(more about my Sartar Campaign Plans)
(Back again!)
Sorry, where was I.
Hmm! I have just re-read my last posting and it was rather rambling.
I will try to be a bit more clear this time.
(recap) I have started to plan a Sartar campaign and I am looking for
advice from anyone who has already succeded in doing this. Any comments on
what I have done, changes you would recommend and anything I have got
blatently wrong would be appreciated. I would like to get the feel of
Sartar right as I have been a player for over 10yrs now and, allowing
myself a bit of an indulgence, have been giving it a lot of thought..
Here is an account of how I have got on so far..
- Sartar, though one of the main places mentioned in Greg's writings,
actually has less campaign stile info about it than is first
apparent. There is a *lot* of history but not a great deal of
every day type stuff. In a letter I got from GS back in 1987 he said
that Sartar was Saxon/Celtic. Viking is easier to find resources for and
is very similar and so I have included much of the Vikings in it.
- I chose to model my campaign on What My Father Told Me (WMFTM). It
is absolutely brilliant. It states that the Varmandi Clan (the one
mentioned) is located in the Ormthane Vale near Apple Lane. The
Varmandi's also get a reasonably big write up in KoS so they seemed
a good clan to choose.
- I first chose to locate the Varmandi clan south of Apple Lane,
around the spot where a ruin is marked. I drew maps and designed
the Stead etc (more on this in a mo). But Alas! my first
experience of being Gregged (or maybe more research was called for)
I found the Ormthane Vale, home of the Varmandi Clan, on the TrollPack
map. It is *north* of Apple lane. Not much harm done. The *South* bog
is now the *east* bog, but that's about it really.
- I chose the Viking model for a Stead as I have a *lot* of stuff about
the vikings. I have a good collection of children's picture history
books which are brilliant source books. I highly recommend the Usbourne
'time-traveller' book of Vikings for sheer character (and characters!)
and the How-would-you-survive-as-a-Viking book which is immensely
detailed. (if anyone want's ISBN no's just let me know). I find these
children's books to be better than many adult texts. They cram loads in
and are full of great ideas. They are also *very* accurate the Usbourne
book is written by one of the leading writers of adult texts. I know a
first year historian who used it as a revising text. Anyway, my Varmandi
stead has a Long house and another four or five stead-houses in the main
settlement along with a tree house (I couldn't resist putting the bard
up in it - sorry!), an unfinished piece of defensive wall, Barns, storage
huts etc. The Shepherds have smaller houses outside the main settlement.
The stead houses tend to be divided by occupation and status. Sartarian
houses appear from literature to be rectangular rather than round. I
would have liked round houses (Celtic) but I went with rectangular. They
don't have a temple as such but instead have an open air shrine with
standing stones. What are these like? I kind of fancied a wind rune shape,
are all open shrines like Pairing Stones (two large slabs slightly leaning
in towards each other)? What about roofed temples? I fancied the Celtic
style - Large, round, hut-like buildings with a hugh hole in the center
of the roof above the hearth. This would allow all the benefits of an
open temple with a cosy indoor atmosphere.
- I felt my stead needed a fishing lake so I gave them one. As I said before
there don't appear to be *any* lakes in Sartar at all. Why? I think it
needs them. This way my players can roll freely on the RQIV professions
table. (more on this in a mo). Also it fits every picture of a Viking
stead I have seen.
- Technology level is hard to decide on. What the average clan would have
will be very different from what is in the towns etc. Sartar was the Great
Builder and the 5 Sartar cities (Boldhome, Jonstown, Wilm'skirk,
Swenstown, Ducktown?) have some of the greatest walls after Old Pavis. But
what of the smaller settlements. My stead has *no* stone buildings at all.
It has a very small peice of defensive wall, earth mound, ditch, Wooden
wall. It was an unfinished experiment and covers around 10% of the stead
perimeter. Should it have a full wall? Asterix's village did (another
good source - especially for the Lunars!). Runegate has a wall. The
Sartar dynasty roads have towers along them and are butressed in places.
Are they stone cobbled?
- The two closeby settlements are Apple Lane and Redbird fort. Apple Lane is
easy, although fitting it in with everything else isn't so easy. Where is
the Lunar presence? Why are the houses so advanced? The road going through
it isn't a Great Road. How do the clans feel about the weirdo's who live
there, what with their Shamanism, three eyes, funny coloured skin,
trollkin, Chiminies etc. Gosh! Why would anyone go there..
Redbird fort I chose as a wooden fort in the shape of a wind rune.
The Lunars have added stone buildings to it, temple, barracks etc.
It surrendered around the time Jonstown did as was missed out by the
main armies (along with Apple Lane) who headed South after taking
RuneGate. Runegate has stone buildings, towers and a big hole in the wall.
The temple (a round hut type) has been closed down.
- RQIV experience rules are great. I highly commend them. But do they
favour the heroic PC rather than the less than heroic NPC? I find you
cannot create anyone older than 30ish who isn't bordering Rune status.
Is everyone of status at least an acolyte? If so my stead ends up with
a heap-load of powerful people.
- Orlanthi cults & Initiation into them caused a few problems. I want my
players to experience initiation in game time. To do this I have made up
an excuse why they haven't been initiated. The priest, along with the old
leader (the Rastorlanth - is that a title?) and his housecarls all went off
on a rebellion and haven't returned. Would the stead have it's own priest
(Godi). Would they wait? It has been over a year now and the clan needs new
warriors and less children. One of my players wanted his 17yr old lad to
join Ernalda instead. I wouldn't let him saying a) Ernalda won't take him
until he is adult - ie initiated into Orlanth b) A young *male* warrior
would die rather than join Ernalda as his main cult, he would sooner
drive a *wagon* for the rest of his life.. ptoo!
- Jonstown:What is it like? It has big walls. Is probably stone (mostly)
It has guilds and temples (including a large Y-shaped Lhankor Mhy temple).
What would the Orlanth temple be like? How would the Lunars have changed
this place? They've been here Nigh-on 20yrs. It's funny really that of
all the places is Sartar, Jonstown is the most talked frequently mentioned
but there is practically nothing written about it (itself). The index
reference of it's founding in KoS appears to be a mistake.
- Gentle Vastyr is the new clan leader. A gentle farmer voted in by the
Ernaldan womenfolk. He is well liked but the remaining men would rather
a warrior in charge. Could he be an Acolyte of Ernalda? He obviously
can't be a priest. Would Orlanth Rex be more suitable? I opted for both.
- The Eurmal: I decided to have a trickster on the stead. He ran off when
the Rastorlanth left. He now lives on a small Island in the lake. He
always went there when his protecter left as he fears the womenfolk would
do for him (and he's right). He will return to the longhouse when the men
return.
- I want my young Orlanthi to have had little or no contact with the outside
world (apart from other Colymar). Is this realistic? Warriors, traders etc
would cross the Elder hills to visit Apple lane etc but what of the
others? Perhaps the odd raid on a neighbour. Something nasty perhaps like
trollkin or small chaos band.. But no real regular contact with the
outside in these troubled times. Is this againsed the Orlanth unspoken
virtue: Independence?
- Virtues: I have adopted PenDragon *style* virtues. But instead have the
Olanthi ones.. Courage, Wisdom, Generousity, Justice, Honour, Wyrd. I
also gave them Viking characteristics +1 Str, +1 Siz.
So that's about it so far. Feel free to E-mail me direct. I have been
using my Apple Mac to produce plans etc so if you want to see all this when
it's finished give us a call.
- Any Criticism? Be as cruel as you wish..
Cheers!
Sam x.
Sam Phillips,
Not Scotland - But Sartar.
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: Fri 10 Oct 2003 - 01:31:58 EEST