Tarot: The Knowne Worlde

> My brain somehow lost/deleted the original message. :( What time period
> France? (crosses fingers and prays for early 1600s...)
I haven't set it in stone yet, but I'm looking at feudal relations, a fractured Germany and Italy, and a Crown in France. So it may not be a single set date in our history line.
> I do apologize, any chance you could punt a copy of the original message
> my way again?

SETTING
Nestled at the base of the Alpen slopes is the Barony of Molay. For many years, its position as a crossroads made it a favourite spot for Tuscany raiders or Ruhr mercenaries or Nicean armies to stop and pillage on their way to their final objectives. The pastoral farmlands and orchards frequently fed foreign invaders and the quiet deep woodlands often hid the terrified baronial subjects. But two generations ago Franq DeMolay began to build, at first a small baronial stronghold and a dragoon of dedicated guards, adding an army unit here, a trade agreement there and a quiet deal with a local church official along the way. Soon, Molay was a thriving and cosmopolitan location, the crossroads turned into a trading post.
His daughter, Elina, and her husband (the new Baron) Jaq have continued this tradition, with Jaq bringing the prestige of the high court to the area due to his family's connexions. The area is known for its horse breeders and fine woodwork, both small and large, over the entire known world.

CHURCH AND STATE
The Barony has maintained tolerant or better relations with its neighbours, at least for the last few years. Jaq's family is prominent in the King's higher court, and the Barony is thus often host to the King's entourage for a weekend holiday. The church is strong and despite the occasional case of corrupt or manipulative clergy is well respected and beloved by the people. Most education and public welfare is handled by various clerical or monastic orders.

NON HUMANS
There is talk of fae, and their kinder, but most learned folk reject it as superstition and the obsession of those too simple to know better. Of course, that doesn't stop them from listening with rapt fascination, if they think nobody else is watching.
The Fae are a mystical troupe of beings, whimsical and not at all of this earth. There are two camps, the Seelie and the UnSeelie, but any doing business with either are likely damned for it. Elves are the half-children of Fae of Air and Water, preferring to keep to the wooded areas and hiding within it. Those scholars who entertain such notions debate as to whether they have souls. Nockers are the half-children of Fire and Earth, and supposedly live deep within the mountains. They are also the subject of the occasional whimsical debate over souls.
Jews, half children to nobody, are considered to have souls, and can be found scattered throughout the kingdoms. The Moors are found for the most part in the southern and desert regions, practising their strange religion in their own lands. Neither the Jews nor the Moors are currently under direct attack by the Christian lands, but they are not considered trustworthy enough to be allies yet either.
There are also those who are acknowledged to be Satan's agents on earth, physical representations of evil. Spirits who roam the dark of night, when good people should be asleep and dreaming, and attack the unwary or foolish. Their powers are legion and varied, and their strength unpredictable. Their one great weakness is the fire of God -- the sun's light. Those caught in its gaze burn and die.

MAGIC
The monastic orders can and do perform works of 'magic' through ritual and purification and by the power of the Lord, each order often having certain specialisations based on the order's purposes and goals. For example:
Franciscans: Healing and Fertility
Augustinians: Research and Information Storage
Templars(Hospitallers): Hospitality and Healing
Jesuits: Gathering of Information
Michaelites: Questing
Trappists: Brewing
Other magic is said to be done through ritual and physical components, but those who traffick in it are apostate and subject to trial for heresy.

> Yeah, sometimes I can get off my butt and do something, but not very often.
> Anyway, before being lured into a good novel last night, I was working on a
> character for your game. Here are some questions which occur to me:
Questions good. Grod like questions.

> 1) Lay of the land: the setting sounds like the Alps, but you mention
> activities normally done in the flats (like horse breeding). Were you
> imagining a sizable valley, or what?
I have a map, rough, drawn of the continent. This does no good now, but will be a help in the future. The idea I had on setting was to combine what elements I could, and thus the Barony begin at the foothills of the Alps, in south eastern France, and encompasses a rolling gentle spread of farmland down to the sea.

> 2) Court: Which one? France, Switzerland, or the nearest Italian city-state
> (I'd have to have a map to name the biggies)?
I'm going to play the French court as the main one, but as a border region, kissing up to the others will be an important hobby.

> 3) Sea coast: Should I assume sea access is good since bands of marauders
> come through regularly and trade is plentiful? Is it by river or road?
Sea Coast: There is a sister town in the Barony, a port, which serves as a landing point for trade goods en route via sea. But it's a good day's journey from the main city, he says flippantly without even glancing at a map.

>4)The tarot system: how will specific talents/abilities be recognized by the
>use of tarot cards instead of dice? For example, if I have a character which
>has been a circus strongman, feats of strength will be easier to accomplish.
>How would a random card draw allow for this?
Card flips will only be made when the result seems in question, and thus a strongman will have to make flips on feats of strength far less often than the circus geek. I want this to be fairly intuitive, so as to allow for a minimum of rules and charts and tables and whatnot, and to lean on storytelling and creative bullshit like that.

> The setting seems cool so far, but I'm unclear on a couple of things.
> Mainly, what sort of adventure do you intend to run? What sort of characters
> are you looking for? Are we nobles, a band of weary travelers. Should we
> work together on ideas for what sort of characters we want to play and
> if so, what sorts of things will we be doing?
Alas, I am a giant marshmallow and have thus hoped to leave much of the decisions on 'who are we' up to the characters, in symbiosis. I know what plots I plan to throw at you, and can at least suggest that insane beggars and ninjas will not be smiled upon. Possible options I can suggest are clergy [of various orders], insane herbalist midwives, courtiers in the local scene, merchants, or perhaps local law enforcement personnel. There are hundreds of other options available, and I [one of my failings] cringe from throwing up restrictions on my players without hearing them out first.
I'd like it if the characters had a reason to hang out together so I don't have to throw them into a bar and have the king's messenger come hire them for a job.
The first night's adventuring will be with unrelated characters to test the gaming system for huge gaping bleeding holes that will ooze and stink if not patched. On this eventful night, we can force players to discuss character ideas. A musketeer-style band of Reeve's officers? A wandering troupe of Michaelites? A merchant travelling from far and exotic scented lands with a wagon train?
I move that we meet next Thursday [9 July] and hammer some of this out. I offer my own humble abode, but would relinquish hosting if others felt it mandatory not to be stuck in my humble abode for more than twenty minutes.

*whew* That should about wrap it up. Did I forget to answer your favourite question? Mail me. Mail /us/. We're a troupe after all, I think. Or may become one in the near future.

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