Charlemagne may have campaigned in northern Italy and brought the squabbling dukedoms under his rule, but high up on the southern slopes of the Alps the kings of the older races still demand their tribute from the alpine villages. In one village, Borona, a foolish young lord decided that the Cobald King did not deserve his “good Christian money” and failed to throw the bucket of gold down the well at Yuletide.
The good people of Borona now keep an eye free to watch the ridge lines and lock their doors at night, for they are not as foolish as their lord. They know the Cobaldi are a greedy race who spend their eternal nights beneath the mountain admiring their gold and they will not forget that they were not paid their tribute. Nor shall they forgive.
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This is a historical fantasy, set in the Italian Alps in 780 A.D.. When I say Historical Fantasy, by Historical I mean it is set in something like a real life dark age village on Earth, and by Fantasy I mean I will get many of the facts of medieval life unapologetically wrong; also, there are monsters.
This is my first narration. I’ll do my best but I’m not a rules lawyer, so let me know if I got it wrong somewhere. As it’s a bit of a test I aim to keep the game short.
I would like players to be human, from Italy or further afield. You will probably come from the small town of Borona, the isolated alpine village of about five hundred souls where the story is set, or come there visiting, perhaps on a pilgrimage to see the famous skull of St Candidus in the Church of Borona. Pack something warm.
The positions of lord and the innkeeper of Borona characters are already taken. If you do come from Borona, your name will probably be Italian.
I was going to ban magic users, but in the end haven’t as I thought players could use their imagination to try to explain how magic could have worked but have gone unnoticed in history.
I imagine the players would create characters who are real people of the time. Sure a character may fight well, but I’d rather not have badass ninja barbarians, monks who spin in bullet time and wizards with fireball throwing RPG staves (though, note to self, that sounds awesome for the next game). I’d like to see how real people in a community stand up against weird dark forces.
Within those confines, knock yourself out, surprise me. I’ll take the most interesting five or so characters.
I’m not sure how the game starts as a narrator, so if when I accept you you need to write your first move, it will be at sundown on new years eave around a great bonfire, as the town celebrates the feast day in a subdued, nervous manner. It will be a quick scene so that the players’ characters meet each other.
Hosted and narrated by:
MoeMelancholy
Started 04/28/14.
Scenes played: 2
License: Community License
image source: Pieter Claesz: Vanitas
