The Crownless Lands

A dark ages strategic hex crawl realm management role-playing… thing... for Savage Worlds

A.D. May the Fifteenth, MMXXIV

pocketcontents.wordpress.com
Minor Setting Rules
This section describes a few “simple” setting rules for the Crownless Lands setting. More
complex setting rules, like Wilderness Travel and Realm Management, are in their own
chapters.

Medieval Martial Mayhem!

Medieval brawls should be intense and dynamic, with characters breaking weapons, picking
up new ones, and surviving by a combination of skill, improvisation, and sheer luck.

• Dealing 2+ wounds in a single attack to someone using a shield breaks the shield.

• Rolling a ‘1’ on the Fighting or Shooting die causes the attacker’s weapon to break,
even if the attacker also hits using the Wild Die.

• Incapacitating someone wearing armour wrecks the armour.

• Broken stuff can sometimes be repaired with a Repair check. Otherwise, it will need
to be replaced.

Medieval Marital Mayhem!

Marriage in feudal times was as much a matter of social advancement as a matter of love—
and often much more so. When a character gets married, they are granted the Connections
edge with whatever family they marry into, rich or poor.

1
Medieval Merrymaking Mayhem!
Because this campaign draws ideas from older RPG conventions, and because older RPGs
often emphasize managing resources over the course of multi-session adventures, this
campaign treats players’ bennies differently from normal Savage Worlds.

Bennies Carry Over

Players’ bennies carry over between sessions; they do not reset and replenish at the start of
each session.

However, the GM’s bennies reset to zero at the end of every session.

Gaining Bennies: Merrymaking, Jokers, Rewards

Merrymaking: Player characters can spend part of their day merrymaking to gain one
benny, up to their ‘merrymaking cap’. The default cap is three. Non-player Wild Cards have a
cap of two.

While traveling, player characters can make merry as a travel action to gain one benny. (See
‘Wilderness Travel’, below.)

What exactly “merrymaking” looks like is up to the player. For some, it could mean feasting
and drinking in a rowdy camp; for others, it could mean a few hours of quiet reading inside
their tent. But the time spent merrymaking should not be otherwise productive – and that
includes regenerating power points. This is a time for pure R&R.

Jokers Wild: Players gain a benny when their side draws a joker in combat.

Rewards: Finally, the GM can (and should!) still award bennies to players for clever actions,
heroic deeds, role-playing their hindrances, and so on.

Hard Choices
The GM starts each session with no bennies. When players spend theirs, they go into the
GM’s pool to spend on non-player Wild Cards and other GM rolls. When the GM spends a
benny, it is removed from the game (not returned to the players).

2
Medieval Maturation Mayhem!
This game’s progression system is slightly different from normal SWADE.

Gaining Experience
Players earn 1 – 3 experience points per session:
1. The PCs accomplished little, or the session was short
2. The PCs accomplished a normal amount
3. The PCs achieved great success or overcame significant obstacles

Advance by Rank
The amount of XP characters needs to gain an advance depends on their rank:
• Novice: 4xp
• Seasoned: 6xp
• Veteran: 8xp
• Heroic: 10xp
• Legendary: 12xp

Death and Catching Up (optional)

If a player character dies or retires, the player can make a new character with zero XP.

However, this game uses a catch-up mechanic to get new adventurers back to the same
power level as the rest of the group. If a player character has fewer experience points than
any other character, they receive double the experience points at the end of each session.

Note: A lower-XP character cannot leapfrog a higher-XP one; they can only
catch up so they’re both even.

3
Medieval Malnourishment Mayhem!
A character who is incapacitated by hunger is starving. She can just barely stagger along on
a march, but cannot contribute to travel actions (see the section on Wilderness Travel,
below), participate in combat, or generally do anything useful.

The incapacitated character dies after a number of days equal to their Vigor die; e.g., with a
d8 in Vigor, the character dies on the morning of the ninth day.

Medieval Miscellanea Mayhem!

These other setting rules are in effect:

Creative Combat (SWADE, p. 135): When you Test a foe and get a raise, instead of
shaking him you get to roll on a table of cool effects.

Difficult Healing (Fantasy Companion, p. 76): This setting rule reduces the effectiveness of
magical healing.

Downtime (Fantasy Companion, p. 77): Players narrate their activities during extended
periods of downtime to gain temporary benefits.

4
 Wilderness Travel

Wilderness Travel Introduction

The Crownless Lands are wide and varied, and its mountains and woods contain many
hidden secrets and points of interest. Adventurers will spend a good deal of their time hiking
across country—after all, it’s the journey, not the destination, that counts.

This chapter describes the process for traveling across a large map divided into hexes.
While traveling, characters must keep their wits about them as they encounter hardships,
both planned and random.

This system assumes that every hex has at least one gameplay location prepared for it (or
“keyed”), like a town, dungeon, mystic glade, or ancient oak that asks riddles. The system
also presents opportunities for “random events” by means of the Safety travel check.

A fast-moving party travels at a speed of one hex per day, rarely more.

5
Travel Basics
Hexes are big. How big? Big enough to take at least one full day to cross, often more than
one. The party may spend considerable time adventuring inside a single hex, visiting
villages, exploring ruins, and encountering creatures, before deciding to travel to the next
hex.

(If you want an actual distance, each hex is roughly 30 kilometers across.)

To travel to the next hex, the party spends a full day performing three important travel
checks: Provisions, Safety, and Progress. Each check can be ‘led’ and ‘supported’ by player
characters and their attendant followers, hired hands, and animals. After everyone has
decided which travel checks they wish to contribute to, the three checks are resolved in
order.

Failing any of the checks causes bad stuff to happen, while excelling at them makes travel
faster and more comfortable. Either way, a new day starts after all three checks are
resolved.

The party’s travel checks are also influenced by terrain, weather, and any special features
native to the region.

6
Image: The Wilderness Travel board

The Three Travel Checks

A day of travel is broken into three travel checks that are necessary for the party to survive
and advance through the wilderness. The checks are Provisions, Safety, and Progress.

‘Other’: There is a fourth travel check, Other, which will be described at the
end of this section.

Before resolving the three travel checks, the party must decide who is leading each check,
and who (if anyone) is supporting. Note that contributing to a check is an action, and
contributing to more than one check (e.g., navigating while also hunting) causes a character
to suffer the usual multi-action penalty of -2.

Travel Check Difficulty: Each travel check is penalized by factors like terrain and weather,
and these penalties apply to both the check’s leader and any supporters.

Reward Cleverness: The GM should feel free to reward players’ good ideas, preparation,
and relevant tools with bonuses to their rolls.

7
Provisions: The 1st Travel Check
The Provisions check represents the party’s ability to feed and water themselves and their
animals in the wilderness. Identifying edible roots, hunting rabbits and deer, locating good
grazing land, and preparing meals for the group all fall into this category. If the party fails the
Provisions check, they must rely on their stores of rations – or go hungry!

Relevant Skills: Survival (leader); survival, education (supporters).

Difficulty: To set the difficulty of a Provisions check…

1. Begin with the terrain’s ‘Provisions’ penalty
2. Add -1 for every five party members—including mounts and pack animals
3. Add -1 for certain foul weather effects

Success: The group feeds itself “off the land” for the day.

Failure: Each wild card and group of extras must make a Vigor check at +1; with a failure,
they gain a level of hunger fatigue. Each time this happens, the Vigor check gets harder by
one (0, -1, -2…). The cumulative penalty resets when the party has had the chance to eat
their fill, usually at a hospitable keep, inn, or other place with a well-supplied kitchen.

Raise: The party recovers from one level of hunger fatigue or gains one extra ration.

Eating Rations: The party may increase their Provisions check total by consuming an equal
number of rations; e.g., consuming three rations improves the check by +3.

Example: The party is traveling through Hills terrain, which has a Provisions
rating of -2. The party has 13 characters, including mounts and pack animals,
which adds another -2. Finally, the weather is rainy, making it harder to hunt
and forage, which adds -1 to the check. In total, the Provisions check difficulty
for the day is -5. Giles leads with a Survival check to hunt rabbits and deer,
while Herleva supports with Education to identify edible plants. With such a
harsh penalty, Giles and Herleva only score a total of ‘1’. The party decides to
consume 3 rations from their baggage to make up a success.

8
Safety: The 2nd Travel Check
The Safety check represents the party’s ability to avoid trouble through careful planning and
constant vigilance. Sneaking past predators’ lairs, rigging up defences at night, and
assigning scouts and sentries all fall into this category – as does simply bringing appropriate
clothing and equipment to handle the elements. If the party fails the Safety check, they suffer
a setback of some kind – perhaps even a deadly attack!

Relevant Skills: Notice (leader); repair, stealth (supporters).

Difficulty: To set the difficulty of a Safety check…

1. Begin with the terrain’s ‘Safety’ penalty
2. If the party is ill-equipped for the elements, increase the penalty by -1, -2, or -3,
depending on the terrain’s harshness or the general direness of their situation
3. Add -1 for certain foul weather effects
4. Increase or decrease the penalty for narrative reasons (e.g., add -2 if the party are
wanted outlaws in this region)

Example: The party is travelling through Moor terrain, which has a default
Safety penalty of -1. They recently lost all their tents and rain cloaks in a
boating mishap, and the weather is foul: add -1 for the moor’s medium
difficulty level and -1 for the weather. However, the party cleared out a camp
of thieves in this region, decreasing the penalty by 1. In total, the Safety
check will be made at -2.

Success: The party manages to travel safely for the day.

Failure: The party suffers a setback or complication of some kind. This could be a classic
“attacked by wolves” random encounter, or it could be something that reflects the specific
situation: for example, in a dizzying heatwave without adequate water skins, everyone might
make a Vigor check or suffer a level of fatigue. The consequences of a failed Safety check
are entirely up to the GM, and this is a great opportunity to flesh out the game world.
However, encounters stemming from failed Safety checks should not give the party an
opportunity to gain anything (like treasure), only mitigate losses. See the ‘Random Events’
document for examples.

Raise: The party has the chance for a positive encounter – something they might have
otherwise missed, like a bandits’ camp flush with treasure. These encounters should present
something for the party to gain, like treasure, information, or meeting an expert—although
the reward may be heavily guarded! See the ‘Random Events’ doc for ideas.

9
Progress: The 3rd Travel Check
The Progress check represents the party’s actual progress towards the next region. Hiking
tirelessly despite foul weather, clearing a path through dense bush, and finding shortcuts
through mazelike hills all fall into this category, and if the party fails at this check they won’t
be going anywhere any time soon!

Relevant Skills: Navigation (leader); common knowledge, athletics, navigation, the ‘free’ run
die (supporters).

The ‘Free’ Run Die: Whatever else characters might do during a travel day, like hunting or
scouting, they also spend a lot of their time just hiking across the land – but only at the
speed of the slowest party member. To represent this, add one ‘free’ Run die of the slowest
party member to support the Progress check. This die can explode. Wounds &
Encumbrance: If the slowest party member currently has penalties to their Pace from
wounds or encumbrance, subtract them from the free Run die’s roll.

Difficulty: To set the difficulty of the Progress check…

1. Begin with the terrain type’s ‘Progress’ penalty
2. Add -1 for certain foul weather effects
3. Add +1 or +2 if the party is moving between regions with trails or roads (see
‘Buildings and Improvements’)
4. Add +2 if the party is moving between mapped regions (see ‘Maps’).
5. Add +2 if the party is retreating back through the hex the same way they came

Success: The party moves to the next hex. If it’s important to know, they enter the new hex
just before making camp at around sunset.

Failure: The party remains in this hex.

Raise: The party enters the next hex via a shortcut or perhaps with an excellent sense of the
upcoming terrain. They add a second Run die to their next Progress check.

Example: The party is travelling in Dense Forest terrain, which has a default
Progress penalty of -2. Today’s weather is muddy (-1). So, the Progress
difficulty rating would be -3; however, the party is following improved trails
(+1), and is trying to backtrack rather than plunge deeper into the forest (+2).
The final difficulty rating is reduced to 0. With his d6 in Navigation, Odis
volunteers to lead the party, while Giles and Elizabeth support him using their
d6s in Common Knowledge. The party also adds the 1d6 “free” Run die to
support the check, but it’s penalized by -2 because of Elizabeth’s two
wounds. If they fail the check, they remain here and must try again tomorrow.

10
Special Maneuver, ‘Press On!’: The party can choose to sacrifice caution and comfort for
speed. To do so, they improve the Run die by two die types (e.g., from d6 to d10), but
likewise increase the difficulty of both the Provisions and Safety checks by -1. This
maneuver must be declared before resolving any travel checks for the day.

Special Maneuver, ‘One Big Day’: The party can choose to complete multiple rounds of
travel in a single day, usually so they can arrive more quickly at some distant location. But
doing so wears down their resources and general wellbeing. After resolving Progress, do not
make camp and move the calendar ahead by one day; instead, repeat the entire travel
routine as part of the same day. The party cannot travel more than three hexes in a single
day this way. Each time they perform this maneuver, the party suffers a consequence.

Table: ‘One Big Day’ Consequences

Roll 2d6 Consequence
2 Accident Prone: 1d4 party members take a wound (can Soak, as usual).
3 Unlucky: 1d4 party members break an important piece of gear.
4-5 Worn Out: Every party member takes a level of fatigue.
6-8 Famished: The party immediately consumes 1d4 rations or, if they have none,
makes an immediate Vigor check per the Provisions rule.
9-10 Worn Out: Every party member takes a level of fatigue.
11 Unlucky: 1d4 party members break an important piece of gear.
12 Accident Prone: 1d4 party members take a wound (can Soak, as usual).

11
Other: The 4th Travel Check
Besides Provisions, Safety, and Progress, there is a fourth travel check: ‘Other’. For any
number of reasons, players may choose not to participate in the three main checks, probably
because they have something else they would prefer to be doing. Or they may split their
attention between a main travel check and something else, incurring a multi-action penalty.

Below are some options for other travel activities. Those with a checkmark require the
character to make a skill check, while those without are automatic successes.
✓ Cast a “long” spell (e.g., a ritual to change today’s weather)
• Channel 10 power points
✓ Craft/repair gear
✓ Draw a map
✓ Explore the area (free d4)*
✓ Gather medicine
• Make merry to gain a benny (see ‘Medieval Merrymaking Mayhem!’ setting rule)
• Recover fatigue (this might require a check, depending on the fatigue’s source)
✓ Study a magic item to learn its properties
✓ Support someone else’s travel check (e.g., support someone casting a spell)

*Explore the Area: If they pass this check, the party discovers the region’s
specially prepared (or “keyed”) location—or, if the location is intentionally
hidden, they at least get close enough to have a chance of noticing it.
Because the party always has some chance of stumbling across the hex’s
keyed location, they always get a “free” d4 in this activity.

Natural Healing: Natural Healing checks are automatic “free” checks and do
not require the character to use a travel action.

12
Terrain and Travel
Different terrain types set different penalties for the three travel checks: wastelands are
simply more dangerous than forests, and marshes are harder to navigate than rolling plains.

Additionally, each terrain type has an ‘overall difficulty’ rating of easy, medium, or hard. This
rating comes into play in various minor ways but can be ignored most of the time.

Table: Provisions, Safety, and Progress difficulties of different terrain types

Terrain Overall Difficulty Provisions Safety Progress
Forest (sparse) Easy 0 0 -1
Plains Easy 0 0 0
Water (coast) Easy 0 -1 0
Hills Medium -1 -2 -1
Moor Medium -2 -1 -1
Forest (dense) Medium 0 -2 -2
Wasteland Hard -3 -3 -1
Marsh Hard -1 -2 -4
Mountain Hard -1 -3 -3
Water (open sea) Hard -2 -3 -2

NOTE: The GM can alter these defaults on a per-hex basis for narrative reasons. For example, a
necromancer’s lair may increase the hex’s Safety penalty, while an allied army patrolling the area
could significantly decrease it.

Improved Paths
Roads are quite uncommon in the Crownless Lands, while trails exist only between major
settlements and points of interest. Pathless wilderness is the most common.

If both the current and destination hexes have an improved path, apply the current hex’s
Travel bonus.

Table: Paths
Path Type Travel Bonus
Trackless wilderness None
Trail +1 Progress check
Road +2 Progress check

Crossing Rivers
Travelers periodically need to cross rivers. This is both mundane and potentially dangerous.
Crossing a river adds -1 to the day’s Progress and Safety checks.

13
Maps
Maps can be purchased in a town with a Scrivener, or may be the reward for a quest.

Travelers can also map a hex themselves by using an Other travel action and making a
successful Navigation check modified by the terrain’s default Progress penalty. Obviously,
they need parchment and a quill to do this.

Map use: If players are moving between two hexes for which they have maps, they gain +2
to their Progress check.

Commissioning maps: The price of maps depends on the distance from the capital;
something like 100sp + 100sp per hex from the capital should do it. As with any item,
commissioning a map may take 1d6 days (GM’s discretion). Finally, the GM may simply rule
that the cartographers do not have certain maps available.

14
Weather
Each season (spring, summer, fall, winter) is 28 days long, or four weeks. Seasons affect the
weather, and weather affects travel. This is the game’s weather board:

Image: The Weather Board

15
Using the Weather Board
The first day of a new season starts on Balmy or Crisp. Each day, draw a card and read its
suit to see which way the weather moves. Track it with a token. Each box has two effects:
1. Normal weather effects, like ‘mud’ or ‘cold’. These simply penalize today’s
Provisions, Safety, or Progress travel checks (see the table below).
2. Extreme weather events, like ‘!Heatwave!’ or ‘!Blizzard!’. If today’s card is within the
range for the box’s event, the extreme weather event triggers (see the table below).

Example: The king of clubs is drawn, moving today’s weather from ‘Heavy Rain’ to
‘Cool Showers’. Travelers now suffer the effects of ‘mud’. Because the king is also
within that box’s range for an extreme event (in this case, Ace-King, or A-K) the
!Rainstorm! event also triggers.

Redraw Wall Bonks (optional): If the new weather card causes the weather token to bonk
into a wall, draw another card. Only do this once per day.

Seasonal Weather (optional): From the 8th to the 21st day of each season, certain suits
move the token twice: in winter, diamonds (colder); in summer, hearts (warmer); in spring &
autumn, spades (wetter).

Table: Normal Weather Effects

Condition Provisions Safety Progress
Fog -1
Heat or Cold -1
Mud -1
Rain -1
Snow -1 -1 -1

16
Table: Extreme Weather Events
Weather Event Effect
Cold Snap Lasts until weather moves to a square that does not have 'cold' effect. The cold is
torturous, requiring a Vigor check at -1 during each day of travel or suffer a level of
fatigue.
Heat Wave Lasts until weather moves to a square that does not have 'heat' effect. The heat is
oppressive, requiring a Vigor check at -1 during each day of travel or suffer a level of
fatigue.
Pea Soup Lasts one day. If the party travels, run a Quick Encounter (-2) to navigate.
• Personal fail: Make the next person’s check harder
• Group fail: Roll 1d6, read it like a clock, and exit the hex in that direction.
If the party stays put, no effect.
Slide Avalanche or landslide. Quick Encounter (-2 to -4) to avoid.
• Personal fail: Take a wound (1d4 wounds on Critical Failure)
• Group fail: Lose about half baggage and animals
• Group success: Lose some baggage; about 20%
• Group raise (2 successes more than player characters): No problem
Lightning Storm Lasts one day. If in the open, each character has a 1% chance of being struck for 4d10
damage. Metal doubles the chance to 2%. Lightning also spooks all horses (Riding
check or they bolt). If in the forest, this could turn into a wildfire (see ‘Random Events’
doc).
Blizzard Lasts until weather moves to a square that does not have ‘snow’ effect. Requires a
Vigor check at -2 each day or else suffer a level of fatigue. If the party attempts to
travel, also run a Quick Encounter (-2 to -4) to navigate.
• Personal fail: Make the next person’s check harder
• Group fail: Roll 1d6, read it like a clock, and exit the hex in that direction.
Hailstorm Lasts one day. Require a Vigor check at -3 or suffer a level of fatigue. Everyone caught
out in the hail also suffers 2d4 damage.
Hurricane Lasts one day. Quick encounter (-2) to keep animals and belongings safe.
• Personal fail: Take a wound from flying debris (d4 wounds on Critical Failure)
• Group fail: Lose about half of baggage and animals
• Group success: Minor loss of baggage, about 20%
• Group raise (2 successes more than player characters): No problem
Rainstorm Lasts until the weather is either ‘humid’ or ‘dry’. Provisions and Progress penalties
increased by one. Each day, the party must make a cooperative Survival check (-2 to -
4 for ‘raining’ or ‘pouring’ respectively). On failure…
1. 1d4 rations are lost to spoilage (does not explode)
2. That many characters must make a Vigor check or catch a cold (fatigue)

Random Encounters: Avoid running a weather event and then a random

encounter; instead, combine the two. A random encounter with raiders is a bit
rote, but pea soup or a lightning storm makes it more memorable.

Choices Matter: Players' choices may reduce or negate the effects of

extreme weather events; e.g., sheltering in a cave during a lightning storm
negates the chance of being struck.

17
The Daily Travel Routine
1. GM determines today’s weather using the weather board
2. GM sets the difficulty of the three travel checks: Provisions, Safety, and Progress
3. Players assign their party members to lead and support the party’s travel actions
4. The group resolves Other checks
a. The party may find the hex’s keyed location using the Explore action
5. The group resolves the Provisions check
a. The party may feed themselves, use rations, or go hungry
6. The group resolves the Safety check
a. The party may encounter a setback or a positive encounter (or nothing)
7. The group resolves the Progress check
a. The party may move to a new hex or stay here
8. The party camps for the night and the GM advances the calendar by one day

18
 Realm Management

To make the most of their time in the Crownless Lands, adventurers should establish
themselves as leaders of a realm.

As the party’s resources, knowledge, and fame grow, their realm will expand. Players may
end up governing multiple regions of farms, towns, and the infrastructure to make news
things out of raw resources. As feudal leaders, they will also command lesser nobles.

This chapter details some mechanics for establishing, running, and expanding the players’
realm.

19
Noble Ranks
From highest to lowest, the ranks of nobility are as follows:

King / Queen: Commands 16+ thanes

across a minimum of 8 fiefs

Prince / Princess: Commands 9 – 15

thanes a minimum of 5 fiefs

Earl / Countess: Commands 4 - 8 thanes

across a minimum of 3 fiefs

Alderman / Alderwoman: Commands 1 -

3 thanes across a minimum of 1 fief

Thane: A ‘knight’ within a fief who fights

and performs estate actions

Holy Witan: All ranks must be confirmed by the holy witan, a council of church leaders
whose role is to oversee “the order and proper customs” of the land. All the major realms
within the Crownless Lands have sent one or more church leaders as representatives on the
Holy Witan, creating a sort of Dark Ages United Nations.

Realms
The term ‘realm’ refers to all the lands currently ruled by one person. It is a handy word to
describe a character’s (or team’s) total sphere of influence.

A realm is made up of individual fiefs.

20
Fiefs
A fief is a single hex within a realm. Each fief is governed by an alderman – either a player
character or a non-player character – who in turn commands his own local thanes.

A realm with three fiefs (hexes) highlighted in blue on a virtual tabletop. These fiefs also
have some icons showing trails and an iron mine. If you’re not using a virtual tabletop, you
can write down these sorts of details in a world journal.

Fiefs are important because they have their own local resources (e.g., iron) and local estates
which perform actions that benefit the entire realm. For example, estates may generate
money, build buildings, stockpile food, or raise armies. The number of estates that make up
the players’ realm is a good indicator of the realm’s overall power. The more the better.

Expanding the Realm

To add a new fief (hex) to their realm, player characters must first visit a hex and…
• Win the cooperation and loyalty of the local population (i.e., “the nice way”)
• or replace the current ruler by force (i.e., “the not-so-nice way”)
• or map the region for the first time (if the hex is just an unpopulated wilderness)

Establishing an Alderman: After winning local support, players pay money to either build
an alderman’s estate or take over the existing one – whatever makes the most narrative
sense. Establishing an alderman’s estate “officially” adds the new fief to the players’ realm.

Mapping a Wilderness Region: In an unpopulated wilderness hex, player characters must

map the region with a successful Navigation roll while travelling (modified by the terrain’s
Progress check penalty). After mapping the region, players can then pay money to build an
alderman’s estate and bring the fief into their realm.

Death & Taxes: Beware! Player characters must also pay taxes for each fief within their
realm, and fiefs can be the target of deadly raids throughout the year.

21
Estates
Estates represent the combination of a noble ruler, the noble’s personal lands, and the
churls (peasants) who work the land. The realm’s power rests in its estates. On the 1st and
15th day of each season, players order their realm’s estates to perform certain actions that
benefit the entire realm (see ‘Estate Actions’, below).

Adding More Estates to a Fief

Player characters pay money to establish their first estate in a new fief (hex), which makes
that fief part of their realm. After that, player characters can pay more money to establish
additional estates in the same fief. The more estates, the more valuable the fief.

New estates in the same fief cost more money to establish because infrastructure must be
built, fields must be divided, laws must be written and rewritten, and so on.

Use the Fibonacci sequence times 600 silver pennies (sp) to add new estates to a fief:
1. 600sp (price of the hex’s first estate; this brings the fief into the players’ realm)
2. 600sp (price of the hex’s second estate, governed by the alderman’s first thane)
3. 1200sp (price of the hex’s third estate, governed by the alderman’s second thane)
4. 1800sp
5. 3000sp…

Price of Estates in Wilderness Hexes: The above guideline assume player characters are
establishing estates in hexes that are already populated with farms and villages. Establishing
estates in unpopulated wilderness hexes is more expensive because the land must be
surveyed and cleared, wells must be dug, farmers must be relocated, and so on. To get the
price of establishing estates in unpopulated hexes, add +100sp per level of terrain difficulty;
for example, the cost to build an estate in a wilderness plains hex (easy) would be 700sp,
while a mountain hex (hard) would be 900sp.

A realm with seven estates, able to take seven estate actions per fortnight.

22
Estate Actions
For each estate in their realm, players choose one of the following actions at the beginning
of each fortnight; that is, on the 1st and 15th day of each season. Note: Most actions don’t
“pay off” until the end of that fortnight, when players collect rent, food, etc.

Pay Rent
The estate’s ruler is ordered to pay rent. At the end of the fortnight, the estate generates
1d6x100 silver pennies (sp). Certain experts, like Bar Maids, may increase the rents earned.

Farm
The estate’s ruler is ordered to farm and stockpile surplus food. At the end of the fortnight,
the estate adds 1d4 Food to the realm’s stores. Certain experts, like Ploughmen, may
increase farms’ yields. This action cannot be taken in winter.

Gather
The estate sends churls to gather a raw resource, like iron. Place a marker on a hex that
contains a developed resource, like an iron mine. At the end of the fortnight, the realm gains
an Iron token. The token can then be “activated” to grant the realm access to that resource
for one full fortnight, after which it is discarded regardless of how much iron was actually
used. If the resource is inside the players’ realm, they gain two tokens instead of one.

Build
The estate’s ruler sends labourers to the realm’s capital. At the end of the fortnight, add 1d4
“labour” to a building project. Some buildings also require resources, like stone, to build. If a
resource is raided or otherwise cut off, the labour can be transferred to a different building
project – as long as the project was already underway at the beginning of the fortnight.

Muster
The estate’s ruler musters troops for the realm. Immediately create a fyrd (army) of one
Thane and 3d6 troops in the fief. The fyrd can be ordered to move, battle, and combine with
other fyrds. Certain buildings and experts, like Training Fields and Sheriffs, can improve the
troops’ number and quality. This campaign takes place in an age before professional
soldiers and national armies; these troops are churls with their own lives and responsibilities.
Because of this, all fyrds disband at the end of the fortnight unless the Muster action is taken
again. Each fyrd also consumes one Food at the end of each fortnight.

Other
Sometimes, players may want to do something that isn’t represented in this list of estate
actions – like plant a forest or host a tournament. In that case, the GM may invent a new
estate action and estimate the amount of resources and labour needed to do it.

23
Estate Board
This board can be used to track estate actions. Put one token for each of the players’
estates into the middle, then have the players place them on the wheel at the start of each
fortnight. Remember that if the players use the Gather or Muster actions, you’ll need to place
some other tokens on the world map, to show where the gatherers and fyrds are.

Image: The Estates Action Board

24
Realm Food and Mass Starvation
Keep track of the realm’s Food. This refers to large-scale stores of food: stockpiles of grain,
kegs of ale, barrels of preserved meat, etc.

Without any intervention either good or bad, the realm automatically produces exactly
enough food to sustain itself – no more, no less.

By taking the Farm estate action, the realm stockpiles surplus food to feed its people in the
event of long winters, seasonal spoilage, and raids. Each mustered army (“fyrd”) also
consumes one Food at the end of each fortnight.

If a realm ever drops below zero Food, its people endure hunger. At the start of each
fortnight, every fief makes a group Spirit check (using the fief’s ruler’s Spirit + Wild Die) with
a penalty equal to the current Food deficit. The maximum penalty is -4.
• Success: “Enduring.” The fief’s ruler and her churls tighten their belts and carry on.
• Failure: “Starving.” The realm’s fame is reduced by one, and all estates in this fief
will only take the Farm action this fortnight (or, if unable to farm, will do nothing).
• Critical Failure: “Rebelling.” One of the fief’s estates is destroyed, the fief leaves the
realm, and an army of rebels appears on the hex.

Estate Attitudes (optional)

Sometimes, the GM may wish to represent a lord-vassal relationship in greater detail. In that
case, you may assign a bonus or penalty based on the vassal’s attitude, from -3 to +3, and
use the bonus to modify the Rent, Farm, Muster, and Build actions (minimum 1). The Gather
action isn’t affected by a vassal’s attitude.

Example: Alderwoman Almha detests her liege lords (the player characters)
because they recently failed to protect her land from raiders. When told to pay
rent, her roll of 1d6 x 100sp is reduced by two.

These attitudes should be used sparingly. Tracking every vassal’s attitude in detail is more
trouble than it’s worth.

25
Experts
Players can find experts across the Crownless Lands and hire them to enhance their realm.
Experts can be Level 1, 2, or 3. Higher-level experts can do everything their lower-level
counterparts can do. Experts are rare, and simply meeting one may be the reward for a
quest.

Experts work in the capital’s buildings. Without a suitable building to work in, most experts
are unemployed and useless.

26
TABLE: Experts
Level 1: “Tailor”
Crafts leather armour, small
shields, clothes, and backpacks.
Requires a Workshop.
Level 1: “Fletcher”
Crafts slings and arrows. Requires
a Workshop.
Level 1: “Carpenter”
Sells carts at a Workshop,
rowboats at a Dock, and adds +1
to one Build action per fortnight.
Level 1: “Priest”
Performs mundane healing (d8
skill die), plus provides minor
blessings at a Chapel.
Level 1: “Scrivener”
Sells maps at a Study.
Level 1: “Ploughman”
Adds +1 to one Farm action per
fortnight. Requires a Granary.
Level 1: “Sheriff”
Upgrades troop quality to Level 2
at a Training Field.
Level 1: “Animal Trainer”
Sells trained dogs, rats, and
snakes at a Kennel.
Level 1: “Bar Maid”
Adds +1 to one Rent action.
Requires an Ale House.
Level 1: “Vendor”
Manages one trade route and can
purchase one collection of goods
at the market per fortnight.
Requires a Market Fair.
Level 1: “Smith”
Crafts adventuring gear and tools,
plus basic melee weapons (up to
d6 damage, no swords). Requires
a Workshop.
Level 1: “Herbalist”
Performs mundane healing (d8
skill die), plus sells medicine and
poisons. Requires a Healer’s Hut.
Armourers
Level 2: “Armourer”
Crafts all armour, plus all shields.
Requires a Smithy.
Bowyers
Level 2: “Bowyer”
Crafts all bows. Requires a
Smithy.
Builders
Level 2: “Builder”
Sells wagons at a workshop,
longboats at a Boathouse, and
adds +2 to one Build action per
fortnight.
Clerics
Level 2: “Cleric”
Performs magic healing (d8 skill
die). Has detailed knowledge of
demons. Provides moderate
blessings at a Tower-Nave.
Clerks
Level 2: “Clerk”
Rerolls one estate action per
fortnight. Requires a Study.
Millers
Level 2: “Miller”
Adds +2 to one Farm action per
fortnight. Requires a Mill.
Sergeants
Level 2: “Sergeant”
Upgrades troop quality to Level 3
at an Armoury.
Stablemasters
Level 2: “Stablemaster”
Sells riding horses and falcons at
a Stable.
Tavern Keeps
Level 2: “Tavern Keep”
Adds +2 to one Rent action.
Requires a Tavern.
Traders
Level 2: “Trader”
Manages two trade routes and can
purchase two collections per
fortnight. Requires Trade Wagons.
Weaponsmiths
Level 2: “Weaponsmith”
Crafts all melee weapons.
Requires a Smithy.
Witch Doctors
Level 2: “Witch Doctor”
Sells potions, plus has basic
knowledge regarding paganism.
Requires an Apothecary.
Level 3: “White Iron Armourer”
Able to craft or upgrade armour
using white iron. Requires a White
Iron Smithy.
Level 3: “Arbalest”
Crafts all crossbows, plus
catapults. Requires a Smithy.
Level 3: “Architect”
Sells chariots at a smithy, sloops
at a Dry Dock, and adds +3 to one
Build action per fortnight.
Level 3: “Bishop”
Performs miraculous blessings,
writes scrolls, and represents the
realm on the holy witan. Requires
a Cathedral.
Level 3: “Magistrate”
Rerolls one seasonal event per
season. Requires a Library.
Level 3: “Baker”
Adds +3 to one Farm action per
fortnight. Requires a Town Oven.
Level 3: “War Leader”
Upgrades troop quality to Level 4
at a Barracks.
Level 3: “Royal Groom”
Sells war horses and exotic beasts
at a Stable.
Level 3: “Innkeeper”
Adds +3 to one Rent action.
Requires an Inn.
Level 3: “Merchant”
Manages three trade routes and
can purchase three collections per
fortnight. Requires Trade
Caravans.
Level 3: “White Iron
Weaponsmith”
Able to craft or upgrade weapons
to white iron. Requires a White
Iron Smithy.
Level 3: “Druid”
Enchants gear, plus has deep
knowledge of pagan rituals and
sites of power. Requires an
Apothecary.
27
Resources
The resources to be found in the world are:
- Horses and other trainable animals
- Iron
- Lumber
- Luxuries, like stained glass, gold, pearls, and gems, etc.
- Population
- Stone
- White Iron, a rare metal used to create lightweight and durable items with “peculiar”
properties. Legends say it comes from fallen stars.

Storing Resources: When a realm gains a resource token (usually by using the Gather
estate action), that resource gets stored in their realm’s warehouses. Simply make a note of
it somewhere.

Using Resources: Players can “activate” a stored resource to gain unrestricted access to its
benefits for one full fortnight. During that fortnight, the doors of the warehouse are thrown
open and the resource can be used for as much crafting and building as they want. It doesn’t
matter how much of the resource the realm uses; they have an unlimited supply until the end
of the fortnight. At the end of the period, the resource is spent and the token disappears.
This system is intended to avoid needing to track individual boards of lumber and ingots of
iron.

28
Buildings and Improvements
Each fief (hex within a realm) may be home to a defensive keep. Besides the local keep, we
don’t track buildings at the level of the fief; we just assume the local churls have built
whatever structures they need to perform their estate actions.

However, we do keep track of buildings in the realm’s capital. These buildings take
resources and time to create, but offer realm-wide benefits.

Expert Operators
Players can build a Smithy, but without a Weaponsmith working there they won’t gain its full
benefits. The ‘expert operators’ column shows which experts can work at the building, and
the description outlines the benefits they provide there.

Unemployed Experts: It is possible to end up with experts who have no buildings to work in
(e.g., a Weaponsmith with no Smithy). In this case, the expert is unemployed and doesn’t
cost the realm any taxes. However, unemployed experts will consider leaving town if their
future employment doesn’t look promising.

Players as Experts Operators: If players wish to act as expert operators, the GM should
generally let them – as long as they meet sensible skill requirements and have sufficient
downtime to ply their trades. For example, a character with a d6 in Religion could reasonably
work in a Chapel as a Priest, while a character with AB: Cleric, a d10+ in Religion, and the
Artificer edge could reasonably work at a Cathedral as a Bishop.

Note: Player characters can only act as expert operators during extended
periods of downtime at their realm’s capital; regardless of how high a hero’s
Repair skill is, she can’t build a sailing ship if she keeps leaving town to go
adventuring.

29
Building Lists
TABLE: List of Level 1 Buildings
Labour: All Level 1 buildings require 3 Labour to complete.
Building Function Expert Resource(s)
Operators Needed
Ale House Adds +1 Fame when built, and is a good Bar Maid
place to network and hear rumours. Bar
Maids may improve one Rent action each.

Chapel Adds +1 Fame when built. Once per Priest

fortnight, a Priest may offer a blessing based
on the chapel’s dedicated saint. Secret
chapels may be dedicated to other deities.

Dock One trade route can be connected via Carpenter

waterways, and one Farm action may be
taken during Winter months at d4-2.
Carpenters may sell rowboats.

Granary Seasonal food spoilage is reduced by one. Ploughman

Ploughmen may improve Farm actions.

Healer’s Hut Provides +1 to Natural Healing checks made Herbalist

in the capital. An Herbalist may sell
medicines and poisons.

Kennel Sells pack mules by default. An Animal Animal Trainer

Trainer may also sell trained dogs, rats, and
snakes.

Market Fair Each fortnight, characters can buy a limited Vendor

number of random items. Vendors may buy
one collection of valuables and conduct one
trade route from here.

Resource Infrastructure Build on a hex with an undeveloped Depends

resource to perform the Gather action there.

Study Reduces taxes by 10% and provides a place Scrivener

to do research. Scriveners may sell maps.

Trails Build two trails on specific hexes: +1

Progress checks between hexes with trails.

Training Field +1d4 troops when Mustering armies. A Sheriff

Sheriff may upgrade troops to Level 2.

Wooden Keep A basic fortification, giving +1 defence in

Mass Battles.

Workshop Sells basic adventuring gear. Depending on Smith, Tailor,

which experts work here, players may also Fletcher,
commission carts, armour, and weapons. Carpenter

30
TABLE: List of Level 2 Buildings
Note: All Level 2 buildings require 6 Labour to complete.
Building Function Building Expert Resource(s)
Needed Operators Needed
Apothecary Provides +2 to Natural Healing checks Healer’s Hut Witch Doctor
made at the capital. Witches, Druids, and
Shamans may provide services here.

Armory +1d4 additional troops when mustering Training Field Sergeant

armies. A Sergeant may upgrade troops to
Level 3.

Boathouse Two trade routes may be connected via Dock Builder

waterways, and two Farm actions may be
taken during Winter months at d4-2. A
Builder may sell longboats.

Bridge Build on a specific hex: can cross the river

or
freely and collect a toll of 1d4 x 50sp per
fortnight (no estate action required).
Bridges also affect overland trade routes.

Mill Seasonal food spoilage is reduced by an Granary Miller

additional one. Millers may further improve
Farm actions.

Roads Build two roads on specific hexes: +2 to Trail

Progress checks between hexes with
roads.

Smithy Reduces the days to commission gear by Workshops Weaponsmith,

one (minimum one). Depending on which Armorsmith,
experts work here, players may purchase Bowyer
more sophisticated tools, adventuring gear,
armour, and weapons.

Stables Stables one mount per player, without Kennels Stablemaster

which any mounts become fatigued. or Royal
Stablemasters and Grooms sell horses, war Groom
horses, falcons, and other creatures.

Stone Keep A more advanced fortification, granting an Wood Keep

additional +1 defence in Mass Battles.

Tavern Another +1 Fame when built, and is a better Ale House Tavern Keep
place to network and hear rumours. Tavern
Keeps may further improve Rent actions.

Tower-Nave Holy building adds an additional +1 Fame Chapel Cleric

when built. Clerics may grant more powerful
blessings.

Trade Wagons Each fortnight, players can buy from a more Market Fair Trader
substantial list of random items. Traders
may buy two collections of players’
valuables and conduct two trade routes.

31
TABLE: List of Level 3 Buildings
Note: All Level 3 buildings take 12 Labour to build.
Building Function Building Expert Resource(s)
Needed Operators Needed
Barracks +1d6 additional troops when mustering Armory War Leader
armies. A War Leader may upgrade troops
to Level 4.

Castle A more advanced fortification, granting +4 Stone Keep

defence in Mass Battles.

Cathedral The most impressive holy building, granting Tower-Nave Bishop

an additional +2 Fame when built. A Bishop
may grant the most powerful of blessings.

Communal Seasonal food spoilage eliminated Mill Baker

Oven altogether. Bakers may further improve
Farm actions.

Drydock Up to four trade routes may be connected Boathouse Architect

via waterways, and two Farm actions may
be taken during Winter months at no
penalty. An Architect may sell sailing
vessels.

Inn Further increases Fame by +2 when built, Tavern Innkeeper

and is the best place to network and listen
to rumours. Innkeepers may further improve
Rent actions.

Library A prestigious place to collect books and Study Magistrate

conduct business. Reduces taxes by an
additional 20%. Magistrates may reroll
estate actions and seasonal events.

Trade Each fortnight, players buy from a Trade Merchant

Caravans significant list of random items, including Wagons
random magic items. Merchants may buy
three collections of players’ valuables and
conduct three trade routes.

White Iron Reduces the days to commission gear by Smithy White Iron
Smithy another two (minimum one). Depending on Weaponsmith,
which Experts work here, players may White Iron
purchase the most sophisticated tools, Armorsmith
adventuring gear, armour, and weapons.

32
Selling Valuables at the Market
It’s not easy to purchase goods in the Crownless Lands, and selling valuables is no different.
There just isn’t much demand for fine furs, fistfuls of rubies, or ancient crowns. If player
characters try to offload a bizarre collection of oddities in a small village, the local vendor is
likely to complain that she will have trouble moving the goods – and will drive down the price!

To sell treasure, player characters must find a town with a capable vendor. (Or trader, or
merchant.) Then they must put together a collection of valuables and negotiate a sale price
for it. Depending on the collection’s contents, the vendor may haggle very hard.

Assembling a Collection
At the market, players simply name all the items they wish to combine into a single, sellable
collection. Beware! Smaller collections that are more ‘alike’ are easier to sell than a huge
mishmash of eccentric odds and ends:
• -1 to the haggle per five items in the collection.
• -1 to the haggle check for each additional type of item in the collection, beyond one.
• -1 to the haggle check for each item that is esoteric or niche; it’s just harder to find a
buyer for a Tome of the Elder Goddess than a sturdy round shield or a silver
bracelet.

Note: The GM should use her best judgment in determining item ‘types’.

The Haggle Check

The Haggle check is always made with a social skill (Diplomacy, Awe, or Manipulation).
Other characters can support. Depending on the contents of the collection, supporting
characters might use skills like Battle (to talk up the quality of weapons and armour), Animal
Handling (when selling animals), Refinement (when selling finery), and so on.

The result of the Haggle check determines how much the vendor will pay for the collection:
• Failure: 50% of the collection’s true value
• Success: 75%
• Raise: 100%
• Critical Failure: 25%

Vendors can only purchase one collection per fortnight, traders two, and merchants three.

Example: Players want to sell three weapons, four gems, and a book of
spells. Together, the eight items are worth an impressive 2000 silver pennies.
If put in one big collection, the player leading the negotiation will suffer -1 to
the haggle check for having between 5 and 9 items, -2 for having three types
of items (weapons, gems, books), and -1 for the ‘esoteric’ nature of the spell
book, for -4 in total. However, if the players can split the goods into two or
even three lots, they might eliminate that penalty altogether – and get more
money for their treasure!

33
Trade Routes
Player characters can establish trade routes with willing non-player realms. Negotiating a
trade agreement should be a diplomatic challenge, with more powerful realms being more
difficult to negotiate with.

Once an agreement is in place, players must determine the actual trade route on the map;
that is, the path between the two realms’ capitals (in hexes) that their merchants will travel
each season. Hexes with waterways (rivers, seas) are especially useful because they are
easier for merchants to traverse.

Each route provides money and other potential benefits at the end of every successful
season of trade. Note: Players collect at the end of each season, not fortnight.

Trade Route Value

Add 1d6 for each of the following:
• Number of fiefs in the smaller realm, divided by two and rounded down (min. 1).
• Each hex ‘as the crow flies’ between the two realms’ capitals (ignore the trade route).
• Each unique resource inside the players’ realm.
• The players’ realm’s fame rank bonus.

Subtract 1d6 for each of the following:

• Each land hex along the route that does not have Trails or Roads.
• Each mountain, marsh, wasteland, and dense forest along the route.
• Each unmapped hex along the trade route.
• Each river crossing with no bridge along the trade route.

Take all remaining d6s and roll them, then multiply by 50; the realm earns that many silver
pennies at the end of every season.

Resource Usage: Players can request the use of one of their trade partner’s resources
(e.g., iron). This reduces the trade route’s value by 2d6, but grants one stored resource
token at the end of the season.

Non-monetary trade (rough idea): In lieu of money, players can ask trade partners for
something else instead, like military support. Treat this like ‘resources’, above.

Raids: Trade routes can be the target of raids, the same as hexes and gathered resources.
To defend a trade route, players can station a mustered army at roughly its midpoint.

34
Chapels and Blessings
Blessings provide a freeform way for deities to grant characters with divine aid.

A church (or other holy site) is devoted to specific saint (or other divine figure). Once per
fortnight, an expert priest working at the church may grant the party a blessing; characters
attending the ceremony make a group Spirit check to receive the blessing, which they then
“carry” with them. Blessed parties may then “spend” the blessing at any time to receive
divine aid. The aid they receive must be appropriate to the saint’s domain.

The party may only carry one blessing at a time.

The impact of divine aid is either minor, moderate, or miraculous, depending on the level of
the church and priest.

Example: The players receive a blessing in a chapel devoted to Saint Blaise,

a patron of healing and medicine. A minor blessing might be spent to grant a
character +1 on a Natural Healing check; a moderate one might be spent to
perform the Healing power; a miraculous blessing might be spent to perform
the Healing power with the ‘Greater Healing’ modifier, or even the
Resurrection power.

35
TABLE: List of Patron Saints
Note: This list is not exhaustive; it is meant for inspiration.
Name Domain(s) Possible uses (minor / miraculous)

St. Abadios Soldiers, particularly those who go One round of the Formation Fighter edge /
willingly into mortal danger Major bonus to a Mass Battle involving some
bold maneuver

St. Anthony Monasticism and celibacy Resist Tests for a round / Gain a single use of
the Destroy Undead cleric ability

St. Antonio de Padua Lost things and lost husbands Bonus to find a clue / Locate an ancient king’s
unmarked grave

St. Blaise Healing and medicine Bonus to a Natural Healing check / Gain one
use of the Resurrection power

St. Dunstan Locksmiths, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, Reduce the time needed to commission gear /
jewelers Gain a season’s use of the Luxuries resource

St. George Killing dragons Gain Environmental Resistance (Fire) for one
round / Gain the Giant Killer edge for an entire
encounter

St. Hubertus Hunting Gain a bonus to a Survival check / Triple the

rations gained from a foraging check

St. Isidore Farming Reroll a Farm estate action / Create arable

farmland in an inhospitable region

St. Jerome Librarians, encyclopedias, translations Gain a bonus to translate a text / Gain
permanent fluency in a forgotten language

St. Joseph Cripples, fathers, builders Reroll a Build estate action / Heal a permanent
injury

St. Matthew Tax collection Reroll a Rent estate action / Pay no taxes for
one season

St. Michael the Mariners Gain a bonus to a single Boating check / Find
Archangel an abandoned vessel in your time of need

St. Nicolas of Myra Safe travel and travelers Gain a bonus to Notice an ambush while
traveling / Be ignored by “wandering monster”-
type encounters for a week

St. Peter Watchmen Gain a bonus to Notice a lie / Redraw one raid
encounter

St. Stephen Surviving execution, surviving plague Gain a bonus to a Bleeding Out check / Cure a
vassal afflicted with plague

St. Vincent of Lerins Learning and theology Gain a bonus to a Research check / Converse
with a long-dead saint in a vision

36
TABLE: List of Pagan Deities
Note: This list is not exhaustive; it is meant for inspiration.
Name Domain(s) Possible uses (minor / miraculous)

Sunna Goddess of the sun, truth, and light. Cast the Light power / +6 on a Farm action
Lady of melody, good judgment, and
bountiful harvests.

Mohn God of the moon and darkness, lord of A small bonus on a Manipulation check / Cast
drums, dance, insanity, drunkenness, the Darkness power with a raise and
and lies. maximum modifiers

Tiw God of war, lord of rage, blood, and Temporarily gain the Command edge /
disease; dwells in the North Star and Temporarily summon a ghostly fyrd outfitted
brings souls to the afterlife in his ship for war
of the dead.

Wedden Leader of the pantheon. God of Reroll a random treasure roll / +4 on a Build
learning, medicine, and building, lord action
of royalty, civilization, wealth.

Thunor God of the weather, the sea, and Move the weather one position / Temporarily
sailing, who wars against evil giants summon a ghostly sailing vessel
and monstrous enemies of civilization.

Frigg Wife of Wedden, goddess of A small bonus to flirt with a romantic interest /
marriages, sex, and childbirth, lady to Eliminate all fatigue in the party
all women and the female part of
plants and animals.

Lyaugra Eldest of the gods, goddess of fate, Gain a small spellcasting bonus / Cast the
sacred woods, and the passage of Divination power with a raise and the Power
time, lady of mystical secrets. Lets modifier
druids peer beyond the veil to
commune with ghosts; her fingertips
form the ten islands of the afterlife.

37
Seasons
Each season (spring, summer, fall, winter) is 28 days long. Winter is typically spent at home,
managing affairs, repairing or crafting gear, and waiting for the thaw.

On the first day of a new season…

1. Players pay their realm’s taxes.
2. Players deduct 1d4 Food from their realm for seasonal spoilage.
3. GM rolls on the appropriate Seasonal Effects table (see ‘Random Events’ doc).
4. GM determines whether raiders will attack the players’ realm this season (see ‘Raids’
in the gamemaster’s section.)
5. (Optional) Players cash in on their trade routes (see ‘Trade Routes’).
6. (Optional) Players determine whether a random expert visits the players’ capital, and
whether any local experts can level up (see ‘Fame’, in the gamemaster’s section.)

Taxes
“Taxes” represents some combination of expenses, maintenance, and actual taxes the
player characters must pay for their realm. Taxes are paid on the 1st day of each season.

Calculating Taxes
• Each fief (hex) costs 500 silver pennies.
• Each estate after the first one increases the fief’s tax by 50sp.
• Each expert employed in the realm increases tax by 25sp per expert’s level.

Example: A realm controlling 3 fiefs pays 1500sp in taxes.

1. The first fief has three estates, increasing its tax by 100sp.
2. The second fief has two estates, increasing its tax by 50sp.
3. The third fief only has one estate, incurring no additional tax.
Finally, the realm has two Level 2 experts and one Level 1 expert, increasing
tax by 125sp. In total, the players pay 1725sp per season.

If player characters lapse on paying their taxes, all estates in the unpaid hex become
uncooperative until the debt is settled. They cannot be given orders, and may
eventually rebel!

38
 Gamemaster’s Section

Read no further or be cursed!

The remainder of this book is under a terrible, peculiar curse. Only those who are
volunteering to be a gamemaster in the Crownless Lands are able to read it!

39
Raids on Realms
A realm may – nay, should – be the target of raids by barbarians, rival realms, undead, etc.

Unconnected Clusters
A realm may be made up of ‘clusters’ of unconnected regions of fiefs. Raiders have a
chance to target each cluster once per season. If all the fiefs in a realm are connected, they
will only suffer one possible attack per season; but if the fiefs disconnected and spread
apart, they’ll likely suffer more attacks.

Capital Cluster: These rules sometimes refer to the ‘capital cluster’. This is the cluster of
fiefs containing the realm’s capital.

A realm with two

unconnected clusters

Resources and trade routes: Each resource being gathered outside the
realm always counts as its own unconnected cluster. Likewise trade routes.

40
Rolling for Raids
At the beginning of the season, roll 1d12 for each unconnected cluster, trade route, and
resource being Gathered outside the realm (via an estate action). On a 1-5, raiders attack.
The attack might happen at any point in the season, not necessarily right away. Note that a
‘1’ always triggers an attack.

Discouraging Raids
There are a few ways players can discourage raids by decreasing the raid roll range (i.e.,
from 1-5 down to 1-4, etc.).
1. Each mustered fyrd (army) standing in the cluster decreases the roll range by one.
2. The highest-level fortification in the cluster decreases the roll range by an amount
equal to its Mass Battle defence bonus (e.g., a Stone Keep decreases it by two).
3. Each raid on the realm suffered last season decreases the roll range by one.

Example: A cluster of four hexes has one fyrd (army), and one of the hexes has a
Stone Keep which provides a +2 defence bonus in Mass Battles. The likelihood of a
raid on this cluster is reduced by a total of 3, from 1-5 to 1-2.

Encouraging Raids
On the other hand, there are a few factors which increase the roll range for raids (from 1-5 to
1-6, etc.).
1. Each unique resource in the cluster (iron, animals) increases the roll range by one.

Note: ‘Unique’ means you only count the first resource of each type.

2. The number of hexes between this cluster and the realm’s “capital cluster”
increases the roll range by one per hex. Far-flung fiefs and resources make
for appealing targets.

3. Other modifiers may apply (grudges or sour relations with the raiders, etc.).

41
Preparing a Raid
1. Set a date for the raid. Roll a d4 (for the week) followed by a d8 for the day (reroll
8s), or simply choose a date.
2. Define the raiders. Pick a raider type that is appropriate to the region and the story.
Here are some common candidates, sorted from most to least “monstrous”:
a. Wasteland Dead, the twitching ghouls who pour out from Corráin’s Waste.
b. Dragon Men, the remains of a cursed civilization, now spectres of chaos who
arrive on black longboats.
c. Dogheads, packs of dog-headed warriors who live to satisfy their sense of
greed and cruelty.
d. Marsh Men, hunched and tricky marsh dwellers who take captives to sacrifice
to their god, the Oozing Haired Child.
e. Paint Eater barbarians, nomadic pagan tribes who raid the “church lands” to
get what they need to survive the Dragon Men’s attacks on their lands.
f. Enemy realms.
3. Determine their number. As a guideline, raiders attack with 4d8 troops plus an
additional 1d8 troops per fief (hex) in the defending cluster.
a. For every 10 normal troops, there should be one “special” as well: a Wild
Card officer, a monster, a spellcaster…
4. Prepare the defenders. Each estate within the defending cluster automatically
marshals a militia of 1d6 troops. Trade routes and gathered resources marshal 2d6
defenders each. Players may have stationed fyrds for defence, as well.
5. Determine whether or not the player characters are present. If the players are off
adventuring, they probably won’t be able to participate as defenders. However, you
may decide that a warning somehow gets to them in time, so they can choose
whether or not to race across the wilderness and defend their fiefs.

42
Running a Raid
Raids can be resolved using the Quick Encounter, Mass Battle or regular combat systems.

Note: If using Quick Encounter, don’t forget to heavily penalized

outnumbered and unprepared defenders. There’s no way a workforce of iron
miners should easily defend against a gang of well-armed barbarians.

Raid Losses
If the players’ realm loses the battle, the raiders get to plunder their fiefs in that cluster. For
each fief in the cluster…
1. Destroy one Food.
2. Destroy 3d6 x 25 silver pennies worth of money and treasure (about 300sp).
3. If the capital cluster was raided, destroy one stored resource at random.
4. If the capital cluster was raided:
a. Roll 1d6 for each building: on a 6, the building was damaged and requires 1
labour per level of the building to repair, using a Build estate action (e.g., a
Cathedral takes 3 labour to repair)
b. Roll 1d6 for each expert operator; on a 6, the expert is incapacitated and
must pass a Vigor check at the end of the fortnight to recover (failure means
they remain incapacitated for another fortnight, while a Critical Failure means
they die).

Raids on gatherers and trade routes simply cancel production.

43