Introduction

The Land is a civilized place. Even the most isolated barbarians are subjects of Emperor Valerian
IV. Elves and dwarves exist only in stories told around fires and in mead-halls. The dragons and
giants that once struck terror in the hearts of men and women have been hunted to extinction, and
the few monsters who remain in the deep wilderness give humans a wide berth. Wizards
researched spells to seek out hidden gold and the ancient treasure troves have all been found.

While most people in the Land are simple workers and tradesmen, even the humblest peasant is
touched by magic. Almost every village has a witch who can talk to the local spirits and push
back against the implacable power of hunger and disease. In larger cities, guilds of wizards
research spells for moving earth, speeding travel, and strengthening the armies of the nobles and
kings. In the background, red-robed monks, the Skaioi, discipline their minds to learn the secrets
of the generations.

But even in this civilized world, there is no shortage of evil. The respectable mage may be just as
black-hearted as any necromancer. The beast who stalks at night spends the day in a tavern
instead of a coffin. Hordes of treasure are still to be found, but in mansions instead of dungeons.

The choice between good and evil is not so easy in the Empire. The peace of the vast realm is
fragile and maintained through a careful balance. Rogues and knights, swordsmen and sorcerers,
righteous and unrighteous, each have their place, and the person who seeks justice can be as
much of a threat to the order of things as the one who defies it. You are invited to enter into this
world, to make your way as best you can, and to seek out the good…or, if you prefer, what is
good for you.
Minamra
THE LAND
This campaign takes place in a subcontinent known by its inhabitants
simply as the Land. The Land is roughly rectangular, with mountains
to the north and west and ocean to the east and south. The Great River, N E
which runs southeast across the Land, roughly divides it in half. The
Land is tropical in the south and temperate in the north, and is affected
by monsoon winds that come in the summer. The southern part of the
Land is heavily forested and wet, especially in the southeast, where the
Great River forms a huge delta. The rainforest gives way to a varied
landscape along the coast, and eventually to a large savanna in the
northwest. The Land is part of a larger continent that extends an W S
unknown distance to the north and west, but these outer areas can only
be reached by large ships capable of sailing through the treacherous
waters that border the Land. Trade routes through these waters are carefully guarded secrets held
by merchant guilds in cities in the far northeast of the Land. The flora and fauna of the Land are
South American, with some introductions. Capybaras, peccaries, llamas, rheas, horses,
gomphotheres, dogs, and cavies are major domesticated animals in different regions. Rice is the
staple crop in the south; maize, potatoes, and quinoa are the most important crops in the north.

The People
The people of the Land are divided into four large ethnic groups or nations, named after the four
directions. There are numerous subdivisions and languages within each nation, but there is also a
broad sense of unity among the members of each one and a lingua franca that helps to provide
unity and identity to the nation. In the game, each nation is associated with a real language that
gives a sense of their flavor and role.

Westerners (Latin)
Westerners are known for organizational ability, including government, military leadership, and
civil engineering. The religion and government that dominates the Land were developed in the
West, and most of the great Emperors of history were Westerners.

Southerners (Greek)
Southerners occupy the rich agricultural land of the Great River delta, which supports large
cities, art, philosophy, and magic. The most advanced forms of magic were developed in the
South, and the greatest wizards and skaioi have been Southerners. Southerners and Westerners
have been allied in the Empire for many centuries.
Easterners (Arabic)
Easterners occupy the seacoast and the inland area. Easterners have significant cultural
differences from the other three peoples. Their language is difficult to learn and understand, and
it can’t be written using the symbols that the other nations share. The Empire conquered the East,
but after many years the Easterners were able to regain their independence. Later, a group of
Northerners conquered the East and have continued to hold it. However, various Northern kings
made alliances with powerful Eastern families. The nobility of the East identifies as either
Northern or Eastern, but in reality there has been a great deal of intermixing, creating a hybrid
culture. Easterners are known as sailors and merchants, but have also shown aptitude for magic.
Although there are many temples in the East, the old folk religion of the Easterners is still
practiced quietly by some, and its practices influence worship in the East.

Northerners (Old English)

Northerners entered the Land several hundred years ago by coming through the mountains with
the help of a deity or deities (there are too many versions of the story to be sure exactly what
happened). The Northerners conquered the East and went on to fight the Long War with the
Empire. Today, the Northerners have been integrated into the Empire, but only with great
controversy. Many Northern kings have adopted the customs of their Eastern subjects and
Southern neighbors, but those in the far north follow their own ancient customs, living as
nomads on the high plains. Some of the greatest chieftains are formally recognized as kings in
the Empire, but they are held in disdain by many in the Imperial heartland.

THE EMPIRE
Today, the Land is currently united under the rule of a single government, the Empire. From the
beginning, the Empire has been tightly linked to the religious teachings of a man known as the
Peacemaker, so a discussion of the Empire also explains the religious system practiced in the
Empire.

Before the Empire

There was a time in the ancient world when each city and region had its own deities, who took an
active role in promoting the welfare of their worshippers. As some realms extended their power
and came into conflict, their deities also entered battle. The struggles between nations and deities
gradually grew intense and destructive and culminated in the Godwars, an epic conflict during
which deities reshaped the landscape with mighty feats of magic whose remnants are still
significant (for example, the great southern city of Petropolis is built on a mountain which
dropped into the Great Delta). The Godwars ended after the entire Kingdom of Lignorubis was
reduced to ash by a group of deities. Realizing that their continued conflict would destroy the
Land completely, the deities agreed not to use their full power in the Land. The deities continued
to manifest themselves on earth, but only unleashed their powers to a limited degree. Even with
this limitation, however, wars fought with divine assistance were extremely destructive—
especially when human magicians took a more active role in warfare.

The means to end these bloody wars was introduced by the Peacemaker, a priest who taught that
all the different deities were part of a greater harmony. He and his adherents were ridiculed and
sometimes persecuted, but his beliefs steadily gained in popularity. Some of his adherents soon
concluded that a harmony among the deities should be reflected in a harmonious relationship
among the kingdoms of the Land and devoted themselves to the cause of unity. His most devoted
followers became the spatharii, warriors who combined the powers of body, mind, and spirit to
become the most formidable fighting force ever known. Eventually, the archspatharius Valerius
was able to bring together the kingdoms by a combination of persuasion and force, and became
the first Emperor.

A Brief History of the Empire

Valerius was a wise and benevolent ruler. He didn’t replace the kings, but served to unify them
and keep peace between them. His sons ruled well for generations, but over time became corrupt.
Eventually, the infamous Emperor Martius tried to exterminate his own spatharii, who rose up,
defeated his minions, and killed him. After this, the Empire was fragmented and even the
spatharii split into factions. After a long struggle, the kings met and elected a new Emperor with
the provision that future Emperors would be chosen by an election among the kings rather than
by inheritance.

The Empire began a long period of growth and prosperity, a centuries-long golden age which
included the conquest of the East and the elimination of the giants who lived on the northern
plains. The long era of peace ended when the Northerners entered the Land. They rapidly
occupied the high plains of the north, and thrived there. Although they were relatively few in
number, they were born to the saddle and used cavalry tactics that were unknown to the most
brilliant Imperial generals. They overran the Eastern kingdoms and pushed south into the
heartland of the Empire, but their constant advances were halted by the unfamiliar jungles and
swamps of the tropical south. While the northerners and the Empire fought back and forth for
over a century, the Land itself defined a border between them, and during periods of peace the
two cultures began to absorb each other’s most useful skills. During this time, the successors of
the Peacemaker sent missionaries into the North to link the deities of the North and the Empire.
As more Northerners adopted Imperial religion, a growing body of priests and devout followers
began to agitate for the peaceful incorporation of the Northerners into the Empire.

That union took place when your grandparents were young, as a number of Northern chieftains
were recognized as kings in the Empire with the right to take part in the Imperial election. The
Land was whole again—for a time. While the Northerners joined the factions that had long
dominated the Empire, the political structure was stable. However, seventeen years ago, an
ambitious Northern king named Hrodbeohrt was able to build a new coalition and win the
Imperial election, outraging many who were not ready to accept a Northern emperor. Three years
later, his reign was cut short by an assassin—someone who must have been aided by powerful
officials, but who was never captured. He was followed by Theophilos III, who attempted to
undermine the Northerners and ensure that they would never hold a position of power in the
Empire. The Northern kings resisted these moves, leading to a civil war which lasted for four
years. Even though the battles took place far from your home, you remember young men leaving
to fight (and only some returning), troops of spatharii passing through, and tales of great battles
on land and sea. Most of all, though, you remember the day nine years ago that a priestess came
to the town square and read a proclamation from the Matriarch and the Council of Archpriests:
Theophilos III had been renounced by the deities and was no longer the Emperor. The Civil War
came to an abrupt end, and the kings of the four nations chose the Westerner Valerian IV, a
strong man who was expected to reign for many years, as emperor. Many saw the new
Emperor’s name as a good omen, and hope for the beginning of a new Golden Age sprung again.
And indeed, in the ninth year of Emperor Valerian IV, the harvests have been good, the fairs full
of exotic goods, and the kings at peace.

YOUR CITY
You are an subject of the King of Algazir, a kingdom that includes the large island of Algazir
(about 120 miles of the coast) and a large swath of the mainland opposite it. Your city is
Minamra, a port on the mainland at the northern end of the channel. Minamra is located at a
narrow point in the channel, where ships with the help of magewind can make the crossing in
just a day. Because of this, Minamra is one of the largest ports in the East and one of the great
cities of the kingdom, with a population of about 40,000 people.

Like other Eastern kingdoms, Algazir has been ruled by Northerners for centuries. However,
because of isolation from the rest of the Land and the importance of the sea to the kingdom’s
well-being, the rulers of Algazir have assimilated more than their counterparts. In addition to
forming marriage alliances between Northern men and Eastern women (Northern women never
marry outside their nation, though many Northern men do), the kings have elevated numerous
Easterners into the nobility and honored the artisans, mages, and scholars who have always been
primarily Eastern. As a result, Algazir is one of the most prosperous kingdoms, although even its
proudest subjects recognize that its cities do not match the ancient splendor of the great cities in
the South.

Minamra is fairly far north, although it takes a sea journey of about half a month to reach the
Northern Mountains that mark the edge of the Land. Both the island and mainland of Algazir are
rocky, with few good ports, and Minamra has served as a trading junction between Algazir and
the mainland since time immemorial, making it one of the wealthiest and most mercantile cities
in a kingdom whose strength is built on trade. The wealth of the city has enabled the Counts of
Minamra to build up a formidable fortress and a great body of knights, and the peace of the city
has not been troubled for centuries. Count Richart has ruled the city and the surrounding
countryside for over 20 years. A man of both strength and wisdom, he personally led an army
south in support of the Northern forces during the civil war, took a leading role in the planning of
a campaign, and showed great personal valor. He returned with the respect of his knights, the
common soldiers, and the people. He has no qualms about spending his wealth on luxuries, but
he hosts regular festivals and provides alms generously and has maintained the good will of the
vast majority of people in his city.

It is often said that the peace of the Empire is kept by balance, and Minamra exemplifies this
way of governing. Every householder in the city pays taxes to the Count to maintain a force of
guards who police the city. However, the citizens have never wanted too many soldiers in the
streets, and so most people are kept secure by private bands of protectors. Frankly speaking,
most of these groups are criminal gangs who extort money from the citizens and engage in petty
warfare among each other. However, as long as the balance is kept and violence restrained, they
are allowed to function and sometimes even cooperate with the authorities. The greatest rogue in
the city, Abba Ephraim, lives openly as a leading citizen.

The Port of Minamra is home to a base of the Imperial Navy. The Imperial fleet collects a fee
from each ship that comes into or out of the port. Even more importantly, the Navy’s wizards
control the winds in the Algazir Channel. Thus, the Admiral of the fleet has fighters, wizards,
and funds at his disposal, giving him power that rivals that of the Count and the other great
nobles. However, the Admiral is an outsider appointed by the far-off Emperor. Admiral Marcus,
one of the few Westerners in the city, has been serving for three years.

LANGUAGE
As mentioned in the introduction, each nation has a language which serves as a lingua franca in
a region of the Empire. These languages are believed to be kept unchanged from ancient times.
In addition, each area has its own language descended from the common national language. The
common language of Minamra is the language of the coast, which is spoken as a first language
along the Channel coasts of the mainland. The inhabitants of the island speak a different
language, although many also speak the language of Minamra. The language Alafah is spoken
throughout the East, but Nordisc—the common language of the North—is still the language in
which royal laws and legal documents are written. Imperial laws are written in Antiqua, while
mages and skaioi are more likely to speak in Hellenic.

The writing system used in most of the Empire was developed in the South. It is a collection of
logograms that represent words and grammatical particles which was adopted by in the West,
and later by the Northerners (who had no writing before coming in contact with the Empire).
This means that two literate people can communicate even if they don’t share a spoken language.
For the most part, students learn literacy along with, or after, learning a national language: over
time, the grammars of the national languages have developed so that they can be consistently
expressed in the same logograms, although differences in spoken languages can create
misunderstanding. The Eastern languages are totally different from the languages of the other
regions, and use an unwieldy system in which each sound is represented by a single character.
While this means that a reader only needs to learn a few symbols, it has the great disadvantage
that an Eastern language can only be read by someone who already knows the spoken form.

MONEY
The basic unit of currency is a small silver coin, the dirham. A common laborer will earn 1
dirham per day of work, and all costs are given in dirhams. Dirhams are minted by local lords
along with copper coins with values of ½, ¼, and 1/10 of a dirham. The king’s mint produces the
silver royal, a large coin which has a value of 8 dirhams and is often cut to make change, and the
gold dinar, a very small gold coin worth 60 dirhams. The Emperor has the exclusive authority to
produce the gold imperial, which is valued at 200 dirhams. Imperials are used mostly in large
transactions between wealthy people.

Northern kingdoms use an alternate system. They divide the dinar or pound into 20 silver
scillings (3 dirhams) and the scilling into 12 copper pennies (¼ dirham). Scillings are made to
the same standard as more common coins and are generally accepted as currency throughout the
East. The table below lists the various coins along with their names in both Eastern and Northern
use.

Name Metal Val Vol Wt (g) #/kg

X
nummus/farthing coppe 0.10 558 5 200
r
penny coppe 0.25 139 12.5 80
r 5
fals/twopenny coppe 0.50 279 25 40
r 0
dirham /groat silver 1.00 287 3.33 300
scilling silver 3.00 860 10 100
royal/piece of eight silver 8.00 229 26.67 37.5
2
dinar/pound gold 60.00 233 5 200
imperial gold 200.0 777 16.67 60
0

Both gold and silver coins are 90% precious metal and 10% copper. Coins are well-regulated and
elaborately designed, so coin-shaving and counterfeiting are relatively limited problems, and
currency can normally be trusted.
DEITIES AND DATES
The deities once walked the earth freely and did battle with each other and humans. Eventually,
they made a pact to limit the extent to which they wield power and influence in human affairs.
Because of this, they tend not to take independent action even when they want to—in their divine
wisdom, they allow human beings to direct their own fate. This means that the priests and
priestesses of the deities have an important role in human society: as the people who
communicate with the deities, they are responsible for making the requests that the deity needs in
order to act. The deities do act independently, but they do so more often in subtle ways. In
addition, because the deities are worshipped throughout the Empire, they are unlikely to
intervene in most of the disputes that take place. Two sides in a war are both careful to give
offerings to the deity of war, but they both recognize that they are doing no more than ensuring
his neutrality in their conflict. That is the core of the Peacemaker’s religion—by making sure that
everyone is worshipping the same deities, it ensures that the deities will not intervene on one side
of a human conflict.

The Calendar
The month is organized according to a scheme that gives each deity a set place. The first and last
days of the month are set aside to the twin deities of birth and death. The other deities are
categorized by their element and their sphere of influence. Each element dominates for a week of
seven days, and each sphere of influence can be connected to a day of the week—except that the
weeks are interrupted by the first and last day of each month. Each month is structured according
to the calendar below:

Atomos Cosmos Hemeros Physis Dynamos Arete Sophia

Fire Ether Sun Flame Strength Craft War

Death
Air Sky Day Magic Law
Birth

Wind/Storm Intelligence
Water Ocean Moon Waves/Sea Love Sailing Trade
Earth Land Night Fertility Family Agriculture Hunting

The year begins at the autumn equinox. The beginning of each season is a festival day, with a
two-day festival for the leap year. The months have different names in different languages but
the meanings are generally similar. The extra day in a leap year falls between our Sep 21 and 22.

Start End Name Feb 21 Mar 22 Lengthening

Sep 22 NEW YEAR Start End Name
Sep 23 Oct 22 Harvest Mar 23 MIDYEAR
Oct 23 Nov 21 Wine Mar 24 Apr 22 Grass
Nov 22 Dec 21 Blood Apr 23 May 22 Milk
Dec 22 YULE May 23 Jun 21 Searing
Dec 23 Jan 21 Yule Jun 22 LITHA
Jan 22 Feb 20 Cold Jun 23 Jul 22 Litha
 Jul 23 Aug 21 Meadow Aug 22 Sep 21 Wood

Deities
Before their conquest by the Empire, the Easterners worshipped a pantheon of 12 gods and
goddesses. Following the principles of the Peacemaker, each one of these 12 gods was identified
with an Imperial deity. However, they are still worshipped and remembered throughout the East.
For example, in Minamra there are two temples to the deity of witchcraft: one to Gullveig, the
deity as known in the north, and another to Wafiya, the deity as known in the east. However, all
temples throughout the Empire recognize their deity’s day of the month as the specific festival
and celebrate their primary rituals on that day.

Normal people are free, and actually encouraged, to provide honor to as many deities as they
choose. As a result, deities vary in popularity. Some obviously have little relevance in certain
parts of the Empire—the sea deities have few followers in the far inland. Others, such as the
deities of atomos who represent the elemental powers that form the universe, are felt to be rather
remote from normal human concerns and attract relatively few worshippers. However, any city
that aims to be important supports at least one priest or priestess of every deity. The priests who
do not receive enough support to establish a worthy temple of their own are based in the
pantheon, a structure which is also used on the quarterly festival days.

The priests and priestesses of the deities do have powers bestowed upon them, although they are
constrained in the use of their powers by the needs and desires of their patron deity. However,
priests do have some independence in the use of their powers and some can even influence their
deity. Thus, the relationship between priests and deities is complicated. These complications are
compounded by the role that the priesthood plays in the city’s life.

A representative of the priesthood of each deity takes part in a council which meets at the
pantheon on festival days. Each representative has equal stature, whether they are the only priest
of their deity in the city or the head of a large temple. The representatives choose one of their
number as overseer for life. The overseer is not permitted to refuse the post, and gives up their
role and power as a priest of one deity to serve as the deities’ spokesperson to the local rulers and
community. The overseer’s powers are limited, but the council’s are not. Because the council is
rarely unified enough to take decisive action on any matter, when they do manage to come
together in agreement they are able to exert almost absolute power.

A similar organization exists for the Empire as a whole. The priests of each deity have a process
for choosing a leader, called the archpriest or archpriestess. The archpriesthood of 30 chooses a
patriarch or matriarch, who has the task of informing the Emperor about the demands of the
deities. At an extreme, only reached in times of the greatest crisis, the archpriesthood can even
declare that the deities have renounced the Emperor—as happened just nine years ago. This
brought a rapid end to the civil war and restored peace and unity to the Empire.

JUSTICE
The legal system in Minamra is complex and fragmented. While the Count rules the city firmly,
the specific venue for argument about an offense is heard depends on many factors.

The criminal courts are administered by five senior knights called wardens, each of whom is
responsible for criminal justice in one ward of the city. These wardens are analogous to the lord
of the manor, though citizens of Minamra have more freedom than a typical peasant. Each
warden has 2-4 squires and a few dozen constables and clerks. Some areas are patrolled quite
regularly, while others are largely left alone by the city watch. Outside the city, other knights
control manors and have powers similar to the wardens.

Justice in the criminal courts, as in the rest of Algazir, is based on a combination of the payment
system of wergild with mercantile common sense. Wergild is a fee that is paid in compensation
for an injury done to another. Because wergild was designed to prevent feuds, it is levied even
when the injured provoked an attack. However, it is only levied in cases where a person suffers
permanent injury or death. The basic wergild for killing a free man of common status is 40
pounds (2400 dirhams). Other wergild payments are based on that standard.

The wergild system has been expanded into a whole set of fines for crimes. While wergild
payments are fixed (because they are paid to the injured or survivors), other fines can be reduced
(but not increased) by a warden in a specific case. If the convict cannot pay the fine, he will be
sent to a highly unpleasant environment to work it off at the rate of a penny (¼ dirham) per day.
This leads to long sentences for relatively minor crimes, but since the offender can keep raising
money to buy off their sentence, few people are forced to work for their whole sentence. The
system is designed to produce revenue more than to get offenders off the streets.

Wealthy people are obviously not too deterred by this system. Repeat offenders who are believed
to need more serious deterrents can be referred to the court of the Count for more severe
punishment. In that case, the wardens will normally order the convict to be bound by prison, fee,
or oath. The Count does not normally get personally involved in judgment, but has a vicar who
hears cases with the assistance of a lawspeaker. The vicar has the full authority of the Count and
can render any verdict, even death. The only appeal from the vicar is to the royal court in
Algazir, a process that requires considerable financial and political capital.

Any person who believes that they have been wrongly convicted can appeal to the Count’s court,
although these appeals are unlikely to succeed. Gentlemen and gentlewomen can request that
their case be heard in the Count’s court without cause, although the court tends to judge these
cases harshly as a way of discouraging appeals and avoiding the appearance of partiality. In rare
cases when knights are accused of criminal offenses and refuse to pay the wergild, the Count and
a group of seven knights hear the case. The Count’s word is final, but he is expected to listen to
the advice of his knights before passing judgment.

There is no equivalent to our civil law. Important contracts are sealed by an oath witnessed by a
priest or priestess, which calls for specific punishments to be inflicted on either party if they
break the oath. Members of many professions take similar oaths to abide by a standard of
conduct. Thus, a person who has a complaint against a midwife would go to the temple of the
deity of birth rather than to a court. These cases can be appealed to higher courts of that deity,
although the standard of appeal differs greatly between religions. In addition, someone who
violates the dignity of a temple or a priest may be brought before the overseer.

The Port is governed by the military of the Empire, and people who are accused of crimes in the
port are subject to Imperial military law and ultimately the Admiral. The Count has no legal
power in the port but does have political influence. The Admiral’s decisions can be appealed up
the chain of command, but if the Admiral is found to have wrongly executed someone, his
punishment would be to pay wergild to the family of the deceased. This keeps the port very
peaceful.

Guilds and orders have the right to levy fines and sometimes other punishments against members
who violate their standards: a person joining one of these organizations agrees to be subject to its
jurisdiction. The Mages’ Guild has the right to exercise capital punishment on members in
extreme cases, since only other wizards can ensure that such a sentence would be carried out.