CC Background

## **Home is Where the Heart Is**

Magic's home city is London, but magic grew up and moved out. The biggest arcane concentration is well south, in Bordeaux, Aquitaine. As a result, Western Europe has a higher density of magic than the rest of the world, but that's slowly changing.

Europe, however, is not *the world*...

A character could easily be a Turkic trader, suffering the travails of life on the Silk Road. A player could inhabit the role of a post-Mamluk Arabian scholar, or an imam from gold-rich Mali. Perhaps they are a horseman of the Steppes, a Vedic scholar from India, or a Hunan soldier weary of the plagues, undead and unending waves of orks ravaging China.

In the Western Hemisphere, things have played out very differently, where an Aztec jaguar warrior is now part of the Commonwealth, battling giant scorpions and ravenous undead. Even proud Alabama natives have been organized into the Muskogee Kingdom, barely hanging on in the battle against wolves that are bigger than bison.

Players should start narrowing where they want their characters to call "home."

## Six Degrees of Separation

There's no place on earth that hasn't been affected by the Incidence of Incidents, and residents everywhere will be able to connect over the Big Two: the "Battle of Moon's Shadow" and "Starfall."

Likewise, there's no place on earth that hasn't seen evidence of the Order of Merlin (though they may not know exactly what it was that they saw). They've likely seen the scholars of the Royal Academy or felt the rumble from the Regiments of the Commonwealth rolling through in their massive, magical horseless carriages.

### **"X" Marks the Spot**

Statistically, the character is probably from a small village on the 20-mile outskirts of a town, which is another 50 miles away from a city. Ultimately, the decision is up to the player, with the only real requirement being that the backstory is recorded. The Ref is likely to work details of their past into the narrative of their future.

To sync the characters with their respective histories as they've unfolded in the game, once they've settled on country/region/county/town, they should do a search the timeline in the ***Hall of Records*** for those key geographic markers. This gives some clue to the current conditions so their character can match the context.

They're likely in line with the averages. Maybe they're worse off and that's why they're leaving on a grand adventure. Maybe they've stayed ahead of the curve and that's why they're leaving now: to learn to better defend their homeland and their own home within it.

### **"It's a Great Place to be *From*..."**

Wherever locale players may choose as their character's origin, the sense of identity is often limited to the local level. This may be the barony, county or shire they're from, or the city if they're part of statistical few-but-growing urban dwellers. It was rare to have a sense of belonging to any region larger than that as neither communication nor travel were yet pervasive enough to give that wider sense of community.

While there was a pervasive sense of familiar and comfortable culture, the sense of nationalism we often carry today didn't exist at that point unless you were very high nobility or royalty (and there was usually a big jump between those two, as well).

The exception was often towards the king himself, the symbol of the kingdom. If it was a "good one," usually defined as a conquering war hero like Edward III (who passed in 1377), they seem divinely touched. Edward IV (formerly the Black Prince, who died helping London in 1387) was seen as King Arthur's modern heir. Edward V, like his brother Richard (who rules Aquitaine), have been put on a pedestal so high that there will be no escape when the Sword of Damocles finally falls.

 Anywhere in the Commonwealth, driven by magic and magically-powered wheels, there's a growing sense of brotherhood. Even between traditional antagonists: English and French, French and Italian, Italian and German, there is a new sense of fraternité – *especially in the face of orks and things darker*.

## **Building a Personal History**

Once a player knows their home and what is pushing or pulling them away from it, they need to figure out the context of who they are and what they're leaving behind. This equates to roughly the second half of the Speculation character construction section.

*Who are they and what do they do?* Is the character a commoner of [that place]? If so, are they laborers or perhaps craftsmen or something else altogether? Are they middle-class merchants, perhaps even with a little education? Are they minor nobles or part of an extended aristocratic family?

## Tier Three Groundwork

This background, through character origin, history, profession, stats and possessions, will give players a Tier Three character. They won't have innate magic capability, but they might have a magic item (or two). That Tier Three character is fully functional and ready to jump into the campaign...

Most people (much less characters) will be poorly educated (as in *not* educated), but they'll be conversational (if not literate) in two and possibly three languages. For residents of London, the primary language at this point is *French*, with some Middle English (spoken more by the lower and middle classes), and for some travelers, scholars and clergy, conversational Latin.

For residents just outside London, swap the first and second languages. Farther away, bump them both to 2nd and 3rd with a more regional vernacular, like Cornish, Welsh, or Breton. Follow this pattern for whatever region the character hails from.

For scholars, lawyers, knights or any sort of nobility, they may be functionally literate in those languages, with possibly more atop those. Language barriers are *very* common, though transitional areas often have natives with a foot on both sides and translator services are worth their weight in gold.

#### ***Hired Swords*...**

There were very few truly professional soldiers, but *substantial* numbers with at least basic weapon-handling skills and a smidgeon of terrified combat experience (with a great deal of time marching between pitched battles).

Before 1380, the professionals were either in some variation of Free Companies or were the few soldiers who made up a hamlet's militia (and were often non-commissioned officers in the army of the local lord). Alternately, they might've been in a religious-military order, doing their best to embody the legends of the paladins.

Since the rise of the Commonwealth, volunteer militia declined. Since the rise of the orks, it went back up again. These days, everybody has heard of the *Soldiers of the Commonwealth*. The Arms are, without a doubt, the only force that can reliably match the darkness beyond the orks.

#### ***Hired Words...***

On the opposite end of the spectrum were folks in robes, whether that was clerks or clergy. The professionally literate, wielding pen over sword, included those with numeracy (could count higher than their fingers and toes). These educated souls were rare and in-demand.

## Innate Magic

Being born with 'powers," or perhaps stumbling into them or having them thrust upon the character is exceedingly rare – but it does happen and is considered an example of the "Incidence of Incidents." In most situations, those unlucky few usually blow themselves (and others) up when attempting to gain control of these energies. If your character has been so "gifted," please step this way...

The clergy were the major source of "doing good" in the world, and roughly accounted for the only social services of the late 14th century. By 1385, that had grown to a whole different level: the power of healing in the hands of humans is truly miraculous. Bringing down an occasional lightning bolt from the heavens to protect the flock didn't hurt the reputation, either. The Jesuits (defined slightly differently in this game) were the sole source of divine magic for a decade, but they've been working to bring in cross-faith practitioners.

Likewise, the scholars have become the doorway to the sorcerers. Whether "wizards" or "mages," everybody has heard of the titles but few know the differences, if any, beyond their general ability to cast a spell. They might've even seen a wizard of the *Order of Merlin* come riding through on a mission, but *the O-M* are on a different level. The rumors flow, though, that those who prove themselves reliable may aspire to their ranks.

#### ***Stations and the Upwardly Mobile***

Characters may be from any socioeconomic class, and will have associated benefits, but will also have certain challenges. Benefits of hailing from the gentry include available cash, or access to noble courts where they can present themselves as courtiers and get high-level intelligence on the local situation.

Sometimes, going the other direction (being the friend in low places) can provide little intangibles, like not getting chased down and killed or kidnapped for ransom in traditionally hostile territory. While the Commonwealth has made the countryside far more civilized, there are still brigands – and some still hold a convenient grudge from that time (a century ago) that a militia from *your* neighborhood raided and sacked *their* neighborhood.

The big draw, for those willing to risk it, is entering service to some part of the Commonwealth, including the Order of Merlin. Carrying the banner of the local Crowns or coronet (Commonwealth or not) has both pay and prestige, but can be dangerous even for the functionaries. Of course, *everything is dangerous* these days, but especially in the CMC, there are rumors of training, education, and fast promotion. In service to a Crown, a character may even earn investiture as a noble – all they need to do is *survive*.

 Likewise, gender roles and relations are still very 1389, if only by force of habit. More commonly, there has been so much rampant death and destruction that there has been a level of gender-blend, but leaning mostly with women having to step into what were traditionally men's roles (from footmen to arbalists). Acceptance in those roles varies depending on the audience and the performance.

## **Background Done?**

* **Wait, let's back up a step****...**
* **So far, so good. What's my "starting kit"?**