A Darker Age

• Roadscholars game of Iron age MRQII
• IC thread
• OC thread
• recruitment

Characters

• Daegmund 'The bastard hound of Andazyn' Iskallor's hunter turned knight. Bastard half brother to Rosine. Nephew to the king.

• Aelfric of Clan Mernii. Herbmaster and cousin to Rosine and Daegmund, played by Jarulf
  • Rhín is his young servant.
• Rosine of Lerenil King's niece, played by Mandacaru
• Osgar, a landed mercenary knight, played by Pseudoephedrine
• Krallion, a Shamanistic warrior played by ThaGuy

House Rules

• Abilities and Spells not found in the books.
• Sunsigns affect skills in different ways.

Links

• A ‘poetic’ map of Harn. It’s the only one you need, and all named features will be ‘canon’ for this game. what they mean might be vastly different, however.

http://www.harshlands.net/Images1/harn.jpg

• Lerenil

Setting

The small kingdom of Chybisa, once a crossroads for trade and major cavalry centre in the Remull holdings on Harn. Now, its an isolated collection of small manors centred round the formidible Burzyn keep [which looks remarkably like Harlech castle]. The current king has taken the peaceful times of the last six years as a good omen - and looks to reclaim some of the fallen manors to the north of the river. Meanwhile,the Baron of Lerenil pursues his aim of establishing Lerenil as a seagoing port. To do so requires a settled north bank to the river...but the greatwoods are populated by Setha And worse, wolf riders and forest-orcs. Rumors speak also of Trolls and Ogres, not seen since the Remuli drove them out.

Setting assumptions

• Magic - Common magic will become the province of specialist users. The average person, while not superstitious about magics use, will regard it as a dangerous pasttime.
• I'll run all the magic systems as is - with the main change being the general unavailability of common magic. Sorcery with have a particular mode or approach - there are alchemists, astrologers, enchanters, power word mages and necromancers rather than sorcerers. Crunch wise, this simply means that different 'grimoires' require a mundane as well as magic skill to enable. The mundane skill must always be greater than the magic one.
• Common magic becomes the province of the church and divine initiates, witches, warlocks and shaman/druid types. Most magic specialists will also pick up a little. It is 'low magic', but you must have the gift [or divine/spirit backing] for it.
• Technology - Due to Remuli and Dwarf influences, there is a wider range of arms and armour technology on Harn, but getting fitted plate [or fancy helmets] is, on the other hand, not going to be easy. Inheriting grandpas Equestrian war gear, being very good mates with a dwarf [remember, they have withdrawn from the lands of men largely] or being a noble from Melderyn [for thoe unfamiliar with a Harn map, the southeastern Island kingdom] would be about the only way to access that sort of gear.
• For cultures, assume picts on too many sacred herbs for the Setha, a general gaulish feel for the Anadhe, and more germanic for the Hodiri [who are mounted].
• The hodiri are pretty much Goth/Alans, if you are looking for an analogy.

Background

• Burzyn Keep was built by a mad dwarf hundreds of years ago, and was annexed by the Republic as their headquarters for Three auxiliary legions [ regulars,archers and cavalry] for nearly a hundred and fifty years. When the legions finally left there had been a local interpenetration of these auxiliaries, and many [in the case of the Hodiri, nearly all] stayed when the legions left. The currently Royal line of Chybisa [named after the local Lord who bade the mad Dwarf build a keep] can tenuously trace descendence from the royal line, even through the times of the Republic. The people of Chybisa are a mix of former natives, Republicanised auxiliaries and refugees from both Kaldor and Thay.

• The Setha are local natives [Jarin] who returned out of the north during the Rebublics retreat. They ravaged the lightly settled lands native to them [between Kaldor and Chybisa] and reclaimed it as their own. Their interest in the area is due to the presence of a creature of their Gods called the Stalker on the Heath. They are ruled by skull faced shaman/priests, who appoint chiefs and decide the fate of clans. They are sometimes friendly [and have been generaly peaceful for the last few years]. this will never last, though as history has shown...sooner or later the tribes grow too large and someone leads a war.

• The Hodiri occupy the woods and plains between Melderyn and Chybisa. They are descendents of Auxilia from the Mainland - a plains people noted for their horse skills. They were an early conquest of the Empire and had attained semi-independence by supplying troops and set tribute. The two legions stationed in Harn slowly established themselves in the marches that bear their name and eventually replicated their homeland customs in miniature. They are horsefolk, wagon owners, with herds for wealth. Currently, there are 12 tribes, and two of these are fairly friendly to Chybisa. Hodiri attentions are given mostly to warring with the Solora [a Jarin tribe to the South] and skirmishing with the few mainland colonies of Melderyn.

• The Anadh are a mix of Jarin and Ysirii archers [former auxiliaries] who occupy the woods and hills between Chybisa and Thay. While they are a generally peaceful folk, they are intolerant of the Church of Light, follow only the Old Way and have been the causes of crusades in the past. They are currently peaceful with Chybisa, but not Thay. rumors of an alliance between them and raiding Orbaalese keeps the Theocracy awake at night.

• Kaldor is warring on itself in a series of attempts to claim the throne and title of King. The church is heavily involved as an arbiter, and there are a dozen newly formed fighting orders, on both sides in any conflict.

• Thay is a bastion of the Church and a small island of culture, following a Theocratic governing body with the king as advisor to parliament and commons. However, it has been under constant attack by Orbaalese and Ivinian raiders for nearly five years. Latest rumors speak of year round settlements to the North...

• Melderyn is a decadent remnant of the Republic, with entrenched Senate and Equestrian classes, bonded servitude for peasants and a thriving trade in indentured servitude. Citizens form the middle class and make up the bulk of the Legions. Sorcery has a dark name in Melderyn, and while there are practitioners of the Arts, they have a fractious relationship that is entwined in the games of high politics played by the Republics elite. It is also the most civilised area on Harn, barring the dwarven and elven cities.

• Chybisa itself consists of the Royal seats of Burzyn [King ], Lerenil [brother] and Onden [sister] and the keep of Geda [ Held by the Baron Erynn, originally of Kanday]. Politics and family are one...though there are many lesser lords who can hold sway in court. The land is some of the best quality in Harn and produces two harvests a year. There is a fierce independent streak in Chybisa - the amount of freeholders is higher than Kaldor or Melderyn and the peasant class can win freedom ffor themselves or their descendents through payment or service. They have a strong tradition of archery [the local longbow is actually a composite of two woods] and mounted commoners [sergeantry].

• The Church of the Child has several monastic and hermetic orders in the East of Chybisa, but no actual fighting orders. The Church is not actually well supported in Chybisa and the shrines to local gods and spirits still dot the roads and wells. The local bishop is tolerant of local custom and has even attended festivals.

• The guild of arcane lore in Chybisa is composed of less than a dozen practitioners, mostly alchemist-apothecaries, diviners and enchanter/bards. Most hold some position in one of the noble courts, or are directly related.

A sense of Scale

This p-Harn is cinematic in scale. What would be the extreme in naturall features is the norm here. Caves are commonly as big as the largest caverns of our world, waterfalls are longer, trees larger, mountains higher. Animals can be much larger and are generally more intelligent. This applies to the superstitions, folklore and stories of our Earth as well. People do see ghosts, true love and innocence are powerful forces, there are little people and monsters and old laws that even gods must obey. Riddling games, bets and wagers, hosting laws, oaths all have power. So do rightful positions…true kings, godmother/father, clanhead, kings champion all bestow a modicum of Power.

A brief History and culture

When the Remuli Republic took the island of Harn two hundred and thirty years ago, they were opposed by the native Jarin tribes [ many of whom were never conquered], themany tribes of Goblinkin [a species rare on the mainland] and lastly the wild tribes and spawn of Ilvir, an immortal mage with Divine powers who was worshipped as a god.

The Jarin were divided regionally, with the Peran and Equeth to the West, the Ternuu and Athul to the south-West, the Nutheli to the North and the Solorii to the South East. Add to this many minor tribes and island clans.

A real-world culture analogy would be the Welsh, Scottish and Irish prior to and including early christianisation.

Goblinkin confine themselves to the hillier or more deeply forested areas of Harn. They do not bear direct sunlight well, but can do so. The Goebler, Haebog, Oeger and Boeger races are returning to old haunts now that Republican law is gone and their spreading is a symptom of the times.

The wild tribes of men who ring Lake Benath have always worshipped Ilvir the Maker, who lives in Misyn. Giants and trolls and other, rarer monsters are his creations and they dot the world of Harn, guardians to bleak places and old ruins. When the Remuli invaded he created orcs, or gargun, to combat them. Even though the Remuli conquered and captured the southern part of the lakelands, nests of orcs have spread throughout Harns mountains, a bane to humans and goblinkind alike.

The settlements on the Harn map represent the extent of Remuli conquest and settlement. From Harn they gained rich grainfields, hardwoods and conscript troops. The Legions Harnica were an anchor to the Republic and later Imperium in the North, and when the last of the legions departed following another governer intent on the High Seat it sealed the fate of the Feoderates and subject lands of the northern mainlands.

Fantastic and unusual places in Harn

• Azadmere is the home of the Dwarves and Gnomes, close kin who inhabit the area East of the Sorkin mountains. They signed treaties with the Remuli and even built a Western outpost [Kiraz] at their behest.

Dwarves live largely underground and are workers of the things of the earth. They average four and one half feet in size, and range a foot either side of this. A reclusive race with a racial male to female mix of 3:1.

Gnomes live in the forests and hills, and are to the living things of the earth what the dwarves are to metal and stone. They are makers in wood and fur, friend to beast and bird. Also reclusive, but they tend to large families and twins with a 2:1 female/male mix.

A dwarven male may often take a gnomish wife. Their offspring will show an inclination to one life or the other well before maturity and become a Dwarf or Gnome, often moving to live with kin.

The Azadmere woods are populated with many large species of intelligent, talking woodland beasts. Many of these work for and with the Gnomes, and there are communites of these Animal folk amongst the woods and streams.

The [non Jarin] humans that live in Azadmere [centred around Zerhun] are the Torzyr. They are deep lake fishermen and farmers who contribute cavalry to the Dwarvish Nation. Their armour is the most sought after in Harn.

• Shava forest is the home of the Elves and Ys, a human tribe who have lived with them for centuries. While the two elven cites are open to visitors, the woods are not.

Elves migrate all around Harn, but the forest remains their homeland. During Remuli times, the Elves closed their borders and were never attacked.

• The Anoth Delta is home to the Anoa, a pre Jarin race that reputedly has the power to turn invisible in their homeland and talk to animals. They do make the Anoan warbow, a much sought prize in any part of Harn. Their lacquered wood armour is similarly sought.

• Norons keep is home to Noron, a wizard and Bardic enchanter who is considered the second most powerful figure on Harn. Who is the most powerful is debated by many.

• Tontury lake and the Ilme marshes are home to a mother dragon and her various Draconic spawn. Many kaldoric knights are dragonslayers…

• Misyn is home to Ilvir, and the nearby mountains and woods are infested with giants, trolls and Gargun. The Felsha, Rayesha and Especially Jahl mountains are home to his creations, while the while tribes of pre-Jarin humans live in the woods the ring lake Benath to the north and west.

• Kustan is the legendary ruin of the keep of the King of the West, who according to Jarin legend, will rise again to lead them against an ancient enemy. This enemy was not, apparently, the Remuli, as he made no appearance.

Of the Divine

There are only three spiritual movements on Harn. The Church, the Old Ways and the worship of Ilvir.

• The church of the child of light. Founded over 600 years ago, the Church follows the teachings of a young boy born in the middle empires of the mainland long ago. He revealed that all previous gods were part of a pattern and that this pattern was the Child of Light, offspring of the Great Mother and Grand Father. He was slain by the Geat Evil, but cast his purity and light out into the world creating a huge and intricate pattern out of his purity and essence, everywhere making light and life. So incensed was the Great evil that it had been denied the Childs purity and essence that it flung itself into the world, losing most of its strength and power to do so. That is why there is a potential for the good in all things to be turned to evil, but only the potential.It is only possible to have pure Evil in the 'other worlds' that the church speaks of.

The church has a series of orders and sects, based on the later teachings of other children, born as speakers for the Child every 100-200 years. These have always brought tremendous disruption to the church. Think of a monotheistic church that gets a divine audit every couple of hundred years and you have the Church of the Child.

Church orders

• Hermetic orders.
• Mendicant orders.
• Fighting orders.
• Monastic orders.
• Arcane orders.
• Spiritual orders.

• The Old Ways. The Old Ways are the ways of believers in the many gods with greater gods above them. The primal figures are the Great mother or triple goddess and the Grand Father. There are also three clever figures who aid the primal pair, one the master of nature, one the master of spirit, and one the master of magic. Between them and their contests with the Great Evil, all the world, gods, spirits and creatures are created.

Think of a mix of animism, celtic gods, welsh, irish and Scottish folklore and bon shamanism and you have theOld Ways. Depply tied to natural, spiritual and magical cycles, their orders and covens and myriad and local, but all ascribe to the same basic tenets.

Druids,Bards, witches and warlocks, Seers, Grain Queens and Sun Kings all follow the old ways.

• Ilvir the God. The wild beasts, wild men and orcs all worship Ilvir as a living God. This is, of course, contested by both the church and the Old Ways.