TEXT: 136
  Excerpt from “Lords & Priests”; ©2000 HDI
  Appendix: Lordly Duties
  & Dueling
  Swearing Fealty
  Or, Why One is Not Beholden to Every
  Noble in One’s House
  Nobles swear fealty to lords higher up the chain of
  rank than themselves. A noble who has no lord is not only
  untrustworthy, he’s not really a noble. Rank is only con-
  ferred by those who have the right to give it (a noble of
  baronet rank or above) upon those who have the right to
  receive it (a person of noble lineage, or in extreme circum-
  stances, one who has earned the right by great deeds per-
  formed for the house).
  Upon reaching the age of majority, or upon the death
  of her parents, the would-be noble elects to swear fealty
  to a lord in return for a title and its host of expected re-
  sponsibilities (the lord also has responsibilities to his vas-
  sal) or inherits her deceased parent’s title. Until this time,
  a scion of a noble house is still considered a noble, but
  without title or duty, and thus with no right to command
  anyone but his immediate family’s servants. Most nobles
  swear fealty to a high-ranking member of their family,
  thus keeping the family’s greatest treasure — its blood lin-
  eage — in command of the family’s holdings. Nobles are
  considered to owe two vows of fealty: one to the lord they
  swear to (and from whom they gain title and land) and
  another to the direct head of their family. Sometimes, these
  vows can come into conflict, with no clear means of reso-
  lution; such tragic divisions of loyalty — often brought
  about through ancient blood feuds — form the basis of
  many a troubadours’ tale.
  The highest rank of nobility within a given royal
  house is that of “prince” (minor houses do not have princes,
  only dukes at best). In theory, the prince owns all of his
  house’s holdings, and all nobles within that house owe
  fealty to him. In practice, a prince does not always retain
  the loyalty of every housemember, and he might spark
  rebellion should he call upon full due from his vassals; in
  other words, princes can rarely enforce their ownership
  in full.
  The prince awards titles and land management rights
  to a number of dukes, a rank that usually confers rulership
  of a continent, moon or outer planet. Dukes in turn award
  titles and fief management rights to counts (a county or
  capital city), who themselves lay claim to earls or marquis
  (cities, provinces), who award baronies to barons (keeps or
  shires), who collect vassalage from baronets (keeps and
  fortifications), who finally claim knights (the lowest level
  of nobility, often with no land management duties).
  A noble’s fealty ties (the number of lords one owes fe-
  alty to above one’s own) do not extend to all higher rank-
  ing nobles in the house. While all nobles owe fealty to their
  prince, they don’t necessarily owe it to all the house’s
  dukes, counts, etc. — only those to whom they trace a di-
  rect line back to the prince. For example, Sir Darkon
  Emilio Hawkwood of Jyväskylä (on Leminkainen) owes
  fealty to Count Baltor (the lord who knighted him), who
  in turn owes fealty to Duchess Catherine, and from her to
  Princess Victoria Hawkwood (who resides on Ravenna,
  thus showing how fealty ties stretch across the stars). Sir
  Darkon does not owe fealty to Duke Redoran (or any of
  his lesser nobles) on the continent of Grikkor, even
  though both Darkon and Redoran owe fealty to Princess
  Victoria. Note that, even though Darkon swore his oath
  to Count Baltor, he also owes dues to all of Baltor’s lords
  of greater rank than he, but not to those baronets, barons
  or earls who owe no fealty to Count Baltor (i.e. another
  count’s vassals).
  However, regardless of greater or lesser fealty ties, the
  lord who first accepted a noble’s vassalage is the most im-
  portant and the one to whom that noble must pay spe-
  cial heed, unless the noble later rises in rank above him
  (promoted by his lord’s lords), severing his initial fealty
  bond. Even then, though, one’s first lord is always due
  honor and respect.
  
  Appendix: Lordly Duties & Dueling
  137
  Rising in Rank
  Once a noble gains a noble title, she often spends
  much of her time devising ways to gain higher levels of it.
  This is mainly done by impressing one’s lord (or his lord,
  or his lord’s lord, etc.) with one’s loyalty, value (in schem-
  ing, tactics, morale, etc.) or by a debt of favor (if you save
  his life, he’s got to give you something). Nobles can also rise
  in rank by inheriting a title from a deceased relative or
  gaining it through marriage rights.
  For players, this means getting to know the lords to
  whom their characters owe fealty ties, and discovering
  what deeds these lords deem worthy of advancement. It
  might be something as simple as collecting the most taxes
  that season or as hard as exorcising a demon said to be pos-
  sessing the count’s mother.
  For gamemasters, this means knowing the lords who
  control a character’s destiny (those to whom she has fe-
  alty ties) and using them as NPCs in situations designed
  to bring notice to any characters that take advantage of
  them. Devise what possible events or outcomes would be
  necessary for a lord to raise the character in rank, and wait
  to see if the character achieves them.
  For example, an ailing marquis needs a rare alien plant
  to stave off the poison that wracks his body (administered
  by an unscrupulous rival), but there is none to be had in
  the fief or on the planet. Any player character who can
  quest for and return with this plant (thus saving the mar-
  quis’ life) may be rewarded with higher rank (as long as
  his existing rank is lower than marquis). Of course, the
  only specimens of this plant are found exclusively within
  the fief of the marquis’ alleged poisoner…
  Usually, rank above that of knight confers land. That
  is, duty to manage land (in actuality, the land is owned by
  the house). Landed nobles are more rightly called “lords.”
  Fiefs are rewarded for lifeterms (which revert back to the
  awarding lord when the vassal dies) or as heritages (the
  receiver’s heirs inherit the land).
  Rank can be stripped by a lord (or his superiors), but
  this is usually only done in extreme cases, such as treach-
  ery which caused the house great loss. However, in the
  post-Emperor Wars royal theatre of intrigue, hampering a
  powerful superior’s plots might be enough to cause him
  to strip rank from a character (although such displays of
  petulance don’t usually gain such lords loyalty from their
  other vassals — unless they are the kind to rule their nobles
  with fear).
  Vassalage Duties
  Various ranks confer different duties. The most typi-
  cal land grants for each rank were listed above, but they
  don’t always necessarily apply, especially in the case of lords
  now bereft of land due to losses during the Emperor Wars
  but who still retain their titles (and thus the right to con-
  
  138
  Excerpt from “Lords & Priests”; ©2000 HDI
  fer lesser titles on other nobles, regardless of land). By strict
  rule, once a noble loses his lands, he should lose the rank
  they conferred, but the practice during the Emperor Wars
  was to assume that lost land would eventually be re-
  claimed, and thus titles were rarely stripped. Now that an
  Emperor sits the throne, the royal houses wish to assert
  their privileges all the more, and are loathe to strip titles
  even though they may not have sufficient land to main-
  tain them. They argue that old lands will still be reclaimed
  (and there are indeed many legal disputes clogging the
  Emperor’s courts) or that new lands shall be had (perhaps
  in barbarian space).
  While there are many details to the responsibilities a
  vassal owes her lord, they can best be summed up as: serve
  the house in the best way known, increase its holdings,
  obey your lord, and manage his lands well (collect taxes,
  tariffs and other money rights, and arm the citizenry in
  times of need). Of course, the manner in which these dic-
  tums are performed vary from fief to fief and house to
  house.
  As player characters rise in rank, they’ll also rise in
  duty-load — things they have to attend to besides adven-
  turing. For this reason, many declare “errantry,” to become
  Knights Errant, spurning greater title and land grants in
  return for small cash bonuses and the ability to roam at
  will (although still in their lord’s service). Also, nobles
  whose lords die can adopt errantry rather than swear fe-
  alty to another lord.
  However, Knights Errant are looked upon as wild
  cards, and rarely rise to the highest levels except through
  sheer glory. They are socially inferior to nobles of similar
  rank, although their deeds may make them popular none-
  theless (or shunned). In the post-Emperor Wars era, many
  now-landless lords have declared errantry. It is a lord’s op-
  tion whether to accept a vassal’s request for errantry.
  Lordly Duties
  In return for a noble vassal’s duties, a lord owes his
  vassal the following: honorable treatment befitting his
  rank, arms and armor (this could be fulfilled by something
  as basic as a short sword and leather jerkin or something
  as grand as a blaster rifle and an energy shield), and up-
  keep (food and shelter in his holdings).
  Two things prevent a lord from too commonly
  knighting others into her service: noble tradition main-
  tains that only blood right creates a true noble (non-nobles
  who receive title rarely have the training and attitude to
  rule, much less the poise not to embarrass their lords), and
  the costs to upkeep a knight are often better spent else-
  where, unless war threatens the fief. A lord who liberally
  hands out knighthoods may suffer the ire of his own lords.
  A lord also has duties to his freemen and serf vassals,
  but they are simpler: protection from enemy assault and
  fair rule (often ignored until the Church forces action; see
  Appendix: Good Works in Priests of the Celestial Sun).
  Fief Management
  Not all fiefs are created equal. Some are larger than
  others of the same kind (a barony on pastoral Grail may
  be bigger than one on crowded Criticorum). Fiefs can be
  judged by the traits listed below. These traits are consid-
  ered relative to other fiefs of the same type: a barony with
  a Large population is still smaller than a county with a
  Small population (at least, on most worlds — barren worlds
  such as Nowhere may provide exceptions to this rule).
  Name: The fief’s name, followed by its location. In pa-
  rentheses, put the name of its planet.
  Type: Barony, earldom, county, etc. Generally, the traits
  for a duchy concern an entire continent or moon, a
  county examines a portion of a continent or capital city,
  an earldom a smaller portion of the county (a prominent
  city or province), a barony a shire, borough or major forti-
  fication.
  Ruler: The lord who rules the fief. In parentheses, list
  the quality of rule: Just, Generous, Neutral, Harsh, Tyran-
  nical. This helps determine the population’s morale.
  Manor: The ruler maintains a manor house, or de-
  mesne, as the seat of rule for that fief. Its name and loca-
  tion (in parentheses or as part of the name) should be listed
  here. While there may be other noble manors and fortifi-
  cations throughout the fief, the main house is the politi-
  cal and oftentimes social center of a fief, around which
  prominent villages, towns or cities are raised.
  Garrison: The fief’s military might. The more impor-
  tant a fief is tactically or strategically, the higher its garri-
  son (often bolstered by troops from a greater lord’s armies).
  See the Fief Garrison sidebar chart. Generally, it takes a
  duke to muster a legion, a count or earl to maintain a regi-
  ment, and a baron to hold a company.
  Population: The fief’s known population, consisting
  of its serf vassals, freemen renters, and even freemen land
  owners (usually only small plots at best). A fief’s popula-
  tion determines how many taxes the lord can collect (see
  Affluence, below).
  Instead of hard numbers, this can be broken down
  Fief Garrison
  Level
  Troops
  Complement
  1
  Mustered serfs
  Depends on population
  2
  Householders
  5-15
  3
  Mercenaries
  5-25
  4
  Knights
  1-10 (can more effectively
  command lesser levels of
  troops)
  5
  Platoon
  50
  6
  Company
  100-250
  7
  Battalion
  2-3 companies
  8
  Regiment
  1000-2000
  9
  Legion
  10,000
  10
  Multiple legions 20,000+
  
  Appendix: Lordly Duties & Dueling
  139
  into three categories: Minimal (0), Small (1), Medium (2),
  Large (3). (The numerical values in parentheses are ex-
  plained in Affluence, below.) Also list the population’s mo-
  rale: High, Good, Neutral, Low, Oppressed. The better a
  population’s morale, the more effectively they will fight
  when called upon to defend their homes against enemy
  attack and the easier they will accept high tax burdens.
  The lord’s quality of rule is often directly mirrored by
  his population’s morale (i.e. Just rule causes High morale).
  However, the Church can often work to bolster morale
  during bad rule, or lower it during good rule, depending
  on its own behavior (Avestites rarely bolster morale) or its
  relations with the lord (priests can intentionally sermon-
  ize against the lord).
  Resources: The resources the fief produces, adding to
  its wealth and importance (see Affluence, below). This
  could be food, minerals, crafts, trained troops (its people
  are its exportable resource), and even tariffs collected by
  others traveling through the realm. List the type(s) of re-
  source, and in parentheses list its value: Scarce (0), Fruit-
  ful (1), Prosperous (2), Thriving (3).
  If a fief’s resources are too dependent on the
  population’s happy labor (crafts, trade, tourism, etc.), then
  the fief’s morale can effect the resource output. Fiefs that
  rely on physical labor (mining, crops, etc.) can usually
  maintain output even under conditions of bad morale
  (for a time, at least).
  Affluence: The combination of a fief’s taxes and the
  money it makes selling its resources provides a quick mea-
  sure of its affluence, and thus its lord’s standard of living.
  Although a lord can strip her fief’s wealth to bolster her
  own standard of living, this is often considered Harsh or
  Tyrannical rule, and eventually causes poor morale and
  lower resource output; if kept up, it can lead to revolts.
  Rank affluence as: Destitute (0), Poor (1), Good (2),
  Well-off (3), Wealthy (4), Rich (5), Filthy Rich (6). (The last
  five traits are the same as for a character’s assets.) Determine
  this by adding the fief’s population value (the number
  given in parentheses above) to its resources value. For in-
  stance, a fief with a Small population but with Thriving
  resources creates a Wealthy fief.
  Political Ties: This covers the most important alliances
  or rivalries the fief has with its neighbors or foreign but
  interested parties. List important people, fiefs or factions
  and put their ranking in parentheses: Strong, Good, Neu-
  tral, Rival, Enemy.
  The most prominent categories are: the fief’s ruling
  house, neighboring noble houses, the Church and the
  Merchant League. Embargoes and boycotts declared on
  one’s fief are tactics often employed by spurned guilds.
  Likewise, priests can ignite (or even lead) uprisings and
  strikes (see Priests of the Celestial Sun); officially sanc-
  tioned strikes, while rare, risk the ire of upper levels of the
  Church should military force be used too harshly in re-
  taliation.
  Landscape: A description of the fief’s geography: Is it a
  jungle island or a wide-open plain in the heartlands of a
  temperate continent?
  Sample Fief: County Ilini, Northern
  Jyväskylä (Leminkainen)
  Type: County
  Ruler: Count Baltor (Generous)
  Manor: Manse Myrven (northeastern tip of Credia Bay)
  Garrison: 7
  Population: Large (Good)
  Resources: Prosperous (red wheat)
  Affluence: Rich
  Political Ties: House Hawkwood (Strong), Church
  (Neutral), Valdalla barbarians (Rival)
  Landscape: County Ilini dominates the northern por-
  tion of the Jyväskylä continent, facing southwestern
  Grikkor across the Credia Ocean. Cool temperatures and
  good rainfall ensure strong crop yields in its many farm-
  lands, spread out over the region and separated by dense
  forests. It is divided into various baronies and shires.
  Specialized Fencing
  While fencing is an ancient art, with dueling masters
  teaching the same basic lessons to students from all back-
  grounds, certain groups (especially houses) have developed
  their own maneuvers. Anyone can learn these maneuvers,
  but members of other houses need to be able to justify
  their training. These maneuvers stem from both need and
  dueling philosophy. For instance, the Hazat tend to be the
  most aggressive duelists, constantly pressing forward.
  House Hawkwood prefers a slow, deliberate process that
  inevitably overwhelms an enemy. The al-Malik follow the
  most contemplative style, letting their opponents over-
  extend themselves. The Li Halan tend to focus on defense,
  waiting for the right moment to strike. And the Decados…
  they just like to win.
  Al-Malik Second Strike: An al-Malik never makes a
  plan without a backup one prepared. She hopes this at-
  tack scores, but if it doesn’t, she’s got another one ready. A
  fencer who takes this Second Strike can do nothing else
  in the turn, not even dodge. The first attack is a normal
  one, though it suffers a –1 penalty to the goal number. If
  it hits, then the character is done for the turn. If it misses,
  she can make a second attack at –5 to hit.
  Decados Diversion: Some Decados have mastered the
  art of the subtle suggestion. This maneuver involves noth-
  ing so blatant as yelling, “Look behind you!” or throwing
  sand in someone’s eyes. Instead it involves a series of
  glances, head twitches, body language and facial expres-
  sions that slowly register with one’s foe through the course
  of the duel. The foe becomes distracted, constantly look-
  ing around for other foes and problems. The duelist makes
  an Extrovert + Knavery roll on the turn AFTER he an-
  nounces he is starting the diversion. Every victory die sub-
  tracts one from the foe’s attack goal rolls. This penalty only
  lasts for the next turn. The Decados Diversion does not
  
  140
  Excerpt from “Lords & Priests”; ©2000 HDI
  count as an action, but the Decados can only take one
  other action in any turn in which he attempts a diver-
  sion.
  Hawkwood 
  Advance: 
  The
  Hawkwood have long believed in the
  inexorable advance of the house, and
  this maneuver embodies that belief.
  The Hawkwood presses her advantage
  slowly and methodically, constantly
  advancing and pushing her oppo-
  nent backwards. Every victory die
  on a contested Endurance + Vigor
  roll allows her to advance one
  meter, and her opponent retreats an
  equal amount. If someone is forced
  over a cliff by this maneuver, he gets a
  Dexterity + Vigor roll to hang on. The
  Hawkwood advance does not count
  as its own action for the purpose of
  multiple action penalties. It is ac-
  tually part of whatever other ac-
  tion the Hawkwood is taking.
  House Specialized Fencing Actions
  Action
  LVL
  Roll
  Init
  Goal DMG Effect
  Al-Malik Second Strike
  6
  Dx+Melee
  -1/-5
  Character may make a second attack if the
  first fails
  Decados Diversion
  4
  Extro+Knavery
  Subtract victory pts from opponent’s attack
  rolls
  Hawkwood Advance
  5
  End+Vigor
  Character advances (and enemy retreats) by
  one meter per victory die
  Hazat Hammer
  6
  Dx+Melee
  Every victory pt reduces target’s parry or
  armor dice by one
  Li Halan Holy Parry
  5
  Dx+Melee
  +4
  No bonus against a Thrust action
  Hazat Hammer: While other houses may snicker at a
  lack of subtlety, the Hazat have found that brute force is
  an excellent way to achieve their goals. This attack is espe-
  cially designed to knock down parries and batter through
  armor. It involves constant attacks against one point,
  forcing down an opposing sword or weakening ar-
  mor in that point. Every victory point on this at-
  tack reduces the number of dice the oppo-
  nent can roll for either parries or armor. It
  has no effect on shields.
  Li Halan Holy Parry: Legends
  tracing this maneuver to Halvor,
  “Sword of the Pancreator,” may be
  apocryphal, but the Li Halan like to
  believe them. The Li Halan devised a
  parrying form that takes the shape of
  the jumpgate cross. It provides an ex-
  ceptional barrier against most attacks,
  but is an inadequate defense against
  mere thrusts (it provides no bonus
  against thrusts).
  Credits
  Writing: Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg
  Art: John Bridges
  Development and layout: Bill Bridges
  
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