Details for particular games I ran (or planned to).
Some things for the game.
I foresee various kinds of episode in the chronicle:
There will be some combat. I don't think that'll be a problem for anyone, although players who want to be better at it can quickly become proficient by spending a little experience. If we fancy a combat-heavy episode and their normal characters don't fancy it we can always bring along some stand-ins.
Racial and religious tension is high in the land beyond the forest at the turn of the 12th century: the native Vlachs are largely subjugated by their Hungarian overlords. While hard-working Saxons brought in from the north and west may displace native free-persons and landowners, and Szekler overseers claim taxes on behalf of their Magyar lords, Hungarian attempts to spread Catholicism have made few inroads against the natives' Orthodoxy and older pagan beliefs. It seems that the stalwart folk of Transylvania have little need of 'civilisation' from the west.
They know what they need to fear...
June 1197:
Leustachius rules in Transylvania as voivode (roughly 'prince' or 'duke') on behalf of King Emeric of Hungary. In an effort to appease the few native nobles he has decided to honour them with a marriage: his son Legforus will take as wife a daughter of one of the remaining Vlach noble lines.
The lords of the seven major Saxon cities are invited to the celebrations at Alba Iulia, along with countless other dignitaries. No expense will be spared in laying on the greatest of feasts and entertainments, and all manner of other folk can be expected to be in the castle, either as permanent residents, guests or other visitors.
That's where the characters come in. They could be practically anybody who might be in the castle at the time. A few people are off-limits, of course: I'm clearly not going to let anyone play the voivode of Translyvania, although if someone wants to be a native princess I'd certainly allow that. Others could be other visiting nobles, local churchmen, travelling entertainers or various other things, although the wackier it is the more slack I may need when we actually try to get a coherent party out of it.
I'm happy to talk clans with players familiar with the setting or want to become so (the lineup is a little different to Masquerade, but similar), although such people should note that some clans aren't good choices; they're based too far from the setting, they're on the wrong side of one of the various disputes, or in some cases I'd advise against them just because I don't like them...
Those who don't know the setting and aren't worried about learning it up front are welcome to propose a mortal concept and describe what kind of things they'd like to achieve, and I'll sort out a clan that's good for you and the story (not necessarily in equal measure). The game could go on a while if people stay interested, so it might be worth listening to a summary of the clans if only to avoid getting anyone stuck with one they don't like. (Changing characters is possible, but obviously weakens the consistency of the story and wastes all the personal subplots of the character being retired.)
I expect to have trouble getting enough convincing justification for the party to work together. While I'm happy to have a wide range of archetypes in the group and that generally precludes a big happy group of best-friends-forever (and besides, that's never very convincing), if you do want to share elements of history with other characters that should help a lot. What I don't want, though, is a cliquey party where the brothers will only trust each other and the old friends have agreed not to talk to them, and so on.
I don't necessarily need the answers to all these questions, but they're the sort of things you should know in order to get the most out of your characters.
Unless you're already supernatural bear in mind that people age quickly in Eastern medieval Europe.
Please speak to me before you set your heart on being from a far-off land. Local characters are Transylvanian; some might think of themselves as Hungarian. Nearby nations include Hungary proper, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, the Pecheneg Khanates and Russia (particularly the Kievan Rus). A little farther afield lies the Holy Roman Empire, and of course further than that are England, France, Iberia, Scandinavia, the Holy Land and various other places.
Fairly typical medieval rules: the vast majority of people are serfs, little more than slaves with no rights to speak of. Some are instead 'free', with the right to cross feudal boundaries, generally on Church business or to ply a specialist trade. The lucky few are landowners, whether or not noble in title.
Foreigners are essentially a class unto themselves: unless known to be noble they'll often be treated as free, but they'll always be viewed with suspicion. If you haven't yet taken the hint, being foreign may be trouble and whatever you have in mind may not be suitable at all.
Are you a nobleman, expecting to inherit a fief (or already running one)? Or perhaps a noblewoman: Eastern Europe doesn't have much space for shrinking violets and after you've secured a husband you may find yourself tending his lands as he goes off to war.
Or a holy person? Priest or layperson, monk or nun; devout, disgraced or anywhere in between. Some kind of craftsperson or tradesperson? Entertainer or artist? Or something shadier: a thief, a prostitute, a beggar or darker.
You could be some kind of scholar: a physician, a scribe, a philosopher or a theologian. Perhaps a soldier or knight (although high chivalry won't be upon us for centuries, if at all).
If you're a foreigner, people may not much care what you do although you should still have some idea.
One of the rulebooks has a nice list of token concepts that you can take or leave.
The World of Darkness has plenty of unusual people in it. Although still a tiny minority, witches, hedge magicians, holy miracle-workers and even true mages are just as real as vampires.
Don't feel you need to tack supernatural ability onto an already-strong concept (you're only going to have the powers repalced with vampiric ones when you die anyway), but the game would certainly benefit from an occultist or two if you want to talk to me about your options.
'Local' Transylvanians are typically Vlachs - Romani, as they are sometimes called in Latin (not those Rromani) - allegedly descended directly from the people of the kingdom and Roman province of Dacia. The Magyars rule Hungary (and indirectly Transylvania), although they were originally a Turkish tribe from the east. The Szeklers are also a Hungarian import of similar stock; they form a class of feudal overseers for the Magyars and are instrumental in the kingdom's defence. The other immigrants are Saxon settlers from Germany.
Players of foreigners should warn me early, so that I can do some research.
Vlachs are likely to be Eastern Orthodox or else maintain the traditional pagan beliefs of the area. The western immigrants are almost certainly Catholic. Again, foreigners are likely to require a little more research.
Also have a think about how much your religion means to you. Atheists and agnostics aren't common in the dark ages, but that isn't to say everyone is a true believer. Are you living a righteous life, or just hoping not to go to hell? (Or perhaps you're already resigned to hell...)
I love to have NPCs to kidnap.
Kidding.
Honest.
The 'common' discplines can be learned by any character (the ones in bold are very common; more or less instinctive):
Animalism (speaking to and controlling animals), Auspex (perception), Celerity (speed), Dominate, Fortitude (toughness), Obfuscate (stealth), Potence (strength), Presence (charm)
Other discplines are generally found in only one clan. If you aren't of the right clan you'll probably need tuition, blood or both from someone who is.
Chimerstry (illusion; Ravnos), Dementation (inducing madness; Malkavian), Obtenebration (shadow manipulation; Lasombra), Mortis (necromancy; Cappadocian), Protean* (shape-changing; Gangrel), Quietus (silence and assassination; Assamite), Serpentis (snakes; Followers of Set), Thaumaturgy (hermetic magic; Tremere), Vicissitude (flesh-crafting and shape-changing; Tzimisce)
Thaumaturgy and Mortis are very versatile; certain other clans (including Tzimisce, Assamite and Followers of Set) have their own versatile magics but they're progressively more unusual.
* If you know the setting you might not have expected Protean to be a clan-specific discipline. The books might not show it that way. Just another house rule, for the good of the Gangrel and the setting...
The stereotypes are gross simplifications, as befits the size of the summaries: it only takes one member of a clan to decide you should be recruited. Most clans favour nationalities or ethnicities, although there are occasional exceptions. Weaknesses aren't generally fully explained.
In general I'd rather not have multiple player characters of the same clan. The Tzimisce are an exception.
This list is predominantly so that interested players can see which ones they'd like to know more about. As usual, talk to me.
There are lesser bloodlines, but they're meant to be rare and they tend to have died out by modern nights, making them unsuitable for a crossover game. Besides, if I want to use them myself it'll be better if I don't tell everyone about them in advance. If you already know about any of the unusual WoD bloodlines feel free to pitch me something, although no promises.
She's a skilled embroiderer, but most people are more interested in the rumours that she can discern secrets, or even see the future. Certainly some of the scenes she depicts seem to come true, and she has remarkable insight into all manner of things.
As a mortal, the Embroiderer is just intelligent, perceptive and more than a little autistic. Once embraced by a Malkavian prophet her perception will be truly supernatural, but her focus on divining the workings of all things will border on obsession and afflict her with melancholia.
Nobody notices a beggar. He can hear all manner of things, passing the information on to whoever he pleases, at whatever price. Passing a few coins around buys many more subtle ears, until a man can be connected across an entire city. With Nosferatu blood in his veins it'll be even easier to hide, and listen. (For an equally stealthy but slightly more sociable version, substitute Followers of Set.)
As a nurse in the Holy Land during the last crusade, she performed what were often described as minor miracles, but saw the worst of the horrors that man could perpetrate in the name of his God. She came to Hungary for a quiet life of contemplation and servitude, but saw prejudice and persecution much like that of the crusades. Now a nun in a missionary convent in Eastern Trasylvania, she's been unable to do any good with God's will for as long as she can remember, and she's wondering more than ever why it is that there must be so much suffering. On top of that, something else calls to her, something much closer than her god, and much more attentive to its people.
Embraced by the Tzimisce, she'll someday be powerful in the ways of their pagan sorcery. Or perhaps the Lasombra will want to use her faith to strike at the Hungarian Ventrue and Toreador. Or an idealist Brujah might want to show her that there is still good in the world, despite all the sacrifices it must make for the sake of the common man.
Romantic high chivalry won't come about for centuries (in fact it never will, but we can fudge a few things for a game), which probably puts him centuries ahead of his time. He's noble, honourable, and certainly doesn't expect to become a creature of the night. He'll probably be embraced by the Brujah, although a few others could work.
Left managing her husband's estate when he went to war...
Seriously though, loads of concepts can start with that line. The Tzimisce will happily take ambitious natives of high birth, the Lasombra want to recruit a local ambassador; the Gangrel or the Nosferatu might just want to ruin her life and the Malkavians will embrace anyone.
As a respected member of the sinister Giovanni family, he knows much more about Cainites than most mortals. His skill at trading and profiteering makes it only a matter of time before he's rewarded with the Embrace.
Note that a Giovanni (either like this or a more traditional Giovanni necromancer) is essentially the only viable Cappadocian concept. Their future isn't bright.
This section contains tidbits of background and setting for Fading Suns; the previous game and the one I'm going to start fairly soon. I've had very little cause to clarify or modify the rules, so it's mainly the important stuff: comparitive ranks, forms of address, and so on.
The players of the upcoming game can acquaint themselves with the exploits of the last group. It may be relevant...
This is the distilled wisdom of official reports by Knights and Cohorts of the Company of the Phoenix. The contents of this document are not to be discussed outside the Company; passages marked Secret are not to be discussed with those not specifically cleared for the details in question.
To discover the whereabouts of His Grace the Duke of Cadavus, Commander of the Company of the Phoenix. He had taken upon himself an unknown quest, and was last heard from on the backwater world Nowhere. Likelihood of finding him alive is considered slim.
The group were briefed as usual, by His Grace the Duke of Salamandra, Acting Commander. It was decided that in order to raise awareness of the work of the Company a press conference would be held. [Note: This was a bad decision. The Company will not hold press conferences in future.] At the conference a journalist named Emil Lassiter asked Brother Millard directly whether he was a member of the Kalinthi, the Church’s secret order of demon-hunters. This was denied.
[Secret: It was true: Brother Millard was a member of the Kalinthi.]
The group were issued with a small ship and a crew. At Criticorum they had an unfortunate turn of events when the jump gate there was to take a week to recharge, but after a few days they were joined by an Imperial Navy fleet. The dreadnaught Indefatigable and its escorts, under Commodore the Most Honourable Lady Mia Justinian, Marchioness of St. Omer, were on the way to relieve part of the Stigmata blockade. They used one of the Navy’s ‘reset’ keys to force an early end to the cycle, allowing the party to continue.
[Personnel note: There was an unknown animosity between Lady St. Omer and Lord Little Deane; this may have been something to do with a past encounter, since Houses Justinian and Hawkwood are typically on very good terms.]
At a subsequent jump it was found that the ship’s sathra damper had been disabled, allowing dangerous psychic radiation to permeate the ship. Members of the Church immediately set to discovering what vandal might have caused the failure, as well as checking that nobody aboard had become addicted to the euphoric experience, known to be a cause of cult activity.
The Third Engineer was proved to be responsible, was confined and eventually delivered into Church custody at Nowhere. However, the incident also brought to light the psychic abilities of Sir Arthur Hawkwood, who was not publicly declared penitent (as Church law requires). He was in discussion with his superiors as to how the situation could be resolved, but unfortunately died in a gun-cleaning accident shortly after the discovery.
[Secret: Arthur had not been declared penitent at all. A Bishop friendly to the Company’s cause was prepared to announce that he had already been accepted as penitent but that his nature had been kept secret for security reasons, but the accident claimed him before arrangements were made.]
The group made planetfall on Nowhere, and traced the last known steps of Lord Cadavus. First the expedition travelled into the desert to the Gargoyle. [Secret: The personal experiences of encountering the allegedly-psychic statue are not a matter of record.]
Next they tracked him to the abandoned campus of a Second Republic university, where they discovered a previously lost jump key. [Secret: They were attacked by Symbiots. This is the only recorded Symbiot encounter outside of Stigmata and the quarantined worlds and is not to be discussed with anyone, for any reason. Do not worry: Although not normally considered dangerous, Nowhere is on the other side of the Stigmata blockade.]
[Secret: It was around this time it was discovered that Sister Alba was not Sanctuary Aeon originally, but was rather on secondment to them from the Brother Battle Order. She was also Kalinthi.]
[Note: The events of the Nexus and Paradise are Top Secret. None of this section is to be discussed outside the distribution list of this document.]
When used to activate the Nowhere gate, the new jump key opened the way to a previously undiscovered space station. There they discovered Lord Cadavus. He appeared to have become an antinomist and potentially a Symbiot, and was guarded by a collection of demon-tainted Symbiot guards. The Imperial Navy dreadnaught Indefatigable, under the command of the Commodore, destroyed the station and all hands, including Cadavus.
The jump gate there was different: capable of being opened to a large directory of destinations without a key. Among those was Paradise, lost homeworld of House Justinian, which appeared to be the most recently-used destination. The group travelled there, leaving explosive charges to destroy the gate.
Paradise appeared initially to be intact, and the Prince of House Justinian formally invited the Knights, Cohorts and representatives of the Church to an audience. On reaching the planet is was discovered that the planet’s leadership had succumbed to the antinomist-Symbiot taint, and it was assumed that in the years since the world was lost it had been completely compromised. The Indefatigable used nuclear weapons to make the planet uninhabitable, hopefully even to Symbiots.
[The secret and sensitive nature of the above cannot be overstated. Do not forget that nuclear weapons are banned by treaty and it is a secret of Imperial security that Navy dreadnoughts even carry them. Not to mention the difficulties Lady St. Omer would have if it were to become known that she was involved in the destruction of her House’s lost homeworld, or the embarrassment it would cause House Decados if the corruption of Lord Cadavus were made public.]
Brother Millard of the Kalinthi was lost on Paradise: his theurgy bought the time the Zephyr needed to take off. The group were able to open the Paradise gate to return to Imperial space, leaving charges to destroy that gate as they left.
[Out of Character note: There was a big epilogue sequence when we realised that the nobles were quite old not to be married, but I’ll mention only the most important bits in the report.]
Here is part of a sample party for the next Fading Suns game. Players are welcome to grab one of these to play; we'll change what we need to fit them in with the rest of the group. They're all intended as breaks from their respective stereotypes, although that's easier (and more fun) with nobles: when you're not born into a role there are far fewer excuses to be stuck there when it doesn't suit you.
Some of them have their secrets, of course: I know what they are but I can only tell a player who is pretty well committed to playing them (obviously).
Mockingly called the White Knight by others of his house, Ormond was the younger son of an ultra-traditional Decados baron. On being knighted he was sent away to join the Company of the Phoenix, but the conservative establishment liked the youth's ideas of 'justice' and 'honour' and he was well liked. This only make him less popular with his father, and he might have been cast out altogether had the Baron and his eldest son not died hunting while he was away on a quest. As it is, the Count of Nailsea would gladly destroy the entire Barony to be able to get rid of the troublesome paladin, but their lord the Duke of Cadavus insists that he no nothing that might weaken the House.
The rest of the House still considers Ormond to have an 'attitude problem': his dedication has impressed the Questing Knights, even the Emperor, but it makes the rest of the Decados nervous. None of them can tell which of their depraved secrets he might have, and which he might be about to uncover for the sake of some 'greater good'.
Lady Antonia is a niece of the Duke of Vera Cruz, youngest daughter of his brother the Count of [later]. Not even a knight, strictly, a stint as assistant to the Hazat Ambassador to the Emperor has shown how capable a negotiator she is. For the next quest, she has been attached to the Company of the Phoenix to offer her help to Ormond.
As would befit a young lady of any other house, she is skilled in various delicate pursuits that contrast her quite starkly with the militancy of the rest of her family. Quite how she will get on among reckless adventurers is the question on everyone's lips.
Antonia is not a knight or a dame by name, but certainly warrants the same level of respect and will be generated with the same rank benefice. She should be considered a dame in everything but address.
The Hawkwood of Delphi are glad to see the back of Nathan, although that he leaves to go into the limelight of Imperial service is a concern. He is a master of duelling, seduction and merrymaking, but even the most respectable of these is not enough to support a son of House Hawkwood so prone to subtle but drastic infractions against his own honour and that of others (and their wives).
In general, the Church puts the health of the spirit before all else, and warns that over-reliance on technology causes unavoidable harm to that. The Sanctuary Aeon care a little more for the health of the body, but still tend to err on the side of protecting the spirit. Theodore agrees, mostly, but has the controversial view that a little harm to the spirit is worth it for the benefits that the latest technology can bring to physical well-being, especially if the bodies of his patients benefit with only his spirit harmed. To that end, he is a specialist in medical technology; probably one of the finest outside the Merchant League.
This is the rank listing for Imperial legions. It's based mainly on previous non-noble forces, although some noble houses (most notably the Hazat) have been using a similar structure.
To the extent that they're useful, I will be adding charts of other forces to compare later. I won't be detailing enlisted ranks, since I don't see them having an impact on the game.
In some cases intermediate ranks or subranks may have been omitted: for example the different grades of army Lieutenant are mainly a payscale distinction and a measure of how many more exams or commendations are required to make Captain, rather than a structural feature.
The NATO Code is included, for easy comparison to modern-day forces.
Points is the number of benefice points that the rank costs. I'm still working on these and they're likely to change, and it's worth noting that some other benefices (especially noble rank) may have military rank ex officio (or at least by way of nepotism or plot device).
| NATO Code | Points | Imperial Armed Forces | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army/Marines | Navy | ||
| OF-1 | 3 | Lieutenant (Lt.) | Sublieutenant (SLt.) |
| OF-2 | 5 | Captain (Cpt.) | Lieutenant |
| OF-3 | 7 | Major (Maj.) | Lieutenant Commander (Lt. Cdr) |
| OF-4 | 9 | Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.) | Commander (Cdr.) |
| OF-5 | 11 | Colonel (Col.) | Captain (Cpt.) |
| OF-6 | 13 | Brigadier (Brig.) | Rear Admiral (RAdm.) |
| OF-7 | - | Major-General (Maj. Gen.) | Flank Admiral (FAdm.) |
| OF-8 | - | Lieutenant General (Lt. Gen.) | Vice Admiral (VAdm.) |
| OF-9 | - | General (Gen.) | Admiral (Adm.) |
| OF-10 | - | Field Marshal (FM) | Admiral of the Fleet |
Merchant League military ranks are generally tied in with actual guild commissions, especially in the Muster and Charioteers where the common commissions have the same names as the military ranks. Members of other guilds who find themselves serving in the League military (or seconded to someone else's military) will normally be referred to by the equivalent Muster/Charioteer rank.
Since the League forces follow the Imperial ones most of the way I haven't added them to the table. The differences are as follows:
Note that the Muster ranks in the book start much too low: I do not expect every person enlisted with the Muster to hold a guild commission (the very word suggests otherwise) so assume that Muster commission uses the ranks and points costs listed here. Some NCOs may be considered commissioned (in the guild sense), but in general commissioned PCs should start as officers.
The campaign so far hasn't worried too much about what grade of flag officer (OF-6+) a person is. For example, the governer of Nowhere is named General by the rulebook, but since the Imperial military now has British-style ranks he's more likely a Brigadier or a Major-General. Since all flag officers outrank any military party members by a long chalk, please excuse me if I continue to be slightly sloppy about their ranks.
The Imperial ranks (and those of most noble militaries) are superficially based on the British Army and the Royal Navy, while the Muster ones will get a more US feel. However, I have used Commodore as a posting rather than a rank as was implied when I introduced the her Ladyship the Marchioness Justinian (and as Steve assumed as soon as it was mentioned); hence the new Admiral rank.
The top flag officer rank in each force will be very rare, probably restricted to one holder at a time and possible only available during wartime, depending on the force. Some forces will never have anyone holding this rank.
Remember: There is only ever one person aboard a ship who can correctly be addressed as Captain. Anyone holding the rank of naval Captain or army Captain who is not the captain of the ship must be addressed by suitably respectful civilian address if you are their equal or better, or Sir if they outrank you.
Non-Commissioned Ranks
By popular demand, the non-commissioned ranks (NCOs and enlisted men & women) of the Imperial Amry, Navy and Marines. (Note that, as always happens when I put more detail into something, some of it contradicts what had previously been said or assumed).
| Grade1 | Points2 | Imperial Armed Forces | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army/Marines | Navy | ||
| 1-4 | 0 | Private (Pvt.)3 | Rate (Rt.)3 |
| 5 | 0 | Lance-Corporal (LCpl.) | - |
| 6 | 0 | Corporal (Cpl.) | Leading Rate (LRt.) |
| 7 | 1 | Sergeant (Sgt.) | Petty Officer (PO) |
| 8 | -2 | Staff Sergeant (SSgt.)4 | Chief Petty Officer (CPO) |
| 9 | -2 | Warrant Officer, Second Class (WO2)5 | |
| 10 | -2 | Warrant Officer, First Class (WO1)5 | |
Notes to the table:
From a lesson given to the youngest children of Vice-Chancellor Peter Kraemer of the Academy of Reeves by Claudia Torensen, Daughter of The Count of Llian.
Noble men and women take etiquette and address very seriously, and knowing how to meet them and do business with them without offending them is a very important skill to any Guildsman who wants to do any work in Imperial or Noble space. Your father has asked me to give you something of a primer on the correct address for members of different Houses.
First things first: kinds of address. You need to understand two main parts, style and what I will refer to for convenience as salutation. A person's style is their full title, as might be called in order to announce them as they enter a function. Their salutation is the formal way they should be addressed directly, such as at the top of a letter.
There are three sorts of people you might need to bear in mind: men who hold title, the wives of men who hold title, and women who hold title in their own right.
What about husbands?
In all the major Houses, husbands don't gain a style from their titled wives. She might decide that he should be addressed as if he held her title, or she might be powerful to grant him something of his own, but he isn't accorded anything by default.
And don't be afraid to ask questions; I can't tell what you don't know unless you say.
So, let us look at unlanded ranks first. The major Houses knight most of their men on reaching adulthood. Baronetcies are sometimes created for knights who distinguish themselves, either simply as a higher rank of knight, or more likely as a hereditary title. Women are generally knighted only if they intend to do what is traditionally men's work; a female knight is called a Dame.
I'll use James Hawkwood and his wife Jane as an example for my names, unless I need other Houses: should he be a knight or a baronet, he is styled 'Sir James Hawkwood' and has salutation 'Sir James'. Jane is then 'Lady Jane Hawkwood', or 'Lady Jane'. Should it be Jane who holds the title, she'd be 'Dame Jane Hawkwood' or 'Dame Jane'.
The landed ranks, and I'll be concentrating on the five 'sub-royal' ones, since they are the ones you are likely to encounter, start to vary quite substantially by House, and in some cases by individual title. I'll give general cases as best I can, but I can't stress enough that you should get as much advance warning as you can so that you can look up the particular person you need to deal with.
Let us assume now that James Hawkwood is Lord of Winterbourne. Now we'll see how his address changes as we upgrade Winterbourne through different levels of fief.
With Winterbourne as a barony, James is probably styled 'The Lord James Hawkwood of Winterbourne', saluted as 'Lord Hawkwood'. This generic address is used by most of the major Houses in order to make sure they fit in (a) his House, (b) his fief and (c) his given name(s). The old 'The Lord Winterbourne' form is rarely used for a barony, although some families do use it (especially where the family is named for the fief).
As his wife, Jane is fully styled 'The Lady Jane Hawkwood of Winterbourne'. It is not unusual for the wife's style to be missing her surname and/or her husband's fief, though. Styles for wives are at the same time one of the system's largest points of contention and its biggest area of leeway; the typical nobleman isn't too bothered if you address his wife incorrectly, provided you have shown proper respect while doing so. Her salutation is still 'Lady Jane'.
Note well that she is not termed Baroness; should she hold the barony in her own right her style is 'The Baroness Jane Hawkwood of Winterbourne', saluted 'Lady Hawkwood', or 'Lady Winterbourne' if that's the form the Lord would have used.
A brief note about the names of fiefs: Some nobles simply don't use them. In cases where the family name is the name of the House, some nobles would rather be addressed by that. Outside the Hazat, a noble will rarely be offended if you use his family name rather than that of his fief, and many even prefer it (although he should also accept properly formed address using the name of his fief, should his preference be unknown).
Of course, in the Hazat, few if any nobles bear the name of the House. In this instance it is important to do the research; address and announce them properly using family name and name of fief, and adding 'of the Hazat' after, if you feel it proper.
If a nobleman leaves his fief out of his salutation, so will his wife. Whether Jane Hawkwood would be 'Lady Jane', 'Lady Hawkwood' or something else entirely depends on her, her husband, his title and his House. I'd use the former if unsure.
If we now make Winterbourne a vicountcy, there are subtle changes. Where before the Lord's title didn't appear in his style, from here on it plays a major part.
James is now 'The Lord James Hawkwood, Viscount Winterbourne' and Jane is 'The Lady Jane Hawkwood, Viscountess Winterbourne'. Their salutations are 'Lord Winterbourne' and Lady Winterbourne' respectively. Only in a few cases is it 'Viscount of Winterbourne'; finding some examples is left as an exercise.
A Viscountess in her own right is styled 'The Lady Jane Hawkwood, Viscountess Winterbourne'. Despite what I've said about wives, please don't lose any of the address of a noblewoman in her own right.
Next is Count, or if your title is granted by House Hawkwood, Earl. James is 'The Lord James Hawkwood, Earl of Winterbourne' and Jane is 'The Lady Jane Hawkwood, Countess of Winterbourne.' Yes, the wife of an Earl is a Countess. For the other Houses, substitute 'Count' for 'Earl'. The salutation is the same as before: Lord and Lady Winterbourne. Jane as Countess in her own right is 'The Lady Jane Hawkwood, Countess of Winterbourne.'
You've got the opposite situation with 'of' here: most Countships and Earldoms have it, and you should check carefully that you're not dealing with one of the few who don't.
If you ever hear a noble announced with language variations, use them if you can pronounce them and ignore them otherwise. The Hazat Count may be quietly pleased if you address his wife as Condesa, but he'll likely be displeased - and perhaps not quietly - if you call her Contessa; certain minor Houses are the other way around. By convention only the most unreasonable of nobles will complain if you use the accepted generic terms rather than their preferred variations.
Of course some of the variations have made their way into the accepted form, and you should really learn them, at least for the major Houses.
With Winterbourne upgraded again, it's a marquessate. Here you have to be very careful distinguishing nobles by House on two counts. Firstly, there's the title itself. Hawkwoods call the man a Marquess and the woman a Marchioness, and several of the more traditional minor Houses are with them. House Decados and the Hazat call them Marquess and Marquessa, while the al-Malik and the Li Halan call them Marquis and Marquise.
Next, some Houses still refer to their Marquesses as 'Most Honourable', but this is going out of fashion. Try and find out in advance which it is (Hawkwood and Decados yes, Hazat and Li Halan no, al-Malik varies; there are always exceptions), although I daresay that you might get by assuming that it is required; too much respect is less offensive than too little.
In any case, the correct style is 'The Most Honourable Lord' or Lady (or simply 'The Lord' or Lady), the full name, then the correct title and the name of the fief. Marquessates that don't have 'of' in their style are at least as rare as the countships. The address for the wife is, as before, the same as a female title-holder but with a little more leeway. James, then, is 'The Most Honourable Lord James Hawkwood, Marquess of Winterbourne'.
As with the previous two, salutation is as 'Lord and Lady Winterbourne'.
Finally, Winterbourne as a duchy. James is now 'His Grace James Hawkwood, Duke of Winterbourne, with his wife 'Her Grace Jane Hawkwood, Duchess of Winterbourne'. When saluting in writing, use 'Duke' or 'Duchess'; when speaking to them address them as 'Your Grace'.
Can I call people 'My Lord'?
I wouldn't. In conversation with a Lord (ignoring Dukes for the moment, who are more or less above that title) you can use the full salutation: Lord Winterbourne, for example. It is respectful enough to refer to a Lord as 'My Lord', but since this could be taken to imply allegiance many nobles avoid using it except for their direct superiors, and as freepersons you would do well to avoid it completely.
'My Lady' or 'MiLady' is slightly different. You can always use it as a term of respect for a nobleman's wife, and since women with titles in their own right are still quite rare you should get away with it even when she is landed.
What about nobles without titles?
A male noble without a title will normally be a guildsman or a priest. You should address him as such, for while he may have important friends, most Houses consider such a person to have given up their claim to nobility.
Noble ladies without title are very common, although they won't often deal with outsiders. If Jane Hawkwood is an unmarried noblewoman, style her as 'Lady Jane Hawkwood' and salute her as 'Lady Jane'. She isn't 'The Lady Jane', especially in earshot of anyone who may actually be entitled to that.
One last thing: Military rank. The correct style for a military nobleman is to put his military address before the full style of his noble rank. Consider announcing the organisation that awarded the rank: when introducing Lieutenants and Captains it can be really quite important to make it clear whether they are army or navy.
For example, should James Hawkwood - let's make him a Baron again - be a Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, he would be styled 'Lieutenant The Lord James Hawkwood of Winterbourne, Imperial Navy'.
You don't always have to use military rank; since you're not military yourself you could use the civilian address for someone whose noble rank is at least as prestigious. Just don't omit a high military rank in order to use low noble rank; the Hazat armed forces in particular award rank on military experience and merit and it's not hard to find a Knight made General, who definitely should not be addressed as just a Knight.
That's enough for the time being. I will speak with your father; I may have time for another lesson while I'm staying, but I really must spend some time with my sister, having come so far to visit her.
A substantial guide to addressing nobles appears elsewhere, and includes much of the information you might need for dealing with them. Here are a few slightly more game-oriented comments.
Types of Title
The Unlanded ranks are the lowest kind.
Typically every adult male who is not commissioned into a guild or ordained into the Church will be knighted, along with some of the women (depending on the House). Knighthood is not hereditary, nor is it tied to a particular place or court.
A baronetcy is normally a hereditary knighthood. Particularly successful and valuable knights are made Baronet, although obviously most modern Baronets have inherited the title. A woman inherits a baronetcy (or is created the rank) is termed Baronetess.
Landed noble titles imply dominion over - and responsibility for - a noble fief. The landed noble titles are those from Baron upward, or arguably from Baron to Duke inclusive.
A landed noble in Fading Suns is usually ruling land owned by a superior (ultimately the head of the House in most cases), although in some cases a noble may own his own land. Generally the difference is small; both swear allegiance to their immediate superior and are liable for taxes and/or troops, and both could have their land taken easily enough if the might of their House turns on them.
If your father is a landed noble and you are his eldest son, then becoming one in your own right is just a matter of time. Otherwise, gaining a fief is extremely difficult, since the land has to come from somewhere. When a nobleman dies without heirs his title becomes extinct, and could be created again by the owner of the land. Acts of treason or gross negligence sometimes give the House enough reason to take titles from their current owners, but generally punishing existing nobles in this way only damages the House. The only other way for a House to make new fiefs is to gain land, but with the internal borders of the Known Worlds more or less fixed, the only real avenues for expansion are with House Hawkwood into Vuldrok space or the Hazat into the Kurga Caliphate.
Courtesy titles are granted to the heirs of high-ranking noble. For example, if a Duke also holds a Countship and a Viscountcy, then he might hold the Dukedom in his own right and allow his eldest son to be styled Count as a courtesy. Often these arrangements are written into the Letters Patent when the titles are created.
Note that it is possible to hold more than one title for the same fief; perhaps be Marquess and Earl. In most Houses there cannot be more than one nobleman per fief, so these titles must remain held by the same person and neither can be a courtesy title.
There is one notable exception to that rule: if a House has lost the land for a fief but has not dissolved the title, it may be that another now has their own title created on the same fief...
Victory titles are sometimes granted to leaders of successful military campaigns. They are styled as landed titles but differ from true titles in that the creating authority doesn't have the power to grant the fief descibed, so the title is entirely honorary. For this reason, the Houses in Fading Suns tend to steer clear of such titles.
More or less opposite are those titles pertaining to fiefs no longer controlled by the granting House. Originally a title would be dissolved if the corresponding land was lost, but recently - especially during the Emperor Wars - it has been common to leave the title in place, assuming the land will eventually be recovered...
Table of Titles
Here is the expanded table of noble ranks.
| Points | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Original | Adjusted | |
| 3 | 3 | Knight |
| 5 | 5 | Baronet[ess] |
| 7 | 7 | Baron[ess] |
| - | 9 | Viscount[ess] |
| 9 | 11 | Count[ess] |
| 11 | 13 | Marquis[e] |
| 13 | - | Duke/Duchess |
| - | - | Prince[ss] |
Notes and Variations
Since the table in the rulebook does not contain Viscount, everything above that has increased in points value. Prince obviously is off the top of the table in the rules; some Houses don't even use it.
This section includes information about the latest instalment of my Fading Suns game.
The championship begins on the Emperor's factory world, taking in the Festival of St. Horace in Nuevo Madrid before racing on the new track on silt flats near Maguat.
The surrounds of the beautiful Castle Furias provide the backdrop for a rural stage on Aragon. Visitors will be able to see the marvellous Tassera Gardens, perhaps even see duelling at the infamous Athos Gardens.
The third race is in and around the pontoon city of Lurzash in the northern hemisphere of the League's water world. Visitor's may partake in the Empire's finest fishing, eat the Empire's freshest fish, or simply enjoy the panoramic views.
The Li Halan play host to this stage among the wondrous wildlife of the Urtata forest region.
By day, hospitality in Tabrast. By night, a daring stage in the Disember Mountains.
The Luxor river basin is the setting for a thrilling circuit stage.
The Shantor Day Race is the backdrop for the next stage: watch the traditional race on the summer solstice, then race the route the next day.
Racers and teams are warmly invited to Ravenna by his Grace Alvarex Hawkwood, Duke of Aldyra, himself. Here a nail-biting underground course plumbs the depths of Deepcore City 7.
Blistering speeds are expected across the Blood Desert of Jyväskylä.
A purpose-built orbital facility is the setting for the grand finale. Enjoy the luxury of the new orbital leisure complex and the technical challenges of the state-of-the-art tracks.
The Merchant League
Director - Lo Ree Mok Kuklo
House Decados
Director - His Grace Istvan Decados, Duke of Cadavus
Riders - Sir Uther Orpheo Decados; Rod Birch
House al-Malik
House Hawkwood
Director - Sylvester Hawkwood, Viscount Collingbourne
Technical Officer - Charlton Merriot-Hawkwood, Entered of the Supreme Order of Engineers
Riders - Sir William Hawkwood; Azune of Madoc
House Hawkwood
Director - Richard Hawkwood, Baron of Stockbridge
House al-Malik
The Merchant League and the Ur-Ukar
The Merchant League
House Li Halan
Independent Churchmen
Director - Brother Fyodor of the Urth Orthodox
Riders - Brother Wright of the Eskatonic Order
The origin of the Malkavian known as Marcus is unclear. What is known is that he travelled extensively, collecting quite a coterie of friends and lovers, before arriving in London. Shortly after, around the turn of the 12th century, a strange plague swept the city, killing only the weakest of mortals but virtually all the Cainites; all except Marcus and his five companions.
Returning after a brief quarantine, the Malkavian declared himself Prince and gave his coterie freedom to sire new Cainites. For a hundred years, London was ruled by Marcus and populated largely by his companions and the Houses they established; outsiders came and went, but only a handful of the city's vampires fail to trace themselves back to that coterie.
In 1206, the plague returned. A blood-borne disease was loose in the city, carried by mortals, bringing sickness and debilitation to the Cainites. Nobody was prepared this time, no safe places to hide, no emergency herd carefully quarantined. But this time it didn't strike so hard: younger Cainites and outsiders were virtually untouched, while even the eldest chider of the original five were only out of circulation for a few months. By some twisted irony, the plague worst affected those who were unscathed the first time: the heads of the five Houses are in deathly torpor and Marcus is missing, presumed the same or worse.
As 1206 draws to a close, the city is in disarray. The tension between the Houses may be the calm before the storm as the new leaders seek someone to blame, and some way to get an edge over their rivals.
The Five Great Houses is a large play-by-forum game of Vampire: the Dark Ages (with some elements of Dark Ages: Vampire, for those who know the difference) that I'm planning. It'll be at RPoL, where the custom-built forums give GMs plenty of tools and control, and it'll be open both to those I know at Tigars and those who are looking for new games at RPoL.
With any luck, I can get enough players to have few NPCs, so that the game has a real player-driven feel like a live-action game. Characters will be the vampires of London, beginning at the close of AD 1206, under the alternate history given above.
Most characters should be from the five Houses. This means playing a character descended from (the childer or grandchilder of, most likely) one of Marcus's five companions. Once I've detailed those NPCs, players should take care to make characters that they might conceivably embrace, or find intermediate player characters so that they can be worse generation.
Until I detail the founders of the Houses, you'll have to make do with their provisional clans:
Players are free to choose these clans, ignoring their normal geographic character. The companions of Marcus left their native lands and came here, and when given free rein to embrace did so from local stock. In essence, we're actually playing bloodlines of these clans based as much on the character of the immediate progenitor as the clan itself, but you'll just have to wait for those descriptions of the progenitors.
Individual Cainites of the following clans would probably be reasonable:
Other clans are not sources of support (or plot devices) in the same way as the main ones. You should only choose one of those clans if you are prepared to work a little harder to get yourself involved in the game.
The other clans (Assamites, Followers of Set, Ravnos) are not appropriate, due to issues of mood and geography. Please do not ask for them.
That's enough for the moment. Get in touch if you're interested or if you want more information.
As a backdrop to the character plays, Five Great Houses will use the following influence mechanic to keep track of off-camera power.
Influence is mostly similar to the background of the same name from the core rules. It doesn't use quite the same scale, but crucially the total amount of influence available in the city is fixed. While there remains unclaimed influence you need only hatch suitable schemes against mortals, but eventually you will have to go up against other Cainites in order to take their influence from them.
Influence comes in four kinds:
In London at the beginning of the thirteenth century, these things are not in balance. The ratio of available influence 'points', and the clans with a 'major' or 'minor' interest in gaining them, are as follows:
| Type | % | Lasombra | Toreador | Tremere | Tzimisce | Ventrue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble | 40 | Major | - | - | Major | Major |
| Religious | 35 | Major | Major | - | Minor | - |
| Commercial | 15 | - | - | Minor | Minor | Minor |
| Supernatural | 10 | - | Minor | Major | Minor | - |
There will probably be 1000 points of influence available. By providing many points I will be able to make smaller awards so that players can more rapidly see the effects of their actions. Starting characters will receive a modest allotment, somewhere around 20-25 for the childe of one of the Companions, 10 otherwise. The starting points must be chosen from the influences mentioned as clan concerns: if all the points are gone, tough luck.
I haven't yet decided whether outsiders (those not of the five lineages) will have initial influence; probably not. They will have to gain it during play, a task which will be that much harder without a supportive clan. Major campaign events, such as a concerted effort by a number of influential PCs, may be able to change the amount of available influence or the balance between the types.
Although they have no direct mechanical effect, you may want to measure your progress against other characters with the following totals:
I will probably be keeping league tables of these scores on the web somewhere as the game proceeds. Note that it doesn't correspond directly to anything the characters can discern; they'll just have to work it out for themselves.
The progenitors of the five great lineages to be found in London are detailed below. With each is a description of what manner of people they preferred to embrace, as well as in what manner of influence they and their progeny are most interested (more about influence later).
After a distinguished career as a household knight, Algernon was made responsible for all the forces of his Lord, a Norman noble. Showing considerable aptitude for managing and commanding commoners and knights alike, he attracted the attention of a Ventrue elder who needed good underlings to follow William's incursion into England. The campaign was a success, but the machinations of the Toreador back in France drew the attention of Algernon's sire farther and farther from England until the powerful fledgling was on his own.
Although the details of how each member of the coterie was persuaded to join Marcus remains secret, what is clear is that Algernon secured London much like he did his Lord's lands. Much of the prosperity of the last century is due to Algernon and his childer, rooting out undesirable elements in Cainite society and protecting the domain's borders against allcomers.
Algernon seems to be motivated mainly by a sense of duty, and even makes concessions for honour on occasion. He has taken great pleasure in being responsible for the safety of his master's subjects, and gathered considerable respect and goodwill from local Cainites.
Relations: Although he never put much stock in the idea of being destined for leadership because of his lineage, his assumption that he was always second-in-command may have had a similar effect on his childer with Marcus gone. A quiet alliance with Edith always helped secure the city, and John tended to remain beneath his noticed. Mainly he was wary of Melchiorre, who was a threat to his assumed position at Marcus's right hand, and Erzsébet, who is simply too unpredictable to trust.
Likely Childer: Algernon favours military candidates for embrace, although these are more often chosen for their skill at command or logistics than for raw skill at arms. In later years he sought to solidify the sources of troops he needed by accepting non-combat nobles of note.
Influence: Algernon's brood are interested mainly in noble influence, bringing them into conflict with Melchiorre and sometimes Erzsébet. They keep small interests in commercial circles in order to secure supplies of arms and mercenaries, which sometimes brings them up against Edith's childer.
Generation: Algernon of Clan Ventrue is Sixth generation.
From a long line of mages in the Hermetic tradition, great things were expected of Edith. When it became clear that she lacked even the slightest grasp of the Order's magic, she was left doing menial work in her family's chantry while others around her became distant and barely acknowledged her. She continued to study magical theory, and on learning what House Tremere had done she went to them, offering her services as archivist and researcher. Within a decade her hard work and devotion to learning earned her the embrace.
Few were surprised when she excelled at Thaumaturgy and soon she was sent to London to assist the Regent of the chantry there. It was on the way, however, that she met Marcus, and changed her plans. It is not clear exactly what deal was struck, but it is assumed that the affliction that so conveniently paved the way for Marcus' ascension was of her making.
Edith is cold, used to being unfairly looked down on and now only too happy to do the same. Her mastery of various forms of blood magic is unquestionable, and she seems torn at times between a paranoid desire for her security and an academic love of her field. It is whispered that the only thing that stopped Edith and her students executing a coup and taking control of the city was the fractured organisation she imposed on them to stop them plotting against her. Another whisper, on the other hand, tells that she secretly loved Marcus...
Likely Childer: Edith's childer tend to be those with a knack for blood magic. It is unclear how she can tell, and true that a few failed students have gone missing over the years, but mainly Edith embraces from all walks of life those who subsequently prove strong in Thamaturgy. Most other functions she needs are left with ghouls or things less human entirely, both of which are more easily controlled.
Influence: The city's Tremere like to dabble in - and control, where possible - the magical and supernatural elements of the city; in this they oppose John's Toreador. They fall back on some commercial concerns when appropriate, although rarely competing for the interests the Ventrue desire.
Generation: Edith is Eighth Generation.
Clan Weakness: Because she had only loose ties to her clan since joining Marcus, Edith's childer are not bound to the Council, as a properly embraced Tremere should be. Instead, they are bound only to her, but stand to suffer greatly if ever the clan proper dares to send a capable agent to London.
A minor noblewoman in Hungary, Erzsébet was married off to a Transylvanian lord in order to cement some or other agreement. Her husband was a better leader in war than peace, and she quickly learned to run the holding without him, including brokering necessary deals with unruly subordinates and neighbouring powers alike. When he returned from campaign each time, he had no idea how much he owed her, but the Tzimisce Voivode who had been considering him for the embrace noticed, and took her instead.
Erzsébet is subtle and cunning. She does not play the game for its own sake, but that isn't to say she doesn't enjoy every moment. While Melchiorre often could not help but proclaim his involvement in some delightful scheme, Erzsébet would be happier if nobody ever noticed, provided she reaped the rewards properly.
Likely Childer: Like herself, Erzsébet's childer must be subtle. They must be driven and ambitious, but above all Erzsébet respects control and precision, for drive is worthless without them.
Influence: Behind the scenes, the Tzimisce contest the noble influence desired by the Ventrue. However, their seemingly indiscriminate desire for power and the marvellous delicacy with which they conduct themselves mean that many a Cainite has taken stock of a trusted holding only to find that it has been subverted and undermined by one of Erzsébet's brood.
Generation: Erzsébet is Seventh Generation.
In contrast to his 'brother' Melchiorre, John certainly had faith, and retained it until the second plague struck. He had been a monk as a mortal, happy to spend his time between meals and prayers toiling away in his cell creating fine tapestries, for that was his gift. It was a gift he more or less lost when embraced, causing a proud Toreador to leave him where he'd found him rather than take him back to France.
Since then, John has spent his time praying, studying and generally contemplating his place in the world. He takes a liking to anyone who makes good conversation on such topics, but does not much mind what they do with themselves at other times.
Likely Childer: John has one of the more diverse groups of childer, since he finds desirable traits in all kinds of person. He would most likely offer the embrace to someone of a similar spiritual and academic leaning, but this has not always been the case.
Influence: John's brood contest the religious influence strongly, with Melchiorre's childer trying to block them at every turn. The idea that John may actually have had good cause to take sanctuary in the Church only heightens the divide. They also dabble in supernatural influence, and the only reason Edith never took steps to stop them was because they seem to lack the talents to pose a threat.
Generation: John is Seventh Generation.
It is unlikely that Melchiorre, once a Bishop not too far from his native Rome, actually maintains any sort of faith, and is debatable that he had any to begin with. The turning point may have been his embrace, of course, but he keeps the details to himself. What is clear that whatever caused him to leave his previous life hasn't followed him here, and he has settled into quite the powerbase, using the Church to gain temporal influence and power.
Melchiorre is a consumate schemer, matched only by Erzsébet. He is patient, enjoying long-term plans that are always more than simply a means to an end. Marcus seems to have trusted him enough, bringing him to London and letting him dig his fingers into the Church and its holdings. It was in playing these mortals off against one another - and doing the same to Cainites wherever he could get away with it - that he passed much of his time.
Likely Childer: Melchiorre embraced in his own image, picking those who had a similar flair for games of power and politics, and sturdy soul and stomach for the constant competition. He encouraged games even between his childer, but was always clear that they should put one another before anyone not of their clan.
Influence: Melchiorre's brood predominantly hold influence in religious and noble circles, for that is where their brand of temporal power is to be found. While the enmity between the Lasombra and the Ventrue is a simple struggle of power and pride, their opposition to the Toreador stems as much from ideology as competition, since religion was very much a means to Melchiorre and an end to John.
Generation: Melchiorre is Seventh Generation.
The Inestimable Fortunes of the Golden Bough is a Tékumel game, probably using some sort of Runequest/Call of Cthulu mash-up. As well as the documents I'll eventually post here, players may wish to refer to the Tékumel page in the articles section, where I've currently got a Tsolyáni calendar and may later put more general resources.
Available now:
A decade of 'war' is over. The last fifteen years have seen economic collapses, civil wars, and proud nations brought to their knees by terror attacks. With a number of landmark settlements finally made over the last year, people now dare to show the hope they had kept secret for so long.
It promises to be an exciting new era. Technology that has been taboo since the beginning of the century is finally making its way out of testing, through the committees and onto the high street. Decades of science fiction is gradually becoming not only technically viable but commercially useful and socially acceptable. And a new generation of 'depression children' are finally getting the space to go wild over it all.
The owner of a new London nightclub is looking for staff. The place needs security personnel, an events manager, a technical team, and various other employees. The club may also take on some in-house entertainment, and the owner might even consider additional applications for the position of general manager. All are needed in time for the club's landmark opening, on December 31st, 2019. We hope to see you there.
If you're asking what genre it is, it's a cyberpunk game, by which I mean you should go and watch Strange Days and Blade Runner. Read Neuromancer, of course, but don't take it too seriously; I'm not going for the 21st century Chiba envisioned in the '80s.
If you're asking what system it is, then stop worrying about mechanics. It'll use some stuff from CP2020 (Interlock), maybe a little Fuzion and certainly a few nice ideas from the World of Darkness. But really it'll be whatever mechanics (or lack of) that fit the game.
If you'd like to know when and where it will be run, then you should expect it to be an in-person RPG (rather than a forum-based or PBeM one), either down the pub or around some unwitting player's house. If you aren't connected to Tigars then you may have trouble finding us.
If I run this, I'll want character submissions beforehand, in the form of in-character curricula vitarum, maybe even application forms. Then I'll help people work out game mechanics based on that (with appropriate bonuses per concept). The first session will be a group interview (note that if the game is oversubscribed I might get tempted to run the interview and actually use it to decide who is playing).
Herein I will add the IC and OOC articles and things that I plan to write, giving you more insight into the setting and the rules.
This document is still in draft, and is now published so that players can make comment. Details on it may change before I consider them finalised.
Since I planned part of this, some time ago, some of it has already gone out of date (A UK General election is likely before the latest it could possibly be, for example). The inevitable divergence from the real world has already started...
To tide you over until I get around to writing some fancy background stuff, here's a quick-fire list of what sort of thing you can expect in the world of Screaming Twenties.
The information here pertains mainly to this campaign setting: 2019 London. Some details differ throughout the game world.
I seem to have gotten carried away with politics now. Please bear with me for some technology and popular culture information which will come later.
In general: For the most part, available technology is much as it was thirteen years ago: few things are done now that weren't really possible then. What the last decade has seen is many of the predicted side-effects of the previous one becoming feasible as high-street products.
Transport:
The most common mode of personal transport is still the automobile. They now reliably drive themselves in all but the most taxing of conditions, although in the UK a vehicle moving on public roads must still be supervised by a licensed driver. A number of people have been convicted of Dangerous Driving after being found not to have been properly supervising their vehicle immediately prior to an accident. In remote areas, some roads are considered unsafe for automated driving, generally because the lines aren't repainted often enough.
For domestic use, electric and ethanol vehicles have performance comparable to petrol ones; the rising cost of fossil fuels has made high-performance petrol vehicles something of a status symbol among the young corporate elite. Besides gradual progress in safety, performance and fuel efficiency, the main difference is the extent of in-car entertainment: most cars now have a complete suite of consumer electronics for each seat (apart from the 'supervisor's').
Electric power is also available for small aircraft, whose easier access to sunlight makes them quite cheap to run. Small helicopters are quite reasonable to own and run, although various taxes and the required qualifications tend to restrict them to businesses and some wealthy individuals. Fixed-wing aircraft are cheaper, but the inconvenience of airfields has made them less popular.
One thing that does still require fossil fuels is the jet engine. The largest and fastest aircraft, as well as all vectored thrust vehicles, are very expensive to run, and hence quite unusual. For VTOL scenarios, tiltrotor aircraft provide a cost-effective alternative to VTs.
Trains are faster and more reliable than ever, although the quality of track in the UK still leaves a lot to be desired. The London Underground continues to run, those annoying anti-suicide barriers having by now been fitted in all stations and well-maintained trains and track making the system very reliable.
Slow shipping by huge tanker remains common, and smaller water-borne vessels have seen many of the same improvements as land vehicles.
Human Augmentation:
The term 'human augmentation' is used to refer to biological and genetic manipulations as well as high-performance prosthetics and other technologies intended to permanently alter the human body for better performance. Although almost any alteration is now legal, that legislation was a careful balance between protecting the consumer and protecting the manufacturer, and many are put off by the disclaimers a patient must sign.
Various treatments are available to increase pure physical performance: muscle & bone strengthening, reflex enhancements and so on. These are not as common as one might think (at least among normal, law-abiding citizens); they are absolutely illegal in traditional sports, and a new range of so-called cybersports are mired in conflicts of regulation as they try and establish rules that avoid their competitions devolving into corporate spend-offs.
The mental improvements are less well developed but more sought-after. An implanted microcomputer is a popular choice (see Direct Neural Interface, below), but direct improvements to mental and social faculties are limited to expensive and/or experimental biochemical and biogenetic therapies.
Outright replacement of perfectly good body parts is frowned on in most circles, especially since the benefit is usually purely physical. Artificial skin is good enough to make prosthetics virtually undetectable to the unaided eye, although some youth cultures see a raw metal arm as a daring fashion statement.
Improved senses, especially eyes, are surprisingly common (although still very unusual, across the populace). A replacement eye may have - depending on the patient's requirements - active aperture control, sensitivity to non-visible light (IR and/or UV), or even a camera. Heads-up display for a visual feed (from an internal computer or DNI (below) is almost standard.
Direct Neural Interface: The Holy Grail of cybernetics is a workable universal neural interface, and it isn't quite here yet. Current neural interfaces consist of an implanted network connection (wireless generally, although some prefer wires) and a 'thought recognition' processor to turn the operator's thoughts into digital instructions.
The thought recognition is comparable to late twentieth century speech recognition: a properly 'trained' interface can read the thoughts with a very high accuracy, although giving the device instructions effectively requires quite a lot of practice on the part of the user, both to frame the impulses in a coherent way and to be able to continue other surface thoughts without the interface trying to interpret them.
A practiced user can control a computer by DNI significantly faster than with a traditional keyboard/mouse arrangement, and dictation by thought recognition is much faster than by speech recognition. Other scenarios show less improvement. Vehicular controls tend to be sufficiently slow that the improvement in response time from the operator makes little or no difference, and the interface programs currently make it as difficult to learn to control the vehicle by DNI as manually, if not harder. A DNI is normally combined with a full implanted microcomputer, to add extra functionality to the link.
Direct neural interfaces are common among those who work with computers in a technical capacity, but unusual otherwise. Certainly they are not expected of anyone (in the UK it is illegal to require an employee to accept alterations, or to discriminate against applicants for a job on the basis of their augmentation or lack thereof, and on the face of it most employers have taken this to heart).
Health Implications: The long-term effects of human improvement technologies are largely unknown. There are many recorded cases of patients having adverse psychological reactions to augmentations, but this not expected to be a physical result of the alteration. Most people are unsure of the improvements, unhappy with the idea of having such invasive alteration and with the lack of reassurance from the research into the matter.
Computers:
Computers have continued to get more powerful, but perhaps more importantly more widespread. Embedded microcomputers are everywhere, to the extent that the typical consumer takes them for granted and nobody spares them much thought (while they work). Most of them have little or no human interaction, but those that do (the refrigerator that reorders when its inventory is low [and helps manage diets by withholding food], the fact that practically anything with a screen has internet access, and so on) are a defining feature of modern life.
Full-function computers are becoming less common in homes, their useful abilities often being replicated in less complicated multi-function devices. In businesses computers are small desktop units that are more powerful than ever running software that takes more resources than ever, for little overall change since the turn of the century.
Wireless networks are everywhere; a recent survey of the capital estimated that around 99.8% of Inner London was within gigabit WiFi coverage, and new billing models from ISPs make it easy to get internet access through any of it. Properly implemented wireless security is very difficult to get through, but the ease of establishing a network and the relative difficulty of securing it properly mean that tens of thousands of devices are more or less waiting for someone to break in.
The internet itself hasn't changed much. Various communications protocols have moved on a generation or two, but there have been few real new developments. The quality of web content continues to improve and the use of remote login protocols has almost peaked, but the promised age of virtual realities filled with geometric shapes hasn't materialised.
Miscellaneous Innovations:
ClearGlassTM presents no reflections: it is so transparent as to be essentially invisible. It is available for all manner of styles and purposes, although the bullet-resistant version is not quite as clear as the regular grade.
Holotubes: A laser array shines into a sealed glass chamber containing a mix of inert gases, where it has the abilitiy to project points of light into three-dimensional space. The full effect is a full image in 3D throughout the chamber. The output is from a digital feed, and can be anything that will fit in the chamber. Some problems still exist with opacity (since the projection is generally translucent, you can normally see the far side of the projected body, looking through the near side) but careful choice of nearby lighting will almost cover this, and reduce the 'glow' associated with an active video display. The units are common as part of entertainment systems, and also in shop windows and other places where they can be used for demonstration purposes.
More later, maybe. What more do people want to know about on the technology front?
This section contains brief explanations of key rules. It's not the entire rulebook, for two reasons: firstly that I don't want to write an entire rulebook, and secondly that even if I did there might be parts I wouldn't show to the players.
These rules may eventually be firmed up a little and used for other games, besides the Screaming Twenties. For that reason they're a little more general in scope than I expect to be necessary in that game. If you're playing in that, don't expect masses of firearms combat just because I happen to include a few pieces on it.
So, we're on an Interlock (CP2020) variant: variable target numbers for skill rolls of:
Attribute + Skill + Bonuses + d10
The Attributes we're going to use are the following:
I know, they're not the normal Interlock stats. I've split the functions of Reflexes down into Reflexes and Coordination so that a single trait isn't so key to combat characters. I've taken Move Allowance away because I don't think there should be such a broad range of movement speeds along humans (Run is likely to be calculated as 10 + Reflexes + Body rather than 3*MA). I've replaced Attractiveness with Charisma, because I wanted to make it slightly more generic than what has traditionally been considered by players to be little more than sex appeal. Cool/Will is now called Willpower, shortened to Will, because somehow using the word 'Cool' to describe the beautiful people of 2020 seems trivial or worse.
Luck remains. Although the exact mechanics of using it aren't yet settled, Luck will not be a dump stat; people who have it unreasonably low may find themselves in trouble.
Normal human range for these is 2-10.
A skill list will be produced later. Skills won't be specifically related to particular attributes, but there will generally be one or two common combinations, much as in the Storyteller system.
Skills run from 0 (unskilled) to 10. The referee will be left to decide which rolls can be attempted unskilled, or whether alternate skills may be used instead.
The main category of bonuses is from a set of nWoD-style Advantages. These run from 1-10, and may offer different bonuses at different levels. For example, the new Combat Sense adds a cumulative +1 to awareness rolls in combat situations at each odd level, and +1 to initiative at each even level.
Other bonuses added into skill rolls will generally include equipment bonuses, or others that the player is responsible for keeping track of. Circumstantial modifiers will generally be applied to the target number instead.
When the d10 comes up 10, roll again and add results. If necessary, keep rolling and adding until something other than 10 is rolled.
If the initial d10 (not extra d10s for rolling 10s) comes up 1, roll another die and take it away. Inform the ref if this penalty die equals or exceeds your Luck.