Dr Simon
Explorer
This is a setting I've been rolling around in my head for a while, and I've got a short scenario I want to test it with (no epic campaigns this time, but if it starts well I've got material to continue it).
In Character Thread
The idea is a game set in the real world ca. 600AD, but one where everything written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Bede, the Beowulf poet and the compilers of the Mabinogion and the Nibelunglied is true. It's a world where Christian missionaries strive to drive out the old gods, faced with a hostile land of demons and monsters, where the Britons, one hundred years after the death of Arthur, are facing the threat of the Anglo-Saxons, where the Western Roman Empire has long since been carved up by Goths, Huns and Vandals but lives on in the Eastern Roman Empire in the shining city of Constantinople.
The game starts on the borders between the Welsh kingdom of Powys and the Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Characters are men and women in the loyal service of Llewllyn ap Rhys, Lord of Trefaldwyn - loyal because they are honourable, loyal because they are related to the Lord, or merely loyal as long as they are paid, any motivation you wish.
The Crunchy stuff -
Pathfinder, 15 point buy.
Any core class except monk and paladin is acceptable. Any core race is acceptable, although "orcs" are not a race in this setting, so a half-orc would be known as a half-troll, half-goblin or some such. Average starting gold for equipment. Some non-standard races might fit, ask if there's something you really want.
Fighters, rogues, and rangers could be anything. Wizards and sorcerers would not be distinguished by most people. Barbarians would likely be Pictish or Norse mercenaries, although there's no reason they couldn't be Celtic or Saxon warriors either.
Bards and Druids, of course, stem from Welsh culture and are a good fit, although the old druidic faith is in decline (The Romano-Celts who have developed into the Welsh have been Christianised for some time). The druids are mainly found on their island Ynys Mon, but some would exist.
Clerics and Religion
The Welsh are largely Christian, but the Saxons still largely follow their pagan gods such as Woden, Tiw and Thunar, Teutonic version of the Norse gods Odin, Tyr and Thor. They also venerate nature, as do some Celts still, particularly sacred trees and pools, the sun and the moon. Pope Gregory has sent Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, to be his emissary in the British Isles and bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons.
This era is before the crusading cleric of later mediavel history - the typical Christian cleric is a humble missionary (Dewi, aka St. David, a companion of Arthur, established a monastic tradition in the kingdoms of Wales). Christian clerics use d6 hit die and a poor BAB, but have a base 6 skill points instead of 2. They may select from the domains of Community, Glory, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Liberation, Nobility, Protection, Repose (Pharasma version), and Sun. They may also select the Love subdomain of Charm (but not Charm itself or (Heaven forfend!) Lust. All other subdomains of the above domains are allowed, apart from the Ancestors domain of Repose (smacks of paganism).
For pagan clerics, Domain choices should be fairly easy to work out from similar deities already published.
Disclaimers
It shouldn't be necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of the 6th-7th century history, politics and theology, nor to speak Welsh, in order to play the game, although even a passing interest in such things means you are more likely to get something out of the game. Further, although the game uses real-world faiths I'm not in the business of passing judgement on anyone's religion, nor trying to promote one.
In Character Thread
The idea is a game set in the real world ca. 600AD, but one where everything written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Bede, the Beowulf poet and the compilers of the Mabinogion and the Nibelunglied is true. It's a world where Christian missionaries strive to drive out the old gods, faced with a hostile land of demons and monsters, where the Britons, one hundred years after the death of Arthur, are facing the threat of the Anglo-Saxons, where the Western Roman Empire has long since been carved up by Goths, Huns and Vandals but lives on in the Eastern Roman Empire in the shining city of Constantinople.
The game starts on the borders between the Welsh kingdom of Powys and the Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Characters are men and women in the loyal service of Llewllyn ap Rhys, Lord of Trefaldwyn - loyal because they are honourable, loyal because they are related to the Lord, or merely loyal as long as they are paid, any motivation you wish.
The Crunchy stuff -
Pathfinder, 15 point buy.
Any core class except monk and paladin is acceptable. Any core race is acceptable, although "orcs" are not a race in this setting, so a half-orc would be known as a half-troll, half-goblin or some such. Average starting gold for equipment. Some non-standard races might fit, ask if there's something you really want.
Fighters, rogues, and rangers could be anything. Wizards and sorcerers would not be distinguished by most people. Barbarians would likely be Pictish or Norse mercenaries, although there's no reason they couldn't be Celtic or Saxon warriors either.
Bards and Druids, of course, stem from Welsh culture and are a good fit, although the old druidic faith is in decline (The Romano-Celts who have developed into the Welsh have been Christianised for some time). The druids are mainly found on their island Ynys Mon, but some would exist.
Clerics and Religion
The Welsh are largely Christian, but the Saxons still largely follow their pagan gods such as Woden, Tiw and Thunar, Teutonic version of the Norse gods Odin, Tyr and Thor. They also venerate nature, as do some Celts still, particularly sacred trees and pools, the sun and the moon. Pope Gregory has sent Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, to be his emissary in the British Isles and bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons.
This era is before the crusading cleric of later mediavel history - the typical Christian cleric is a humble missionary (Dewi, aka St. David, a companion of Arthur, established a monastic tradition in the kingdoms of Wales). Christian clerics use d6 hit die and a poor BAB, but have a base 6 skill points instead of 2. They may select from the domains of Community, Glory, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Liberation, Nobility, Protection, Repose (Pharasma version), and Sun. They may also select the Love subdomain of Charm (but not Charm itself or (Heaven forfend!) Lust. All other subdomains of the above domains are allowed, apart from the Ancestors domain of Repose (smacks of paganism).
For pagan clerics, Domain choices should be fairly easy to work out from similar deities already published.
Disclaimers
It shouldn't be necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of the 6th-7th century history, politics and theology, nor to speak Welsh, in order to play the game, although even a passing interest in such things means you are more likely to get something out of the game. Further, although the game uses real-world faiths I'm not in the business of passing judgement on anyone's religion, nor trying to promote one.
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