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Author Topic: A Company of Fools - Blog  (Read 176822 times)
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EvilGinger
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« on: 01 July 2014, 13:18:38 »

Posts from the Company of Fools Blog:

A Company of Fools - The Blog

« Last Edit: 04 July 2014, 09:48:52 by Zarniwoop » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: 01 July 2014, 16:30:06 »

Episode  Eighteen write up

An Urban interlude Part 5 -Rats attrition and an evil cult confronted

Dramatis Personae
Leon – a Brandobian Human Fighter & self styled hero
Nyadryn – a Brandobian Human, fighter
Esme– a Brandobian human, a loud over enthusiastic person, Nyadryn’s girl friend
Siskin – a Halfling Cleric of Chance
Larifus – a Gnome,
Quelsteine– a Gnome
Lori – a Gnome, rescued captive
Briana – a Half Elven fighter magic user 
Aeneste – a Brandobian? Human rescued captive 
Varill – a Brandobian Human the tanners apprentice and rescued captive

Location
Some where in the sewers under the new town of Vayham

Events
(These take place during episode XV of the main story and they follow on exactly from the end of the previous session)



The company continued its increasingly desperate search for a way out in the room of stenches. Lori, Larifus and Leon turned to examine the slime covered walls every ones eyes where stinging heads spinning, Nyadryn and Esme inspected the floor with Nyadryn going down on hands and knees to look at the sections she pointed out if only to stop her doing it herself and she grew increasingly exasperated. Siskin started to peer under the edge of the slimy wooden lids finding nothing but more slime encrusting the stone lip beneath. Every one joined in With only Brianne and Quelsteine standing aloof from the search. Nothing was found apart from clear slime yellow slime, odd discoloured incrustations and stains, algae growths and small pieces of unidentifiable detritus, all damp and mostly quite slimy. 

Then across the room Larifus noticed that under the slime and the encrustations there was a decorative band of low bass relief going around the room at head just above his head height. It was a strip of “brocade” for want of a better description carved into the stone blocks which covered the wall that looked like a necklace of skulls threaded with worms through the eye sockets and holes in the cheek and broken toothed gaping mouths. He also noticed that there was another similar strip about his height again further up but he was too shortsighted to tell if it was the same as he could not pick out any detail.  He pointed this out to every one else and they joined in the examination of it Esme confirmed that the higher strip was the same as the lower and was as she put it gross and down right morbid. However she and Siskin fell to examining this detail looking for a switch which would open a concealed door through which unconscious bodies might be carried.  As they examined the strip it dawned on Siskin that the decoration was an adaption of one of the many unholy symbols of the rot lord, suggesting that not only was the place occupied by that foul cult as they had already discovered but that it might have been built for that purpose rather than just commandeered by them at a later date. 




However before they could finish there examination of meditate too much on what they had found the door at the end of the short passage leading to the chamber opened with a creak and there was the sound of men coming along it men with a violent purpose. Turning from the examination of the relief the company saw half a dozen burly fellows dressed in the same way as the beggars they had met before coming down the sort corridors clubs, or rather knobby sticks, in hand. From the far in the rear they hear the familiar voice of one of the beggars they had met before, “that’s them beat ‘em good they killed Eggil”  The men who had all the look of some sort of beggars guild enforcers made no reply but came on in silence but with increasing speed. As every one in the company gathered their wits they reacted but not before the bullies had fallen on the nearest of the company Two fell on the apparently unarmed Lori and Aeneste and two descended on Brianne, Quelsteine even surprised had the whit to dodge behind his larger colleague, who dodged the bullies flailing clubs with an arrogant ease, these might frighten common scum but not her a half elf of the best lineage. Across the room Lori and Aeneste where as successful the thugs where unused to fighting those with the wit to fight back and had only encountered these two before when in a drugged stupor and even them Lori had even then not quieted till they dumped her in a sack. Weapons where drawn and Esme unleashed a what she thought was a wild war cry and charged Nyadryn secretly terrified she should come to harm followed her in trying all the way to outpace the girl so he could put himself between her and danger. Varill it has to be said was afraid having been beaten severely a couple of days before by these self same thugs made a dash for the far corner.  

A wild fight followed, during which Aeneste was savagely clubbed around the head, staggered back and then righted her self and then forgetting her art plunged back into the fray fists flying alongside Nyadryn and Esme. Lori took a winding blow which sent her reeling but left her attackers triumph rather short lived as the blow left him wide open to Leon’s sword and Leon duly extracted the cost of this foolhardiness, with a perfectly executed stop thrust. Larifus danced around the edge of the fight and threw both of his throwing knives before closing one missed entirely and one clipped Siskin as it passed. Siskin was less than amused by this and shouted at Larifus to stop that and join in. He did but weather it was Siskin’s outrage or his running out of knives which was the cause who is to know. Lori got up and rejoined the fight pausing only briefly to groin stomp the now fallen thug that had hurt her and pick up his club. Lori was disgusted at the weapon it was a blasted stick not even a club, still it might be better than a half blunt belt knife. She rounded on the second of the pair of bullies who was now backing off under an expert flurry of sword blows from Leon. However it was not all going the companies way the stunned Aeneste was now down properly and whilst wounded both of the bullies fighting  Esme and Nyadryn where still up but not for long as Larifus joined the fight with them.

Mean while Leon and Lori backed the one bully they where engaged with almost on the point of Siskin’s waiting sword and he turned to flee over the slippery wooden lid fell and stunned himself

The bullies where no match for people who could match their numbers and stood their ground and one by one they went down even so it was not over for just as the surviving where considering flight the group of beggars in the hall at the end of the entry passage who had taken no part in the fight having been thought better of it by the Company earlier when they rescued Lori Aeneste and Varill and gave them a sound hiding doing it, acted on much the same thought releasing the starving rats which unable to turn on their carriers as the beggars had been wise enough to block the passage with the large cages before slamming the door shut behind them and making themselves scarce. The Rats hared down the passage into the room beyond where they smelt fresh blood and the scent of human fear which they had come to associate with food and they where so very hungry.

Hearing the Rats coming and well aware that the rats would go for them as much as they would those they where fighting attempted to break off and put their enemies between then and the Rats. Trying to flee proved unwise as first Lori and Leon took advantage of it to cut down and then viciously groin stomp the one wounded bully fighting them, and the one still fighting Nyadryn and Esme was unable to pass their impromptu shield wall and was trapped and torn down when the rats decided the best and easiest source of food was his fallen comrade and the unconscious Aeneste behind them. All the one fighting Brianne could manage was to back against the wall to keep Quelsteine to his front as the little shite had managed to stab him in the back a couple of times already, however a crude club wielded by a terrified thug is no match for elf wrought steel and Brianne contemptuously flicked the mere stick away and effortlessly carved him open, he slid down the wall as Quelsteine made short work of finishing him off.

The fight then converged on the centre and the rats still being fended off by Nyadryn and Esme a fight made a bit easier buy the rats being just as interested in eating the two fallen bullies as attacking people who could fight back. Even so and with the company taking care not to distract the rats from their feeding and a show of amazing skill, with a shield by Esme people got bitten and before the fight was over Esme’s luck had run out and she had fallen to a savage bite.  Nyadryn went berserk hacking at the remaining rat savagely screaming all the while that the foul beast had killed her and swearing that  it would pay and by the SPEAKER so would all of them even their foul god.  Then it was over and the last of the rats died hacked by down Nyadryn and impaled on Siskin, Leon and Brianne’s swords. In the silence that followed both Esme and Aeneste groaned and began to rouse.

Every one looked at Brianne, and she thought to herself why always me can no one else here bind wounds? Before falling to the task of dealing with the worst wounded as best she could given she had no clean bandages or clean water little practice and less taste for this sort of work.  Mean while those who where not wounded or had been seen too searched the bodies of the fallen foe and found little save for a good leather sack some what ruined by a dagger thrust in the fight by Larifus which contained around three hundred useable trade coins as well as a fair number of small bits of brass which might once have been trade coins but which where now too worn and damaged to be ought but scrap brass.

With such first aid that could be done finished the Company halted to review its position and found it not to be at all good most of them where wounded Lori and Aeneste very badly though each where trying to be brave for there own reasons.  Esme was being fussed over by Nyadryn despite her vehemently asserting that she was not that hurt and that it had only bowled her over and she had banged her head on the floor. None the less the blood drying on her brother old tunic was not all from a rat or a thug either. Further to that every one except Siskin was feeling a little feverish and unwell. Not to mention that the enemy knew the company where there and where no doubt preparing the next nasty surprise for them, Nyadryn was the foremost supporter of this suggestion as Esme getting hurt had thrown him into a low mood.

It was decided that the company needed to get out or failing that get to some where safe where they could rest at least over night and work out what to do as they could only see death staring them in the face if they pressed on as they where doing. They had been lied to and fallen for the trick and been ambushed. The problem being was that there was no safe place to rest. Where they where was out of the question, so was further in as Siskin and Larifus had found more large rats in that direction when they had first explored the place and since it was apparent that rats where more awake now who could say there where not more now. They had seen the first room they had cleared of rats refilled and in any event the room was full of rotting corpses same went for the composting room as that had even more rotting matter in it as well as Quelsteine gnome eating red worms. The only place any one could think of was the old smugglers hide out but that required traversing the rat tunnels and whilst they had managed that twice who was to say they could a third time given that the rats where more active at the present. However it seemed to be quite the best of the bad options they had before them. So grimly they set off to do as planed

As the company approached the composting room again fighters to the fore and wounded and their attendants to the rear Esme who kept saying she was not as wounded as he thought being assisted by a still half distraught Nyadryn and Aeneste held up by Varill the rescued tanner turned torch bearer. Only Lori of the wounded stayed at the front mumbling all the while about the lack of a decent weapon and her gear, as all she had was one of the bullies knobby sticks as a club and a half blunt beggars knife.



The compost pile was the most active any had seen it so far, Quelsteine cringed as he spotted the first red worm and the Company began the edge into the room along the north edge of the pile. As they did so a huge centipede erupted from the surface scattering red worms and rotted vegetation as it did so the fighters at the front recoiled behind shields those who had them, whilst wearily drawing weapons.  The fight was fortunately soon over and no one involved was further wounded before the foul thing twitched its last. Alarmingly as it did so its corpse was dragged back into the pile by half a dozen similar if smaller creatures of the same kind

After the encounter with the vast centipede, the company edged its way cautiously around the compost pile, backs to the wall torches forward fending off the apparent myriad of similar if smaller creatures which writhed and hunted over its surface and scattering small, well normal sized, rats, that nipped around the edge, before them until they made it to the exit to the rat tunnels which they had entered by. Quelsteine was by this point frankly terrified and only able to pass at all because the red worms had been in part obscured by the centipedes which where swarming all over them as they in turn fell on the  layer of fresh vegetable waste which had been freshly dumped there and Briana dragged him with main force when he froze.  At the entrance the company halted and formed a ring around its wounded, peering uncertainly into the dark tunnel yet still seeming determined to traverse it. Lori her own wounds smarting peered into the tunnel and despite being told that there where rats nests all round could see no presence of rats and crouching and relying on her gnomish night vision she took a few steps down the tunnel wishing she had her faithful sword with her, shortsightedly she did not notice the huge rat ahead until she ran in to it. It turned, snarling teeth bared and she tried to dodge in the narrow confines of the passage, but its fangs found there aim and Lori went down drowning in a sea of pain before every thing faded to black.

Seconds latter the rest of the company where surprised by the eruption of a massive rat from the mouth of the tunnel. Tired hands reached for weapons as the frenzied creature hurled itself at the nearest of them. The fight was short and vicious but Company triumphed as they had numbers on their side if nothing else, there was a lull as the foul scabrous beast twitched and breathed its last after the final strike of Siskin’s sword and every one drew breath, only then wondering what had become of Lori in some desperation recovering her almost lifeless body from a few steps inside the tunnel without further incident, Brianne who was nearest quickly worked out that Lori was actually still alive but almost certainly not for very long as she was hurt beyond her skill to aid. At which point Aeneste who had been staggering along in a daze since the beating she had taken when trying to take on two of the beggar bullies with nothing but her fists roused herself and confessing to knowing something about this sort of thing fell to helping as she could, thought it was largely Brianne who did the work on instruction as Aeneste was herself sore wounded.

Here again the focus of our tale moves else where for a while though it will be returning here but there is far more a foot in the region than that which just the one tale can encompass though the treads of these tale are interlinked and may well cross merge and divide again as the story unfolds further.


Source: Episode  Eighteen write up
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EvilGinger
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« Reply #2 on: 01 July 2014, 16:30:07 »

Its been quiet around here again

 Its been quiet around here again

Sorry not to have been about since Sunday, but I have been off the internet completely since some idiot in a 4X4 managed to mount the curb and total the local exchange switch box for my area. My auxiliary means of connection did not work either as I was unable to put any credit on my mobile dongle owing to the provider doing system maintenance at the time. Any way I am back and Have lots to post when I have recovered a bit from my recent six hour constitutional walk about.

Be back soon with all the articles I wrote off line whilst waiting to be reconnected, got a lot done strangely enough..

Source: Its been quiet around here again
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« Reply #3 on: 01 July 2014, 16:30:07 »

Religion In Vaynam



Religion in Vayham


Known churches and temples

The Temple of Justice
There is only one temple of the True in the town. This is a the keep where it acts a s a magistrates court for the county for whilst the Count sits as judge magistrate in the criminal courts being the ranking noble he is ably supported in dispensing justice by the staff of the temple, including three priests and three knights and several anointed servants who act as the rest of the staff of the court and by tradition act to prosecute or defend any who are too poor to provide there own advocates as justice must be done not bought.

The Temple of Vayham
Also within the walls of the keep and more to the Counts taste than the True it has to be said is a small temple of the founder dedicated to the foundation of the town and the county in the aftermath of the Brandobian Civil war. It also acts as a barracks for the four knights of the order of Vayham part of the order of Cosdol sworn to the Count and has a staff of one priest and a pair of anointed acolytes. The count and his family are anointed of this cult and take their duty as ruling nobles and the faith which backs it very seriously.

The Temple of the fruitful coin
Is the richest and the most obvious faith in the town, it has a large temple at the main market with a smaller one near the beast market as well as running the civil courts for the town. Something which annoys bother the local guilds, and the church of industry which backs them and the church of the true since both have commented that to the church of the coin lord justice and fair trade are just more commodities to be bought and sold. The Church of the coin lord also administers the town’s two markets and provides a force of guard to police them and dispense summary justice to thieves caught within the markets typically a fine and a ban form entering them for a first offence. They are supposed to transfer repeat offenders over to the counts justice  but are believed not always to do so as they get to keep the fines they levy  The church also runs the majority of the inns in town and a lot of the taverns and gaming houses. This causes friction with the Church of risk as it is known that the games are fixed to favour the house. The cult of Risk is officially prohibited, see below, and the temple of the fruitful coin is the usual target for the thefts which make up the monthly sacrifice for that faith. As well as with the Church of life’s fire which runs a lot of the taverns and supplies the beer to nearly all of them and the Church of Stars which sees this as exploiting travellers and impeding free travel.

The Brotherhood of industry
Has no temple but small shrines are to be found in every one of the many craft workshops in the town as well as in the guild houses of the towns guilds. These being the Weavers guild, The Tanners Guild, the Dyers Guild and the Clothiers guild, other guilds are present in the town but only these have local guild houses. There is strife between the brotherhood and the Coin lord over the formers wish for regulation of who can practice a given trade and the latter’s rather aggressive free market position. This is an old struggle and one which the Coin lord currently has rather the upper hand.

The Church of the eternal lantern
Has no temple in town and no priest but there are shrines in the two watch houses used by the counts night watch and the captain of the night watch is an anointed member as are several of night watches senior members. At need a priest is dispatched from the nearest temple which in Neffaria to the north


Temple of the Caregiver
Has the large temple at the great hospital as well as a number of shrines in the rest of the town where it runs drop in clinics for the ill and the needy especially in the poorer sections of town, however it is to be noted that several of the shrines in or near the new town have been vandalised in recent years. These are often run in conjunction with Temple of life’s fire which runs soup kitchens alongside these clinics. The Temple has a large staff including the magically the most powerful clerics in the region several hundred anointed nurses, doctors and hospital ancillary staff.

The Church of Life’s fire
Has a small temple attached to the poor house which opposite the Great Hospital, across the road in fact as well as small shrines at the soup kitchens it runs else where in the city, often close to the walk in clinics run by the church of the caregiver. There is only one priest up until recently when more a couple of junior priests came in with the refugees from the goblin raids but a couple of dozen anointed members ran the whole show, with the resident priest being a avuncular figurehead, and now rather resent that so many people what there say in an already well run organisation. There is tension between the services the temple offers both at the poor house and in its soup kitchens with the Cult of the Coin lord who says that such services encourage idleness and draw in the indigent who would other wise move on to find work elsewhere.

The Temple of the Wayfarer
One priest and a small temple next to the travellers rest inn as usual the resident priest is free to move on whenever they wish but etiquette generally requires that they stay until they can hand the role over to another priest.

Prohibited churches and temples

All the evil and chaotic faiths are banned by town ordinances, it being a hanging offence to be an anointed member of any such a faith, but in practice the non evil ones are tolerated provided they do not cause a public nuisance. If they do they will be generally only prosecuted for a public order offence, or theft or whatever as appropriate, rather than for being a member of a prohibited faith, as happened when a priest of the free passing through organised a spontaneous protest when a Kalamarian traveller tried to sell two of his servants, actually slaves in the beast market twenty years ago and the priest was fined for causing a breach of the markets peace, and shown the gates, and the current chief priest of risk got caught robbing the temple of the coin lord in the beast market last year, when he got flogged as a common thief in the keep’s yard. Even so practitioners of the evil one are not actively hunted but evidence of membership of one will get you the unwanted attention of the watch and a day in the counts court, ending in a jig at the ropes end the following morning should the case be proved.

Even so there are rumours of a hidden cult of the Rot lord skulking some where in town and the recent anti dwarf riots are seen as evidence by some in the Gnomish community in particular of the presence of a hidden temple of the Scornful ones. Others see it as Eldarian meddling as that nation is known to be interested in the reunification of Brandobia under its standard as well as the distrust of demihumans of any kind. These same conspiracy theorists see them as being behind the recent Goblin raids as well.

Source: Religion In Vaynam
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« Reply #4 on: 01 July 2014, 16:30:07 »

Vayham the personalities

Vayham the personalities

 

  • Senior      priest of Risk and proprietor of the Lucky copper tavern
  • A      lawyer and anointed member of the face of the free
  • Esme’s      father and notable Master craftsman
  • Larifus’s      uncle the Gnome meat merchant
  • Captain      of the Market Guard
  • Senior      Healer at the Hospital

This is a stub article at the moment but one I will be finishing very soon - as I had written it on line only I rather missed it when I was catching up off line during my recent internet outage.

Watch this space 


Source: Vayham the personalities
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« Reply #5 on: 01 July 2014, 20:00:11 »

Minor Milestone







Minor Milestone 

Just to note whilst I was off line this month became the Blogs busiest month so far in terms of Page views so far and that will still several days to go in June as well 

Source: Minor Milestone
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« Reply #6 on: 01 July 2014, 20:00:11 »

The military of Vayham county

The military of Vayham county

Introduction
The Count has a wide variety of military forces available at need but as is the case with any feudal nation or part of a nation, as it is in this case, few of them are regular standing forces as we would understand them in modern terms and many even of those are by nature of police or other paramilitary security forces rather than being strictly military. 

Standing forces (Under the Counts direct command)

The counts Household
This consists of the three knights of the Founder form the Cosdolan order of Vayham six sergeants of that order who collectively are in theory the Counts life guard. In addition to this are twelve more men at arms who are the security force for the keep itself as well as variable number of apprentices at arms but typically less than a dozen who are learning the trade.

The town guard 
Sixty men at arms organised into two companies of thirty under the command of a Captain they are responsible for security at the towns gates and for the patrolling of the towns walls at night to prevent miscreants sneaking into town over the walls, something which would be otherwise quite easy to do, given that any one able bodied could scramble up the bank and the wall at the fence at the top is only six feet at the most. They are equipped with studded armour short swords daggers small shields and spears, at least half of them may be armed with heavy crossbows. In wartime they merge with the town Militia and form a stiffening element and leadership cadre for this combined organisation.

The town watch
Actually two organizations the Day watch which has a Captain and a company of eighteen men at arms, they are armed with and equipped as the town guard above but seldom carry either their spears or shields relying on short swords and heavy hard wood clubs they are responsible for patrolling the streets outside the markets and the maintenance of good order in general they have powers of arrest and are more a police than a military force, the day watch is split into two patrols commanded by a Lieutenant and a sergeant. This might seem a little excessive but the day watch used to be as big as the Night if not larger before the Temple of the Fruitful coin took over the policing of the Markets. The night watch is four companies of eighteen men at arms are responsible for patrolling all the streets and the market areas after the markets have closed and for the maintenance of good order in general during the hours of darkness. The organization is commanded by a Capitan and each company by a Lieutenant and a sergeant who as with the day watch command a patrol of nine men each. In wartime the town watch are not frontline fighters but will likely be responsible for the martial law that is imposed within the town. This has never happened in the whole history of the town so far.

Auxiliary forces
In addition to this since the first encounter with the Goblins ended so badly the Count is employing a company of mercenaries to bolster his forces this being twenty crossbowmen and twenty pole arm equipped infantry as well as a further twenty mixed medium horse and Mounted crossbowmen. Out of interest this is the company which Sondan previously served in as a foot crossbow man.

The town Militia
In time of war or similar threat the Count can also call out the town Militia which comes in two parts the first is the permanent levy, this is mandated by town ordinances which require one person per house to make themselves available to train for three days a year and for ninety days at the Counts command. These are issued with short spears and small shields and expected to provide a side arm, at least a dagger and a set of armour typically padded.

Training concentrates on refreshers on phalanx fighting and for those with no talent for that archery or sling work; the net result of the call up of the permanent levy is about two hundred spearmen and a score or so archers and slingers. The general levy which can only be called in dire emergencies and has never  in the history of Vayham so far been needed, consists of every able bodied male in the town, but they are not issued with weapons or equipment and have had no training beyond that which they might have as individuals. The organization of such a force is also rather sketchy as it’s never been raised so no one has practiced using it or thought that much about how it might be used.

Indirectly commanded forces.

Feudal Levy
In addition to this the Count has the following forces feudally obligated to serve him as a result of him also being the Land holder of the “manor of Vayham” and a couple of adjacent manors to the west of the county.

As Land holder of Vayham manor the count has eight tenants obligated to serve as horse, or provide a mounted man at arms and twenty three tenants obligated to serve as infantry provide a foot man at arms. This number has been expanded some what by the more wealthy tenants bringing along numbers of servants under arms so the count has around forty fighters from this Manor all told about half of whom are front line fighters either mounted or afoot and the rest of which are at best light infantry or missile troops armed with slings and short bows, some of these have horses but are not by any means soldiers, much less cavalry. The direct command of these troops goes to the manor’s Steward

As Land holder the manors of the Redwoods and Paga’s hold the Count has four and seven tenants obligated to serve as horse, or provide a mounted man at arms and fourteen and twenty eight respectively tenants obligated to serve as infantry provide a foot man at arms. This number has been expanded some what by the more wealthy tenants bringing along numbers of servants under arms to twenty five and forty eight, but the servants under arms are not front line fighters.

The feudal levies of the rest of the county from the manors not held directly by the count amount to one hundred and sixty mounted, four hundred and nine foot and three hundred servants under arms about a third of which can ride and have a horse to ride, this would have been more by a third over all but the Land holders in the south of the county partitioned the Count to hold onto their levy as they had their own pressing problems with goblins and the forces provided by the land holders east of the M’Alvern stream where mauled badly by the initial fighting with the goblins and indeed one of the Landholders was slain in the same ambush as the Counts heir. Even so there remain around a hundred troops from the east march holding as the two surviving land holders and the count acting for the minor heir of the deceased one have seen fit to levy the entire surviving able bodied male populating of those now over run land holds. Some of the Land holders in the west of the county have also sent some of their own household troops or have come themselves which again bolsters the number especially of horsemen even if it aggravates command and control difficulties as they all want to be consulted about the use of their people.

Other Supporting forces
Not under the counts control except in the loosest sense are the following forces

Knights of the True
There are three actual knights of this order at the temple as well as eight men at arms, mostly fighters in training to be knights and the Clerical staff at the temple all of whom are experienced combatants and equipped as well as the men at arms at least. In all there are around twenty determined combatants who can serve as heavy cavalry or heavy foot as needed.

Market Guard
Acting a town watch but only by day and in the areas of the markets the Temple of the fruitful coin commands forty soldiers mostly experienced mercenaries looking for a more comfortable billet than fighting Humanoids in the north or escorting east west caravans across the mountains between Brandobia and Kalamaria. Quite what their role would be in the event of a war is unclear but it is expected they would fight to defend the Coin Lords assets if nothing else.

The Guild Guard
Having a role guarding the towns guild buildings under the egis of the Brotherhood of industry to which most of the guilds are connected they are largely seen as counter muscle to the Market Guard but again they have no official war role. There are again around forty former mercenaries or Neffarian miners’ guild trouble shooters or guards the latter are much more trusted than former who come from the same pool as the Market guard.

Source: The military of Vayham county
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« Reply #7 on: 01 July 2014, 20:00:11 »

Pod Casting

Pod Casting

It has been suggested that given all of the players in the Company of Fools Game have faces for radio, yes even Becca, well according to her any way., that instead of Videoing the occasional session we record all of them and turn them into a biweekly podcast. I am thinking about this one and was in any event considering getting multiple microphones to improve sound quality on the next Video which was frankly awful in the last video.  The  image quality would not be an issue any more either, it being only as poor as it was because the Video camera which John used was unable to run for a whole session on its internal battery, and unable to operate whilst charging either, so only had the endurance when connected to a laptop acting as a web camera, however this seriously degraded the image as you can see by comparing the recording of the two session. the first when the Camera was stand alone and the second when the same camera was used as a webcam. Uploading the results should be quicker and the editing before that more straightforward.

I don't think we will have this in place for episode Nineteen next week but I very much hope to manage it for the following  episode twenty. I will also get my lovely niece who has a beautiful speaking voice to record the story so far by way of a setting of the scene piece. .






Source: Pod Casting
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« Reply #8 on: 01 July 2014, 20:00:11 »

Have to share this with you

 Red Dice Diaries Video article repost

Not HackMaster or any thing to do with a Company of fools but I have to share my friend John's piece on Character deaths as Player death is a very HackMaster topic as is reminiscing about it, long after wards.

Red Dice Diaries

Enjoy I did


Source: Have to share this with you
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« Reply #9 on: 01 July 2014, 23:30:07 »

A quick Picture

 Livery colours of Vayham

 A Small round centre grip shield



The showing the basic arming colours of Vayham as used by the Counts personal forces with variations depending on the force involved. the shield shown is for the town Militia but those used by the city guard are similar as are those used by the watch and the counts household even if the last tend to use heater shaped medium shields rather than the round ones. This is also the sort of shield Esme borrowed form one of her brothers to go adventuring with

Source: A quick Picture
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« Reply #10 on: 01 July 2014, 23:30:07 »

Some More Liverry colours


Being the Livery of Alinor's company whilst in the service of the Count of Vayham  the Patch on the right breast are the colours of the Count of Vayham

Source: Some More Liverry colours
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« Reply #11 on: 01 July 2014, 23:30:07 »

A Rural Map

Little Thorpe a an isolated settlement



Something of a work in progress for the next Company of Fools game where we return to the woods this is another A3 Map with when finished a quarter or eighth of an inch grid overlay haven't decided yet and may do both


Source: A Rural Map
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« Reply #12 on: 01 July 2014, 23:30:07 »

More religion in Vayham




Minor faiths
Some of these faiths are technically outlawed but tolerated unless they make trouble; refer to the final section for the details on the general prohibition of chaotic and evil faiths  

The Raconteur
Has no permanent temple and very few in the town even acknowledge the faith but regular groups of strolling players pass through the town  mostly on the way to Neffaria where the real coin is to be made entertaining the miners. The largest presence of the faith generally appear at the independent taverns about town  on other faiths high days and holidays

The Free
Has a small cell in the town which raise funds for the activities of the faith in freeing slaves, mostly in Kalamaria and improving the rights and freedoms of the unfree groups locally. There is no permanent priest though one does pass through quietly from time to time and the faith is maintained by a trio of anointed members. The faith has more or less no influence here and in many ways needs none

Risk
Has a temple and two priests thought officially the temple is a tavern which is known as a gaming house, which the priest won in a game of dice around ten years back and decided to keep and repurpose on the quiet .The senior priests was caught thieving a year ago and is looking to move on. 


Source: More religion in Vayham
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« Reply #13 on: 02 July 2014, 03:00:11 »

Little Thorpe

 Little Thorpe Maps

With 1/4 inch grid
With 1/8 inch grid
Same map with a quarter inch and an eighth of an inch grid the base maps being done to A3 size the idea being that they could be enlarged to A1 and A0 and printed as battle mats with one inch square grids.  Note that apart from the size of the Grids used both maps are identical 



Source: Little Thorpe
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« Reply #14 on: 02 July 2014, 03:00:11 »

Minor Mile stone

Minor Mile stone


Just noticed that the page views have passed 1700 so far this month and that this is the busiest month so far even allowing for the internet outage last week end and earlier on in the week.

I find this really encouraging  as its nice to know some one is at least glancing at your efforts




Source: Minor Mile stone
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