Homelands

Freeborn

Campious the Twice Burnt City

A city twice burnt and twice divided. Once by the removal of the once loved and now gone White Rose nobility that once ruled the city, and again by the Trade Alliance. The estate of the White Rose is tended by the people of the bustling town, a grand monument to how the kind are treated in the great game the nobility play. The wall of the trade alliance separates the empire from them but more than that it is their coin, and their defiance to the empire. Seeing themselves as merchants not a part of the Empire. The city is an open wound, raw and tender, the citizens are not loyal to the Empire but to the Rose and their exiled heir, the Alliance are loyal to coin and all who swear fealty to it. A powder keg with a lacquered finish.

The Grand Estates of Barzon

Each of the grand estates of Barzon competes to show their wealth and prestige among the other houses. They are towns unto themselves. Each of them attempting to show their power to one another, building atop the old to show off their brand new designs. From gothic churches to the church of humanity, to grand old trees rising over the city, to aqueducts bringing heated water to open baths. Each house tries to out-compete the other, in their grandiosity of power, thinking little of what is underfoot.

The Shadow of Barzon

Underneath all of the Grand Estates of Barzon lies a shadow city. These are the houseless dregs, sometimes literally as well as figuratively. Mushroom farms, jumpers and ‘jumpers’ hand me downs, and the brackish water of the riverway are staples of this life. A cold and uncared about underclass populate this area, just waiting for any opportunity. From houseless masses, to varrin purge survivors, to fallen nobles. All of them clinging to what little the have and the hope that they can rise to the light of Barzon.

The Redcliffs at the Edge of the Empire

In the north a new threat immerged, Imperious, but it did not fight like a hawk, or a wolf, or bear, no it fought like a wildfire. While the empire fought among itself, its nobles waring among each other Imperious was unified. Instead of having to clean up a rabble they found an implacable foe, that had burnt through their empire. Now a hundred houses are stationed at red cliff, hotblooded young men wait, coldblooded old men wait, and bitter widows wait. Waiting for a spark to strike the Redcliffs…

How to make a Freeborn

When making a Freeborn you start out with one virtue and one vice. You may take your virtue from the general Freeborn or from your specific homeland. When selecting general virtues and vices they will require you to chose a skill with them. You may take a second vice to gain an additional virtue either from your homeland or Freeborn general virtues.

Freeborn background: Freeborn areas have specific skills they are known for so long as you choose those skills for your general Freeborn Virtue and Vice you gain additional skill points for those skills.

General Virtues and Vices for the Freeborn

Unlike other people who are known for a particular quirk. Freeborn are known for their abilities, be that with a hammer, oar, or pen. Also, they are known for their lack of ability or more specifically caving to pressure when it comes to their well-honed skills. Be that crumbling under the pressure to perform or just general performance anxiety.

All Freeborn General virtues or vices require a skill to be associated with them.

Freeborn general virtues

Edge: Select a skill: Freeborn with this virtue may re-roll 2’s and 3s with the selected skill. If you would gain Edge due to a talent for the selected skill, it becomes: You may re-roll 1’s, 2’s and 3s with the selected skill.

Might: Select a skill: If you rolled a 6 with the selected skill, you may re-roll one other die. If a Freeborn with this virtue would gain Might for the selected skill, it becomes: If you rolled a 5 or 6 with the selected skill, you may re-roll one other die.

Steal: Select a skill: When a Freeborn with this virtue is in an opposed roll using the selected skill, if their opponent rolls any 1’s remove those dice and add them to your total. If you would gain Steal due to a talent for the selected skill, it becomes: if their opponent rolls any 1’s or 2’s remove those dice and add them to your total

Resistance: Select a skill: When a Freeborn with this virtue uses the selected skill in an opposed roll, and rolls 6 they may force their opponent to re-roll any dice of dice of 5 or less. If you would gain Resistance due to a talent for the selected skill, it becomes: When a Freeborn with this virtue uses the selected skill in an opposed roll, and rolls 6 they may force their opponent to re-roll any dice.

General Vices

Blunt: Select two skills: You must have the ability to roll at least three dice in a skill in order to select that skill for this vice. A Freeborn with this vice must reroll results of 4 and 5 on a dice roll when rolling for the selected skill.

Choke: Select two skills: You must have the ability to roll at least three dice in a skill in order to select that skill for this vice.
You to select this vice you must select one of the following skills: deduction, reason, guile, empathy, intimidate, or conviction.
If a Freeborn with this vice would win in an opposed roll with the selected skill or roll above the skill difficulty with the selected skill by a margin of four or more they must re-roll all of their dice.

Flounder: Select two skills: You must have the ability to roll at least three dice in a skill in order to select that skill for this vice.
A Freeborn with this vice if they roll a 1 with the selected skill you must reroll another dice with a result of 3 to 5, if you cannot ignore this vice.

Compliant: Select two skills: You must have the ability to roll at least three dice in a skill in order to select that skill for this vice.
You to select this vice you must select one of the following skills: deduction, reason, guile, empathy, intimidate, or conviction.
If a Freeborn with this ability rolls any natural ones with the selected skill, if in an opposed their opponent may re-roll a dice of theirs for each one they roll. In addition, if they would defeat a skill roll by a margin of three or less they must reroll all of their dice.

Redcliffs

Redcliffs’ skills are: athletics, intimidate, etiquette, socialise and conviction
If you select Might twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Blunt twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

Blood Red cliffs: Blood red cliffs, bright red enemies and blood-soaked allies. Redcliffs was not a nameless village some thought they were a smugglers den, a pirate haven, and some other unsavoury things. Some resent their new position. Barzon no longer ignores them instead nobles of every kind swarm around Redcliff, claiming this is the boarder of Barzon, Imperious looks to claim them. But Redcliff should belong to the Freeborn that live here and no one else.

A Freeborn of Redcliff may use this a virtue once per session. Before a drama or action scene begins announce your using the ability. In the first round of a drama gain an extra dice to your roll. In the first still of action scene you deal an additional damage die. Additionally, they have the passive +6 to initiative.

Ready for war: There are more bar fight bar fights in Red Cliff than perhaps anywhere else, perhaps even the whole realm. Tension fills the air in Redcliff, and it seethes in the blood of its people. The people sit on a knifes edge. However, the Freeborn have a more practical view of how things will go. No matter what happens they win, if Barzon wins the gold will flow to this place and they will be the new governers of the area, and Imperians treat warriors well in their empire. The thing they hope for most is that both lose and they get to claim the spoils of war.

If a Freeborn of Redcliffs with this vice fails unopposed athletics, intimidate, etiquette, socialise or conviction, they lose one honor, fear, or influence.

The new face: Redcliffs is now the new face of the new frontiers. No longer somewhere you could go to hide away. After the war with Imperious they gained a new image. They are now the keeps of the new frontier.

A Freeborn of Redcliffs with this virtue may reroll one die any time they make an athletics or etiquette.

Apperisia

Apperisia’s skills are: grace, guile, etiquette, socialise and empathy
If you select Steal twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Choke twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

No more Dothin: Once know as the Dothin settlement, the only place you could find the Leafy River Run Dothin all year round. These people were sort out as mediators, judges, and councillors in times of conflict. The Apperisians loved their smaller neighbours and how people came from all over to see them. However, when news of the order to ‘Purge’ the inhumans came the nobles who came here discovered that the Dothin had left. The Apperisians had no idea where they went either. Nor did they know happened to their fishing boats, extra clothes, or their barren food larders.

An Apperisian with this vice must pay one more influence to begin any drama.

Only half: Apperisians were often jeered at for only being half as talented as the other Freeborn. The reason for this is because they made items for Dothin which were often smaller in size than most items. They never took half the pay, especially for those coming through to go north seek war.

Apperisans with this virtue treat light armour as one higher than its normal value even if that would make it medium armour. If they have a Dothin ally they confer this bonus to them as well.

Artitica

Apperisia’s skills are: grace, reason, animalist, socialise and empathy
If you select Edge twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Compliant twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

Easy Prey: Once a small fishing village known for their crafting of fishing boat. After the Campus fire the Barzonian noble colition sorted out a new place to craft boats for their navy. The heard that Articia was known for their ability to make boats. So, the nobles pressed them into their service. Articians not used the mighty armies of the nobility being in their village complied.

An Artician with this vice is twice as affect by fear. As an example, if someone uses fear against them in a drama they would gain two dice instead of one.

Best Effort: When the nobility descended upon Articia they put their best effort into their demands. They were always fine craftsmen surely, they would be pleased with the boats they produced. The only problem is that Articia had only ever made fishing boats, and a larger fishing boat does not make a war galley. Thus, they became the butt of many jokes. With expert shipwright aiding them they made magnificent vessels when they knew what was desired but, everyone remembers their first failures… They however still use those fishing vessels.

Once per session an Artictian with this virtue may attempt to succeed a roll they just failed in. If the old result is discarded and they roll again, beginning as natural roll.

Free Santios

Free Santios’ skills are: guile, conviction, etiquette, wisdom, animalist
If you select Resistance twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Blunt twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

Spirit of Freedom: While the nobility may rule the town of Free Santos, the leader and the privileges that come with it are elected by the people of Free Santos each year. As such they are the only people who pay as much attention to the noble games of the Highborn as the Highborn themselves. So, they must choose wisely to avoid a year of misery. Why do the highborn tolerate this? Well no one highborn family wants the others to be on top, but also once the people of Free Santos rebelled killing the whole former ruling family. They proposed electing a Highborn leader each year, this was preferable to costly civil war.

A Santian may use this a virtue once per session. Before a drama or an attack announce your using this ability. In the first round of a drama gain an extra dice to your roll or ignore a defence in an action scene. Additionally, they have the passive +1 against defence rolls.

Touch of the Wild: Both the Wildmen and the Santian share a similar distrust of nobility. They have been abused by people who claim ‘the law and right is on their side’. Both agree that some of the times the best response to this a club to the face. However, they know more than most that vengeance can come quickly. So they try to know the law better than most.

A Santian with this vice must Animalist and Etiquette be their highest skills including abilities. No skill can equal or exceeded these skills when building or progressing the character.

Valca

Valcas’ skills are: eccentricity, academics, style, guile, empathy
If you select Steal twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Flounder twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

Tall tales and True: The people of Valca are known for their ‘colourful’ stories. Their favourite is that of the black dragon’s attack and the lizard people army, who were driven out by the mighty slayers. Its historical accuracy is dubious. Another favourite is of the boy who called wolf. Who cried out and the people praised him, but there was never a wolf there. He did it again and again and less people showed up each time. Until one day wolf did come, and he was eaten because no one came. For a Valcans the important lesson here is you need a new story each time to get people to come.

Once per drama Valcian with this virtue may use style instead of guile, intimidate, or reason or eccentricity in place of deduction, empathy, or conviction. Announce when you reveal the token you gain/lose advantage by token chose as per normal. Additionally, once per reel you may use style to avoid taking damage from an attack by rolling equal or beyond to the damage dealt to you.

The Slayers Festival: Each year the Valcains have a festvile where the they make a black dragon puppeted by many Valcians and dress up as lizard people to have the Wildmen drive them out. The Wildmen are their most honoured guests at this time of year. What happened all those years ago is unknow what is know that Wildmen will come in their time need.

Valcians with this vice receive -1 to all of their reel dice to a minimum of one unless they have a Wildmen ally. If they have a Wildmen ally and they become grievously injured, Valcan’s penalty applies again, reduce all dice on their current reel. If a Wildmen ally loses a drama they lose one honor or influence.

Norbring

Norbrings’ skills are: eccentricity, academics, grace, guile, deduction
If you select Steal twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Flounder twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

At peace: Home to the noble families of the Edge Walkers. Some of the elite mystical warriors of the Empire who police this region. As such they are never really worried about suspicious goings on, odd things in the woods, or anything really. Why worry about something when you have some Barzon’s finest warriors guarding over you?

A Norbright with this vice cannot gain advantage in the first round of a drama and they must put their lowest roll on the first still of the action reel each action scene.

Niggling: Living in one of the safe regions in all of the Tartilian Empire leads people to be overly comfortable. However, it seems that people need conflict in their life, if one was to judge by Norbings populace. They always find the smallest things to complain about. Some might say they have turned niggling into a fine art. Housewives from all reaches of the realm take note when they start speaking.

A Norbirght with this virtue may niggle. If you niggle outside of combat you target a person nagging them, roll a deduction or guile roll, they may defend themselves by rolling a conviction or reason. If they fail you gain a dice for your next opposed roll against them. This considered a hostile action.

Absolute Fear: Ruled by the elder council of Edge Walkers. They have brought peace to the region longer than most can remember. Indeed, some whisper that they brought peace to the region before the Emperor. However, the Edge Walkers number are extremely few, so how to they manage to sustain such a peace? Whenever their conflict against the Edge Walkers is short, spectacular and brutal. Their ability with marshal prowess and magical skills make them fearsome opponents, not known for mercy. Though they are diplomatic fellow Highborn, polite to Oathsworn, and kind to their Freeborn.

A Norbight with this vice is has two low status and one average when they begin the game and they may only gain one point honour each session, one point of fear each session and one point of influence each session

Victory by Default: Norbights have the happy advantage of being located in a safe region of the area, having the protection the Edge Walkers, and being in a fertile region of the realm. All of these factors have combined for an easy life comparatively to that of other Freeborn. Indeed, compared to much of the realm things seem to come easy to them. You would think that their luck would run out eventually, but you would be wrong they always seem to have just the slightest edge on everyone else. When things are even they always come out the victor.

A Norbright with this virtue win in opposed rolls when they are a tie.

Campious

Campious is divided there are those loyal to the white rose and those loyal to trade alliance.

White Roses’ skills are: etiquette, grace, reason, empathy, conviction
If you select Resistance twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Blunt twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

Trade Alliance’s skills are: socialise, guile, thievery, deduction, academics
If you select Steal twice with the above skills you may select a third skill among these.
If you select Choke twice with the above skills may remove one of the four skills selected.

A Tragic Tale: Campious the greatest naval port, and navy in the realm. Then the fires of Campious. The invincible navy gone in a single night, no battle, no glory. The Highborn wouldn’t be dissuaded, more ships, to war. Then the second fire of Campious. The ships gone, the city in chaos. The Highborn here for war squabbled as to what do. They blamed the White Rose the ruler of Campious. As the nobles raged, the merchants saw a familiar menace rise, the pirates. The merchants pooled their money and commissioned as many ships as they could, a new navy

Blood was demanded. The White Rose knew a scapegoat would be found, the people called traitors, his family killed to the last, or worse. He committed ritual suicide, to absolve them of blame. It wasn’t enough for the Highborn. The loyal Freeborn saved his family from them, sending them far away. While the Freeborn did, the new ‘Trade Alliance’ raked in the money, being the only safe way to travel the sea. The blood thirty Highborn turned on them, demanding their ships to go to war, the Alliance refused. While the Highborn schemed, quite separately the Alliance and the Loyalists, made sure the nobles out for Campian blood went missing. Then the news, the war was over. The nobles left to their villas and estates. Leaving a divided and hate filled people. The White Rose in exile fearing for their lives. The Trade Alliance taking their place. The loyalists blame the Alliance for not coming to the aid of the White Rose, and Alliance sees them as just long for the past.

If a Campian with this virtue lost the last round of a drama they gain an extra dice to their next roll for that drama. In addition, if they were injured in their last still of an action scene they gain +3 bonus to damage for this still.

Old wounds: The fires of Campious are still an open wound to the city. The city still bears its scars. The White Rose estate is tended to by the loyalists. Ghost filled with the spirits of what could have been. The old city slowly falling into decline. The walls of the Trade Alliance quarter making the hording of wealth that much more obvious. The surrounding farmlands slowly growing wilder without the aid and help of the White Rose family and nobody taking over their duties. The landscape reflects the spirit of the people divided and directionless. Some driven just to seek profit and to avoid the Highborn’s games, others driven to sorrow, and others still without any drive at all.

A Campian with this vice cannot use Animals to diagnosis themselves during the will to fight phase, nor can they use eccentricity to diagnosis others. In addition, they receive twice the penalty to outside of combat due to injuries from being A.G.E.D.

White Rose: Known for being kind and just rulers. Their family did not have the usual brutal in family struggles, instead second son would be given lands and eventually become Oathsworn. As such many Freeborn have White Rose blood. Thus, the White Rose considers the Freeborn of this region family. Their ladders would shrink in the winter to prevent suffering, they would sit in judgement to prevent conflict, and force was always a last resort. The people loved the White Rose and it was said the last lord knew the name of every Freeborn he ruled. Then the fires happened, to save his family, and his people he committed ritual suicide, but it wasn’t enough, it would never have been enough for the war hungry nobility staying at the White Rose estate. To this day the loyalist blame Imperious for the fires, the Highborn for the White Rose’s demise, and Trade Alliance for doing nothing but filling their coffers.

You must be able to take at least one virtue and vice to be able to take White Rose. If you do you cannot take Trade Alliance.

If you take White Rose you may take a Virtue and a Vice from the Oathsworn section.

Trade Alliance: Before the fires, merchants relied on the Barzonian navy for protection. Naturally this meant they must pay taxes for their protection. However, after the fires the taxes remained in place. Unprotected the merchants saw their goods and sometimes people lost to an ever-increasing pirate presence. The merchants of Campious gathered as many fellow merchants as they could from every corner. They suggested they pool their money and create their own fleet, their own navy. The ships burned down the sailors remained, unemployed. Not all joined but those that did gained shares in this new navy, thus a share of the profit. The first few voyages barely broke even, but towards the wars end everyone was turning to them for protection. The Highborn demanded their newly made navy so they could goto war against Imperious. Sea travel is much faster than land, so there was a reason so many nobles and their armies were staying in Campious.

Of course, the newly formed Trade Alliance couldn’t know the war would end soon. To them they were still paying off the ships, with the nobles demanding taxes from a protection they were no longer providing. So, the Trade Alliance quietly hired every sellsword, cutthroat, and even pirate they could before they said, No. With the death of the White Rose, the Highborns’ attention fully fell on them. Armies ready for war turned their attention to a fledgling Trade Alliance. Then the news hit, Imperious had defeated every single army that had come against them. The Highborn fell into disarray, and slowly they each left back to their villas and estates with their armies. The war technically on going, the Alliance still owing taxes to dead absent lord for defending them at sea.

You must be able to take at least one virtue and vice to be able to take Trade Alliance. If you do you cannot take White Rose.

A Campian with this must have the mark of the Trade Alliance somewhere highly viable like the hand, forearm or forehead and this gains them a number of enemies around the realm. As an example, many Highborn and their Oathsworn, especially White Rose loyalists. In addition, they bound by honour to aid their fellow Trade Alliance members.

A Trade Alliance Freeborn receives 50% discount at all Trade Alliance stores and may request free bedding and accommodation. In addition, they receive 5% discount at all stores to represent the both the characters insights with the Trade Alliance and the traders friendliness towards Trade Alliance members.