Making a start on BF's one Lord D&D idea
BF proposed we do a single Lord game where everyone plays people from his household or his lands and the RP revolves around dealing with various challenges together. People will generally control a single character so it will be a more D&D-type approach as opposed to what we're used to. He's sent me a rulebook to use for it that I've yet to get into in any detail but I intend to sort that out this week. In the mean time I made a basic map and a background for the made up Lordship to see if people would be interested in giving this a try.
The Lordship of the Three Valleys
The demesne of House Arden, named for the river that rises from their lands, the Three Valleys are nestled within the mountain ranges of the Westerlands/Stormlands/Vale. The valleys, two of which are large and wide, with a third accessible only through a narrow and hilly gap in the mountains at the bottom of the area, are relatively populous and fertile.
The two large valleys hold the bulk of the Lord’s people, comprised of a mix of farmers and foresters: the rivers flowing down the two having irrigated the soil and made it fair land for crops and forestry. The final valley is small and hilly, with a small, dry plateau at the summit. The people here make their living herding mountain goats and manufacturing much sought after woollen garments from their flocks.
Besides the Lordly House Arden there exists three landed Knightly Houses within the valleys. Half a dozen important villages are also ruled over by Earldormen who, though not Knightly, represent the feudal masters of those villages.
The Arden Valley
The site of Castle Goodmound (1), seat of House Arden, which sits at the meeting point of the River Arden (to the west) and the River Melorn (to the east). Commanding the valley’s most defensible height, the castle is served by a small hinterland to the north accessible only through the keep itself, making an effective siege difficult without a guide capable of taking any would-be attackers high into the northern mountains to where the Arden is little more than a stream.
The Arden Church Estate (10) is a monastic community of the Seven, ruled over by a senior Septon selected from amongst the monks there. Its lands comprise the area south of the Woodsburn Forest, east of the River Arden and north of the southern mountains, making the Monastery both wealthy and influential locally. Connected to the rest of the valley’s population by the bridge at Ardenside, there is an ongoing dispute between the two parties over the future of the bridge. It is in need of repair, with the local builders fearing it will collapse inside a year without it, but both Ardenside and the Monastery wish to control the new bridge. Quietly, some believe the Monastery is too active in politics, being that they are supposed to be monks.
The large villages of Woodsburn (5) and Ardenside (6) are also found in the valley. Woodsburn is nestled inside thick woodlands and home to the valley’s logging economy and hunting grounds for House Arden, while Ardenside serves as the valley’s market town, drawing smallfolk from the length of both the Arden and Highpass valleys.
Dozens of smaller hamlets and dwellings exist up and down the valley, home to small farmers, cattle herders, fishermen and the like. The main road from the south runs up the Arden’s eastern bank towards Castle Goodmound.
The Highpass Valley
The site of the Cardell Estate (4) and the village of Whiteley (7), the Highpass Valley is the smallest and least populous of House Arden’s territories, but is not particularly poor. Accessible by a narrow and hilly pass at the bottom of the Arden Valley, the land rises steeply until reaching a windswept plateau wherein people can be found dwelling.
The Cardell Estate, owned by the Knightly House Cardell, comprises a small stonebuilt keep with thick wooden palisades and is the site of the valley’s woollen industry. The small town that exists below the walls comprises many workshops and tanneries, as well as a small blacksmithing industry to feed the mines behind the Estate, which pull out a small but lucrative haul of iron ore.
The village of Whiteley wouldn’t count as much more than a hamlet in the lower, warmer and more populous two valleys, and can often appear to be something of a ghost town at times. The families that keep the herds of mountain goats live here when not tending their flocks. The village consists mainly of dwellings and barns useful for shearing the goats and keeping them in while the families are in the village. Occasionally visited by traders going to or from the Cardell Estate.
Folk from this valley are experienced mountaineers and know well how to venture up the steep slopes and into the many minor valleys and passes that surround the Three Valleys.
The Longdale Valley
The most easterly valley of the three valleys, the Longdale Valley shares much the same lifestyle as the Arden Valley: fed by a river that keeps the soil fertile and in possession of tracts of woodland, the economy here is healthy and varied.
The Haerton Estate (2), owned by the Knightly House Haerton, rules over the western banks of the River Orin and draws its income from the wide variety of game available in their woodland holdings, as well as logging. An expansive manor house sits by the river, much more a stately home than a fortification and indeed regarded generally as grander (if less militarily defensible) than even Castle Goodmound.
The walled village of Orinsford (8) sits on the bridge across the Orin and, like Ardenside, is the market town of its valley. As the lowest village in the Three Valleys, it has often been the first target of would-be raiders or invading forces upon entering the area, and as such has erected a high wooden palisade reinforced with a stonework belt the height of a man around the base, and augmented by several wooden towers watching to the south.
The village of Pensworth (9) sits at the top of the valley and is home to a farming community. Accessible via a bridge across the Orin sited north of the Haerton Estate, the village is somewhat isolated but regularly sees traders seeking to purchase crops or meats from the townsfolk, who themselves do most of their business with the Haerton Estate.
The Summit
The highest easily accessible point in the entire Three Valleys, “the summit” (as it is locally known) is the site of Miserth Keep (3). Situated at the end of a narrow and steep pass up into the mountains, the keep was built originally as a refuge for the nobility of the valley should invaders ever threaten to overrun the southern reaches of the territory. Sturdy and situated atop a rocky outcrop, the keep is maintained by the Knightly House Blire. During winters, the keep is sometimes cut off from the rest of the valleys and, as such, there exists a small population of huntsmen who make a living hunting various mountain wildlife among the high peaks that surround the keep.
Relative prosperities
Very Rich
- Castle Goodmound (1)
- Haerton Estate (2)
Rich
- Ardenside (6)
- Orinsford (8)
- Church Estate (10)
Medium
- Cardell Estate (4)
- Woodsburn (5)
- Penworth (9)
Poor
- Miserth Keep (3)
- Whiteley (7)
Relative Military Might – Peasant Levy
Strongest (300 points)
- Ardenside(6)
- Orinsford (8)
Strong (200 points)
- Woodsburn (5)
- Penworth (9)
Medium (100 points)
- Haerton Estate (2)
- Cardell Estate (4)
- Castle Goodmound (1)
Weak (50 points)
- Miserth Keep (3)
- Whiteley (7)
- Church Estate (10)
Perks
Miserth Keep – A standing force of 40 Heavy Infantry and 10 Heavy Cavalry garrison the castle. They may leave if the Knight elects to take them with him.
Castle Goodmound and the Estates – A standing force of 30 Heavy Infantry garrison the castle. They may leave if the Lord/Knight elects to take them with him.
Whiteley – Levies from this town are capable of moving on mountain tiles at 25% normal movement speed. They may act as guides to other troops, allowing them to do the same, but may only guide 3 men for every 1 Whitely man present.
Orinsford – 50 points of the town’s levy is always raised as the Town Watch, manning the walls, towers and gates of the fortified village. They may leave if the Earldorman elects to take them with him.
Possible Start Events
1. War! The Kingdom is at war (Robert’s Rebellion?) and a force of enemy troops has entered the area from the south, intending to loot the surrounding countryside in an effort to force the Westerlands’/Vale’s/Stormlands’ armies home to defend their people. The Lord and supporting players will have to defeat several groups of enemies each attempting to attack or hold certain objectives.
2. Death. The old Lord Arden has died, with the new one due to be officially sworn as the new Lord Arden. There could be intrigue afoot: someone goes missing, maybe the soon-to-be Lord himself goes missing. Would need to devise a plotline for that but it could work quite well for a straightforward D&D-type DM-plus-players approach.
3. Strife. The old Lord Arden is bedridden and weak, his death is close. His eldest daughter and her husband (players, maybe one of the Knightly Houses?) have made a move to install themselves as successors while Lord Arden’s son is away. Upon his return (he’d start in the south of the map somewhere) he’s forced to deal with this coup d’etat as people start taking sides.
A game of this type will require being regularly fed events to keep going, as we’re dealing with a fairly small area. I’m reading the rulebook BF sent me to see what it says about it and how it envisages a game progressing, but this is my initial effort in terms of producing a map with some backstory. It’ll allow people to roll characters from certain places or in charge of certain things.
More or less rules might need to be added as I read the rulebook. I don’t know how much it covers in terms of items, battles, stats, economy, so on. I’ll try to fit it all together.
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Originally Posted by Bastard Feudalism
