The Masters of Veranth!

Masters of Veranth
A Renaissance Era Roleplay of Faith, Politics & Warfare by Polybius
An OSR Hack



It is an age of conflicting ideas and ideology. Of competing faith, science and mysticism. In the land of Lassa, a resource rich peninsula bounded by water to the east and west, and mountains in the north, city-states vie for power. All is ruled over by the Holy Church of Karoleth, a religion with a 4,000 year old history. 

The Inquisition conducted by the agents of Karoleth has found the Duke of Veranth guilty of heresy. While the Duke remains imprisoned, the enemies of the fair city Veranth have seized upon the vacuum of power to expand their influence. The city is in need of strong leadership, strength, and perhaps faith.


Characters

This is the crunchy bit, but it is really simple. You should familiarize yourself with the world information section before choosing a name and background. In addition to basic character info, you have Attributes and Skills that determine what your character can do and what she knows. The numbers are very simple: Spend 4 points on Attributes (Charisma, Combat, Fame, Faith) and 8 points on Skills (Grace, Speech, Literacy, Trade, Luck, Leadership, Dueling, Strategy). 

In Masters of Veranth, you take the role of an influential and affluent nobleman, merchant, clergyman and citizen of the city of Veranth. The city is without a master and the council of peers is unsure what steps to take to ensure the safety and survival of the city. The Church of Karoleth is eager to step in and declare Veranth a protectorate of the Church and seize the assets and wealth within our coffers. Foreign investors have stopped sending payments for goods and pirates and brigands (perhaps funded by our rival city-states) have begun looting and pillaging our trade-routes and outlying settlements. In order to play the game, you must build a character, pick your attributes and stats and write a brief description of your personality and background. 

Name: Read the Lore section to figure out naming conventions. 
Age: The life expectancy of a Lassan is about 60 years old.  
Residence: Many wealthy citizens reside in estates, old fortified towers or walled villas. 
Personality: Include ambitions, personality quirks, anything for other players to have an idea how you will roleplay.
Attributes: See below.

Skills: See below.


You can do whatever you want and the enjoyment you get out of the game is in large part dependent on how you play the game. Each turn I will present the players with significant information about Veranth, the Church and important events and NPCs. Using this information, you can determine your strategy for that turn. Some turns may have no dice rolling actions and rely heavily on roleplaying. These are called 'free actions'. Sending correspondence, giving public speeches or engaging in diplomacy are some examples of roleplay only turn actions. Things like conscripting and training troops, waging war and conducting trade rely on rolls of the dice and are called 'strategy actions'. 

You may conduct as many free actions as you wish each turn. You have 1 'stategy action' each turn. Strategy actions require the roll of two six-sided dice (2d6). On a result of 9 or better, the action is succeeds. A critical failure is a 2 and a critical success is 12. Each with appropriate results. 

Action Difficulty Table:

Actions have modifiers for the final dice roll depending on how easy or hard the action is. For example if I determine the action is Formidable I add the modifier (-2) to the dice roll. Remember a failure is a 2 and a 9 is a success. You may also use a turn action to inquire as to how difficult an action might be. 

Easy: +1
Moderate: 0
Hard: -1
Formidable: -2
Mighty: -3
Impossible: -4


An impossible action would be asking the Pope to give you his hat. 
A mighty or formidable action would be besieging a city. 
A hard or moderate action would be spying on another player or NPC.
An easy action would be purchasing and gifting an item of value for yourself or another player or npc.


You have 4 points to distribute among the 4 attributes. You may disperse the points however you wish including using all four in a single category. Below each attribute is the relevant skill. 

Charisma 
How well you can manipulate people to your will. 
Grace, Trade

Combat
All martial disciplines including warfare and single combat.
Strategy, Dueling
 
Fame
How well your name is known throughout Veranth and the region of Lassa.
Leadership,  Speech

Faith
Your piety, should it ever be called into question. 
Literacy, Luck


You have 8 points to distribute among the 8 skills. These numbers are called ranks. No skill rank may be higher than 4. 

Diplomatic Skills:
Grace
How one conducts oneself at formal functions. This might be at a festival, wedding or meeting with foreign dignitaries.

Speech
How well you are at speaking in public. More useful for swaying the opinion of large numbers of (admittedly less educated) people than a single nobleman. 

Literacy
How well you read and write. Also how many languages you know and if you can reference obscure texts to make a point. 

Mercantile Skills:
Trade
Your ability to make profit by trading goods. 

Luck
The other side of the faith coin. The neglected skill. 

Martial Skills:
Dueling
Sometimes you just want to get your point across as quickly as possible.

Strategy
How you conduct your troops in battle from small-scale urban conflict to sieges. 

Leadership
Sometimes a strong leader can turn the tide of even a forlorn conclusion. 


World Information

Geography


Lassa Peninsula
Bounded by water on three sides and mountains to the north, the Lassan Peninsula is a conduit for trade between east and west. Once the seat of power for an ancient empire (also known as Lassa), city states with distinct dialects and cultures have prospered here for the past 400 years under the watchful eye of the Church of Karoleth. Wheat and barley are grown in the south and the central hills hold vast plantations where olives are grown and processed into olive oil. Other important commodities are wool and iron. Ships and caravans from the east heavily laden with jade, gold, silver and spices make for ports along the coast.   

Veranth
The city where the roleplay takes place. Veranth has made a name for itself as a strong mercantile stronghold with guilds and banks and little outside meddling from the Church of Karoleth. For nearly thirty years art and science has thrived in Veranth under the guidance of Duke Carlo Fiore. That reign has come to an end with the arrest of the Duke and his close associates by the church on charges of heresy, a crime that carries the penalty of death. It seems Duke Fiore funded a the publication of a pamphlet outlining the failings of the church. Fiore is being held in the White Citadel in Veranth until the order from his Holiness, Linus II for execution comes through. 

Mersolan
The historic rival city-state of Veranth ruled by Duke Giacomo Princep, a wealthy wool-merchant with many family members holding posts in the Church of Karoleth. Long has Mersolan prided itself on maintaining the Abbey of St. Sebastian, the most beautiful and ornate church in all of Lassa. Mersolan has rebuilt the ancient sea wall of the Lassan empire and controls a powerful navy and merchant fleet, reaching as far east as the Jade Empire. 

Other notable city-states of Lassa:
Cuna: Birthplace of His Holiness Linus II
Trato: Home to the workshop of Maccio, the famous painter and inventor
Parmos: A northern city-state with strong mercenary presence
Vica: Stronghold of the Holy Order of the Knights Sanctus Vitae

The Jade Empire
Far to the east is an Empire of such immeasurable territory and wealth that many common citizens consider it a mythical place. It is said that no foreign merchant has ever entered the Empire and left again, instead dealing with intermediaries and guides to secure valuable goods like spices, gold, silver, silk and of course jade. 

Factions


The Holy Church of Karoleth
Presided over by his Holiness Linus II, with a complex hierarchy of Cardinals, priests and holy appointments, the Holy Church of Karoleth is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world. For 4,000 years the church has existed in one form or another, even during the final centuries of the ancient Lassan Empire. In recent history, the Inquisitions conducted by Cardinal Paccio have gutted the nobility and middle class of the Lassan city-states. 

The Guilds
Guilds are unions of very skilled, specialized craftsmen devoted to one industry or another. Cloth dying, spinning wool, iron works, shipbuilding etc. are just some of the many guild specialties. These institutions hold control over vast sums of money and are semi-militant. 

Mercenaries & Knightly Orders
Bands of veteran soldiers roam the Lassan peninsula looking for work. Those given the blessing of the Church are well funded and are often employed protecting shrines, churches and holy persons across the land. Other mercenary bands are more nefarious, and include pirates, brigands and cuthroats. They are not as well trained or funded, but will do almost any job. 
Polybius Rhymer

WAR MULLET KILL EVERYONE!

Bluetommy Disastrous Enby

Polybius Rhymer
