1366 Second Edition

1366!
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A Medieval Oddity!
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By!
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Graham Rose!
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Second Edition
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David Russell (Order #18378372)

1366!
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Second Edition
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A Role Playing Game!
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By!
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Graham Rose!
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Dedicated to my love,!
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Dr. Nicola Rose!
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CONTENTS!
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Role playing games ~ 5!
A brief discussion on role playing games.!
Medieval England ~ 7!
Including King Edward III, the church, the hundred years war, the Great Famine, The Great
Plague, The Peasants Revolt and other interesting titbits.!
Medieval roleplaying ~ 13!
Including characters, medieval names, humor, countenance, experience, tests, talents, trades and
oddities.!
Change ~ 22!
Rules for character progression.!
Goods ~ 23!
Including notes on money and wages.!
Fighting ~ 27!
Which covers combat, injury and recovery.!
Activities ~ 29!
Which includes climbing, leaping, lock picking, trading, finding herbs and so on.!
Hazards ~ 35!
Which are many and numerous, including being set alight, being poisoned, getting drunk and
soiling ones' hose.!
Disease ~ 39!
Which includes full rules for the Great Pestilence and leprosy.!
Animals ~ 43!
A list of animals characters may encounter on their travels, such as disease rats and hungry
wolves.!
People ~ 44!
Descriptions of the varied and interesting people the characters may meet.!
Stories ~ 49!
With details of the Middenlands, some story seeds and rules for treasure.!
The Hogford Diptych ~ 55!
A simple scenario for beginning characters!
The Dunfell Nuncheon ~ 66!
The sequel to the Hogford Diptych, two short tales in the village of Dunfell.!
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This edition © Graham Rose ~ February 2013!
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Images are derived from public domain sources.!
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!4

1366! an element of doubt as to wether he would
! succeed, the RPG rules can be applied to
1366 is a medieval genre role-playing game. It resolve the action (if the GM thinks it is
is by no means intended to be an authentic warranted). !
recreation of medieval life, but could be said Role-playing games usually have a plot
to have some of the flavour of realism, whilst outline and descriptions of events, locations
still very much being a fantasy game.! and non-player characters created by the
1366 doesn't have many of the typical GM. This is the game 'scenario' or 'story', and
features of a fantasy role playing game, such provides the framework within which the
as elves, orcs, or wizards hurling spells. player characters interact. An example of a
Likewise, 1366 is not about the usual subject simple plot might be:!
matter of medieval games, the knights, nobles !
and so on. However, readers will hopefully The PCs are approached by a merchant who asks
appreciate that the game contains a unique them if they would help transport some goods to a
perspective, in that some of its' focus is on the nearby town, for which he will pay a small fee."
grotesque, strange and disquieting aspects of !
medieval life. This is a game where the odd The GM would describe the merchant, and
beliefs, spurious knowledge and dogmatic would talk to the characters as the merchant
thought of medieval life are part of the when discussing the task. The players in turn
everyday existence of the player characters, would respond as their characters, perhaps
and where the strange may be as negotiating a higher payment, or enquiring
commonplace as the commonplace is strange.! about the route etc. The GM would have
! notes about the merchant (such as his name,
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES! physical description, personality and game
! statistics), the events that occur whilst the
A role-playing game (RPG) is a game in characters travel, the details of any
which players act out the roles of characters antagonists they meet and so on. These would
in a fictional setting. This is done with the aid be kept secret by the GM, and would be
of a set of guidelines or rules, that help to revealed only when the appropriate point
govern the outcome of actions taken by the came within the game.!
player characters (PCs). The rules are !
administered by a referee, called the Games Unlike most other games, a role-playing game
Master / Mistress (GM). It is the GMs has no definite ending. In this sense, it is more
responsibility to play the roles of the other akin to a series of fiction books, in that a story
characters within the setting, known as non- may come to a close, but the characters lives
player characters (NPCs), and to create the continue into the next story. Thus, whilst in
outline and details of the story within which the example above the characters might
the PCs participate. The GM provides the successfully deliver the merchants goods at
descriptions of all of the elements of the game the nearby town, that would be only the
world, the things the characters perceive and conclusion of that short story, and the
the results of the characters actions.! characters would now be in a new location,
! with another story about to begin.!
Role-playing games are typically played Likewise, there is no specific victory
sitting around a table, and the game proceeds condition within a role playing game. To be
with the players and GM describing the victorious within a role playing game is to
various actions of characters. For example, a achieve any of a number of things, be they the
player might say "My character walks into the personal goals of the player character, the
room" and the GM would relate the completion of a story, the acquisition by the
consequences of doing so, such as what the character of something (fame, wealth,
character sees, or the actions of a non player notoriety) and so on. Ultimately, as with any
character within the room etc. If a player has game, players enjoying the experience is the
his character attempt an action where there is true 'victory'.!
!5

The Rules! a suggested location to be used as a setting for
! the game.!
The majority of the rules within any role !
playing game are concerned with creating Why 1366?!
characters and resolving the actions of the !
characters. ! The middle part of the 14th century is a time
1366 attempts to address these aspects as when major events such as the great famine
simply as possible, whilst still ensuring and the great pestilence have occurred, and
characters are uniquely defined and actions their effects are still being felt by the peasants
are resolved using a straightforward and of England. This is an interesting period in
universal method.! which to set a role playing game; there are
! abandoned villages and ruined buildings to
Characters are defined using colourful terms explore, people moving around the country as
more in keeping with the setting, to ensure never before, more freedom for the peasants
that the atmosphere and 'feel' of the game is and, as a consequence, more problems for
maintained. Similarly, some of the unique nobility. Underlying all this is a tension
abilities of a character are deliberately kept throughout society, created by decades of fear
low key and feasible, rather than improbable and hardship. Add to this the fear created by
and supernatural. That's not to say that there the plague and the ongoing war in France,
aren't remarkable skills available to a and the 14th century becomes an interesting
character, or that there aren't abilities that an time...!
onlooker might consider 'magic'. However, !
such abilities (called oddities in the game) are Some other decades a GM might prefer to use
capable of being rationally explained by those as a starting point for their games are; the
learned enough (or at least irrationally 1320's, when a young King Edward III is
justified by those deluded enough).! seizing power from Roger Mortimer and
! famine has taken its' toll on the land, or the
1366 is not a game of knights and heroes, it is 1380's, during the peasants revolt when
a game about the other people, the (almost) England is in chaos.!
mundane people. So, if you have played a !
fantasy game previously, and thought it might !
be interesting to play one of the peasants, or
one of the underdogs, the odd people, the
unfortunate, the afflicted, the lackeys, the
unlucky or just the average and unremarkable
people, 1366 may well be the game for you.!
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The remainder of this work is divided into
two parts. The first part is a guide to medieval
England in the 14th century. It includes
details of the major events of the time but
also, perhaps more importantly, covers some
of the knowledge a person would possess if
living during the period. This includes things
like what a character would eat, some ways in
which they might speak, how they would
dress and so on. This section also includes
some information about the less well known !
aspects and events of the period. ! !
The second part forms the actual rules of the !
game, and covers the creation of characters, !
combat and so on. This section also includes !
!6

MEDIEVAL ENGLAND! there was a continuing drain on the peasant
! population of England, both in manpower
1366 is set in the medieval period of England, and economically through taxation. The
around the middle of the 14th century (the English government was at times bankrupt,
late middle ages). This is a time when much and England itself was left vulnerable to
of Europe is in turmoil, following the effects attack from the French. The war did not
of a series of devastating events including finally come to an end until 1453.!
famine, the 'Great Pestilence', and a change in !
the European climate. This is also the period The Church!
of the Hundred Years War, in which the !
English King Edward III laid claim to the Christianity was the dominant religion of
French throne.! medieval Europe, though there existed small
! enclaves of Jews in many countries, and
Some essential facts about the period are within the wilds of Britain there may have
presented below, followed by some short been those still worshipping pagan gods.
discussions of medieval society. Hopefully, Islam was also present in Europe, though
this will be enough for those unfamiliar with there were no great numbers of muslims
medieval history to gain a basic grounding of within Britain at this time; England was very
the period, with enough information to allow much a catholic country throughout the
further research should a player wish.! middle ages.!
! !
King Edward III! During the years 1309 to 1377 the pope
! resided in Avignon, France, rather than in
Edward came to the throne in 1327, and ruled Rome. The influence of the French monarchy
for fifty years. He was crowned when just was strong during the Avignon papacy, and
fourteen years old, after his father Edward II throughout this period all of the popes (seven
was deposed. The deposition of Edward II in total) were French.!
came as a result of years of strife and The church had a good deal of power in
corruption within England, which Edward II England, and its' presence was felt in most
had failed to quell. ! communities. Most villages
! had a church, and most
For a time, England was controlled by the castles a chapel. There were
regent Roger Mortimer, with the help of the monasteries and convents in
Queen, who had taken Mortimer as a lover. several locations within
This was something the young Edward III England, and these
could not tolerate, and three years after being functioned as hospitals and
made King, he ousted Roger Mortimer and as scholastic institutions.
sentenced him to death. His mother, Queen Pilgrimage was practised in
Isabella, was exiled.! the middle ages, and several
! locations in England (such
During his reign Edward III subjugated as Canterbury and
Scotland, and began a war with France which Glastonbury) had become
was to last for more than a century. He ruled popular sites for pilgrims. !
until 1377, when he was succeeded by King !
Richard II.! The medieval period also saw the beginnings
! of the inquisitions, which first occurred in the
The Hundred Years War! 12th century and persisted for several
! centuries thereafter. The inquisitions were
Edward III declared war on France in 1337, instigated to root out and punish heretics, and
having laid claim to the French throne. The during this period the pope sanctioned the
war continued, with periods of inactivity, for use of torture by the Grand Inquisitors, who
more than a century. During this period, were responsible for investigating heresy. The
!7

Grand Inquisitors were members of the against Jewish communities, who were
Dominican order of monks, and they amongst those blamed for the disease. !
operated in various parts of Europe at this !
time.! The Great Plague reappeared again and again
! in the centuries that followed, and did not
The Great Famine! fully disappear from Europe until the 19th
! century.!
During the early part of the 14th century the !
weather conditions in Europe changed, The Peasants' Revolt!
becoming generally harsher. Winters became !
colder, and torrential rain caused flooding. In 1381 the greatest uprising ever seen in
Food became scarce as crops failed and when English history occurred. This was the
livestock could not be fed it died in the field. peasants revolt, a response to injustices such
People became hungry and malnourished, the as a harsh tax placed on the people of Britain,
weak succumbed to death. In the first few known as the poll tax. The leaders of the
decades of the 14th century, millions across revolt were John Ball, Wat Tyler and Jack
Europe died from famine.! Straw, all later to be executed at the
! instigation of the new king, Richard II. The
The Great Plague! revolt culminated in a march, and civil unrest,
! in London. During the riots many prominent
Known to the people of the time as the Great individuals were killed (including the
Plague or the Great Pestilence, the disease we Archbishop of Canterbury, who had hid in
know today as the Black Death killed millions the tower of London).!
throughout the world. Its' symptoms included !
bleeding pustules (buboes), high fever and Medieval phenomena!
vomiting. It was often fatal, and could kill in a !
matter of days. It was responsible for the Of the major events occurring during the
decline, and occasionally the complete medieval period, there are some which by
abandonment, of many hamlets and villages their peculiarity cannot easily be categorised.
throughout Europe.! A selection are given below, and are worthy
! of note even though in a few cases they did
The plague first appeared in Europe in not occur during the 14th century.!
around 1347, and spread quickly during the !
next several years. The plague reached Dancing mania: During the 14th century
England in around 1348, spreading there were several episodes of 'dancing
throughout Britain rapidly. It remained until mania', when large groups of people would
around 1350, by which time millions had dance and scream in a bizarre manner, whilst
died. In its' wake, whole communities were apparently experiencing hallucinations.!
changed, and areas of Britain were left The dancing lasted for a variable amount of
abandoned. Villages fell to ruin, fields time, from several hours to days (and in a few
became overgrown and people were displaced rare cases weeks). The cause of these events
from their lands.! is not understood, but may have been a
Just over a decade later, in 1361, the plague communal reaction to long periods of
returned and once more the people of Britain hardship. It has also been suggested that
died in their hundreds of thousands.! these events were staged by mysterious cults.!
! !
The effects of the plague continued long after Flying monk: Eilmer of Malmesbury was a
it had disappeared. Healers could not easily Benedictine monk who, in the 11th century,
explain the cause of the plague, and people attempted to fly. He constructed wings and
turned to supernatural explanations such as launched himself from the tower of
divine retribution. Many were persecuted as a Malmesbury abbey. He managed to glide for
result, and in Europe there were attacks around 200 metres before landing (and
!8

breaking both legs). The abbot banned him Sculptors would have been concerned either
from further attempts.! with work on monuments
! (typically churches), or
Great Drowning: In 1362 there was a else would have produced
fearsome gale which affected England and devotional objects such as
parts of northern Europe. Known as the small religious statues.
'Grote Mandrenke' (Great Drowning) it Pilgrimage souvenirs were
killed thousands of people, when a massive also a lucrative business
storm tide swept inland, and many buildings for sculptors and carvers,
were damaged by hurricane force winds. ! and included clay and
! metal items (pots,
Hermit of Saburac: In 1369 a hermit medallions and so on)
appeared at the castle Saburac (now no which were sold near the place of pilgrimage.!
longer standing, but which historians believe !
was located in Surrey, in the south of Medieval music!
England). The hermit, known as 'Katwiesl' !
was reputed to have magical powers and is The music of medieval Europe had by the
said to have performed several feats of magic. 14th century attained a high level of
Accounts of the hermit note he kept a toad complexity. Musical notation was by now
'familiar' with him ('Tippenholz'), which adds developed to a detailed degree, and there had
credence to the idea he was viewed as some been significant developments in the way in
sort of witch. There is a similar legend from which music was performed. These included
11th century England which details the the use of 'polyphony' in vocal performance,
appearance, and subsequent disappearance of where some performers would sing a different
'Wiesl the eremite'.! note to others, to create a richer sound (like
! playing a chord on a piano for example,
Persecution of cats: In 1232, the then pope rather than a single note).!
Gregory IX issued a papal bull concerning The age of the wandering troubadours, who
cult rituals involving cats. This led to cats would sing songs of romance and chivalry,
becoming vilified and their numbers declined had ended by the 14th century. They were
for many years. It has been argued that the replaced with a down to earth minstrel, who
reduction in the number of cats ultimately led would perform in English rather than Latin
to the black death; fewer cats meant a or French, and thus be understandable to the
burgeoning rat population, and rats were the common man rather than just to nobility (as
carriers of the plague infected fleas said to be had been the case previously).!
the cause of the disease.! Instruments used in the middle ages included
! the lute (similar to a guitar), the psaltery (a
Medieval art! sort of small, plucked harp), the vielle (similar
! to a violin), the recorder (a type of flute) and
During the 14th century, the predominant art the organistrum (a hand cranked stringed
style of Europe was Gothic. Gothic painting instrument, otherwise known as a hurdy-
emerged as a more naturalistic style of art (in gurdy).!
comparison to the earlier 'romanesque' style, !
though this style was by no means what Medieval food!
artists today might view as naturalistic). It !
was characterised by a change in the way the Most people typically ate two meals a day
background and figures within a painting during the medieval period. The larger of
were depicted. ! these meals, dinner, would be eaten before
At this time, an artist would probably have noon. The second meal of the day, supper,
specialised in one of four main disciplines; would be eaten in the late afternoon or early
frescoes, stained glass, panel paintings or evening.!
manuscript illumination.!
!9

The content of those meals depended on ones Although wine was produced in England at
social status and wealth; poor peasants would the time, most wine was imported and, due to
have a diet primarily consisting of local, its expense, drunk mostly by the wealthy.!
seasonal vegetables and rye bread, whilst the !
wealthy would be able to afford imported Medieval feudalism!
foodstuffs and a diet consisting of a variety of !
meats.! In the earlier medieval period, the system of
A peasant diet included a good quantity of feudalism predominates. Feudalism was a
bread, and would invariably also have system which defined social position, and thus
included potage. A potage is an oat based ones' role in society. At the top were the
meal, akin to porridge, but also stew-like. nobles, knights and clergy, and below them
There were many types of potages, varying in were various categories of peasant, the serfs
consistency and ingredients. Typical potages and villeins who were obligated to spend part
consist of a stock, to which is added oats, of their time working the land of their lord.
herbs, salt and vegetables (such as onions, They were by no means slaves, but neither
cabbage, garlic and peas). Note that during were they free in the true sense of the word,
this period, vegetables were viewed as since they had an obligation to serve their
unhealthy when raw and were thus cooked lord and maintain his lands.!
thoroughly.! By the 14th century, this system had
Peasants and nobles alike also enjoyed weakened, thanks in part to the effects of the
frumenty, a meal made from cracked wheat, black death, which saw to it that labour was
boiled in milk or almond milk, to which may scarce and thus labourers could demand
be added dried fruits and sugar.! greater freedoms (and wages).!
Peasants would only occasionally eat meat, it !
was usually just too expensive. Occasionally a Medieval language!
peasant might trap a hare, shoot a wild bird, !
or find a hedgehog to roast, but these are rare It may seem obvious that in medieval
treats.! England, people spoke English. This is true to
In contrast, the wealthy could enjoy veal, a certain degree, but in the 14th century there
lamb, mutton, beef, suckling pig and venison. were still many people who spoke French as
They might also indulge in quail, partridge, their primary language, and who also spoke
stork, goose, woodcock, sparrow or swan.! Latin in certain circumstances.!
Both nobles and peasants would enjoy a In the preceding few centuries, following the
variety of fruits, such as damsons, plums, Norman conquest of England, French was
apples, pears, grapes and gooseberries. These the tongue spoken by anyone of importance
were enjoyed throughout most of the year by (essentially the nobility and the clergy). For
making them into preserves.! this reason, if a person of the lower classes
Spices were available and widely used. These wished to get ahead, they would be wise to
were often imported, and included saffron, speak French also.!
pepper, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Popular During the reign of Edward III however,
spice mixes were used during the period; there is an increasing emphasis on the
powder forte (a mix of ginger, mace and speaking of English, and this is encouraged
pepper) and powder douce (a mix of ginger, by the king himself. It is thus fair to say that
cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves). Peasants by the mid 14th century English is the
might also gather herbs such as parsley, mint dominant language, with French spoken by a
and mustard.! few traditionalist nobles.!
In England, ale was drunk more often than !
wine. Ale was produced using barley or oats, Although many books are appearing having
without hops, and was generally weaker and been written in English by the mid 14th
sweeter than todays beers.! century, the majority are still written in Latin
or French. Official documents are usually
written in Latin. There is still no standardised
!10

spelling at this time (except for Latin), a century the points of the shoes (poulaines)
particular word may be written in a variety of become ridiculously long, and it may have
ways, all of which being considered legitimate been that anything other than a slow walk in
ways to write it.! them would have been difficult. This fashion
! reaches its' height with the 'cracow' shoe,
For game purposes, it is probably more which has a point so long a cord, tied to the
convenient for GMs to assume player ankle, may have been used to support the
characters speak English as their primary pointed toe.!
language, but may have a smattering of Women's dresses become more shapely and
French and Latin.! tailored in the latter part of the century, with
! low neck lines and 'off the shoulder' styles.
It is almost impossible now to know Prior to this, dresses are long and worn with a
definitively how a medieval person spoke and sideless gown over them. !
how they sounded. For game purposes To compliment the female form, a bustle
however, to evoke the colour of medieval (such as a foxtail) might be worn to draw
speech, it is probably enough to use a handful attention to the backside, and a bodice or
of 14th century words. These will hopefully corset could be worn over a dress to
give a 'realistic' sounding portrayal of accentuate female curves. If a woman can
medieval speech.! afford it, she may have dresses trimmed with
! fur, and belts studded with jewels.!
For 'yes', use 'yea' instead.! Nearly all married women wore a wimple; a
For 'no', use 'nay'! headdress which also covers the neck. If a
For 'you', say 'thou'! woman's hair is visible, it may well be plaited
Instead of 'thank you', use the word and curled in the 'ramshorn' style.!
'gramercy'.! !
Instead of 'sorry', use the word 'alas'.! Medieval knights!
! !
A typical greeting is to say 'ye be welcome'.! Knights are often what people think of when
! the medieval period is mentioned. Whilst they
When referring to a man, you may say 'sire'. are an important and colourful aspect of the
For a woman, say 'dame'! period, it is worth remembering that they
! form a small part of medieval society; most
For 'no way dude', use 'methinks not, villein'.! people are not knights, and most people will
! spend their whole lives having little to do with
Medieval fashion! them.!
! !
In the early part of the 14th century, men A knight is a nobleman, and this typically
wore their tunics long. By the mid century means they are a lord with a residence, such
however, tunics are daringly short, revealing as a manor, and some land. Villeins are the
the close fitting hose beneath.! tenants of a knight, and are obligated to work
Most men will wear a hood, his land and pay rent. In return, the knight
typically with a 'liripipe', an offers them protection and sees to it that laws
elongated extension to the are obeyed. !
hood that trails down the It should be noted that some lords, often
wearers back. Buttons come called 'esquires', may not be knights (i.e; they
into use during the 14th do not have the title), yet are still in effect
century, and are used lords, by virtue of their wealth and status.!
increasingly on mens A knight receives training from an early age,
surcoats (worn over tunics). ! sometimes starting as young as seven years
It is the fashion for old. This means that by the time they are
townsmen to wear pointed adults, they have received years of tuition in
shoes. In the late 14th the various pursuits associated with being a
!11

knight, such as horsemanship and combat. A Flaying: This torture ultimately ended in the
knight is expected to own and maintain death of the victim. It involved the torturer
armour and weapons, so that if he is called using a sharp knife to skin the victim, often
upon by his king, he is ready to fight. A starting with the face and working
typical knight makes a formidable opponent; downwards. Victims were typically dead
they have after all been trained for one main before all of the skin had been removed.!
purpose; battle.! !
! Rat torture: A means of torture believed to
Knights are not the primary subject matter of have been practised in the middle ages was
1366, which is designed to focus on the other 'rat torture'. This involved placing a metal
people within medieval society. When knights container on a victims stomach, within which
do feature in a story, they should be the was a rat. The container was heated, causing
exception rather than the norm.! the rat to attempt to escape by the only means
! available to it; via the victims stomach.!
Medieval orders! !
! The rack: This device was used to stretch a
The early middle ages saw a rise in the victim, whose limbs were attached to the rack
prominence of christian military orders, whilst the torturer turned a handle. This
whose aim was the defence of the holy land. would initially dislocate the limbs, and
There were several notable orders at this eventually would sever them completely if the
time, including the Knights Hospitaliers and torturer persisted.!
the Teutonic Knights. The infamous Order of !
the Knights Templar was, by the 14th
century, no longer in existence, having been
disbanded following accusations that its'
members were heretics and indulged in
(amongst other things) obscene practises.
Following this, the remaining Templars joined
other religious orders. !
The christian military orders wielded
considerable power during the middle ages,
and their knights made formidable foes.!
Of the non military holy orders, the
flagellants are perhaps the most curious. The
flagellants were a religious movement which
grew to prominence in the 13th century and !
persisted into the 14th century, until it was !
eventually banned by the catholic church who !
deemed it heretical. The flagellants would !
whip themselves as a form of penance and to !
show their religious piety. The flagellants !
would form processions as they whipped !
themselves in public, accompanied by singing !
and chanting.! !
! !
Medieval torture! !
! !
There were many forms of torture used !
throughout the middle ages. These included !
such delightful practices as 'rat torture', 'the !
rack' and 'flaying'.! !
! !
!12

! inspired by archaic words for those players
MEDIEVAL ROLEPLAYING! looking for something more exotic.!
! Players may also wish to give their characters
Dice! a 'byname', an appellation, nickname or
! surname used to further describe the
1366 uses standard six sided dice. The dice character. See the below bynames and
are used in several ways, and are noted in the surnames lists for some examples. !
rules in a manner based on their intended use. !
These are as follows:!
!
1d: The roll of a single die.! Unusual female first Unusual male first
1d3: The roll of a single die, with the result
divided by two and rounded up. This means !
names!
11 Agerasia!
!
names!
11 Agone!
rolls of 1 or 2 count as a result of 1, 3 or 4 as a 12 Ambit! 12 Agelart!
2, and 5 or 6 as a 3. Rolls of more than a 13 Aubade! 13 Alack!
14 Bel! 14 Anon!
single d3 have a different number preceding 15 Belike! 15 Arrant!
the 'd'. For example, '3d3' means make three 16 Charette! 16 Aroint!
rolls of a d3, totalling the results.! 21 Crantara! 21 Ascian!
22 Crose! 22 Carker!
2d: The roll of two dice, adding the results 23 Deasil! 23 Crambazzle!
together.! 24 Dratchell! 24 Cribble!
3d: The roll of three dice, adding the results 25 Droud! 25 Curglaff!
26 Eft! 26 Curpin!
together.! 31 Ell! 31 Cursned!
11-66: The roll of two dice, reading the results 32 Ere! 32 Forby!
33 Fain! 33 Fossick!
separately to achieve a score of between 11 34 Fie! 34 Froward!
and 66. The best way to do this is to have dice 35 Flyndrig! 35 Fyerk!
of different colours, such as a red die and a 36 Galea! 36 Gar!
41 Hadehavia! 41 Garn!
white die. Players can then roll both dice, and 42 Hemerine! 42 Gaum!
read the red die first (as a 'tens' die) and the 43 Iwis! 43 Grinagog!
white die second (as a 'units' die). Thus, a roll 44 Kantele! 44 Hist!
45 Lar! 45 Kerf!
of 3 on the red die and 4 on the white die for 46 Leeftail! 46 Lob!
example, gives a result of 34.! 51 Muleta! 51 Murklins!
! 52 Parfay! 52 Rede!
! 53 Quean!
54 Skirl!
53 Shoat!
54 Smatchet!
CHARACTERS! 55 Slimikin! 55 Snath!
! 56 Talana!
61 Thrip!
56 Stalko!
61 Sutler!
A good starting point when creating a 62 Tippet! 62 Sweven!
character is to define their sex and to name 63 Wellnigh! 63 Tother!
64 Wist! 64 Usward!
them. Sex can be determined randomly 65 Yon!
65 Zel!
should a player wish to; an odd number on 66 Zeren! 66 Valgus!
the roll of a die indicates the characters is
male, an even number indicates the character
is female.! !
! Humor!
Many medieval names were not that
dissimilar to modern names, though some
!
In the medieval world, a persons demeanour
have fallen out of use. Several name lists are
provided below, and a characters name can be could be said to be linked to the balance of
determined randomly by making an 11-66 roll the four 'humors'. !
if desired.! The notion of humors, also known as the four
! temperaments (when applied to an
The below lists show actual names from the
medieval period, and some unusual names individuals personality), were based on
!13

!
Female first names!
11Agnes!
!
Male first names!
11 Alfred!
Choleric individuals are people of passion and
ambition. They may at times be ill tempered
12 Aubreda! 12 Benedict!
13 Beatrice! 13 Benjamin! and quick to anger.!
14 Bertha! 14 Cuthbert! Melancholic individuals are often thoughtful,
15 Bridget! 15 Duncan!
16 Claramunda! 16 Edgar! creative types that can occasionally succumb
21 Durilda! 21 Edric!
22 Edwen! 22 Edmund! to despondency. They may also at times be
23 Elfreda! 23 Egbert! irritable and worrisome.!
24 Elinor! 24 Eric!
25 Elysant! 25 Fulke! Phlegmatic persons are calm, reserved and
26 Flurekin! 26 Gilbert!
31 Flora! 31 Godfrey! rational. They can at times be shy and
32 Godiva! 32 Godwin!
33 Godwife! 33 Guy!
stubborn.!
34 Hilde! 34 Harold! Sanguine individuals are extroverts, given to
35 Hilla! 35 Henric!
36 Isolda! 36 Hugo! strong emotions. They can be boisterous and
41 Jacquette! 41 Jacob!
42 Lia! 42 Olaf! amorous but also unreliable and sarcastic.!
43 Madelina!
44 Magota!
43 Oliver!
44 Osbert!
!
45 Malina! 45 Osgood! A character described as conflicted has two of
46 Maud! 46 Oswald!
51 Melisant! 51 Ragnald! the above humors that are equally dominant,
52 Merwenna! 52 Redwald! which means the character may exhibit traits
53 Mogge! 53 Roderick!
54 Mylla! 54 Roger! from both of the humors.!
55 Olyve! 55 Theobald!
56 Petronella! 56 Thomas! A character described as a lunatic has
61 Pollekin! 61 Samuel!
62 Swanhild! 62 Sigbert!
variable humors, with the dominant humor
63 Sybil! 63 Sigmund! changing on a monthly basis. Note that in this
64 Thomasin! 64 Solomon!
65 Ursula! 65 Ulrick! sense 'lunatic' describes a person that is more
66 Winifred! 66 Wilcok!
temperamental than they are insane.!
!
ancient medical teachings which were used to Players may choose or randomly determine
define physical and mental disorders.! their characters humor. For a random humor,
roll a die on the below table:!
In 1366, most characters can be said to have a
dominant humor, though some may be
!
1 Choleric!
considered to be 'conflicted' (two humors are 2 Conflicted (roll again twice, ignoring rolls
dominant) or lunatics (with changeable of 'conflicted' or 'lunatic')!
3 Lunatic (see below)!
humors).! 4 Melancholic!
! 5 Phlegmatic!
The humors are:! 6 Sanguine!
! !
Lunatics!
Choleric!
Melancholic!
!
Historically many people believed that there
Phlegmatic! was a link between the phases of the moon
Sanguine! and a persons demeanour. Even in the (so
! called) enlightened modern era some people
believe that certain incidents of hysteria and
disorder were linked to the full moon, despite
there being no real evidence to prove this.!
!14

Bynames - Bynames -
!
Roll of 1 or 2: The lunatics humor changes at
surnames! appellations!
!
11 Alabaster!
!
11 Austere!
the start of the story.!
Roll of 3 or 4: The lunatics humor changes
12 Arden! 12 Baleful! during the middle of the story.!
13 Backwell! 13 Benign! Roll of 5 or 6: The lunatics humor changes
14 Barber! 14 Black! near the end of the story.!
15 Bull!
16 Butcher!
15 Brash!
16 Brazen!
!
Game effects of humor (optional)!
21 Chandler!
22 Chaucer!
21 Cursed!
22 Damned!
!
23 Cobb! 23 Dire! If the GM wishes, humor can be used to
24 Cooper! 24 Dissenter! modify the chance of success for certain
25 Devenish! 25 Erudite! activities (see tests). If this option is chosen,
26 Elsing! 26 Forgotten! humor affects tests as follows:!
31 Faber!
32 Fleury!
31 Forlorn!
32 Forsaken!
!
Choleric: !
33 Gaunter! 33 Gaunt!
34 Gloster! 34 Grave! +1 for tests to convince others to join the
35 Hafter! 35 Grey! characters cause, or to be part of some
36 Hatter! 36 Grim! enterprise or scheme the character is involved
41 Herring! 41 Humane! in. !
42 Holt! 42 Keen! -1 to tests to remain calm and composed.!
43 Kent!
44 Leach!
43 Luckless!
44 Malign!
!
45 Lock! 45 Melancholy! Melancholic: !
46 Mason! 46 Mordant! +1 for tests involving debates of a
51 Mercer! 51 Noble! philosophical or creative nature. !
52 Norton! 52 Pitiless! -1 for tests when trying to improve the mood
53 Ostler! 53 Restless! or morale of others.!
54 Perceval!
55 Ravenstone!
54 Seditious!
55 Shrewd!
!
56 Rose! 56 Unbidden! Phlegmatic: !
61 Salter! 61 Undaunted! +1 for tests to remain calm when facing
62 Scarlet! 62 Unwelcome! something frightening or dispiriting. !
63 Taverner! 63 White! -1 to tests involving interaction when in
64 Turner! 64 Wily! formal social situations.!
65 Viner!
66 Wickham!
65 Wistful!
66 Woebegone!
!
Sanguine: !
+1 to tests when socialising in informal
In the 14th century however, the effect of situations. !
stellar bodies was believed to have a profound -1 to tests when trying to inspire loyalty or to
impact upon an individual, and astrology was persuade someone to become a follower.!
routinely utilised in medicine.! !
For game purposes, players whose characters Conflicted characters gain one bonus and one
are described as 'lunatics' are assumed to be penalty taken from either humor (players
greatly affected by the moon. Therefore each choice). !
month, when the moon is full, players whose Lunatics have variable bonuses and penalties
characters are lunatics get to choose a new based on their current humor.!
humor for their character.! !
! Countenance !
For those GMs that don't keep precise !
records of the passage of game time, they may A characters overall look is an important
instead make a 1d roll at the beginning of a
aspect of the character, since it can be
story:!
outward sign of the characters persona.!
!15

The characters countenance is defined by a 35 Lissom!
descriptive term, which gives a broad 36 Misshapen!
suggestion of how the character looks. 41 Pallid!
Players are encouraged to expand on this, 42 Petite!
and may wish to define specific aspects of the 43 Portly!
characters appearance (such as hair, clothing 44 Refined!
style, skin colour etc). As far as a characters 45 Rotund!
age is concerned, this can be chosen by the 46 Rubicund!
player to suit the overall character concept. 51 Ruddy!
Alternatively, make an 11-66 roll to find the 52 Sallow!
characters age.! 53 Scarred!
54 Scruffy!
55 Sickly!
56 Skinny!
61 Swarthy!
62 Unadorned!
63 Ungainly!
64 Unkempt!
65 Voluptuous!
66 Wan!
! !
Players looking for inspiration may use the Experience!
below table, either choosing a result or
!
Characters are defined by their level of
making an 11-66 roll! experience, which is a measure of their
! competence and prowess. Experience
11 Beady eyed! represents a characters overall potency, and is
used in place of individual characteristics
12 Brawny!
such as 'strength', 'intelligence', 'dexterity'
13 Buxom! and so on (see, however, the talent section
14 Crippled! below).!
15 Crooked! !
Experience is represented by a score, initially
16 Dignified!
within the range of 1 to 3. An experience
21 Diminutive! score of 1 typically represents someone
22 Disfigured! young, or who has a serious ailment or
23 Flamboyant! deficiency of some sort. A score of 2 or 3
represents a character of average competence.
24 Gangling!
Experience scores beyond 3 represent potent
25 Haggard! or, at higher values, remarkable individuals.
26 Hefty! Such scores are achievable through character
31 Hirsute! development (see the 'change' section for
details).!
32 Hook nosed!
Throughout these rules experience may also
33 Hunched! be noted in a shorthand manner, simply using
34 Lame! an 'X'. For example, noting a character has
X3 means his experience score is 3.!
!16

! !
To determine the characters initial experience Success and failure margins!
score roll 1d3. Any result of 1 can be treated !
as 2 if the player so wishes, since characters Often, the degree of success or failure is an
of X1 are a considerable challenge to play. important aspect of a test. To determine a
This means that most player characters begin success margin, subtract the number rolled
with X2 or 3.! from the chance of success. The result is the
! margin of success. !
Tests! For example, a player that rolls 1 for a
! character with X3 succeeds at the test, and
Experience is utilised in the game to has a success margin of 2 (X3 minus 1).!
determine wether a character performs an The failure margin of a test is the amount by
action successfully. In a situation where there which the roll exceeds the chance of success.
is some doubt a character may succeed at a Thus, a roll of 5 for a character with X3 (and
task, a roll of 1d is made by the player on the no other modifiers) would give a failure
characters X score. If the roll result is equal margin of 2.!
to or less than the score the character !
succeeds at the task, otherwise the character Opposed tests!
is deemed to have failed. Additional attempts !
may be possible, depending on the nature of Opposed tests are used when a player
the task, as determined by the GM. ! characters pit their experience and abilities
! against those of another character. For
Especially difficult tasks may require the example, a character trying to shove open a
player to roll on half X (experience divided door held closed by another character could
by two and rounded up). ! be said to be opposing the other person.!
! In these cases, an opposed test can be made.
Note that there should always be a chance of This involves tests being made for both
failure with a test, even if a character has an characters. !
experience score of 6. If the GM decides an If the test for only one of the characters
action is automatically successful for highly succeeds, that person wins the opposed test.
skilled characters, no test needs to be made.! If both tests fail, the result is inconclusive,
The GM may also apply modifiers to tests, and may require another test depending on
such as a + 1 or -1 to the chance of success, the situation. !
should the situation warrant it. Generally, If both tests succeed, the winner is the person
such modifiers shouldn't make the chance of with the better margin of success (see above). !
success impossible (below 1) or automatically !
successful (higher than 5).! Talents!
! !
A character may have a talent, an enhanced Player characters begin with a single talent of
ability, which can affect the outcome of a test. the players choosing. !
If a character has a talent appropriate to the !
challenge faced by the character, the chance Talents represent those areas of skill and
of success is increased by 1. Modifiers from natural ability in which the character is
talents or other abilities are applied after X is excels.!
halved for any difficult tasks.! !
! If a player wishes to trust to luck, a two dice
A character may also receive a modifier to a roll can be made on the table below to
test from a trade (some sort of training a determine the characters talent.!
characters has had) or an oddity (a unique !
ability a character has). For more on trades !
and oddities, see the appropriate sections !
below.!
!17

2 Belligerent - strength (the ability to lift, Table A!
carry, shove and similar strength feats).! !
3 Bodkin - accuracy (an enhanced ability to 11 Ale-taster - checks ale quality.!
aim, applies to combat with ranged weapons).! 12 Ale-wife - female brewer of ale.!
4 Eremite - will (an enhanced mental 13 Almoner - handles the distribution of alms
resilience, determination, resistance to to the poor and to servants.!
coercion and duplicity).! 14 Apothecary - knowledge of simple
5 Fabulist - guile (the ability to sneak, trick, medicines.!
disguise and lurk unseen).! 15 Armourer - makes and repairs armour.!
6 Libertine - charm (the knack of persuasion, 16 Bailiff - a court attendant.!
an enhanced charisma).! 21 Baker - makes bread, pastry etc.!
7 Motley - agility (the ability to jump, climb, 22 Barber - cuts hair, shaves, pulls teeth and
balance and evade).! conducts surgery for the poor.!
8 Mortal - resilience (an improved physical 23 Beggar - begs for alms.!
health, constitution, resistance to illness, 24 Blacksmith - makes and repairs iron tools,
infection and toxins).! horseshoes etc.!
9 Purloiner - dexterity (the ability to do fine 25 Boatman - transports people and goods by
manipulation, work mechanisms, pilfer etc).! boat.!
10 Quidnunc - awareness (an improved ability 26 Bowyer - makes bows.!
to spot things, detect ambushes, search, 31 Butcher - butchers animal carcasses.!
eavesdrop etc).! 32 Candlemaker - makes candles from wax
11 Rapscallion - melee (an enhanced ability to and tallow (fat).!
fight, applies to close combat).! 33 Carpenter - makes wooden items such as
12 Sophist - wisdom (an improved intellect, stools, spoons, bowls etc.!
wit and overall education).! 34 Chirurgeon - a doctor and surgeon for the
! wealthy.!
35 Cobbler - makes shoes and boots.!
Trade!
! 36 Cook - makes meals.!
41 Cooper - a barrel maker.!
Player characters begin with a trade, which
represents their previous training or an 42 Dyer - colours cloth.!
occupation of some sort. If a trade is relevant 43 Engraver - engraves metal objects, such as
to an action attempted by the character, it jewellery.!
confers a +1 bonus to any tests made, subject 44 Falconer - trains bird of prey.!
to the approval of the GM.! 45 Farmer - farms.!
! 46 Fisherman - fishes.!
51 Fishwife - woman who sells fish.!
Players may choose or randomly determine
their characters trade. ! 52 Fletcher - an arrow maker.!
! 53 Flibbertigibbet - a rumourmonger.!
54 Friar - a wandering monk.!
For a random trade, roll a die to first
determine the table used:! 55 Fuller - treats wool and cloth.!
! 56 Gaoler - tends a gaol.!
61 Goliard - a wandering student.!
A roll of 1-3: Use table A!
A roll of 4-6: Use table B! 62 Goldsmith - works gold.!
Make an 11-66 roll on the appropriate table.! 63 Gongfarmer - a cleaner of privies.!
! 64 Gravedigger - digs graves, tends
graveyards.!
Note that some trades are more appropriate
for a particular sex. If a player rolls a trade 65 Grocer - trades in vegetables, fruits and
that doesn't suit the characters sex, the player other foodstuffs.!
should simply roll again.! 66 Guard - guards.!
! !
! !
!
!18

Table B! !
! The GM may decide that overt displays of
11 Handmaiden - female servant to these odd abilities may lead characters to be
noblewoman.! viewed with suspicion by others, who may see
12 Herbalist - collects and sells herbs for the oddity as some sort of magic or curse.
cooking and medicine.! This depends on the style of play adopted by
13 Hunter - hunts animals, such as deer, the GM and players, with a more realistic
rabbits, boar etc.! style tending to mean a more negative
14 Illuminator - a manuscript artist.! reaction to oddities. !
15 Innkeeper - serves beer.! !
16 Lackey - a menial, a servant.! Note that a GM may also decide to run the
21 Limner - painter of signs.! game with no oddities used at all. This creates
22 Lorimer - maker of riding bits etc.! a game in which the player characters are in
23 Mason - a stonecutter.! no way particularly exceptional, and instead
24 Mercer - dealer in cloth.! are more like 'average peasants'. This option
25 Miller - mills flour.! is more suitable for games which are striving
26 Minstrel - a musician and singer.! for a very realistic medieval atmosphere. !
31 Molecatcher - hunts moles ! !
32 Monk - a male member of an enclosed Player characters get one oddity, chosen from
religious order.! those described below. Alternatively, if a
33 Mummer - an actor.! player wishes to trust to luck, three dice can
34 Nun - a female member of a religious be rolled to determine the characters oddity:!
order.! !
35 Ostler - takes care of horses in stables.! !
36 Painter - paints pictures.! 3 Covetous!
41 Palmer - a pilgrim.! 4 Crazed!
42 Pardoner - pardons sins (for a fee).! 5 Cultured!
43 Pedlar - sells trinkets, buttons, ribbon and 6 Deadly!
other odds and ends.! 7 Doomed!
44 Pilferer - a petty thief, a scrounger.! 8 Feral!
45 Potter - works with ceramics.! 9 Freakish!
46 Prancer - entertains with dance.! 10 Heathen!
51 Priest - a deliverer of sermons.! 11 Inhuman!
52 Ratcatcher - catches rats.! 12 Merciful!
53 Scribe - a clerk or lawyer.! 13 Pestilential!
54 Seamstress - a maker of clothes.! 14 Scarred!
55 Silversmith - works silver.! 15 Shadowed!
56 Storyteller - a teller of tales.! 16 Seer!
61 Tanner - treats hides.! 17 Villainous!
62 Tailor - a maker of clothes.! 18 Vulgar!
63 Tinker - mender of pots and pans.! !
64 Tinsmith - works tin.! Covetous!
65 Torturer - a gaol attendant that extracts A character with this oddity is able to find
confessions.! treasure and useful items after a brief search.
66 Weaver - makes tapestries, rugs etc.! If a specific type of item is required, the
! character gets a +1d3 bonus to the test to find
Oddity! it. Note that the found item will most likely be
! representative of the type of item desired,
In addition to a talent and trade, each player rather than a specific item. For example, a
character also begins with an 'oddity'. An character looking to find a key to open a
oddity is a unique skill, an ability that sets the casket may well discover a key, but it may not
character apart from others in some way. ! open that particular casket. Likewise, a
!19

character looking for a gold brooch may well weapons such as bows, and shoots arrows
find a brooch, that appears to be gold..! with a +1 bonus to the test. !
If the character is simply 'pillaging', looking !
for any valuable or useful item, a test is made Doomed!
(with a +1d3 bonus) and if successful the GM The character can affect a grim, disconcerting
may roll on the below table for inspiration as aspect that unnerves others. When the
to what is found:! character uses this oddity those nearby will
! seek to avoid the character, and will not
1: Groats, about 1d.! attempt to speak to the character or intervene
2: Provisions, such as a sack of oats, dried in anyway. If the character uses this to
meat, or a keg of ale.! attempt to get past adversaries without
3: Weapon, such as a knife or axe.! trouble, a test is required (for which the
4: Clothing, such as a pair of finely made character receives a +1 bonus). Success
shoes, or a decorated cloak.! indicates the adversary backs away. For
5: Object, such as a polished bronze mirror, example, a surly tavern thug attempting to
empty jar or old key.! start a fight with the character could be made
6: Jewellery, such as a cloak pin, ring or to back down. !
brooch.! Note that in those cases where a person
! specifically seeks to cause harm or to block
A player character gets his pillage bonus once the characters progress, the oddity will not
per area per day. So, a character could pillage work. For example, a guard ordered to
several houses in a day, but could not pillage prevent anyone passing will not succumb to
the same house twice in one day.! this oddity. This oddity can also be used to
! unsettle animals, and will cause dogs to bark,
Crazed! cats to hiss, rooks to screech etc when near
A character with this oddity fights savagely, the character.!
like a man possessed, when unarmed. For all !
unarmed attack tests, the character gets a +1 Feral!
bonus.! A character that knows this oddity functions
! well in the dark and gloom, and does not
Cultured! receive any penalties when acting in
A character with this oddity has an darkness. Characters without this oddity
encyclopaedic knowledge of scholarly suffer a -1 penalty to most tests made in dark
subjects, including history, foreign lands, and gloomy conditions, where there is little
legends and languages. Whenever the light (such as candle lit rooms, dense
character is required to make a test to answer woodlands etc). In absolute darkness, the
a question on such a scholarly subject, 1 is penalty is -2. !
added to the chance of success. The character This oddity also grants the character a +1
is also able to understand the unusual and bonus to tests to spot an ambush.!
bizarre, and with a successful test (again, !
with a +1 bonus) can identify any oddities Freakish!
that are used or have had an effect in a This oddity allows a character to bend and
particular area. For example, the character contort his body to squeeze through gaps of
would be able to tell if someone was using only a few inches wide, hide in small holes
'deadly' when shooting arrows, or if a and mounds, and to crawl through narrow
character was using 'feral' to cope with the tunnels without difficulty. Use of the power
dark.! for these types of activity requires a test, with
! a +1 bonus to the chance of success.!
Deadly! The oddity also allows a character to attempt
A character who knows this oddity is a to escape from bindings and slip between
marksman, highly skilled with ranged bars. Use of the oddity for these purposes
!20

also requires a test, with a modifier based on Pestilential!
the type of binding:! The character is a carrier for a host of
Rope or wooden cage +1, chains or iron bars diseases, which appear to have no effect on
+0, manacles or cell window -1.! the character himself (save perhaps for a few
! blemishes, or an unhealthy pallor). The
Heathen! character may intentionally infect another
Creatures are naturally drawn to the person, either through spitting or via a bite.
character, and can become loyal pets, or The former is considered a ranged attack
'familiars'. The player should roll on the (with a maximum range of 2 yards), the latter
below table to determine which creatures the is a melee attack. If the attack is successful,
character has as familiars, making a number the foe is considered to have been infected
of rolls equal to the characters X. Should a unless they succeed with a test (Mortal being
familiar die, it is replaced after 2d days have applicable). Note that a bite may also cause a
elapsed.! wound. An infected foe suffers the effects of a
! random ailment (see the illness section),
1 adder! which takes effect immediately, and lasts for
2 cat! 1d3 days. Once a foe has succumbed to the
3 crow! infection, they are thereafter immune to
4 dog! further ailments from the character, until such
5 rat! time as they have recovered from the previous
6 toad! ailment.!
!
In addition to being an amusing pet, a
familiar can be used as an alert. A familiar
will watch a particular area, and will
approach the character and become agitated
if anything unusual occurs in the location.
Thus, a toad could watch a room, and will
begin to croak if someone enters.!
With the exception of a dog, familiars will not !
fight for the character, though will defend Scarred!
themselves if necessary. The dog can be Characters with this oddity have become
commanded to attack an assailant, and will extraordinarily tough through years of
fight until commanded to stop or it is killed.! hardship. When the character takes damage,
! it is reduced by one point, before armour is
considered. Damage is never reduced to less
Inhuman!
A character with this oddity heals faster than than one point with this oddity however.!
is normal. Instead of healing from a point of !
damage per day, the character heals from 1d3 Shadowed!
points damage per day. ! A character that knows this oddity is able to
! make use of shadow, cover and local terrain
in such a way as to be difficult to discern and
Merciful"
The character is able to improvise healing target. Each time the character is targeted by
using nearby plants, herbs and folk remedies. a ranged attack, 1d3 is subtracted from the
It takes 3d minutes to assemble the foes test chance (roll each time). Whenever
ingredients required to heal an individual of a the character is attempting to hide or sneak, a
single malady (wounds or a specific ailment). +1 bonus is added to the test.!
The player must then make a test, with !
success healing either wounds (an amount Seer!
equal to the merciful characters X), or a This is the power of prophecy, practised by
single ailment. This oddity can be attempted fortune tellers and witches, and often the
on each individual once per day.! reason a character is consulted by others who
!21

are eager to learn the future. When a Vulgar!
character uses this oddity, he begins by A character with this oddity is deemed to be
talking with the subject. The character can vicious orator. When not in combat, the
then make a prophecy based on what he character is able to use his vocal skills to
himself wishes to know, or may answer a cause disquiet, disgust or fear in others, so
particular query of the subject. The prophecy that they will be more easily commanded.
works by influencing the outcome of a future When the oddity is used, the character gets a
event. In practice, this means that any test +1 bonus for tests to command and order
that occurs in relation to the prophecy gains a others. In combat, the character can use this
+1d3 bonus in favour of the characters skill to demoralise foes. This takes a turn, and
prediction. For example, if William the thereafter all foes within earshot suffer a -1
Oracle was asked by Godfrey the Unwilling penalty to attack tests for the combat. Once
to predict the outcome of a battle, and stated this oddity has been used on a person, they
that Godfrey would beat Kenneth the Black are thereafter immune to its' effects, having
in battle, when the combat occurred the GM become used to the characters venomous
could grant Godfrey a +1d3 bonus for his tongue.!
attacks during the fight. A character will !
often use poetic language to describe a CHANGE!
p r o p h e c y, w h i c h s e r v e s t o v e i l t h e !
interpretation should it prove to be incorrect.! Characters change as a result of their
Note that this power can be used once only experiences. In game terms, this means a
for a particular topic, and may be used in character may acquire greater prowess, more
relation to a single individual once per day. skills and perhaps even more unique abilities.!
Thus, in the above example, a character could The manner and frequency of character
not make an effective prophecy about the change depends upon their current
same battle, or use the power for Godfrey experience and the number of stories in
again that day.! which a character features. Note that in this
! regard, a story counts as a single section of a
larger plot, or an individual self contained
story completed in just one or two game
sessions.!
!
Following the completion of a number of
stories equal to the characters current X,
players roll 1d to see if their character
increases in experience. If this roll results in a
score greater than the characters current
Villainous! experience, it increases by 1. If the roll is less
A character with this oddity is highly skilled than or equal to the characters current
with a specific melee weapon, and gains a +1 experience score, there is no change.
bonus for each test during combat when However, the character instead receives
using the weapon. In addition, the character consolation.!
scores an extra point of damage for each !
successful hit.! Consolation takes the form of a new talent or
Note that this oddity applies to a single a new oddity, chosen by the player (subject to
weapon, not a weapon type. Thus, a character approval by the GM). However, a character
might own a sword, which he calls 'venom', to may not possess more talents, or more
which this oddity applies. If the weapon oddities, than their current experience score.!
breaks, the character must acquire a new For example, a character with X3 can have
weapon and use it for a number of combats no more than 3 talents and 3 oddities. !
equal to 7 minus X before he regains his !
bonus with the new weapon.!
!22

Trades are acquired by receiving training. As a guide, the below are typical daily wages:!
This usually takes a number of weeks, and !
will typically cost the character (who must Unskilled work (labourer) 1-3 groats.!
pay for tuition and materials). The training Skilled work (carpenter) 1-6 groats.!
time may vary by trade, but a default system Highly skilled work (mason) 2-12 groats.!
can be used by the GM if desired. This !
assumes that a trade can be acquired in a Wages can often be supplemented by an
number of months equal to 7, minus the allowance of ale and sometimes food. Thus,
characters X. The cost is a number of groats an unskilled worker for example may only be
equal to the number of months training paid a groat a day, but might also receive
multiplied by five.! several pints of ale and a basic meal.!
! !
Characters will need to find a tutor for their Characters begin with simple clothes (a hood,
desired trade, and this may form part of a tunic and hose if male, a wimple or scarf and
story if the GM wishes. Note also that tunic dress if female; plus a belt and a pair of
characters must be in the appropriate shoes), a pouch plus a number of groats. To
environment to receive training (you can't find how many groats the character has roll
become an ale taster without visiting a few dice equal to 10 minus the characters X.!
inns, or a gaoler if your local town doesn't !
have a gaol..)! !
! The below goods are available for purchase.!
! !
! !
! Animals & carriage!
! !
! Cart (hand cart type) 6!
! Cart (horse drawn) 18!
! Dog (trained) 3!
! Dog (untrained) 1!
! Hawk 24!
! Horse (riding horse) 48!
Horse (untrained) 30!
Horse (war horse) 240!
Tack (for horse) 24!
!
Containers!
!
GOODS! !
Bag (wool) 2!
The value of an item can vary depending on Bag (silk) 18!
many factors, such as scarcity, time of year, Bag (velvet) 12!
location and so on. The goods listed below are Bottle (pottery) 2!
therefore given average values.!
! Bottle (glass) 4!
Costrel (water container with strap, leather) 3!
Values are expressed in 'groats', a term which Costrel (water container with strap, pottery)
describes the basic unit of currency. A groat 2!
is a silver coin, which was used during the Pouch 1!
medieval period and was worth four pennies. Quiver (small, holds 12 arrows or bolts) 3!
For simplicity, all values are assumed to be in Quiver (large, holds 24 arrows or bolts) 5!
groats only.!
! Sack 1!
! Scabbard (plain) 2!
! Scabbard (decorated) 10!
Scabbard (jewelled) 40!
!23

Clothes! Tunic dress (patterned) 12!
! Tunic dress (plain) 3!
Belt (cord) 1! Wimple (hood / scarf, silk) 9!
Belt (leather) 2! Wimple (hood / scarf, plain wool) 2!
Belt (leather, decorated) 6! Wimple (hood / scarf, dyed wool) 3!
Belt (leather, decorated and jewelled) 24! !
Belt (silk) 9! Foodstuffs!
Boots 4! !
Boots, fur trimmed 20! Apples (12) 1!
Braies (underwear, breeches) 1! Beef (loin of) 5!
Bustle (fox tail) 12! Cabbages (12) 1!
Bustle (silk) 20! Capon 6!
Cloak (wool) 3! Cheese (a pound) 1!
Cloak (wool, with linen lining) 12! Eggs (dozen) 2!
Cloak (wool, with silk lining) 48! Garlic (6 bulbs) 1!
Cloak (wool, with silk lining and fur trim) 60! Honey (pot) 3!
Coif (small hat, leather) 3! Leeks (12) 1!
Coif (small hat, wool) 1! Loaf (wastel, good quality bread) 2!
Cotehardie (sleeved over tunic) 6! Loaf (cocket, poor quality bread) 1!
Cotehardie (sleeved over tunic, patterned) 24! Mint (sprig) 1!
Corset (plain) 4! Mushrooms (pound) 3!
Corset (two coloured) 12! Onions (12) 1!
Corset (two coloured with silk ties) 36! Parsley (sprig) 1!
Doublet (knee length tunic) 9! Parsnips (12) 1!
Doublet (knee length tunic, padded) 30! Pepper (pound) 24!
Gloves (leather) 6! Pie (meat) 1!
Gloves (silk) 18! Pie (sweet) 1!
Gloves (wool) 2! Pork (leg of) 3!
Gown (elaborate dress) 18! Powder douce (pound, typically a mix of
Gown (elaborate dress, fur trimmed) 36! ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg)!
Gown (elaborate dress, with jewels) 118! Powder forte (pound, typically a mix of
Hood (wool) 2! ginger, pepper, mace)!
Hood (wool, with liripipe) 3! Rabbit 4!
Hose, brightly coloured 12! Rosemary (sprig) 1!
Hose, heavy 3! Saffron (pound) 120!
Hose, light 2! Salt (pound) 12!
Mantle (long, wide scarf, wool) 6! Turnips (12) 1!
Mantle (long, wide scarf, wool, decorated) 18! !
Poulaines (pointed toe shoes) 6! Furnishings!
Robes (wool) 6! !
Robes (wool, with silk lining) 24! Bench 3!
Scarf (fur) 5! Blanket (fur) 12!
Scarf (silk) 9! Blanket (wool) 2!
Scarf (wool) 1! Bracket (torch holder) 3!
Shift (undershirt) 1! Candlestick (wood) 1!
Shoes 2! Candlestick (silver) 7!
Shoes, with decoration 12! Chair 3!
Sideless gown (worn over tunic dress) 6! Chest (small, crude wooden box) 2!
Sideless gown (worn over tunic dress, Chest (large, iron bound with lock) 18!
patterned) 6! Chest (small, iron bound with lock) 6!
Tunic (patterned) 12! Cushion (plain) 2!
Tunic (plain) 3! Cushion (elaborate) 6!
!24

Lectern (book rest) 3! Painting (poor) 3!
Rug (small, 1 square yard) 6! Painting (average) 12!
Rug (large, 3 square yards) 12! Painting (good) 30!
Rushes (per five square yards) 1! Razor (small knife) 2!
Stool 2! Ring (copper) 1!
Table (small) 2! Ring (gold) 24!
Table large 12! Ring (gold with gemstone) 72!
Tapestry (small) 18! Ring (polished stone) 3!
Tapestry (large) 30! Ring (silver) 9!
Throne 24! Ring (silver with gemstone) 24!
! Torc (gold) 24!
Inn prices! Torc (silver) 12!
! !
Ale (per mazer / tankard) 1! Musical Instruments!
Cider (per mazer / tankard) 1! !
Mead (per mazer / tankard) 1! Bladder pipe 18!
Meal (simple - potage, bread, cheese) 1! Crumhorn 24!
Meal (lavish - selection of roast meats, dried Drum 6!
fruits, bread, potage, frumenty, sauces) 3! Lute 30!
Room (good quality, per night) 2! Organistrum 48!
Room (poor quality, per night) 1! Psaltery 24!
Stables (per week) 1! Recorder 3!
Wine (English, per goblet) 2! Vielle 30!
Wine (Gascon, per goblet) 2! !
Wine (Rhineland, per goblet) 3! Pots & pans!
! !
Luxuries ! Bowl (pottery) 1!
! Bowl (wood) 1!
Book (copy of 'The Brut', a history of Cauldron (iron, large) 6!
Britain) 36! Goblet (pottery) 1!
Book (copy of 'The deeds of Arthur') 48! Goblet (silver) 12!
Book (copy of 'The Polychronicon', a history Jug (leather) 1!
of the world) 60! Jug (pottery) 1!
Book (sermons) 24! Mazer (decorated drinking cup, wood) 2!
Bracelet (gold) 18! Mazer (decorated drinking cup, pottery) 2!
Bracelet (silver) 6! Plate (wood) 1!
Bracelet (wood) 1! Pot (iron) 2!
Brazier (decorated bronze, for incense) 4! Spoon (wood) 1!
Cloakpin (copper) 1! Tankard (drinking vessel, leather) 1!
Cloakpin (gold) 9! Tankard (drinking vessel, wood) 1!
Cloakpin (silver) 6! Tankard (drinking vessel, pottery) 1!
Comb (wood) 1! !
Comb (pearl) 6! Tools!
Comb (silver) 18! !
Incense (small bag, 12 uses) 4! Adze (pick type tool) 3!
Mirror (polished bronze) 5! Arrow or bolt 1!
Necklace (bead) 1! Book (24 blank pages) 6!
Necklace (gold) 36! Brush (painting) 1!
Necklace (gold with jewels) 96! Candles (12 tallow, last 6 hours each, smelly)
Necklace (silver) 12! 1!
Necklace (silver with jewels) 48! Candles (6 wax, last 6 hours each, no smell) 1!
Oil (scented, small bottle, 12 uses) 12!
!25

Gimlet (small hand tool for boring holes, also A wooden haft to which is attached, by means of a
useful as a picklock) 4! chain, a shorter wooden haft."
Ink (small pot) 1! Mace (strength 7) 14 !
Lamp (pottery) 3! A short wooden haft topped with a heavy flanged iron
Lantern (candle container) 5! head."
Lock and key 6! Misericord (strength 3) 6!
Mallet (wood) 1! A long, double edged dagger."
Nails (bag of 24 iron nails) 1! Morning star (strength 8) 16 !
Needle 1! A weapon similar to the mace, except it comprises a
Oil (lamp oil, a pot lasts 12 hours) 1! wooden haft topped with a spiked metal head on a
Parchment (per 1' square sheet) 6! short length of chain."
Quill 1! Poleaxe (strength 14) 28!
Rope (per yard) 1! A long hafted weapon topped with either an axe type
Saw (hand saw) 3! head or a broad blade, and known by various names
Spectacles (wood framed) 24! (such as a 'partisan', 'halberd', 'bardiche' etc)."
Thread (per yard) 1! Rondel (strength 4) 8!
Tinderbox (flint, kindling in small iron box) 3! A dagger with sharpened tip, but no edges, used for
Torches (12, last 1 hour each) 1! thrusting."
! Saif (strength 9) 18!
Torture chamber! A curved, arabic style sword."
! Spear (strength 10) 20 !
Branding iron 3! A wooden pole topped with a short metal blade."
Brazier (large) 6! Staff (strength 5) 10 !
Cage (crude iron, per person) 3! A wooden pole with iron bands at either end."
Chain (per yard) 2! !
Coffin 2! Armour!
Gallows 12! !
Iron maiden 60! Leather armour (strength 12) 36!
Keys (gaolers bunch) 3! Typically a padded leather jerkin."
Manacles 9! Chain mail armour (strength 24) 72!
Rack 96! Chain mail over padded clothing."
! Plate armour (strength 48) 144!
Weapons & armour! Plate armour over chain and padding."
! !
Arming sword (strength 11) 22! Shields!
A double edged sword." !
Axe (strength 6) 12! Buckler (strength 6) 12!
A short wooden haft topped with an axe blade and A small shield, used to parry (deflect away) a
back spike." weapon."
Bollock dagger (strength 2) 6! Round (strength 12) 24 !
A double edged knife with minimal guard." A large circular shield used to absorb the force of
Bow (strength 3) 24 ! blows."
A long (2m) bow that fires arrows, which cost 1 Heater (strength 12) 24!
groat per dozen." A large shield, shaped so that it is also useable on
Crossbow (strength 6) 30! horseback."
A ranged weapon that shoots short projectiles called !
quarrels, which cost 1 groat per dozen." !
Cudgel (strength 1) 1 ! !
A short length of hardened wood with iron studs." !
Falchion (strength 13) 26! !
A sturdy, single edged sword." !
Flail (strength 12) 24! !
!26

FIGHTING! without attempting to cause a foe injury, the
! talent Motley applies to the test.!
Combat is a dangerous business. Participants !
generally do their best to make the affair as When a character is facing multiple foes, an
brief as possible, and will often attempt to opposed test is made for each one. However,
avoid combat even after it has begun. ! the character may injure only one of his foes,
! irrespective of how many tests the character
wins.!
!
If a character hits his opponent he causes an
injury, referred to as damage or sometimes a
wound. Damage is measured in points, with
more damage points counting as more serious
injury.!
!
Unarmed characters inflict damage equal to
the success margin of the opposed test.
Characters wielding weapons add 1 to this
A fight is divided into turns, each amount. In addition, certain special or potent
representing about 6 seconds of activity. In a weapons may allow 2 to be added to the
turn, a character gets to make an action, such damage caused by each hit.!
as an attack. The order of actions often
depends on circumstance, but as a default
!
Injury!
rule the GM can assume actions occur in
reverse order of X. Note that characters may
!
Once total damage exceeds twice a characters
delay their action, or may act earlier than is X, there is a chance the character may fall
usual if the GM deems the situation warrants unconscious. To determine if this occurs a test
it.! is made, with failure indicating the character
! falls unconscious. This test is penalised by an
Movement! amount equal to the excess damage. For
! example, a character with X3 may fall
A character can move a distance per turn unconscious if damage exceeds 6 (experience
equal to their X plus 2d (in yards). For times two). If the character had taken a total
example, if a player wishes his character to of 8 points damage, the test to avoid
flee out of the range of a bowman, he rolls 2d unconsciousness would be penalised by 2 (the
and adds X for each turn his character runs.! number of points excess).!
! Unconsciousness lasts for one minute per
Combat! point of excess damage. !
! !
When characters face each other in combat, Characters die if the total damage they have
an opposed test is made. The winner of the sustained exceeds their experience multiplied
test is deemed to have successfully struck his by three. Thus, a character of X3 may fall
foe. Note that if both tests are failures, or the unconscious if damage exceeds 6, and will die
opposed test is a draw (i.e; both participants if damage exceeds 9.!
have the same success margin), that turn of
combat is deemed to be a stalemate, with
!
Injuries are portrayed more effectively if the
neither side causing injury. ! GM provides a description of a wound. For
! this reason, the below table is provided. The
Modifiers from the talents Bodkin (ranged) table is provided to add colour to the game
and Rapscallion (melee) apply to attacks. If a only, and has no effect on the mechanics of
character is simply trying to evade attacks, combat.!
!
!27

Wound description table ! Shields function like armour, absorbing
! damage from a hit. When a character with
11 Ankle twisted (left)! armour and a shield takes damage, the player
12 Calf gashed(left) ! decides how the damage is distributed
13 Shin bruised (left)! between shield and armour.!
14 Knee Scraped (left) ! Once armour has received damage equal to
15 Kneecap chipped (left)! its' strength it becomes useless until repaired.
16 Thigh cut (left)! Armour repair (at an armourers) costs 1 groat
21 Ankle twisted (right)! per point repaired, and takes an hour per
22 Calf gashed(right)! point to mend.!
23 Shin bruised (right)! !
24 Knee Scraped (right)! Weapons!
25 Kneecap chipped (right)! !
26 Thigh cut (right)! Weapons take a point of damage if the
31 Painful stomach bruising! combat test for the character wielding the
32 Torso laceration! weapon is a 6. Once a weapon has sustained
33 Bloody abdomen gash! damage equal to its strength, it is broken. A
34 Rude chest lesion ! weapon can be repaired prior to being broken
35 Chipped collarbone! (at a weaponsmiths), costing a groat per point
36 Cracked, bruised rib ! of strength repaired and taking an hour per
41 Scraped knuckles (left hand)! point. Note that unlike armour, if a weapon
42 Gashed wrist (left arm) ! has taken damage equal to its' strength, it is
43 Grazed forearm (left arm)! considered irreparable.!
44 Painful elbow bruise (left arm)! !
45 Shoulder dislocated (left arm)! Ranged weapons!
46 Forearm fracture (left arm)! !
51 Scraped knuckles (right hand)! Attacks using bows or thrown weapons are
52 Gashed wrist (right arm)! resolved as normal opposed tests. If the target
53 Grazed forearm (right arm)! of a ranged attack is the winner of the
54 Painful elbow bruise (right arm)! opposed test, they are considered to have
55 Shoulder dislocated (right arm)! dodged the attack, and do not themselves
56 Forearm fracture (right arm)! inflict damage. The only exception to this is in
61 Gory gash to neck! cases where both combatants are making
62 Bloody split lip! ranged attacks at each other. In this case, the
63 Broken, bloody nose ! test is treated normally, with the winner
64 Jagged cheek gash! causing injury to the loser.!
65 Cut, bleeding chin! !
66 Vicious forehead gash! The range of an attack may affect the chance
! of success.!
Armour! !
! Thrown weapons have an effective range in
A character in armour suffers reduced yards equal to the characters experience score
damage from each hit. When a character in times two. Attacks beyond this range have 1
armour is hit, half the damage goes to the subtracted from the chance of success for
armour rather than the character. For each additional yard.!
example, a character that sustained two !
points damage would suffer just one point, Bows have an effective range equal to the
the armour taking the other point.! characters experience score times 20, and 1 is
Odd damage points are applied to armour. subtracted from the success chance for every
Thus, a character in armour that takes three 20 yards beyond this range.!
points damage suffers just one damage, with Crossbows have an effective range equal to
two points allocated to the armour.! experience times 10. For every 10 yards
!28

beyond this range, 1 is subtracted from the desired effect. If consulting a herbalist, they
chance of success.! will usually charge a groat or two for their
! time.!
Recovery! !
! Searching for a herb!
Characters recover from one point of damage !
per day. If a character has his wounds When a character goes searching for a herb,
bandaged, he immediately recovers from a various rolls can be made to determine
point of damage. Bandaging can be done once precisely which herbs are discovered.!
only until more damage is received.! To spot a particular herb (assuming the
! character has studied it or is a herbalist), a
! test is required with the talent Quidnunc
ACTIVITIES! applicable. If successful, the character locates
! 1d3 examples of the herb. A failure indicates
Climbing! the herb is not found that day. Herbs with
! effects described as rare (those that heal or
Characters climb at the rate of X yards per are tonics) are difficult to find, and the test is
turn. Difficult climbs, once they reach a made with a -1 penalty.!
height in yards greater than the characters X, !
require a test each turn, with the talent To find any type of herb, rather than a
Motley applicable. Failure indicates the specific one, the GM rolls 1d3-1. The result is
character falls a number of yards equal to the the number of types of herb found that day, of
roll of 1d. Another test is then required, and which there will be 1d3 examples of each.!
failure indicates the character continues to !
fall. If the character succeeds at a test, he is To identify a particular herb, a test is required
deemed to have arrested his descent, and may with the talent Sophist and the trade herbalist
resume climbing.! applicable.!
Each time a character falls, he suffers points To determine the name of the herb, a GM can
of damage equal to the amount by which he roll on the below tables. Make one roll of 3d
fell divided by two (rounded down), which for the prefix, and another roll of 3d for the
represents knocks, bruises, grazes and so on, suffix.!
as the character tries to grab and slow his !
descent. ! Roll for name:!
These game rules mean it is feasible for a !
character to survive a fall from a great height. Prefix!
Whilst not completely realistic, these !
mechanics are designed to make climbing and 3 Bishops!
falling dramatic, whilst not being inevitably 4 Bitter!
fatal. ! 5 Cross!
! 6 Crow!
! 7 Devils!
Foraging for herbs! 8 Dog!
! 9 Dwarf!
Characters may wish to attempt to collect 10 Fever!
their own herbs and prepare them for use as 11 Fig!
cures and tonics. ! 12 Flux!
Unless the character has the trade herbalist or 13 Fox!
chirurgeon, finding a herb for a specific use 14 Goats!
will require study or consultation with a 15 Knot!
herbalist. Make a test each day of study 16 Meadow!
(within a monastery or university for 17 Thorn!
example) to find the correct herb for the 18 Wild!
!29

Suffix! Herbs that act as a tonic simulate a talent for
! a period of 1 hour. For example, a herb that
3 Balm! simulates Belligerent gives a bonus to tests
4 Bane! that require strength.!
5 Berry! !
6 Bush! To randomly determine a herb effect, GMs
7 Flower! can roll 2d on the below table:!
8 Foil! !
9 Foot! Effects!
10 Grass! !
11 Herb! 2 Alleviates ache!
12 Leaf! 3 Alleviates cough!
13 Nut! 4 Alleviates dizziness!
14 Purse! 5 Alleviates delirium!
15 Root! 6 Alleviates fatigue!
16 Seed! 7 Alleviates headache!
17 Thorn! 8 Alleviates rash!
18 Twig! 9 Alleviates sickness!
! 10 Alleviates swooning!
Preparing a herb! 11 Heals (rare)!
! 12 Tonic (rare)!
Herbal preparations take skill and time to !
produce. To successfully prepare herb ready Example!
for use a test is required, with the trade !
herbalist and the talent Sophist applicable. If Agnes Clover decides to collect some herbs, despite
successful, the character has prepared one use having had no formal training. Agnes has X3 and
of the herb from one example of it. Failure the talent Sophist."
indicates the herb is prepared incorrectly and Agnes goes wandering, with no particular herb in
is useless. In this latter case, there is a 50% mind, so the GM rolls 1d3-1 to see what she might
chance the concoction is poisonous. Refer to find after a day in the woods. A d3 result of 2, minus
the poison rules to determine the type of 1, means Agnes finds one useful herb. Her player
poison produced. A test is required for the rolls a test to try and identify it, her chance is 4 (X3
character to realise a herb has been made plus Sophist). With a roll of 2, Agnes correctly
poisonous (with Sophist and herbalist identifies the herb. The GM determines the name
applicable). Preparing a herb takes 1d hours.! randomly, rolling 8 for the prefix (Dog) and 13 for
! the suffix (nut). The GM rolls a d3 for the amount
Herb effects! found and gets 3. He declares Agnes has found 3 lots
! of the herb 'Dognut'. The player states Agnes will
The effect of the herb, once prepared, is to try to work out what the herb does, and makes a test.
either alleviate a symptom, heal a wound or The test is a success. The GM secretly rolls to
act as a tonic. A character can work out the determine the effect of Dognut, and gets 10, so he
effects of a herb with a successful test, (with tells the player the herb, once prepared, alleviates
Sophist and herbalist applicable).! swooning. "
! Agnes tries to prepare the herb, and the GM makes
Herbs that alleviate effectively negate a one test for each of the three examples she has. She
symptom for 1d3 hours once taken.! gets two successes and one failure. The GM secretly
! rolls to determine if the failed preparation results in
Herbs that heal will immediately reduce poison, deciding an odd number indicates it is. The
injury by 1 point on the roll of an even GM rolls a 6, so the herb is not poisonous, merely
number on 1d. If an odd number is rolled, the useless."
herb fails to take effect.! !
!
!30

Leaping! Failure margin 3 or more: Failure, and your
! tool breaks in the lock (which may jam it).!
Characters can make running long jumps that Failure margin 2: Failure, and you snap your
cover a horizontal distance in yards equal to tool.!
the roll of 1d3. If the character has the talent Failure margin 1: Failure, but you may try
Motley, add 1 to this distance. Characters can again.!
make high jumps of 1d3 divided by two !
yards. Again, add 1 for the talent Motley.! Trading!
Any time a character fails to cover the right !
distance for a jump, there is a chance they Characters may at times wish to try their
may injure themselves, or suffer misfortune of hands at market trading, in the hopes of
some kind. For example, characters jumping turning a profit. With this in mind, here are
a pit may fall into it. In this case, this can be some rules to manage market trading activity:!
treated like a climbing failure, with characters !
falling 1d yards before a test is required to Buying goods!
arrest the characters descent. Sometimes a !
failed leap may simply mean the character Characters first need to find a source for the
falls over, and a roll on the 'ill news' table may goods they're going to sell. The GM can make
be appropriate (see the 'ill news' section).! this part of the adventure, with characters
! perhaps journeying to a specific location, and
Lock picking! attempting to come to some sort of trade
! agreement with the supplier.!
Locks are defined as simple, difficult, Goods can also be sourced from towns, where
complicated or nefarious, based on their there may be a variety of commodities
complexity.! available for purchase by market traders. The
! size of the town will affect the type of goods
Characters attempting to pick a lock must available, with only the larger towns able to
make a test, with the supply weapons and clothing. The below
talent Purloiner tables show possible goods available for
applicable. Note that a purchase.!
character must have a !
tool (such as a gimlet) to Procedure !
attempt to open a lock. If !
the test succeeds, The GM should roll once per table to find the
compare the success goods available for purchase on a particular
margin to the below list:! day. Each table lists a type of commodity
! available, and gives a rough idea of what a
Success margin 3 or more: The most single lot, or unit, of a commodity might be in
nefariously difficult of locks are opened.! terms of weight or amount. This is intended
Success margin 2: A simple, difficult, or to be a guide, the actual weight or amount of
complicated lock (such as a cell door) is a commodity is unimportant for the purposes
opened. Try again for a more complex lock.! of these rules.!
Success margin 1: A simple or difficult !
(casket) lock is opened. Try again for a more Example: A player decides his character, Mortimer,
complex lock.! will try his hand at trading. The GM states
Success margin 0: A simple (manacle) lock is Mortimer visits various merchants and finds that
opened. Try again for a more complex lock.! there's some herring on offer (roll of 7 on the butcher
! list), some flour (roll of 4 on the grocer list), some
If the test fails, the margin of failure sarcenet (roll of 9 on the mercer list), some gloves
determines the outcome:! (roll of 8 on the tailor list), some rugs (roll of 11 on
! the tinker list) and some axes (roll of 3 on the
smiths list)."
!31

Butcher list (2d)! 10 Hose (wool, per 5) !
! 11 Scarf (wool, per 10) !
2 Beef (loin) ! 12 Tunic (plain, per 5) !
3 Bones (for stock, per sack) ! !
4 Capon ! Tinker list (2d)!
5 Cheese (about 10 lbs) ! !
6 Eggs (around three dozen) ! 2 Blankets (per 5) !
7 Fish (common, such as herring, per 5 lb) ! 3 Bowls (wooden, per 10) !
8 Fish (rare, such as salmon, each) ! 4 Candles (120 tallow candles) !
9 Mutton (leg of) ! 5 Cloakpins (copper, per 10) !
10 Offal (10 lbs) ! 6 Nails (240) !
11 Pig (a single suckling) ! 7 Necklaces (bead, per 10) !
12 Rabbit (a brace or pair) ! 8 Pots (iron, per 5) !
! 9 Pouches (woollen, per 10) !
Grocer list (2d)! 10 Rings (copper, per 10) !
! 11 Rugs (small rug, each) !
2 Apples (120 apples, about 40 lbs) ! 12 Tankards (leather, per 10) !
3 Cabbages (120 cabbages, about 40 lbs) ! !
4 Flour (a sack, about 20 lbs) ! Smiths list (2d)*!
5 Garlic (60 cloves) ! !
6 Leeks (120 leeks, about 40 lbs) ! 2 Arming sword (each) !
7 Oats (a sack, about 20 lbs) ! 3 Axe (each) !
8 Onions (120 onions, about 40 lbs) ! 4 Bollock dagger (each) !
9 Parsnips (120 parsnips, about 40 lbs) ! 5 Cudgel (per 10) !
10 Pepper (a pound) ! 6 Falchion (each) !
11 Salt (a pound) ! 7 Flail (each) !
12 Turnips (120 turnips, about 40 lbs) ! 8 Mace (each) !
! 9 Misericord (each) !
Mercer list (2d)! 10 Morning star (each) !
! 11 Rondel (each) !
2 Feathers (a sack) ! 12 Staff (each) !
3 Fur (common, per hide) ! !
4 Fur (rare, per hide) ! * Note that weapons are assumed to have a
5 Leather (a hide) ! base unit price of 20 groats, rather than 10
6 Linen (a bolt) ! (see below).!
7 Rags (a sack) ! !
8 Sacking (a bolt) ! For simplicity, a commodity is valued at a
9 Sarcenet (a type of silk, a bolt) ! standard amount of 10 groats per unit, with a
10 Silk (a bolt) ! unit representing a varying amount or weight,
11 Velvet (a bolt) ! depending on the type of goods. For game
12 Wool (a sack) ! purposes, the precise amount or weight is
! unimportant, goods are purchased and sold
Tailor list! simply in 'units'.!
! !
2 Bag (wool, per 5) ! Purchasing goods!
3 Belt (cord, per 10) ! !
4 Belt (leather, per 5) ! To purchase a particular type of goods, the
5 Cloak (wool, per 5) ! player makes a test with the talent Libertine
6 Coif (woollen hat, per 10) ! applicable. The margin of success or failure
7 Doublet (each) ! modifies the purchase price by 1 groat per
8 Gloves (wool, per 5) ! point of success or failure. Thus, a player that
9 Gown (each) ! gets a success margin of 2 for example, can
!32

purchase each unit of the desired commodity die to determine the type of goods that
for 8 groats (or 18 groats for weapons). require the additional fee:!
Similarly, a failure margin of 2 would increase !
the unit price by 2 groats, for 12 groats per 1 Butcher list goods!
unit (22 for weapons).! 2 Grocer list goods!
This test can be made once per day for each 3 Mercer list goods!
type of goods on offer, which allows 4 Tailor list goods!
characters to 'shop around' for the best deal. 5 Tinker list goods!
Note that prices are good for a day at most, 6 Smiths list goods!
and characters may find that should they !
return to a merchant on the following day the The additional fee is typically 1d3 groats.!
goods are no longer available, or that a new !
price negotiation is required.! Selling goods!
! !
Transporting goods! A seller should establish a sale price for his
! goods, which is usually up to 50% higher than
Unless a character has his own cart, or has the purchase price. If the sale price is set too
purchased just 1 or 2 units of a commodity, he high, the GM should reduce the number of
will need to hire someone to transport his customers the character gets per hour.!
goods. A carter costs 1 groat per journey, and !
will transport goods in the same town or to a For each customer that browses a stall, the
nearby village.This base cost increases if the character makes a test to 'hook' the customer
carter has to travel great distances, travelling and begin selling to him. The test is modified
to another town for example, or to several by the talent Libertine and an appropriate
villages.! trade. If successful, the haggling begins.!
! The customer will usually begin with an offer
Acquiring a stall! of around 50% of the asking price. A
! customer will typically be interested in
Once a character has got his goods to market, purchasing a single unit of the commodity,
he will need to purchase a stall space. This is though if the initial test to hook the customer
called stallage, and is paid to the gild was a roll of 1, the GM may assume the
merchant, the local organisation that governs customer is willing to purchase 1d3+1 units.!
trade in the area. Stallage costs vary !
depending on the stall location as follows:! When haggling with a customer, a test is
! made for both the player character and NPC.!
Prime location 3! !
Standard location 2! If both tests succeed, or both fail, there is no
Poor location 1! movement on price.!
! !
The stall location determines the number of If the test for the customer succeeds and test
customers a character has browsing his stall for the player character fails, the customer
per hour (in an eight hour day).! makes a final offer. If the character won’t sell
! at this price, the customer walks away.!
Prime 2d-1 customers per hour! !
Standard 1d-1 customers per hour! If the test for the character succeeds and the
Poor: 1d3-1 customers per hour! test for the customer fails, the customer will
! increase their offer (usually by 1d3 groats).
Characters who are not freemen of the town However, a customer will not pay more than
(i.e; that do not live in the town), may also be double the unit price of a commodity,
required to pay an additional fee for the sale irrespective of how much the character has
of certain types of goods. The GM can roll a priced his goods.!
!
!33

Example:" Success margin 0: A simple trap is disarmed.
Mortimer has managed to purchase 4 units of flour Try again for a more complex trap.!
for 9 groats per unit, 36 groats in total. After paying !
a carter to transport the goods (1 groat), and paying If the test fails, the margin of failure
for stallage (at a poor location, for another groat), determines the outcome:!
his total costs are 38 groats. The player states Failure margin 3 or more: Failure, plus your
Mortimer will charge 15 groats per unit for the flour, tool breaks and you trigger the trap.!
which could mean Mortimer gets 60 groats for his Failure margin 2: Failure, and you trigger the
flour (and thus a potential profit of 22 groats)." trap.!
In the first hour of the market, Mortimer gets one Failure margin 1: Failure, with a 50% chance
customer. Mortimer, with X3 and the talent of the trap being triggered. If the trap doesn't
Libertine manages to hook the customer, who makes go off, you may try again.!
an offer of 7 groats for a unit of flour." !
On the first turn of haggling, tests for both Walking!
Mortimer and the customer are failures, so neither !
moves on price. On the second turn, Mortimers Characters can typically walk a distance per
player rolls a successful test, while the test for the hour equal to their experience in miles. This
customer is a failure. The GM rolls a d3 and the assumes the character is travelling on rugged
result means the customer increases his offer by 2 terrain, or a poor road (which is the case for
groats to 9. On the third turn the test for Mortimer the majority of roads in England in the 14th
is again a success, and the test for the customer is century). Add 1 to the distance travelled per
another failure. The GM rolls for the increase, and hour if the road is good. !
tells Mortimers player the customer offers another A character can strive to improve travel speed
groat, for 10 total. On the fourth turn, the test for with a test. A successful test, with the talent
the customer is a success, the test for Mortimer is a Mortal applicable, adds 1 to the distance
failure. The GM states that the customer won't travelled. A failure subtracts 1. Each time a
budge on his 10 groat offer. Mortimers player decides character attempts to improve travel speed, a
to take the deal, describing how a glum Mortimer travail test should be made (see the hazards
reluctantly accepts the 10 groats (for a paltry 1 section).!
groat profit)." !
! !
!
Trap disarming!
!
Traps are defined as simple, difficult,
complicated or nefarious based on their
complexity. See the traps section for details of
some trap types.!
Characters attempting to disarm a trap must
make a test, with the talent Purloiner
applicable. Note that a character must have a
tool (such as a gimlet) to attempt to disarm a !
trap. If the test succeeds, compare the success !
margin to the below list:! !
! !
Success margin 3 or more: The most !
nefarious of traps is safely disarmed.! !
Success margin 2: A simple, difficult, or !
complicated trap is disarmed. Try again for a !
more complex trap.! !
Success margin 1: A simple or difficult trap is !
disarmed. Try again for a more complex trap.! !
!34

HAZARDS! 7 Unsteady with blurred vision, you stand
! dazed for 1d turns.!
There are many hazards a character may be 8 You vomit over yourself, causing a -1 to
exposed to, including fire, poisons, extreme tests involving interaction and communication
conditions, starvation and other hardships (for the next hour), and can do nothing but
(collectively known as travails). In addition, retch for 1d turns.!
characters may be exposed to illness, traps, 9 You fall badly, take 1 damage (a bruised
wild animals, adversaries and misfortunes of rear) and sit dazed for 1d turns.!
various kinds during their adventures. These 10 You forget what you're doing and stand
are addressed below:! confused for 1d turns. When you finally act,
! you do something different to what you
Drunkenness! intended (GMs choice).!
! 11 You fall and land awkwardly, suffering 1
One of the common ways in which a damage and -1 to tests involving agility (for
character may attempt to amuse themselves is the next hour).!
through a visit to the local tavern. Characters 12 You fall and are dazed for 1d turns, plus a
that amuse themselves too much, by drinking test is required or you fall unconscious for
more alcohol than they should, will suffer minutes equal to the mazers consumed
from its' effects.! multiplied by 10.!
The unit used to measure the amount of 13+ You have drunk yourself comatose, and
alcohol consumed is the 'mazer', which is the will remain unconscious for hours equal to
name of a medieval drinking bowl used in the number of mazers consumed.!
some areas of Europe to consume ale and !
other drinks. Note that for game purposes, a Each hour following a bout of drunkenness,
mazer is also a measurement of wine, mead or the mazer total for the character recedes by 1. !
similar.! !
A character can drink a number of mazers Example!
equal to their experience without suffering Godiva the lewd, a nun of questionable morals,
any serious ill effects. Add 1 to this threshold decides to have some fun with the communion wine.
if the character has the 'Mortal' talent, and She drinks a bottle, which the GM decides equates to
another 1 if the character has an applicable four goblets or mazers of wine. Since Godiva has X3,
trade (such as 'innkeeper', 'ale-wife' or she is over her threshold by 1."
'goliard'). Once the character consumes Godiva goes for a walk to the local market, to see
mazers beyond this threshold the GM rolls on what trinkets she can find. The GM rolls a die and
the below table each time a change in activity adds 1 as she begins her journey. The roll is a 3, plus
is undertaken by the character. A change in 1 for 4 total. Godiva staggers, steadies herself and
activity includes anything requiring a test, stands confused for a few moments."
plus things like attempting to walk, run, Godiva reaches the market and looks for a trinket
climb, lift, think deeply, handle an object and stall. The GM calls for a test to spot the stall, and
so on. The GM should roll a die, adding 1 to also rolls on the drunkenness table again. The total
the roll for each mazer the character has this time is 6; Godiva drops something. The GM
consumed over their threshold.! decides Godiva drops her purse, and she spends a few
! minutes staggering about picking up her groats."
2 You're feeling OK! Godiva eventually manages to spy a trinket seller,
3 You feel a little nauseous, but otherwise and attempts to purchase a silver ring. Haggling
OK.! with the trader requires a test, so another roll on the
4 Your need to steady yourself and hold onto drunkenness table is made. The GM gets a total of 3
something, do nothing for a turn.! this time; Godiva feels a little nauseous but is
5 You stagger off balance and are confused otherwise fine. She manages to purchase the ring,
for 1d3 turns.! but the GM rules that in her drunken state she gets
6 You drop an item in your possession, such a poor deal, and Godiva pays more than she might
as your purse, hat, dagger etc.! have done..."
!35

Fire" The below table offers some suggestions, the
! GM may decide to define other misfortunes
Typically, when a character is exposed to fire, not listed.!
it is their clothing and hair which burns !
initially. Only the most intense fires will cause 11 Begrime your cloak!
an individuals skin to begin to actually catch 12 Begrime your face!
fire. Nonetheless, burns from fire can be 13 Begrime your hands!
serious and painful.! 14 Begrime your hose!
When a character is first exposed to fire, from 15 Begrime your tunic!
a burning torch, a bonfire or some sort of 16 Break your belt!
explosion, the GM can assign a chance that 21 Break a boot lace!
the character is set on fire. Typically, this a 22 Break your scabbard!
50% chance (a roll of of an odd number on a 23 Lose your dagger!
die). The chance will be higher if the 24 Lose your hood!
character is unable to escape the flames for 25 Lose your purse!
some reason (such as being tied to a stake). 26 Lose your scarf!
On the first turn, no damage is sustained. For 31 Lose a shoe!
each successive turn, one point of damage is 32 Lose a tool!
received. Characters can attempt to put out 33 Lose a trinket!
the fire with a test (Motley applies), assuming 34 Scratch your face!
they are not restrained in any way. Add a 35 Scratch your hand!
bonus to the chance of success if water is used 36 Scratch your leg!
(+1 for a jug, +2 for a bucket).! 41 Step in dung!
If other characters assist a burning character, 42 Tear your bag / sack!
they may also make a test to extinguish the 43 Tear your cloak!
flames.! 44 Tear your coat!
Fire will usually ruin some of the characters 45 Tear your hose!
clothing, and may also affect items carried by 46 Tear your tunic!
the character at the GMs discretion.! 51- 66 Nothing untoward happens!
! !
Ill News! !
! Poison!
Characters are regularly exposed to events !
and environments that can lead them to suffer There are numerous varieties of poison, and
inconveniences and misfortunes. These events the below details are therefore designed to
are called 'ill news', and can be determined cover 'typical' poisons.!
randomly by the GM at certain points during Poisons can be delivered on weapons, or are
a game.! added to food and drink. When a poison is
! added to a weapon, it typically lasts for the
An ill news roll is an 11 - 66 roll made by the remainder of the combat, or until a hit is
GM. This roll should be made after an event achieved, which delivers the poison. Poisons,
occurs which may entail such an occurrence. once applied to a weapon, rarely remain
Examples of appropriate events include; effective for long, and usually dry out after a
following or during a battle, following or short time.!
during a pursuit, on entering an unexplored When a character is poisoned, a test is made
area, during a storm, during an escape, with the talent Mortal applicable. A poison
during a calamity such as a building fire, after will have two effects; the lesser effect
an accident such as being hit by a cart or occurring if the test succeeds, the greater
falling object, during a strenuous activity etc.! effect if it fails. Poisons also have a duration
The GM can make a roll per character, or can and interval, such as a number of turns,
randomly determine a single character and minutes, hours or days in which damage
roll for them only. ! affects the victim. !
!36

For example, devils hind poison (below) character spots something 'out of place' or
causes 1 point of damage per hour for 1d3 'odd'. The test is a simple 1d roll, with the
hours if the victims fails a test. Any ailments chance of success based on the trap
caused by poison last 1d3 days each.! complexity:!
! Simple: 3 or less!
Poison examples:! Difficult: 2 or less!
! Complicated: 1 !
Adder bite! Nefarious: no chance.!
Lesser effect: 1d3 random ailments, 1 damage This roll should be made in secret by the GM.
per hour for 1d3 hours.! If successful, the character will realise that
Greater effect: 1d3 random ailments, 1 something in the area looks 'odd', and the
damage per hour for 1d hours.! GM should describe an unusual feature,
Bog mirk" without actually indicating that there is a
Lesser effect: 1 random ailment ! trap.!
Greater effect: 1 damage (only), and 1 For example, in an area where there is a door
random ailment! bolt trap in the wall, the GM might say "the
Bats tongue" wall to the left of the door is cold and damp,
Lesser effect: 'headache' ailment! lichen grows on just one part of it".
Greater effect: 'headache' and 'aches' ailment! Obviously, if the character checks the wall,
Dead cap! they may discover the trap.!
Lesser effect: 'cough ailment'! !
Greater effect: 1 damage per hour for 1d Searching for a trap!
hours, 'cough' and 'sickness' ailments! !
Devils arse" A player character can decide to search an
Lesser effect: 2 random ailments! area for a trap, even if they haven't chanced
Greater effect: 1 damage per hour for 1d3 upon one (by noticing something odd).!
hours, 4 random ailments! Searching for a trap is a test, with the talent
Honey pox" Quidnunc applicable. If successful, the trap is
Lesser effect: 'swooning' ailment.! discovered and identified. Once discovered,
Greater effect: 'swooning' ailment, 1 damage an attempt can be made to disarm a trap (see
per day for 1d days.! the activities section).!
!
If a trap isn't discovered (by chance or by
searching), it may be triggered by an
unfortunate character.!
The trigger mechanism for a trap includes the
chance of it being activated (a roll on 1d
equal to or less than the chance for it to
! work). For example, a lever step trap is a
simple device in which a step tilts, causing a
Traps!
! character to fall (usually down stairs). The
trigger chance is high, since most people use
Traps are defined by their complexity (simple,
every step when walking on stairs.!
difficult, complicated or nefarious), trigger
(for example, a trip wire) and effects. Traps !
Trap descriptions!
are detected in two ways; by chance or by
detection (i.e; actively looking for one).! !
! The below traps are examples of 'typical'
traps characters may encounter. They are
Chancing upon a trap!
! defined using the following format:!
!
When a character enters an area where there
!
is a trap, a check is made to determine if the
!
!37

Complexity (how easy it is to disarm them).! The lever step trap is a weighted step, which
Trigger (the chance on 1d that the trap is flips down when stepped upon, before
triggered if the character performs the noted righting itself ready for another activation.!
action)! Effect: The character falls down the stairs. A
Effect (what happens when the trap is test is required, with Motley applicable.
activated).! Failure results in 1d3 points of damage.
! Success indicates no damage is sustained, but
Ball and chain trap" a roll on the 'ill news' table should be made.!
Complexity: simple! !
Trigger: 3. This crude trap comprises a heavy Pin trap!
ball on a chain, concealed in a ceiling. It is Complexity: difficult!
triggered when a specific item is moved Trigger: 3. The character attempts to open a
(which pulls a cord, releasing the ball). The casket, activating pin in the lock. The pin juts
item is typically the most garish thing in a out, striking the characters hand. This causes
room, designed to appeal to the avarice of the no damage, but will deliver a poison.!
thief.! Effect: The character is subjected to a poison,
Effect: The ball hits the character, causing 1d such as 'dead cap'. See the poison section for
damage, unless the character successfully details.!
dodges (a test, with Motley applicable).! !
! Travail!
Door bolt trap" !
Complexity: difficult! Hardship, or travail, is defined in terms of its
Trigger: 3. The character opens the door, effect interval; either per minute, per hour or
which releases a catch, activating a hidden per day. When a GM decides a character is
crossbow in the nearby wall. Once activated, suffering in some way, perhaps through
the trap is disarmed.! starvation, torture, strenuous activity and so
Effect: The character is struck by a crossbow on, a travail test can be made. The talent
quarrel unless they successfully dodge (a test, Mortal applies if the activity is mostly
with Motley applicable). The quarrel causes physical, the talent Eremite if mostly
1d points damage.! emotional, and the talent Sophist if mostly
! mental. The test is made per effect interval
Hearth trap" (i.e, one test per minute, or per hour, or per
Complexity: nefarious! day). For each failed test, the character takes
Trigger: 5. The character approaches a hearth 1 damage.!
which contains a fire or glowing embers. On Once a character has endured a number of
the mantle above is an appealing object, such tests equal to their experience, further tests
as a valuable looking statue. The action of become difficult, and a failure results in a
moving the item pulls a cord which opens a point of damage and one random ailment
small panel in the mantle, dumping a being received. !
flammable powder onto the fire.! The GM may implement further effects for
Effect: The fire will burst into flames, causing long periods of hardship, or for extreme
a small explosion. The character that circumstances.!
triggered the trap will catch alight on a roll of !
1-4 on a die. Those nearby (within 2 yards) !
will catch alight on a roll of 1-3 on a die. See !
the 'hazards' section for details of fire.! !
! !
Lever step trap" !
Complexity: simple! !
Trigger: 4. The character simply steps on the !
trap to activate it.! !
!
!38

DISEASE! The character has a coughing fit whenever a 5
! is rolled on a test, effectively incapacitating
Characters can be exposed to a variety of the character for 1-3 turns.!
diseases, from minor coughs and headaches to !
serious or life threatening illnesses. Disease is 5 Dizziness!
treated in several sections below, from generic The character suffers -1 to tests which require
diseases covered in the section 'illness' to agility, such as climbing, dodging, jumping
specific ailments such as the plague.! etc.!
! !
Illness! 6 Delirium!
! The character is easily confused and
Characters may contract various sorts of befuddled, and may not utilise any oddities.!
minor diseases, and an ailment often occurs as !
a result of a particular activity. The GM can 7 Fatigue!
specify that an event or activity has a chance The character must test when performing any
of causing illness, and some examples include strenuous activity, failure causes 1 damage.!
spending time in dank caves, scavenging in !
squalid conditions, treasure hunting in old 8 Headache!
burial mounds, a poor diet, eating rotten food, A headache distracts the character, causing a
receiving injuries, being around ill people and -1 penalty to tests involving any sort of
so on. ! concentration and deep thought.!
Generally, a test is required when a character !
has a chance of contracting an illness (with 9 Pustules!
the talent Mortal applicable). If the test is a The character has pus filled lesions. Make a
failure, the character contracts a minor test each day or suffer 1 damage.!
illness. If the test roll is a 6, the character has !
instead contracted a major illness.! 10 Rash!
! A rash looks unsightly, and may affect a
Minor illness! characters self confidence, causing a -1 to
To determine the number of ailments tests involving social interaction, persuasion
(symptoms) the character has, roll 1d3. Each etc.!
ailment lasts for 1d3 days, or until cured (see !
below).! 11 Sickness!
Major illness" The character vomits whenever 4 is rolled on
To determine the number of ailments the a test. This takes 1d turns to overcome.!
character has, roll 1d+1. Each lasts for 1d !
days or until cured.! 12 Swooning !
! The character passes out whenever a 6 is
For each ailment, roll 2d on the below table rolled on a test. The unconsciousness lasts 1d
(re-rolling repeats).! turns.!
! !
Ailments! Cures!
! Each ailment can be cured with an
2 Aches! appropriate medicine or procedure. These
The character suffers -1 to tests involving cost 1d3 groats per cure and are available
physical actions, including fighting.! from chirurgeons, apothecaries, herbalists,
! midwives, witches and so on. When a cure is
3 Ague ! taken a die should be rolled. An even number
The character has a fever. Make a test each indicates it works, and takes effect in hours
day, failure indicates no healing takes place.! equal to the number rolled (i.e; 2, 4 or 6
! hours). An odd number indicates the cure is
4 Cough! ineffective.!
!39

! fleas, which were carried on rodents. Since
When visiting a chirurgeon or similar, both fleas and rodents travel with people, it is
characters will often be subjected to any of easy to see how the plague could be so widely
the below cures and treatments. These are spread. In addition, during the 14th century,
included for colour, and do not affect the few people had any innate resistance to the
mechanics of the cure.! plague, and it would therefore travel quickly
! through a population once it was introduced
Ache - lotion! to an area.!
Ague - poultice! In the 14th century, the manner by which the
Cough - syrup! plague was spread was not clearly
Dizziness - infusion! understood, and there were a number of
Delirium - potion! theories. Often these would include some sort
Fatigue - bleeding! of religious connection, such as divine
Headache - balm! retribution. Other explanations included
Pustules - bandage! poisoning, or the effect of mysterious
Rash - salve! astrological forces.!
Sickness - powder! !
Swooning - leeches! Contracting the Plague"
! For game purposes, there are two ways
Illness names" characters can be exposed to the plague. The
The name given to the illness by the first is by being in an area where the plague
individual making the diagnosis (be that a has manifested. The more densely populated
chirurgeon, wise woman or whoever), will the area is, the more chance there is of
vary widely and may have little bearing on contracting the disease. To determine if a
the actual disease or symptoms. With that in character contracts the disease, roll a die. On
mind, the below table can be used to find the a roll of 1, the character contracts the plague.
name of the ailment:! The frequency of the roll depends on the area:!
! Hamlet (population around 20): roll every
2 Ague! fortnight!
3 Bloody flux! Village (population around 100): roll every
4 Devils fire! week!
5 Dropsy! Town (population around 1000): roll every
6 Falling sickness! day!
7 Flux! If a character is at a location where there are
8 Lepry! a great number of persons with the plague,
9 Marasmus! such as a building in which many of the sick
10 Red plague! are being cared for, the chance increases to a
11 Scrofula! roll of 1 or 2.!
12 Strangery! !
! The second method of catching the disease is
! through direct contact with a person who has
The Plague! the disease. In this sense, direct contact
! means the character must in some way have
The Plague, which later in history is called bodily fluids transmitted to the character,
the Black Death, is a particularly horrible such as by biting or coughing. For game
illness that can often, though not always, lead purposes, this will occur during combat or
to death.! very close contact (such as tending a plague
Although the last major outbreak declines in victims wounds). In this case, the chance of
England in around 1350, smaller outbreaks contracting the disease is 1 in 6, checked for
continue to appear for many years thereafter.! each encounter (a single combat, or a single
In modern times, we now know that the occasion of tending wounds etc).!
plague was the result of bites from infected !
!40

Immunity! character (which counts as exposure to the
There is a small chance a character may be disease for the comrade in question).!
immune to the disease. When a character is 6 Sickness: Same as for the standard ailment
first exposed the player is allowed to check as noted above.!
for immunity from the plague. To do this, the !
player states a number from 1 to 6. If the Treatment!
player rolls that number on a die, their Normal treatments and cures will be
character is immune. This roll can be made ineffective against the plague. When taking a
once only.! cure for an ailment, check to determine if it
Players whose character has the Mortal talent works as normal (a roll of an even number on
get to choose two numbers for their roll.! 1d). If the roll indicates the cure should work,
! it instead gives temporary relief from the
Ailments! ailment (for 1d3 hours).!
When a character contracts the plague, they !
begin to acquire ailments (symptoms). One Recovery!
day after exposure, the character exhibits a It is possible, though difficult, to survive the
single ailment determined randomly on the plague. Once the character has acquired all
below table. On day two, and for each ailments, about a week after exposure, the
successive day, the character acquires another progress of the disease slows.!
ailment, until all are acquired. Roll on the On the next day, damage is no longer taken,
below table for each day, re-rolling repeats.! and an ailment of the players choosing is
In addition to an ailment, a character receives removed. For each day thereafter another
damage from the plague each day. The ailment is negated until all are gone. At this
damage is determined by rolling 1d3. If the point, a character also begins to heal from the
character has the talent Mortal, damage is plague damage.!
reduced by 1. If the character has the oddity !
Inhuman, they heal 1 point plague damage Leprosy!
per day, otherwise damage from the plague is !
not healed (initially at least).! Leprosy was once thought to be highly
! contagious, and in the medieval period
1 Aches: Same as for the standard ailment victims of leprosy were feared and treated as
noted above.! 'walking dead', their very breath deemed to
2 Cramps: The character suffers from painful be contagious.!
muscle cramps. Whenever the characters In reality, leprosy is quite rare and difficult to
player rolls a 1 on a test, that test is contract.!
considered a failure, and the character is !
incapacitated for 1d turns.! Immunity!
3 Necrosis: Parts of the characters body begin There is a chance a character may be immune
to blacken and die. The character is in effect to leprosy. When a character is first exposed
dying whilst still alive. The character suffers the player is allowed to check for immunity.
the loss of a single talent of the players To do this, the player states two numbers
choosing. The character suffers an additional from 1 to 6. If the player rolls any of these
point of damage.! numbers on a die, their character is immune.
4 Pustules: Same as for the standard ailment This roll can be made once only.!
above, except that they are called 'buboes'.! Players whose character has the Mortal talent
5 Seizure: The character is gripped by painful get to choose three numbers for their roll.!
seizures. Whenever the player rolls 2 on a !
test, the character collapses and is unable to For game purposes, the disease can only be
act for 1d turns. For each turn a character caught via close contact with a victim. This
seizes, there is a 1 in 6 chance the character includes combat. To determine if a wounded
will suffer a point of damage unless a character has a chance of contracting leprosy,
comrade is willing to hold and restrain the a roll of 1d is made. If the result is 1, a test is
!41

then required by the player (with Mortal Treatment!
applicable). If this test is a failure, the As with the plague noted above, treatments
character has contracted the disease.! for leprosy are temporary and will provide
! relief for a short duration only (1d3 hours).!
Ailments! !
Leprosy can take a considerable time to Recovery"
manifest, and it is in fact possible to exhibit Though leprosy causes limited damage, it is
no signs of the disease for many years not a disease to quickly cause fatalities.
following exposure. For game purposes, a Characters may endure for years as lepers,
check is made each game week to determine if though their lives may be miserable ones.
an ailment manifests. The check is a 2d roll, Unfortunately, during the medieval period,
with an ailment appearing on a roll of 2 or 12. there is no known cure for the disease and full
These checks are made continuously, until all recovery from it is not possible.!
of the ailments have manifested.! !
To determine the ailment that manifests, roll a !
die:! !
!
1 Aches: Same as for the standard ailment
noted above.!
2 Cough: Same as for the standard ailment
noted above.!
3 Decline: The disease affects either one of
the characters eyes, their nose or their throat
(roll a die, 1-2 eye, 3-4 nose, 5-6 throat). Eye
damage causes loss of sight in the affected
eye. The character thereafter suffers a -1
penalty to tests involving visual awareness (to !
spot items, detect ambushes etc) as well as !
ranged attacks. Nose damage causes a -1 !
penalty to all tests involving interaction due !
to the characters macabre appearance. Throat !
damage causes sporadic loss of a characters !
voice. Whenever the character wishes to !
speak, the player must roll a die. If the result !
is an odd number, the character may not !
speak for 1d3 hours (though may still make !
guttural grunts).! !
4 Pustules: Same as for the standard ailment !
noted above.! !
5 Weakness: Nerve damage has affected one !
of the characters arms (determined !
randomly). The arm can be barely moved, !
meaning physical actions involving the arm, !
or that require both arms (climbing, combat !
etc) suffer a -1 penalty.! !
6 Withering: Nerve damage has affected one !
of the characters legs (determined randomly). !
The character drags the barely useable leg, !
and may no longer run. The characters !
movement rate is halved, and tests involving !
use of the leg are at -1.! !
! !
!42

ANIMALS! encounter with a crow, a check for illness
! should be made.!
Characters may encounter a variety of beasts !
during their adventures, as prey or predator. ! Deer X2, +1 to defence tests, kick causes
For the purposes of combat, animals are normal damage.!
treated in a similar manner to human !
opponents. Animals have an experience score, Dog X3, +1 for tests involving tracking, bite
used for combat tests and tests involving causes normal damage.!
physical activity. For other actions, especially Dogs are common pets and working animals
in relation to an animals mental capabilities, in medieval times, and can be trained more
the GM should apply a suitable modifier.! easily than other creatures.!
To reflect the unique capabilities of some !
animals, they have modifiers noted next to Hawk X2, +1 to attack tests, talons cause
their experience score. In addition, the type of normal damage.!
attack and damage caused by the animal is Birds of prey are popular pets amongst the
noted. This is defined as either none, normal wealthy and the clergy in the medieval period.!
(the animal causes damage equal to the !
success margin of the attack) or is in some Horse X4, +1 to X for a warhorse, -1 to X for a
way unique and will be noted invidually for pony. The kick of a horse causes +1 damage.!
the animal. For example, a Boar adds +2 to !
the damage it causes, wheras a bat causes no Rat X1, +1 to attack tests, bite causes normal
damage, but may cause illness.! damage plus test to avoid a minor illness.!
! Rats are despised by most people during the
! medieval period. They will attack if surprised,
Adder X1, +1 for tests involving moving or in large packs.!
quietly, bite causes normal damage plus !
'adder bite' poison.! Toad X1, +1 to defence tests, no attack.!
Adders are venomous snakes found in parts In medieval times, toads were viewed with
of England. Bites from them are rare, but suspicion, and seen as possessing strange
when they do occur the effects of the venom powers, such as the ability to cause warts on
can be extremely painful.! any person that touches them. In truth, toads
! are harmless creatures, used to scare those of
Bat X1, +1 to defence tests. Bats have the nervous dispositions. Toads do not fight, and
feral oddity. Bites from a bat causes no cannot inflict damage directly, though they
damage, but have a 1 in 6 chance of causing a may indirectly be the cause of injury (causing
minor illness.! someone to fall as they jump to avoid a
! thrown toad for example).!
Boar X2, +1 to attack tests, gore causes +2 !
damage.! Wolf X4, +1 to tests involving tracking, +1 to
! hit when part of a pack of 3 or more wolves,
Cat X2, scratch causes normal damage. Cats bite causes +1 damage.!
have the feral oddity.! During the 14th century, there are still a few
Cats are are viewed with suspicion in wolves present in the wilder areas of Britain.!
medieval England. They are mostly feral, and !
larger cats can be nasty creatures.! !
! !
Crow X2, +1 to defence tests, peck causes !
normal damage.! !
Crows are seen as ill favoured creatures, that !
pick the bones of battlefield dead and !
scavenge amongst refuse piles. After an !
!43

PEOPLE! he does not speak, he merely lurks and
! watches from his field.!
To create a truly interesting story that both Bogle worships an ancient antler headed god
players and the GM will find memorable, it is and has built a crude altar to the god made
helpful to have unique and intriguing non from twigs, branches and animal horns. This
player characters. Some of the various altar is near to his crumbling cottage, which
adversaries and allies player characters may lies amidst the vast wheat field.!
encounter are presented below.! Bogle dresses in sack clothing bound with
Non player characters are for the most part straw, and wears a sackcloth mask. He scours
defined in a similar manner to player the field watching for victims, and will attack
characters, though there are some that have from hiding. His attack involves attempting to
uniques abilities, which are detailed in their ensnare a victim within his net (a test to
description.! avoid, with Motley applicable). If successful,
! he wraps more binding ropes around the
Bella the witch! victim, then drags them off for sacrifice at his
X5, Sophist talent. Cultured, Doomed, altar.!
Heathen, Seer and Vulgar oddities.! Bogle has acquired a handful of followers
Carries a silver dagger (an athame).! (the wirry cows) that join him during
Witches are worshippers of a pagan god, and sacrifices. These followers are deranged,
typically dwell on the outskirts of hamlets. gullible souls hoping the mysterious god will
Some are tolerated by villagers, whilst others help them out of their wretched existence.
are shunned and feared.! They are careful to keep their distance during
Bella is an example of a particularly potent ceremonies, since Bogle cares little for them
witch. She is a woman of 40, with striking and is just as happy to make one of them a
raven black hair and piercing eyes. Bella lives sacrifice.!
in a small hut at the foot of Wychby hill. Her If one of the wirry cows is encountered, they
hut is carefully hidden, and to enter it one will look similar to Bogle in dress and be
must find a secret door hidden in the trunk of armed with a sickle. !
a wych elm. When Bella is encountered, she !
may appear to be a doddering old woman Ceolwulf the Spriggan!
with a crooked stance and wild grey hair X5, Mortal, Eremite talents, Scarred oddity.
(disguising her black hair with ash). This is Carries an arming sword.!
the persona she mostly uses, though in truth The Spriggans are a brotherhood of barrow
she is an attractive, self assured woman.! guards, dedicated to ensuring that the burial
Bella is the head of a coven of witches, that mounds and underground crypts of the
gather in the woods around Wychby hill. ancient kings and nobles are not looted. Only
Most of the coven members keep their those of short stature (5' or so) are chosen to
identities hidden, though a few are known to be members of the brotherhood, so that they
locals as 'wise women' that on occasion act as can more easily move around in the cramped
healers and midwives.! underground passages. They are also chosen
Witches typically possess one or more of the for their ugliness, so that they can appear
oddities Cultured, Doomed, Heathen, more frightening to tomb robbers. !
Merciful, Seer, Vulgar.! The Spriggans typically wear some form of
! armour, and are equipped with small shields
Bogle Wirry Cow! and weapons such as a morning star, mace,
X5, Rapscallion talent.! battle-axe or arming sword. There are usually
Armed with a net, a cudgel and a rusty sickle.! just one or two Spriggans guarding a barrow,
Bogle Wirry Cow is an insane, solitary man more only if the barrow hides a special
that dwells within the wheat field near treasure. !
Notwyke Mill. Some say he is possessed, When first encountered a Spriggans ugliness
though it is hard to tell much about him since may evoke fear; characters must make a test
(the Eremite talent is applicable) with failure
!44

indicating the character suffers a 1 point dress, and can be encountered at various
penalty in combat (subtracted from all test locations. Amongst the followers are:!
results). Spriggans typically have X4 or 5 and Portly fishman!
at least one talent and one oddity.! X3, Mortal talent, carries a cudgel.!
! Midget fishman!
Ceolwulf the Spriggan guards the forgotten X2, Freakish oddity, carries a misericord.!
barrow near the abandoned village of !
Kenelmstowe. The barrow is hidden within Goblyn of Deddeleye!
woods near a well (which is itself a place of X3, Quidnunc, Motley and Bodkin talents,
pilgrimage). This is the burial place of the Brimstone oddity.!
Saxon king Kenelm, who was brutally Armed with a spiked club and sling.!
murdered several centuries ago. The The Goblyn of Duddeleye (usually referred
brotherhood of the Spriggans built a barrow to simply as 'Goblyn'), suffered from disease
at the site and entombed some of the bones of and malnutrition as a child, and was
the king. Later, a small spring appeared near abandoned by his parents at a young age. As
to the burial place, and a handful of pilgrims an adult, Goblyn now appears to be a stunted,
visit the place every year, since it is said to gangrel creature with misshapen limbs and a
have curative properties.! grotesque, overly large head.!
Ceolwulf is an especially ugly individual, with Goblyn has lived by his wits ever since he
a misshapen, jutting jaw and beak-like nose. was abandoned, and survives amidst the dark
He wears a ragged tunic upon which are corridors and tunnels of Deddeleye castle. He
faded heraldic designs which a scholar would has, over the years, acquired a good deal of
perhaps recognise as pertaining to the ancient knowledge, and has treasures hidden away in
Saxon lineage of Kenelm and his father dark, forgotten places.!
Kenulph. Ceolwulf wears grubby, chain mail One of the treasures Goblyn possesses is a
armour.! book of alchemy, stolen years ago, and from
! this he has learnt how to create a flaming
Fishman, the man who dresses like a fish! powder, which he utilises to distract and
X3, Villainous oddity. Carries bone knives damage his enemies. This oddity could be
(strength 1).! acquired by a player character lucky enough
The man who dresses like a fish, also known to discover the alchemical tome:!
as the fishman, conceals his face under a hood !
shaped like a fish (complete with glass eyes New oddity: Brimstone"
and embroidered scales). He wears a green This oddity indicates the character has
sack cloth tunic with crude scales sewn on to acquired some alchemical knowledge, and is
it.! able to create a noxious powder which, when
Fishman lives in a barrel, in an alley within a cast into the air creates smoke and fumes. The
squalid area of Helsown village. He survives smoke will fill an average sized room or an
by scavenging food and the occasional area of up to 10 yards diameter, and makes
robbery, using a filthy dagger made from a most actions difficult to perform for those
human thigh bone to threaten his victims.! caught within the smoke. All tests within the
Fishman rarely communicates with others, area are penalised by 1. In addition, each
but may speak to characters if approached person in the area that is caught unawares
carefully. He believes he is half fish, and (i.e, that wasn't forewarned) suffers 1 damage
espouses a twisted version of christianity (a burned throat and chest pain) from the
making regular reference to the loaves and fumes. The smoke lasts for 1d minutes.
fishes miracle. Occasionally he will refer to Characters can make a pouch (one use) of
himself as 'Archbishop Fish'. ! brimstone per day with a successful test, and
Fishman has acquired several followers, and each pouch costs 3 groats to make (for
holds impromptu meetings in his alley. His material costs). !
followers have also adopted similar styles of !
!
!45

Grimrik of the living dead.! a group of scavenger miners, known as the
X2, Crazed and Shadowed oddities. kobolds, that dwell within caves in the
Unarmed.! Middenlands. !
Grimrik is the leader of a band of the living Hodekin can occasionally be encountered
dead, the lepers. Like others who have the travelling to a village market, where he will
disease, he wears a ragged tunic and hangs a try to sell pieces of polished ore and minerals.!
bell from his neck. ! Hodekin and the kobolds believe they are the
In the medieval period, lepers were forced to rightful owners of the resources found within
go through a ceremony conducted by priests, the old mines of the Middenlands. Their
which would declare them to be 'living dead'. families date back to the days of the Roman
In so doing, the poor souls would lose all of invasions, and they claim this is the reason
their rights, property, land and status. ! they alone should be allowed to mine and
Society shuns lepers, and people believe their dwell in the area.!
very breath carries the disease. ! The kobolds will fiercely defend their rights
Grimrik has the disease in its' advanced to anything discovered within the
stages. His extremities are deformed, his underground caves, and are inevitably hostile
fingers withered. His face is disfigured, and to anyone encountered in their mines and
the damage to his throat gives him a rasping, caves.!
guttural voice. His band of companions are The kobolds usually encountered in company
individually weak, but when acting as a group with Hodekin are shown below. All are
become extremely dangerous, driven as they distinguished by their short, scrawny stature.!
are by desperation and hunger.! Brounberd!
The living dead dwell on the outskirts of X4, Quidnunc talent. Carries a cudgel.!
several villages, begging from passing Chikehed!
travellers for the most part. Occasionally, X3, Inhuman oddity. Carries a cleaver.!
when their lives become especially harsh, Doggeskin!
Grimrik calls them together and they become X4 Motley talent. Carries a chain.!
more aggressive, robbing travellers or even Hopperobyn!
attacking whole villages.! X2 Feral oddity. Carries a club.!
Lepers typically are unarmed, or carry !
cudgels or crude knives. They are usually X2 Merewen, queen of the labyrinth!
or X3 and are encountered in groups of 2d.! X5, Fabulist, Sophist talents, Cultured and
! Salamander oddities.!
Hob~goblin! Merewen is an attractive middle aged woman
X3, Purloiner, Motley talents, Shadowed that dwells within the caves and forgotten
oddity.! dungeons below an abandoned and ruined
Armed with a club.! castle within the Poachsnede forest.!
Hob is a midget that wears worn, grubby Merewen dresses in red silk gowns, and
jesters clothing. He was once the favourite of wears a gold torc decorated with coiled
the nobles of Deddeleye castle, but has now dragons.!
been all but forgotten, a discarded plaything.! She is considered by her followers to be
Hob now spends his time wandering the 'queen' of the labyrinth below the castle. She
castle, causing mischief where he can, stealing has a richly decorated underground hall,
scraps of food when the opportunity arises. within which she keeps a large throne and
He is a bitter soul, and dislikes those who bubbling cauldron (known as the cauldron of
overtly display wealth or success.! Dyrnwich). Merewen uses this cauldron to
! brew her alchemical mixtures when the mood
Hodekin! takes her.!
X4, Belligerent talent, Feral and Scarred Merewen is the descendant of a Welsh king,
oddities. Carries a war hammer.! and fled to the Middenlands when the
Hodekin is a short, stout individual who enemies of her family tried to have her killed.
wears a grey felt cowl and tunic. He is one of She hides in the labyrinth, plotting revenge,
!46

but with no hope of success, her influence Deddeleye (though he has trouble recalling
and wealth now gone.! who that is). Indeed, Mister Crowlegge
Merewen has the oddity 'Salamander', and spends a good deal of his time trying to
ancient knowledge that enables her to create remember who his master is, where he
alchemical fire. This she acquired from an himself is, what he was doing... !
alchemical tome, which is now lost to her Mister Crowlegge is a tall old man, with
(stolen years previously by Goblyn - see wisps of grey hair and a thin beard. He walks
above).! with a cane, which he requires having had
! both legs amputated at the knee and replaced
New oddity: Salamander" with ornately carved wooden legs shaped to
This alchemical knowledge allows a character resemble crows feet. This gives Mister
to make cinders which, when cast into the air Crowlegge a most unusual gait.!
near a flame or hot surface erupt into a ball of Mister Crowlegge is generally a helpful soul,
fire. The fireball affects an area of around 2 but is somewhat forgetful. He does however,
yards in diameter, and anyone within the area have the unusual ability of being able to
has a chance of catching alight. Each victim detect poison through smell, and resist its's
avoids catching on fire with a successful effects. This is an ability he gained while
difficult test (half X). A character on fire serving as food taster to his lord. !
takes 1 damage per turn for 1d3 turns. Each This is an oddity, 'Immune', which Mister
turn a victim can make a new test, as above, Crowlegge could teach a character over a few
to successfully extinguish the fire.! weeks.!
Note that the fireball will also set alight any !
highly flammable material in the area, such as New oddity: Immune"
cloth or parchment. Characters can make a This oddity allows a test to be made whenever
bag (one use) of cinders per day with a a character smells or tastes food and drink. If
successful test, and each bag costs 3 groats to successful, the character is able to determine
make. ! if it is poisoned. In addition, if the character
Amongst Merewens servants are;! has detected the poison, he is automatically
Ogre Brian ! immune to its' effects.!
X3, Belligerent and Mortal talents, Crazed
oddity.!
Brian is a huge man that dresses in grubby
animal skins. He says little, but is fiercely
loyal to his 'queen'.!
Anfelise the angel!
X3, Bodkin talent, Deadly oddity.!
Anfelise is a slender girl that dresses in a robe
of grey feathers. She carries an ornate bow,
and is quite talented with it.!
Emmota the handmaiden!
X3, Covetous and Heathen oddities.!
!
Monkey!
Emmota is an awkward looking, flaxen haired X2, Motley, Quidnunc talents.!
girl of 16. She is usually seen with one of her Monkey is indeed a small, perceptive and
familiars (she has a rat, a cat and a snake). quite intelligent, monkey. It has dark fur and
Emmota is the personal servant of Merewen, a ragged tail, and its' smile reveals some sharp
and is typically seen at her side.!
! looking teeth. Monkey was once a nobles
plaything, but has since escaped and now
Mister Crowlegge! inhabits woodlands and ruins of the
X3, Sophist talent. Carries a crow headed
Middenlands. It hides in sheltered places,
cane (treat as a cudgel).! venturing forth only to find food scraps and
Mister Crowlegge is a Deddeleye castle
occupant and manservant to the lord of
!47

steal small objects (such as trinkets, keys or tangled, giving them a wild, bestial
important documents). ! appearance. To further enhance their feral
Most people have never seen a monkey, and aspect, they paint themselves with patterns
therefore believe it is a demonic imp, sent to and stripes, in russet and olive hues.!
do mischief on evildoers (of which the The leader of the Pucks, Robyn Goodfellow,
Middenlands has many). If cornered, monkey is a massive, bearded figure. He wears his
will bite, but will otherwise avoid contact long hair and his beard in plaits. Most
with characters.! striking is the thorny vines wrapped around
! his body, head and limbs, which he seems
Plague bearer! impervious to. He is usually accompanied by
X3, Crazed oddity! several Pucks, who will defend their leader to
This is the name given to a person who has the death.!
entered folklore as the bringer of the plague. In combat, Robyn Goodfellow uses a
Peasants talk of a cloaked, hooded man that woodman's axe. His thorn-vines count as
enters a village by night, and by morning armour (strength 6), and anyone who strikes
someone has contracted the plague. Wether him in melee must test to avoid being injured
he exists as an individual, or simply by the thorns (causes 1d3 damage from sharp
represents one of many plague bearers is a scratches). He may also make a barge attack,
matter for debate amongst the peasants. In which is treated as a normal melee attack, but
either case, if he is encountered, any that have will also knock down the target should they
contact with him are exposed to the plague lose the turn of combat.!
and have a chance of contracting the disease. For the most part, the Pucks will avoid
See the section on illness for details.! contact with others, and will attack only
! when outsiders trespass into their territory. !
Redcap Jen! Puck Fulredy!
X4, Fabulist talent, Deadly oddity.! X3, Deadly oddity!
Armed with a bow and dagger.! Carries a bow and knife!
Dwelling in the deepest part of Poachsnede Puck Grayfot!
forest, Redcap Jen (or 'Jennie Red' to some) X2, Bodkin talent!
is a murderous, deranged woman.! Carries a bag of rocks!
She acquired her name from the practice of Puck Kilfole!
staining her pointed hat with the blood of X3, Quidnunc talent!
those she murders. Redcap Jen kills not just Carries a spear!
to steal the victims belongings, but also to Puck Paunch!
consume their flesh and drink their blood.! X3, Belligerent talent!
Redcap Jen is thin, lithe and skilled at hiding Carries a spiked cudgel!
in the woods. In addition to her blood stained Puck Pyman!
hat, she wears dark clothing and a ragged X3, Scarred oddity!
green cloak. She darkens her skin with mud Carries an axe!
to further aid in hiding.! Puck Snype!
No one knows why Jen kills, but it is said she X4, Motley talent!
comes from a family of murderous Picts, and Carries a dagger!
has been sent mad through eating toadstools.! Puck Woderose!
! X4, Shadowed oddity!
Robyn Goodfellow! Carries a sickle!
X5, Mortal, Motley, Rapscallion talents, !
Inhuman, Scarred and Vulgar oddities. !
Carries a woodman's axe.! !
Dwelling within the Wychby woods, living in !
crude huts, the Pucks are a band of men and !
women who worship pagan gods. They do not !
wear clothes, and let their hair grow long and !
!48

STORIES! The castle of Deddeleye, near to the priory of
! St James and the town of Deddeleye. The
Creating stories to engage and intrigue town is notable for its' copse of hanging trees,
players is the major challenge for the GM. where the worst criminals are put to death.!
Although there is no perfect recipe for a good The castle of Werewick, with a nearby forest
story, there are certain elements within a that is home to packs of wolves.!
story which help to improve the overall !
quality of the tale. These include having a The village of Crowleye, near to the forgotten
developed background and intriguing setting, tower of crows.!
in addition to having interesting characters.! The village of Helsown, with Helsown abbey
Although 1366 is based in a specific historical nearby.!
period, it is not meant to be absolutely The village of Netherston, where many a
realistic. To this end, the below details traveller goes to but few leave.!
provide a 'semi fictional' setting for the game. The village of Sluggesleye, surrounded by
This is intended to give GMs enough freedom marshland, with a warning fire always
to experiment and play with details, without burning atop beacon hill.!
feeling that they have to slavishly stick to The village of Swyneford, famous for its' pig
historically accurate locations and people.! and malformed animal market.!
! The village of Wychby, atop Wychby hill.!
Perhaps the first consideration when creating !
a story is to decide on where it should take There are also a number of abandoned
place. As a starting point, GMs may wish to villages, including Kenelmstowe, Haselmire
use the following information, which details and Notwyke, a number of rivers and brooks
the area of England called the Middenlands.! including the 'Stir', 'Twizzlebac' and
! 'Blacbrook', and several forests including
The Middenlands! Poachsnede and Wychby wood.!
!
The Middenlands; the (irregularly) beating
heart of 14th century England, its' gloomy,
moribund centre. !
The area known as the Middenlands
comprises many small villages, a number of
larger towns and several castles. There are
also a number of ruined buildings, such as
forgotten castles from the time of the Norman
invasion, as well as abandoned villages
following the devastation of the plague. Much
of the Middenlands is covered by dense, !
crooked forests, which can be traversed by a Settlement creation!
few meandering, overgrown paths. There are !
a number of twisting rivers in the region, and The villages, hamlets and towns frequented
hilly areas within which can be found caves by characters provide the background to
and abandoned, centuries old mines.! stories. They are a characters home base, the
! starting point and ending point of many
stories, and occasionally the focus of the story
These are some of the notable places within
the Midlands:! itself.!
! Settlements are initially defined by their size.
As a rough guide, the GM can assume that
The town of Burningham, famous for its'
markets and monthly witch burnings.! small villages (called Hamlets or Tithings)
The town of Coventree, said to be a haven for have a population of around 20 persons,
witches and sorcerers.! larger villages around 100 and towns around
!49

1000. To determine this randomly roll as Table B!
follows:! 11 Ash!
12 Beck!
Hamlet: 3d multiplied by 2!
13 Bourne!
Village: 3d multiplied by 10! 14 Bury!
Town: 3d multiplied by 100! 15 By!
In 14th century England there were also a 16 Combe!
few cities, with populations numbered in their 21 Cote!
tens of thousands. ! 22 Cott!
23 Dale!
To assist the GM with settlement names, the
24 Fell!
below tables are provided. Make an 11-66 roll 25 Field!
on table A to find the first part of the 26 Ford!
settlement name, then a second roll on table B 31 Forth!
to determine the second part of the settlement 32 Gate!
name.! 33 Ghast!
! 34 Ham!
35 Holm!
Example:" 36 Hope!
A roll of 24 on table A gives us 'Dun'. A roll of 45 on 41 Howe!
table B gives us 'Mere'. The village is thus called 42 Leigh!
'Dunmere'." 43 Low!
!
Table A!
44 Ly!
45 Mere!
11Ague! 46 Mire!
12 Black! 51 Nook!
13 Blight! 52 Nor!
14 Corpse! 53 Pit!
15 Coven! 54 Port!
16 Craven! 55 Stead!
21 Crow! 56 Swin!
22 Dead! 61 Tarn!
23 Dire! 62 Thorp!
24 Dun! 63 Tun!
25 Fester! 64 Wold!
26 Gallow! 65 Wick!
66 Worth!
31 Gor!
32 Grave! !
33 Grey! Specific locations within a story can also be
34 Grim! determined randomly. The GM should first
35 Hang! decide if the location is to be urban (locations
36 Haunt!
within a settlement), rural (locations near to a
41 Hel!
42 Hole! settlement) or wilderness (locations that are a
43 Hog! good distance from a settlement).!
44 Hook! !
45 Killin! Locations (urban)!
46 Lich! 2 Alley!
51 Marsh!
3 Church!
52 Mould!
53 Pox! 4 Dungeon!
54 Rat! 5 Graveyard!
55 Raven! 6 House!
56 Rook! 7 Inn!
61 Rotten! 8 Keep!
62 Swyne!
9 Market!
63 Thorn!
64 Trow! 10 Monastery!
65 Were! 11 Shop!
66 Wych! 12 Tavern!
!50

Location (Wilderness)! Foes: Cheap treasure!
2 Brook! !
3 Cave! 1 Bracelet (copper, wood or decorated
4 Forest! leather) worth d3 groats!
5 Grove! 2 Cloak pin or brooch (copper) worth d3
6 Hill! groats!
7 Lake! 3 Necklace (leather cord with beads or a
8 Marsh! copper medallion) worth d3 groats!
9 Mountain! 4 Pouch containing 1d groats!
10 River! 5 Ring (made from wood, copper or polished
11 Ruins! stone) worth d3 groats!
12 Woods! 6 Useful item (no treasure, but roll on the
! useful item table instead)!
Location (Rural)! !
2 Bog! Foes: Valuable treasure!
3 Cottage! !
4 Farm! 1 Bracelet (silver, gold or jewelled) worth 2d
5 Fayre! groats!
6 Field! 2 Clothing (such as jewel encrusted belt, fur
7 Grove! edged cloak, bejewelled gloves) worth 3d
8 Mill! groats!
9 Pond! 3 Necklace (silver, gold or jewelled) worth 3d
10 Spinney! groats!
11 Stream! 4 Pouch containing 3d groats!
12 Well! 5 Ring (silver, gold or jewelled) worth 2d
! groats!
Treasure! 6 Useful item (no treasure, but roll on the
! useful item table instead)!
Characters may find a variety of valuable !
items during their adventures; jewellery, Useful items!
coins, expensive clothing and elaborate !
furnishings such as silver candlesticks or 2 Adze!
tapestries. Such treasure can be traded for 3 Bag (wool)!
useful items or services when characters visit 4 Book (blank, or with only a few pages
markets and village fayres.! written on)!
! 5 Candles (tallow, d3 in a bag)!
A defeated foe can be searched for treasure, 6 Food (d3 apples in a bag, hunk of cheese,
though it should be noted that in many cases bread etc)!
this will be viewed as distasteful by any 7 Gimlet!
nearby onlookers (most people do not find 8 Nails (3d, in a pouch)!
looting the dead acceptable). ! 9 Quill and ink pot!
! 10 Rope (2d metres)!
When a foe is searched, the GM should 11 Spectacles!
decide if there is any treasure to find. If there 12 Tinderbox!
is, it can be defined as either 'cheap' or !
'valuable', depending on the wealth of the foe.! A room or particular area may also contain
! treasure, which can also be categorised as
To randomly determine the treasure found on either cheap or valuable. Obviously,
a foe, the GM can use the below tables. Roll a removing items from a persons home can be
die on the appropriate table. If the result is a viewed as theft, even if the individual is an
'useful item', roll 2d on the useful item table.! enemy, and may result in characters being
! thrown into gaol if they are caught.!
!51

! usually form part of a story, and are acquired
Although a room will often have a variety of at the culmination of the tale, following many
items within it, there will typically be only hardships. Fabulous treasures, to make them
one or two items which can be deemed as stand out and to reflect their worth, should be
being of some value. When a room is well defined. Some examples are shown
searched, the GM decides if there is treasure, below, to serve as inspiration for the GM.!
and if so if it is classified as 'cheap' or !
'valuable'. The below tables can be used if the The Crusaders Blade"
GM wishes.! This item is a beautifully crafted two handed
! sword. The pommel is decorated with a ruby,
Rooms: Cheap treasure! and hidden within the hollow hilt is the finger
! bone of a saint (Mildburh of Wenlock, a
1 Bowl, or serving plate (decorated) worth d3 prioress who, in the 8th century, was said to
groats! have performed miracles). The sword, in its'
2 Candlestick (tin or bronze) worth 1d groats! original form, is said to have been used
3 Chest (small) worth d3 groats and during the ninth crusade (around 1272),
containing a foes cheap treasure! before being mysteriously lost. The sword is
4 Cutlery (such as a decorated spoon or believed to have been 'reforged', after the
knife) worth d3 groats! remains of the weapon were found in the
5 Goblet, or mazer (decorated) worth 1d cellar of a ruined castle some 30 years
groats! previously. It was at this time that the jewel
6 Tapestry (small, worn) worth 1d groats! and relic were added.!
This weapon causes an additional point of
damage in combat (i.e; +2), and has a strength
of 20. A merchant specializing in weapons
might be willing to pay up to 150 groats for
the sword. If the hidden relic is found in the
sword hilt, the sword might also be of interest
to the church, who may pay even more for it.!
!
The Harem Anklet"
This fabulous item is a delicate silver anklet,
! shaped like an orchid which entwines the
wearers ankle. The orchid stem is decorated
Rooms: Valuable treasure!
! with tiny emeralds, and a large diamond sits
at the centre of the orchid flower.!
1 Bowl or serving plate (silver, decorated)
worth 2d groats! This treasure was a gift given by Osman,
2 Candlestick (silver, decorated) worth 2d Sultan of Anatolia, to a favoured concubine
groats! named Amina, more than 70 years ago. It was
3 Chest (decorated, small) worth 1d groats stolen by a servant, who fled west into central
and containing a foes expensive treasure! Europe. The anklet has since changed hands
4 Cutlery (silver spoon, jewelled knife etc) many times, as a succession of collectors have
worth 3d groats! sought out and acquired the treasure.!
5 Goblet, or mazer (silver, decorated) worth A unique feature of the anklet is that the
2d groats! orchid decoration can be opened, to reveal a
6 Tapestry (small, well made) worth 4d groats! small compartment beneath. In here can be
! secreted powders, scented petals or perhaps a
number of small precious stones.!
Fabulous treasures!
! The item, sold to the right collector (a very
wealthy one), would pay perhaps 300 groats
Some treasure is so valuable or unique it
counts as 'fabulous treasure'. Such items for such a prize.!
!
!52

Story seeds! 31 Cyriac Sherard!
! A ruined knight, a drunkard with a violent
To begin creating the story, the below ideas temper that commits murder. Who is willing
are provided in the form of a primary non to hunt him down?!
player character and an evocative sentence or 32 Erasmus Claypole!
two. These are intended to spark the A scholar that will use any means to obtain
imagination, to assist the GM in designing a rare books.!
fully fledged story. The story seed can be 33 Esperaunce de Hales!
determined randomly if the GM wishes; roll A knight, consumed with ambition, plotting
11-66 on the below table.! to defeat a rival and looking for spies to assist
! him.!
11 Alan Fitzpayn! 34 Folke Balinburgh!
The head of an outlaw gang, mortally A cutpurse that has stolen something he
wounded and dying on the road.! shouldn't have, and now needs help to get
12 Alex de Genney! away.!
A desperate villein that will do anything for 35 Gauwyn of Notwyke!
money. He needs help with his money making A dealer in stolen items, with a customer
scheme.! requesting an unusual item.!
13 Alianore Mulborne! 36 Gilbert Ayleward!
A scheming widow with an army of spies. She The son of a noble, a brat and a bully. He
knows what the characters are up to.! needs someone to guard him on a journey...!
14 Amphelice Huet! 41 Hewrey Le Pytton!
A cruel noble with a taste for torture. She A corrupt gaoler, willing to release a friend,
wants another victim.! for a very large sum. How will the characters
15 Anna de Wytton! obtain such funds?!
A devious esquires' wife greedy for jewels. 42 Ivo Petybon!
She needs help to acquire her latest prize.! An emotionless killer. His latest victim is
16 Arnald Oke! known to the characters, so he must be found.!
A blacksmith making shoddy weapons. Who 43 Jeffrey Bevant!
will expose him?! A callous blackmailer. His latest victim needs
21 Baldwin Swyneford! help.!
The brutish leader of a mercenary band. 44 Jon Foxcote!
Some of the mercenaries want him dead, and An assassin, highly skilled with a dagger. He
need an assassin to do the deed.! needs a distraction to kill his next target.!
22 Benedict Landelle! 45 Kateryn Rede!
An upstart young noble with a cruel streak A servant out for revenge. She needs a
and a hatred of serfs. He has put several 'special' ingredient to ruin the forthcoming
villagers to death, and must be stopped.! lavish meal.!
23 Bernard Chacer! 46 Laurence Salcok!
A monk who cares only for gold, selling A compulsive liar and foolish schemer. His
religious treasures to the highest bidder.! latest fanciful plan is doomed to failure, or
24 Bryan of Deddeleye! could it actually work..?!
A foolish merchant with a demanding wife, 51 Leonard Palton!
who hatches a scheme to pay off his debts.! A dealer in fake relics. He wants to acquire a
25 Charles Trussell! real one, and replace it with one of his fakes.!
A wandering friar with a perverse streak. His 52 Maurice Poynt!
latest escapades result in the death of a young A deranged arsonist. He must be found
woman. Who will investigate?! before the town is ruined.!
26 Constance Bitterlee! 53 Meryell Lye!
An accomplished poisoner. Her latest victim A villeins daughter that has disturbing
needs help to stop Constance before she visions. Could her latest prophecy be true?!
strikes again.! 54 Nathaniel Not!
!53

Collects eyeballs. From the living.! to choose a few areas to look into and
55 Olyver Talbot! explore. In so doing, the knowledge acquired
Head of a gang extorting money from from perusing (for example) an essay on
merchants. The merchants will pay good medieval cookery, tends to manifest as titbits
money to stop them.! of knowledge sprinkled throughout a game,
56 Pers Poley! which enhance the whole atmosphere.
Head of a group of cannibalistic farmers. Suddenly, a simple visit to an inn becomes an
Who can solve the mystery of all these interesting culinary experience, as players
disappearances?! discuss how their characters meals would
61 Powle Malgrane! taste or smell.!
A self proclaimed alchemist lusting for power. !
Can he really create gold?! To Games Master ‘medieval style’, the GM
62 Rawlin Grene! should try to counter some modern ideas of
A disease has sent him mad. He must be how the world works, and encourage the
found for his own safety.! players to do likewise. This doesn’t mean
63 Rowland Hoget! ignoring common sense or playing contrary to
A brutal strangler, killing for a few groats. the laws of nature, but it does mean that
The characters are hired to track him down.! certain perceptions and the explanations of
64 Symond of Coventree! how things work may need to be revised. A
A brutal knight plotting to kill his wife. She good example of this is in how disease is
asks the characters to protect her.! spread.!
65 Ursula Wode! In the modern era, we have a good idea of
A persecuted witch, plotting to revenge on an how most diseases work and are contracted.
abbot. Will the characters aid a witch?! In the medieval era they also had a good idea
66 Wenefride Haket! of how this worked, it just wasn’t the same. A
An ale wife with a bad temper and an axe. good GM then, will determine if a character
She decides to kill everyone that's ever catches a disease based on the actual, modern
annoyed her...! concept of the way in which it would
! function, but the rationale and the response to
The Medieval GM! it would be medieval. Thus, developing a
! fever might be attributed to astrological
There’s no reason why a GM can’t run a influences, and there is no reason why anyone
game of 1366 like any other fantasy RPG. In would normally question this. This approach
fact, as a set of fantasy RPG rules to be used means that players can hopefully still feel the
as a basis for fantasy games, GM’s may find game is realistic, but in a ‘realistically
the mechanics useful in their simplicity.! medieval’ sense rather than a modern one.!
However, 1366 was designed to facilitate !
games that allow a distinctly medieval style of For medieval information, GMs may wish to
game. The descriptions used for some aspects visit Netserf.org, which has a broad array of
of the game are there to encourage the resources available. Also useful is The-
medieval atmosphere, though some liberties Orb.net, which has some scholarly resources
have been taken for the sake of playability. on a variety of medieval topics.!
Likewise, some medieval ideas and views
(such as the concept of ‘humors’) have been
used to create or colour aspects of the game.!
For those GMs willing to jump into the
medieval genre and try to create an
experience that is more medieval than fantasy,
the best approach is to immerse oneself in all
things medieval. This doesn’t necessarily
mean having to study medieval history in
great detail, but instead GMs are encouraged
!54

Story: The Hogford Diptych! sign showing the head of a hog served on a
! silver dish, sitting atop a barrel).!
This is an introductory 1366 story in two !
parts, designed for new characters. The story The GM should describe the characters
is designed to be simple and mostly linear, to arrival at the hamlet, and perhaps allow the
provide an easy introduction into the game.! players a chance to describe their characters.
! The GM may also wish to invite the players
Part 1 involves the player characters to relate some of their characters background,
beginning in the hamlet of Hogford, where or create a tale about how they came to travel
they may purchase goods and equipment. together. The details are up to the GM and
They also get to meet Bertram, who tells the players to work out, but should include the
characters that they may find work in the common goal of travelling to seek
village of Dunfell, which is a days walk away. employment.!
This part of the story introduces the players !
to the game mechanics, encouraging tests for It is a bright but slightly overcast afternoon,
bargaining and allowing the characters to try in the spring of 1366, when the characters
their hands at combat.! enter the hamlet. As they walk into the centre
Part 2 concerns the events that occur on the the characters will see, next to the inn, a
road to Dunfell, where the characters bustling market. Here the characters will note
discover a ruined Norman castle and its' that there are quite a few stalls, some with
gruesome secret.! coloured awnings, some simple tables with a
! few wares spread upon them. Women wander
Part 1 - The hamlet of Hogford! amidst the stalls, dressed in rustic dresses in
! shades of green, russet and mustard yellow.
Hogford is a small hamlet in the midst of Men, wearing typical country tunics of coarse
dense woodland near to the Hogbrook, a brown wool, eagerly haggle with the stall
narrow brook which can on occasion can holders. Amidst the market also are
flood the nearby lowlands, when the weather entertainers; a troupe of mummers seem to be
turns bad. Hogford is home to a handful of enacting a play, using wooden swords as they
farms, and is counted as part of the lands of prance about beneath a bright awning. The
the Abbey of Dunfell, which is a village that smell of cooking and smoking embers wafts
is one days walk west of the hamlet. The from the market, as traders serve hot food to
hamlet is notable for its' monthly market, passersby.!
which sees traders from nearby towns come !
to the village, selling their wares to the hamlet The following stalls are present in the market.
residents and those who live in the outlying There is no specific layout required for the
farms within a few miles of the hamlet.! market, and the GM may determine which
The buildings of Hogford are simple thatched o n e s , a n d i n w h a t o r d e r, t h e y a r e
cottages, with a single brick building near the encountered.!
market square. This is the only inn in the !
hamlet, known as the 'Hogs head', (with a
!55

Dried fruits seller - Tomlyn the merchant sells Vegetables - Alan o' the Field sells locally
dried dates, figs and raisins. They are grown vegetables, mostly turnips, cabbage
imported, and quite expensive, at around 4 and parsnips. A large bag costs about a groat.
groats per bag (pound).! He has a sideline selling bowls of potage, a
! cauldron of which is kept warm on a small
Sharpener - Shorthose the sharpener, sharpens fire. A bowl, with a hunk of bread, costs a
all manner of tools. To have an item groat.!
sharpened costs a groat, and for weapons this !
temporarily adds 1 to the wounds caused (for Pie and bread seller - Fuldric the Porc sells
the next 1d combats). As his name suggests, cheap pies (a groat for two), and small loaves
Shorthose is by no means tall, and his baggy of bread (three for a groat). The bread is
hose is obviously too long for him.! coarse, made of poor quality flour. The pies
! are worrying, and often contain small pieces
Flour sellers - Godwin and Halbert, the sons of of black fur, or bits of gristly tail.. Fuldric is a
a local miller, sell sacks of flour (2 groats a large man that doesn't take kindly to criticism
sack). These young, burly lads are obviously of his wares, and has been known to get into a
enjoying the market, sipping ale as they tend few fights with vocal customers.!
their stall.! !
! Mummers - Throughout the day several actors
Rush seller - Piegrin sells floor rushes, for perform short plays and monologues. A
those who can't afford carpets. Rushes are a crowd favourite is their recreation of exploits
groat a sack. As his name suggests, Piegrin during the early crusades, in which the
loves pies, and has the physique to prove it.! mummers use fake blood and gore. The
! mummers make a collection from the crowds
Spice seller - Simon the salt (a hawker, see following each performance.!
below), sells imported spices. Today he has !
pepper, cinnamon, coriander and mace. These Dancing monkey - Bald Tom has a small
cost about 1d groats per small bag (or half monkey (a capuchin), kept on a dainty chain.
pound).! For a groat, he plays a flute and makes the
! monkey dance and somersault. Bald Tom
Carpenter - Johanna the carpenters wife sells keeps another monkey, called 'Lepry-Jack',
wood items, such as stools, spoons, bowls, hidden beneath his stall table. Lepry-Jack is a
cups, wood platters etc. They are crudely hideous looking, large nosed (proboscis)
made, but sturdy enough. Small items sell for monkey. Tom has trained the beast to be an
1-2 groats, larger items for around 6.! accomplished thief (see below).!
! !
Cloth trader - Eva the pin sells cheap cloth, Pie seller - Amyss the Fair is a sweet, petite
blankets and a few items of old clothing young woman who sells deliciously sweet pies
(about half the cost of new items).! made with fruit and cinnamon, and rich meat
! pies. She attracts young men, eager to see her
!56

charms, and portly men, eager to eat pies (at Charcoal seller - Gudben sells a bag containing
a groat each).! some pieces of charcoal, kindling, a few logs
! and some flint for a groat. These will make
Mushroom seller - Habgood of Hoptone (a around 6 hours worth of small fires.!
hawker, see below), is an accomplished !
forager, who spends much of his time Ale seller - Parlaroy is a short, jolly sort of
travelling. Today he happens to have an array chap who sells decent ale. He has his own
of mushrooms for sale, all very edible, at a wooden cups for those who wish to loiter near
groat a bag. Habgood has an extensive his stall to drink, but will also fill containers
knowledge of folk remedies and the like, and for those wishing to take his beer home. Beer !
is able to concoct medicines at short notice if is a groat a cup, two groats a jug.!
need be (he has the Merciful oddity). !
Habgood also has an extensive knowledge of Lock seller - Jon the Lockyer sells heavy
poisonous mushrooms.! padlocks at 6 groats each. He also has a
! supply of heavy chain, costing 2 groats a
Trinket seller - Brigida (a hawker, see below), yard.!
is from the nearby village of Rameslege. She !
sells simple jewellery, such as bead necklaces Pot seller - Pettybone the Pot makes ceramic
and rings of polished wood and copper. She bowls, jugs, jars and pots. They are well
charges 1-2 groats per item. ! made, utilitarian goods sold for 1-3 groats
! each.!
Weapon seller - Kenneth the one armed is a !
muscular man with a well trimmed beard and Fruit seller - Gilbert the Green is selling just
fine clothes. Once the favoured servant of a apples, at a groat for a bag.!
knight, his master was killed on the !
battlefields of France. Since then, Kenneth Tool seller - Alfrid the Large (he is a huge
has made a reasonable living selling sturdy man) sells simple tools, mallets, chisels, nails,
weapons. He has a collection of daggers, with saws. These are poor quality, but cheap
decorated pommels depicting stags, wolves, (about half usual cost).!
hawks and boars. He also has a few used !
arming swords. His wares sell for the usual Cushion maker - Ameline sells soft cushions,
cost, but if characters seem interested in his made from average quality cloth, and
war stories, he will give them a bargain.! decorated with simple embroidery. Small
! cushions cost 1-2 groats, larger cushions cost
Hood maker - Pontibus of Priddy sells hoods 3-4 groats.!
and wimples, some brightly decorated. They !
are cheaply made, but attractive looking, and Painter - Milus paints small wooden panels to
sell for 2 - 3 groats each.! decorate homes. His paintings are typically
! crude depictions of biblical scenes, with
Candle maker - Elda the Aged sells large tallow paintings of saints a favourite. A small
candles, ten for a groat.!
!57

painting (about 6" x 6") costs around 9 groats, appears to be a hooded child wanders, and is
larger paintings cost 24 or more.! ignored by most of the bystanders.!
! The GM should choose one character
Lamp seller - Helewis Flaxenhair (a hawker, (perhaps one that has the talent Quidnunc),
see below), sells small, ornate oil lamps for 3 and reveal to the player that his character
groats. She has a few larger lamps, suitable notices this strange child is removing the
for a large main room, for 6 groats a piece. purse from a farmer as he watches the
Helewis also keeps a selection of lamps monkey dance.!
imported from the moorish lands, which hang !
from delicate chains. These lamps are This 'child' is in fact Bald Toms trained
expensive, at 30 groats each.! monkey, 'Lepry Jack'. The beast is trained to
! remove purses and carry them behind the
Box maker - Will Nailer makes simple wooden stall, secreting them within some old sacks for
boxes and chests. A small box with lid costs 2 later collection by Tom.!
groats, a large one costs 4. Lockable chests !
cost 12, or 30 for a large linen chest.! Hopefully the character will act on seeing the
! crime. If Lepry Jack is grabbed or otherwise
Hawkers! startled, it will screech and leap, revealing its
! form (a short, hairy primate with a large
When characters are attempting to purchase nose) to the bystanders.!
items, they may wish to haggle for the best Lepry Jack is not an attractive beast, and
price. Haggling requires a test, with the talent upon seeing it several villagers will assume it
Libertine applicable. If successful, the trader is an imp or demon of some sort. A woman
will accede to the price stated by the will scream, another will swoon, and shouts of
character, as long as the amount is not less 'imp' and 'demon' will be heard.!
than 50% of the initial price. If a trader is !
noted as being a 'hawker', it is assumed they The GM should be sure to describe the
have a talent or trade useful in bargaining and creature without revealing it as a primate.
trading. Attempts to haggle with these traders Only characters with the oddity Cultured will
becomes a difficult test.! instantly recognise it as such. Otherwise,
! players may test to identify the creature, with
The appearance of the imp! the talent Sophist applicable.!
! !
The GM should allow the characters some The panicked beast will leap in the characters
time to wander the market and make direction, as it tries to exit the confused
purchases, watch the mummers and so on. crowd.!
After a while, the characters should find !
themselves at the stall of the dancing monkey, Quick acting characters can apprehend or
where a small crowd has gathered to watch disable the beast. This will cause Tom to act
the cute monkey dance to the merry tune quickly, grabbing his other monkey and
played by Bald Tom. Amidst the crowd, what attempting to escape. !
!58

Astute characters, or those players who to the village of Dunfell, where there is more
succeed with a test (Sophist applies) will chance they will find employment.!
conclude, despite the confusion, that Tom is Bertram will cover the characters lodging at
involved and give chase.! the inn for a night, and on leaving thanks
! them profusely and wishes them well. !
Lepry Jack X2, +1 bonus for defence tests and In the morning, as the characters head off, a
tests involving agility. Lepry Jacks bite steady rain begins.!
causes normal damage.! !
! Part 2 - The road to Dunfell!
Bald Tom X3, Fabulist, armed with a cudgel !
(strength 2).! The characters are walking to the village of
! Dunfell, in search of work. They are
Should the characters attempt to catch Bald travelling on a long stretch of road, having
Tom, a chase will ensue. Tom will have a 1d previously stayed at the hamlet of Hogford,
yard head start on the characters, and each which is now quite some distance behind
turn all those involved roll 2d + X for the them. !
number of yards they run. If the characters The road is especially hard going; several
get with a yard or two of Tom they may grab periods of bad weather during the last week
or attack him. A grab is a test, with have made the road muddy and strewn with
Belligerent applicable. If successful Tom will potholes and fallen branches. As the day
be restrained and immediately give up the wears on, the weather gets worse, with
chase. If a fight ensues, Tom will give in if torrential rain and high winds. Night
injured. In either case, he will plead for his approaches, and yet the characters are still
life, and promises to leave the hamlet and several hours from their destination. Their
never return. The player characters may progress is slow, and it seems that they may
allow this, or they can hand him over to face a treacherous journey in darkness and
Roger de Foile, the lords representative driving rain.!
currently visiting the market and staying at !
the inn. The farmer, who was victim to the The torrent!
theft attempt, will be sure to approach the !
characters to assist in this regard.! As the characters continue their trek on the
! sodden road, they are suddenly aware of a
If the characters resolve the situation with commotion. A short distance ahead, off into
Lepry Jack, killing or capturing the beast and the woodland, part of a hill collapses. Several
retrieving the farmers purse, he will be trees fall, and muddy water spreads onto the
grateful. The farmer is a genial old man called road ahead. Within a few seconds, the water
Bertram, and as thanks he will offer to buy becomes a torrent, which cascades down the
the characters ale and food at the Hogs Head. road and into the nearby woodland.!
Bertram will ask what the characters plan to !
do, and after chatting to them and purchasing The characters will quickly realise the torrent
them more drinks, he advises that they travel is heading towards them.!
!59

The GM should point out that there is an area is becoming very dangerous, and likely to
of high ground, a small hillock, just 20 yards lead to an accident or illness. !
away that would afford protection against the !
torrent.! The building!
! !
Moving towards the hillock, through the Getting to the building requires the
water and mud, is possible at the rate of 1d3 + characters clamber up a muddy bank, and
X yards per turn. However, each turn prior to traipse through sodden undergrowth, but is
movement a test is required to either dodge or otherwise easy to reach.!
stand against the torrent. The talent Motley is The building looks abandoned and
applicable if characters choose to dodge the overgrown, but appears at least to have a roof
torrent, and Belligerent if they choose to and so a place to shelter and perhaps build a
stand against it.! fire. It appears to be made of large stone
! blocks, now quite worn. The structure is
Each successful test allows the characters to roughly rectangular, and seems to have
move towards the hill.! another section of stone work connected to it,
Each failure means the character is swept 1d3 which is now collapsed.!
yards away. In addition, a roll on the ill news The building is in fact part of an old Norman
table is required.! castle. Previously, the rectangular building
If a player rolls a 6 for this test, his character would have been connected to a circular
also suffers a point of damage from falling tower, but this has now collapsed. The stones
and being swept across the road.! from the tower are barely visible amidst the
! undergrowth, so it is now hard to discern its'
The torrent subsides after 10 turns, becoming original purpose. !
a steady stream of muddy water on the road.! If the GM wishes, players can make a test to
! determine the above information, with the
With the collapse of the hill, quite a few trees talent Sophist applicable.!
have fallen, opening up what is normally a !
dense area of woodland at the side of the From the outside, there appears to be just one
road. Beyond the collapsed trees, the entrance to the building, an archway now
characters will be able to see what appears to overgrown with weeds and trailing bushes.
be a building of some sort. The building is The area of the building which used to adjoin
normally hidden amidst the trees, but has the collapsed tower is now obscured and
now become visible (though barely, since blocked by rubble, earth and undergrowth.!
night approaches and there is little light from !
the black clouded sky).! To get through the archway, characters will
! have to spend a minute or so cutting and
The characters should deem the building removing some branches, but it is not a
suitable for investigation. If necessary, the difficult task to do so.!
GM can encourage the players by hinting !
that continued travel in the rain and darkness !
!60

The first room! The second room!
! !
The archway leads to a large room. The floor The second room is accessed via a rotten
is earth, and to the left the characters may be door. It is slightly raised, hence the few steps
able to make out a raised stone platform, with to the door in the first room. The door can be
pieces of rusty metal and chain on it. This was easily pushed open, and falls away from one
once a hearth, but part of the chimney has of its hinges as it is moved.!
collapsed leaving rubble where once there This room is vary dark, there being little light
would have been space for a fire. In the leaking into the place from outside. Without a
dimness of the room, the characters may also light source or the oddity Feral, characters
discern some piles of wood (now quite rotten will simply be able to make out that it appears
and brittle), and some more pieces of rusty to be a larger room than the first one, with
metal. Opposite the hearth is a small set of what appear to be boxes and bottles at the far
stone steps, no more than six, leading to a end. With light, the characters will see that it
small wooden door.! is a wide, timber floored room with shelving,
! barrels, boxes and bottles upon the shelves.
This room is mostly dry, and will at least There is a rack of implements of some sort at
allow characters to rest a while should they the far end of the room, and an old iron
wish to. The open entrance does allow a cold, candle holder with the remnants of candle
damp draught to enter the room however, and stubs still present hanging from a chain in the
lighting a fire or torches will be troublesome centre of the room.!
(a difficult test to do so).! !
! Astute characters may well test the floor of
If the characters do light the area, or one of the room, noting that the timbers in this
the characters has the Feral oddity, building are rotten. The GM can allow a test,
rummaging around the place will reveal some with a trade such as carpenter useful, and if
old kitchen tools useable as weapons should successful the character will judge that the
the characters need them. There is a rusty timbers nearest the door are safe, but others
cleaver (strength 2), some brittle chain may be less so.!
(strength 1) and an old poker (strength 2). !
There's also enough rotten wood to start a fire The boxes and barrels can be hacked open
that will last for about an hour.! easily. Whatever was in the boxes and barrels
Note that once the characters begin has long since perished. There are around 20
disturbing the area, the resident insects will bottles of wine in the room however, and
appear. These include some large spiders, these will still be drinkable on a roll of 1-3 on
woodlice and worms, harmless but distasteful 1d. A successful test will allow a character to
to the more 'delicate' characters.! estimate the value of the wine at around 10
! -20 groats per bottle (this is, after all, now
! vintage Rhineland wine).!
! !
!
!61

To get access to the wine bottles, or to see The torrential rain has caused underground
what items are on the rack at the far end of flooding, which has disturbed the rat burrows
the room, the characters need to move some in the area. The rats have swarmed,
crates. Moving any one of them will have an desperately attempting to find a place of
immediate effect however, since any safety. The rats have made it to this dungeon,
movement will jar the chain holding the iron and are now scurrying about looking for
candle holder, which will drop.! another escape route. !
! !
Any weight applied to the centre of the floor, The characters will quickly realise there are
either from a character moving to the far end lots of rats, and that they are very agitated.
of the room, or from a falling heavy iron Characters in the dungeon will have to fight
object, will cause the floor to collapse. When their way to the opening, as the rats run at
the central floorboards give in, the rest of the and bite them. Any characters left in the room
floor rapidly follows. All characters in the above, that somehow managed to avoid
room should make a test, with the talent falling through, will see the perilous situation
Motley applicable.! their fellows are in. Attempts to try and help
Those that succeed fall through the floor, but the characters from above, by lowering ropes
land relatively unscathed (roll on the ill news for example, will take time to prepare and
table).! expose the characters to several turns of rat
Those that fail fall through the floor and attacks.!
suffer a point of damage, plus a roll on the ill !
news table.! Rat X1, +1 to attack tests, bite causes normal
Only characters whose player rolled a 1 on damage plus test to avoid a minor illness.!
the test can manage to grab onto the
!
Each turn, all characters in the dungeon are
remaining fragments of floorboard to stop attacked by 1d rats. Characters attempting to
themselves falling.! climb out of the room may not defend against
! rat attacks. To climb out, back up to the
collapsed floor, requires two successful tests.
The dungeon!
Both tests are difficult, with the talent Motley
! applicable. Failure of either test causes the
The area some 3 yards below the second room character to fall back into the dungeon (roll
is square, and seems to be partially flooded on the ill news table).!
with several inches of muddy water collecting
!
The gaolers room!
on one side. There is an opening at one end, !
minus a door, and water seeping through The opening in the dungeon leads to a short
cracks in the walls. Some old iron rings are corridor, beyond which is the gaolers room.
The entrance to the room was once a sturdy
attached to the wall, but otherwise the room
iron banded wooden door, which the passage
is bare. More disturbingly, the earth floor and of time has weakened considerably. A
pool of muddy water seems to be character should be able to open the door
moving; ...the place is filled with rats...! with a single shove, to reveal a small room
! beyond.!
!
!
!62

Note that unless the characters attempt to The occupant!
block the opening with the remains of the !
door, 1d rats will appear through the door This poor soul (whose name is actually
each turn.! Matthew) is the victim of leprosy, and dwells
! with the caves with other sufferers. The leper
Within the gaolers room there are the remains family has been here for decades, and
of old pieces of furniture (a chair, table and members have begun to interbreed. The
bits of a collapsed shelf), all too brittle to be degeneracy is evident in the younger
used. Hanging from wall brackets are a members of the community, who lack the
selection of rotten iron banded wooden intellect of their parents, and who appear
cudgels (strength 1) and bits of leather (the even more deformed than their leprosy alone
remains of a whip). There is a small door could account for. The degenerate family feed
opposite the entrance to the room, which on rats, captured dogs and more disturbingly,
leads to the cellar. Strangely, the door seems ambushed travellers or their own family
quite sturdy, appearing to have been repaired (when times are especially hard).!
several times. It is not locked however.! !
! Matthew the cellar occupant: X3, Rapscallion,
The cellar! Shadowed, armed with a cleaver (strength 2).!
! !
On opening the door to the cellar, the Matthews leprosy is barely contagious,
characters will immediately note an obvious though the player characters may believe
difference between this room and the others; otherwise. At the start of combat, the GM
it is lit by a tallow candle placed in an alcove. should ensure each player checks for
The room is wide, and bare apart from three immunity for their character without
crude tables in the centre of the room. The revealing what the test is for (which serves to
tables are a gruesome sight; they are covered increase the tension). Once combat has
in blood and bits of flesh. Beneath them, finished, checks should be made to see if any
pools of congealed blood make the earth floor of the characters have contracted the disease.!
sticky. Part of a wall in the room has Matthew is somewhat dimwitted, and fast
collapsed, revealing a cave opening beyond. acting characters could feasibly persuade him
There are also a set of stone stairs in the to halt his attack, especially if they offer
room, leading up. At the top of the stairs is a Matthew something of interest (food, or an
pile of rubble; this was once the exit to the interesting object of some kind).!
castle rooms above, but is now completely !
blocked.!
!
This room is occupied by a single presence.!
!
The cellar occupant is a hunched and hooded
figure, dressed in ragged sack clothing. The
hands of the figure are wrapped in blood
stained bandages, and the shadowy face of
the figure appears to be grotesquely
deformed. When the occupant catches sight
of the characters, it lets out a macabre moan,
and points a rusty meat cleaver towards them, !
before shambling forward to attack.! !
! !
! !
! !
! !
!
!63

The cave! The lepers!
! !
Beyond the collapsed wall of the cellar is a There are several members of the degenerate
small cave. This cave is small, with a low leper family in the cave, lounging near the
ceiling and an uneven floor. Areas of rubble, small fire. On seeing the characters, they will
debris, rubbish and bone are dotted about the react with anger and fear (since they will
cave, and the place smells of refuse. As assume the characters are hunting them for
characters make their way into the area, have their previous crimes).!
each of them make a test (Mortal applies). !
Those that fail stumble, and a roll on the ill Athelstan: X4, Pestilential, armed with a
news table should be made. In addition, the carving knife (strength 2).!
character will cause one of the following to Athelstan is a tall man of 30 years, dressed in
occur (roll a die once for each character that filthy rags. His matted beard is stained red
fails the test):! with blood.!
! !
1 The character steps on a sack which splits Eric: X3, Purloiner, armed with a cudgel
open, revealing rotting, bloodied flesh.! (strength 1).!
2 A large spider (harmless) drops onto the Eric is a young cadaverous looking man that
character.! drags his right leg when moving. His scrawny
3 A rat runs squealing out of a rubbish pile.! limbs appear twisted and gnarled.!
4 Rubble falls from the wall, allowing a pile of !
previously concealed skulls to tumble out Kirf: X3, Bodkin, armed with several rocks
onto the floor.! for throwing, unarmed in melee combat.!
5 A skeleton falls from a pile of refuse, Kirf is wrapped in grubby rags, so that only
scattering bits of bone over the floor.! his eyes are visible. He will avoid close
6 A skull falls from an alcove onto the combat, and throw rocks from a distance. If
character, before clattering to the floor.! attacked, he will try to flee.!
! !
There is a short passage leading from the Mary: X2, Fabulist, armed with a bone cudgel
cave, which opens into a cavern.! (strength 1).!
! Mary is a pallid young woman, with a
The cavern! grotesque, noseless face and leering eyes. She
! will defend herself if attacked, but will
This is a large cave with crude stone steps at otherwise attempt to hide.!
the far end, which lead to a thin stone slab. !
The slab hides the exit to the woodland Maud: X3, Crazed, unarmed.!
beyond, at the side of a hill some ten yards Maud is a woman of around 40 years, dressed
from the castle ruins.! in a ragged dress and filthy scarf. She has a
Within the cavern the area is lit by several crazed look to her, and will eagerly attack the
lamps, perched on top of stone blocks. About characters, using her claw like fingernails to
the cavern are utilitarian furnishings; stools, a scratch at them.!
few tables and straw mattresses atop stone !
ledges.! Ulfric: X3, unarmed.!
In the centre is a small fire, and an old Ulfric is a young idiot lad, dressed in a sack.
cauldron hangs above it. Nearby, there is a His head appears bulbous and overly large,
bloodied stone slab upon which are and he walks with a stooped gait. Ulfric will
unidentifiable bits of meat.! stand confused until attacked, or until
! ordered to fight by one of the others.!
! !
! !
!
!
!64

To a v o i d t h e c h a r a c t e r s b e c o m i n g !
overwhelmed, the GM can assume the By the time the characters emerge from the
number of NPCs that will attack equals the cavern, the weather has improved. It is a few
number of player characters +1. The hours until dawn, and the characters may rest
remainder will either hide, or attempt to before continuing their journey to Dunfell.!
escape.! !
! This is the end of the short story, but could be
If the player characters attempt to parley, the starting point for further adventures in
Athelstan may well listen to any assurances the village of Dunfell.!
the characters give, but will ultimately need !
to be bribed in some manner (his interests lie !
in foods and useful goods, such as tools,
weapons and furnishings). Maud is unhinged,
and unless the characters make efforts to calm
her, she will attack. Once she does so, others
will join in.!
!
If a fight ensues, the characters will need to
either kill or disable their assailants, or flee
via the cavern slab exit. In the latter case, the
lepers will do their utmost to stop them from
escaping unless persuaded to allow the
characters to go (again, using a bribe).! !
! !
Trinkets! !
! !
If the cavern is searched, the characters will !
find odd valuables hidden under the !
mattresses. To discover each of the below !
items a test is required, with Quidnunc !
applicable. Each player may make a test:! !
! !
a) A battered, small silver box. Within are a !
collection of small rings (roll 2d3). The rings !
are silver, some plain, some engraved with !
simple designs. The box is worth 10 groats, !
15 groats if cleaned. The rings are worth 2d3 !
groats each.! !
b) A brooch, shaped like a hare. This is !
grubby and tarnished, but if cleaned is !
revealed to be gold and worth 24 groats.! !
c) A pouch of 3d groats.! !
d) A pair of spectacles. They grant a +1 to !
tests involving close scrutiny (such as !
examining faded parchment, looking for small !
traps etc).! !
e) Several old coins (roll 3d). These coins are !
a few centuries old, and of interest to a !
scholar who will pay 2 groats for each one. !
Otherwise, a trader might be persuaded to !
treat them as legal tender, treating them as !
worth 1 groat each.! !
!65

Story - The Dunfell Nuncheon! unexceptional people whose only skills are
! those associated with their trade. The GM
This story is in effect two short tales, each may therefore assume villagers have
occurring in or around the village of Dunfell, experience scores of either 2 or 3, and a single
and with the underlying theme of food.! trade (such as 'farmer', 'innkeeper', 'servant'
The first tale, 'Tansy Cake', is a simple story and so on). The exceptions to this are noted
in which the player characters must search in the below descriptions.!
the village for signs of a rare herb, stolen from !
the abbey gardens by a villager.! The Cross!
The second tale, 'Saracens Bruet', is a short !
but dangerous encounter with outlaws whose At the centre of the village there is a small
leader is a mysterious figure known as 'the hillock, upon which is a worn stone cross,
Saracen'.! which leans to one side and is overgrown with
! weeds. Surrounding this hillock are the few
Dunfell! shops and businesses that may be found in the
! village.!
Dunfell is a village of roughly 100 persons, on !
the outskirts of Bogs Wood, a small area of The Farmers!
decidedly muddy forest. Near to Dunfell is !
the smaller village of Helsown, and near to There are several local farmers with cottages
that is Helsown Abbey, whose abbot is the near to the village. These include:!
mysterious Richard de Hale. Both Dunfell !
and Helsown are included in the properties Aelfred Dunfel, an aged, grey haired farmer
owned by the abbey, which means the rarely from one of the oldest families in the area. He
seen abbot is effectively the lord of the has a skinny son called Bertram, who is
villages (as well as much of the surrounding somewhat dimwitted. Aelfred's wife is Agnes,
locale). The village lies within the a large woman with a fiery nature.!
Middenlands, roughly a days walk from the !
nearby village of Hogford.! Halloc, a sturdy looking man who frequents
! the inn. He is unmarried, and uses hired
The buildings of Dunfell are mostly labourers to help on his farm.!
dilapidated thatched cottages, with crumbling !
wattle and daub walls and musty, rush strewn John the Hay, a handsome, flaxen haired
floors. There are also number of larger man. He is good natured, honest and gullible.
buildings, the homes of the wealthier John will always try to be welcoming to
villagers, and these are constructed from visitors, though he can offer them little. John
stone. The pervasive dampness of the area has a wife called May, a diminutive young
encourages lichen and mould, which coats the woman. She is a terrible cook.!
stone walls of these buildings and colours !
them black. ! Rosa, a tall, dark skinned woman. Rosa lives
There are two drinking establishments in the alone, after her husband Robert died at the
village; a small inn called The Last Groat, and hands of thieves (who were never caught).
a cottage which serves as an alternative She was born in England, but her mother
drinking den, known locally as the Skinned came from the Holy Lands. Rosa now farms
Cat (on account of the cat skin hung on the her small plot alone, and keeps a few chickens
door to the cottage).! so that she can sell eggs at the market.!
! !
Villagers! !
! The Guildhall!
The villagers of Dunfell are typical of those !
persons found in most villages throughout This wide, squat building serves as a meeting
Medieval England; average and place for the villagers. It is also used for any
!66

local courts which are required to be held, Waldings wife is Gylda Dun, a hawk like
and functions as the focal point for travelling woman with stringy grey hair. Gylda stalks
merchants. The monthly market is held in a the inn keeping an eye on the guests, as well
clearing next to the guildhall.! as her husband. There is little love between
The resident and caretaker of the hall is Old husband and wife; Gylda believes her
Reynold, a withered old man that functions as husband is idle and needs constant
the Abbots manciple, his steward, in addition instruction. She is thus often seen urging her
to his caretaker role. Reynold is also husband to some new task, such as checking
responsible for organising the monthly the ale, ordering goods, checking stock or
market, and collects the 'stallage' (a fee paid organising the servants.!
to be allowed to have a stall at the market) !
from the traders. ! There are three servants at the inn:!
Reynold is contemptuous of most of the Emelot is the daughter of Gylda and Walding,
villagers, considering himself far more and serves the ale and food, when not
important. He attempts to portray himself as cleaning the rooms. Emelot is a thin girl with
educated, though he is in fact quite ignorant dark hair and staring eyes. She says little, and
of the outside world, and only barely literate.! when not working can often be found
! wandering aimlessly, or else staring at people.
The Last Groat! Though a little strange, Emelot is an amiable
! girl. She occasionally visits Goda, mother of
The Last Groat inn, with a sign showing a the Philip the smith, who teaches Emelot
purse and a single groat, is situated near to about herbs and herbal remedies.!
the village cross. There is a bar area, a dining Turbert is a chubby cook, barely twenty years
hall (a narrow room with a single long table) old, but quite skilled nonetheless. He is
and a small pantry and kitchen to the rear. regularly frustrated by the poor ingredients
Next to the pantry are two small guest rooms, his master purchases, and this is the reason he
which serve both as store rooms and guest is often ill tempered and muttering to himself. !
rooms for female visitors, or those paying a Young Hamo tends the stables, chops wood
little extra for privacy. There is a separate and deals with the outhouse toilet (a barrel,
building next to the inn where some of the ale which needs emptying every day or two).
is brewed, and a small stable area is located at He's a good natured lad, hard working, but
the rear of the inn. The upper floor of the inn about as smart as the innkeepers dog
has a communal room for male visitors that ('Talbot', who drinks from the outhouse).!
can't afford a private room, which contains a !
few blankets. There are also separate rooms The Miller!
for the innkeeper, his wife and his daughter.! !
! At the end of a muddy path leading from the
The communal room costs a groat a night, hillock is the village mill, a crumbling stone
and currently has only one occupant (farmer built building. Morys Habcock is the miller of
Toby Welkes). The more comfortable guest Dunfell. He is a rotund man, ruddy of face,
rooms cost three groats a night, but these are who sports a large wart on his nose. Morys
currently occupied by guests (Masina the likes to drink, and can usually be found in the
Florentine, and Solomon the mercer - see inn. He is known amongst the locals for his
below).! frequent bouts of inebriation, and is openly
! blasphemous during these times. Morys
The innkeeper is Walding Dun, a tall middle resents the wealth of others, especially the
aged man with thin limbs that seem church, and finds this difficult to hide when
incongruous with his barrel like torso. He is drunk. His wife, Margry, is a sickly woman
bald, has a long beard and bushy eyebrows. with an unhealthy pallor, whose skin has a
Although courteous, Walding usually appears greenish hue (which matches the stains from
rushed and distracted, and so manages to also her cheap copper jewellery).!
seem rude and disinterested.! !
!67

The Pardoner! years, who dreams of a life in far off lands,
! and finds Dunfell to be a dreary place.!
On the same path as that of the miller is the !
small, grubby cottage of the pardoner. This is The Skinned Cat!
Walter Noster, a flatulent, red cheeked man !
who wears an old cassock. Walter is a This cottage is situated on the village
mercenary soul, who cares only for money. outskirts, next to the muddy road leading out
He sells poorly made 'relics', including of the village. The place is old, and the walls
souvenirs of pilgrimages to Kenelmstowe of the cottage lean to one side as a result of
(clay tablets with a crude drawing of St rotting timbers. Hanging from the door to the
Kenelm on), bits of bones from various saints cottage is a mouldy cat skin. This is the
(mostly pig bones), and scraps of vellum with remains of 'Old Batey', a cat that proved to be
'indulgences' on them. These indulgences, a useless rat catcher. The owner of the
written in poor Latin, promise the purchaser cottage, ale wife Gudytha, overrun with rats
that his sins will be pardoned, though not in her brew house, finally decided to rid
totally forgiven, and generally cover a herself of the useless and cantankerous cat.
specified period (such as the previous The cat skin hangs on her door, a reminder to
month). Walter has a secret agreement with others that the ale wife is a woman not to be
an abbey monk called Sigbert; he will trifled with. She now has a new cat, an
purchase his indulgences from him (which are irritable thing called 'Old Nick'.!
penned by Brother Sigbert), and will also Gudytha is a handsome woman in her thirties,
give the him a cut of the profits for those he widowed more than ten years previously. She
sells. Walter is something of a salesman, and makes a reasonable living brewing her ales,
promises his customers far more than the which have gained a good reputation in the
indulgences actually offer, including total area. Each evening, she opens her cottage
absolution from sin, and immunity from door to visitors. Some stay for a tankard or
purgatory.! two, others fill up a jug and take the ale home.
Walter is rarely at home; he spends a lot of Gudytha is helped out by a young girl called
time wandering the district selling his Emoni, the daughter of Godwin the shoe
pardons.! trader.!
! !
The Shoemaker! The Smith!
! !
The ramshackle cottage near to the Guildhall In the centre of the village, near to the village
is the home of Barlett the shoemaker. Barlett cross, is the smithy. The place is a simple
is a small man with a needle like nose and cottage, with a small timber workshop next to
pallid skin. Barlett makes comfortable, good it. Here, 'Ruddy Philip' can be found,
quality shoes and boots. Once per month, he working on tools or hammering horseshoes.
is visited by his business partner Godwin, Ruddy Philip, known to some simply as
who collects stock ready for sale at various 'Rud', is a young man who looks barely old
markets in the region. ! enough to be a smith. He is tall, with red hair
Barlett is a man of habit, and visits the inn and a freckled, red hued face (hence the
every evening, where he drinks no more than nickname). Philip's father, the previous
two tankards of ale. Godwin, a former village smith, died from an unknown disease a
resident of Hogford, sold his cottage after the few years ago. Philip took over the workshop,
death of his wife. He now lives on the road, though he hasn't finished his apprenticeship
and occasionally lodges with Barlett. Godwin and is thus only barely competent as a smith.
has a daughter, Emoni, who lives with Philip lives with his mother, Goda. Goda is a
Gudytha the ale wife, and helps out both at slender woman in her forties, with long red
the Skinned Cat and the shoemakers. Emoni hair which she wears in the 'ramshorn' style.
is a skinny, forlorn looking girl of just 13 Goda is a shrewd woman with a knowledge of
herbal remedies and a talent for growing. She
!68

keeps a garden at the rear of the smithy, and, most famously, getting so drunk he
which boasts the best collection of vegetables ended up in bed with a boar. This latter tale
and herbs in the village. Goda is the person to will be gleefully recounted by any of the
go to if injured or unwell; she has a reputation villagers in the inn (see below).!
as a skilled healer (much to the chagrin of the The cottage is now in a woeful state of
abbey monks, who try to pass themselves off disrepair, it is devoid of furnishings, has a
as the only authority in medical matters, and leaky roof and no doors. The cottage is owned
view village 'wise women' with suspicion). by the Abbey, who are attempting to sell the
Goda treats villagers for free, but may charge place (for 180 groats, or £3)!
a visitor a groat or two should they require !
treatment. ! The Woodcutter!
Goda has X3 and the trade !
'apothecar' (reflecting her botanical and The woodcutters cottage lies on the outskirts
medical knowledge). She has the oddity of the village, a few minutes walk from the
'Merciful'.! cross. The cottage is gloomy and dark, and
Ruddy Philip has X2, the talent 'Belligerent' surrounded by weeds.!
and the trade 'smith'. Philip carries a hammer Olever Dray is the woodcutter; a tall, wiry
(strength 4).! man with stringy brown hair and a pock
! marked face. He supplies kindling, firewood,
The Tanner! rushes and timber to the wealthier villagers,
! and has permission from the Abbey to chop
Henry de Gris is the village tanner. He is down trees in the local woodland (a privilege
short, stocky and bearded, and wears a for which Olever must pay a bribe to Brother
stained apron over a grubby brown tunic. His Sigbert, one of the abbey monks). Some of
workshop lies at the bottom of a broad ditch a this timber is used by the craftsmen of
few minutes walk from the village cross. The Helsown Abbey, who make furniture. This
place is a rotting timber structure, which furniture is then sold at various town
stinks of decaying animal carcasses and skins. markets, to help with the Abbey finances. !
Henry is a crude, boorish and vulgar man Olever is a quiet man, with a barely hidden
who enjoys making lewd remarks to women, sadistic temperament. When not chopping
and who will take any opportunity to grab wood, he wanders the forest in search of
and grope at them. Henry used to have a small animals, which he traps in his snares.
wife, but she ran away from him several years He returns home with these animals, and for
ago and hasn't been seen since.! fun kills them slowly by dissecting them,
It is quite possible that the characters will get before cooking the remains. He is regularly
into a fight with Henry at some point, since visited by Brother Sigbert, a greedy monk of
he is a truly obnoxious man. Henry has X3, questionable morals. On occasion, the pair
the trade 'tanner' and carries a vicious visit the Skinned Cat (Brother Sigbert likes
looking tanning knife (strength 3).! to ogle Gudytha the ale wife), though when
! alone Olever is more likely to visit the inn,
The Thatcher! which he prefers.!
! Olever has X3, the trade
The cottage next to the Skinned Cat is empty. 'woodsman' (reflecting his knowledge of the
It was once the home of Hugh the thatcher, woods and its' fauna), and the talent Bodkin.
who died several years ago from a disease Olever routinely carries a worn, well used axe
which turned his leg black and pustulent (the (strength 3). In his cottage, he has a longbow
result of treading on a filthy nail). In life, (strength 3) and two dozen arrows.!
Hugh was one of those people who seemed to !
experience one unfortunate event after !
another. These include; getting his head stuck !
in a fence he attempted to peer through, !
setting alight his hose during a village fayre !
!69

The first tale - Tansy Cake! pig skin fried in pig fat, served on a piece of
! crusty bread.!
A tansy cake was a sort of medieval pancake ~ Pies dinner. This is a large meal, consisting
flavoured with the herb tansy." of several courses, including a pie made from
! roasted pork and figs, a pastry stuffed with
This story takes place when the characters mashed turnip and onions, a watery broth,
have only recently arrived in the village, bread served with almond milk and sweet
having been delayed in their journey due to wafers served with roasted pears. This meal
recent bad weather, which has made the usual costs three groats.!
roads difficult to travel upon. The 'Hogford !
Diptych' is thus a suitable prequel to this When the characters are at the inn, the
story.! following customers will usually be present:!
! !
The characters are staying at the local inn, Barlett, the shoemaker. !
known as 'The Last Groat', and may enjoy an See the entry for the shoemaker, above. !
evening of good ale and food. The following !
are the delights of The Last Groat:! Halloc, a local farmer. !
! Halloc is a large, muscular man, who often
~ An ale known to the locals as 'the quarter takes his evening meal at the inn, before
groat', since a tankard costs a penny (and drinking copious amounts of ale. Halloc tends
there are four pennies to a groat). This ale is to turn every conversation into an anecdote
mild, light and sweet, though a little watery.! about farming; 'You've come from Hogford
~ An ale known as 'boar in a bed'. This ale is you say? Always think of pigs when someone
dark, dry and strong. If the characters ask talks of Hogford. I've a few pigs at the farm,
about the name, the locals will tell the tale of fine beasts they are. I can spot a good pig, the
'Hugh the thatcher', who drank too much of secret is to look at the snout. Eat anything
the ale one night, and woke the next day in will pigs, though you should watch 'em with
bed with a boar. To this day, no one can oats. Bloats 'em it does. Terrible wind it gives
explain how the beast got into his bed, or 'em. You can't grow decent oats 'round 'ere.
where it came from. Sadly, Hugh died several It's the soil. Now, let me tell you about the
years ago, so cannot elaborate on the tale. soil...'!
The villagers ate the boar and named the ale !
after the event.! Henry, the tanner. !
~ Peas frumenty. This is a frumenty (a wheat See the entry for the tanner, above.!
porridge) to which is added boiled peas and !
cabbage. This is a hearty, though somewhat Masina the Florentine. !
bland meal, costing half a groat.! This mysterious woman is currently staying
~ Sop verjuice. A meal of bread scraps within the small guest room of the inn, with
(mostly a little stale) served with a sour green her servant Adalina. Masina dresses in dark
dipping sauce (verjuice), made from unripe clothes, which appear to be well made. Her
fruit, sorrel and other herbs. Costs a penny, bearing is noble, and her dark hair and eyes
so is popular with poor travellers.! give her the appearance of someone with
~ Whey sop. Buttermilk poured over bread southern European origins. When she
scraps, with watery whey cheese piled on top. speaks, it is to give whispered instructions to
This is a creamy dish, filling and good value her servant. She is typically seen reading
at half a groat.! from a small, ornately decorated book. If
~ Hog nuncheon. A nuncheon is the medieval spoken to, Adalina will answer on her
version of a snack, a tasty morsel eaten mistresses behalf. Adalina explains that her
between meals. In this case, the inn mistress is from the city state of Florence
occasionally serves 'hog nuncheons'. For half (Italy is not a unified country at this time).
a groat, you get 'scratchings', bits of greasy Her mistress speaks no English, though is
fluent in Latin and French in addition to her
!70

native tongue. Masina is on a pilgrimage of Tom Ploughman. !
various sites throughout England, and is in Tom is a wandering ploughman and
the area to visit nearby Kenelmstowe, site of farmhand. He works at various farms in the
the holy spring (the water of which cures area, travelling to wherever the work is. He is
sight problems, so it is said). Masina suffers currently working for Halloc, and takes part
from colour blindness, and hopes this visit of his wage as a meal and a few ales at the
may improve her sight problem. ! inn. Tom is a rugged looking man, with
Adalina is a young, naive girl that misses the weathered features and a jagged scar on his
luxuries of Florence, and hates the cold and right cheek. Tom says he got this as a child,
damp of England. She has a good command when he fell from an apple tree. In fact, the
of the English language.! scar is from a sword blow, which Tom
! received when he was discovered attempting
Morys, the miller. ! to steal silverware from the home of a wealthy
See the entry for the miller, above.! merchant. Tom barely escaped, and in
! addition to the facial scar has another long
Solomon the Mercer. ! scar across his stomach. Any player character
Solomon is a Jewish mercer, who has that has suffered a sword wound may be
travelled to the area looking for a suitable allowed a test to identify the weapon that
location as a site for his new business caused the facial scar.!
premises. Currently, Solomon has a business !
based in the town of Burningham, and is Evening in the inn!
hoping to expand by selling cloth in other !
parts of the Middenlands. Solomon is a short, The GM may wish to begin the story as the
stocky man notable for his fine clothes, which characters arrive at the inn. It will be early
are clearly made from the best cloth. He has evening, and the bar will be a welcome sight
been forced to stay at the inn following the after a day of walking on muddy roads. In
recent bad weather, but intends to carry on this part of the inn, there are several sturdy
towards the town of Deddeleye in the next tables and benches, plus a few box chairs
day or so. Solomon is travelling with his with straw filled cushions on them. At one
clerk, known as 'Quill', a greasy weasel of a end there is a large hearth with a few logs
man with small eyes and lank black hair. burning, and a nearby archway leads to a
Quill wears wooden framed spectacles, which dining hall within which the characters will
are an unusual sight for most people, and be able to see a large wooden chandelier hung
which make his rat like eyes appear to over a long dining table. The place smells of
become grotesquely large. Quill is good with smoke from the burning logs, mingled with
numbers, but is otherwise a despicable soul the aroma of bubbling frumenty and pastry,
with secret ambitions to take over the emanating from the kitchen.!
business from his master.! !
! An encounter with Old Reynold!
Toby Welkes, a travelling farmer. ! !
Toby is a wealthy farmer, with a good deal of During their first night in the village, the
land and many sheep. He deals in wool, and player characters will notice several visitors
has made a good profit from his trading. Toby to the inn. In particular, they will see Old
is a large man, who believes every meal Reynold talking with Walding, the innkeeper.
should involve at least five courses. When As Reynold turns to leave, he notices the
eating his elaborate meals, Toby visibly characters, and after a moments pause will
perspires, as if he were doing something far approach them. Reynold will introduce
more strenuous than filling his face.! himself, using a somewhat pompous tone, and
Toby is travelling from his lands near the will expect the characters to introduce
town of Coventree to the town of Deddeleye, themselves in turn. Reynold will enquire as to
where he will arrange the purchase of more their business; where they have come from,
sheep. ! where they are going and so on. !
!71

Reynold might also ask them personal details The herb!
such as their employment, their current !
income etc. His questions will no doubt seem Known as Tansywort, the herb is very rare in
a little intrusive, and if queried Reynold will the area, usually growing only in
state that there are thieves in the area, and he mountainous regions. It grows as a small
is just making sure his village is protected bush, with yellow leaves. The herb can be
from persons of ill repute (see 'Saracens used, in small quantities, to flavour foods,
Bruet', below).! giving them a bitter citrus taste. It is also
Should the characters take offence or useable as a dye, giving cloth a pale yellow
challenge Reynold in any way, he will quickly hue. However, in concentrated doses (after
adopt a placatory tone, and will apologise to having been prepared correctly), the herb is
the characters if necessary. Eventually, poisonous, causing violent stomach cramps
Reynold will depart, leaving the characters to and other symptoms similar to those exhibited
enjoy the rest of their evening.! for food poisoning. With the right dose, it can
! kill, though only the most learned of persons
Old Reynold appears again later. During the will know of this secret use. !
intervening period, the characters might wish Old Reynold knows only what the herb looks
to sample the local ale, and perhaps eat a like, that it is rare in this area, and that it is
meal. There are various inn regulars that used to flavour certain fine foods. There are
might strike up a conversation with the just two small Tansywort bushes in the Abbey
characters, and this would be a good time for garden.!
the GM to introduce one or two of the more !
unusual persons in the village.! Searching for the herb!
! !
An offer of employment! Old Reynold suggests the characters
! discretely search the sheds, huts and
Old Reynold seeks out the characters later in outhouses of the various buildings in the
the evening. He explains that he would like a village. He may also suggest talking to the
quiet word with them, and leads them to a villagers, though warns the characters that
secluded inn table or other quiet spot.! overtly suggesting that there is a thief in the
Reynold explains that he is employed by the village may not go down too well.!
Abbot, and currently has a task which !
requires some discretion.! Should the player characters make detailed
Reynold goes on to say that there has been a enquiries, they may determine a number of
theft of a rare herb from the Abbey garden, interesting facts and areas of further
and the culprit is suspected to be a local, since investigation:!
few people are likely to know of the herb !
outside of the village. Since the characters Firstly, in any discussion about herbs, the
aren’t locals, Reynold believes they are name 'Goda' (the mother of the local smith)
unlikely to be the culprits, and are thus best will undoubtedly be mentioned by a villager.
placed to find out where the stolen herbs are Everyone knows she is the most
located, and perhaps who the culprit is.! knowledgeable about herbs in the area. She is
! an obvious suspect for the characters, and
Reynold therefore asks the characters for they may well decide to have a look in her
their help, and explains that he would like garden and outhouse. The characters won't
them to look for the herb around the village. find the herb there, but they will discover
In exchange he will agree to pay the more about the herb, including its' poisonous
characters inn bill, plus an additional few properties, if they speak with Goda. See the
groats. If pressed, Reynold agrees the sum of culprit section below for details on the
5 groats per character in addition to covering information Goda may supply.!
the bills. If characters haggle, Reynold will go !
to 10 groats each at most.!
!72

Secondly, the characters may speculate on the pit. Otherwise, the character will emerge
motives of the thief. Has the herb been stolen stinking and filthy.!
simply for profit, perhaps to be sold at !
market? Or perhaps someone has a grudge The Hound of Hell"
against the abbot or abbey? In this regard, !
most villagers know Morys the miller has The characters come upon a rear garden
little love for the church, and that includes the protected by thorny bushes, high enough to
abbey. If the characters learn of the other use conceal what lies beyond. Trying to sneak
of the herb (as a poison), the characters may through these bushes is possible, but may
speculate about a more sinister motive behind result in a few cuts or tears to clothing. Each
the theft.! character that tries to get through must make
! a test, with Motley applicable. A roll on the ill
When the characters search for the herb, news table should be made for those that fail,
perhaps creeping around the gardens and and any test rolls of 6 will also cause the
outhouses of the local buildings, the following character to suffer 1 point of damage.
events can be used by the GM (in any order Characters with the oddity 'Freakish' are
desired):! immune to the ill effects of the bushes, and a
! test is not required.!
The Demonic Beast" Once characters are in this garden, they
! notice a small outhouse near to the cottage.
Near a pile of logs and kindling, next to a The outhouse contains sacks of flour and
cottage, lurks the beast of a cat known as vegetables, and hidden under these is the
'Old Nick'. The characters disturb him cottage residents savings, locked away in a
during their search, while the cat feasts on the small chest (with a difficult lock should an
remains of a rotting rat. The GM should attempt to pick it be made). The chest
describe first how the characters hear a contains 25 groats and a silver ring worth
throaty, hissing sound, as if some infernal around 5 groats.!
beast were hidden nearby. Then, if the The outhouse is guarded by a large black dog
characters look amongst the wood pile, Old known as 'Delilah'. Delilah will peer from
Nick suddenly appears, with rat innards behind the outhouse as the characters
dripping from his jaws. The cat will leap at a approach, and lets out a warning growl. A
character, then run off. The GM may allow character with the oddity 'Heathen' may calm
tests to strike the beast, as well as tests to the beast with a successful test. Otherwise,
avoid some mishap (and a roll on the ill news Delilah will attack any approaching
table).! characters:!
Old Nick - X2, Feral oddity, scratch causes Delilah - X3, bite causes normal damage.!
normal damage.! !
! The Unearthly Noise"
The Entrance to Hades" !
! As the characters creep through a garden,
At the rear of an especially grubby looking they come upon a small hut (a hen house).
cottage is a dilapidated, gloomy outhouse Any attempt to examine the structure results
with a rickety door. Any character that enters in an eruption of noisy clucking, as the
the building should make a test, with disturbed hens panic and squawk at the
Quidnunc the applicable talent. If the intruder. The GM should make a roll each
character fails the test, they won't detect the turn, with a result of 1 or 2 indicating the
foul smell emanating from the place until it is occupant of the residence is disturbed.
too late. The outhouse is used as a privvy and Should a villager investigate the disturbance,
refuse heap, and a hole in the floor contains a they will initially assume the characters are
mixture of all things foul and rotting. A up to no good, and may shout for help,
successful test, with Motley applicable, allows attempt to attack the characters (with a
the character to avoid falling into this hellish nearby pitchfork or axe), or else hurl logs
!73

from a wood pile at them. If the characters cutting privilege to be ceased, which would
are eloquent enough, they may be able to leave Olever with no income.!
charm their way out of trouble, or else will be Brother Sigbert has X3, the talents Eremite
forced to run. ! and Purloiner, and the trade
Should a fight ensue and result in the death of 'monk' (reflecting his knowledge of life as a
a villager, the characters may have a difficult monk, including the ability to read and write
time arguing their case if discovered. in Latin). Sigbert carries an old walking staff
However, it should be noted that Old (strength 1).!
Reynold is likely to be the first person to be !
approached if such a situation needs to be Finding information!
dealt with, which means the characters have a !
good chance of being able to portray the Many of the villagers and inn guests will be
incident as an unfortunate accident.! willing to speak to the characters, but the
! following will be especially useful to speak to:!
The Culprit! !
! Goda!
Brother Sigbert of Helsown Abbey is a tall, If spoken to, Goda will openly detail the uses
weasel faced man with a receding chin and of the herb, as well as talking of it's
jutting forehead. He is an occasional visitor to appearance and the conditions required for it
the village, and is sometimes seen walking to grow. She also notes that anyone who
towards the woodcutters cottage. Sigbert was handles the herb for an extended period will
the person who reported the theft of the herbs stain their hands yellow, as the colours leaks
to the Abbot. ! from the leaves. With this information,
In truth, there was no theft. Sigbert made it observant characters will be able to spot that
appear that the herb had been stolen, and both Brother Sigbert and Olever the
convinced the Abbot to use Old Reynold to woodcutter have yellow stained fingertips.!
'find the thief'. Sigbert meanwhile smuggled !
the herb out of the abbey and left it with Emelot!
Olever the woodcutter. His instructions to Another person that may be a help to the
Olever were for him to secrete the herb characters is Emelot, the innkeepers
somewhere in Goda's garden, and then have daughter. She has been studying herbs and
Reynold discover the herb and accuse Goda healing with Goda, and has become quite
of the theft. In this way, Sigbert hoped to knowledgeable in this area. If Emelot
ensure Goda would be forced to cease her overhears the characters talking about a herb,
medical practices, forcing villagers to use the she may make a cryptic comment to them,
monks as their only recourse for treatment such as "there are herbs that stain the hand,
(with a suitable donation made to the abbey but a groat in mine leaves no yellow". This is
for the privilege). In addition, if necessary Emelot's oblique way of communicating, and
Sigbert would suggest that Goda had sinister she is here suggesting a bribe will elicit useful
intentions, by revealing the poisonous information about the properties of the herb.!
property of the herb when prepared correctly, !
which is something only a person skilled in Gudytha!
such things could do. ! If spoken to, Gudytha will claim to be
Unfortunately for Sigbert, Olever is not too ignorant of anything to do with herbs. She
keen on the idea of framing Goda with the will advise the characters to speak with either
theft. Olever is somewhat attracted to Goda, Goda or Brother Sigbert, the monk in charge
and fears what will happen to her, as well as of the abbey gardens. If questioned about
himself if he is discovered trying to conceal Sigbert, she says he visits the Skinned Cat
the herbs. For this reason, Olever has delayed with Olever the woodcutter on occasion, and
in hiding the herbs at Goda's home, much to has heard them both talk of woodland plants
the annoyance of Sigbert. In turn, Sigbert has and so on in the past. !
threatened to arrange for Olevers wood
!74

The ale wife Gudytha is an observant soul, The Hooded Gardener!
and will also say that she has noticed that !
Brother Sigbert has visited Olever on several Another way in which the characters may
occasions in the last few days. Recently the discover the culprit is by waiting until
pair sat drinking in the Skinned Cat, and nightfall a night or two after their arrival. At
Gudytha noted that Olever did not seem some point Sigbert will successfully coerce
happy at something Sigbert was saying. The Olever into planting the herb in Goda's
two argued for a while, before Olever left garden, which he will do at night, stealthily
looking glum.! creeping to her garden whilst disguising
! himself with a hood. !
Yellow Hands! If the characters happen to be creeping
! around themselves (perhaps searching
Assuming the characters discover the fact gardens), they may catch sight of the skulking
that the herbs stains hands yellow, they may figure, and may be able to catch him red (or
decide to observe characters, hoping to see rather yellow) handed. Alternatively, the GM
which one has stained hands. This is sound may describe a commotion which might
reasoning, but will be slightly foiled since encourage the characters to investigate. The
several people may then be suspects:! commotion will be a pursuit, when Ruddy
! Philip the smith discovers Olever skulking in
Brother Sigbert: If the characters see him on his mothers garden. Philip chases the hooded
a visit to Olever, they will indeed note that his figure, wielding his smiths hammer whilst
fingers are stained. He has an alibi however, shouting 'thief' at the top of his voice. On
since he works in the Abbey garden and hearing this, several of the villagers may go
handles the herb.! outside to investigate, and this should prompt
! the characters to do likewise.!
Olever Dray: Olever has stained hands, and !
if confronted cannot offer a reasonable If Olever is captured, he will confess all,
explanation, though after a moments nervous having no qualms about giving up his partner
stuttering will try to claim the stain comes in crime Brother Sigbert. Old Reynold will be
from tree sap. After such a confrontation, horrified at such an accusation, but will
Olever will try to hide out in his cottage, nonetheless treat it seriously, and states that
secreting the herb under a sack in his wood he will consult the Abbot about the allegation.
pile. At night, he will try to rid himself of it by In the meantime, Olever will be locked away
planting it in Goda's garden. Should the in the guildhall, to await being taken to the
characters become aggressive, Olever will try court at the town of Deddeleye (when the
to flee, and will fight only if cornered.! Abbot can arrange for armed men to collect
! him).!
Masina the Florentine: Masina does not have !
stained fingers, but she does wear delicate silk Should the characters fail to capture Olever,
gloves all of the time. If quizzed about this, or identify another suspect, it may well be
she will become irritated and complain to the that Goda is accused of the crime if the herb
innkeeper. She will only reluctantly remove is discovered in her garden. Goda will plead
her gloves, to reveal delicate hands (and very her innocence, but without anyone to defend
valuable rings).! her, she may face the same fate as Olever
! would have.!
Henry de Gris: Henry has stained hands, Assuming a successful outcome, Old Reynold
more orange than yellow. This is as a result of will reward the characters as agreed. If the
his tanning work, he has not handled the characters produce an unsatisfactory result
herb. If confronted, he will respond angrily, (such as not finding the herb, identifying an
calling the characters idiots for not realising incorrect suspect or even causing the death of
why he would have stained hands. This could someone), Old Reynold will renege on the
well lead to a brawl...! arrangement, or pay only the inn bill.!
!75

The second tale - Saracens Bruet! has spotted deer tracks, and the deer may
! then be stalked. !
Saracens Bruet was a medieval stew made with !
venison, rice flour and almond milk" When stalking a deer, each character needs to
! move stealthily in order to avoid spooking the
A day or so after the events of the first tale, animal. This requires a further test, with the
and assuming the characters haven't made an talent Fabulist applicable. !
enemy of Old Reynold in some manner, he If the test is successful for all nearby
will invite them to remain in the village an characters, they manage to approach the deer
extra day to enjoy the Dunfell festival. This close enough for a clear shot, and may make a
event occurs in early spring, to mark the start test to hit the creature. This proceeds as
of the christian fasting period (lent). In normal ranged combat, but the deer gets no
Dunfell, it has been the tradition for the chance to defend itself due to the surprise
Abbot to allow a deer to be hunted in the element of the attack. !
abbey woodland, so that venison can be If the test is unsuccessful for one or more of
enjoyed by the villagers at the festival. This is the characters, the deer is spooked. The
a task usually undertaken by Olever Dray, characters may still attack the deer, but the
with the assistance of the tanner, Henry de deer is allowed to defend itself by dodging the
Gris. Obviously, if Olever has been locked up attacks as it tries to flee.!
in the Guildhall, this task will have to be done !
by some other person, and Reynold will If the deer survives the first turn of combat, it
suggest the characters might like to do this. will run into the woodland and must be
The characters will be allowed to borrow a tracked again. This requires another
couple of bows for the task, if they don't have successful test using the Quidnunc talent, but
any themselves.! with a +1 bonus to the tests if the animal is
! wounded (since it is leaving a trail of blood).
If Olever has managed to avoid being locked If any of the characters succeed, they locate
up, he will refuse to do the hunt, stating that the deer again and may stalk it, as noted
he feels ill. In truth, Olever will be suffering above. If the characters fail to find the trail,
terribly with guilt for his part in the affair the must start all over again, attempting to
with the herb.! look for tracks.!
! !
Characters curious about the event can chat The deer hunt can continue for eight hours
with Reynold, who explains that the festival before the woodland becomes too dark to
starts at midday and goes on until darkness. hunt within. If the characters fail to kill a
During the festival the villagers erect awnings deer, the villagers will be disappointed, and
around the village cross, and bring various forced to roast a pig in its' place.!
foods to share. The venison is roasted over a !
fire, and served to villagers and visitors. The Campsite!
Reynold will also remark that there is usually !
free ale served by the ale wife and the During the hunt, preferably after the
innkeeper (see the rules on drunkenness...)! characters have shot a deer, the characters
! will come upon a recently abandoned
Deer Hunting! campsite. !
! !
The deer hunt occurs the day before the In a small clearing, the hunters spot the
festival, in the local woods around the village. ! remains of a fire. Around the area, there are
! signs of flattened vegetation, and several
When hunting a deer, a test should be made nearby trees show signs of being stripped of
for each hour that the characters trek through dead branches. The hunters will also note that
the woodland. The talent Quidnunc applies to there are animal bones by the fire; it appears
the test. A successful test indicates a character that someone has shot and butchered animals
!76

nearby. The GM should allow a test for the The Outlaws!
characters, with Quidnunc and a trade such !
as 'woodsman', 'hunter' or similar relevant. The characters face several outlaws, all
Success for a character indicates that he will desperate men hardened by a life living in the
notice that the fire has been hastily wilds. The leader is Nasr al-Abbas, the so
extinguished, and when disturbed embers can called 'Saracen'.!
be seen, still smouldering.! !
! The Saracen!
With another successful test, characters will Nasr al-Abbas is a tall, dark skinned man
realise that whoever has done this is blatantly with long black hair and a short beard. He is
poaching, the deer in the nearby woodland dressed in a tunic which was once colourful,
are the property of the abbey, and cannot be but the rich blues and greens of the garment
killed without permission. The talent Sophist have now faded and become stained with
applies to this test.! muck. The Saracen was once a soldier,
! captured and forced into servitude. He
The characters may now realise that the escaped while in England, and has been a
campsite was used by the outlaws, mentioned fugitive ever since. Although eloquent and
during the initial encounter with Old seemingly scholarly, he is ultimately a man
Reynold. Astute characters will quickly work ruled by his emotions. This leads him to act
out that the outlaws are nearby. They are in impetuously, without thinking or planning. In
fact being watched by the outlaws, who are combat, this trait manifests in him giving
hidden amidst the dense bushes surrounding rapid, but often ineffective orders. Thus,
the campsite.! during combat the GM may roll 1d on the
! below table each turn to see what order the
At this point, the GM should describe the Saracen will issue to a random outlaw:!
sound of movement through the bushes. !
Players may make tests (with Quidnunc 1 'Don't let them use fire!'!
applicable) for their characters to spot one of 2 'Fall back and use ranged attacks!'!
the outlaws. Should the characters think to 3 'Fight you cowardly dog!'!
flee, the outlaws will immediately emerge and 4 'Guard my coins!'!
give chase, firing arrows at the characters. If 5 'Ignore your foe and defend my flank!'!
the characters approach the area they believe 6 'Take that man prisoner!'!
the outlaws are hiding, the outlaws emerge !
brandishing melee weapons.! The 'Saracen', Nasr al-Abbas has X4 and the
! talents Motley and Rapscallion, and the
! oddity 'Villainous'. !
He is armed with a curved sword (a saif,
strength 8) and wears damaged chain mail
armour (strength 10). Stored near his bedroll,
the Saracen keeps a bag of coins (amounting
to 40 groats).!
!
The other outlaws comprise:!
!
Aldnoch!
A large, bald man with a long beard. He
became an outlaw after losing his temper and
! murdering his family.!
! Aldnoch has X3, and the talent Belligerent.
! He is armed with an axe (strength 4), and
! carries a dagger tucked in a boot (strength 2).!
!
!77

Aelfred Takepeni! Will has X2. He is armed with a crude bow
A thief, more accustomed to life in the streets (strength 1) and a cudgel (strength 1).!
of large towns than the wilderness. Aelfred is !
a thin, wiry young man with beady eyes.! Worryingly, the outlaws have captured
Aelfred has X2 and the talent Quidnunc. He Emelot, the innkeepers daughter. She was out
is armed with a dagger (strength 2), and a picking herbs when the outlaws chanced
crossbow (strength 6).! upon her, and she is now their captive. When
! the outlaws appear, the characters will clearly
Hugh Meader! be able to see Emelot, being restrained by one
A short, rotund man with bulbous, sweaty of the outlaws.!
head. Hugh is a drunk, and steals to support !
his habit.! Emelot!
Hugh has X3 and the talent Purloiner. He Emelot, the outlaws' prisoner, is remarkably
carries an axe (strength 6).! composed throughout her ordeal. !
! Emelot has X2, the talent Eremite, the trade
John Curtbac! 'servant' and the oddity 'Doomed'. She is
Dressed in rags, with crazed staring eyes, unarmed.!
John Curtbac was a farmer whose crops !
failed on two successive years. John became a The Saracen will address the characters, and
thief, but is not suited to the activity at all and warn them not to do anything rash, or they
now feels quite desperate.! will seal the fate of poor Emelot. When he
John has X3. He is armed with a cudgel speaks, the Saracen does so eloquently, with
(strength 1).! only a slight accent. He is also self assured,
! and confident in his ability to the point of
Lightfoot! appearing a little arrogant.!
This mysterious, shaven headed outlaw wears The Saracen goes on to explain that no harm
a black tunic and hose. He remains mostly will come to the girl if the characters follow
silent. ! his instructions. Firstly, he demands the deer
Lightfoot has X3 and the talent Bodkin. He is the characters may by now have killed.
armed with a bow (strength 3) and two Secondly, he will instruct the characters to
daggers (each strength 2).! return to the village and speak to the
! innkeeper. The Saracen explains that the girl
Louis de Savany! has been 'persuaded' to tell him who she is,
Louis is a muscular man with a broken nose, and he therefore knows she is the innkeepers
dressed in the remains of a soldiers tunic. He daughter. The Saracen wants the characters
was once a mercenary, but has fallen on hard to persuade the innkeeper to purchase back
times.! his daughter, for the sum of 200 groats. If the
Louis has X4 and the talent Rapscallion. He characters do not return to the clearing with
is armed with a mace (strength 6) and carries the money that evening, the girl will be
a battered round shield (strenght 5).! killed...!
! !
Petijohn! The characters have a number of options at
Petijohn is a very short man, with wild hair this point. They may attempt to immediately
and large ears. He is sometimes referred to as enter combat with the outlaws, which will
'Petijohn goblin'. ! result is a vicious melee. The outlaws are in
Petijohn has X2 and is armed with a battered and advantageous position, but are by no
arming sword (strength 2).! means invulnerable to determined characters.!
! If the characters choose this option, the
Will Handsax! outlaws will not immediately kill Emelot, but
A pallid, sickly looking man with patchy hair one of them will keep her restrained while the
and a scabby face.! others fight. !
!78

Only if the fight goes badly for the characters Hamo has X3, the talent 'Mortal' and the
will the Saracen order Emelot to be killed. trade 'menial' (reflecting his knowledge of
Even then, all is not lost if characters act basic household tasks). Hamo arms himself
quickly, since a character that engages the with a muck shovel (strength 2).!
outlaw restraining Emelot may sufficiently Ruddy Philip has X2, the talent 'Belligerent'
distract him enough for Emelot to break free. ! and the trade 'smith'. Philip carries a hammer
Emelot is by no means helpless, and given the (strength 4).!
chance will try to get free, and may engage an Turbert has X3, has the trade 'cook' and is
outlaws in combat if she manages to grab armed with a large cleaver (strength 3).!
hold of a weapon (such as swiping a knife !
from an outlaws belt). Emelot then fights Tactics!
with a weird calmness, that is disconcerting to !
watch.! There are a few tricks and tactics the
! characters can employ that may be helpful.
If the characters comply, and return to the Firstly, if the characters request help from
inn, Walding will be distraught. He will Ruddy Philip, his mother Goda will offer her
suggest fetching guards from the town of assistance in preparing something of use. She
Deddeleye, an approach his wife Gylda will says she can supply bandages and balm for
point out is of no use, since this would take wounds, and will quietly suggest that she can
two or more days to arrange. After some also give the characters a poison for use on
discussion, Walding will ask the characters to arrows or blades. This poison causes almost
come up with a plan to save his beloved instant drowsiness, and may be useful in a
daughter.! fight.!
! Goda's bandages heal 2 points of damage
How the forthcoming events proceed will rely when applied. She can supply six of these,
very much on the players ingenuity and the ready prepared, having been coated in a
approach taken by their characters.! soothing balm.!
! Goda's poison, which she calls 'kiss
The Money! goodnight', has the greater effect of causing 1
! point of damage immediately (it stings
Walding can raise the 200 groats should he sharply on an open wound) as well as causing
need to. He has savings amounting to some the ailments 'aches', 'sickness' and 'swooning'
180 groats, takings of a further 30 groats over for 1d3 hours. It's lesser effect is a random
the past week, and Gylda has jewellery worth ailment. Goda can supply three uses of this
around 50 groats. This is more than enough poison.!
for the outlaws, but the loss of this sum will !
be painful for Walding, who will complain One of the villagers might also suggest that
that he will be ruined.! Olever the woodcutter would be useful to
! have along, since he knows the woods and
Assistance! might be of some use. Olever would happily
! lend a hand, seeing this as a way to alleviate
There are several persons that can be called his guilt. Of course, if he is locked in the
upon to assist should it come to a fight with Guildhall, Old Reynold will have to be
the outlaws. Walding himself is of no use in persuaded to release him temporarily.!
combat, but his servants Turbert and Hamo !
will offer to help. If the characters confide in If Olever is released, he will suggest he leads
other villagers (such as Old Reynold), he will the characters through the woods and, after
suggest Ruddy Philip and the labourer Tom assessing the area, will be able to plan an
Ploughman as 'sturdy fellows' useful in a ambush.!
fight.! !
! !
!
!79

Dealing with the outlaws! Finally, if any of the player characters are
! young, male, handsome and perhaps a bit
Should the characters return to the campsite strange, they will likely find they have a new
to make a deal with the outlaws, the admirer. Emelot will take a shine to any such
characters will find the calmly sitting around character, who after all heroically saved her.
a fire, enjoying the deer they have obtained Emelot, weird girl that she is, will express her
from the characters. Emelot will be loosely burgeoning love for the character by standing
tied to a small tree. The campsite is a circular near him, staring...!
clearing, surrounded by bushes and trees. ! !
Most of the outlaws will be relaxed, and some !
are clearly a little drunk. Only two of them
will be acting as lookouts, posted in the
bushes to the south of the clearing (which is
the direction from which persons coming
from the village would approach).!
!
The outlaws are evidently confident of their
superiority, believing a bunch of farmers will
be no match for them. The characters can use
this to their advantage, and will be able to
ambush the outlaws relatively easily (the GM
can allow a +1 bonus to tests involving stealth
for the characters). An especially stealthful
character may be able to sneak up to Emelot
and release her, though this will require a test
for success. In this case, if Emelot is !
successfully released, it will take the outlaws !
1d3 turns to notice, at which point the alarm !
is raised.!
! ! ~ perfecit enim nunc ~
The Battle!
!
The likely resolution of this short tale is a
battle with the outlaws. Since there are quite
a few characters for the GM to deal with, it is
suggested that the players make tests for
those characters that are assisting them.!
!
If the situation is resolved satisfactorily, with
Emelot being saved at no cost to Walding, the
characters will be proclaimed heroes by him.
At the festival, Walding will see to it that the
characters are treated royally, and given the
best food and ale. Walding also tells the
characters that they can stay at the inn free of
charge whenever they wish (within reason).!
!
Should any of the outlaws be captured, they
will be imprisoned in the Guildhall until
collected. Any badly injured characters will
be tended to by Goda.!
!
!80

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