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Chaosium Digest Volume 11 Number 11
Chaosium Digest Volume 11, Number 11
Date: Sunday, October 29, 1995
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
The Duchy of Normandie, Part One (Frederic Moll) PENDRAGON
Announcement: Esoterica (Adam Crossingham) NEPHILIM
Announcement: Soleil Noir (Paul McRandle) NEPHILIM
Editor's Note:
NEW RELEASES:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Taint of Madness_ (Chaosium, $18.95, 128 pg.) is
a brand new CoC supplement all about asylums and insanity. It
includes new rules, lots of background information, notes on scores
of asylums, full write-ups of three, and a short adventure for each
of the three featured asylums. _Taint of Madness_ was written by
digest contributors: Michael Tice, Shannon Appel and Eric Rowe.
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
This time around, the books (magazines and comics actually) are only
peripherally related to the games mentioned, but they're still great
source material.
* Nephilim - "Nexus" ($4.95 each), the New Times Magazine, is an
interesting New Age source. The issue I have (V2 #26) has articles
on Forbidden Archaeology, notes on the dangers of Electromagnestism,
and lots of great reviews and advertisements. Worth at least a scan,
and definitely full of ideas.
* Pendragon - "The Book of Ballads and Sagas #1" (Green Man Press,
$2.95) is a great comic. It contains very nice adaptations of
several Medieval ballads. This issue contains: "Thomas the Rhymer"
(Child #37), "The False Knight on the Road" (Child #3) and the first
part of the Norse saga "Skade". It's all drawn by Charles Vess. The
writers are Sharyn McCrumb, Neil Gaiman and Robert Walton. Very
nicely done, and full of useful ideas for Pendragon adventures (or
for that matter Ars Magica and other games of the same era).
--------------------
From: fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr (Frederic Moll)
Subject: The Duchy of Normandie, Part One
System: Pendragon
This is the first part of an article on Normandie in the Pendragon Era.
The second part, which will appear in V12.1, wil include geographical
information (in the format used in Pendragon supplements/adventures).
The third and last part will include ideas for adventures and
miscellaneous notes.
If there are requests for more material of this kind, i may write
other articles on the territories of France and Gaul.
- * -
The Duchy of Normandie in the Pendragon era
By
Frederic Moll
FOREWORD:
This text was written as an expansion of the informations given on the
Duchy of Normandie in the Pendragon rulesbook (4th edition, p 98-100).
The timeline given in this text is just an attempt to have coherent
links with the Arthurian chronology given in the Pendragon rulesbook
and the Boy King supplement. Although roughly based on historical
events, this is a fictional work with a lot of time compression so
don't blame me because the Duchy of Normandie was mentioned at a time
it doesn't exist (it will be created roughly 400 years later than the
Arthurian period).
The Danes and Norvegians mentioned in the History are people coming
from the North of the European continent. Although there is not a lot
of information on them, we may expect additionnal facts on them in the
forthcoming Pendragon supplement called "Land of Giants".
comments are welcome.
Frederic Moll
e-mail : 100350.1766@compuserve.com or fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE DUCHY OF NORMANDIE:
Since its foundation, the kingdom of the Franks was plagued by raids
by men from the North. Many cities were sacked, even Paris. Each time,
these raiders left behind them burned cities and destroyed properties.
Sometimes, the king of the Franks, or other rich nobles, were asked to
pay a good ransom to obtain peace for a few months. In 489, in an
attempt to obtain some peace in his kingdom, the king of Franks
(Claudas ?) signed a treaty with the Dane's chieftain Hrolfr "the
walker" (this nickname came from the fact that there was no horse able
to bear him...) at Saint-Clair sur Epte.
In this treaty, the king gave lands near the Seine river to Hrolfr and
his men in exchange for: peace, the promise that all the Northmen
would become Christians, and the understanding the King of Franks
would be the lord liege of the ruler of the Danes in this new area.
This time, the Danes stopped their raids and settled in this conquered
land (the land of the North Men which will be known as Normandie) with
Hrolfr becoming the first of the Dukes of Normandie.
The initial territory under Hrolfr rulership was composed of the
following pagii (pagus: frankish administrative circonscription): Pays
de Talou, Pays de Caux, Roumois, Vexin, Meresais and Evrecin. It was
delimited with rivers, as was the usual way at this time: the Bresle
river was the northern limit; the Epte river was the eastern limit;
the Charentonne and the Risle rivers were the western limits. The
capital of Normandie chosen by Hrolfr was Rouen, which was sacked
three times during the initial raids. His baptism and his wedding were
celebrated in 490 in this city.
In 491, after a short military campaign, four more pagii were added to
the Normandie territory: Lieuvin, Exmes, Seois and Bessin. The new
western limit was the Vire river. During one of the battles in front
of the city of Bayeux, the duke Hrolf was wounded by an arrow in his
throat. Although victorious, the duke was brought back to Rouen where
he died. His designated successor was Robert, his brother, who became
the second duke of Normandie.
It was under Robert's rulership that the final expansion of the Duchy
of Normandie occured. In 493, with a military campaign and financial
threats, two last pagii were added to the territory: Cotentin (which
was under the control of Norvegians) and Avranchin. The Couesnon river
was now the westernmost limit of the Duchy. This union was sealed with
the wedding of Robert and Laure, daughter of the Count of Coutances.
From this point, there were no more additions to this territory, with
the exception of the contested territory of Passais, a recurring
conflict that lasted 20 years.
Figure 1: schematic composition of the Duchy of Normandie
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| PAYS |
| DE |
| TALOU |
| PAYS DE CAUX |
| |
| C ROUMOIS |
| O |
| T x Rouen VEXIN |
| E |
| N BESSIN LIEUVIN |
| T x Bayeux |
| I |
| N |
| EXMES EVRECIN MERESAIS |
| |
| SEOIS |
| AVRANCHIN x Paris |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
A lot of northmen settled in Normandie and coexisted peacefully with
the Franks. In 494, Raymond, the first son of Duke Robert, was born.
During three days there were a lot of festivals in all of the Duchy of
Normandie. In 495, Floriane, the daughter of Robert and Laure was
born.
This is the start of the Pendragon Campaign.
In 500, a famous guest of the Duke is Merlin, who stops at the Duke's
Palace while en route to Rome. Just before leaving, he makes a strange
prophecy to the duke.
In 505, a lot of nobles rebel against the heavy taxes imposed by the
Duke. The repression is very bloody and impressive for the population.
This day will be known in the future as the Red Seine day.
In 515, Robert decides to retire to the newly founded abbey of
Mortemer, and Raymond becomes the third Duke of Normandie. The wedding
of his sister Floriane is arranged with the son of the Count of Anjou
in an attempt to maintain the peace with a turbulent neighbour.
In 520, a traveller coming from Logres dies in Rouen; this is the
beginning of a plague epidemic. Luckily, with a lot of prayers and a
few quests for relics, the disease is stopped and vanishes from the
Normandie.
In 524, the bishop of Caen complains about the behaviour of some of
the vassals of the Duke. Shortly afterwards, he is murdered by an
angry knight. This is the beginning of a revolt in the western part of
the Duchy. The Duke asks the help of the Count of Anjou to quell this
rebellion.
In 525, a small force of knight and soldiers secretly crosses the
channel and lands in Normandy. The port of Barfleur is seized during a
surprise attack, where Aglovale (Lamorak's brother) is brilliant
against a treacherous opponent (See the Boy King supplement). The
dukes of Normandy, Champagne and Burgundy unite themselves under the
leadership of King Claudas to fight the invaders.
In 526, all of Arthur's army crosses the channel. This is the
beginning of the French campaign. Fighting up to the Seine river,
Arthur finally reaches Paris, which surrenders in July. Raymond is
captured during one of the fights and Kay become Duke of Normandie
(see Boy King supplement).
Although Kay keeps the title of Duke of Normandie, the real ruler is
Martin de Beaumont. Under his rulership, Normandie becomes again a
flourishing province.
In 539, Martin dies of illness. Georges le Marin replaces him as the
head of the province. Slowly, he comes under the control of King of the
Frank's emissaries.
In 550, Chateau Gaillard is assaulted. This is the end of the
Normandie province, which becomes part of the Kingdom of France....
ADMINISTRATIVE, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION OF THE DUCHY:
Shortly after obtaining the lands, Hrolfr divided them quite equally
among his men. He chose to keep the pagus organization as a unit of
administration and taxing. Each pagus is usually shared by 5 to 10
nobles.
The levy that is raisable by the duke is composed of 500 knights and
800 soldiers (according to the Pendragon rulesbook). There is also a
naval levy, but there are not a lot of documents on the number of
ships that were available to the duke (this is a free choice for the
gamemaster).
One of the most Nordic changes brought by the Northmen to the duchy
was in the maritime law:
* the duke has a monopoly on the wrecks ("vrek" in old danish,
"veriscus" in latin). Everything that comes from the sea is his
property unless his representative decide otherwise.
* whales and sturgeons are also under his monopoly
Another very useful addition for the contry management was the use of
the acre ("akr" in norrois) as the sole land measurement unit.
The Duke of Normandie is also called Count of Rouen. He is a vassal of
King Claudas.
At the head of each pagus, there are Counts and Viscounts (most of
them were members of the ducal family or meritous members of his
soldiers), mostly on the frontier areas of the Duchy (see the
schematic figure in the "Short History" chapter):
* Count of Ivry/Evreux for the pagii of Evrecin and Meresais
* Count of Eu for the pagus of Pays de Talou
* Count of Avranches for the pagus of Avranchin
* Count of Exmes for the pagus with the same name (also sometimes
called "l'Hiemois" )
The viscounts are initially in pagii where there is no count, but
their number will grow during the period (the most known are the
Viscount of Bayeux and the Viscount of Avranches)
Another big actor in the political organization of Normandie is the
Church, which slowly develops the size of the territories under her
control by donations from noble people and the foundation of abbeys.
The Archbishop of Rouen has a great influence on the Normandie rulers,
as do a lot of Bishops in the various parts of the Duchy
There are also "errant" bishops (with no seat) who roam the duchy
lands. most of the Normand bishops are married.
As a side note, the official culture/religion of the Normandie is
French/Christian (as specified in the Pendragon rulesbook), but the
northern part of the Cotentin was under Norvegian control before it
was added to the duchy; some of the inhabitants quickly adopt the
official religion, but until the end of the duchy, most of them are
still pagans or of the Wotanism religion (if the supplement "Land of
Giants" can give us an official point of view on the religion of the
Norvegians...)
--------------------
From: <Adam_Crossingham@octavian.ccmail.compuserve.com>
Subject: Announcement: Esoterica
System: Nephilim
ESOTERICA
~~~~~~~~~
ANNOUNCING ESOTERICA, THE MAGAZINE OF OCCULT ROLE-PLAYING
Esoterica will be a 24-32 page A4 format amateur magazine supporting
the Nephilim role-playing game. Articles will include new past lives,
variant magics, scenarios, adventure seeds, occult lore, news, reviews
and (of course) much, much more. In addition every issue will try to
have a themed special section.
Articles in hand for the first issue include:
* Drakes - Draw forth elemental servitors from your living Ka.
* Marginalia - Snippets of occult lore from a variety of sources.
* News and Reviews - Reviews of game inspiring media including a
review of "Fingerprints of the Gods".
* Campaign Kick-Start Special Feature including:
- An Awakening scenario: This major scenario for new characters will
introduce newly incarnated Nephilim to some of the major themes and
dilemmas of the Nephilim game, and is set on a mysterious island
retreat.
- Further Adventure Seeds; more adventure ideas that follow on from
the Awakening scenario.
- Campaign Themes; Threads and ideas to link your adventures together
into a campaign.
- Starting a Nephilim Campaign - By Eric Rowe and Shannon Appel.
- Is It Horror? - By Sam Shirley.
- The Truth about the Nephilim Soul - Sam Shirley spills the beans.
- European Simulacra for British and Continental incarnating Nephilim.
- Detailing Past Lives: Living for thousands of years does have
benefits. Nephilim pick up now forgotten secrets and meet each other
down through History. There is also a downside: a thousand years is
long enough to have made enemies, both human and Nephilim.
- How to find and join your local neighbourhood Arcanum: A practical
guide. Finding a support group may not be as routine as a newly
incarnated Nephilim thinks.
* And of course much, much more!
Esoterica is scheduled to appear in December 1995.
DISTRIBUTION:
We are very pleased to announce a distribution partnership with the
publishers of Soleil Noir that will allow readers in Britain, Europe
and the Americas to easily obtain copies of both Esoterica and Soleil
Noir from the same source.
Britain and Europe:
Esoterica will be available direct from ourselves in these areas. We
are pleased to announce that readers in Britain and Europe will also
be able to obtain Soleil Noir from the publishers of Esoterica.
North America:
We are pleased to announce that Esoterica will available in North
America from Ian Young and Paul McRandle, publishers of Soleil Noir.
Rest of the World:
Esoterica will be available from the publishers, however Soleil Noir
will not. Please see Ian Young and Paul McRandle for further details
on obtaining Soleil Noir.
CONTRIBUTIONS:
All contributions to Esoterica are warmly welcomed and will be
gratefully received. Please contact us for further information on how,
and in which file formats. However we can only offer a free copy in
payment. If you have an article you wish to submit, particularly in
regard to starting a campaign, campaign issues or basic Nephilim
background information; please contact us as soon as possible, for
possible inclusion in the first issue.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
If you require further information on any aspect of Esoterica
magazine, please do not hesitate in contacting us. We can reached at
the following e-mail addresses:
Adam Crossingham:
Adam_Crossingham@octavian.ccmail.compuserve.com
and
Simon Hibbs:
yfcw29@castle.ed.ac.uk
--------------------
From: paul mcrandle <pmcrandl@d.umn.edu>
Subject: Announcement: Soleil Noir
System: Nephilim
We are pleased to announce the unveiling of...
*
SOLEIL NOIR
Ventures in the Occult
*
"Soleil Noir" is a scenario-oriented fanzine devoted to story-telling
and occult research in Chaosium's role-playing game "Nephilim." Each
issue will contain an adventure as part of an overall story-arc
designed to help game masters begin campaigns as well as supplement
those ongoing. As part of each scenario, "Soleil Noir" will publish
new past lives, new metamorphoses, and discussions of occult
traditions and artifacts. As our title implies, we also wish to
strengthen links between the French and English versions of the game.
Thanks to MultiSim's generous approval, we are able to offer select
translations into English from their total ouevre.
Our first issue (publication date January 1996) includes:
- The Emerald Tablet: an adventure in Occult Morocco
(The birth of our story-arc, 5 scenes in a hunt for the
great tablet through the bazaars, ruins, gun-runners and
secrets of the Maghreb, approx. 20 pages)
- Sphinx Metamorphosis,
- Mediterranean 10,000 BCE Past Life (The Great Compromise),
- Spain AD 1492 Past Life (The Fall of Granada & Columbus' Voyage),
- Translations from MulitiSim's "Les Mysteres",
and more.
The second issue shall focus on Central Asia, the Tien Shan and the
Himalayas, again with a full-length adventure, Past Lives and other
related materials.
The layout of 'Soleil Noir' is being designed to closely resemble that
of published Nephilim material for the ease of recognition and use and
to ensure our dedication to a quality publication.
DISTRIBUTION
"Soleil Noir" will be distributed in North America by Ian Young and
Paul McRandle. They can be contacted at n8448238@cc.wwu.edu and
kchappel@d.umn.edu respectively. The price is expected to be around
US $2.50/issue -- we intend to keep the costs as low as possible for
the sake of our readers while retaining the quality of our
publication.
We are very pleased to announce a joint-distribution agreement with
the publishers of "Esoterica" for interested readers in the UK and
Europe. We feel our magazines complement one another well and will
ourselves be distributing "Esoterica" in North America. Please
contact Adam Crossingham or Simon Hibbs at
Adam_Crossingham@octavian.ccmail.compuserve.com and
yfcw29@castle.ed.ac.uk respectively for further details about
receiving "Soleil Noir" in Europe and feel free to contact us about
subscribing to "Esoterica" in North America.
We are currently determining costs and demand in Australia, New
Zealand, and the rest of the world. Please email us directly if you
want to receive copies as we wish to be readily available to all with
an interest in "Nephilim" regardless of hemisphere.
CONTRIBUTIONS
We are currently accepting contributions to this publication on a
strictly un-paid basis. We would be happy to review any articles
related to Nephilim for possible publication. Art is welcome as well,
though we have remarkably little capacity for computer
transmission/reception of graphics. Material for the North Africa
issue is essentially complete, but truly inspired contributions will
always be considered. We have plenty of room for contributions to the
Central Asia/Himalayas issue and we encourage anyone with particularly
specialised knowledge or interest of this area to contribute to this
issue. Contributions are welcome by e-mail to...
n8448238@henson.cc.wwu.edu
and should be cc'd to...
kchappel@d.umn.edu
Contributions may be in MIME format. We'll try to deal with graphics
transmissions later. Authors and artists shall retain all copyright to
their material, which shall be duly noted in each publication. As
mentioned before, all contributions should be made with the
understanding that they are non-remunerative. We would love to pay
you for them, but as it stands, this publication will be, at best, a
non-profit venture. A free copy of the issue in which your efforts are
published is all we can offer for the time being.
Your humble servants,
Ian Young and Paul McRandle
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial electronic 'zine about Chaosium's
Games. In no way should it be considered representative of the views
or beliefs of Chaosium Inc. To submit an article, subscribe or
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