds with one stone... that would be awesome, like a gateway drug to history or sth.

:D.

I'll admit it did not bother me that much - I never saw Brotherhood of the Wolf as strictly historical film - although I think(feel free to correct me if I am wrong - I'll admit the times of Louis the XV are my blind spot) it certainly is a decent piece to show the mood of XVIII century France's province. Just like Perfume did with Paris of the time.

I'd say that is why Rome is great (sans some issues, of course - starting with Atia being WAAAAY to much of a MILF compared to history) - it gives some historical knowledge, while being awesome at the same time. I, Claudius is more accurate in that regard, but it's also written from a certain standpoint, so one needs to be wary of intentional narrator's bias.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on April 02, 2012, 05:45:40 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;525865
But most kids also have little interest in actually learning the history itself - which results in little desire to look beyond the lessons, and learn it outside of school.


Really not my experience. In the UK at least, kids flock to history based activities, often dragging along disinterested parents.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 05:51:22 PM
Quote from: jadrax;525907
Really not my experience. In the UK at least, kids flock to history based activities, often dragging along disinterested parents.

In Poland as well. But you need then to take the interest shown by going to those activities, and forge it into actual historical knowledge.

Kids, even teens, might love to see knights duel, but there's a difference between that and knowing the major battles of 100 Years War.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: boulet on April 02, 2012, 09:39:41 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;525904
:D.

I'll admit it did not bother me that much - I never saw Brotherhood of the Wolf as strictly historical film - although I think(feel free to correct me if I am wrong - I'll admit the times of Louis the XV are my blind spot) it certainly is a decent piece to show the mood of XVIII century France's province. Just like Perfume did with Paris of the time.


Of course it wasn't strictly historical. It was pretty much a fantastical treatment of a historical mystery that was never solved. And I was fine with that. I was fine with the Native American visiting Europe too; that was a fun idea. But the kung fu fight just killed my suspension of disbelief 5 minutes into the movie, which had many qualities as you mentioned.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 09:50:27 PM
Quote from: boulet;526039
Of course it wasn't strictly historical. It was pretty much a fantastical treatment of a historical mystery that was never solved. And I was fine with that. I was fine with the Native American visiting Europe too; that was a fun idea. But the kung fu fight just killed my suspension of disbelief 5 minutes into the movie, which had many qualities as you mentioned.

I'll admit that was a shame - the film'd be better if it was gritty, knives and muskets action.

But I think the tangent had ran on quite enough (we could discuss this in Media forum).

In order to bring this back on some topic - say Pundit, will you be making a map for this? And what about some stat blocks?

BTW - I'd suggest adding a bit more formatting, to make it easier on the eyes to read - two enters rather then one for a new paragraph.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 10:11:17 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;525842
Then again, without those Revolutionary douchebags, you might either not have a country to speak about (not at least in our meaning of the term "country"), or the education to understand what term country meant anyway.

You're right. It's not like Charlemagne came up with the idea of schools in France, or like there wasn't an actual country called "France" before the French Revolution...

Wait. Wut?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 10:15:04 PM
Quote from: boulet;525886
The French revolution ruined a lot of stuff but it's a little disingenuous to put the body of the blame on it for a lack of historical knowledge.

It's more complicated than that because the Revolution itself has roots into other events and trends that collided to give us that result. Part of the blame lies with the Frondeurs and the way it shapes Louis XIV's personality, how he concentrated the royal power from there, and how this ended up with a Louis XVI that was completely disconnected from the concerns of his people, for instance. Just an example.

But generally, I find little redeeming at all about the French Revolution. We switched one elite for another, and looking over on the other  side of the Channel, I find it disingenuous at best to claim the social advances of the following centuries were somehow granted by the actions of the likes of Robespierre.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 10:36:03 PM
Quote from: Benoist;526051
You're right. It's not like Charlemagne came up with the idea of schools in France

1) Sure - for nobles and the lucky few rich free peasants and patricians.
2) At the times of Charlemagne, there was no France. The area that'd evolve to become the nation of France, would be technically established by Treaty of Verdun.

Quote
or like there wasn't an actual country called "France" before the French Revolution...

Wait. Wut?

This one is problematic. Both yes and no. While it was true that monarchs of House Bourbon aimed for a strong centralisation of power, causing the birth of mindset needed to form a nation, France was still one of the greatest bastions of feudalism in Europe at the time.

As for the "no" part...

First of all, up until XIX century, we can't really discuss the term "nation" as used in nowadays context - as in, a group of people that feel united because of common cultural heritage - because nations as we understand them nowadays, were non - existent, at least on the scale we'd use today. You went to a village 100 miles away, and you'd be practically in an almost different world - the language'd sound different, the laws'd be different, the people...well, the people'd probably look different because that's what people do. It did not matter where you lived, but to whom you were sworn to, and to which areas your family made claims by rights of successions. France, Poland or England of the time were names for coalitions of fiefs, vassals and seniors, united by need to defend themselves, with dozens of different certain cultural heritages and languages and traditions. Rather then actual nations - the class was much more important then your nationality ever would be. If you had a title and could speak in Latin, you could be practically from anywhere, serving anyone.

The languages were usually constructed out of the imperialistic ambition - if you had a demesne as a King that spread for thousands of kilometers, it'd be a damn good thing to be able to communicate with everyone. So slowly, with time, there was this huge boiling pot (usually in the city where King resided - that is, the capital) of cultures from various fiefs and neighbouring countries, which'd result in creating some sort of a basic language. Heck - modern Italian was practically "invented" only about 90 years ago, mostly thanks to radio.

Of course, there would be some common things - after all, without them, the birth of nation would be impossible. There were some common laws passed around for entire demesne of King, for example. The nations would begin forming in period of Renaissance, but it was a slow birth at best. But even then, the loyalty to your senior was stronger then ideas of nations - which culminated with the Thirty Years War, the so - called cabinet warfare and infamous Wars of Spanish/Austrian/Polish Successions - hells, the War of Polish Succession hardly took place in Poland at all!

And various provinces of same "nation" were often quite different culturally. For example, Brittany in France - quite a good mention while on subject of French Revolution, since Brittany raised in the defence of Catholic Faith (which sentiment was used by Bourbon propaganda).

Only during the XIX century, did we see a widespread revival of certain sentiment, that was before seen only briefly in human history, during the Roman Republic period. The idea of nation, of people's loyalty to the land and themselves, rather then Divine Order of Feudalism.


Quote from: Benoist;526055
But generally, I find little redeeming at all about the French Revolution. We switched one elite for another, and looking over on the other  side of the Channel, I find it disingenuous at best to claim the social advances of the following centuries were somehow granted by the actions of the likes of Robespierre.

Except that without it, it's more then possible we'd not be having this conversation - well, I perhaps would be able to, being a 1/32 bastard descendant of Russian nobility. Practically since the Summerians, variations of feudalism (despotism, absolutism, plutocracy etc. etc.) were the commonest form of government. It was practically the first time since ancient Athens (and not really, since Athenian democracy was rather...unequal) where you had an idea of actual power by the people, rather then privileged few. While it might'd not ended up too well, it was an event on an unprecedented scale in history, as it overturned the most ancient form of government known to mankind.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 10:48:35 PM
You're right as applied to the term "Nation", but you did say "country" before that, and that's not the same thing. There were countries before the term of "Nation" and the concept it covers were fully formed in the constitutional minds of the 18th century.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 10:54:03 PM
Quote from: Benoist;526085
You're right as applied to the term "Nation", but you did say "country" before that, and that's not the same thing. There were countries before the term of "Nation" and the concept it covers were fully formed in the constitutional minds of the 18th century.

Fair enough. Although in such case, country of France (or rather, Francia) would not come into existence, at least on official documents, before Treaty of Verdun. Before that, we can discuss the countries of Franks ;). Or if we want to be really picky - the states of Franks, or countries occupied by Franks.

While a nitpick, this is an important issue to the problem here - the tribal  -  in times of Charlemagne,  long turned feudal -loyalty certainly overrode any concept of loyalty based on common language.

And in fact, if we want to discuss terrible things that French Revolution made - hells, let's take a look at the Treaty of Verdun itself. The split of Empire of Franks would be responsible for, for example, the infamous conflicts for Alsace and Lorraine.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 11:13:25 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;526088
Fair enough. Although in such case, country of France (or rather, Francia) would not come into existence, at least on official documents, before Treaty of Verdun. Before that, we can discuss the countries of Franks ;).

Actually no. You can look at historical records talking about the Kingdom of France way before that, and before the French Revolution, all the way back to the Crusades. So no, I don't agree with your diatribe here. You're trying to get your way out of a dumb remark you made by playing on words. Soon you'll talk about the actual frontiers of the Kingdom. We both know that's not what you were originally talking about.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 11:18:40 PM
Quote from: Benoist;526096
Actually no. You can look at historical records talking about the Kingdom of France way before that, and before the French Revolution, all the way back to the Crusades. So no, I don't agree with your diatribe here. You're trying to get your way out of a dumb remark you made by playing on words. Soon you'll talk about the actual frontiers of the Kingdom. We both know that's not what you were originally talking about.

...

Treaty of Verdun - 843 (I may be wrong, writing from memory)
Council of Clermont that begun the Crusades - 1095.

During the reign of Charlemagne, there was no France - it was basically a union of tribes, that was transformed into feudal states. France would come from the term Francia, the demesne given to Charles the Bald.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 11:18:49 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;526088
While a nitpick, this is an important issue to the problem here - the tribal  -  in times of Charlemagne,  long turned feudal -loyalty certainly overrode any concept of loyalty based on common language.

LOL Because you think the tribal nature of the Franks somehow disappeared and no longer exists in the modern French culture? That's grossly misunderstanding the French, my friend. If anything, the tribalism of the Gauls is still very much alive in France to this day.

Quote from: Rincewind1;526088
And in fact, if we want to discuss terrible things that French Revolution made - hells, let's take a look at the Treaty of Verdun itself. The split of Empire of Franks would be responsible for, for example, the infamous conflicts for Alsace and Lorraine.


Look. I'll let you talk about Poland all you want, but when you tell me my country wasn't actually "France" and wasn't a "country" before a bunch of pitchfork bearers you equate to progressists brought a Constitution to us and thereby "enlightened" the populace, I won't get along for the ride, sorry.

Your political bias is showing, just like I would guess mine may be showing as well.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 11:19:12 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;526100
...

Treaty of Verdun - 843 (I may be wrong, writing from memory)
Council of Clermont that begun the Crusades - 1095.


Yeah I misunderstood you.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 02, 2012, 11:25:24 PM
Quote from: Benoist;526101
LOL Because you think the tribal nature of the Franks somehow disappeared and no longer exists in the modern French culture? That's grossly misunderstanding the French, my friend. If anything, the tribalism of the Gauls is still very much alive in France to this day.

Of course. But at the time, the tribal structures were overturned by feudal ones, rather then national ones.

Quote
Look. I'll let you talk about Poland all you want, but when you tell me my country wasn't actually "France" and wasn't a "country" before a bunch of pitchfork bearers you equate to progressists brought a Constitution to us and thereby "enlightened" the populace, I won't get along for the ride, sorry.

Your political bias is showing, just like I would guess mine may be showing as well.

Admittedly yes, it was a country (as in, a sovereign state), but it wasn't a nation. I got the two terms mixed up. Heck - look what happened during the 100 Years War, when Edward the Third captured John the Second.

The pitchfork bearers were actually fighting in Brittany to restore the Bourbons :P.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 02, 2012, 11:27:14 PM
OK man. Whatever you say. We won't be getting a conversation out of this.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on April 02, 2012, 11:27:53 PM
Quote from: Benoist;526055
Part of the blame lies with the Frondeurs and the way it shapes Louis XIV's personality, how he concentrated the royal power from there, and how this ended up with a Louis XVI that was completely disconnected from the concerns of his people, for instance. Just an example.


See, I have never been convinced that Louis XVI was that disconnected. I think he wanted to modernise the monarchy (Marie Antoinette certainly did) to something much more like what we recognise as a constitutional monarchy today. But the problem was, by slowly freezing the older nobles out of his court, he ended up with no power base around him. I would argue that if they had not tried to modernise, the revolution simply could not have happened, but by being nice they left themselves open.

Also, note here that if the French rural peasantry (as opposed to the urban poor) has had a say in any of this, the revolution would never have happened.

Quote
But generally, I find little redeeming at all about the French Revolution. We switched one elite for another,


Yep. Basically it was a transfer of power of from the privileged to the rich.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on April 03, 2012, 12:04:17 AM
Quote from: Rincewind1;526044
BTW - I'd suggest adding a bit more formatting, to make it easier on the eyes to read - two enters rather then one for a new paragraph.


I tried it with further expansion over-all.  Though it was slightly easier to read, it also become quite a bit easier to lose one's place over-all while scrolling, since the headings became further apart on the viewable page.  So,  I chose the present format, with single spaces between paragraphs and relative multiples between sections.  In its present form, it is easy to copy it to a document of one's own to read as one would like.  You could try that.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 03, 2012, 12:04:22 AM
Quote from: jadrax;526109
See, I have never been convinced that Louis XVI was that disconnected.

Not as disconnected as the pamphlets of the time would have us believe, that's for sure. And it's also a fact that Louis tried to cooperate and was ready to make some concessions, I agree.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 03, 2012, 12:07:12 AM
Quote from: Benoist;526108
OK man. Whatever you say. We won't be getting a conversation out of this.


BTW I don't mean this as a "fuck you". It's just that you seem determined to talk about the concept of Nation while I am talking about something else. It's alright. I just don't feel like going over this on this thread (I was major of Constitutional Law in another life, so it's not like I'm not comfortable with the topic itself is all I'm saying).
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: boulet on April 03, 2012, 12:08:19 AM
Quote from: Benoist;526055
But generally, I find little redeeming at all about the French Revolution. We switched one elite for another, and looking over on the other  side of the Channel, I find it disingenuous at best to claim the social advances of the following centuries were somehow granted by the actions of the likes of Robespierre.


Louis XVI had the opportunity to make the regime evolve toward constitutional monarchy but instead of embracing this solution he did his best to piss off the Tiers Etat. Indeed there was an occasion to learn from Albion, but pride and stupidity decided otherwise.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2012, 04:14:56 AM
Quote from: Sigmund;525581
Thanks Kuroth, now I won't have to do this :D Ditto on the map Pundit, what do you use?


I use the map/gameboard of the Richard III wargame, by Columbia games. Though I've referenced a great deal of other maps.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2012, 04:21:37 AM
Quote from: Benoist;525719
I've been actually thinking about it for quite some time. I like the "Froglands" approach to be honest. What I'm not liking is the blanket state of the kingdom depicted in the notes here. This would need more variety, like a kingdom that's basically at work with ancient curses... it could be developed into something really great and worth gaming for its own sake is what I'm saying. I understand the original premise is to make Albion the focus of the setting where Germany was for WH, and this explains that in regards to the "Froglands" here.

I would just develop this into a much more complicated regional tapestry myself.


One thing I haven't really elaborated yet is that the "Frogmen" were not always in control of most of what we'd call france.  The "frankish" were a real people, Charles the Hammer defeated an invasion of the Saracen several centuries ago, etc.

The Frogmen were based in the swamps of paris, and had only started to spill out to invade and take human territory sometime after Charles the Hammer and his son Charles the Great.  They conquered what today would be "central frogland" first, then spent quite some time conquering the southern territorys, the lands of Provense, etc. And they fought the Anglemen over their holdings on the continent for 100 years; they were almost pushed back into oblivion during the campaign of Henry the Great after Agincourt, and had he not died prematurely the Frogmen may have been defeated decisively.  But misrule during the regency of the infant Henry VI caused the loss of almost all the great territories the Anglishmen had traditionally owned or recently won. The frogmen now continue to expand, against Calais (the last tiny Anglish holding) and more importantly in wars against the brutal  (and some say chaos-worshiping) but also tactically brilliant and definitely frog-hating Duke Philip of Burgundy.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2012, 04:27:02 AM
Quote from: Rincewind1;526074

Except that without it, it's more then possible we'd not be having this conversation - well, I perhaps would be able to, being a 1/32 bastard descendant of Russian nobility. Practically since the Summerians, variations of feudalism (despotism, absolutism, plutocracy etc. etc.) were the commonest form of government. It was practically the first time since ancient Athens (and not really, since Athenian democracy was rather...unequal) where you had an idea of actual power by the people, rather then privileged few. While it might'd not ended up too well, it was an event on an unprecedented scale in history, as it overturned the most ancient form of government known to mankind.


Well, you know, except for the American Revolution, which happened first, inspired the french one, and unlike the latter actually worked.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2012, 04:30:04 AM
In any case though, gentlement, I'm going to have to request that if you want to talk real world history of any period other than the period between around 1455-1485, you'll need to start a different thread, on the pundit's forum.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 03, 2012, 04:36:50 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;526199
Well, you know, except for the American Revolution, which happened first, inspired the french one, and unlike the latter actually worked.

RPGPundit


An American Revolution which might not have succeeded without the French's help, btw. ;)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on April 03, 2012, 04:49:40 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;526197
One thing I haven't really elaborated yet is that the "Frogmen" were not always in control of most of what we'd call france.  The "frankish" were a real people, Charles the Hammer defeated an invasion of the Saracen several centuries ago, etc.

The Frogmen were based in the swamps of paris, and had only started to spill out to invade and take human territory sometime after Charles the Hammer and his son Charles the Great.  They conquered what today would be "central frogland" first, then spent quite some time conquering the southern territorys, the lands of Provense, etc. And they fought the Anglemen over their holdings on the continent for 100 years; they were almost pushed back into oblivion during the campaign of Henry the Great after Agincourt, and had he not died prematurely the Frogmen may have been defeated decisively.  But misrule during the regency of the infant Henry VI caused the loss of almost all the great territories the Anglishmen had traditionally owned or recently won. The frogmen now continue to expand, against Calais (the last tiny Anglish holding) and more importantly in wars against the brutal  (and some say chaos-worshiping) but also tactically brilliant and definitely frog-hating Duke Philip of Burgundy.

RPGPundit

I like the idea of the frogmen and the joke that comes out of that. I also understand how the concept of the froglands work with Albion itself being the focus of the setting.

If I was to run this myself, a campaign in the froglands that is, I'd turn the idea around a bit in the sense that the Anglishmen understand the country to be dominated by the frogmen, while it might be a bit of an overstatement. You might have some regions like Normandy dominated by the beasts, with the humans fighting a sort of guerilla warfare there reminiscent of the first few days after D Day. You might have the region of Orleans having men in control, men who belong to a branch of the Ancient French monarchy who made a deal with the beasts to rule from hell instead of joining their predecessors in heaven. The Massif Central might be a wild land forsaken even for the frogmen under which lies a great subterranean kingdom of dwarves. And so on.

Love your ideas btw. Especially making Burgundy a stronghold of frog-hating men. There's something to do with the Golden Fleece and all that there.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 03, 2012, 10:46:58 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;526195
I use the map/gameboard of the Richard III wargame, by Columbia games. Though I've referenced a great deal of other maps.

RPGPundit


Awesome, I happen to have that game thanks to danbuter :)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 04, 2012, 01:16:15 AM
Quote from: Benoist;526207
I like the idea of the frogmen and the joke that comes out of that. I also understand how the concept of the froglands work with Albion itself being the focus of the setting.

If I was to run this myself, a campaign in the froglands that is, I'd turn the idea around a bit in the sense that the Anglishmen understand the country to be dominated by the frogmen, while it might be a bit of an overstatement. You might have some regions like Normandy dominated by the beasts, with the humans fighting a sort of guerilla warfare there reminiscent of the first few days after D Day. You might have the region of Orleans having men in control, men who belong to a branch of the Ancient French monarchy who made a deal with the beasts to rule from hell instead of joining their predecessors in heaven. The Massif Central might be a wild land forsaken even for the frogmen under which lies a great subterranean kingdom of dwarves. And so on.

Love your ideas btw. Especially making Burgundy a stronghold of frog-hating men. There's something to do with the Golden Fleece and all that there.



In fact, in my campaign its clear that the Frogmen rule over the people of the old frankish lands, but they are relatively a minority, they depend upon massive oppression, a huge underclass of human serf/slaves, and a significant number of chaos-worshiping human collaborators.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 06, 2012, 06:51:14 PM
Well, I've contacted LotFP to see if they're interested in publishing this as either a free supplement or with additional material as an actual product.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on April 06, 2012, 07:00:08 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;527661
Well, I've contacted LotFP to see if they're interested in publishing this as either a free supplement or with additional material as an actual product.

RPGPundit


I'd certainly buy an expanded edition.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 06, 2012, 07:00:53 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;527661
Well, I've contacted LotFP to see if they're interested in publishing this as either a free supplement or with additional material as an actual product.

RPGPundit


Nice. If they do I'll buy it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 07, 2012, 05:13:37 AM
Quote from: misterguignol;527664
I'd certainly buy an expanded edition.


That's good to hear, thank you! Let's hope Raggi gets wind of that sentiment.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: JamesV on April 07, 2012, 12:40:17 PM
A general purpose setting like that with tons of flavor and atmosphere? Consider me too a serious customer.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 08, 2012, 02:40:11 AM
Well, this is nice to hear, from all of you.  

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Dodger on April 09, 2012, 07:23:11 AM
I just hope you rewrite it a bit. "Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century" is no way to introduce a setting.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 10, 2012, 01:42:59 PM
Quote from: Dodger;528413
I just hope you rewrite it a bit. "Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century" is no way to introduce a setting.


Well yeah, it'll probably need a  new introduction.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on April 10, 2012, 01:45:41 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;528728
Well yeah, it'll probably need a  new introduction.

RPGPundit


The only think I would suggest adding is more adventure seeds and maybe a short adventure sketch or two.  Like you've said before, the best thing a published setting can do is point toward how you can use it to play an actual game, right?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 10, 2012, 02:27:44 PM
Quote from: Dodger;528413
I just hope you rewrite it a bit. "Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century" is no way to introduce a setting.


Honestly, that sentence tells me all I need to know about the setting. it wouldn't hurt to expand it a bit for those less interested in history, but it's not a bad opening sentence.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Dodger on April 10, 2012, 07:20:30 PM
The use of the word "basically" is particularly irritating.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 11, 2012, 09:03:22 AM
Quote from: Dodger;528802
The use of the word "basically" is particularly irritating.


Why? It tells me that the setting is not exactly like fantasy England, but only basically like fantasy England. I'm fine with it. To each their own I suppose.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on April 11, 2012, 09:12:36 AM
Quote from: Sigmund;528942
Why? It tells me that the setting is not exactly like fantasy England, but only basically like fantasy England. I'm fine with it. To each their own I suppose.


Probably because it's a really informal word.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Claudius on April 11, 2012, 09:22:58 AM
Quote from: Dodger;528413
I just hope you rewrite it a bit. "Albion is basically gritty-dark fantasy England, around the middle of the 15th century" is no way to introduce a setting.

That's the elevator pitch of the setting. Frankly, I wish more settings were explained like this.

To the Pundit, good luck. It certainly sounds good. I might get a copy if it gets published.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Dodger on April 11, 2012, 12:59:32 PM
Quote from: Sigmund;528942
Why? It tells me that the setting is not exactly like fantasy England, but only basically like fantasy England. I'm fine with it. To each their own I suppose.
It sounds intellectually lazy to me. Maybe I'm being snobbish but I'd rather see something like: Albion is a reimagined version of late medieval Britain, in which magic and monsters are real.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 11, 2012, 01:14:38 PM
Quote from: Dodger;528994
It sounds intellectually lazy to me. Maybe I'm being snobbish but I'd rather see something like: Albion is a reimagined version of late medieval Britain, in which magic and monsters are real.


Suit yourself I guess. I don't mind a touch of intellectual laziness in a game I suppose. Not sure I even get what "intellectually lazy" is, but if it's your thing then rock on.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: LeSquide on April 11, 2012, 03:07:33 PM
Basically or not, I'll buy a copy. I really dig the setting and the way it's written out, 'intellectual laziness' or not.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on April 11, 2012, 03:18:37 PM
Quote from: LeSquide;529026
Basically or not, I'll buy a copy. I really dig the setting and the way it's written out, 'intellectual laziness' or not.


Me too, although to be fair, if it rubs Dodger the wrong way there's nothing wrong with that... we all have our hang-ups :)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 12, 2012, 07:32:05 PM
There's a lot of material from my campaign, including a timeline, npc details, and adventure seeds, that could be included in a final product.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 23, 2012, 12:03:25 AM
I've just come off two days of Albion playing.  Saturday: the spanish group fought in the terrible yorkist defeat at 2nd St.Albans.  Sunday: the english group were directed by William Canynge (mayor of bristol, one of the richest men in Albion) to try to hunt down the dread Iberian pirate, Capitan Fracas.

Both great adventures.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on May 03, 2012, 10:04:59 AM
Any updates on how these two campaigns in Dark Albion are going?  What is the party break down for each group?  Have you ever written a Spanish version of one of your games or setting?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 04, 2012, 01:38:30 AM
Quote from: Kuroth;536040
Any updates on how these two campaigns in Dark Albion are going?  What is the party break down for each group?  Have you ever written a Spanish version of one of your games or setting?


The campaigns are going very well, both of them.  We just played a session of the English game tonight; amusingly, the player characters were fighting Iberian (spanish) pirates.
The Spanish group is a bit ahead in the timeline, they've just taken London for Edward of York and have seen him crowned King.

The Spanish group (who are Yorkists) has 7 players, and each have two characters, so you'll forgive me for not detailing all their characters.  Among the most notable of them there's "the doctor" (no, not a timelord, a specialist-physician who has risen to great influence for a non-noble in the court of the Earl of Warwick), Maggie of Windsor who is a female mercenary that recently became an extremely rare female Knight after tremendous heroism at the battle of 2nd St.Albans, a fairly clever cleric character who's name escapes me, a very rough and rustic country soldier nicknamed "Elderberry", a midget named "Tall Mid" who's a hired assassin, and a knightly son of the Rivers family that was once squire to Richard of York.

The English group (who are Lancastrians) has six players, and each have one character:
Gandalf, the extremely bossy magister who's managed to rise up from relatively humble beginnings to amassing an enormous fortune in lands and mercantile ventures, and is a favorite of the Queen.
Sir Seth de Grey, younger brother of the current Lord de Grey, an influential young noble who likes magic a bit too much.
Sir Elliot de Welles, son of the famed knight Sir Lionel de Welles; Elliot is a member of the Clerical Order, but has a tendency toward both pomposity and cowardice.
Wee Willy McBastard, a Scots Man who came south to Albion in the service of Lord Northumberland.
Harold the Dirty, a tough soldier also in the service of Lord Northumberland who served a lengthy tour of duty on the Wall.
Crazy Mary, a large, mad warrior-woman who lives in a cave and cares nothing for convention.

All my gaming notes are in English, so no, I've never tried to write it up in Spanish. My dominion of Spanish, while good, is fairly impoverished compared to my native tongue.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on May 04, 2012, 11:36:41 AM
These character briefs really help bring to light how the campaigns in this setting are developing with the players, and they also provide some idea how the players are interacting with the setting too.  It's good to read that you are cool with players having two characters.  I never agreed with the only one character bit that has been stressed too often.  You don’t plan to do a Spanish version, but for those that lack players you should give the advice that they should become multilingual. ha It's great to know that it was good times in Dark Albion over the weekend Pundit.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 04, 2012, 11:57:28 PM
The "two characters per player" thing is based on a presumption of high  mortality rates in the campaign.  Ironically, what's happened is that while the English campaign (one character only) has had only 1 single death so far (in more than a dozen sessions), the Spanish campaign has had like a half-dozen or more deaths. I wonder if having two characters to rely on has been partially responsible for that.

In any case, the way I handle the two-character thing is that players have to choose at the start of the session which of the two characters they play.  If their character dies at some point during the session, their other character can come in at the next appropriate moment.

In a few sessions, for one reason or another, I dictate which characters they can use (usually in the sense of "you must use the same character as you did last session" or "you must use the character you did not use last session"; though this is relatively rare (usually because two adventures are happening close to simultaneously, or in two very distant locations).

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on May 05, 2012, 06:49:48 AM
I see how you are handling it.  It is an interesting way to handle it.  You should write it out and formalize the concept into the game, since it is a little different from the norm.  So, tailored bits here and there, beside the new classes, are always nice to have when they are good concise rules.  It might add to the overall sense of complex divergent conflicts in the setting.  It is the perfect type of play test result to formalize.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Casey777 on May 06, 2012, 01:23:34 AM
Basically I hope this one basically finds a publisher as well, basically. (this is why I try and avoid using the word, too easily used as thinking space) I like WFRP et al.

Might be a good complement to the upcoming LotFP module with gun rules or with a rewrite with Shot & Sorcery if that is a go. And Raggi does pay attention to presentation and art style.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 06, 2012, 03:03:22 AM
Quote from: Kuroth;536578
I see how you are handling it.  It is an interesting way to handle it.  You should write it out and formalize the concept into the game, since it is a little different from the norm.  So, tailored bits here and there, beside the new classes, are always nice to have when they are good concise rules.  It might add to the overall sense of complex divergent conflicts in the setting.  It is the perfect type of play test result to formalize.


The question is, what is the lesson of this? Do we conclude that its a good thing to give players 2 characters? Or do we conclude that in fact this leads them to be more reckless?

In our latest session tonight of the Spanish game, we had yet another character death.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on May 06, 2012, 07:25:57 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;536724
The question is, what is the lesson of this? Do we conclude that its a good thing to give players 2 characters? Or do we conclude that in fact this leads them to be more reckless?

In our latest session tonight of the Spanish game, we had yet another character death.

RPGPundit


Ya, I understand what you are saying about how having two characters may modify the players’ choices for their characters.  You have two different types of character groups for the separate campaigns.  It is an opportunity to look at how the contrast brings out some quality that you could expand upon in a formal manner.  For example, you have a different method for negotiating the control of the two characters players possess than I would normally apply.  It also appears different from the control of characters of different levels of interaction with the setting, as the three character strata of Ars Magica.  It seems there may be at least a good kernel of advice you have from your personal campaigns on running multi-character campaigns in the setting that you could write specific formal guidelines that would help bring the setting into focus on the character elements of the game.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 07, 2012, 01:01:54 PM
Quote from: Casey777;536698
Basically I hope this one basically finds a publisher as well, basically. (this is why I try and avoid using the word, too easily used as thinking space) I like WFRP et al.

Might be a good complement to the upcoming LotFP module with gun rules or with a rewrite with Shot & Sorcery if that is a go. And Raggi does pay attention to presentation and art style.



It doesn't look like Raggi is very interested.  I'd be perfectly happy if someone wanted to clean it up, make it pretty, and then give it away for free as-is.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on May 08, 2012, 11:33:53 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;537087
It doesn't look like Raggi is very interested.  I'd be perfectly happy if someone wanted to clean it up, make it pretty, and then give it away for free as-is.

RPGPundit


Have you thought about doing it print-on-demand with Lulu or the like?  I just set up my Gothic Fantasy Compendium there and it was pretty easy.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 09, 2012, 04:00:24 AM
Quote from: misterguignol;537353
Have you thought about doing it print-on-demand with Lulu or the like?  I just set up my Gothic Fantasy Compendium there and it was pretty easy.


I hadn't really considered doing that. I really don't dig the idea of publishing anything for myself. I think that it might be nicer if Albion was a no-thrills PDF available for free download, frankly, than if I tried to make it into a half-assed commercial PDF on my own.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on May 12, 2012, 12:38:37 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;537587
I hadn't really considered doing that. I really don't dig the idea of publishing anything for myself. I think that it might be nicer if Albion was a no-thrills PDF available for free download, frankly, than if I tried to make it into a half-assed commercial PDF on my own.

RPGPundit


I'll tell you what...in the coming weeks I'll try and knock up a pdf using era-appropriate clip art and my modest formatting skills...I'll send it to you and well see what you think of it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 12, 2012, 02:44:49 AM
Quote from: misterguignol;538520
I'll tell you what...in the coming weeks I'll try and knock up a pdf using era-appropriate clip art and my modest formatting skills...I'll send it to you and well see what you think of it.


Well, that sounds really great, thank you!

RPGpundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 14, 2012, 03:01:23 AM
I should update by mentioning I've seen the earliest draft of this and it looks very promising so far.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 18, 2012, 04:09:11 PM
Dark Albion Timeline

 

So, I thought some people could use a timeline of future events from the initial starting point of the campaign.  The campaign is assumed to start in 1454 or 55, so here's the first few significant events in Albion and the world:

 

1453:battle of Castillon; the last Anglish holding in Normandy aside from Calais is lost. John Talbot, Earl Shrewsbury killed.
-coldest winter in known memory
-rebellion in Burgundy, crushed by the vile Duke Philip
-bloody murder of Douglas Chief William "the black" by Chief James Bruce in Scots Land
-Byzantium falls to the Turk hordes.

1454 -battle of Stamford bridge: Lord Egremont (younger son of Henry "Hotspurs" Percy, Earl of Northumberland) vs. Sir John Neville; each has a few hundred men, the battle ends with Egremont's capture and only a few dozen deaths.  To prevent this incident from igniting a larger war, both the King's forces and Richard of York oblige the Nevilles to free Egremont shortly afterwards.
-John Kemp, the "Cursed Cardinal", Archbishop of Canterbury, dies of a horrific wasting curse; he is replaced by Thomas Bourchier, half-brother of the Duke of Buckingham
-War between Commonwealth and the Teutons, King Casimir vs. the Grand Master; first battle at Chojnice is a loss for the Commonwealth.
-Reports of wolfmen in the Yorkshire moors attacking isolated farmsteads.

1455 -Pontifex Nicolas V dies; his replacement is Calixtus III, an already very old Iberian cardinal known for his ultraconservative views.
-1st battle of st.albans
First Saint Albans was the opening battle in the Wars of the Roses. Richard of York led a force of about 3,000 on a march toward London. The Mad King moved from London to intercept the Yorkist army. Henry halted his march in the town of Saint Albans and waited. Despite desperate last-minute attempts at peace negotiations by the Duke of Buckingham, Richard attacked; a cunning tactic by the Earl of Warwick allowing Yorkist forces to sneak into the town, slaying a number of nobles and capturing the Mad King, making the first battle of the Rose War a victory for the Yorkists. The battle was relatively swift, with only about 300 casualties. The Queen and her young son Edward managed to escape and fled to Wales.
Yorkists participating: York, Edward York, Salisbury, Warwick, Lord Cobham
Lancastrians: Henry VI (injured, taken prisoner), Stafford duke buckingham (injured),  beaufort/somerset (dies), Henry Beaufort (injured) Clifford (dies), Percy/Northumberland"hotspurs" (dies), Thomas Percy/Egremont, Thomas de Roos, Humphrey Earl Stafford (injured), courtenay (injured), Lord Grey (magister), James Butler "Eireman" Wiltshire, John Sutton/baron dudley(taken prisoner), Edmund Sutton(taken prisoner), Sir John Wenlock (changes sides to the Yorkists in mid-battle)
noncombatants present: Margaret, Edward Lancaster (both flee)

Beaufort's title is inherited by his heir Henry Beaufort, 2nd duke somerset
Clifford's heir is John "the butcher" Clifford
Percy's Heir is Henry Percy Earl Northumberland

These three men swear revenge on the yorkists for the deaths of their fathers; Clifford in particular swears he will not rest until he is dead or the entire line of York is dead.

-Thomas de Iberia, Supreme commander of clerical order dies, replaced by Gabriel of Ancona.

-The Earl of Exeter was captured on the way to fight for Lancaster at St. Albans, he is imprisoned in Wallingford castle, but manages a daring escape slaughtering everyone in his path.
-Queen Margaret escapes to Wales, to the lands of her ally Jasper Tudur, builds an army.
-Scots tribes of Bruces and Douglas continue to war, Bruces defeating Douglases at battle of arkinholme. (Angus Douglas vs. James Bruce, 200 men each; just north of Carlisle on the other side of the Wall).

-Chaos in Devon as the Lancastrian Courtenay (Earl of Devon) goes to war with the (Yorkist) Bonville family: 3 nov the Earl occupies Exeter; same day Bonville sacks Earl's manor; 15th November Powderham Castle besieged by Courtney (the castle has a bombard among its defenses, one of the first of its kind in Albion!), 15th december battle at Clyst bridge: Courtenay defeats Bonville, 17th December Earl's retainers pillage town of Shute,
-parliament held in London declares Richard of York the Lord Protector (Sir John Wenlock, who had switched to the Yorkist side at St.Albans, is made Parliamentary Speaker), York goes to Devon and Courtenay(senior) quickly submits to him and is imprisoned in the tower. The Mad King is sent to his castle in Windsor, guarded there by the brother of the Earl of Westmoreland, William de Neville. Earl Warwick made Captain of Calais.
-Archbishop Thomas Bourchier named Chancellor of Albion.

 

I'll continue making periodic updates.

 

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 03, 2012, 02:51:14 AM
Quote from: misterguignol;538520
I'll tell you what...in the coming weeks I'll try and knock up a pdf using era-appropriate clip art and my modest formatting skills...I'll send it to you and well see what you think of it.


Any progress on this so far?

No rush or anything, we just ran Albion last night and it reminded me.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: misterguignol on June 03, 2012, 08:36:30 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;545311
Any progress on this so far?

No rush or anything, we just ran Albion last night and it reminded me.

RPGPundit


Honestly?  Not really.  I got bogged down at the end of the semester with grading, then I started teaching a summer course.

If I remember correctly, Dark Albion still needs a map...and that's out of my league.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 03, 2012, 06:36:01 PM
Hmm, anyone up for making a map?

I'll give you a starting hint: its England.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on June 04, 2012, 06:46:58 AM
The political map for Dark Albion is more complex than many are used to putting together I think, with the historical aspect as a bonus twist.  Are you using anything in particular that could be released in a document?  It's always good to have maps by the author.  Remember Tolkien’s map or Howard’s?  If you have hand draw maps about, scan those!  I have a very partially complete period map, but it would end up no different than anyone’s that used historical sources.  If you have anything you made, that would be my first suggestion for the map.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Sigmund on June 04, 2012, 10:46:26 AM
I can see what I can do whipping up a map in Hexographer, but I'm not making any promises.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 05, 2012, 02:05:12 AM
Quote from: Kuroth;545678
The political map for Dark Albion is more complex than many are used to putting together I think, with the historical aspect as a bonus twist.  Are you using anything in particular that could be released in a document?  It's always good to have maps by the author.  Remember Tolkien’s map or Howard’s?  If you have hand draw maps about, scan those!  I have a very partially complete period map, but it would end up no different than anyone’s that used historical sources.  If you have anything you made, that would be my first suggestion for the map.

The map I'm using in my actual campaign is in fact the board of the Richard III wargame by columbia games, which happens to be a kick-ass map of britain in that period.

Unfortunately, I kind of doubt they'd just let us use that image in a book.

EDIT: also, the image works for me because I "add into" it a lot of stuff in my head that is not clearly outlined on the map, like the forbidding mountains in the north and in Wales, and most forests.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on June 05, 2012, 05:52:36 AM
O yes, I recall that you mentioned that game board.  Don't know how I forget about that bit.  You could make it extra difficult for folks by suggesting they get that game for the board!  That would be very original D&D. ha

This helps with what you are looking for in layout.  Are you planning on color?

(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic513553_lg.jpg)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on June 05, 2012, 11:40:13 AM
This is from a board game isn't it?

God, this map is awesome.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on June 05, 2012, 08:14:01 PM
Quote from: Benoist;546077
This is from a board game isn't it?

God, this map is awesome.


Ya, it is the game board from Richard III that Pundit has been using for his campaign.  It adds to the image of Pundit's campaign as a whole doesn't it?  That is a pretty cool war/strategy game, as it appears on boardgamegeek.

Have you looked at Aerth that Gary did up Pundit?  He modified the coastline of the continent of Europe and Britain.  As Gygax, you don't have to use the actual shape of the world as it actually exists.  I find that can help participants move away from worrying about historical accuracy, if the very map is different from reality.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 06, 2012, 02:27:57 AM
Quote from: Kuroth;545995
O yes, I recall that you mentioned that game board.  Don't know how I forget about that bit.  You could make it extra difficult for folks by suggesting they get that game for the board!  That would be very original D&D. ha

This helps with what you are looking for in layout.  Are you planning on color?

(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic513553_lg.jpg)


I haven't given any thought to color...

Its interesting that this board is slightly different than the actual board I have with the game... I wonder if it was redone or something?

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 06, 2012, 02:29:19 AM
Richard III (and the whole series of wargames Columbia has put out with the same basic rules concepts; Julius Caesar, Crusader Rex, etc) are totally awesome wargames.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on June 06, 2012, 02:45:23 AM
There are a couple different printings it seems.  Here is another version of the board.

(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic185132_lg.jpg)


This is the entry at boardgamegeek for those that would like to take a closer look.  There are many images of the pieces and everything.

Richard III (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25277/richard-iii-the-wars-of-the-roses)

Edit:  If you haven't ever stopped by there, boardgamegeek usually has alternative rules, variants and other cool fan made things for board games Pundit.  They have some Richard III too.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: jadrax on June 06, 2012, 03:03:55 AM
Well the second one has the North Riding in the right place, which is an improvement.

If only getting the government to correct that was as easy.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 06, 2012, 08:40:55 PM
The one that actually came in the game box has more of the smaller towns shown on the map (I could understand why these were taken out, as they have no actual effect in play if they aren't ports, and are there purely for aesthetic reasons), and the "ridings" are referred to as "North Yorks", "South Yorks" and "East Yorks".

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Kuroth on June 06, 2012, 08:53:47 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;546712
The one that actually came in the game box has more of the smaller towns shown on the map (I could understand why these were taken out, as they have no actual effect in play if they aren't ports, and are there purely for aesthetic reasons), and the "ridings" are referred to as "North Yorks", "South Yorks" and "East Yorks".

RPGPundit


Interesting that the board went through so many revisions over the years.  Slight changes to board games are things folks don't always notice.  I was looking over a Monopoly set from the 60s compared to one from the 90s  a while ago.  There is even little difference in it.  

You are right about the towns on a map of a certain size.  I was looking over maps for the setting that also include the battle locations.  It makes for a very cramped map to read.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on June 06, 2012, 09:26:37 PM
I remember being tempted after reading Pundit's review of Richard III. I am drooling right now.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 07, 2012, 01:26:56 PM
Quote from: Benoist;546732
I remember being tempted after reading Pundit's review of Richard III. I am drooling right now.


You totally won't regret it.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 15, 2012, 05:42:49 PM
Well, yesterday we ran a session of our English-language Albion game and I fit in a slightly modified version of the old-school module "Atarin's Delve" in there.  I wrote about it on my blog today.  I've used a number of old-school modules or dungeons, slightly modified in context to fit the setting. The nature of this setting works pretty well for that.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: pspahn on June 16, 2012, 07:08:03 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;549236
Well, yesterday we ran a session of our English-language Albion game and I fit in a slightly modified version of the old-school module "Atarin's Delve" in there.  I wrote about it on my blog today.  I've used a number of old-school modules or dungeons, slightly modified in context to fit the setting. The nature of this setting works pretty well for that.

RPGPundit

Thanks for the plug. Glad everyone enjoyed it! The monsters still have my group paranoid any time they encounter an underground pool or stream so I've been working on a sequel that may or may not be published.

Someone also mentioned it would make a good CoC adventure, but it's been a while since I've run that.

Pete
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 17, 2012, 06:23:09 PM
Forgot to post this one when it came out on my blog:

Dark Albion Timeline

Continuing the rough timeline of the Albion setting into the future:

1456
-the Dragon Comet is seen flying over the sky. It is interpreted as an augury of both triumph and disaster by different experts.

-The Turks are stopped at Nandorfehervar, by Prince Vlad "the Dragon" of Wallachia. Noon bells are ordered rung throughout the lands of the Sun in celebration.

-The Mad King recovers his sanity, and manages to escape Windsor castle when William de Neville (lord Falconberg) lets him go on his brother Westmoreland's orders.  The Mad King goes to Coventry with Queen Margaret where he sets up his court, deposes Richard as protector, and sends him to Ulster. Margaret won sufficient votes in parliament because the Earl of Westmoreland switched alliance to Lancaster (despite being a Neville). The Earl of Shrewsbury is made treasurer, Lawrence Booth (the Queen's personal Cleric) is made keeper of the Privy seal and tutor to the prince of wales.
-Archbishop Bourchier is removed as chancellor, and William Waynflete (bishop of winchester) is made chancellor in his place.

-Supreme Clerical Commander Gabriel de Ancona dies, replaced by Lawrence of Ripafratta.

- William Ap William (also known as "Black William"), a yorkist welsh knight, campaigns against the Tudurs and captures Edmund Tudur, holding him at Carmarthen castle.
-Plague in Wales, Edmund Tudur dies of the plague, still a prisoner (some believe he was murdered on Black William's orders). He is survived by his 13 year old wife, lady Margaret Beaufort, who is pregnant at the time and later gives birth to a son, Henry.

-More fighting between Nevilles and Percys in the north.
-Warwick controls London and the fleet. Richard of York returns to Albion, in the north.

-Philip of Burgundy scores major victories against the Frogmen, taking for himself the title of "Grand Duke of the West".


RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 17, 2012, 06:32:16 PM
Dark Albion Timeline

1457 -The widow of Edmund Tudur, Margaret Beaufort, gives birth at age 13 to a boy, Henry.
-John Talbot and Lionel De Wells made knights of the Royal Star.
-Lawrence of Ripafratta, supreme commander of the cleric order, dies fighting the frogmen; he is replaced by Thomas de Kempis (of the Grand County of Cleves).
-Reginald Peacock, the bishop of Chichester, is condemned of heresy. He is imprisoned and dies in prison in 1461.
-"Rebel" leader "Sir Wyatt Scar", rises to prominence as the most powerful bandit in Sussex and all the south, leading a band that grows to 180 men, based somewhere near Pevensy.
-King Thomas Stanley of the Isle of Mann made a Knight of the Royal Star.
-Robert Neville, Prince-Bishop of Durham, dies; and is replaced in that title by his nephew Ralph Neville.
-Pierre de Braaap, a notable Frogland general, makes landfall in Albion with 4000 frogmen and burns down Sandwich; Queen Margaret is forced to make use of Warwick as captain of Calais to protect the seas. An army under the command of the Duke of Buckingham and the Archbishop of Canterbury manage to retake Sandwich and destroy the foul Frog Temple that had been erected in place of the Cathedral of the Unconquered Sun.  It is not clear whether Sir Pierre de Braap was among the slain, or managed to escape.
-Skanderbeg of Alban wins the battle of Ujebardha against the Turk, with the help of Voivode (Prince) Vlad of Wallachia.

Notes: in my campaigns, the PC parties were involved in uncovering the heretical Chaos cult of Bishop Peacock, and rescuing the cleric daughter of the Duke of Buckingham from the Frog Temple before the Anglish counterattack to retake the city.  For the latter adventure I made use of elements of the classic Arneson "Temple of the Frog" adventure.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 01, 2012, 03:52:55 AM
A brief update on the Spanish game; the players are up to 1463 now, and the period of relative peace has led to a series of adventures that mostly involved dungeon-crawling.  Though no individual adventure has been boring as such, the players are starting to feel antsy about the dungeon crawls, I may have to try to spice things up somehow. As of yet, I'm still trying to come up with ideas for some variety.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 01, 2012, 02:59:37 PM
Are you basing non-dungeon events purely around major historical ones? There must be a myriad of other things going on that never made the books. Have a poorly defended castle taken over by renegade mercenaries like in Flesh and Blood. Mix it up with a cursed knight á la Ladyhawke, a corrupt satanic(chaos) Bishop, and away you go.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 02, 2012, 02:53:00 AM
Well, I actually had them being chased around by some bounty hunters, due to a very large debt one of the group has accumulated.

Meanwhile, a couple of characters are now at the point where they're starting to get some serious influence at court and are getting involved with all kinds of politics there.

Another pair of characters are very involved in trade, and that's a significant part of their game.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 02, 2012, 03:54:12 AM
Debt is a powerful tool, so depending on how convoluted you like your plots, have some anonymous benefactor buy up the PCs' debt, then collude with them to trap and kill the most troublesome bounty hunter, since this hunter killed one of their relatives. The hunter hunted, a delicious irony.

Only its a doublecross, the anonymous patron is a noble alarmed at the PCs' growing influence at court and deciding to nip it in the bud, colluding instead with all of the bounty hunters to trap and kill the PCs. He didn't even buy the debt, he just made it look that way. The bounty hunters don't care, they get paid one way or the other.

The hooks and levers you leave to get them out of the fix and turn the tables are up to yourself, really. Maybe one of the bounty hunters tries a triple cross, not wanting to share the loot. Sufficiently Byzantine to be a departure from the normal dungeon crawl!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: The Traveller on July 02, 2012, 04:40:26 AM
There's no end to how messy and twisted this can get now that I think about it. Maybe the noble only finds out about their debt because he bails them out of trouble after a particularly nasty public fight with bounty hunters, standing as their friend (best place to hide a knife is behind a smile), and the triple cross bounty hunter is his disowned and discarded bastard half brother seeking revenge. If you wanted to go full-on gritty GoT sprinkle a little incest in there too, but that's your own business.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 03, 2012, 05:44:55 PM
Thank you very much for your suggestions!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 07, 2012, 01:02:24 PM
Dark Albion, the Prequel

I would strongly recommend to, well, everyone, the current BBC series "The Hollow Crown", which presents a new production of Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.  Its spectacular, at least if the first part is anything to go by.

And all of this, for my Dark Albion players, sets up the entire prequel to the shit that goes down in the Albion setting.   Richard II is the story of the incompetent king who fucks everything up, 50 years before the time of the Mad King and Richard of York; and how the ambitions of Henry Bolingbroke end up creating a dynastic instability that leads to the inevitable slide into the War of the Roses.

These historical plays are also some of the best that Shakespeare ever made.

So yeah, check it out.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on July 13, 2012, 10:44:58 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;526197
One thing I haven't really elaborated yet is that the "Frogmen" were not always in control of most of what we'd call france.  The "frankish" were a real people, Charles the Hammer defeated an invasion of the Saracen several centuries ago, etc.

The Frogmen were based in the swamps of paris, and had only started to spill out to invade and take human territory sometime after Charles the Hammer and his son Charles the Great.  They conquered what today would be "central frogland" first, then spent quite some time conquering the southern territorys, the lands of Provense, etc. And they fought the Anglemen over their holdings on the continent for 100 years; they were almost pushed back into oblivion during the campaign of Henry the Great after Agincourt, and had he not died prematurely the Frogmen may have been defeated decisively.  But misrule during the regency of the infant Henry VI caused the loss of almost all the great territories the Anglishmen had traditionally owned or recently won. The frogmen now continue to expand, against Calais (the last tiny Anglish holding) and more importantly in wars against the brutal  (and some say chaos-worshiping) but also tactically brilliant and definitely frog-hating Duke Philip of Burgundy.

RPGPundit

OK I see what you did here.

Stay tuned. I'm going to spin it at my sauce. Maybe in its own thread, or here, your choice.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on July 13, 2012, 10:46:10 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;526197
One thing I haven't really elaborated yet is that the "Frogmen" were not always in control of most of what we'd call france.  The "frankish" were a real people, Charles the Hammer defeated an invasion of the Saracen several centuries ago, etc.

The Frogmen were based in the swamps of paris, and had only started to spill out to invade and take human territory sometime after Charles the Hammer and his son Charles the Great.  They conquered what today would be "central frogland" first, then spent quite some time conquering the southern territorys, the lands of Provense, etc. And they fought the Anglemen over their holdings on the continent for 100 years; they were almost pushed back into oblivion during the campaign of Henry the Great after Agincourt, and had he not died prematurely the Frogmen may have been defeated decisively.  But misrule during the regency of the infant Henry VI caused the loss of almost all the great territories the Anglishmen had traditionally owned or recently won. The frogmen now continue to expand, against Calais (the last tiny Anglish holding) and more importantly in wars against the brutal  (and some say chaos-worshiping) but also tactically brilliant and definitely frog-hating Duke Philip of Burgundy.

RPGPundit
OK I see what you did here.

Stay tuned. I'm going to spin it at my sauce while remaining as close to the source as I can. Maybe in its own thread.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 14, 2012, 05:21:05 PM
Looking forward to it!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: deleted user on July 14, 2012, 06:45:18 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;557524

I would strongly recommend to, well, everyone, the current BBC series "The Hollow Crown", which presents a new production of Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.  Its spectacular, at least if the first part is anything to go by.


Both parts of Henry IV have been wonderful too, I recommend the series highly.

Combat can never have too much mud:

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/assets_c/2012/07/prince_hal_mud_500-thumb-500x333-96080.jpg)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on July 15, 2012, 03:09:20 PM
I might have missed it somewhere, Pundit, but what exact year in the 15th century have you decided was "today" in your campaign? The default year for the background, basically.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 15, 2012, 06:21:26 PM
Quote from: Benoist;560376
I might have missed it somewhere, Pundit, but what exact year in the 15th century have you decided was "today" in your campaign? The default year for the background, basically.


All of the material that I give in the setting outline assumes 1455 as the default starting year.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 31, 2012, 01:51:27 AM
Seeing as how the bulk of the Albion material has been presented now, and so that this thread doesn't disappear into the sinkhole of time, I'm going to be moving it to the Pundit's forum and making it into a sticky.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on July 31, 2012, 01:52:59 AM
Very good idea.
Title: Sanity, Mutations, Lure of Chaos?
Post by: Yong Kyosunim on August 07, 2012, 12:55:27 PM
Pundit,

Since Dark Albion somewhat emulates Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, do you plan on having mechanics for your game in regards to going insane from dealing with the horrors Man Was Not Meant to Know, the Dark Gods of Chaos, etc.? Also part of the fun of WHRP was that playing around with Chaos risked mutations or becoming corrupted by it (Tome of Corruption is a great book). Do you have an idea for that as well or are these things that not emphasized in this campaign?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 07, 2012, 06:35:45 PM
Quote from: Yong Kyosunim;569019
Pundit,

Since Dark Albion somewhat emulates Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, do you plan on having mechanics for your game in regards to going insane from dealing with the horrors Man Was Not Meant to Know, the Dark Gods of Chaos, etc.? Also part of the fun of WHRP was that playing around with Chaos risked mutations or becoming corrupted by it (Tome of Corruption is a great book). Do you have an idea for that as well or are these things that not emphasized in this campaign?


First of all, I assume that by "in your game" you mean in my campaign? Because I'm not actually making a separate RPG of this.

In my albion campaign I have not, as such, made mechanics for insanity, though I certainly could have, and could see such mechanics work well for the setting.  I am using chaos mutations, directly ripping them off from the Tome of Corruption (one of my favorite books). So far only one PC has gotten mutations, but she's got like three of them (she's an "evil" character); of course, she's also been extremely lucky that her mutations can be more or less hidden because chaos mutation is an automatic death sentence in Albion if the Clerical Order catches you.

RPGPundit
Title: Currency and Treasure
Post by: Yong Kyosunim on August 09, 2012, 12:23:17 PM
Hi Pundit,

Back then what was the currency in 1455? How many pence equaled a shilling and how many shillings equaled a pound (or were they called crowns back then)?

Also, I take that adventuring back in those days didn't really net a lot of cash, so how do you handle treasure / economics in your campaign? To put this in perspective for me, assume for example that if you had a party of 5th level characters and you were playing a standard D&D adventure where they find 1,000 gp worth of coins (not including magic bling or other swag), what would Albion's take on that be? Would it be 1,000 gp worth of other treasure (goblets, silver plates, etc.), 1,000 gp worth of goods, or just a handful of shillings and rotting cheeses and hard bread as the grand treasure?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 09, 2012, 01:24:23 PM
Dark Albion: Timeline

1458
-Calixtus III, Pontifex of the church of the Unconquered Sun, dies in Arcadia.  He's replaced in the solar throne by Pius II, who in addition to being a priest is a poet and writer of romances.  In Albion, the election of Pius II to the Pontificate is very popular on account that Pius had once visited Albion. He is not without controversy, however, both for the poetry and the fact that he is known to have a great many bastard children.

-John De La Pole (age 16) married to Elizabeth Plantagenet (age 14), daughter of Richard of York.  Young John had been disinherited from the Duchy of Suffolk which would have traditionally been his, due to his father having been attaindered for gross incompetence in the wars against the Frogmen.  For the Yorkists, however, this was seen as a mockery of justice, as De La Pole was used as a scapegoat for the much greater incompetence and outright theft committed by the Queen's favorite of that time, the Duke of Somerset, who escaped punishment.  Thus, Richard marrying young John to his daughter makes it clear that should he become king he would restore John to the Duchy of Suffolk; it is a wedding that is thus also an act of propaganda.

-Thomas Stanley, King of the Isle of Mann, dies aged 54;  his son Thomas (age 23) succeeds him in the throne of the Impenetrable Isle, and for the moment continues to try to play at neutrality in the Rose War.

-The Earl of Warwick, in his capacity as Captain of Calais, fights in naval battles against Iberian pirates, lead by the infamous Capitan Fracas.
 
-Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon (age 44) dies, possibly poisoned, while visiting an abbey.  He'd been imprisoned over the feuds of his son with the yorkist Bonnville family, but was released by the Queen after she retook power, and given the title of High Steward. His son Thomas (age 26) inherits his lands and titles.

-Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, orders a grand council in London for a celebration of "Love Day", to make peace between the warring factions in the nobility.
-At the start of the council period, just as the cream of Anglish nobility are entering the city, a mysterious new plague affects the city.
-at Love Day, The Mad King, Henry VI, declares Richard of York his second in line to the throne (to inherit after the king's young son Edward of Lancaster). Several nobles are notably absent from Love Day, among them Lord Clifford (who has sworn not to rest until he avenges his father's death by slaughtering the entire house of York), and particularly the Queen, who has remained in Coventry.

-Humphrey Stafford, son and presumptive heir of the Duke of Buckingham, dies of the plague, never having fully recovered his health after injuries sustained three years earlier, at the battle of St. Albans.


In our campaign: the Player Characters were participants in Warwick's adventures at sea; they followed Captain Fracas to the Azure Islands where he had his secret hideout.  For this adventure, I used a heavily-modified version of the module "Isle of Dread".
Later, the PCs were set to investigate the mysterious "plague" that had befallen London on the eve of Love Day; they discovered that it was in fact a poison being prepared by evil Ratmen, along with their ally: Pierre de Braap! Yes, the dastardly Frogland General who had escaped the destruction of his forces at Sandwich the year before, and had been hiding out with a few of his fellow survivors as guests of the Ratmen in the London catacombs, waiting for his chance to strike as much chaos as possible into the heart of Albion (and what better opportunity than when virtually all the nobility of the kingdom are together in one place?). Of course, the PCs defeated them; in the Yorkist campaign they managed to capture De Braap (and subsequently he was executed), but in the Lancastrian one he escaped, to perhaps continue to cause trouble for the PCs.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 09, 2012, 03:19:29 PM
Quote from: Yong Kyosunim;569757
Hi Pundit,

Back then what was the currency in 1455? How many pence equaled a shilling and how many shillings equaled a pound (or were they called crowns back then)?

Also, I take that adventuring back in those days didn't really net a lot of cash, so how do you handle treasure / economics in your campaign? To put this in perspective for me, assume for example that if you had a party of 5th level characters and you were playing a standard D&D adventure where they find 1,000 gp worth of coins (not including magic bling or other swag), what would Albion's take on that be? Would it be 1,000 gp worth of other treasure (goblets, silver plates, etc.), 1,000 gp worth of goods, or just a handful of shillings and rotting cheeses and hard bread as the grand treasure?


I'm actually using the economic system from Lamentations of the Flame princess, which I feel is good enough for me.  10 pennies are a shilling, 50 shillings are a pound.

And economics by the 15th century was fairly advanced; yes there were barter goods still, but by then there was a decent amount of coinage going around.

The economics in Albion as a setting have variant prices (and availability of products) in urban versus rural areas; and the economy is shilling(sp)-based.

I use fairly typical levels of treasure as in any old-school D&D game, but reduced one level of coinage; so a treasure that'd be 1000gp in, say, Mystara, would be 1000sh here.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 25, 2012, 04:49:02 PM
Albion: Level Distribution

Its been a while now, between Lords of Olympus or Arrows of Indra, that I've had a chance to talk about the Albion setting.

So I just thought I'd share this little table, which I use for when I really need a totally random determination of an NPC's level in the setting:

d100:      Level
1-50        Normal man (0)
51-75       1st
76-87       2nd
88-94       3rd
95-97       4th
98-99       5th
00            6th

Its pretty much impossible that any random person the PCs meet would be higher than 6th level.  There are perhaps a few hundred people in Albion who are somewhere between levels 7-9, but this makes them rare enough that they shouldn't be a random encounter.
There are perhaps 50 people in all of Albion who are higher than 9th level, and all of these would be either extremely famous or extremely secretive. The highest-level human in all of Albion after the death of Sir John Falstoff is probably 12th or 13th level (almost certainly a specialist, a crime lord in one of the London gangs, who keeps a very low profile and would not have great public fame, though he might be very well known in that underworld).

So there you go, just a little update elaborating how I handle level distribution in the setting.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 20, 2012, 03:37:43 PM
Dark Abion Update: The Timeline (cont.)

1459

-The Earl of Warwick fights naval battles against the Teutons, who have been engaged in pirate activities against Albion because of Albion's alliance with the Commonwealth, their hated enemies.

-James Butler ("the Eireman"), John Sutton (Baron Dudley), Jasper Tudur, John Bourchier, the Earl of Warwick and Sir Thomas Kyriel  are all made Knights of the Star.

-Pontifex Pius II supports Prince Vlad of Wallachia's struggle by declaring a crusade against the Turk.

-The Earl of Warwick takes on the duty of tutoring Richard of York's youngest son, 7-year old Richard Crookback, who was born deformed. Warwick sees that in spite of the child's deformity he has exceptional intelligence.

-The Queen, no longer willing to wait out the Yorkists, calls for all of Albion's nobility to swear an oath of Allegiance in the Lancastrian court in Coventry. Queen Margaret specifically summons York and Warwick to Coventry but both refuse to attend, knowing that it would be a trap (forcing them to either submit to the King and give up all claims to the throne or risk arrest as traitors).  Richard of York's refusal marks an immediate return to hostilities as both are declared criminals by the court. Nevertheless, many previously Yorkist nobles do attend at Coventry and switch sides, swearing loyalty to the Mad King.  Most notable among those who've changed sides are the Duke of Norfolk and Sir Thomas Kyriel.
-At Coventry, Queen Margaret starts a new order, of Knights specifically loyal to her, which she marks with the emblem of the Silver Swan.

-The Archbishop of Canterbury, incensed by what he sees as the Queen's betrayal of his Love Day efforts, becomes firmly Yorkist and blesses Richard of York's venture.

-The Battle of Blore Heath: A force of 5000 Yorkists under the Earl of Salisbury were trying to unite with the main Yorkist army at Ludlow castle; Baron Audley was sent to lead 10000 Lancastrian troops to try to stop them. The Lancastrian commanders include Baron Dudley and Edmund Sutton; among the Yorkist forces are Sir John Wenlock (called "the Prince of Traitors"), and Sir Roger Kynaston.
The forces were initially arrayed some 900ft away from each other when they stumbled upon each other. There was a fast-flowing brook between the two armies.  Initial archery salvos proved inconclusive because of range; after some initial conflict, Salisbury feigned a retreat and the Lancastrian cavalry charged after him, at which moment he turned back and attacked the Lancastrian forces as most of the troops were still trying to cross the brook.  Baron Audley is slain in the fighting by Sir Roger Kynaston; Lord Dudley took command and rallied the Lancastrians to a second attack, Dudley fighting on foot; but the desperate counterattack fails and Dudley is wounded and captured. By the end of the battle, 2000 Lancastrians and 1000 Yorkists are dead; the brook flows red with blood for 3 days.

-Battle of Ludlow: After their victory at Blore Heath, the Yorkists manage to converge at Ludlow castle; 8000 Yorkists begin to march toward London but are faced with a massive force of 16000 Lancastrians led nominally by the Mad King himself (though in fact he is only there for morale purposes); the Yorkists fall back to Ludford bridge forming ditches on their side of the bridge and set up cannons in barricades.
In the night, Andrew Trollope (commander of Calais garrison, which had been brought to the yorkist army by Warwick) takes his 600 men and crosses over to join the Lancastrians.  The Calais garrison were by far the most elite unit of fighters on either side, and Trollope's betrayal adds to the already dire odds against York.  Morale hits a new low; particularly as many of the Yorkists in the army were very happy to fight against the Queen and her corrupt nobles but express reluctance to fight an army where the King himself is present.  Realizing they can't win, Salisbury, Warwick and York flee at midnight along with York's older sons Edward (Earl of March) and Edmund (Earl of Rutland).
York's wife Cecily and his younger sons Clarence (age 10) and Richard (age 7) are left behind.
In the morning, the entire Yorkist army surrenders to King Henry, kneeling in submission to him. He pardons all who are present; Richard of York's wife and younger children are kept as prisoners and put into the care of the Duke of Buckingham.  Lancastrian soldiers loot the town of Ludlow.
Warwick, Salisbury, and York are all stripped of their titles and declared outlaws; York and Edmund flee to Eire Land where he has loyal forces, while Warwick, Salisbury and Edward flee to Calais.

-Sir John Falstaff, one of the last great heroes of Agincourt, dies of old age.

-Sir Walter Devereux, Yorkist Chancellor of Eire, dies, presumably of natural causes.

-The Queen arranges for the title of Captain of Calais to be given to the young and handsome Duke of Somerset; when he attempts to take up his ordered title, the forces of Calais (who are loyal to Warwick) repel him twice.
Incensed, the Queen orders the construction of a war fleet in the port of Sandwich to be used to recapture Calais from Warwick; but as soon as the ships are ready, Warwick sends a team of men in secret to Sandwich who steal the war fleet in a night raid and sail the warships safely to Calais, adding to his strengths.

In our Campaign: the PCs participated in an adventure with the aging Sir John Falstaff, enjoying a last hurrah with the by-now senile and morbidly-obese old knight, when he called for help to overcome a cult of chaos he believe had taken over the lands around his Caister Castle; although at first it seemed nonsense it turned out that there was indeed a cult to some dark sea-gods, and the PCs along with Sir John had to root them out.

They also participated in the battles of Blore Heath and Ludlow.  As I'm running both a Lancastrian campaign and a Yorkist one, the points of view on either side were very interesting: in the Yorkist campaign, the battle of Blore Heath was a tremendous victory for them, and so the shock was all the more terrible when the Yorkist commanders then abandon their men and slink away in the dead of the night at Ludlow. The Players couldn't believe it, and for some it deeply strained their sense of loyalty, while others became even more devoted in spite of knowing that they were going to be suffering for having been left behind as known rebels. Some of the PCs decided to flee, managing to steal a boat to get them to Calais. Curiously, not one of them chose to actually switch sides to the Lancastrian cause.

For the Lancastrian group, they got to Blore Heath late (they had gone off in search of goblin warrens), and by the time they arrived at the fight it was clear the whole thing was lost.  Some of them wanted to stay behind and try to somehow turn it around but in the end the majority ruled and the PCs fled back to the main Lancastrian army.  The Lancastrian PCs also couldn't believe that Richard of York and his chief backers would abandon the field at Ludlow, and felt convinced that this would mean that there was no way that York could ever recover from the shame of this.

My Yorkist PC group also played an adventure where they were the elite team sent in to steal the Queen's War Fleet out of Sandwich.  They had quite a lot of fun with that one.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 10, 2013, 12:54:54 AM
Dark Albion Timeline Update: 1460

1460
-The Earl of Warwick lands with a force in Sandwich (destroying the second fleet that the Queen ordered built, mostly before it could leave port), along with the Earl of Salisbury and Edward Earl of March.  They raise up a force of Kentishmen (with the support of the Archibishop of Canterbury) and enter London quickly (the cannons of the tower of London are fired on the city of London; under orders from Thomas De Scales, commander of the knights of the Star, who holds out against yorkist siege there) and then march to face Henry VI's forces. The Duke of Norfolk (John Mowbray) and Thomas Kyriel switch back to their side, as does William De Neville (Lord Falconberg) who had earlier freed Henry VI on orders of his brother Westmoreland; the remainder of the Westmoreland Nevilles continue to support Lancaster.

-Battle of Northampton: Earl of warwick (with Norfolk, Kyriel, Salisbury; Edward of York, Lord Falconberg and Lord Cobham) with 25000 men vs Henry VI and Buckingham (and Viscount Beaumont, Earl of Shrewsbury, Sir John Talbot, Sir Christopher Talbot, Sir Edmund Grey, and Lord Egremont) with 15000 men.
The Lancastrians have some bombards, which they place with their backs to the river Nene. However, strong rains when the battle begins hampers both the lancastrian archers and cannons. Also, Warwick paid off Sir Edmund Grey (promising him a Lordship) to let him pass the flank. The Duke of Buckingham (58 years old, Knight of the Star) is killed by kentishmen.  The Earl of shrewsbury (70 years old, KS), his son, the Cleric Sir Christopher Talbot (36 years old) also die in battle; John Talbot (47a) the Earl of Shrewsbury's elder son and heir, dies some time after the battle from his wounds..  Thomas Percy- Baron Egremont (38 years old and younger brother to Lord Percy, Earl of Northumberland) is killed by kentishmen.  These and several others die in battle trying to protect Henry's tent.
Viscount Beaumont (50a, KS) dies in battle.
The Mad King is taken prisoner and sent to the Bishop of London's palace in London.
Margaret and Edward Plantagenet were not at the battle but in Coventry. They flee to Harlech castle in wales, and then recruit allies from Scots Land, recruiting Scots barbarians in exchange for the promise of the return of  the city of Berwick to the Scots.

-Buckingham's grandson and heir, 5-year old Henry Stafford, is made a ward of the Woodville family. Richard of York's wife and younger children are recovered from Buckingham's household, and young George (age 11) and Richard (age 8) are sent to Burgundy to court and for their (and the lineage's) protection.

-After the news of loss at Northampton and knowing that there is no aid coming, Thomas de Scales tries to flee the Tower (and London) in secret, but is murdered by the yorkist mob. By seniority, Baron Sudeley (Ralph Boteler) becomes commander of the Lancastrian Knights of the Star.

-York calls parliament in London, and tries to consider himself king but lacks support (in fact, the Earl of Warwick sabotages his efforts to a certain extent, wishing to make sure he can retain his control over the yorkists).  Instead the Act of Accord is passed which leads to York being Henry's heir.  Salisbury is given the title of Lord Chamberlain. The Magister of Oxford, George Neville (Salisbury's son) is made Lord Chancellor. Bishop Ralph Neville (son of lord falconberg) is made Keeper of the Great Seal. Clerical Lieutenant Commander Robert Stillington (yorkist) is made Keeper of the Privy Seal. Henry Bourchier (cousin of the Yorkist Archbishop of Canterbury) becomes Earl of Essex.

-Warwick briefly adventures in the Isle of Wights as governor.

-As the Lancastrians rally in the north and Wales, Richard sends Edward to Wales, leaving Warwick in London, and Richard himself goes to the north to deal with the main Lancastrian forces, accompanied by his second son Edmund Earl of Rutland, and Warwick's father the Earl of Salisbury.

-Battle of Wakefield: The Duke of Somerset (along with his brother Edmund Beaufort), Duke of Exeter, Northumberland and Clifford (along with the Earl of Westmoreland, the Earl of Devon and his brother John who is knighted before the battle, and Baron Roos, the Earl of Wiltshire (James Butler, "the Eireman") and Andrew Trollope) with 18000 lancastrian troops, vs Richard of York, the Earl of Salisury and Edmund of Rutland (who is 17 years old); as well as Sir Thomas Neville (Salisbury's son), Sir William Bonnville and his son William Bonnville III, and Edward Bourchier, with 9000 yorkist troops. 2500 yorkists are killed, compared to only 200 lancastrians.
York had come north near York city, and was secure in Sandal Castle, but is subsequently tricked into thinking that the lancastrian force is only half its size when his scouts are intentionally deceived  by Somerset/Edmund Beaufort.  The other half of the lancastrian army comes out of the woods into the Wakefield commons where the battle is fought and the Yorkists defeated in but a half hour.
Richard of York, Edmund York/Rutland and the Earl of Salisbury are among the yorkist casualties; Richard is killed in battle, as is Sir Thomas Neville, and Edward Bourchier (26 year old younger son of the Earl of Essex); Rutland flees across the Wakefield bridge but is hunted down and slain by Clifford. Salisbury fled but is captured that night and beheaded by commoners (in spite of Somerset's orders that he be taken alive). Sir William Bonnville, son of Lord Bonnville, is captured and executed, as is his son the 18-year old William Bonnville III. York's head put on a pike in the city of york, wearing a paper crown.

-Edward becomes Duke of York, he declares Warwick his Lord Chamberlain. William de Neville becomes commander of the Yorkist Knights of the Star.


In My Campaigns:
This is a very eventful year in Albion.  Coming back from ignominious defeat and exile, first the Yorkists score a spectacular victory, recapturing the Mad King; and then their most terrible defeat, leading to the death of their leader, Richard of York.  There are so many moments in the war of the roses where someone who doesn't know the history (like several of my players) look at events and think "shit, this is obviously the end, there's no way this side is ever coming back from this".  So in pretty much every session from this year, the PCs were really surprised by the turns of events.
My players participated in the big battles of the year, of course.  In my Spanish (yorkist) group, they also went on adventure with Warwick to the terrifying Isle of Wights, where a couple of their number were slain in the tunnels below the town, facing off with subhuman chaos-mutants.  The English (lancastrian) group went off "north of the wall" to Scots Land to try to recruit Scots mercenaries to the Queen's cause, where they ended up having to face some dungeons full of ancient Northman treasures (and undead).   At the battle of Wakefield, the Spanish group were also faced with a terrible personal dilemma, when they decided to kill the Earl of Salisbury rather than allow him to be captured alive by the Lancastrians, who wanted to use him as a bargaining chip against his son, the Earl of Warwick.  This was a particularly ballsy thing to do, given that the Spanish PCs all work for Warwick.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 10, 2013, 03:30:03 AM
Dark Albion Update: 1461

Chronology of important events in 1461:
-Pontifex Pius II declares the Commonwealth and Teutons anathema until they cease their warfare with each other.

-battle of Mortimer's Cross (Edward of York vs Jasper Tudur) Edward, George, and Richard of York; and Sir William "Ap William" Herbert, Baron Audley (who's father had been killed fighting for Lancaster at Blore Heath, but who meets with Edward and changes allegiance to York), and Sir John Wenlock fight Jasper and Owain Tudur's welsh army.  Before the battle a parhelion, a triple sun, is seen at dawn, which is taken as a portent for the three sons of york being destined to rule.  It is a Yorkist victory.  Owain is captured and executed, jasper manages to flee. Some 4000 welshmen are executed.

-2nd battle of St.Albans (the Mad King is present as a prisoner, and laughs and sings during the battle) 15000 Lancastrians vs 10000 Yorkists (losses 2000/4000).  The Duke of Somerset, Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford, as well as many Scots Men Reivers recruited by Queen's agents, are on the Lancastrian side.
Warwick arrives with the Duke of Norfolk and John Neville, as well as the Earl of Arundel, and Sir John Wenlock; and Henry VI in his caravan as a prisoner.  Warwick sets himself up north of St.Albans with barricades, cannons, caltrops, and Burgundian riflemen. However, their defenses face north, and Margaret divines this; she goes round and comes south from the town, setting up her archers along the roofs of the town's apartments.  As it begins to snow, the yorkist cannon and guns often fail to fire, while Henry de Grey, Lancastrian magister, sends out great magical attacks against the Yorkists including demons. Sir Henry Lovelace, a personal man of Warwick's and one of his commanders, betrays him mid-battle. By evening Warwick is forced to
retreat, abandoning king Henry's wagon in the panic; Lord Bonnville and Sir Thomas Kyriell, his wardens, are murdered by the Lancastrians on young Prince Edward Lancaster's orders. John Neville is also captured but not executed, to be used for prisoner exchange with the Duke of Somerset's brother.  The lancastrians, hearing of the loss in mortimer's cross, and fearing that London would not open its doors, do not take advantage to march on London. Andrew Trollope is knighted, as are Thomas de Roos and other lancastrian leaders. On lancaster's side, John Grey (husband of Elizabeth Woodville) dies in the battle, leaving her a widow.

-Sir John Wenlock besieges the Tower of London, taking it and securing Edward of York's entrance into London.

-Edward IV crowned in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sir John Wenlock is elevated to the Knights of the Star and given the title of Chief Butler. William Ap William is made Lord Herbert. King Edward also makes George Duke of Clarence and (provisional) Knight of the Star, as well as William Hastings, who is made Lord Hastings . He makes the magister Baron Tiptoft, who has just returned from pilgrimage in Heliopolis, the Constable of the Tower (where he quickly gains the nickname "The Butcher of Albion" for his gleeful execution of Lancastrian prisoners).

-Berwick is retaken by the Scots men. It is ruled over by chief Robert McLauder.

- Battle of Towton (Queen margaret's army destroyed), fought in a vicious snow storm on the spring equinox; 25000 troops to each side (14000 die on each side). Henry and Margaret remained in York, the lancastrian leader was the Duke of Somerset, along with Exeter and Northumberland, James Butler (the Eireman, earl of Wiltshire) and his brother John "The Gentleman" Butler, the Earl of Devon, Thomas de Roos and Ralph Dacre, and Lionel de Welles.
Initial yorkist forces reach Towton under William De Neville (with his brother Sir John Neville of Westmoreland, John Sutton Baron Dudley who had switched sides to York, and his son Edmund Sutton, and William Lord Hastings); waiting desperately for reinforcements from Duke of Norfolk, De Neville takes advantage of strong wind on his side to fire arrows at the lancastrians, who cannot shoot back, forcing them to draw back (and collecting the arrows they left behind and misshot) and giving time for reinforcement (Norfolk, Warwick and Edward) to arrive. Norfolk and Edward had been delayed by a chance encounter with Clifford and a small force of 900 men at "Ferrybridge"; rather than flee, Clifford held the bridge, and fought to the death (dying from an arrow shot).  
The two armies proceed to fight for hours in the snowstorm, but finally the lancastrians rout.  The turning point is when Warwick, injured and his horse dead, cries out "let him fly that will, but I will tarry with him that tarries with me!"  
Northumberland (Percy) dies in battle, Dacre dies from a sniper's arrow. Thomas Courtenay (Earl of Devon) dies. Lionel de Welles dies. Sir Andrew Trollope dies. James Butler is captured and beheaded, his brother John was also captured but is spared though not given his brother's Anglish title (though still "Chief of the Ormonds" in Eire Land).  William Beaumont (viscount) is taken prisoner.  On the Yorkist side, Sir John Neville of Westmoreland dies.

Henry escapes with Margaret to Scots' Land; soon joined by Somerset, Exeter, Roos and Humphrey Dacre (son of baron Dacre).

-William De Neville is made Earl of Kent for his service, Warwick made Lt. of the North and Lord Admiral. Humphey Bourchier (son of  Earl of Essex) is made Lord Cromwell. Sir Walter Devereux is made Lord Ferrers.

-Sir Jasper Tudur is attaindered, as is the prisoner Viscount Beaumont, and Thomas Baron Roos, 12 year old Henry Percy (northumberland's son) is imprisoned in the tower of London.
Lawrence Booth, cleric to queen Margaret, submits himself to Edward IV and is fully pardoned. Richard de Welles submits to Edward and is pardoned.
Richard Wydeville submits to Edward.

-Roos and Dacre return to north Albion to raise a rebellion, but Lawrence Booth, William Booth (archbishop of York) and Ralph Neville (bishop of Durham) command forces that push them back and quash the rebellion.

-The Duke of Norfolk, John Mowbray, dies of natural causes; his son John becomes the new Duke.


This year marked the end of our English-language campaign; I decided to quit that party on a high-note for the Lancastrians (which side the PC's belonged to) just before the battle of Towton. Both groups participated in the battle of 2nd St.Albans, which was significant as a battle where (in the campaign) magic was heavily used on both sides.  It was also significant for one of the PCs, Henry Woodville, as his sister's husband died there. At this time, the Woodvilles had members of their extended family fighting on both sides of the war.
The Spanish Albion campaign went on in this year to fight at Towton, and to later assist in putting down the northern rebellion; they would stay in the north after that for some time, as Henry Woodville had been given a knighthood and the title of "warden of the scots' land frontier".

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2013, 06:08:39 PM
Interlude: The Ongoing Stuggle Against the Frog, circa 1471

(reposted from another thread)

In the Albion campaign, the Frogmen took all the Anglish holdings on the continent except of Calais before the campaign even started. They're on the rise right now in the campaign. The human nations around there (Albion, the Principality of Lorraine, The Grand Duchy of Burgundy, the Canton Confederacy, the city-states and Pontifex-states of Arcadia, and the kingdoms of Iberia are all too disjointed and distrustful of one another to actually get organized and take the Frogmen down.

That was actually the one great ambition of the Kingmaker (Warwick); he sought to marry King Edward of York to a princess of Lorraine, who was also the niece of Philip of Burgundy, creating a triple alliance that would then go to war against the Frogmen together; but then Edward fucked it all up by marrying a lower noble (Elizabeth Woodville) in secret. This broke any chance of alliance (as well as fucking up all of Albion by turning Warwick and the king against each other and reigniting the civil war). Meanwhile Burgundy went to war alone, kicked the shit out of the Frogmen and got within sight of the Paris Swamp, but was pushed back and died soon after.

His son Charles the Terrible is much less competent and got into a fight with his cousins in Lorraine; who were then opportunistically attacked by the Frogmen; Lorraine was only saved because at the time it was full of very powerful and experienced Lancastrian Knights who fought for Lorraine in exchange for the Prince's support against their mutual enemies in the house of York.

Now the Kingmaker and both the Mad King and his son Prince Edward of Lancaster are dead, ending the Lancastrian threat (except for the minor house of Tudur, which is in exile on the continent with no real allies and everyone is fairly sure will be assassinated shortly), but any hope of a grand alliance against the Frogmen seems to have crumbled to dust.

Even so, there are rumblings about a young surviving son of the last Duke of Brittanie trying to raise up a rebellion in frogmen territory...

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 30, 2013, 12:09:54 AM
Incredibly, its been almost 2 years now since I started working on this.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on August 25, 2013, 05:39:10 PM
Dark Albion Chronology: 1462

Important events 1462

-Sir John Wenlock, Lord Hastings, Lord Herbert ("black william"), Sir John Astley and George Duke of Clarence (provisionally), become Knights of the Star.

-Harlech Castle in Wales is besieged. Among those inside is Henry Tudur.

-Sir Ralph Percy surrenders bamburgh castle to the king, he's pardoned and restored.

-The Earl of Oxford and his oldest son are executed for treason; his younger son John De Vere is spared.

-The Mad King and his remaining forces base themselves in Berwick, Scots' Land.

-George Duke Clarence (age 13) is made Governor of Ulster, sent to Eire Land.

-Vlad Tepes marches through the land of the Bulgars, part of the empire of the Turks, and slaughters 24000 men, women and children.

-The Duke of Somerset switches allegiances to York, is pardoned.

-William Percy, chief magister of Cambridge collegium, dies.  He's replaced in his role by Magister John Booth who also becomes the King's magister-secretary.

-The Turk invade Wallachia again with 90000 troops (Vlad's own army is at best 1/3rd the size).  In a daring "night attack", Vlad kills 15000 of them. The Turk are forced to retreat. The Pontifex's office orders celebrations for Vlad's victories.

In the Campaign:
The player characters spent this game year acting as guardians in the North; based out of Durham and answering to the Prince-Bishop, they were in charge of helping to maintain order and watch the border region with Scots' Land, and the wilder areas of the North in the Pennine mountains.
In the adventures in this year, the PCs fought against two different bandit groups that were causing huge havoc in the mountain roads between Durham/Newcastle and Carlisle. Along the way, two of the PCs found wives through fairly different means: one rescued a "rich merchant's daughter" (he only later found out the merchant wasn't actually very rich at all) who had been kidnapped by bandits looking for ransom; the other spared a bandit woman her life if she'd marry him.  What can I say? It was the 15th century. Both marriages have surprisingly lasted and proved fruitful for the PCs.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 04, 2013, 01:47:20 PM
Dark Albion Update: 1463

Important Events

- In Wallachia, Prince Vlad's own brother, Radu Bey, betrays him and most of his nobles to the Turk; Vlad is defeated in battle and presumed dead.  Radu Bey now rules over Wallachia as a territory of the Turk. The Turk expands as far as Herzegovina.

-Baron Scrope and Sir Robert Harcourt are made Knights of the Star. John De La Pole is restored as Duke of Suffolk (he's married to King Edward's sister).  The aristocratic Magister, Baron Tiptoff, constable of the Tower (nicknamed "The Butcher") is made Steward of the Royal Household.

-Sir John Neville (Baron Montegu) becomes Chief Steward of Durham and Warden of the Northern Marches.

-Edward IV meets Baron River's daughter Elizabeth Woodville while on his tour.  He is immediately smitten with her.

-The Duke of Somerset switches allegiances back to Lancaster, taking his forces north. In Berwick, Henry De Gray becomes the Lancastrian Magister-Royal.

-William de Neville, Earl of Kent, dies of natural causes. His son Thomas ("the bastard") is made Lord Falconberg at age 13. William was commander of the Knights of the Star (for York), and is replaced in that position by Henry Bourchier.

-Lord James Berkeley ("the just") dies of natural causes. His son William de Berkeley (aka "William Wassail" becomes Baron Berkeley.

-Pontifex Pius II prohibits the enslaving of converts.



In The Campaign

This was in some ways a politically slow year on the surface; but of course it marks a crucial moment in the history of Albion, when King Edward of York first meets Elizabeth Woodville. The first part of the year's activity was spent by the PCs, in their capacity as agents for the Lieutenant of the North, discovering and exploring the Pod Caverns of the sinister mushroom men. It was a dungeon my players were initially enamoured with but eventually that feeling soured as the the module went on too long and felt too repetitive.

In our campaign, one of the Players (who had been lucky enough to get a minor-noble social status) was playing Sir Henry Woodville, younger son of Baron Rivers and brother to Elizabeth Woodville. In our game he was the one who, accompanying the King in his progress, suggested they go to his home estates, causing King Edward and Elizabeth to meet.  It played in the campaign a little bit like a romantic comedy; with her initially hating the king (her deceased husband had died fighting in the war for the other side, after all), and him desperate to get her to like him.  Amusingly, Sir Henry's player didn't initially understand what was happening, and later (not knowing anything of the history of all this) found himself in what he thought was the unenviable position of trying to avoid the king's ire while at the same time preserve his sister from becoming a mere mistress.  Fortunately, he did something smart and went to his father for advice, who started manipulating the situation to the Woodville's favor.

I believe it was at the end of this session that someone first exclaimed about King Edward, the famous line "Oh shit, he's Robb Stark!"

Finally, the game year ended with the PCs having to go off to Bristol to rescue an NPC friend and sometimes-teammate of theirs, Smiley the Scot, who having fallen into grave debts and fled for his life, had a bounty put on his head by the foremost criminal gang in Albion, the moneylenders of the Burgundian mobster, Gilbert de Hutt. By the time the PCs found out about it, he had already been betrayed and captured (by famed bounty hunter Robert Fett) and transported to de Hutt's underground palace, so it was up to the PCs to trick their way in and save their friend.  This adventure was played much more for laughs than just about any other in the campaign, the whole thing being one big RotJ sendoff, but the players seemed to enjoy the break from vile darkness and court intrigues.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Benoist on October 06, 2013, 05:24:50 PM
Gilbert de Hutt. LOL :D
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 06, 2013, 06:50:49 PM
Quote from: Benoist;697087
Gilbert de Hutt. LOL :D


I figured you'd like that.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 08, 2013, 08:17:42 PM
Dark Albion: 1464

Events in this year:

-Anthony Woodville is knighted by King Edward of York.  He is the brother of Elizabeth Woodville whom the King met the previous year and has begun to secretly court.

-John de Vere is pardoned for his father's previous treason and is granted his hereditary title of Earl of Oxford.

-Baron Tiptoff (the magister baron, nicknamed "the butcher" for his gleeful executions of lancastrians during his time as warden of the Tower of London) is now appointed Chancellor of Eire Land.


-In Arcadia, the Pontifex Pius II dies.  He is replaced by Paulus II (who was not a priest but a generous merchant of the city who buys his way into the pontificacy).


-The Battle of Hedgley Moor: 5000 troops under Lords Somerset, Roos, Sir Ralph Percy and the Magister Lord Henry Grey (an 8th level magic-user, who is an expert on summoning demons in battle) raise up a rebellion in the North; they are faced by John Neville (Baron Montegu) with 6000 men. Battle begins with archery exchange. Montagu marches across 1500ft of archery fire and the lancastrians are relatively rapidly broken when Roos' men scatter under his assualt; Sir Ralph Percy stays behind to fight and dies (his last words: "I have saved the bird in my bosom"); Roos is captured and executed. Somerset and Henry Grey escape.

-Lord Cobham dies of natural causes.

-The Battle of Hexham: 4000 men under Montegu (with the Earl of Wiltshire, younger son of the Duke of Buckingham) face the Lancastrian rebellion (led by Somerset, with Lord Hungerford) in the north, near Devil's Water Creek. Yorkists hit them hard charging down from higher ground and half the Lancastrian force (under Edmund de Roos) flees almost immediately; the other half are surrounded and many drown in the Devil's Water.  Somerset is captured and executed. Sir William Tailboys tries to escape with the Lancastrian war chest (containing over 2000 Pounds!), but he's captured and executed. Roos tries to escape but is captured and beheaded at Newcastle.

-Baron Montegu, for his honor in battle, named Earl of Northumberland (the traditional title of his family's enemies, the Percies); Lawrence Booth, who had once been the personal Cleric to the Lancastrian Queen Margaret, is now named personal cleric to King Edward for his loyalty and bravery in fighting the rebels.


-The Earl of Warwick has been engaged in prolonged diplomatic efforts to arrange a marriage between Edward of York and the Princess Bona of Lorraine; this alliance would end up creating a firm union between Burgundy, Lorraine, and Albion and would allow these nations to dedicate themselves to a war of extermination against the hated Frogmen (and thus the potential rescue of Albion's territories on the Continent).  Unfortunately, Warwick had not been informed that Edward has been secretly married to Elizabeth Woodville.  When he learns of this Warwick is livid, but is unable to prevent the young king from squandering the chance for a lasting alliance just to marry a woman of low birth.  It is the first time that Edward does not agree to Warwick's wishes.  Elizabeth Woodville is crowned Queen.

-Sir John Wenlock, along with Lord Hastings recaptures Dunstanburgh castle in the north from rebels.



In Our Campaign

This year in the campaign was spent fighting the battles of Hedgley Moor (where Lord Grey cemented himself as the NPC Wizard-nemesis of the party, once again having a demon wreak havoc over the Yorkist lines and once again the PCs are unable to catch him) and Hexham (where the PCs spent the better part of the battle trying to find Grey, who they assumed would be there but wasn't; only to find out in that process about the Lancastrian war chest, and then engage in a desperate rush to be the ones to capture it; for the King of course, but not before skimming quite a bit off the top).
In this latter battle the cleric PC became truly famous as the "Fire Cleric", for his tactic of casting resist fire on himself and his horse, dousing himself in oil and lighting himself (and his trained horse) in flames and only then charging with holy wrath at the rebel forces.

Various of the PCs got rewarded for their heroics in these northern rebellions, though none so much as Sir Henry Woodville who was made Warden of the Eastern Marches, quite a major title.  It no doubt helped that Woodville was the brother of the woman the King was secretly courting.

That brings us to the other element of the campaign year: that the PCs got to see first hand the intrigues of the Yorkist court; on the one side because of Sir Henry being a PC who is brother to Elizabeth Woodville (and got to see with some anxiety how the king was sneaking around to hang with his sister, and how his dad and older brother were desperately trying to manipulate the situation into a royal wedding, which they eventually got).  On the other side, because many of the other PCs are servants or agents of the Kingmaker, the Earl of Warwick, who they failed to warn about the affair quickly enough, and who they then got to see seriously failing for the first time in a decade of game time; not failing but with a backup plan, not failing but strategically, just totally sideswiped by a gang of people he barely considers above peasants (the Woodvilles are nobility but very low and fairly recent nobility).  And of course they got to see his absolute fury at this (perhaps more than he should have made evident to the King), and they could see that there was no way that Warwick would let this stand.  Many of them, including the PC playing Sir Henry Woodville, were fearing that more than one Woodville would be dead before this was all over.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on January 16, 2014, 07:20:09 PM
Dark Albion Update: 1465


Setting Events: 1465

-William Booth, Archbishop of York, dies of natural causes. His successor is Robert Neville.

-In Arcadia, the Collegium of Cardinals try to limit Pontifex Paulus II's powers, he resists the move.

-Pasha Radu Bey (of the Turk Empire) engages in campaign of forced conversions to the god of the crescent moon in conquered Wallachia.

-Philip of Burgundy makes a great campaign against the Frogmen, comes within eyeshot of Paris; but is wounded. Even so he retook huge swaths of territory from the hated Frogs.

-A band of adventurers go to Scots Land, manage to capture the Mad King outside Berwick and bring him back to Albion; Queen Margaret and her remaining court flee Scots Land for Lorraine where they are welcomed by Prince Louis of Lorraine and the Princess Bona, Louis' daughter who had been promised in betrothal to King Edward of York only to be shunned in favor of Elizabeth Woodville.

-Henry Stafford (age 10), Duke of Buckingham, is married to Catherine Woodville (age 7).

-Queen Elizabeth is pregnant.

-Thomas Beckington, commander of clerical order in Albion, dies in battle after three decades of campaigns against the Frogmen in Calais; his successor is Robert Stillington

In Our Campaign:
One of our characters, "the Doctor" (no, not the timelord, but the most famous physician in Albion by this time in the campaign), has a son.
In this year the characters traveled across the Wall to Scots' Land, where they went on a quest to the Valley of the Jarls; long thought a cursed place by the Scots, it was a burial ground for ancient Northmen Kings, but recently a horde of undead had come streaming out of it attacking the Scots clans, and threatening to reach the Wall.  The Player Characters investigated the tombs and found there a cult of the dreaded demon Dispater.  After much adventure they managed to destroy the cult and end the threat.
The PCs were also the "band of adventurers" in our campaign who managed to capture the Mad King, who had been living in Berwick in exile with the remnants of the Lancastrian forces.  They also faced the Mad King's Magister, Lord de Grey, who had been an ongoing nemesis for the PCs, but he managed to evade them yet again!
Finally, it bears repeating that one of the PCs (who had rolled a 'high noble' social status) is a member of the Woodville family; at this time in the campaign he was enjoying his family's rise to power and influence after his sister's marriage to the (Yorkist) King.   At the same time, he was facing a lot of problems in his own sense of security; he had previously been a member of the Earl of Warwick's (the Kingmaker's) circles, but after the Woodvilles upset his grand schemes and ended up taking the King's favor away from him, Warwick swore revenge against all of their family.  The Kingmaker doesn't act in haste, however, he was playing the long game. This meant that the poor Sir Henry Woodville (the PC) had to spend a long time watching his back, never knowing when revenge might strike.


RPGPundit

Currently Smoking: Raleigh Hawkbill + Image Perique
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 09, 2014, 02:27:40 PM
The following were important events in the Dark Albion setting year 1466:

-King Edward of York's daughter Elizabeth (his first child) is born.

-A huge Turk army invades the Border Kingdoms, but local resistance stalls their advance in their planned conquest of the Continent.

-In Arcadia, the  Pontifex Paulus II enters into political conflicts and machinations with the Cardinals, events escalate to the point some assassinations of important church figures take place.

-In Albion,  Henry Courtenay, younger brother of the attaindered Earl of Devon, and Sir Thomas Hungerford, son of the attainedered Baron Hungerford, plot to raise an insurrection in Devon; they are discovered, arrested and executed.

-Sir Pierre De Braap, Frogman champion and hidden agent in Albion, makes contact with a group of degenerate Frogmen living in an ancient Elven temple complex in the swamps of The Wash.  They attempt to summon/control a Dragon to destroy London and kill the King, but are thwarted by a group of adventurers.

-King Casimir of the Commonwealth wins the 13 year war with the Teutons, which ends with the Treaty of Thorns, with Teuton lands becoming a vassal state of the Commonwealth.

-Richard Wydeville (the King's father-in-law) is made Earl Rivers; Anthony Woodville is made Baron Scales, Henry Woodville made Lord Rockingham (Anthony and Henry are the King's brothers-in-law). Thus the King continues to increase honor and favor on the low-nobility family he has married into.

-in other Solstice honors, the King makes his 14-year old brother Prince Richard Crookback (Duke Gloucester) a provisional Knight of the Star. Earl Rivers (that is, Richard Wydeville) is made Knight of the Star and Lord Treasurer. Sir John Wenlock is made Captain of Calais. Lord Hastings is made ambassador to Burgundy.


In Our Campaign:
The PCs main adventure that year involved the aforementioned story about the degenerate frogmen in Albion's only large swamp and their attempt to summon a dragon.  That was a very challenging adventure for them but luckily they very quickly realized that time was of the essence, and managed to stop the frogmen BEFORE the dragon was summoned.  This is not the type of campaign where things just get suspended in space/time until the PCs show up for it to be perfect climactic moment.

In addition to this, politics loomed large in this year.  The PCs were mostly agents and allies of the now-marginalized Earl of Warwick ("the Kingmaker"), who had enormous influence over King Edward (having been chief architect of getting him on the throne in the first place) but had lost all that when the King happened to fall in love with Elizabeth Woodville and secretly married her without Warwick's knowledge.  Now the Woodvilles have been using their new status to full advantage, securing favorable marriages for themselves, getting the Queen to influence King Edward to give them new titles, lands and offices, and the paterfamilias Earl Rivers now controls the crown treasury!
This all led to some conflict within the PC party mainly because one player character was Sir Henry Woodville, brother to the new Queen; and now he found himself pretty strongly on the opposite side of his former patron Warwick and his soon-to-be-former-friends in the rest of the party.

Not all the politics was at the federal level; one of our PCs, Doctor Ralph (who everyone calls "the Doctor") used his prestige as an adventuring physician and one of the most clever medical minds in all the civilized world to create a Guild of Physicians, a new livery company that would control and regulate the trade in the medical profession in London.  The Guild would of course be under his control.
The player running the Doctor has been quite clever, I think, in NOT pursuing a knighthood or seeking to play the game of high politics. He realized that he could do much more following the example of certain significant historical commoners that accumulated great wealth and influence in all those things that the nobility felt was beneath them.  

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 23, 2014, 10:38:42 AM
Events: 1467

-Grand Duke Philip of Burgundy dies. Charles of Burgundy is his heir. He immediately retakes the city of Liege from the Frogmen, earning himself the title of "Charles the Terrible".

-The Turk invade Border Princes again but are beaten back after failing to win the siege of Kruje.

-William Canynges abandons the mayoralty of Bristol, and becomes a monk.  The shipping magnate had for almost three decades been the wealthiest of (and one of the most powerful) commoners in Albion, controlled the city of Bristol, and had played a significant role in supporting the Lancastrian cause.  With the failures of the Lancastrians, he had found himself in a politically precarious position and may have abandoned his power and wealth in fear for his life.

-Pontifex Paulus II arrests and tortures many of the pontifical secretaries after accusing them of conspiring against him. He accuses "learned men" and especially the magisterium of attempting to subvert the church toward heathenism; magisters are persecuted in Arcadia, but find refuge in the Commonwealth.

-Geoffrey Boleyn becomes sheriff of London. Bishop Thomas Rotheram (nicknamed "the Scot") becomes Keeper of the Privy seal (replacing Prince-Bishop Ralph Neville of Durham). Robert Stillington, clerical high commander, becomes Lord Chancellor (replacing Oxford Magister-Chancellor George Neville).

-Humphrey Dacre, younger brother of Baron Dacre, returns to Albion and is pardoned for his involvement in the Lancastrian cause.



In Our Campaign:

In this relatively slow year our players managed to engage in an investigative adventure where they learned about a hidden temple to an ancient Elven Death Cult.  I was stunned when they wisely decided NOT to open the still-intact magical seal holding whatever was in the temple trapped within.  It made for a much shorter adventure than I expected, but was definitely the safer and wiser choice for the PCs, so I was sure to reward them with plenty of XP (they did, after all, "defeat" the great evil within by not letting it out in the first place).

I should point out also that Geoffrey Boleyn was the older brother of one of our player characters; and yes, both were implied to be ancestors of the future queen Anne Boleyn.


RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 21, 2014, 05:11:27 AM
This campaign setting looks really cool! This would merit to be turned into a whole book, with a fine layout reminding of medieval grimoires. I have so many B&W illustrations from ancient artists now in the public domain (more than 400), that there would be some possibilities there...

I also just wanted to point out something: If I were to run a campaign in this world, I would slightly change the religion's name to Church of the Unconquered Truth. Well, I suppose that "Unconquered Sun" was inspired by Sol Invictus, a Roman deity. But in using "Truth" instead of "Sun", I think it would sound slightly more Christian-like, so more appropriate (to a pseudo England setting); it would be perfect with the concept of the "Infalibility of the Pope"; above all, it would be perfect to represent a religion that has no qualms about ruling others' thinking, and tell them what they are supposed to believe or not. I don't know, but this sounds more arrogant and fascist, as I see it befitting the Catholic Church of medieval era. (Just my two cents of course.)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 22, 2014, 02:19:58 AM
Quote from: Turanil;750958
This campaign setting looks really cool! This would merit to be turned into a whole book, with a fine layout reminding of medieval grimoires. I have so many B&W illustrations from ancient artists now in the public domain (more than 400), that there would be some possibilities there...


I would love if it could one day be so! Its unfortunate that there's been no development along those lines.
Possibly someday...


Quote

I also just wanted to point out something: If I were to run a campaign in this world, I would slightly change the religion's name to Church of the Unconquered Truth. Well, I suppose that "Unconquered Sun" was inspired by Sol Invictus, a Roman deity. But in using "Truth" instead of "Sun", I think it would sound slightly more Christian-like, so more appropriate (to a pseudo England setting); it would be perfect with the concept of the "Infalibility of the Pope"; above all, it would be perfect to represent a religion that has no qualms about ruling others' thinking, and tell them what they are supposed to believe or not. I don't know, but this sounds more arrogant and fascist, as I see it befitting the Catholic Church of medieval era. (Just my two cents of course.)


Well, I didn't really want the church to be miserable and fascist.  Yes, it is based on the Sol Invictus, which in this setting ended up replacing christianity as the post-pagan religion (it came pretty close in real life).   And my theory is that if Sol Invictus had won over the Christian religion, what it would have looked like by the 15th century would actually have still been REMARKABLY similar to what 15th century catholicism looked like (because so much of that ended up being more about stuff borrowed from roman imperial bureaucracy and culture).
Anyways, as a religious historian, I know that there was a bit more complexity to medieval catholicism than just "arrogant and fascist".
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 22, 2014, 01:53:48 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;751467
I would love if it could one day be so! Its unfortunate that there's been no development along those lines.
Possibly someday...

Frankly, I would be interested in doing this. I can do book layout, and I have that huge amount of public domain illustrations collected on the Internet over the years. It was one of my project to make a fantasy medieval pseudo European setting, that I wanted to call Shadow-Earth. However, I have so many projects in front of me, that I thought of discarding this Shadow-Earth. On the other hand, if all the text is already there, I would be interested in doing the layout (I would like to try to do a book with a pseudo medieval aspect).

By the way, is something already fleshed out for France and the Frogmen? Would it be possible to add some Averoigne inspired region in that country?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 22, 2014, 05:02:29 PM
Here is the cover I did for the Shadow-Earth project. I just changed the texts:

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/temporary/DarkAlbion-lowresolution.jpg)

For an interior book layout: just get a look at my work on Fantastic Heroes & Witchery. Note that I would try to make it look more like a medieval book with illuminating, than I did for FH&W. Also, 95% of the illustrations would be medieval public domain art, plus a few pics that I bought (cliparts) on RPGnow. I have more than 400 pics available (only problem, I don't know what they historically represent apart from an obvious medieval castle, armor, and such). This would be fine for a 130 pages long book. I can do maps too.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 23, 2014, 03:20:53 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;539020
I should update by mentioning I've seen the earliest draft of this and it looks very promising so far.

RPGPundit
Sorry, but I did not read the thread in its entirety until now. If someone else is making a book of this already, no need that I step in...

So, tell me what the current state of this project, and if my proposal is of any interest.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 23, 2014, 04:00:17 PM
Quote from: Turanil;751623
Frankly, I would be interested in doing this. I can do book layout, and I have that huge amount of public domain illustrations collected on the Internet over the years. It was one of my project to make a fantasy medieval pseudo European setting, that I wanted to call Shadow-Earth. However, I have so many projects in front of me, that I thought of discarding this Shadow-Earth. On the other hand, if all the text is already there, I would be interested in doing the layout (I would like to try to do a book with a pseudo medieval aspect).

By the way, is something already fleshed out for France and the Frogmen? Would it be possible to add some Averoigne inspired region in that country?


This could be very interesting. Send me a PM about it.
The earlier contact about it involved just making a simple PDF for it, and appears to have just petered out, quite a while ago.

There's a bit more detail than has been shown publicly for "France".  At the start of the campaign, the only human-controlled regions are Lorraine and Burgundy.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 23, 2014, 04:33:11 PM
Quote from: Turanil;751701
Here is the cover I did for the Shadow-Earth project. I just changed the texts:

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/temporary/DarkAlbion-lowresolution.jpg)

For an interior book layout: just get a look at my work on Fantastic Heroes & Witchery. Note that I would try to make it look more like a medieval book with illuminating, than I did for FH&W. Also, 95% of the illustrations would be medieval public domain art, plus a few pics that I bought (cliparts) on RPGnow. I have more than 400 pics available (only problem, I don't know what they historically represent apart from an obvious medieval castle, armor, and such). This would be fine for a 130 pages long book. I can do maps too.

The cover looks extremely cool, but it would be cooler if it featured the Earl of Warwick.  Or failing that, Richard III.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 24, 2014, 02:18:08 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;752039
The cover looks extremely cool, but it would be cooler if it featured the Earl of Warwick.  Or failing that, Richard III.
I guess you mean in replacement of the guy in plate armor? (In fact a painting representing Gilles de Rai, eventually burnt at the stake for performing hideous act of cruelty / black magic.)

Edit: okay, I found a pic of Richard III. Here is what I did: two variants...

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/temporary/DarkAlbion-lowreso-1.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/temporary/DarkAlbion-lowreso-2.jpg)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 25, 2014, 10:27:16 AM
Hmm, we can work on it. Anyways, I like your artistic ideas.  The cover could also theoretically be something simpler, may be the York & Lancastrian Roses.

Or in a Greyhawk-homage the heraldic shields of the various noble houses of the War of the Roses surrounding a period map of England?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 25, 2014, 11:04:43 AM
My blog entry for today:

A Publisher for Dark Albion? Plus: The True History of Frog Men and the Paris Swamp!

So for the first time in a while there's been some interesting news regarding the possibility of some kind of publication of quality being made out of my awesome homebrew campaign, Dark Albion.   As you can see if you click the link, you can already get a ton of info for this setting for free, on the thread dedicated to it. But I have quite a bit of extra material that is not out there, and that plus a professional look plus a hopefully affordable PDF or PoD would I think make Albion a really great addition to the stable of OSR fantasy settings.  While I have run the Albion campaign for LotFP, I would make any actual book system-neutral for use with any OSR-type game.

The news, in any case, that after a long period of languishing, the author of the Fantastic Heroes & Witchery RPG, a fairly gonzo-sided OSR game, is looking to make Dark Albion happen.  He's even made a few same mock-ups of what a cover might look like, which you can see on the Albion thread.

The irony is that "Albion" may end up being published by a Frenchman.  Have the English lost all their pride?  Some might actually ask if the French have, mind you, given how the Albion setting portrays the area we'd know as France as "Frogland", ruled by vicious and evil chaos-worshiping Frogmen!

Strangely enough, this hasn't really seemed to bother most French fans of the setting.  Whereas the Scottish consistently get worked up about how they're kilted barbarians.  I guess we see which of the two have the better sense of humour.

Keep in mind that much of Albion is not just a fantasy but a fantasy based on popular perceptions of the English; so Ireland is a kingdom of barbarians and faeries, Scots Land a frigid land of kilted brutes, and France of course is literal Frog-men.  While England itself is a classist land of serf-oppression and corrupt feuding power-mad aristocracy.

Over the course of the campaign "Frogland" has been somewhat developed and elaborated upon; for example, it became clear that the Frogmen are only the inhuman minority who rule over a Frankish human majority that are treated like slaves.  Their chief territory is Paris. They govern through the help of their advanced (chaos) magick and human collaborators.

(the "Paris Swamp", a term which apparently has confused some of the French fans, is a play on  "Lutetia", which in Latin means "city of swamps or mud")

But before the Frogmen emerged from the Paris Swamp and conquered most of those lands, there were human kingdoms there, of Frankmen, some of whom were ancestors to the Anglish Kings by marriage (hence their claim of rule over Frogland and their constant wars with them these past 150 years).  The lands of Burgundy, and Burgundy's vassal Lorraine, are still ruled by humans.  And later in the timeline of the campaign, the lands of Brittany rise up in human rebellion against the Frog overlords, and with the help of Albion and Burgundy gain their freedom (or rather, they did in my campaign; in yours things might go much worse).

As to the Frogmen's origin, I would hearken them back to ancient times, before humans dominated the world.  We know from Albion's prehistory that when humans were created as slaves for the ancient Elves, it was the Elves and the Dragons who ruled over most of the world, the two not always friendly with each other.  I would like to think that things like lizardmen and frogmen were created by Dragons in the Dragons' image, to act as slaves and ground troops to oppose the humans and goblinkind that the Elves had created.

You'll note that in The Wash, Albion's own swamps, there are also Frogmen, who are primitive and degenerate, rather than the sophisticated variety that rule Frogland.  They were probably left over there from the time of the Dragons.

Anyhow, even if it will take a Frenchman to make Albion a reality, I'm excited by the prospect.

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 26, 2014, 05:36:20 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;752325
Hmm, we can work on it. Anyways, I like your artistic ideas.  The cover could also theoretically be something simpler, may be the York & Lancastrian Roses.

Or in a Greyhawk-homage the heraldic shields of the various noble houses of the War of the Roses surrounding a period map of England?

Well, I am slightly disappointed you don't like the cover (especially the one with the black and red letters).

As for a map with heraldic shields all around, it was intended to be on the backcover. I will post what I formerly did for "ShadowEarth." Imagine the same treatment, but with a map of England and heraldic shields.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 26, 2014, 05:43:17 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;752325
Hmm, we can work on it. Anyways, I like your artistic ideas.  The cover could also theoretically be something simpler, may be the York & Lancastrian Roses.

Or in a Greyhawk-homage the heraldic shields of the various noble houses of the War of the Roses surrounding a period map of England?

Well, I am slightly disappointed you don't like the cover (especially the one with the black and red letters).

As for a map with heraldic shields all around, it was intended to be on the backcover. I will post what I formerly did for "ShadowEarth." Imagine the same treatment, but with a map of England and heraldic shields:


(http://www.dcrouzet.net/temporary/Backcover-lowreso.jpg)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 27, 2014, 02:28:24 PM
The back cover idea is a really good plan!  As for the front cover, I'm sorry that I wasn't totally pleased. I'm very impressed with your skills, don't get me wrong. Its just that the background image is still very clearly from a french battlefield (the emblems on knight make it glaring).  Also, the title's colour and font are a bit too 80s for me, I think.  It might be better if it had something more medieval in style?

But I'm just being picky. Don't mistake that for not being pleased at your interest! Let's make this happen.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on May 28, 2014, 01:26:30 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;753064
The back cover idea is a really good plan!  As for the front cover, I'm sorry that I wasn't totally pleased. I'm very impressed with your skills, don't get me wrong. Its just that the background image is still very clearly from a french battlefield (the emblems on knight make it glaring).  Also, the title's colour and font are a bit too 80s for me, I think.  It might be better if it had something more medieval in style?

But I'm just being picky. Don't mistake that for not being pleased at your interest! Let's make this happen.

Okay, I will see what I can do for the cover. But later. Right now I will work on the interior.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 28, 2014, 10:29:52 PM
Sounds good!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: crkrueger on June 23, 2014, 05:42:51 PM
BTW, I might have missed it, but I know you really like DCC and LotFP for old school play Pundit, so why go to FH&W?  Not that there's anything wrong with it, I have the game, just wondering.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on June 24, 2014, 01:50:50 AM
Quote from: CRKrueger;760664
BTW, I might have missed it, but I know you really like DCC and LotFP for old school play Pundit, so why go to FH&W?  Not that there's anything wrong with it, I have the game, just wondering.

The reason is that since I am doing the layout and maps of the book,* I did ask RPGpundit if I could add a 4 pages appendix at the end of the book, explaining how FH&W would fit in Dark Albion. 4 pages, maybe even less than that. In any case, this doesn't prevent RPGpundit to add text regarding how to use some other RPG for playing Dark Albion.

Nonetheless, apart from this 4 pages appendix at the end of a 130 pages book, Dark Albion will be 100% setting. This will be different from all of those d20 campaign settings books, where but 20 pages were devoted to the world's description, and the other 100 pages were devoted to new prestige classes, races, feats, magic systems and special d20 rules. Dark Albion will describe a world, not game mechanics.

(*: Curious about the maps? You can see them here: Cartographers Guild (http://www.cartographersguild.com/finished-maps/27455-dark-albion-maps.html)...)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 25, 2014, 01:06:08 AM
Quote from: CRKrueger;760664
BTW, I might have missed it, but I know you really like DCC and LotFP for old school play Pundit, so why go to FH&W?  Not that there's anything wrong with it, I have the game, just wondering.


First, Dark Albion won't exactly be "going to FH&W"; it will be generic OSR and system neutral for the most part; it will have an appendix written by Turanil specifically for how to run Albion with FH&W.

Second, if what you mean is "why didn't I get one of those guys to publish it?", the answer is that in DCC's case I didn't even consider it because I don't think that a game as gonzo as DCC would really be the ideal for a setting like Albion; and in LotFP's case I gave James Raggi multiple opportunities to publish it (I basically even offered it for free if he wanted to make it a free PDF) and he declined.

I'm quite happy with the publisher that resulted however, I think that Turanil will be putting a lot of zeal into this work and the final product will be awesome!

RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 28, 2014, 02:09:24 AM
Dark Albion: Contents Preview

(reposted from my blog)

I've been quite busy these past few days trying to work on the Dark Albion project (the publication of my expanded OSR game setting in collaboration with Dominique Crouzet, author and publisher of the very popular Fantastic Heroes & Witchery RPG), and I have to say it's starting to form into something quite appealing.  I think this will end up making a really awesome OSR setting-book.

So I figured I'd share with you all some of the details of what Albion will feature.  Here's a rough outline of the table of contents as Dominique Crouzet and I are currently planning it:

Introduction - 14 pages
(will include an explanation of the basic ambiance of the game, its themes, and a guide to some of the background of the setting, including a brief chronology of historical events leading up to the Rose War)

The Gazetteer - 45 pages
(this is the guide to the locations in Albion, most of which was already published for free on this blog and compiled on theRPGsite's Dark Albion megathread)

Lands of the Continent - 10 pages
(a brief guide to the various countries of the Continent)

Character Creation - in progress
(guidelines for how to modify your preferred rules for creating characters specific to Albion.  Will include tables and rules for Social Class, home location, races and classes, starting money, equipment and economics)

Magic and Miracles - in progress
(guidelines for modifying your spellcaster classes to fit the Albion setting; including new spells)

Magic Items - in progress
(guidelines on how to handle magical items in the Albion setting, and some new or specific items)

Poisons, Herbalism and Alchemy - 3 pages
(rules and lists of poisons, herbal cures, and alchemical substances common in Albion)

Creatures - in progress
(some of the particular creatures of Albion)

Roads, Travels, and Encounters - 20 pages
(written by Dominique Crouzet, with additions and editing by the RPGPundit, this chapter presents guidelines and encounter tables for travel on the King's roads, in the wilderness, and in the cities and towns of Albion)

Chaos Cults - 10- 15 pages
(A collaboration between Crouzet and the Pundit, this give guidelines, rules and tables for handling Chaos Cults and characters who turn to the service of Chaos)

Adventure Locations - in progress
(A series of templates of typical locations and their adventuring potential, written by the Pundit and featuring some spectacular maps by Dominique Crouzet; these will include:
-Typical Barrow Mound
-Typical Goblin Warren
-Typical ancient tomb
-Typical Arcadian catacombs
-Typical Military Encampment
-At the Court
-At a Fair/Tourney)

Chronology of Potential Future Events  - 20 pages
(a detailed chronology of events that may take place in the course of the Rose War in Albion, as well as events on the Continent)

Important Characters of the Present and Future - 9 pages
(a list of the significant NPCs of the various noble houses of Lancaster and York)
 
Significant NPCs on the Continent - in progress
(important characters found on the Continent, including the Pontifex, the High Commander of the Clerical Order, Philip of Burgundy, Sir Pierre de Braap (general of the Frogmen forces), King Casimir Jagiello, King Mattias Corvinus, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, and the Princes Vlad Tepes and Radu Bey)

GM Secrets - in progress
(a detailing of some of the important secret events or secrets of important NPCs in the setting)

The Clerical Order - in progress
(more information on how the Clerics work in the setting, including their hierarchy and structure)

The Order of the Knights of the Star - 2 pages
(special information on the most important secular order of knights in Albion)

Appendix I: Conversion Notes for Fantastic Heroes & Witchery

Appendix II: Inspirational Reading, Viewing, and Gameplay

Appendix III: Locations of the Pieces of the Holy Lance of Mithras

Appendix IV: Dangers of the Orkney Isles

Appendix V: Quick Reference Lists
List of Anglish Kings
List of Clerical Commanders in Albion
List of Chancellors of the Magisterium, Oxford
List of Chancellors of the Magisterium, Cambridge
List of Clerical High Commanders
List of Pontifexes



So there we are.  The list above is still subject to change, but as you can see the end result is going to be a couple of hundred pages of awesomeness.  

Expect it sometime in 2015.


RPGPundit
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on September 06, 2014, 02:32:23 AM
For those who don't already know it, here is a link to a 3D video walk through London before the great fire of 1666.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-10-24-check-out-this-brilliant-virtual-version-of-17th-century-london-before-the-great-fire
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 07, 2014, 05:26:04 PM
An update here (http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/2014/09/dark-albion-semi-update-content-spoilers.html).   There'll be a historically-inspired economy/equipment chapter, and a set of rules for Noble houses/domains.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: PencilBoy99 on January 14, 2015, 12:46:38 PM
Please finish this so I can give you my money. I also bought FH&W on your recommendation so I'm confident in your judgement.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Turanil on January 15, 2015, 08:40:05 AM
Quote from: PencilBoy99;809241
Please finish this so I can give you my money. I also bought FH&W on your recommendation so I'm confident in your judgement.

Thanks for your purchase!

Be patient, the Dark Albion book will come...
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: PencilBoy99 on January 15, 2015, 11:26:28 AM
Hey, your the guy that wrote FH&W. I bought the book and PDF for Christmas. Terrific!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on January 21, 2015, 02:41:39 AM
Good to hear it.  And yeah, work on this proceeds.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Brad on June 05, 2015, 04:05:46 PM
http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/2015/06/help-us-choose-cover-image-for-dark.html

Yes...
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: danskmacabre on June 11, 2015, 01:49:38 AM
This is the first time I bothered to take a look at the Dark Albion setting, as it didn't sound like my sort of thing. I asssumed it was a non fantasy historical rpg.
I love history, but wouldn't want to play a strictly historical rpg.

But seeing as this is a very fantasy take on British history, I think it sounds quite interesting.
Especially as I'm quite a history buff, especially British history and over various periods.
I used to do Historical re-enactment in the UK over various periods covering, Celtic Pre-Roman, Roman/Celtic, Dark ages from roughly 800AD to 1200AD, so Saxon, viking etc...
Then onto Medieval and finally English civil war.  

So this setting would be a fun read for me, even if I don't use it.
I like that it's system agnostic, as I can plug in what I want then.

I'll probably get it in a printed format if it's not very expensive to get in Australia, where I currently live.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 11, 2015, 03:52:19 AM
Quote from: danskmacabre;836046
This is the first time I bothered to take a look at the Dark Albion setting, as it didn't sound like my sort of thing. I asssumed it was a non fantasy historical rpg.
I love history, but wouldn't want to play a strictly historical rpg.

But seeing as this is a very fantasy take on British history, I think it sounds quite interesting.
Especially as I'm quite a history buff, especially British history and over various periods.
I used to do Historical re-enactment in the UK over various periods covering, Celtic Pre-Roman, Roman/Celtic, Dark ages from roughly 800AD to 1200AD, so Saxon, viking etc...
Then onto Medieval and finally English civil war.  

So this setting would be a fun read for me, even if I don't use it.
I like that it's system agnostic, as I can plug in what I want then.

I'll probably get it in a printed format if it's not very expensive to get in Australia, where I currently live.


Glad to hear it!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Matt on June 21, 2015, 07:57:53 PM
Didn't realize you'd been working on this for 4+ years...!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on June 22, 2015, 12:37:54 AM
Quote from: Matt;837579
Didn't realize you'd been working on this for 4+ years...!


Yes, it's been a long-term process!
Title: Great Work!
Post by: southpaw on October 02, 2015, 08:29:13 PM
I just had to come in here and say how pleased I am with Dark Albion. I've not had any real tabletop RPG action in years because of being busy and stuff but after reading the reviews and picking up a copy of your book I'm hooked all over again. The writing is wonderful and the setting details are exactly the sort of thing I look for in a game world.

I also picked up a copy of Fantastic Heroes and Witchery to use with it.

Thank you!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on October 04, 2015, 06:30:20 AM
Quote from: southpaw;858730
I just had to come in here and say how pleased I am with Dark Albion. I've not had any real tabletop RPG action in years because of being busy and stuff but after reading the reviews and picking up a copy of your book I'm hooked all over again. The writing is wonderful and the setting details are exactly the sort of thing I look for in a game world.

I also picked up a copy of Fantastic Heroes and Witchery to use with it.

Thank you!


That's great to hear! Thank you very much.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Stephen Tannhauser on December 08, 2015, 05:10:04 PM
Just got Dark Albion in the mail, and am finding it wonderfully interesting, but I did find myself differing from its basic assumptions in a couple of ways and thought I might ask what your thoughts are on some tweaks I would most likely implement, if I ran this game for my friends.

1)  I would go back to the historical religions, rather than the Unconquered Sun, and simply tweak them so magic was something theologically acceptable for good PCs as was.

2)  I am a definite Ricardian, and would want a much more heroic Richard III and House of York, who could be exonerated of the deaths of the Tower princes.  (I have been spoiled by reading and greatly enjoying Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour.)

3)  I would probably go with vampires ruling France under an arcane twilight that allowed them to travel during the day, rather than the Frogmen, mostly because I like Dracula better than Cthulhu.

As the person who knows this setting best, does anything immediately suggest itself as a 'landmine' effect of these changes, something that will radically screw things up in a way I might not foresee?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 09, 2015, 11:35:44 PM
Quote from: Stephen Tannhauser;867983
Just got Dark Albion in the mail, and am finding it wonderfully interesting, but I did find myself differing from its basic assumptions in a couple of ways and thought I might ask what your thoughts are on some tweaks I would most likely implement, if I ran this game for my friends.

1)  I would go back to the historical religions, rather than the Unconquered Sun, and simply tweak them so magic was something theologically acceptable for good PCs as was.


That's fine.  Magic WAS theologically acceptable, for the educated classes; though it was often suspect.

Quote

2)  I am a definite Ricardian, and would want a much more heroic Richard III and House of York, who could be exonerated of the deaths of the Tower princes.  (I have been spoiled by reading and greatly enjoying Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour.)


From a historical perspective, this is dubious. But from a gaming perspective, there's no problem with that. Of course, I'd advise you to then have a really credible idea of just what happened to the princes.

Quote
3)  I would probably go with vampires ruling France under an arcane twilight that allowed them to travel during the day, rather than the Frogmen, mostly because I like Dracula better than Cthulhu.


You could go that way, but it will really diminish the impact of Vlad Tepes if you plan for the timeline to go that far ahead in a campaign.
In my own original Dark Albion campaign, there were creatures called 'vampires' before Dracula; but they were wimpy blood-drinking undeads more like ghouls.  When one of the greatest heroes of the Unconquered Sun, who had apparently died so tragically betrayed, came back as an ultra-powerful Undead lord that threatened the entire continent, it had my players crapping their pants in fear (knowing that sooner or later, they'd be the ones sent to try to kill him).  
If France is already full of vampires, that's likely to be diminished.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Stephen Tannhauser on December 10, 2015, 02:36:14 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit;868184
From a historical perspective, this is dubious.


Well, the only thing I really want to clear Richard of is actual conspiracy to murder his nephews; as per Penman, it strikes me as perfectly plausible that one of Richard's more ruthless supporters (Penman accuses Buckingham) might have jumped that gun on his behalf.  In the Albionverse, a Chaos magician loyal to the Tudors might even have done it by magic so as to undermine Richard's claim to legitimacy.

Quote
You could go that way, but it will really diminish the impact of Vlad Tepes if you plan for the timeline to go that far ahead in a campaign. ...When one of the greatest heroes of the Unconquered Sun, who had apparently died so tragically betrayed, came back as an ultra-powerful Undead lord that threatened the entire continent, it had my players crapping their pants in fear (knowing that sooner or later, they'd be the ones sent to try to kill him).  If France is already full of vampires, that's likely to be diminished.


Hm.  A good point.

I have to admit that part of my problem with the Frogmen is that other than being, you know, frogs, they seem to act and behave (as far as I can tell from the book so far) almost exactly like another faction of human beings, with nobles and diplomacy and trade deals and all that.  It's hard to buy a France ruled by creatures not even mammalian that still plays mostly the same geopolitical role in European history.  So maybe I'll go with Chaos-magelords rather than vampires.

Many thanks for your advice!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 10, 2015, 03:33:05 PM
Quote from: Stephen Tannhauser;868318
Well, the only thing I really want to clear Richard of is actual conspiracy to murder his nephews; as per Penman, it strikes me as perfectly plausible that one of Richard's more ruthless supporters (Penman accuses Buckingham) might have jumped that gun on his behalf.  In the Albionverse, a Chaos magician loyal to the Tudors might even have done it by magic so as to undermine Richard's claim to legitimacy.


The questionable part of that theory is why Richard wouldn't have denounced him for that, after the break with Buckingham? It would have served his purposes.

But I suppose one possibility is that Richard had some scuzzy servants (he did), and they might have acted without his explicit approval.  Not a high noble like Buckingham, but someone like Tyrell. It wouldn't have served Richard to denounce one of his own known men after the deed was done, because he'd gain nothing from it; no one would believe they didn't act on his orders.

Quote

Hm.  A good point.

I have to admit that part of my problem with the Frogmen is that other than being, you know, frogs, they seem to act and behave (as far as I can tell from the book so far) almost exactly like another faction of human beings, with nobles and diplomacy and trade deals and all that.  It's hard to buy a France ruled by creatures not even mammalian that still plays mostly the same geopolitical role in European history.  So maybe I'll go with Chaos-magelords rather than vampires.

Many thanks for your advice!


They don't quite do that. They make a pact with Burgundy at one point, because Philip of Burgundy is himself a little dubious as established in the setting, even then it doesn't last long. Otherwise they make peace treaties to save their asses when things get too tough. But they don't engage in trade deals with any other kingdoms (there may of course be smuggling rings and the likes that get them stuff from outside their borders). And in particular, if you look at the section with the biographies of the Frogmen Kings on p.179, I don't think it makes them look 'just like humans'.  Instead, to me part of their horror is that they are clearly monsters, playing dress-up as humans, like a murderer wearing the skin of his victims as a mask.
Title: Da + dw
Post by: Evermasterx on March 30, 2016, 09:29:08 AM
I'm on the verge of starting a Dark Albion campaign, and want to use Dungeon World as a game engine. Or if you prefer I want to play DW using DA as a setting... I've never played DW, but after reading it, I find it very good for my tastes.
What do you think?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 30, 2016, 02:00:17 PM
Quote from: Evermasterx;888320
I'm on the verge of starting a Dark Albion campaign, and want to use Dungeon World as a game engine. Or if you prefer I want to play DW using DA as a setting... I've never played DW, but after reading it, I find it very good for my tastes.
What do you think?


I think you're trolling.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Evermasterx on March 30, 2016, 04:55:31 PM
Why?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Battle Mad Ronin on March 31, 2016, 01:04:38 AM
Quote from: Evermasterx;888473
Why?


RPGpundit's attitude to Dungeon World isn't exactly favorable :)

I think the system will suit just fine. I'm starting a DW campaign in April, and having read the game I get the impression it can handle Shakespearean intrigue and Chaos Frog-fighting equally well. Do tell how it works out for you!
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Evermasterx on March 31, 2016, 02:57:38 AM
Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;888606
RPGpundit's attitude to Dungeon World isn't exactly favorable :)

I think the system will suit just fine. I'm starting a DW campaign in April, and having read the game I get the impression it can handle Shakespearean intrigue and Chaos Frog-fighting equally well. Do tell how it works out for you!
Thank you BMR. DW is what I was looking for.
But when the author of a setting that you bought attacks you because you want to play it with a system he doesn't like, the enthusiasm somehow fades.
I care about RPGPundit's opinions, in fact I read his blog too, but I am not a troll. That's for sure, and everybody can read my 150+ posts in this forum since 2009 that prove it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Battle Mad Ronin on March 31, 2016, 03:16:17 AM
Well I understand the sentiment. Still, I think it's silly to get discouraged by it. 'Dark Albion' becomes your setting the moment you pick it up, unconnected to the author's intentions. And it's a good setting. I'd say ignore RPGpundit if his opinions on how to play the setting don't match yours and have fun with 'Dark Albion' in whatever way you want.

A party of DW rangers, fighters, thieves and a cleric would fit right in as a Rose War version of Robin Hood's merry men, stealing from the rich bastards carrying out a war for their own good and giving back to those who have lost everything.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Rincewind1 on March 31, 2016, 04:49:11 AM
Quote from: Evermasterx;888473
Why?


Because DW is part of postmodernist Swine SJW campaign to destroy the Western civilisation, starting with RPGs.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 01, 2016, 05:38:04 PM
Quote from: Evermasterx;888473
Why?


Because I'm famously known to despise Dungeon World.

Also, you'd probably have to change an awful lot about the system from what I remember.  What about it even makes you think its a good fit for authentic medievalism?

I mean, you could run Albion with Vampire:the Masquerade or Toon for all I care. But if you are specifically asking me if I think it's a good fit, I'd probably say no.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Evermasterx on April 02, 2016, 01:28:57 AM
Well I didn't know that. And you are too smart to think that every GM in the world keeps a list of what you love or despise.

Why do you think that D&D could recreate a real medieval feel and DW not? May you elaborate on this?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 03, 2016, 07:06:28 PM
DW isn't actually for creating and immersing in settings at all. Setting is just a facade.  Also, DW is for exploring the 'theme' of 'dungeon exploration'. Its not about actually playing your character.

It is an atrocity created by the infusion of all kinds of non-RPG storygaming ideas into gaming.

Now, please don't turn this thread into that debate. The reason I accused you of trolling in the first place is that this is EXACTLY what Storygamers like to do: derail a thread meant to promote my book into a big debate about storygames so that no one can use the thread anymore. It's their stupid and childish notion of sabotage, that they think accomplishes something.

Feel free to post, but if you are posting here, it better be questions or comments SPECIFICALLY about Dark Albion and NOT about dungeonworld.

If you feel you must defend your precious game from my mean accusations, start a new thread about that and do not derail this thread.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Evermasterx on April 04, 2016, 03:25:30 AM
Don't worry, this will be my last post here.
All of this could have been easily avoided:
1) you could simply say "I don't like that game so I don't advice you to use it".
2) you could have taken some time to discover that I am an Amber and Lords of Olympus GM who have posted only in those two threads since 2009 and even asked you if I could use DA as a setting in LoO.

DA is a setting so I think is absolutely legitimate to ask to the author if it could be used with a system in this thread.

In your frenzy to shoot your enemies, you shoot even your friends.

Bye Bye.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on April 07, 2016, 05:27:44 PM
Well, bye.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: viejah on May 13, 2016, 04:13:41 PM
Hello, there, new in these forums. I really like Dark Albion and i would want to tell you how the story has progressed until now. To your knowdlege, we are using dnd5 rules with full magic (my players wanted it in that way, and it was ok for me).
Im not using it as a full sandbox , with full event table generation, but neither railroad. There is several stories ongoing and yes, players have the freedom to continue one storyline or other (war of roses), and do what they like.

It begins in Rochester, 1 year after John Kemp resurrection, and in 3 places of the Kemp county, Rochester, Hastings and Leeds, undead appear. A witches conclave, lead by Gloucester duchess, Eleanor Cobham (i know i know) and a family of witches, the Billingham, curse the land. Players during these first 15 games , make their base in Dover and explore arcadian ruins, kill goblins, and learn about a war between 2 Great Daemon Princes, Suaranthe and Alatelan.
:
It seems that witches conclave divided between followers of each Daemon, as the main objective was not properly done : kill John Kemp, but he was touched by the God Sun.

----------

The second part was the delivery of a letter to north of London, claiming several traitors to the Crown . Several Yorkists try to kill the players, while they find out the curse of the Earl of Bedford, and his brother. A family curse inspired by The Bedford Tales, and his french (frog) grandmother.

----------

Third part, after first battle of St Albans. The players find out Billingham witches are still alive , and they are trying to resurrect the Shadow of Eleanor of Castile, and making rites in each one of the Eleanor Crosses.
Right now we are going to play our 26th game (they are level 6) , and:
-They have found out that 2 Sun paladins destroyed a witch conclave in Stonny Stratford, capturing one of the Billingham.
-They posess one of the last funerary recipients where Eleanor ashes are, and they wait for the attack of the witches and chaos spawn and daemons.
-They are going to explore an elf funerary temple in the middle of Ruthland forest, because the runes and the magic were used to tie Eleanor inner devil.
-They have been offered money to kill bandits infesting East Midlands region (These bandits were the ones that locate elf villages).
-They have been offered a huge amount of money to go to Buckingham siege and rescue Humphrey (In my world after St Albans battle, the Guard of 5 Ports , Humphrey Stafford has scaped there and now is sieged by Warwick).

Lot of things to offer, lot of things to do. I love Dark Albion :D
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on May 14, 2016, 06:09:50 AM
Quote from: viejah;897603
Hello, there, new in these forums. I really like Dark Albion and i would want to tell you how the story has progressed until now. To your knowdlege, we are using dnd5 rules with full magic (my players wanted it in that way, and it was ok for me).
Im not using it as a full sandbox , with full event table generation, but neither railroad. There is several stories ongoing and yes, players have the freedom to continue one storyline or other (war of roses), and do what they like.

It begins in Rochester, 1 year after John Kemp resurrection, and in 3 places of the Kemp county, Rochester, Hastings and Leeds, undead appear. A witches conclave, lead by Gloucester duchess, Eleanor Cobham (i know i know) and a family of witches, the Billingham, curse the land. Players during these first 15 games , make their base in Dover and explore arcadian ruins, kill goblins, and learn about a war between 2 Great Daemon Princes, Suaranthe and Alatelan.
:
It seems that witches conclave divided between followers of each Daemon, as the main objective was not properly done : kill John Kemp, but he was touched by the God Sun.

----------

The second part was the delivery of a letter to north of London, claiming several traitors to the Crown . Several Yorkists try to kill the players, while they find out the curse of the Earl of Bedford, and his brother. A family curse inspired by The Bedford Tales, and his french (frog) grandmother.

----------

Third part, after first battle of St Albans. The players find out Billingham witches are still alive , and they are trying to resurrect the Shadow of Eleanor of Castile, and making rites in each one of the Eleanor Crosses.
Right now we are going to play our 26th game (they are level 6) , and:
-They have found out that 2 Sun paladins destroyed a witch conclave in Stonny Stratford, capturing one of the Billingham.
-They posess one of the last funerary recipients where Eleanor ashes are, and they wait for the attack of the witches and chaos spawn and daemons.
-They are going to explore an elf funerary temple in the middle of Ruthland forest, because the runes and the magic were used to tie Eleanor inner devil.
-They have been offered money to kill bandits infesting East Midlands region (These bandits were the ones that locate elf villages).
-They have been offered a huge amount of money to go to Buckingham siege and rescue Humphrey (In my world after St Albans battle, the Guard of 5 Ports , Humphrey Stafford has scaped there and now is sieged by Warwick).

Lot of things to offer, lot of things to do. I love Dark Albion :D



WOW!

This all sounds absolutely fantastic. Great job!

And thanks so much for this post.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Willmark on September 18, 2016, 01:44:41 PM
Just ordered it.

If I run it I think I'd use 1st edition WFRP, seems like a natural fit. Looking forward to reading it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on September 19, 2016, 12:57:13 AM
Quote from: Willmark;920224
Just ordered it.

If I run it I think I'd use 1st edition WFRP, seems like a natural fit. Looking forward to reading it.

Great!  Hope you enjoy it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: ZWEIHÄNDER on March 01, 2017, 04:23:41 PM
Hi Pundit,

We threw you a shout-out on our AMA (https://youtu.be/9kkGc0FB_NA?t=3236) recently. We've got a few folks using Dark Albion (http://www.dcrouzet.net/heroes-witchery/?page_id=206) with the ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG (http://grimandperilous.com) Early Access rules. I am encouraging their group to put up adventure logs in Obsidian Portal. They've been running it since our Kickstarter, and from my conversations with their GM, it sounds absolutely fantastic.

Do you have a community set up for Dark Albion fans anywhere, outside of this thread?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Voros on March 01, 2017, 08:05:35 PM
There's a G+ community here. (https://plus.google.com/communities/115407678579609744010)
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 02, 2017, 03:19:10 PM
Quote from: Voros;948382
There's a G+ community here. (https://plus.google.com/communities/115407678579609744010)

Yup, that's the official one.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Mordred Pendragon on March 10, 2017, 07:35:22 PM
I just read the opening post and I like this setting from what I have read so far and want to read it more in-depth later tonight. I'm a sucker for historical fantasy.

I'd love to get the materials for Dark Albion soon and maybe run a campaign of it. Can I make some homebrew settings for it focusing on fantasy versions of Russia (I presume that's the Rus mentioned in the opening post), Italy, the Nordic countries, and especially the Holy Roman Empire?
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on March 10, 2017, 11:13:27 PM
Quote from: Doc Sammy;950530
I just read the opening post and I like this setting from what I have read so far and want to read it more in-depth later tonight. I'm a sucker for historical fantasy.

I'd love to get the materials for Dark Albion soon and maybe run a campaign of it. Can I make some homebrew settings for it focusing on fantasy versions of Russia (I presume that's the Rus mentioned in the opening post), Italy, the Nordic countries, and especially the Holy Roman Empire?

Yes, you could do any of those. There's a chapter on "The Continent" which covers the Albion version of all of those in brief.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Tom Kalbfus on July 09, 2020, 01:04:49 AM
Well we got Dracula, King Arthur, and Robin Hood, I think it would be interesting to insert a few other fairy tale characters, like Jack the Giant Killer, their are Giants North of Hadrian's Wall, Maybe the Little Mermaid, and if there was a King Arthur, there maybe a Lady of the Lake, maybe she was an aquatic elf, that is why she is "of the lake." You have Richard the Third, player characters might decide to rescue those two princes and see what happens.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Tom Kalbfus on July 09, 2020, 09:00:45 AM
I notice that the highest level of the campaign is 14th level. What if each gold sovereign collected as treasure was worth an experience point and the experience point table was set up like this:

Level : xp to attain
1st : 0
2nd : 1000
3rd : 2000
4th : 4000
5th : 8000
6th: 16,000
7th : 32,000
8th : 64,000
9th : 125,000
10th : 250,000
11th : 500,000
12th : 1,000,000
13th : 2,000,000
14th : 4,000,000
15th : 8,000,000
16th : 16,000,000
17th : 32,000,000
18th : 64,000,000
19th : 125,000,000
20th : 250,000,000

This leads to some very powerful characters, not because they obtain high levels, but mainly to attain these high levels, they need to accumulate vast fortunes, and at high levels, most experience gets accumulated through treasure collected. If the wealth level is to high, one could set an experience point equal to 1 copper penny's value of treasure collected instead, the doubling experience point table will still keep the levels down low.

With this kind of advancement, players are more likely to become political actors in this campaign world, they are likely to have their own private armies, mass combat will get used a lot at the higher levels. Players will get to direct troop movements, and one can dust off Battlesystems to resolve these actions. If your player characters want to challenge King Richard III for the throne of England, this is the way to do it.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 11, 2020, 09:06:44 AM
Quote from: Tom Kalbfus;1138637
I notice that the highest level of the campaign is 14th level. What if each gold sovereign collected as treasure was worth an experience point and the experience point table was set up like this:

Level : xp to attain
1st : 0
2nd : 1000
3rd : 2000
4th : 4000
5th : 8000
6th: 16,000
7th : 32,000
8th : 64,000
9th : 125,000
10th : 250,000
11th : 500,000
12th : 1,000,000
13th : 2,000,000
14th : 4,000,000
15th : 8,000,000
16th : 16,000,000
17th : 32,000,000
18th : 64,000,000
19th : 125,000,000
20th : 250,000,000

This leads to some very powerful characters, not because they obtain high levels, but mainly to attain these high levels, they need to accumulate vast fortunes, and at high levels, most experience gets accumulated through treasure collected. If the wealth level is to high, one could set an experience point equal to 1 copper penny's value of treasure collected instead, the doubling experience point table will still keep the levels down low.

With this kind of advancement, players are more likely to become political actors in this campaign world, they are likely to have their own private armies, mass combat will get used a lot at the higher levels. Players will get to direct troop movements, and one can dust off Battlesystems to resolve these actions. If your player characters want to challenge King Richard III for the throne of England, this is the way to do it.

Well sure, but it's not very medieval-authentic. Both because that amount of coin currency shouldn't be common, and also because many characters, either due to social status or character class, should not be concerned with collecting coin as their main reward.
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Ghostmaker on July 21, 2020, 08:58:14 AM
Quote from: RPGPundit;1139087
Well sure, but it's not very medieval-authentic. Both because that amount of coin currency shouldn't be common, and also because many characters, either due to social status or character class, should not be concerned with collecting coin as their main reward.

Oh jeez, I just realized this. Part of medieval/Renaissance history involves the rise of the moneyed merchant class, because the nobility really didn't pay attention to money (indeed, it was considered gauche to actually do more than direct underlings).
Title: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on July 22, 2020, 08:12:29 AM
Quote from: Ghostmaker;1140981
Oh jeez, I just realized this. Part of medieval/Renaissance history involves the rise of the moneyed merchant class, because the nobility really didn't pay attention to money (indeed, it was considered gauche to actually do more than direct underlings).

Precisely, and I point that out in the book.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: SciFiGuy on October 19, 2022, 11:48:37 PM
Hi brand new to the site, just bought Dark Albion.

Had a strange issue though, I was using PayPal to purchase it from Lulu / your book was the only item I had in the order and it was declined by PayPal for the Reason "This transaction cannot be completed because it violates the PayPal User Agreement." I do not understand how this could and I have a request in with PayPal CS to see if they will be able to provide more info. But with all the bad press about PayPal it kind of freaked me out. Has this happened before / or is this just my strange thing?
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Validin on November 24, 2022, 06:08:28 PM
Is there a full "worldmap" in Dark Albion?
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 24, 2022, 07:47:41 PM
Hi brand new to the site, just bought Dark Albion.

Had a strange issue though, I was using PayPal to purchase it from Lulu / your book was the only item I had in the order and it was declined by PayPal for the Reason "This transaction cannot be completed because it violates the PayPal User Agreement." I do not understand how this could and I have a request in with PayPal CS to see if they will be able to provide more info. But with all the bad press about PayPal it kind of freaked me out. Has this happened before / or is this just my strange thing?

I'm not sure. I presume it's a problem at paypal's end, or your end, rather than at my publisher's end. Nothing has been notified to me about that.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on November 24, 2022, 07:48:32 PM
Is there a full "worldmap" in Dark Albion?

Only the ones in the Dark Albion book. That includes the map of Albion, the local maps, and the map of the Continent.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Danger on January 22, 2023, 08:41:39 AM
Waaaaay late to say "thank you," for Dark Albion and the rest of your offerings, RPGPundit.

To put it mildly, your works as well as Sine Nomine's goods, are "no brainer/Day 1," buys for me.

Keep on truckin', man.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on January 25, 2023, 10:46:37 PM
Waaaaay late to say "thank you," for Dark Albion and the rest of your offerings, RPGPundit.

To put it mildly, your works as well as Sine Nomine's goods, are "no brainer/Day 1," buys for me.

Keep on truckin', man.

Thank you very much!
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: 1stLevelWizard on December 12, 2023, 09:33:33 PM
Hey Pundit,

I've been gearing up for some Dark Albion using the AD&D rules, and I was curious if you had some insights on how to adjudicate the races. I remember reading that in the original campaign there were modified races, would you mind sharing these?

I'm considering running them as-is, but removing the additional languages, Infravision, and anything that would otherwise seem out of place (such as the Dwarves' stone sense abilities).

Thanks!
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 12, 2023, 09:56:47 PM
Hey Pundit,

I've been gearing up for some Dark Albion using the AD&D rules, and I was curious if you had some insights on how to adjudicate the races. I remember reading that in the original campaign there were modified races, would you mind sharing these?

I'm considering running them as-is, but removing the additional languages, Infravision, and anything that would otherwise seem out of place (such as the Dwarves' stone sense abilities).

Thanks!

In the original campaign, I didn't have demihumans. I included the Scotsman and Cymri classes as a replacement.

But if you want there to be D&D-style elves and dwarves, there's no reason you can't just have them there; the real trick would be figuring out how common they were, and what their role in human society was.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: 1stLevelWizard on December 13, 2023, 01:57:51 AM
Quote
In the original campaign, I didn't have demihumans. I included the Scotsman and Cymri classes as a replacement.

But if you want there to be D&D-style elves and dwarves, there's no reason you can't just have them there; the real trick would be figuring out how common they were, and what their role in human society was.

My bad. What I meant to ask was: would you just use the Elven/Dwarven racial rules for the Cymri and Scotsman, respectively?
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 13, 2023, 03:24:50 AM
Quote
In the original campaign, I didn't have demihumans. I included the Scotsman and Cymri classes as a replacement.

But if you want there to be D&D-style elves and dwarves, there's no reason you can't just have them there; the real trick would be figuring out how common they were, and what their role in human society was.

My bad. What I meant to ask was: would you just use the Elven/Dwarven racial rules for the Cymri and Scotsman, respectively?

Um, I'm still not sure I get your question. In my own campaign I made the Scotsmen the tough guys, and the Cymri are sort of thief-magicians. Neither had the specific racial powers of dwarves or elves, though Scotsmen did have better than average saves, and Cymri had a sixth sense. The L&D system evolved over time, so at first they were all closer to LotFP characters, and by about the latter part of the second year they looked a lot closer to the classes that appear in "Appendix P" of Dark Albion.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: 1stLevelWizard on December 13, 2023, 04:31:14 PM
Quote
Um, I'm still not sure I get your question. In my own campaign I made the Scotsmen the tough guys, and the Cymri are sort of thief-magicians. Neither had the specific racial powers of dwarves or elves, though Scotsmen did have better than average saves, and Cymri had a sixth sense.

This actually answers my question right here, sorry about the confusion. I just wasn't sure if I should give the racial bonuses of demihumans to the Cymri and the Scotsman, or if I just keep them straight humans. Basically just reskin elves and dwarves as Cymri and Scotsman. I'll take a second look at Appendix P. Thanks!
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Brigman on December 27, 2023, 12:26:34 PM
Based on the lore, I'd say you could use the Half-Elf as a basis for Cymri.  But I don't mean to answer for the Pundit.

Unrelated question for Pundit: I notice you use the term "Walking Dead" instead of "Zombie".  Just curious why?  Is it what they referred to the monster type authentically?
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on December 28, 2023, 10:15:25 PM
Based on the lore, I'd say you could use the Half-Elf as a basis for Cymri.  But I don't mean to answer for the Pundit.

Unrelated question for Pundit: I notice you use the term "Walking Dead" instead of "Zombie".  Just curious why?  Is it what they referred to the monster type authentically?

The term "zombie" did not exist in the medieval period. There were various names for the undead, but there really wasn't one specific one for a generic zombie-style animated corpse. Hence I decided to just use Walking Dead.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Brigman on December 28, 2023, 11:09:05 PM
Gotcha, makes sense!
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Brigman on February 03, 2024, 11:43:39 PM
During my last session, one player (the Magister, using his staff) wanted to KO an opponent rather than kill him.

I couldn't find it in the rules quickly so I just allowed him to try (he missed anyway).  But speaking of missing, am I missing a rule for that?
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: RPGPundit on February 06, 2024, 01:58:30 AM
During my last session, one player (the Magister, using his staff) wanted to KO an opponent rather than kill him.

I couldn't find it in the rules quickly so I just allowed him to try (he missed anyway).  But speaking of missing, am I missing a rule for that?

I didn't put in a rule for non-lethal combat. But in my games someone can attempt to intentionally do only non-lethal damage, either unarmed or with a blunt weapon. Attacks are as normal, but damage is one die lower than the standard for the attack/weapon. Critical hits do not count as criticals.
Title: Re: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
Post by: Brigman on February 06, 2024, 10:53:41 AM
Thank you!