Gran Albionne

**GRAN ALBIONNE**

**Much of the World Is Untamed.** Wild regions abound. Kingdoms of
various sizes dot the Iandscape, but beyond their borders the wilds crowd in. Wilderness
reaches where the spirits of all things are masters and their kin, the Faeries command
and the beasts and birds obey. Lost and forgotten castles, Witches and
Enchanted forests lie there.

People know the area they live in
well. They've heard stories of other places from merchants and travelers, but
few know what lies beyond the mountains or in the depths of the great forest
unless they've been there themselves.

**The World Is Ancient.** Empires rise and fall, leaving few places
that have not been touched by imperial grandeur or decay. War, time, and
natural forces eventually claim the mortal world, leaving it rich with places
of adventure and mystery. Ancient civilizations and their knowledge survive in
legends, magic artifacts and relics, and their ruins.

**Conflict Shapes the World's History**. Powerful individuals strive to
make their mark on the world, and factions of like-minded individuals can alter
the course of history. Factions include religions led by charismatic prophets,
kingdoms ruled by lasting dynasties, and shadowy societies that seek to master
long-lost magic. The influence of such factions waxes and wanes as they compete
with each other for power. Some seek to preserve the world and usher in a
golden age. Others strive toward evil ends, seeking to rule the world with an
iron fist. Still others seek goals that range from the practical to the
esoteric, such as the accumulation of material wealth or the advent of a god.
Whatever their goals, these factions inevitably collide, creating conflict that
can steer the world's fate.

**Magic Is Everywhere.** Throughout **Gran Albionne** the use of magic is an everyday occurrence, as the
five races live close to the land. Ancient pacts between the spirits, who are
the soul of all things, and the Great Races.

The Elves, Rare-born and highest.
Last sons of the first Great Race.

The dwarves, earthborn once-fey
of the mountains. Old and wise and close to the spirits of the Earth.

Halflings, the true keepers and
masters of civilization. Forbearers of all good culture and society.

The Gnomes, once-fey, merry, mad,
masters of peculiar magic and closest to the Faeries with the luck of the
spirits.

Man. The Young race. Neither
greatest, nor least. Though most diverse in their pacts and bindings of the
spirits.

In the lands of Gran Albionne the
least of the race of man, children of only five or six summers, can, by the
grace of their ancestral pacts with the spirits, evoke the smallest magics,
lighting candles, cleaning messes with the wave of a hand, freshening their
faces and so on. Blessings of the spirits aid them. But only so long as they
follow faithfully the obligations of the ancient oaths. To farm and forest
wisely. To hunt and husband animals frugally and with care. And to give
offerings to their spirits when they slaughter or sacrifice. Obeyed, the
keeping of these promises ensure fortune and prosperity, vouchsafe the balance
of their dominion with the right and rule of the spirits in the lands they
share, and have led to the rapid advance of mankind over the face of the world.

**RELIGION**

Spirits inhabit every part of the
natural world. Everything has a spirit, from the grandest mountain to the
lowliest rock, from the great ocean to a babbling brook, from the sun and moon
to a fighter's ancestral sword. All these objects, and the spirits that inhabit
them, are sentient, though some are more aware, alert, and intelligent than
others. The most powerful spirits might even be considered deities. All are
worthy of respect if not veneration.

The Great Races don't typically
pay allegiance to one spirit over the others. Instead, they offer prayers and sacrifices
to different spirits at different times, as appropriate to the situation. A
pious character might make daily prayers and offerings to ancestor spirits and
the spirits of the house, regular petitions to important spirits such as the
Seven Fortunes of Good Luck, occasional sacrifices of herbs or grain or meat to
location spirits such as the spirit of a forest, and sporadic prayers to a host
of other spirits as well.

The spirits of Gran Albionne are
very tolerant. Most spirits don't care to whom a character also offers
sacrifices, as long as they receive the sacrifices and respect they are due.
People incorporate new spirits and deities into their prayers without
displacing the old ones. Contemplatives and scholars adopt complex
philosophical systems and practices without changing their belief in and
respect for the spirits they already venerate.

Priests of all races serve the
spirits as a whole, and so can choose any domain, representing a favorite
spirit for that cleric.

People in Gran Albionne, honor
spirits of their own and those of other places when they travel. Individuals
pay homage to various spirits, regardless of alignment. A person might
propitiate the Sea Spirit before setting out to sail, join a communal feast to
celebrate the Crop Spirits of field and pasture at harvest time, and pray to
the Forest Kings before going hunting.

Some individuals feel a calling
to a particular spirit's service and claim that power as a patron. Particularly
devoted individuals become priests by setting up a shrine or helping to staff a
holy site. Much more rarely, those who feel such a calling become clerics or
paladins invested with the responsibility of granted power.

Shrines and temples serve as
community gathering points for religious rites and festivals. Priests at such
sites relate stories of the spirits, teach the ethics of their patrons, offer
advice and blessings, perform religious rites, and provide training in ways and
wisdom their spirits favor. Cities and large towns can host several temples
dedicated to individual spirit lords important to the community, while smaller
settlements might have a single shrine devoted to any spirits the locals choose
to revere.

**FORCES AND PHILOSOPHIES**

Not all divine powers need to be
derived from the spirits. In some situations, true believers hold enough
conviction in their ideas about the universe that they gain magical, power from
that conviction. Impersonal forces replace the spirits by granting power to
mortals attuned to them. Just as druids and rangers can gain their spell
ability from the spirits of nature, some clerics devote themselves to ideals
rather than to the spirits. Paladins might serve a philosophy of justice and
chivalry rather than a specific deity.

Forces and philosophies aren't
worshiped; they aren't beings that can hear and respond to prayers or accept
sacrifices. Devotion to a philosophy or a force isn't necessarily exclusive of
service to one’s pact-owed spirits. A person can be devoted to the philosophy
of good and offer worship to various good spirits, or revere the force of
nature and also pay homage to the spirits of nature, who might be seen as
personal manifestations of an impersonal force. In this world of powerful
spirits with demonstrable power, it's unusual for a philosophy to deny the will
of the spirits, although a common philosophical belief states that the spirit
lords are more like mortals than they would have mortals believe. According to
such philosophies, the great spirits aren't truly immortal (just very
long-lived).

The power of a philosophy stems
from the belief that mortals invest in it. A philosophy that only one person
believes in isn't strong enough to bestow magical power on that person.

POWER AND RULE

In the feudal society of Gran
Albionne, power and authority are concentrated in towns and cities. Nobles hold
authority over the settlements where they live and the surrounding lands. They
collect taxes from the populace, which they use for public building projects,
to pay the soldiery, and to support a comfortable lifestyle for themselves
(although nobles often have considerable hereditary wealth). In exchange, they
promise to protect their citizens from threats such as orc marauders, hobgoblin
armies, and roving human bandits.

Nobles appoint officers as their
agents in villages, to supervise the collection of taxes and serve as judges in
disputes and criminal trials. These reeves, sheriffs, or bailiffs are commoners
native to the villages they govern, chosen for their positions because they
already hold the respect of their fellow citizens.

Within towns and cities, lords
share authority and administrative responsibility with lesser nobles (usually
their own relatives), and also with representatives of the Guilds, such as
traders and artisans. A lord mayor of noble birth is appointed to head the town
or city council and to perform the same administrative functions that reeves
carry out in villages. The council consists of representatives elected by the
middle class. Only foolish nobles ignore the wishes of their councils, since the
economic power of the middle class is often more important to the prosperity of
a town or city than the hereditary authority of the nobility.

The larger a settlement, the more
likely that other individuals or organizations hold significant power there as
well. Even in a village, a popular individual-a wise elder or a well-liked
farmer-can wield more influence than the appointed reeve, and a wise reeve
avoids making an enemy of such a person. In towns and cities, the same power
might lie in the hands of a prominent temple, a guild independent of the
council, or an individual with magical power.

**COMMERCE AND TRADE**

Even small villages can provide heroes
access to the gear they need to pursue their adventures. Provisions, tents,
backpacks, and simple weapons are commonly available. Traveling merchants carry
armor, martial weapons, and more specialized gear. Most villages have inns that
cater to travelers, where adventurers can find a hot meal and a bed, even if
the quality leaves much to be desired.

Villages rely heavily on trade
with other settlements, including larger towns and cities. Merchants pass
through regularly, selling necessities and luxuries to the vilIagers, and any
successful merchant has far-reaching contacts across the region. Traveling
merchants pass on gossip and news to the heroes as they conduct their business.
Since merchants make their living traversing roads that might be menaced by bandits
or wandering monsters, they hire guards to keep their goods safe. They also
carry news from town to town, including reports of situations that cry out for
the attention of adventurers.

These merchants can't provide the
services normally found in a city. For instance, when the characters are in
need of a library or a dedicated sage, a trainer who can handle the griffon
eggs they've found, or an architect to design their castle, they're better off
going to a large city than looking in a village.

**FACTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS**

Guilds, Orders, Secret Societies,
and Colleges are important forces in the social order of Gran Albionne
civilization. Their influence stretches across multiple towns and cities, with
a similarly wide-ranging political authority. Organizations can play an
important part in the lives of the people and their heroes, becoming their
patrons, allies, or enemies just like individuals might. When heroes join these
organizations, they become part of something larger than themselves, which gives
their exploits and accomplishments a context in the wider world.

Factions and organizations provide
ties to key personages and a clear agenda beyond a heroes individual gain. In
the same way, villainous organizations create an ongoing sense of menace above
and beyond the threat of solitary foes. Adventurers representing different
factions might have competing interests or priorities while they pursue the
same goals. Adventurer organizations are also a great source of special rewards
beyond experience and treasure. Increased standing in an organization has value
in and of itself, and might also come with concrete benefits such as access to
an organization's information, equipment, magic, and other resources.

In many Kingdoms of **Gran Albionne**, such as **Westphalia** and **Ruritania**, organizations also keep the wheels of progress and
governance turning. Orders of Knighthood, such as **The Knights of Westphalia** and The **Knights of Ruritania** constantly guard their nations against threat
from inside and out. They bolster and support their crowned rulers, expand the
goodwill of their sovereign by protecting and helping the people of their
lands. Creating goodwill toward Kings and Queens and a sense of pride in one’s
kingdom.

The **Mercantile Guild of Westphalia**, sometimes called **The Westphalia Company**, sails far and
wide across the world, trading for wonders and oddments from far, exotic
shores. Mysterious silk, whose secret of making is unknown in Western lands. Rich
foreign Samite, cloth of gold, exotic pelts and furs and so many more wondrous
goods. Members of the organization travel far and wide and see the most amazing
places.

Secret Societies flourish in
times of peace such as **Westphalia**
now enjoys. Mystery cults and secretive religious organizations based on a
ritual of initiation, in which the initiate is mystically identified with the
strange and heretical notion of a ‘god’, or a life-altering philosophy. Mystery
cults are intensely personal, concerned with the initiate's relationship with
the force or philosophy of the divine.

Sometimes a mystery cult is a
type of worship within the Animism of Gran Albionne. It acknowledges the myths
and rituals of the spirit lords, but presents its own myths and rites as
primary. For instance, a secretive order of monks might immerse themselves in a
mystical relationship to a spirit who is broadly worshiped.

A mystery cult emphasizes the
history of its patron Spirit or ‘god’, which is symbolically reenacted in its
initiation ritual. The foundation myth of a mystery cult is usually simple and
often involves a spirit’s myth or a god's rising, or a journey to the
underworld and a return. Mystery cults often revere sun and moon spirits and
agricultural spirits whose portfolios reflect the cycles of nature.

The Mercenary Companies of many **Gran Albionne** kingdoms gain renown and fame and glory in
battlefields at home and abroad. Their reputation being of the greatest order
of importance to individual fighters. The ‘**Hessians**’
of the **Kingdom of Hesse-Kassel** are a
feared and respected order of disciplined warriors that battle wherever kings
pay coin to Mercenary Guilds. The Hessian Mercenary Company is famed for its
brave ranger-archers called Jägers, fierce cavaliers called Hussars, and
fearless, tough fighters armed with axes, longswords, round-shields, and chain
mail.

**The Sable Company** is comprised of landless knights and squires from
throughout the world. They comport themselves with dignity, discipline and a
reputation for battle pragmatism and true grit that daunts even knights with
its caliber.

Also famed throughout the land are the **Varangian Guard**, composed of hard-fighting, hard-drinking Vikings.
Winning entrance into the unit was no easy task. Initiates have to demonstrate
their prowess in battle, and are forced to pay a small fortune in gold as an
entrance fee. Still, the gifts showered on the Varangians ensured that its
members leave extremely wealthy, and some even go on to achieve positions of
immense power. One of the most famous guardsmen was Harald Hardrada, who later
claimed a throne.

Genovia – A peaceful Kingdom of long tradition and history,
ruled by a benevolent Parliamentary Monarchy headed up by her majesty the queen
Grand-mère Clarisse Marie Grimaldi Wreynald. It is
a small and coastal nation with amicable relations with all bordering polities.
Careful not to

Graustark - During the last century, Graustark's ruler,
Prince Ganlook of Graustark, was killed in a war with neighboring Ruthenia. As
part of the ensuing peace treaty, Graustark agreed to pay a large indemnity to Ruthenia,
to be due, with interest, in fifteen years.

Graustark found itself without the resources to pay the
indemnity when it was due, and in desperation, Princess Yetive—Ganlook's
daughter and now occupying Graustark's throne—was on the verge of contracting a
state marriage to Prince Lorenz of Ruthenia in exchange for more favorable
payment terms. But before the marriage could take place, Lorenz was murdered.
The princess's true love, whom she had met while travelling appeared to be the
murderer. Lorenz's father insisted on the murderer's punishment, but the
execution was prevented by the revelation of the true murderer: the villainous
Prince Gabriel, ruler of Riechtenburg, who was another of Yetive's suitors.
With Lorenz dead and Gabriel imprisoned, Yetive instead married her true love.

During Gabriel's imprisonment, Riechtenburg was ruled by his
younger half-brother, Prince Dantan, a popular figure among his own people and
a staunch friend of Graustark as well. But after two years, Gabriel escaped
from prison and, supported by the Riechtenburg army, returned to the throne.
Dantan was forced to go into hiding in disguise in Graustark. For a time it
appeared that Graustark might be forced into war with both Riechtenburg and Ruthenia,
but this was averted when Gabriel was recaptured. Meanwhile, the disguised
Prince Dantan had fallen in love married upon his restoration to the throne of Riechtenburg.

Yetive and her husband were tragically killed in an
avalanche, leaving their young son Prince Robin as ruler of Graustark. While
still a child, Robin was the target of an assassination plot by anarchists
acting under the direction of the exiled Count Marlanx, whose ultimate goal was
to establish himself as sole dictator of Graustark. But the assassination
attempt was foiled and Marlanx was killed in the ensuing attack on the royal
palace.

Graustark was still in financial difficulties by the time Prince
Robin reached adulthood. Robin married Bevra, the Crown Princess of Riechtenburg,
daughter of Dantan.

Riechtenburg

Duchy of Strackenz

Evallonia

Duchy of Grand Fenwick

Ruthenia

Laurania

Livonia

Servia

Grimmburg