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Message: <blockquote data-quote="skippy_the_witch" data-source="post: 1599609" data-attributes="member: 18980">I really like where this is heading.  It hangs very well together.  I especially like the Aruspex Guild and the Wardens of the Wall, which I am thinking of adapting to my Cursed Earth campaign.  I already introduced what one of my players dubbed "The Men in Green", who are the secret police and investigators of The 13 (the 13 ruling Houses of the Federation).  I hadn't thought to make them both more cult like and independent then your usual secret police, much like your Aruspex Guild.  And by making them survivors of Taint and the Shadow, it will put them in much the same position as useful pariahs as the Guild was for the original Church.I think that besides the Wardens of the Wall, you should have some form of very local law enforcement.  In the Federation, most people live in large villages (think Victorian England), since a larger concentration of people leads to a larger concentration of technomagic, which leads to a greater risk of attracting Taint, corrupting both magic and people.  All of these villages are interconnected by a teleportation gate grid and the ethernet, which means that transportation and communication are really equivalent to any metropolis.  What else is Manhattan and New York City but a bunch of large villages smashed together geographically.  And that sounds like what your city is, a 19th or early 20th century manhattan, surrounded by enemies and a wilderness it doesn't understand.  Within the Federation, each village has a ellected Sherrif and his appointed deputies.  Then there are a few circuit judges from the Federation Ministry of Justice.I think you should replace my sherrifs with some sort of temple militia.  Obviously, each neighborhood is going to be predominently of one or two religions from the Theocracy, since people remain people, and like tend to live next to like.  This forms the power base of the various factions of the Theocracy.  The temple militia and church courts would take care of smaller local matters, such as theft, disturbing the peace, etc, with the level of "law and order" depending upon the current philosophy and/or power of the current faction in control.The Theocracy should only be involved in major cases that for some reason cannot be adjudicated within their home burrough, that involve two or more faction within the Theocracy, or could potentially affect the entire city.  I think this is also where the Wardens step in, for while they are very likely to stop petty crimes and turn over those criminals they catch in the act over to the temple militias, I do not see them as an investigatory body, at least not as you described them.Also, I think that all citizens should be able to appeal to the Theocracy, at least in theory.  It sounds like one of the reforms that the founder of the Theocracy would have built in.  In practice, those without influence or the ear of a council member are just not likely to be heard.  And even when a case is heard, it is usually rubber-stamped by the Council.  Think how often a freeman was actually able to get a hearing before a King, and what was the likely hood of said monarch over ruling one of his nobles.A few other suggestions.  You need more beaurocracy.  I suggest a model similar to that of ancient Imperial China.  That is how I have modelled my Ministries within the Federation.  I also use the Courtier core class from the Rokugan Campaign Book, but I call them Functionaries.  Sometimes having someone who understands the paperwork and organization of the real power of a society can be as important as having a Wizard who can fireball your enemies.Lastly, while you have obviously put a lot of thought into Paladins and Clerics, you seem to have ignored the absolutely deadliest Core Class in the Basic Rules, the Bard.  A bard, especially in a pseudo-modern semi-totalitarian enviroment, comes into his own.  Even if his "magic" (songs, charming, etc) cannot directly affect any more people then a standard bard from a primitive world, a modern bard is a master of marketing and propaganda, and, even with something as basic as a printing press, his indirect influence can be spread far and wide.  Watch the Disney musical Newsies sometime if you want to see a dramatic example of what a couple of low level "bards" can do when properly motivated.  Within the Federation, there are no bards, and those that come in from the Wild and claim to be bards either do not stay long or have unfortunate fatal accidents.  But the Federation is all for "free press".  In an technomagical urban campaign (from steam punk or better technology), the Bard's ability to influence combined with his bardic lore capability makes him potentially more deadly than an insane archmage.  At least in the hands of the right players.Well, that is enough babbling for now.  Keep up the good work.  Like I said, reading about your Campaign is helping me focus mine, and giving me the courage to eventually start a thread of my own on the Cursed Earth.  Or will, as soon as I get more of the background actually written.  I made the mistake of actually starting the game before I was actually finished, so much of the practical rules are finished and being playtested, but much of my background is spotty.skippyGM of The Cursed Earth Campaign</blockquote>

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