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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rich pett" data-source="post: 6783615" data-attributes="member: 46759">Let's have another Enworld exclusive morsel for your delectation...The Blight has considerable options for roleplay-particularly in the dizzy confines of the Capitol; the game of words that goes on between the ruling families and their numerous lesser kin can form the spine of numerous campaigns. Each major family is detailed in the Capitol Gazetteer, along with their lesser cohorts or enemies, along with options for bringing their games into adventures. As the aristocracy does not wish to foul its blood with that of the common man, inbreeding is rife, and the complex web of alliances and enemies, blood relatives and hated kin is like a cat's cradle in the Capitol itself. That the fingers of those families reach out and grab as they wish makes their game one that many may play to a conclusion.Here is the brief extract from the Blight GM's Guide touching on the subject.  FamiliesThere are four great families in Castorhage—the Castrohage (royal) Family, the Borxias, the Nightshades and the Tredici. Below them are a swarming mass of other houses, great and small, all wielding varieties of power and influence. Blood runs thicker than water, they say, and unlike gangs, ties of blood are often intricately woven into others through marriage. The relative strengths of each family are given in a simple statistic block, designed to reflect not only their power, but their allies and enemies, as well as their elders. An example of one family—the Family Wether—is given below.Family Wether (level 9)Alignment    N    Leader        Lilly Wether (N female human aristocrat 3/rogue spy 5/master spy 1)    Motivations    Love of the royal familyFriends            Secret alliance with the Clan Sullage aimed at bringing the Borxias down, the royal familyEnemies            Outrage and condemnation of Clan Shibboleth over attempts to frame an (allegedly) innocent senior family figure over a fair duel. Frequent duels between the sons of both families. Hatred of the Borxia Family over property disputes and unpaid loans as well as deaths of family diplomats at their handsTactics            Spying, subtle use of secrets; sowing them like seeds to nurture and grow in their protection and care Morale            Very strong, exiles flock to their banner and the family name is arrogantly bandied about. The support of the royals secures their future; so long as the Castorhages are in power.  Although giving a good indication of the family, these statistics are also slightly abstract; they do not go into great detail about the family members or alliances, but can be used to judge whom is more powerful than whom. Unlike gangs detailed immediately below, the family runs deep, and can count upon lesser families as allies. A family has a number of levels each to the square of its own level, plus a similar amount for every level below. So with the Wethers, they can in theory call upon 285 levels of alliances (9x9+8x8+7x7 and so on), making them a fairly strong family. This should be treated abstractly, however, since it does not include employees and personal armies; again if you want a rule of thumb, consider using the square of the family level (so 81 in this case) as a minimum number of level of employees....</blockquote>

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