Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 1

A little over a year ago, I did a series of posts about utilizing Level Titles in a way that was more integrated into a campaign world. I produced one set for each of the four core classes, mostly reflecting how I would use them in context of my version of Averoigne; however, when it came to fighters, I opted to be more generic than I had been with the other three classes. The results were not very satisfying, but I never went back and wrote any campaign specific level titles — until now.

As I noted in my series of posts on Level Titles,  making them campaign specific can really make them sing. This poses a problem in the case of fighters because they really require more than one set of Level Titles. Though the other three classes are fairly generic, it is easy to justify a single guild structure for each class. Fighters, however, are the most generic of the four classes — they can be anything from a soldier to a barbarian to a gladiator to any number of iterations. Thus, only one set of Level Titles doesn’t do the class justice. This, therefore, is the first post in an attempt to create several options for fighters in Averoigne.

All fighters in Averoigne begin with the same Level Titles for the first three levels (the apprentice stage), after which they may align themselves with one of the various groups which grant Level Titles for higher levels:

1. Veteran — The term veteran reflects the fact that fighters have already been involved in some kind of fighting or military action.

2. Man-at-Arms — A man-at-arms is someone who has chosen to live the life of a fighter. In demonstrating this commitment and the amount of skill (and luck) to become a man-at-arms, they are granted the right to publicly bear arms, with the exception of a sword. In most places, however, even man-at-arms are discouraged from wearing armor or carrying more than one weapon in public.

3. Swordsman* — Swordsmen have earned enough respect that they are allowed to openly carry a sword. They may even wear armor in public without raising too much suspicion.

*If a character declines to join any of the following groups, they remain a Swordsman regardless of level.

Chevaliers

The Chevaliers, also known as The King’s Men, are one of the ways that the King of Salia exerts his influence upon the region. Since there are few Salian nobles in Averoigne and the Averni nobles only give lip service to their loyalty to the crown, the King created a organization that bypasses the authority of the nobility by being answerable directly to him. The Chevaliers are almost exclusively Salian and must swear absolute fealty to the King.

4. Under-Sheriff — Is given jurisdiction over a village to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a red rose as a sign of office.

5. Sheriff — Is given jurisdiction over a several villages, a few towns or a small city to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a red rose as a sign of office.

6. High Sheriff —  Is given jurisdiction over a county to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a white rose as a sign of office.

7. Marshall — Is given the right to convene a civil court and act as judge. May conscript Under-Sheriffs in order to conduct an investigation. Has the right to wear a fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

8. Constable — May conscript Sheriffs on order to conduct an investigation. Has the right to wear two fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

9. High Constable — Oversees all legal activity within a region (and attracts/is assigned followers to carry out this duty). Has the right to wear three fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

Thema Calabria

This is the remnant of a military unit from the Eastern Christian Empire that is now largely autonomous due to being cut off from their original home. The term Thema refers to a military jurisdiction of the Empire. For a brief period, the Eastern Empire had a foothold in the West, headquartered in Syracuse and the Thema was called Calabria. This foothold was overrun, and part of the retreating force found refuge in Averoigne. Today, it is tolerated by the King of Salia due to past service against barbarian incursion and the unit pays lip service to the King; however, its ranks have recently been bolstered by a growing number of Averni dissatisfied with the Salian King and who yearn for a return to the Rome represented by the Eastern Empire.

4. Dekarchos — While in Averoigne, a Dekarchos can muster 10 men in times of crisis. In addition, they have access to the unit’s armory.* They have the right to wear the unit’s insignia (a stylized golden cross on a red background).

5. Kentarchos — While in Averoigne, a Kentarchos can muster 50 men in times of crisis. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ν’ as part of their badge of office.

6. Komes — While in Averoigne, a Komes can muster 100 men in times of crisis. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ρ’ as part of their badge of office.

7. Droungarios — Has two Komes and any men they muster under their command. Will be recognized by the Averni people and Averni nobles as a judge in civil disputes. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘σ’ as part of their badge of office.

8. Tourmarches — Has six Drouganarios and any men they muster under their command. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ισ’ as part of their badge of office.

9. Strategos — This is the highest rank within the unit. The Strategos will have a personal retinue (attracted followers) and will have four Tourmaches and any men they muster under their command. They may wear a two-headed eagle as part of their badge of office.

* Items like swords and mailed armor are not readily available in Averoigne. While there are armorers, what swords and mails they produce are normally already paid for by nobles who are far more important to the business survival of the armorer than an adventurer. Having access to the unit’s armorer, therefore, makes getting such equipment increasingly easier as the fighter increases in level.

Holmes and Clark Ashton Smith

Over the weekend, I have been very much distracted by Mr. Clark Ashton Smith. I am not unfamiliar with his writings, even though I only discovered him as an adult; however, to date, I have mainly read his Zothique Cycle of stories. While I certainly enjoy his prose and would gladly read them again and again rather than what has passed for science fiction/fantasy over the last couple of decades, his stories have never really fired up my imagination. Until now. This weekend was the first time I ever ventured into Averoigne.

[Before anyone starts questioning by old-school cred, I was a player when my friends and I ran X2 Castle Amber and we never got to Averoigne during the campaign. Thus, I never had occasion to see the bibliography that Moldvay provided.]

Smith's The Beast of Averoigne caught me by complete surprise. There are stories that really excite and entertain. There are those that inspire. This one sent explosions of creativity bursting through my brain.

First of all, I love the groundedness of the story. I felt comfortable in the world — as if I were somehow familiar with it despite the fact I had never before read anything about it.

Secondly, I love the implication that the Beast itself is extraterrestrial. This leaves all kinds of room for whatever monstrosities one wants to inflict upon a campaign world (gonzo or no).

Finally, as someone who has not only spent quite a bit of time with Holmes, but extrapolating an assumed world from those rules, I have to ask: Is there a better example of a literary world for playing Holmes in than Smith's Averoigne? Personally, I can't think of any.

It hits so many of the notes I have found coming out of the Holmes edition:

• It implies a Christian civilization at the edge of the wilderness.
• Although tolerated, arcane magic is frowned upon as being pagan and corrupting.
• There are Inquisitors that monitor and arrest wizards who do not use their magic to benefit the citizens of Averoigne.
• The corruption of arcane magic dates to before the advent of Christianity, and runs deep.
• There are powerful magic items which date from these ancient times.
• There are plenty of ruins and abandoned chateaus (and therefore, potential dungeons) available for exploring.
• I could go on…

From a purely (and geeky) historical point of view, the southern part of France (which is approximately where Averoigne would be) is a fascinating model for any campaign — especially if one chooses A.D. 1100-1350 or so. Pope Clement V refused to move to Rome. As a result, the papal court moved to France. A total of seven popes reigned from the Papal palace in Avignon. In addition, two antipopes used Avignon as their headquarters. This juicy history is chuck full of possibilities for all kinds of campaigns.

I also have in my possession an hagiography written by St. Gregory of Tours. In it he details the lives of several Gaulic saints from the 5th-6th centuries. Though this is well outside the time frame of an Averoigne-based campaign, it does lay the foundation for the beginnings of Christianity in the campaign world. These saints can be the background noise that defines the Christian civilization.

Finally, with the campaign world being so firmly grounded in a real-world location and time-frame, the clothes, armor, weapons, names, etc of characters can be clearly delineated. There are plenty of books available that can help define what it is a character can expect to be able to own and what they might look like.

I love it when a story starts me down a path like this…I just hope these seeds can someday come to fruition.

Languages of Averoigne

As I have admitted in the past, one of things that I have really come to appreciate from the 3.5 SRD is the way that it handles languages. It lists both a standard group of languages (Common, Ork, Elvish, etc.) and the alphabet that it uses. This way not only is there a common group upon which to understand how language is used across different campaigns, but how different languages are related (and thus reveal cultural realities about the world). This format, of course, is easily adaptable and customizable for different campaigns.

I mention this, because one of the fallow projects that I am most interested in finishing is my work with my own version of Averoigne. I have found that using the SRD understanding of language to be very useful both in terms of harking back to a Holmesian understanding of humanoids and for the purposes of building a rich cultural background. Here is a table with the SRD languages/alphabets in brackets followed by the languages they represent within my version of Averoigne:

[Celestial] Greek
[Common] Latin — Salic, Church Latin
[Draconic] Norn
[Dwarven] German — Dwarven, Gnomish, Goblin, Kobold
[Elvish] Celtic — Occitan, Elvish, Orc, Hobgoblin, Gnoll
[Infernal] Gothic

I made Celestial the equivalent of Greek, because that is the language of both the Gospel and the Christian Empire, which now only exists in its original form in the East. Rome has fallen and the Christian peoples of the West are now trying to pick up the pieces.

Common, therefore, is the various forms of Latin. Salic is a fantasy version of proto-French spoken by the Salians (which is the original tribal name for what would be become the Franks). They represent those outsiders in Averoigne whose answer to the fall of Rome is to create a new Holy Roman Empire based in Salia (which lies somewhere northwest of Averoigne). Church Latin is a more archaic version of the Common tongue.

Draconic is represented by Norn, another real world language found in Scotland; however, I am playing with double meaning of the word because it evokes the Norns of Norse Mythology. It thus has a pagan feel and represents a guiding force behind the pagan Rome of old (I am also thinking here of the woman riding a dragon in Revelation 17).

Dwarven is represented by German because (as fey touched demi-humans who have rejected the image and likeness within themselves) it is one of the main language groups spoken by pagans outside the Roman Empire. Gnomish, Goblin and Kobold are different dialects.

Elvish is represented by Celtic because it is the other major culture/language of pagans outside the Roman Empire. Occitan is another (dying) real world language, which can be found in Southern France in the very region Averoigne is a fantasy analog of. In the real world, it is a Romance Language (derived from Latin); however, I wanted it to represent more of a cultural clash between the Averni (the native people of Averoigne) and the Salians. They yearn for the old Romes (both Christian and pagan). It also nicely sets up a conflict within the Averni themselves over which pieces of Rome they are trying to pick up. Thus, Occitan, Orc, Hobgoblin and Gnoll are all dialects of Elvish.

Infernal is represented by Gothic, because Christian Rome was sacked by Visigoths and a fantasy version of the Visigoths can easily be seen as a stand-in for the infernal forces found in the Chaotic (Demonic) Wilderness.

Cults of Averoigne Part 1

Among the various wilderness encounter areas that I have for my version of Averoigne are several cultists. I included them on my Random Wilderness Encounter Tables because not only do I want an interesting and insidious group of human adversaries but because there is an historical precedence in 13th century France for such a group.

From 1209-1229 nobles of northern France were encouraged to wipe out the Catharism abundant in southern France in what is known as the Albigensian Crusade. It all started when a papal legate was murdered while trying to negotiate with Cathar nobles. Lands held by Cathars were offered up as rewards for those nobles willing to take up arms. There were a couple of interesting consequences from this crusade.

1. Southern France had a distinct culture and language. In the wake of the crusade, both of these were greatly reduced under stronger influence of the French crown over the area.
2. The crusade played a role in the establishment and institutionalization of the Inquisition.

Both of these suggest some very interesting background noise for an Averoigne campaign. First, the language and culture of Averoigne is distinct from the rest of the region. Secondly, Inquisitors tend to be outsiders who have a nationalistic agenda rather than a purely religious one.

Catharism is a dualistic gnostic Christian heresy. Dualism is a belief system that holds that there are two equally powerful deities — one good and one evil. Gnosticism takes on various forms, but there are several characteristics which can be identified as gnostic. In the case of Catharism, they identify the god of the Old Testament as a demiurge — what they term the Rex Mundi — that is in actuality the evil god in their dualistic pantheon. This results in another typical gnostic characteristic — the belief that creation and all matter are fundamentally evil, having been created by the Rex Mundi. As a result, Catharism understands the person of Jesus to be a manifestation of spirit unbound by matter who in no way shape or form became human or died on the Cross.

Of course, these beliefs run counter to Christian orthodoxy which holds that the Trinitarian God is the only God who even has dominion over the devil and his angels; creation was declared very good by God; and Christ definitively became a human being and died on the Cross.

Cathari religious texts included parts of the New Testament (especially the Gospel of John), The Gospel of the Secret Supper (sometimes called John’s Interrogation) and The Book of Two Principles. There is some question as to whether or not the name Cathar was used by the heretical group. More certainly, they referred to themselves as Bons Hommes or Good Men.

Despite this moniker, gnostic theology has some nasty consequences. Since all matter is considered evil, how one treats matter is of little consequence. Thus, extreme asceticism and hedonism are both frequent expressions of gnostic practice. Taking this understanding of material as evil to a logical conclusion, it is possible for gaming purposes to justify torture as a legitimate tool of religious conversion and discipline — to remove dependence upon evil matter.

Therefore, the analogous group for the Cathari (which I am thinking of calling the Oamenbun) would practice extreme asceticism (horse hair shirts being considered mild) who would think nothing of kidnapping and torture as a means of furthering their own agenda. The inner circle of leaders would have secret dens of inequity where all kinds of heinous and hedonistic practices can be found. Most intriguingly, this group would be fervently nationalistic — resisting the influence of non-Averoigne culture and language. This nationalism would earn them wide support among the locals.

Meditating on Random Encounter Tables

Before I go any farther, let me apologize for the dearth of posts around here lately. Though I should know better, lenten seasons (as in the 40 days prior to Christmas) and their immediate aftermath always demand more of my time than I ever expect. In addition, most of the time I have recently spent on gaming has been of the order of getting small details done for a couple projects that I have left fallow for awhile. Thus, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to post, and what I could be posting about hasn’t been all that exciting.

And here comes the However: I have been slogging through making Random Wilderness Encounter Tables for my version of Averoigne. Due to the fact that I like the mechanical feel of their structure, I have been using the same tables from S&W Complete as a model. And yet, one thing bothered me about them — dragons.

Depending on terrain type, there is about a 10% chance of having a random encounter with a dragon using the S&W Complete tables. Now, there are simple ways to radically reduce this chance — but this isn’t what bothered me. Rather, it was the very idea that I had to have a world where enough dragons were running around to justify a 10% chance of running into one.

This notion continued to grow as I found myself repeatedly placing things that the source material suggests like vampires, lamias and lycanthropes all over my encounter tables. Looking at my tables, I couldn’t help but think that my version of Averoigne must be crawling with hundreds of these nasty creatures in order to justify their presence in these tables.

As I doggedly moved forward and started to use these tables in order to come up with wilderness encounter areas, I realized something really interesting — while vampires, lamias and lycanthropes are all over my random tables, there is in actuality only one vampire, one lamia and a handful of lycanthropes (and no dragons) that currently live in Averoigne.

In other words, Random Encounter Tables do not represent what is, rather what might be and only if the PCs go exploring in the wilderness. Though dragons show up on my tables, they don’t exist until they do. Therefore, my world doesn’t have to be a world where dragons exist until they do.

This may seem to be an odd statement, but to my mind it is significant. A world crawling with vampires, lamias, lycanthropes and dragons would look and behave much differently than a world with one vampire, one lamia, a couple of lycanthropes and no dragons. The former is one where paranoia runs rampant, trade would be virtually non-existent and nearly all resources would be used to merely survive. The latter looks much more like a typical medieval society with normal superstitions and fears.

This distinction allows random encounters to impact the game world in a far more interesting and organic way. Dragons don’t exist in Averoigne. No one has ever seen one. Therefore, when the fumbling around of the PCs results in a dragon showing up in Averoigne, it is going to be a major event worthy of an adventure.

Meditating on ACKS and Averoigne

One who has read this blog over the years may have noticed that I haven’t posted a Lost Colonies Session report in a long time. This is not because the campaign has ended, but rather that the sessions are few and far between and nothing has really happened that I was inspired enough to write about. This is due to the fact that I am not inspired enough by the campaign in its current state to do much more and none of the guys I play with have championed more sessions than the few that we have done.

In the meantime, my group has been primarily playing AD&D with a few forays into Pathfinder. At the moment, the guys I play with are enamored by AD&D’s fiddliness — to them it represent more “choice” than other older editions of the game. I could argue that I could accomplish much of the same feel and choices with a much cleaner and simpler ruleset such as S&W or LL + AEC, but I would be missing the point.

One has to understand that the group I play with were virtually all introduced to the game with 3rd edition. As such, character builds are very important to them — it is a part of the gaming experience that they really enjoy. I have meditated on this before. I have, in contrast, scratched that itch with various war games which these guys never had as part of their gaming experience.

Every couple of months, someone at the table suggests that we play Pathfinder for a while (it being the 3ed emulation of choice). We play awhile until everyone remembers why we don’t like playing 3ed/Pathfinder. I don’t mind terribly much because I have learned to enjoy the game at lower levels and I know we will sooner rather than later go back to an older ruleset or its emulation.

What this all means, in the long run, is that I am not ever going to be able to run an Averoigne campaign with the guys I play with the way I want to — with a Holmes/Cook mash-up using either LL or S&W as a jumping off point. While it is incredibly interesting to me and something I would really like to play-test one day, it isn’t something that is going to interest my group. Thus, I am having to re-think about my approach so that I can start play-testing Averoigne and the Chateau des Faussesflammes as concepts.

Enter, of all things, Dwimmermount. My faith in that project and my patience have born fruit. One of the things that has come out of all the complications of the project is the generosity of the guys at Autarch. Via a promise made to backers, I have gotten my hands on .pdfs of ACKS and the ACKS Player Companion and done some serious reading and fiddling.

I have to say that both are excellent products, if lacking in a few tables & examples here and there which would have made my understanding and use of the products easier. I really like the fact that at its root, ACKS is B/X. I also really appreciate their interpretation of its mechanics extrapolated into the concept of proficiencies/feats, world building and the end-game.

In the end, however, I find it too fiddly. I prefer a far more organic/random interaction with world creation than these rules imply and I have never much cared for proficiencies, especially when they really emulate skills and feats that imply more roll playing than role playing. There are aspects that I think will prove very useful in the long run, but won’t really know until I actually use them at the table.

This is where I insert the however of this blog post. Even though I don’t care for the fiddliness of ACKS, I do think the guys who I play with will. It scratches the character build itch in a way that AD&D can’t but without all the stuff we don’t like about Pathfinder (I hope). For my own taste, I prefer the fiddliness of ACKS over the fiddliness of AD&D because it represents true player choice and is mechanically cleaner (and did I mention that it is basically B/X — my favorite edition of the game — with a bunch of stuff added on?).

Thus, the best chance I have of playing in my version of Averoigne with the guys I play with may very well be ACKS. As such, in the coming days I will be converting some of the work I have done on Averoigne to the ACKS system to see if what emerges is something I am still interested in playing.

On Demi-Humans in Averoigne

My passing comment that demi-humans are born of human parents in Averoigne generated this question:

Ooh, fascinating. This born of human parents notion is the first I have heard of it. So what do two elves produce? An elf? Or a human? Do you have this written up somewhere?

My initial thoughts on the matter can be found here; however, that doesn’t address the specific question.

I want my Averoigne campaign to be human-centric. D&D, as originally conceived was supposed to be that; however, according to my own experience, players seem to gravitate towards demi-humans anyway. Part of that is the various cultures and civilizations that these creatures have as part of their background.

Part of my thinking on demi-humans in Averoigne is to come up with an explanation why there aren’t any elven, dwarven or halfling civilizations or cultures — mom and dad are human. In addition, it also helps explain demi-human level limits — they have turned their back on their humanity in order to embrace the powers they get from being fey-touched. As a result, they can never reach their full potential.

Another reason that there is no demi-human civilizations or cultures is that any children they have are not guaranteed to be demi-human. The majority are human, and any fey-touched children may very will end-up being another type of demi-human.

A final reason for this lack of a culture or civilization is that a fair number of fey-touched abandon their humanity, not just embrace their demi-humanity. Once that happens, they become twisted (orcs, goblins, etc.) and often never turn back. At this point they cease to be human and become monsters. Any offspring at this point are not human, but more monsters.

A parting note: in an attempt to re-habilitate the idea of the half-elf, they are not half-human, half-elf offspring. Rather, they are fey-touched who are struggling to hold on to their humanity. They still have demi-human powers, but suffer penalties when using them.

A Player's Map for Averoigne

Here is a map I've been working on. It is a four hex Player's Map for an Averoigne campaign centered on the village of Pergament and The Chateau des Faussesflammes (which lies only a few miles to the west of the map). Enjoy:

• The Ancient Stones: These flat stones once formed a pattern of some kind, though no one is really sure what that pattern is. It is rumored that strange things happen in the area on various days of the year or phases of the moon, depending upon the source.
• The Singing Trees: Travelers through this part of the Westwood have reported hearing strange songs that seem to come from the trees themselves. Some have reported being able to discern voices. Others even claim to have heard prophecies that have proven true over time.
• St. Ursas: This is the name of the local monastery. It is run by White Monks.
• Farms: There are about sixty farms that service Pergament. They are generally referred to in two groups: The North Farms and The South Farms. There is a rivalry between the two, due mostly to the fact that most of the farmers to the north are Salians and most to the south are Averni.
• Westwood: Pergament and its environs sit at the eastern edge of Westwood, a large forest that dominates western Averoigne. The most common tree is the Sassafras. Wild raspberries are common and various melons are not unheard of. Hunters come to Westwood for its elk.
• The Stone Tree: At the center of a field of solid stone is a large petrified tree. No one knows how or why this happened, but there are rumors that the whole field radiates of magic.
• The Stone Guardians: This series of rune-encrusted stones serve to keep unwanted guests away from the Tower of the Blue Wizard. Anyone who approaches without an invitation gets a kind of motion sickness. For the stubborn, this usually ends up with uncontrollable vomiting. Both disappear when unwanted guests retreat from the area.
• The Tower of the Blue Wizard: This is the home of the head of the local Wizard’s Guild. Not much is known about him, because he is rather reclusive; however, it is widely known that he is good friends with the abbot of St. Ursas.
• The Phasing Gardens: No one knows who planted these gardens, which are full of strange and exotic plants. Most locals avoid them completely, however, due to the strange way they appear and disappear. These correspond with sunrise, sunset and the phases of the moon. The only time all three gardens appear at the same time is during the full moon.
• The Bearded Trees: The trees in this part of the Westwood are covered in moss. Rumors say that many of these trees might actually be dormant treants. Local hunters avoid this area when hunting.
• The Izole Ferry: This is the main route of trade with Ximera, the major city in southern Averoigne.

Cults of Averoigne Part 3

The last group of cultists that will populate my version of Averoigne are not inspired by history, but rather by sci-fi and fantasy. Though this cult will be far less prevalent than the other two, it may very well be the most dangerous, because they see themselves as the servants of the Old Ones (do you think I wouldn’t figure out a way in which to pay homage to CAS and HPL?)

Before I go any further, though, I do need to explain a bit about my comic book reading habits (trust me, it will make sense in the end). I am neither a huge comic book fan nor much of a collector; however, there were a couple of periods in my life when I did actively buy and read comic books. I tend to be more of a DC kinda guy than a Marvel guy. This largely has to do with the fact that during those times I was buying and reading, DC was putting out a superior product. I came to this conclusion despite the fact that all of my comic book reading friends insisted that Marvel was better.

This anti-Marvel prejudice was solidified when the comic book giant came out with a bunch of new titles. A few of them really inspired my friends, so I selectively gave a few a try. I had to admit, some of the ideas behind the books were indeed rather awesome. Then original writers and artists were dumped from the book to go on to more important titles and these various cool ideas were systemically destroyed by incompetence, indifference and an emphasis on stories that required the purchase of several books I had zero desire to ever read, let alone pay for.

This was many years ago and my copies are long gone as are my memories of the titles, characters, artists, writers etc. A cursory Google search turned up nothing but the inherent prejudice of the internet for the current, new and now. All that remains is the cool idea that inspired my favorite of these comics.

The book centered on a group of mercenaries that travelled through dimensions/time/space in order to procure technologies that could then be reverse engineered and developed for the company that sent the mercs out on their various missions. The potential for this beautiful nugget is endless — especially for serialized storytelling like comic books.

This nugget of an idea forms the basic premise of the cult of the Old Ones. A couple of weeks ago, I posited an idea about how arcane magic slowly rips apart space and time. These holes can become large enough to let in things from different eras both past and present.

The cult of the Old Ones actively tries to create and find these holes. Cultists come in two different flavors (or some combination thereof):

• Those that seek to find power and riches by raiding different time periods of their magic and technology.
• Those that seek to find that point in time either in the distant past or the distant future where the Old Ones are awake and active so that they can come through the hole in space and time to wreck havoc on Averoigne and the world.

Thus, these cultists are, in essence, twisted versions of the average D&D adventuring party. Rather than raiding dungeons, they raid time itself. This, then, has the potential of setting up an adventure or series of adventures where a group of players are hired by the cult to do their dirty work — go retrieve this device that lies just beyond that gate over there. If they do, then the fun begins as they must deal with the consequences of their actions...

Saintly Saturday: St. Martin of Tours

As Theodoric pointed out yesterday, most of the world commemorates St. Martin of Tours on November 11th; however, there are pockets where his feast is kept on the 12th — which is where he appears on the Greek calendar. Therefore, those of us who like him have an excuse for celebrating two days in a row.

St. Martin was a 4th century bishop born to pagan parents. He became a catechumen (someone studying to become a Christian) at a young age. Baptized at the age of 22, he went on to become a monastic in Gaul before taking on the mantel of a bishop.

One of the most famous stories of St. Martin comes from when he was still a catechumen. He was serving in the Roman army when he saw an ill-clad beggar asking for alms. With nothing but the clothes on his back to give, the saint tore his military cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. Later that night, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Martin, clothed in the cloak he had given the beggar.

This cloak was then kept as a relic in a sanctuary. In latin, the word cloak is cappella which is what the sanctuary came to be called. Those who took care of the sanctuary came to be called cappellani. In English, these two words form the basis from which we get the words chapel and chaplain.

Besides my own personal love and interest in St. Martin, I was also very eager to delve into his life because he informs by own understanding of Averoigne. Though Tours is outside the traditional boundaries of where Averoigne is thought to be, St. Martin nonetheless casts a very large shadow over Gaul and even over all of Western Christendom. He was instrumental in sowing the seeds that would blossom into the Western monastic tradition. Therefore, St. Martin is a figure I very much want to bring into the tapestry that is my version of Averoigne.

One easy way to do this is to simply have his cappella as a clerical magical artifact in the campaign. Indeed, there are plenty of examples of relics of saints that are pieces of clothing. I personally have seen shoes and strips of cloth used as foci for prayer and indeed a source of healing. Therefore, there are a plethora of opportunities to place unique magic items within a campaign world.

The Cloak of St. Martinus

This disheveled and apparently misused cloak has been torn in two and sown back together again; however, it radiates of magic if a Detect Magic spell is cast upon it. It is wearable by anyone, and its affects depend upon wearer's Wisdom score.

• For those that have a penalty due to a low Wisdom, the cloak serves as a Cloak of Protection. The protection bonus is the inverse score of the Wisdom penalty. Thus, for someone with a Wisdom score of 3 (which has a penalty of -3), the cloak would have a bonus of +3.
• For those who have a Wisdom bonus, the cloak grants bonus cleric spells: one 1st level if the bonus is +1, one 2nd level if the bonus is +2 and one 3rd level if the bonus is +3. These spells are cumulative (a Wisdom score of 18 would grant 3 spells — one each: 1st, 2nd and 3rd) and are in addition to any other bonus spells a cleric may already receive for a high Wisdom. These bonus spells are granted to anyone regardless of class and are determined randomly. The spells stay until they are used in a creative/productive manner (no casting a utility spell like Water Breathing just to get rid of it).
• For those who have no Wisdom Bonus, the cloak allows an Augury spell to be cast once per day.

On Being Seelie

Any time one decides to set an FRPG in an pseudo-historical setting, such as Averoigne, one must deal with elves, dwarves, halflings, etc. A choice must be made: to have demi-humans or not. If they are included, they must be explained — especially if the pseudo-historical setting is Christian because the salvation of Christ is intrinsically tied to His incarnation as a human.

I have long been a fan of demi-humans. When I first began to play with the Holmes edition all those years ago my first character was an elf and my best friend's was a dwarf. Though my friends and I gravitated towards human characters as we grew older, I have always enjoyed the sense of whimsy and mystery they can bring into a game (they also can transform a "hopeless" character into something dangerous as the halfling Pawnchee has demonstrated in my Lost Colonies campaign). Therefore, I am not particularly interested in "punting" the issue of demi-humans by not including them in my version of Averoigne.

This brings me to the word seelie. With the world of FRPGs we associate this word strongly with fey creatures and their two rival courts who may or may not be benevolent toward humans. If we look at the etymology of the word, however, we find three very interesting meanings: happy, lucky and blessed. I am particularly interested in that last word, especially given this depiction of Christ by the Pre-Raphaelite William Hunt:

I defy anyone to deny that this doesn't have at least a passing resemblance to how Tolkien describes his high elves.

The word unseelie, therefore, means unholy. There are two primary examples of unholy beings that frequent the forests of Averoigne: vampires and lycanthropes. These two can be seen as men who have actively denied God's image and likeness within themselves. Vampires have chosen to seek immortality sans God and lycanthropes (literally wolf-men) have denied their own free-will to make moral choices — they give themselves over to being beasts and beings of pure instinct.

This suggests that the fey, rather than being faeries, elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. are actually bodiless powers (aka angels and demons) who either bless or corrupt normal human beings who then become elves, dwarves, goblins, etc. I imagine that the normal trajectory would look something like this:

• A child is "touched" and begins to display outward signs of being an elf, dwarf or halfling.
• This child would then never quite fit into normal human society. Society may even fear the child.
• The child would then have three options: embrace their gift (and possibly get ostracized), hide their gift in order to fit in (the origin of half-elves?) or reject it.
• Those that embraced their gift but are ostracized are tempted by unseelie fey to take revenge. Those that give in are twisted (the origin of orcs, etc.)
• Those that reject their gift will also be tempted by the unseelie fey to do whatever it takes to get rid of their gift. These will also be twisted.
• Subsequently, those that are twisted have two options: repent or no.
• Those that refuse to repent become monsters.

The one wrench in this whole set-up is the elf, who is able to cast arcane magic. Given that arcane magic is naturally corruptive (especially when not done in conjunction with divine magic and/or the church), the origin of the elven "gift" is most likely not seelie. Quite possibly, the reason people fear the "touched" is due to the very reason that most, if not all, elves are unseelie from the outset…

Inquisitor Class for ACKS

Over the years, I have converted various campaign worlds to different systems. Every time, whether I like it or not, the mechanical assumptions of the system affect the world in question. For example, in converting Averoigne to ACKS and its system of Custom Classes and Proficiencies, it virtually eliminates the need for all of my musings on level titles.

There is also a much clearer distinction between divine and arcane magic than in Holmes. Given a world where the arcane magic is more naturally aligned with Chaos, where magic can affect large populations and where sin can manifest physically, there is an institutional need for some kind of check on everything arcane. Historically, France did participate in the Inquisition. While this institution (rightly) is held up as a blemish on the history of Christendom, there is a (potentially positive) place for it in Averoigne, where all of the above are true. Thus, my conversion of Averoigne to ACKS now includes the Inquisitor Class:

Inquisitor Class for ACKS

Prime Requisite: STR and WIS
Requirements: Must be Lawful
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
Inquisitors are monster hunters. Some are officials of the Salien Empire that hunt down and root out the Chaotic use of arcane magic, others are simply the faithful dedicated to ridding the world of evil magic and the creatures it spawns. In this quest they are able to use bows and flails/maces/hammers, wear chain mail or lighter armor and shield and use two fighting styles: weapon + shield and two-handed weapon. They also are able to cast divine magic and Turn as clerics of half their character level. In addition, they have the following Custom Powers:

• Arcane Hunter Inquisitors are filled with zeal to destroy Chaotic magic creatures (which includes mages). They gain a +1 to attack rolls against these creatures. This increases to +2 at 7th level and +3 at 13th level.
• Detect Power Inquisitors can detect spellcasters within 60' and estimate their level of power relative to their own. They can also tell when arcane magic has been used within the last 24 hours within the same vicinity. (The only way they sense whether an item is magic is if it has been used in the last 24 hours.) Each use takes a turn.
• Perceive Intentions Inquisitors have spent a lifetime reading reactions of creatures they interact with, even if the creatures attempt to lie or conceal their reactions. Inquisitors always know the reaction roll (Hostile, Unfriendly, etc.) of creatures encountered as long as the creature’s CHA is not greater than the character’s WIS (the character will know these creatures are immune).
• Detect Evil At 2nd level, an Inquisitor can detect evil (as the spell) up to 60' away simply by concentrating. Each use takes a turn.
• Judgement At 4th level, the Inquisitor can pronounce judgement against another creature once per day. [This is the same as the Hex custom power].
• Resistent At 9th level, an Inquisitor has been hunting monsters for so long, that they become resistant to various kinds of tribulations. They gain a +2 to all saves.[This is the same as the Divine Blessings custom power].

Inquisitor Proficiency List: Alertness, Battle Magic, Blind Fighting, Combat Trickery (force back, overrun, sunder), Command, Contemplation, Diplomacy, Eavesdropping, Endurance, Divine Health, Fighting Style, Goblin-slaying, Healing, Knowledge (history), Laying on Hands, Leadership, Loremastery, Martial Training, Precise Shooting, Profession (judge), Skirmishing, Quiet Magic, Righteous Turning, Tracking, Theology, Unflappable Casting, Weapon Focus, Wakefulness

Inquisitors fight and save as fighters and use the Castle rules to build a Stronghold at 9th level.

XP Progression looks like this:

• Level 2: 2,350
• Level 3: 4,700
• Level 4: 9,400
• Level 5: 18,800
• Level 6: 37,600
• Level 7: 75,200
• Level 8: 150,400
• Level 9: 270,400
• Level 10: 390,400
• Level 11: 510,400
• Level 12: 630,400
• Level 13: 750,400
• Level 14: 870,400

Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 2

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

White Swords

The White Swords are the military arm of the White Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne. They are independent of any government or noble and are answerable only to the Archbishop. The order is led by a Grand Commander assigned for life by the Archbishop and is granted the title Grand Master.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and is allowed to wear a white Cross on a black field as a sign of their office. They have free access to the horses of the White Monks (as long as they are well cared for and eventually returned). Squires may request a Light Warhorse.

5. Sergeant — Sergeants may request a Medium Warhorse. They may add a white chief ordinary (a white stripe across the top) to the black field and white cross as a sign of their office.

6. Knight — Knights are allowed to wear a black cross on a white field as a sign of their office and may request a Heavy Warhorse.

7. Turcopolier — Trucopoliers may hear cases in the ecclesiastical court and may request multiple Light Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a great helm colored white on one side and black on the other.

8. Seneschal — Seneschals may request multiple Medium Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a great helm colored white on one side and black on the other and crested with a cross.

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. They may also request multiple Heavy Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a white great helm crested with a cross.

Wizards of Averoigne: A Rainbow of Spell-Casters

Since yesterday, my brain has been chewing on some of the ideas that I came up with on the subject of anti-clerics, arcane cleric spells and cleric spell books. Since my ideas found fertile soul in a Holmsian-inspired vision of D&D, I figured the best place to implement them was in my standard Holmsian-esque campaign world: Averoigne. I also figured that since Holmes was influenced by Tolkien, so should I.

Although I have never read the Lord of the Rings more than once in my life, I do remember that there is a suggestion of an order of wizards whose status is determined by color. As I recall, three colors are explicitly mentioned: white, grey and brown. Thus, in a world where there is a strong guild-structure, it makes sense that Averoigne would pay homage to Tolkien by differentiating different types of arcane spell casters by color:

White Magic-Users: So-called because they practice white magic — arcane cleric spells. They must be Lawful* and they cannot cast any spells above 3rd level.

Black Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic — arcane magic-user spells. They are usually Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

Grey Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic in context of the Church — a mixture of black and white. They can be Lawful or Neutral and must belong to the Wizard’s Guild.

Brown Magic-Users: So-called because they are seen as close to the earth — operating mostly in villages, towns or as hermits. They use arcane cleric spells and have no formal guild. Since they practice white magic, they are generally left alone (which opens the possibility that individual brown magic-users may have a spell or two from the druid spell list). They tend to be neutral and can gain a maximum of 6th level in experience.

Red Magic-Users: So-called because the casting of reverse cleric spells normally involves some kind of blood sacrifice. These are anti-clerics. They are Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

*Assuming one is using the three-tier alignment system.

The Prime Requisite in all cases is Intelligence which also determines the chance of knowing a particular spell as well as the minimum and maximum number of spells known per spell level (as per Holmes). Practitioners of white magic use the cleric spell progression and XP table and may use armor, shields and blunt weapons but cannot Turn Undead. If they are Lawful and have a Wisdom of at least 9 they can choose to become full-fledged clerics at any time after 3rd level (they gain access to all spells through faith instead of study and can Turn undead).

There is also a third type of arcane magic — sword magic. It interferes with both white and black magic. The latter is the most susceptible and therefore practitioners cannot wear any armor and can only use simple weapons. White magic is less susceptible, but practitioners cannot use bladed or piercing weapons.

Technically, this means that clerics could use any type of weapon they choose (since they cast divine magic, not arcane magic); however, by tradition they limit themselves to blunt weapons to prevent any use of sword magic lest they misplace their faith in God with a faith in sword magic. Thus, any cleric that uses a magic sword cannot cast any spells, because they lack the faith to do so (or believe that they are called to use sword magic instead of divine magic). This opens up the possibility of a paladin-like cleric who can Turn undead, use magic swords (like a holy avenger) but can’t cast spells.

I don’t know how attractive any of these options are to players, but they open up a tremendous amount of opportunities for cool NPCs, cool villains and cool patrons for yours truly.

The Burglar Class for ACKS

My first step in converting some of my ideas about a Homes/Cook Averoigne campaign to ACKS is the idea that the primary purpose of the Thief is that of door opener. As such, I have re-cast the Thief as Burglar and have replaced the Thieves Guild with the Adventurer’s Guild.

Mechanically and philosophically, it is important for the feel of the game I want to play that PCs will encounter a semi-intelligent and hostile environment whenever they enter a dungeon. One way to emulate this is that all doors are locked. As such, the primary way of opening doors is to muscle through them. If the attempt fails, however, all chance at surprise is gone. Therefore, PCs have two alternative ways of attempting to open a door without giving up that chance of surprise should that attempt fail. One is magical (Knock) and the other is the Burglar.

Enter the ACKS Player Companion. Ostensibly, it is filled with extra classes, races, spells and equipment for use in Autarch’s house campaign world. However, they live by the credo that Every campaign is a law unto itself. Therefore, they provide a section wherein they brake down all of the mechanics that they used to create every class in ACKS (including the core classes) making it possible for Judges (the ACKS version of the DM) and players alike to create custom classes for their own campaigns.

This is, by far, my favorite aspect of ACKS. It is mechanically sound, balanced and backward compatible. The first part of my attempts to convert Averoigne to ACKS will heavily involve these custom class rules. First up is the aforementioned Burglar:

Burglar Class for ACKS

Prime Requisite: DEX
Requirements: None
Hit Dice: 1d6
Maximum Level: 14
Burglars are adventurers who specialize in the opening of doors (thus the title burglar). They may wear chain-type armor or lighter and are able to use axes, bows and crossbows. They can use the fighting styles weapon + shield or two-handed weapons.

Burglars have three Thieving skills: Open Locks, Find Traps and Climb Walls.

In addition they have the following Custom Powers:

• Difficult to Spot: Burglars are very good at seemingly disappearing into shadow, nooks and crannies found within dungeons. If they are quiet and hold still while in cover, they can escape detection on a roll of 3+ on a d20. They can put this skill to use in wilderness conditions as well; however, the roll required is 14+ on a d20. [Note: the original Custom Power reverses these two rolls for Explorers and Elven Rangers]
• Keen Eyes: Burglars can detect hidden and secret doors with a roll of 8+ on a d20 if they are actively searching and a 14+ on a d20 if only casually inspecting.
• Loremastery: The burglar can decipher runes, remember ancient history, identify artifacts, etc. with a roll of 18+. This improves by 1 per level of experience.

Burglars fight and save as Thieves and can build an Adventurer’s Guild at 9th level (same rules as a Hideout). They also have the same Proficiency list as Thieves with the exception of Skulking and Sniping which are replaced with Blind Fighting and Eavesdropping. XP progression looks like this:

• Level 2: 1,400
• Level 3: 2,800
• Level 4: 5,600
• Level 5: 11,200
• Level 6: 22,400
• Level 7: 44,800
• Level 8: 89,600
• Level 9: 179,200
• Level 10:279,200
• Level 11: 379,200
• Level 12: 479,200
• Level 13: 579,200
• Level 14: 679,200

Please Note: I deliberately chose not to give the Burglar the ability to Remove Traps specifically because I do not like having the process of disarming traps reduced to a die roll. I much prefer coming up with the traps and seeing how players figure ways to overcome them. I also chose axes over sword/dagger for allowable weapons because an axe can also be used to open a door. Additionally, in Averoigne swords are something primarily reserved for fighters.

***

This was the first big test for the Custom Class system of ACKS: could it emulate what I was looking for in the Bilbo Baggins inspired thief/burglar archetype? I think it has done so better than my own earlier attempts at  making the Thief class something that I would not only allow in my games, but would actually like to play.

Fighter Titles for Averoigne Part 4

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

Black Swords

The Black Swords are the military arm of the Black Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne. The Black Monks are curiously more politically active than the White Monks, but less politically powerful. After the fall of Rome, it was the Church that symbolized Civilization and protected the people. Since the Black Monks often have monasteries in or near urban areas, it was these monasteries that became centers for the survival of civilization. To this day, most villages and towns see the local abbot as the unofficial town leader and the Black Swords as unofficial militia and protectors. In contrast with the White Monks and Swords, however, the Black Monks and Swords largely operate independently of the Archbishop. While they have his blessing to run their monasteries, their origin and main influence is in the Eastern Empire. Thus, the White Monks are more politically powerful.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and takes on the name of a patron saint. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a black cross on a gold field. They are always welcome at their home monastery where they they do not pay for room or board.

5. Sergeant — Having developed a closer relationship with their patron saint, a Sergeant carries with them an icon of the Saint. While carrying this icon, the Sergeant has a floating +1 bonus that they may apply to any one die roll during a session. This bonus must be declared before the die roll. As a sign of their office, they may wear a gold cross on a black field.

6. Knight — Knights are automatically granted refuge at any Black Monk monastery, but are expected to pay their own way after three days. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue party per bend field.

7. Turcopolier — As long as they are carrying an icon of their patron saint, Trucopoliers have a floating bonus of +2 which they may split up into two +1 bonuses or use all at once. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue per saltire field.

8. Seneschal — Seneschals are automatically granted refuge at any Black Monk monastery without charge. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue gyrony of eight field.

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. As long as they are carrying an icon of their patron saint, Grand Commaders have a floating bonus of +3 which they split up as they choose over the course of a session. As a badge of their office, As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue gyrony of twelve field.

Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 3

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

Green Swords

The Green Swords are the military arm of the Green Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne; however, since the Green Monks are an eremitic order the Green Swords are a lot less of formalized military force than either the White or Black Swords. Rather, they are a loosely organized, but very close group of wandering warriors who seek to right wrongs wherever they find them. Only in times of great crisis do they actually gather to form an actual military unit. This has only happened once in the living memory of most people in Avroigne. Though Green Swords take a vow of silence like any other Green Monk, due to their military role, their vow can be broken for the purposes of preparing for and fighting in a battle. There are some (especially those who actively seek out to right wrongs) who have permission to speak (briefly) when investigating such cases.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and is allowed to wear a green Cross on a white field as a sign of their office. When fighting unarmed in combat, the Squire is considered to be armed with a Penetrating Weapon (1d6 at a +1 to hit).

5. Sergeant — Sergeants have greater access to the healing elixirs of the Green Monks than the average adventurer.* They may divide their white field with a green party per chevron (a diamond shape at the bottom of a shield) as a sign of their office.

6. Knight — Knights are allowed to wear a white cross on a green field as a sign of their office. In unarmed combat they may also attack as if wielding a Small Weapon (2 attacks per round for 1d4 damage).

7. Turcopolier — Trucopoliers have regular access to healing elixirs at a slight discount. As a sign of their office, they may wear the symbol of a holly leaf.

8. Seneschal — When unarmed, Seneschals may fight as if armed with a Heavy Weapon (1d10 damage, but automatically lose initiative). As a badge of their office, they may wear an estoile (a star with wavy points).

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. They also may request elixirs at any time for a discounted price. As a badge of their office, they may wear the symbol of a sun.

*The famous green elixirs of the Green Monks are a rare commodity that are not normally available to the average adventurer. Green Swords, due to their vocation, are given priority over all other potential customers. Even so, the Green Swords are expected to pay (give a generous donation) for this access.

A Map of Averoigne

Here is the map I've been fiddling around with. Those of you who are acquainted with the works of Clark Ashton Smith will note that I have changed most of the place names. This, of course, is done on purpose. While I am quite inspired by Smith's work (obviously), I have little desire to traipse about the original version of Averoigne. Whether or not I like it, whether or not it is existentially true, I feel restricted by trying to stay true to someone else's creation. As I have noted before, running any RPG requires letting go of creative control. The truly rewarding part of play is the surprise of letting players do their thing. 

In order to permit myself the freedom to let go and just allow play to naturally develop as the creativity of various people affect the campaign world, I mentally need to divorce a world from its source material. Changing the name of Ximes to Ximera is a small and easy way to do this. This version of Averoigne stops being Smith's and becomes mine. In doing an homage, rather than a simulation, I have complete creative control and therefore the freedom to completely let go of that control. With a simulation, I never can get over the fact that though I play at having complete control, this world doesn't entirely belong to me.

Intriguingly, James over at Grognardia today tries to make the case that it is possible to play around in another's creation. The example he gives is a Judge's Guild module (The Nightmare Maze of Jigrésh) created for EPT. He argues that its relative banality proves that it is possible to run a campaign in Tékumel without getting bogged down in the minutia of Barker's creation.

I don't doubt that this is true. The number of successful Greyhawk campaigns through the years demonstrate its inherent truth. Despite the relative ease we all have with understanding the assumed culture of Greyhawk vs. the complexity of Tékumel they are both someone else's creation. 

I, for one, however, prefer the freedom of doing an homage rather than a simulation.

Racial Table for Averoigne

I only was able to play Stormbringer a couple of times in my life (our group always saw it as a challenge to see who could survive rather than as legitimate bait for an ongoing campaign due to the brutality of the system). One of things about it, though, that I remember with great fondness is character creation. Players roll on a race table to determine which of the plethora of backgrounds their character can come from and what possibilities this background provides.

While certainly not as diverse as Elric’s stomping grounds, my version of Averoigne does have a number of different possibilities for character background. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to provide a table for players to roll on to provide some of their character’s background.

Included with each entry is a list of starting equipment (which should help speed character creation). There are also a couple of incentives:

• The only way to be able to have a character with a noble, scion or half-elf background is to roll on this table.
• Depending upon the outcome of the roll, a player can outright switch one characteristic for another (where characteristics are rolled in order).

Hopefully, that will be enough encouragement for players to roll:

01-05 Romani — Scimitar + Throwing Daggers + Leather + Shield
06-15 Wolfshead (S): Flail + Sling + Leather + Shield
16-25 Wolfshead (A): Spear + Short Bow + Leather + Shield
26-45 Peasant (S): Polearm + Sling + Leather
46-65 Peasant (A): Polearm + Short bow + Leather
66-71 Burgher (S): Short Sword + Crossbow + Chain + Shield
72-75 Burgher (MS): Long Sword + Crossbow + Chain + Shield
76-81 Burgher (A): Handaxe + Longbow + Chain + Shield
82-85 Burgher (LS): Javelin + Longbow + Chain + Shield
86-88 Noble (S): Bastard Sword + Crossbow + Plate + Shield
89-90 Noble (MS): TH Sword + Crossbow + Plate + Shield
91-93 Noble (A): Battle Axe + Longbow + Plate + Shield
94-95 Noble (LS): Throwing Axe + Longbow + Plate + Shield
96-97 Half-Elf*
98-98 Elf*
99-99 Dwarf*
00-00 Halfling*

*roll again for background & equipment, ignoring 96-00
(A)=Averni (S)=Salian (MS)=Merovingian Scion (LS)=Luernian Scion

• Romani can swap CON with one other characteristic of the player’s choice.
• Wolfshead can swap DEX with one other characteristic of the player’s choice.
• Peasant can swap STR with one other characteristic of the player’s choice.
• Burgher can swap INT with one other characteristic of the player’s choice.
• Noble can swap CHA with one other characteristic of the player’s choice.

All characters also get 10gp, a quiver/pouch with 20 arrows/bolts/stones as well as one of the following kits:

• Kit 1 (10 oil flasks, lantern, spade, 12 iron spikes, 10ft. chain)
• Kit 2 (10 torches, ink & pen, blank scroll, mirror, crowbar)
• Kit 3 (five torches, 3 cloves of garlic, fist of wolfsbane, 50 ft. rope, grappling hook, wooden pole)

In addition:

• Clerics begin with a cross (silver for Nobles and Scions, otherwise wooden) and swap out any non-class melee weapon with a Mace (Averni, Luernian Scion or Romani) or a Warhammer (Salian or Merovingian Scion) and any non-class missile weapon with a sling.
• Fighters begin with one extra weapon.
• Magic Users begin with a spell book and can trade out any non-usable weapons and armor for cash.
• Burglars begin with lock picks and may trade out any armor and shield for leather and extra cash.

Obviously there are a couple of things that need some clarification:

• Romani are gypsy-like wanderers who call no place home. They may choose to speak one extra language of their choice besides Common.
• Averni are the native people of Averoigne. They may choose to speak Elvish (Occitan) in addition to Common.
• Salians are outsiders whose homeland is trying to unite the entire region into a new Holy Roman Empire.
• Wolfsheads are bandits, outlaws and those who live outside the protection of the feudal system. They are tied to no land and have few loyalties.
• Peasants are either serfs or freemen who work the land of a local noble.
• Burghers are middle class merchants.
• Nobles who adventure are usually younger siblings who have no right to the lands of their father.
• A Merovingian Scion is someone who either through illegitimate (in the case of Burghers) or legitimate lines can trace their lineage back to the Merovigian kings of the Salians (who are no longer in power).
• A Luernian Scion is someone who either through illegitimate (in the case of Burghers) or legitimate lines can trace their lineage back to the Luernian kings of the Averni (who are no longer in power).
• This is meant to be a human-centric campaign world, which is why the chances of being a demi-human are so small. Demi-humans roll twice because they come from a human background, but are fey-touched and have embraced their demi-human status. They can speak their racial tongue (Elvish in the case of halflings) in addition to Common
• Half-elves are fey-touched who have rejected their demi-human status. They still have some of the demi-human abilities, but suffer penalties when using them. They get to function like the elves of 0e — adventure as either a fighter or a magic user — without the level limits. When they choose to use their demi-human abilities, they suffer an XP penalty and can operate at a maximum of 8th level, regardless of XP.

Fighter Titles for Averoigne Part 5

This last installment of this series is for those who do not hear the high calling implied by the other organizations that fighters can be a part of.

Mercenary Guild

Averoigne is sparsely populated and the ability of a noble to raise a decent sized army or maintain any kind of standing army is nigh-impossible. Mercenaries are a necessity for the protection of realm. The Mercenary Guild is officially recognized as an attempt to bring order to the process of hiring mercenaries and making sure that not only are the contracts fair, but that they are not broken. Unless a mercenary has earned the right to break a contract with good cause, all contracts must be carried out to the full before a mercenary may seek other work; however, all members are protected by the guild and if abuse is reported a noble loses the right to negotiate with guild members.

All mercenaries wear the symbol of a chain. This chain comes in two forms: broken and unbroken. The first is an indication that the mercenary is not currently under contract. The latter indicates that they are.

4. Bond Sword — A Bond Sword has the right to enter into a contract at the guild’s minimum wage. As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a black chain.

5. Oath Sword — An Oath Sword has the right to enter into a contract and may negotiate the wage. As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a silver chain.

6. Free Sword — A Free Sword has the right to break a contract for good cause (as is determined by the guild). As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a gold chain.

7. Mercenary Sergeant — A Mercenary Sergeant chooses an animal as their personal symbol and has the right to wear a heraldic head of the animal. In addition, the Mercenary Sergeant has the right to represent a small group of men (5-10) who are non-guild members to enter into a contract at minimum wage. They must wear the Mercenary Sergeant’s symbol as a sign of that contract.

8. Mercenary Captain — A Mercenary Captain has the right to wear their heraldic animal passant (“striding" to the viewer’s left). In addition, the Mercenary Captain has the right to represent a large group of men (10-50) who are non-guild members to enter into a contract at minimum wage. They must wear the Mercenary Captain’s symbol as a sign of that contract.

9. Mercenary Commander — A Mercenary Commander attracts a group of mercenary followers and has the right to found a Mercenary Company which bears his personal symbol. He has the right to negotiate the price of contracting the company and may also break this contract under good cause (determined by the guild). Their personal symbol is normally worn rampant (rearing up).

For those interested, here is an example of what the heraldry of a mercenary might look like:

Like the Adventurer's Guild, these Level Titles are not exclusively for fighters; however (besides assassins) the majority of member are fighters.