Its art.

Another year of me missing Gencon. And every year, I say that I'll make it next year. Its tough for me at home this time of year, with most of my friends either at the Pennsic War or Gencon.

My Castles and Crusades game made up for it a bit yesterday. I don't know that I can say that the slightly rules-light system has contributed to more character and story development at the table. Not to say that slightly more complex rules or more book-keeping has kept character or story development down (my Star Wars Saga game was built on personal character development and having the players take a strong hand in dictating how the story would progress). I can say, though, that it feels easier for me to design adventures and encounters, and it feels like less of a chore to run.

Really, this is what Castles and Crusades feels like to me:



Its the dirty notebooks filled with hand-sketched maps and notes jotted down in the margins. It feels like beat-poetry.

Persona in the SCA: re-evaluating re-enactment

There's a romantic ideal that I look for, and its what I want to portray. In the same way the the idea of chivalry that we play with is more a construct of romantic-era literature, so is the notion of the Renaissance swordsman that I want to portray based on Cyrano deBergerac, The Three Musketeers, even as far as The Gray Mouser.

I want to portray someone who is in love with life because he knows how short it can be...someone who speaks too loudly, laughs too boisterously, and carries a mercenary attitude towards church, king and country. Someone who loves every gulp of wine and every bite of food because it could be his last. Someone quick to draw a sword in defense of his own honor, or the honor of a lady, or of whatever cause carries his attention that day.

Its an easy character to play when you consider that I can rush into a duel and leave with only minor injuries.

My life is comfortable. So is yours. What better way to step out of oneself than to be someone whose life is dependent on a twist of a knife or a draw of a sword.

That doesn't mean I wold want to abandon historical accuracy...I would like my kit to be a little more authentic for a Venetian stuck in London. I prefer to study historical swordsmanship (and teach it as well, when the opportunity is there). But that all helps take me away form the modern.

Vacation notes

I just got back from camping in the NJ Pine Barrens for the weekend. Great fun. There were lots of moments where I felt like I was watching other people enjoying their vacation while I could do little more than sit in a chair watching the river. But I fished, I spent lots of time reading and writing. It was a good weekend.

My wife and I spent more time than I expected talking about Pennsic. We're working more and more to make labor-intensive camping-style vacations like Pennsic more fun, less chore-like. We've decided that when we make it beack to Pennsic, we're taking it easy, buying food when we get out there, cooking little, and enjoying more things together.

Which was what our weekend trip was like. I'm still nursing a ruptured Achilles tendon, so there wasn't much for me to do. But we had fun together. Neither my wife nor my kid are terribly interested in SCA activities, and I'm much more interested in having fun as a family than I am in experiencing more SCA stuff...we'd likely enjoy a relatively short Pennsic vacation in the future...a short week, where I'd fight and fence a little, shop a bit, and experience so much more together.

We all went out last week to be part of a western martial-arts class. The boy was bored, my wife ended up doing a little nature walk while I talked to the instructor and witnessed the class. It interesting when there's not a whole-geek household (or a household where we don't geek out about the same things...my wife loves the natural world and local history, I'm a gamer and history / literature buff, my kid has developed a strong appreciation for video-games, far beyond my interest). But we've learned to accommodation each other. This may not sound remarkable, but I know too many families that can't seem to do this. I'm glad we can.

We took a day trip to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire last year, and we all had a great day. My plan is to have another weekend-vacation out there, where we could all have fun at faire, then spend the rest of the weekend chilling out in a hotel. With a pool.

Lord of the Rings gaming coming back

Have you seen pics from Cubicle 7 of the new Lord of the Rings role-playing game, The One Ring?

Well, take a look.

I'm a sucker for nice presentations, and the pics alone make me want to add this to the collection. The dice in the next-to-last picture are nice, though I think I would rather use Q Workshop "Elven" dice. The maps look nice, and I guess that's to be expected. You just can't have a Tolkien game and not have gorgeous cartography.

It reminds me of their Doctor Who - Adventures in Time and Space boxed set, which included some equipment cards, blue dice, and a sheet of "story points." I enjoy boxed sets with props and extra bits (anyone seen my small collection of 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?). I can see myself getting The One Ring just for the cool bits.

Am I interested in playing in a Middle-Earth setting? The usual argument about playing in a setting like that is that all the cool stuff has already been done. I never quite got into LoTR gaming, but I blame the people who introduced me to LoTR gaming...rabid fanboys who forced their own love of the setting on the players, and punished any deviation from their image. I've had the same problem with Dragonlance, Star Wars, Serenity, Star Trek, Forgotten Realms, Call of Cthulhu...same as most gamers, I imagine.

If you love a piece of literature or fiction like that, enough to want to run a game in that setting, then you are going to want to spread that love to the rest of the layers. You want them to be as rabid about the things you love about the setting as you are. But then, you get folks who want to play quick-drawing space pirates in a Starfleet-based Star Trek game, or are playing Forgotten Realms just to kill Elminster*. Things just don't work, and you declare that they just don't get your artistic vision or some such thing.

I ran a Star Wars game for a few years. The players played it like they were CIA agents in the early 1980's. They spent a great deal of their time destabilizing planetary governments, making propaganda videos, assassinating heads of state, organizing military coups...nothing at all very Star Wars like. There were no heroic Jedi Knights fighting to restore the glory of the Old Republic. This was the kind of story we wanted to build together. And we spent a lot of time sitting, talking about what we all wanted to do with the story. And we built it all together. If I were more of a rabid Star Wars fanboy, I'd be upset. But they wanted to do what they wanted to do with the setting, and I had to be cool with that.**

So I hope that people have fun with The One Ring, and make their stories their own. Best way to make it succeed.

*And can you blame them?
** As said during one LARP: "The rest of us are playing Call of Cthulhu, and Tony's playing Kult."

News from DriveThruRPG.com

Do you get the DriveThruRPG.com weekly newsletter? If not, you're missing out on some good gaming news.

The thing that got me today was a write-up for John Wick's new game: Wicked Heroes: Children of the Mirror. Here's a setting where a sorcerous mirror is the origin of superpowered people. But Wick put his spin on them:

Each born with one Blessing, one Curse. But if one kills the other, he
steals her Blessing, adding it to his own, replacing his Curse with hers.

They are faster than us. They are stronger than us. They are better than us.

This is the kind of superhero setting I want to know more about. These are the kinds of heroes I want to get to know.

Short update about being hopeful

So, next month, I may know if I can fence again. I have some physical therapy ahead of me, I understand.

This is bugging me just a little, because I've been planning on buying a new sword and some new armor. I'll like to try out SCA cut-and-thrust fighting, and I've found another western martial arts group in the area.

So, for right now, I hope for the best.

Something else to look forward to: Castles and Crusades game this coming weekend.

Laziest post ever

Have I mentioned how much I love Castles and Crusades?

Yeah, laziest blog post ever, but its been a while.

I'd go over and upload some maps to this, but I have a blown Achilles tendon, and can't walk to well.

I will say, though, that I'm very energized to get back to fencing once I'm healed. If I heal correctly. I miss my swords.

At my age, I have to pace myself

Sometimes, I get really lucky.

A short time ago, I hit a nearby used bookstore. I found a bunch of treasures there, including an old Deities and Demigods (which ended up being the big find...more on that in another ost), as well as an old Avalon Hill war-game. Stuffed along the few gaming books and wargames, I found this little gem:


An old Tournaments Illuminated from 1983.

How awesome it that?!

The inside is full of typewritten pages and hand-done drawings. Articles range from, "What my Award of Arms Means to Me" to a history of kites. Its beautiful...a zine that represents the down-and-dirty, grass-roots feel of the earlier SCA. Its obviously a work of love and patience.

I love that do-it-yourself feeling that I get from this magazine. The cottage industries that are supported by the hobby certainly make any SCAdian's life easier...certainly, I wouldn't have half the gear or garb I have if I had to make it all myself and rely on my own craftiness. The feeling I get from seeing an old periodical like this, though, is more counter-culture, more small-community feeling.

At my first Kings and Queen's Rapier Tournament, there was talk about the Cording System's email group. This was the mid to late 90's; I was broke, and didn't own a computer yet. I asked how I'd keep in touch with the rest of the group if I didn't have access to email, and was told, "The 21st century is in a couple of years. Get with the times." The irony, of course, that the woman telling this to me was wearing an attempt at 16th century clothing and carrying a rapier. We all laughed. Now, I couldn't imagine an SCA without the web.

In 1983, how many days a week did you work on your hobby? How often did you communicate with other members? How important were your local buiness meetings or armoring nights or sewing gatherings? Today, I can be in constant contact with any number of members. If I want to, I could be on my local group's email list, the local region's email list, the local region's fencing email list, my kingdom award's email list, the kingdom fencing email list, etc. And I was...and more. And eventually burnt out.

It was hard for the SCA to feel special when I was being bombarded with news and info all day. It was hard to feel like I could devote any time t my other hobbies. Suddenly, if I wanted to paint, I felt like I should be making an effort to paint heraldry...that sort of thing. Of course, no one made me feel that way, but with the SCA always in my field of vision, it was hard to ignore any possible SCAdian use for anything I did. The SCA started feeling really...mundane.

Focus on any one really cool thing long enough and you're likely to tire of it. I know people in various fandoms who eventually burn out. I know die-hard convention goers, war-gamers, LARPers, board gamers...the list goes on...who get tired and need time away. Sometimes you need that time to make something feel special again.

I know people who felt that way about church, too, and other social activities. Hit the same nightclub week after week without stop, without breaking routine, and watch yourself loose the motivation to dance, to smile at the barmaid. We have enough free time on our hands that anything can eventually become boring...we grow apathetic, develop a sense of ennui that replaces our excitement and passion.

I'm a geek, and that isn't likely to change. I'm nearing 40, and I still play role-playing games, I play war-games, I'm a SCAdian, I might even LARP again if the opportunity presents itself. I've edited, playtested, and written for gaming products, and spent way too much time thinking about obscure rules from old, yellowing game products. I can't turn down a game of chess and I still read comic books. I love swordsmanship and find it difficult to pull myself away from old fencing manuals. And horror of horrors, my 10 year-old thinks its all cool. If I want to have the passion to get him interested in medieval costumes and gaming books and painting minis and chess, I have to learn to pace myself. I'm not getting any younger and, thankfully, it doesn't look like any of the things I love are going away anytime soon.

Mini-Reviews, Part 1

The Dying Earth Role Playing Game

Encourages large vocabularies, cheating and verbal dueling. Its like "English Degree: The RPG."

Cthulhu Dice

Dreidel for the dead generation.

Two Castles and Crusades sessions down

I don't update this nearly enough.

I'm still on my Castles and Crusades kick; it really satisfies my need for a Dungeons and Dragons fix. The rules are a welcome relief from the traditional D20 set. The SIEGE Engine is elegant. roll a D20. If the action your character is performing is based on a primary attribute, your target is 12. If the action is based on a secondary attribute, the target is 18. Modify the die roll based on the difficulty of the action, and the level of the character. Bang. Done. Combat: roll higher than the other guy's armor class. There are a few maneuvers that can give bonuses or penalties, but nothing as detailed as combat feats. We take a lot of liberty describing what we want to have happen, and apply bonuses or penalties based on the circumstances. Yes, its what we did we we played 1st edition AD&D in high-school. The inclusion of character special abilities and the removal of feats and special abilities makes the game run faster, with just enough "crunch" to keep the dice rolling interesting.

The campaign is supposed to have a very Arthurian, old-world fantasy feel. Everyone created characters that fit the setting. We have a traditional 4-class model (fighter, cleric, thief, and magic-user). Its a necessity for the setting and the rules. Some people might think of that as a negative point of the setting, but I like having a party with a cleric that uses a mace.

There were goblins and magical knights and cursed swords and a dungeon...they cleared one level of the dungeon already, and are starting work on the second. Its moving very smoothly, and it looks like everyone is enjoying it so far.

Castles and Crusades: Back to the days of hand-drawn maps.

I haven't drawn a map for an RPG in years. I've been so impressed by some maps that my friend Christine has done; the made me want to try making one myself.

When I started making notes for my "Avignus" setting, I had the idea of a very Europe-like environment. I wanted to keep things as familiar as possible. When I started drawing things out, though, I saw how the distances between areas could influence how each kingdom or region would relate with each other. Suddenly I could see who would be the easiest targets for raiding by the Northern Reaches, or how easily the Young Kingdoms could separate themselves from the dying empire of Vitare.

My Castles and Crusades players added more when we sat around the table for the first time, and I got to describe the basic ideas behind each region. "Undead." "Barbarian Kingdoms." "Germany, but with demons and stuff." They added in things they thought would be cool. And now, its developing.

I know there are pieces of software out there to help with mapping. I'm just as comfortable sketching things out.

(Pencil sketch map in the first page of my Moleskine.)

More Castles and Crusades setting notes: religion and spirituality

Religion and Spirituality in Avignus

Although the average subjects of the King of Avignus may never see a spell cast, they are still well-aware of the existence of magic. Spell-casting wizards, druids and clerics are all visible and practice their trades out in the open. The knowledge of magic's existence and the uncertainty and fear of living in a land under constant threat of orc attack (and other more mundane, but just as serious threats) creates a superstitious outlook among the lower, less-educated classes. Myths and stories are just as important to the spirituality of Avignus subjects as the spells cast by high-wizards and chief priests.

Stories about actions of the gods and the creation of the world are more than mere myths. Wizards and clerics commune directly with the supernatural world, and, as a result, relate creation stories more like epic tales or recordings of ancient histories. Despite the opportunities for direct communion with spiritual beings, not all wizards or clerics are able to adequately or fully accurately translate the messages from these divine entities. Their understandings and interpretations of spiritual messages are gathered together among ancient prophecies and other revelations to help build religions texts for the people of Avignus.

Prophets and sooth-sayers have a special, trusted place in the Young Kingdoms. Anyone with the ability to interpret signs or portents from the divine or nature are expected to give guidance or assistance to the lost or those in need. Clerics and wizards are often taken as advisors to royalty or even local leaders. The inspect the skies or summon spirits for warnings about the future. Farmers far from civilization trust the advice of local druids about planting and harvest times, or example. Unscrupulous spiritualists who try to spread false prophecy are harshly punished.

Divine instruction, such as spiritual laws which are supposed to aid the growth and prosperity of civilization, are tended by the clergy. Meanings of signs and prophecies are seriously debated, with their potential value to civilization seriously considered. Some sages take a literal approach to the messages; they are not seriously considered as academicians, and potentially ruled by emotion. In recent times, more paladins have come from the more literal-interpretation sects of the church.

Creation myths and other divine messages carry a heavy weight in Avignus and the other Young Kingdoms. The creation stories themselves are treated like epic history, and not merely allegory or speculation. Not all of the prophecies or messages were simple to interpret, and many sages had different translations or interpretations of the creation stories. The most trusted and accepted translation of the creation of the world, and the will of the gods, was collected by the Imperial Archivist 2000 years ago. The collection, titled Logos, was the first formal recording of the stories and instructions in the history of the civilized world. Although many of these stories weren't at all new and were already well-known, the Archivist's text was the first fully-compiled, complete, trusted volume.

“It has always been, and it will always be.”

This is the first line of Logos, revealed to the Imperial Archivist. Its most commonly accepted meaning is that all of creation is infinite, with no true beginning and no true end. The life and times of all creation has always existed, and will always exist...as will man, his troubles, and his way of life. Some scholars claim that the real translation should be, “She has always been, and She shall always be.” These scholars believe that “She” refers to the life-giving and nurturing earth, and that mankind and its troubles are no concern, when considering the whole of creation. Many sages consider that interpretation based on mere artistic license, a result of a play with ancient language. There are no other references to “She” in the text of Logos, and they point out the lack of matriarchal religions or cults throughout imperial history¹. There is, though, a cult of scholars who believe “She” refers to the Conquorer Wurm, and ancient aspect and personification of cosmic, elemental Chaos.

Regardless of the phrase's meaning, most people take some comfort from it. Should everything they know pass away, some aspect of it will continue on.

That Which Endures

The creator-god is sometimes called Alef, or is represented in writing by the old runic first letter of the alphabet. Its also known as “That Which Endures.” Alef is thought to be without consciousness, but with a will. Alef is never personified; there are never icons or statues made to represent “his likeness.” Alef is that will which put order to chaos. The world was created by Alef imposing Will and Order.

Philosophers debate how it is possible to have Will without Consciousness or Self-Awareness. Some sages resign themselves to belief that order is a manifestation of the Will. Therefore, the Divine Will is simply one of the two natural conditions of the universe: Law and Chaos.

A very few fear that the Divine Will is merely a tool for a greater consciousness that cannot affect reality without some intermediary force. The Divine Will, then, is potentially a tool used by an entity that cannot have meaning in reality.

To some others, the Divine Will is a cosmic set of instructions, set in place by nature. Reality is woven in the nature of the Divine Will, and the universe cannot help but follow the path set forth in those instructions.

One thing scholars agree upon is that Alef does not answer prayer, does not have a conscius desire for worshipers or supplication. The desires and beliefs of the people of creation do not alter the course of the Divine Will. Alef is a spiritual monolith, respected but never supplicated.

The Innumerable Saints

Most people venerate, in some way, the saints of their ancestors. Some ancestors may be remembered for their crafting skills, their wisdom, their battle-prowess, or just for their personalities and influence. Living family members may venerate and celebrate their ancestral spirits for that aspect they remember and, by remembering, that spirit becomes associated as a type of household god representing that aspect. Ancestor worship is a very personal belief structure. A home is likely to have a shrine to their particular patron or patrons (an ancestor or ancestors the family remembers and has taken on as a symbol for their prosperity, strength, or courage). Small tokens representing the spirits would be carried, or left around the home. No temples or shrines would be built in public for these uniquely personal saints.

The spirits and divine entities that inhabit the world, who came as a result of the creation of Nature, are without number. Some answer to prayer, or to ritual. Some display godlike properties. They do not name themselves, or reveal their names (except in extraordinary circumstances), but take names from the people of the world. One entity may be known by a dozen names. Temples are built in their honor. Religious rites are perfected and designed to please them. Feast days are celebrated in their honor. The spirits answer prayers, grant powers, perform miracles, and are revered as gods.

No one has successfully counted the number of gods who are active in the world. So many take on different names and different aspects. A god known as a protector of travelers and roads to one tribe or culture may be known as a saint of thieves in another. The gods' mysterious natures keep their true natures somewhat secretive as well. The god a cleric reveres as a patron of growth and home may, as well, be a spirit of the harvest that a druid would revere. The god may be known by different names, even different aspects, and may well be the same spirit.

Religions in the Young Kingdoms also tend to have animistic tendencies. People acknowledge that there may be spirits of particular places or aspects. Though these lesser spirits may not be worshiped, they're acknowledged and revered, in the same manner as ancestral spirits.

This collection of saints, gods and magical spirits is collectively known as the Rolls Sable. The name is taken from a tradition held by the high priests of the empire, who attempted to collect the names and aspects of all the multitudinous gods and spirits. They were kept on a black scroll, penned with silver or gold ink. The scrolls were transported and stored at the Amber Tower, shortly after it was built.

1Neither the Anavaren of Avignus, nor the Witch Cult of Vinlund, nor the Sisterhood of Bretta of the Mistlands were ever acknowledged by churches nor the leadership of the empire. Imperial religious and social leaders expected such cults to simply die off quietly. They didn't.

Castles and Crusades: more setting design notes

I've been jotting down some notes for a campaign setting for Castles and Crusades. I wanted to do a traditional western-European feel...something familiar and easy to recognize.

In the present day, the Western Kingdoms represent the flowers grown from a fertile ground fed by the receding waters of a dying empire. The kingdoms of the south, known as the Amber Kingdoms, were once the homeland of a world-dominating empire. The empire only fell back six-hundred years ago, leaving Vinlund and Avignus to build their own governments and rule for themselves. Those two kingdoms, which became known with some of the nearby lands as “The Young Kingdoms,” have grown and flourished in the last six centuries (despite threats from the north and east).

The Young Kingdoms have moved away from the nurture and the traditions of the old empire in the same way children grow away from their parents. Although their civil, cultural and religious traditions have their foundations in ancient imperial traditions, they've grown to serve the unique needs of each people. All of the Young Kingdoms share some traits, like long-separated family members. Their languages all share a common root, which serves as a noticeable and tangible link between the three lands. Their societies, much like their architecture, are built on the remains of the old empire.

The most successful of the Young Kingdoms is Avignus, a fertile land with temperate winters, moderate summers, a long growing season, and hearty people. The folk of the eastern portion of the kingdom are a hearty lot, who have developed a love of epic poetry and music. They are the more spiritual than their western brethren. The people of the western kingdom are renowned for their horsemanship and their skill with mounted combat.

Vinlund, to the south, is a kingdom dominated by wine and magic. Farmers raise some of the greatest vines in the world, and local wineries create the most memorable wines. People are well-fed, with expansive farms. Every town has its own vintage of wine, and each claims theirs is the best. Their wizard-kings have ruled since before the fall of the empire. A high academy of magic is hidden deep in their mountains. The king's ghostly advisors, legend has it, travel the kingdom looking for practitioners of The Science (the kingdom's name for arcane magic).

The empire survives now as the fragmented “Amber Kingdoms.” The ancestral great families of the empire, in an effort of self-preservation, each carved out their own city-states or protectorates. Some tried to wage war on each other, in attempts to gain more territory or more resources, or even just to answer old family rivalries. Some still try to live as if the empire never crumbled. Their guards may well still wear old imperial armor and weapons; some subjects may still wear the garb of the ancient empire. Citizens of the Amber Kingdoms still tell stories of their families' ancient greatness, and sill reside in centuries-old estates. Vitare, the northern-most of the Amber Kingdoms, is considered the most “progressive.” They trade with the Young Kingdoms, receive ambassadors into the Imperial Court (and sends out ambassadors to the Young Kingdoms, as well), and claims not to take part in the in-fighting participated in by the other old imperial families. The king of Vitare (who still uses the title of “Emperor”) claims leadership over all of the Amber Kingdoms, though has no ability to collect taxes, raise armies, or truly rule over the subjects of the former empire.

The northern lands of Ecrus and Titus have only recently been split. In the days of the old empire, the land was simply known as The Northern Reach. Ecrus was the name the local “barbarians” gave to their homeland. These barbarians raided their neighbors for livestock, crops, and more valuable treasures. The empire tried, unsuccessfully, to invade Ecrus several times. The barbarians continuously fought back the invaders. Eventually, Ecrus was damaged from inside threats.

Orc and goblin tribes emerged from deep in the mountains. The ravaged the people of Ecrus, destroying settlements, capturing people, stealing whatever resources the barbarians of Ecrus had stored away. The orc and goblin raids mirrored the barbarians' in severity and technique. The Ecrusians fought back, struggling to keep their culture and people from being destroyed by the orcish threat. After a century of fighting, the orcs were driven back across the mountains; they took over the eastern portion of the lands. Amazingly enough, some tribes of Ecrusian people followed along, either following the hoards as slaves, of because they found a kinship among the orcs themselves. The barbarians of Ecrus maintained the western portion. The eastern lands were named Titus by the dying empire, reflecting the name of one of the many lands of the dead from their myths.

The Mistlands are the northeastern part of the Great Western Isle. Their great accomplishment, according to some, was in building trading relations with the people of Ecrus (after successfully fighting off the barbarians after years of attempted raids). The northern, hilly region is the only civilized settlement on the island (as a matter of fact, the empire once had an outpost on its shores). The rest of the island is dominated by the will of an ancient dragon, and scores of magical creatures under his control. There are legends about lost tribes of elves and other fey creatures who live there, and of ancient magics that protect the island.

No one has ever returned from the island that is off the Mistlands north shore.

The strip of land connecting the Young Kingdoms and the Amber Kingdoms are called, simply, the Lost Lands. Since the fall of the empire, these lands fell to depravity, infighting, and invaders from the east and from the great rift. They lost all stability once the empire left. Some of the central lands, once called Tiranic, reverted to an almost barbaric state, ruled and controlled by tribal elders and fighting off other clans. In the southern province of Molloy, the dead rose and enslaved the living. The northern region, once called Deiteramund, has become dominated by the rift, which had begun spilling out Abyss-spawned creatures once the Amber Tower was erected in the heart of the empire.

None of those lands were particularly stable to begin with, truth be told. Tiranic was only ever stable because of the leadership and influence of the empire. Molloy's un-dead hid in their tombs, hills and forests for centuries, waiting for their time to strike. The rift had always existed in Deiteramund, and so had the portals deep in its depths. Without the empire's magic or governance, these lands were ultimately doomed.

East of the Lost Lands are vast mountain ranges, and a land dominated by desert. Its there that the King of Avignus leads a crusade against the Goblyn Queen. There is very little to report about the lands there, their people, or their cultures.

Beginning notes for a Castles and Crusades setting

The Winter Crusade

A Campaign for Castles and Crusades

The King of Avignus takes his knights and barons on crusade against the Goblyn Queen, whose hordes terrorize the holy eastern lands. His kingdom is left under the stewardship of his only son, who is also the High Cleric of the Rolls Sable. The young prince struggles to protect Avignus from northern barbarians, orcs and goblins pouring down from the eastern mountains, and from upstart lords who see this time as an opportunity to expand their own territories.

Old knights refer to conflicts that are futile, or may have results whose costs are not worth the effort, as “Winter Crusades.” A Winter Crusade is a fool's fight, a battle that isn't worth fighting. In recent days, the prince's efforts to collect taxes and church tribute from returning knights' war chests are being called a Winter Crusade. Armed soldiers in the service of the church visit knights' castles and manors, collecting tithes from newly-returned lords. The knights, who have survived war against the Goblyn Queen, resent this additional tax on their hard-won war chests.

The Winter Crusade takes place in a kingdom that is struggling like a flower breaking through early-spring soil. When the empire receded and closed its borders, it left behind provinces and other lands that were forced to fend for themselves. Some, like Avignus and Vinlund, have grown and thrived into potent kingdoms. Others, like the mountainous Ghent, crumbled without the security and support of the empire. The empire itself has receded back to its homeland of Vitare. There, the ancient dynastic Imperial houses attempt to live as they did when the empire was at its highest. They reside in crumbling manors, overlooking vast estates that they've held for a millennium.