| Display a Printer Friendly Version The Duchy of Normandie
[comments:(0),
views:(5049), rating:(0.0)] Author: Frederic Moll
Homepage: http://
System: Pendragon
Type: Campaign
Category: Fantasy
Requirements:
This text was written as an expansion of the informations given on the
Duchy of Normandie in the Pendragon rulesbook.
PART I: The Duchy of Normandie in the Pendragon era
PART II: Geographical Information
PART III: ADVENTURES IDEAS
PART I: The Duchy of Normandie in the Pendragon era
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 : fmoll@geocites.com
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...)
PART II: Geographical Information
THE PLACES
This is not a complete index but i've try to include the most
interesting places. In some of the entries, the Roman or even old
Danish names are given as some people may recall the old names of the
places.
[The map given in V11.11 provides some information on the basic
landmarks in the Duchy of Normandie. A corrected version of it is
included below, as I inadvertantly text-wrapped the original, which
put Meresais, Paris and Vexin in the West rather than the East -SA]
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 --
Andelle river: a tributary of the Seine river, with a northeastern
direction. Lies a few miles south east of ROUEN.
AVRANCHIN: One of the last pagus that was added to the Duchy in 493.
The Count of Avranches is the ruler of this area, which includes the
city of COUTANCES and MOUNT SAINT MICHAEL. The Couesnon river is the
southwestern boundary of the duchy.
Avre river: a tributary of the Eure river and the southern boundary of
the inital territory granted to Hrolfr.
-- B --
BALTEIS: a subdivision of the northern pagus of COTENTIN.
BARLFLEUR: this port, protected by a common castle, was the place of
disbarkment of Agloval (Lamorak's brother) and his men in 525. During
the assault on the castle, Agloval fought against a norvegian warrior
who chopped his left foot with a great axe. Although victorious,
Agloval rested a few month in this city, waiting for the arrival of
all of Arthur's army in 526 (cf The Boy King supplement). The next
battle after that was against troops raised by the Dukes of Normandie,
Champagne and Burgundy.
BAYEUX: this city was a roman stronghold before the arrival of the
Franks and the Northmen. The bishop is the most influential man of the
Bessin pagus. Although destroyed by the Northmen attacks in 491, the
fortifications of the castle were quickly rebuilt. It was here that
Hrolfr, first duke of Normandy, was wounded in the throat by an arrow.
After a period of shock, the Northmen finally overran the defenders
and captured the city. This city was also one of the favoured
residences of the duke, with ROUEN and FECAMP.
BEAUMONT: home of the family of the counts of Meulan. The most famous
member of this family was Martin de Beaumont, who administrated
Normandy under Kay's rulership. His most notable action was the
expansion of the road system in Normandy to allow an easy circulation
of goods and merchandises.
BECHELLOUIN: a benedictine abbey, founded by Thomas de Lamort in 500,
near the bank of the Risle river. Famous for apple tree orchards.
According to some rumours, these were Devil apples that had the power
of oblivion (eaters sometimes forgot a week of their life after eating
one apple).
BESSIN: pagus that was added to the Duchy during the military campaign
of 491. The capitol is the city of BAYEUX.
Bethune river: At the mouth of this river is the port of DIEPPE.
BONSMOULIN: castle built in 495, near the ditch between Normandy and
Perche. This castle seems to be haunted, because every two months a
part of the southern wall goes to pieces during the night. When the
sun rises, the wall is again intact.
Brotonne Forest: A great wooded area, south of the Seine river, near
its mouth. A monastery was built in the heart of this area but
everybody who tries to enter this area seems to get lost for a day or
two before finding it. According to some travellers, the monastery was
constructed with the help of twin giants in less than a week.
Bresle river: the northern limit of PAYS DE TALOU pagus, and of the
Duchy.
BRIOVERA: Roman settlement where the bishop of COUTANCES accomplished
some miracles. Later, after his canonization, he will give his name to
the city who will become SAINT-LO.
-- C --
CAEN: near the Orne river, the dukes will build an imposing citadel to
protect the city during the rebellion of 524. The murder of the bishop
in this city, after a long speech about the moral behaviour of the
Duke was the origin of the agitation. Marc de Talon, his murderer, was
found later, ignoring everything concerning this event. Near him were
remains of apples from the BECHELLOUIN Abbey.
CARUSBERG: this scandinavian settlement is mainly a port, protected by
the castle of the Jarl CARUS, who gave his name to this settlement in
the extremity of the COTENTIN peninsula. Later, this city will be
named Cherbourg.
CASTLE GAILLARD: see GAILLARD
CHAMBOIS: a castle where live a group of dwarf knights. Although small
in size, they are among the most ferocious men that protect the
caravans that bring the ducal taxes to ROUEN.
Charentonne River: western limit of the initial territory of the Duke
of Normandie.
CORBON: salt marshes on the Dives River's mouth. One of the most
bloody battles of the 491 campaign was fought here. Now, the salt
marshes produce only pink salt (nothing can whiten it).
COTENTIN: pagus and peninsula. Initially under the control of
Norvegians who settled here in 470, this pagus was added to the Duchy
in 493, with the massive treasury given to the Jarl Carus by the Duke.
Although a vassal of the duke, the Jarl still has a lot of authority
in this pagus and maintains a double religious faith: catholic and
Wotanic. Each year, the Jarl send a couple of ships filled with young
adults to the land over the Channel to help the defense of Saxon
settlements or occasional raids.
COURCY: castle of the Yellow Lady. The Yellow Lady is an enchantress
that seems to attract only old knights. Only this kind of knights are
given hospitality in her castle. Why? Nobody is able to answer...
Couesnon river: southwestern most limit of the duchy and the AVRANCHIN
pagus.
COUTANCES: city in the COTENTIN pagus. The seat of Bishop Bernard
Kuls, who vainly tried to convert Jarl Carus to the catholic faith.
After the wedding of Laure, daughter of the Count of Coutances, this
city obtains a new fame, attracting a lot of travellers and a lot of
political agitators.
-- D --
Douve River: river in the COTENTIN pagus.
DIEPPE: fishing port in the PAYS DE TALOU, at the mouth of the Bethune
river.
Dives River: western boundary river of the LIEUVIN Pagus.
-- E --
Eaulne River: northern tributary of the Bethune river.
ELBEUF: cloth making town on the Seine river.
Epte River: eastern boundary river of the duchy. A tributary of the
Seine river. In SAINT-CLAIR-SUR-EPTE, at the junction with the Seine,
the treaty between King Claudas and Hrolfr was signed in 489. A small
castle was quickly built here after that, to protect the Normandy from
the Franks raids.
EU: town located in the PAYS DE TALOU. Castle of the Count of Eu.
Eure River: a southern tributary of the Seine river.
EVRECIN: pagus.
EVREUX: town, bishop, Count of Evreux.
EXMES: pagus.
-- F --
FALAISE: oldest castle in Normandie.
FECAMP: fishing port, coastal fortress and abbey. Capitol of the PAYS
DE CAUX. The abbey, founded in 496, was reputed for the liquor made by
the monks. This might be the reason why this little town was chosen as
one of the three official residences of the Duke.
-- G --
GAILLARD: impressive castle guarding the Seine Valley. Its capture by
men from the Ile de France, with the help of traitors, marked the end
of the Duchy as a nearly independant entity in 550.
GISORS: a castle.
HAGA: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN, under the
control of the norvegian Jarl Carus.
HAGA-DIKE: a 4 kilometers long fortification on the HAGA peninsula (a
little cousin of Hadrian's Wall). This fortification was built by
Celts circa 800BC and is made of superimposed layers of earth
maintained by stones. On top of this is a wooden palisade and a ditch
on the south side. The Haga Dike may rise up to 6 meter high in some
places.
HELGERIS: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN under the
control of Chief Helgi from Norway.
-- J --
JUMIEGES: a benedictine abbey founded in 503. This peaceful place
attracts a lot of riche nobles who come here for a period of calm and
meditation, or after great diseases. The monks and the abbot have a
great reputation as healers in all the Duchy. There are two churches:
one dedicated to St Peter and the other to the Virgin. The ducal
treasury is also stored here, under an heavy guard.
-- L --
L'AIGLE: a motte and bailey castle. The lord living in this castle is
a protector of eagles. He never use falcons for hunting, only eagles.
LE MELE: a castle.
LIEUVIN: a pagus added to the Duchy during the 491 campaign, after the
victorious siege of its capitol LISIEUX.
LILLEBONNE: Initially a roman military camp. A typical castle, with a
square central tower, was built on the remains of the camp that was
destroyed during the first raid of the Northmen.
LISIEUX: capitol of the LIEUVIN pagus on the Touques river.
LYONS LA FORET: a castle.
-- M --
MERESAIS: one of the initial pagii of the Duchy
MORTEMER: an abbey founded in 513. Robert, retired to this abbey in
515. Like a lot of the people who retired in this abbey, he died in
530 of indigestion, after eating fish. Near the abbey there is a pond
with very tasty fishes. After having a taste one of it, it is very
difficult to not try to catch another one and eat it.
MOUNT ST MICHAEL: Most famous abbey of the Lower Normandie. Due to the
tidal waters that surround the island, pilgrims must stay at least one
night in this abbey while waiting for the next low tide. See the
adventure of Mount St Michael for more details on this place (in Part
3 of this article).
-- O --
Orne River: a river that runs in the BESSIN, EXMES and SEOIS pagii.
-- P --
PASSAIS: the last pagus added to the Duchy in 503, next to the SEOIS
pagus. Althoungh contested by the Count of Anjou, the Duke of
Normandie was still the lord of this pagus.
PAYS DE CAUX: one of the initial pagii of the Normandie. FECAMP is the
capitol of this Pagus.
PAYS DE TALOU: one of the initial pagii of the Normandie. DIEPPE and
EU are the main cities of this pagus.
PRE DE LA BATAILLE: place near the Seine river where the 505 rebellion
was quelled by the troops of the Duke. During this furious day of
battle, at least 3 counts and 5 viscounts were counted among the dead.
Every body found on this battlefield was thrown in the Seine River.
The water remained red for one week after this battle.
-- R --
Risle River: western boundary river of the initial Duchy.
ROSTHELNENSIS: a sub division of the northern pagus of COTENTIN.
ROUEN: Capitol of the Duchy of Normandie and the Pagus of ROUMOIS, and
the second city of France and Gaul. Home of the Archbishop of
Normandie. This town on the Seine river is a great market place. The
conversion and the wedding of Duke Hrlofr and Poppa were celebrated in
the cathedral. Although sacked and burned at least 3 times during the
raids preceding the foundation of the Duchy, the city was quickly
rebuilt and is expanding outside the fortifications. The latin name of
Rouen was Rotomagus. A lot of Danes and Norvegians are found inside
Rouen, because they are always welcomed in this land, which they view
as a second homeland.
Duke Hrolfr was buried in a crypt under the cathedral after his death,
caused by a throat wound during the siege of BAYEUX. Sometimes, during
crises, Dukes go to the crypt to seek a wise advice, because,
according to rumours, the ghost of Hrolfr appears in front of them
when he is needed. According to other rumours, mostly spread by the
archbishop's men, the ghost sometimes also roam in the streets around
the cathedral. The archbishops want to get rid of this crypt and are
ready to try anything possible to do so...
ROUMOIS: a pagus whose capitol is the city of ROUEN.
-- S --
SAINT-CLAIR-SUR-EPTE: A castle was built on the island where the
treaty was signed between Hrolfr and King Claudas.
SAINT SAUVEUR: Castle of the Viscount of COTENTIN (who holds the
island of Guernsey).
SAINT-LO: future name of BRIOVERA. Name of a canonized bishop of
Coutances.
SEES: capitol of the pagus of SEOIS.
SEOIS : pagus added to the Duchy in 491.
Seine River: great river. Boating is very easy and a lot of goods are
transported by ships up to Paris, stopping at the market of Rouen.
During the initial Northmen invasions, before the foundation of the
Duchy, fortified bridges were also constructed by King Claudas to
protect Paris. Unfortunately, the Northmen were still able to capture
and destroy them and even raided Paris.
-- T --
Touques river: main river of the LIEUVIN pagus.
-- V --
Varenne river: southern tributary of the Bethune river.
VERNEUIL SUR AVRE: a castle.
VEXIN: a pagus.
Vire River: boundary river between the COTENTIN and BESSIN pagii.
PART III: ADVENTURES IDEAS
The Adventure of the Berserker
(recommended as a winter solo adventure)
A Northmen berserker settled a few years ago in the village of
Quincampoix, near a great wooded area known as "the Green Forest". He
then became a woodsman and was well accepted by everybody living in
the village. Recently, after a couple of days in the heart of the
forest, he came back and began to frighten shepherders and other
peasants. Initially, it was only with gestures and shouts. Later, he
violently attacked a young herdsman and wounded him and a couple of
cows with his great axe. After that, he was frequently seen near the
egde of the forest, never outside, shouting in a language unknown to
nearly everybody (some say that it is Northman talk).
The inhabitants of Quincampoix were frightened, and asked their lord
to free them of this dangerous man. The PC knight is either their lord
or sent by him to solve this troublesome problem.
rriving at Quincampoix, the knight should be able to see the wounded
herdsman and speak to elder people of the village. During this initial
investigation, a young boy arrives, shouting that the mad woodscutter
has been spotted near the village and is again shouting and waving...
Travelling on horseback in the forest is a very difficult task, so the
knight should go afoot. When the woodscutter spots the knight, he will
shout something in Northmen language and make gestures to invite the
knight into the forest. If there is no reaction, the woodscutter will
then try speaking the common language, and ask again that the knight
come to him.
Once inside the forest, the woodscutter will speak in Northmen
language or in common language. He'll say that he didn't wish to
brutalize the young herdsman, but that was the only way to attract the
attention of the ruler of this area. In no way does he wish to leave
the forest. Rather, he wishes to show the knight some of the wealths
of this forest. He asks the knight to accompany him into the heart of
the Forest.
If the knight wishes to fight against the woodscutter, treat the
woodscutter as a Saxon berserker at the top of his abilities. This
should be a hard fight.
Note: if the woodscutter is killed, this is the end of the adventure,
but the knight will miss a couple of interesting things inside the
forest. Give him some Glory points for killing the madman but the
economic level of Quincampoix will go down every year, and the forest
will slowly enroach on the fertile lands the peasants are trying to
maintain.
During the trip inside the forest, the woodscutter will lead the
knight to trials to evaluate his ability to handle and administrate
the forest. Here are a couple of suggestions:
* the poachers: a couple of poachers are seen in action. Will the
knight rush to arrest them or leave them flee with their catches?
* the beasts: a pig and a boar are facing each other aggressively.
Will the knight let them fight until the end or try to separate them
before the end of the fight?
* the dream: the knight suddenly finds himself in a clearing with
about thirty people (men, women and children). They rush to him and
ask him how they should install themselves and how the lands will be
shared? (this is a test of Stewardship...)
If the woodcutter thinks the tests are successfully passed, he will
lead the knight to the heart of the forest. Here, he will tell him
the whole story:
In the heart of this forest was a great and old tree. The Green Man, a
powerful forest spirit that roams in different forests of the country,
counted the old tree as his favorite resting place. One day, the
berserker went inside the forest and found this tree. Seeing it was
very good, he began to attack it with his axe. Quickly feeling that
his home tree was endangered, the Green Man rushed to the tree, only
to see it downed.
At first angered, he tried to kill the woodscutter with heavy
branches. When the berserker was heavily wounded, the Green Man
reached into his mind. What he felt inside was very perplexing: his
forest was threatened by the humans who are destroying it to obtain
land. But, the land was also necessary for the humans to survive.
Must he try to protect the life of the forest and let the human beings
die of starvation? To solve this dilemma, he decided to possess the
woodcutter and attract here a representative of the human beings
living near the forest. Inside the forest, he will test him to see if
this representative will ensure that the forest will be handled
correctly in human hands (he wishes to know that the laws will be
respected, that the forest will not be quickly destroyed but
progressively exploited to allow the renewal of the trees and of the
animals living inside, etc).
If successful, the Green Man will allow the exploitation of the forest
by the humans and will leave the Green Forest for another resting
place not reachable by men. Before leaving, he will bless the forest
and the lands surrounding it and free the body and the spirit of the
woodcutter. The benefits of this blessing will be seen during the next
twenty years. There should be no starvation or diseases in the
Quincampoix area and the crops will be numerous. If needed, the forest
will easily furnish animals for meat and wood for fire and building.
No danger will exist in this forest.
The Adventure of the Dwarf Knights
The players come upon a caravan that is being attacked by bandits.
This is a ducal caravan that brings to Rouen (or the Mortemer Abbey)
merchandise coming from the ducal monopoly on sea wrecks. It is
defended by guards and valiant dwarf knights mounted on ponys. If
help is given to the dwarf knights, they will invite their rescuers to
the castle of Chambois which was built specifically for small sized
persons.
The Adventure of the Ghost
The streets of Rouen near the Cathedral are deserted during the night
because the ghost of Duke Hrolfr is again out of his crypt. The
Archbishop of Rouen is seeking valiant people who will free the city
from the threat caused by this ghost. There are at least two
possibilities for adventure:
* the real ghost is out in the streets.
* this is a bandit disguised as a ghost. While he is out, people flee,
allowing other members of his group to steal the contents of
merchant's or rich men's houses.
The Adventure of the Plague Demon
During the year 520, the plague is ravaging all of Normandie. The
Archbishop of Rouen, during a night of prayers, had a vision and
announced it at mass: the demon who is responsible for this disease is
living on the Island of Abomination, which can occasionally be seen at
the mouth of the Seine, emerging from the fog. If the left hand of
this demon is brought to the cathedral and blessed, the epidemic will
quickly stop.
On this mythic island lives a creature that eat all the corpses that
arrive on the shores (corpses from wrecked ships, corpses thrown in
the Seine, etc). Progessively, parts of the eaten bodies are replacing
his original body. It should be a horrible vision for the valiant
knights.
The Ducal Roads
The Ducal Road that runs from Rouen to Carusberg, passing by Elbeuf,
Lisieux, Caen and Bayeux, is the main communication way (built on the
remains of a roman via) of the Duchy.
Other roads are being built progressively:
* from Carusberg to Mount St Michael, passing by Coutances.
* from Coutances to Lisieux, passing by Falaise
etc
Protection or exploration of the lands crossed by these new roads
offers many possibilities for adventures: beasts, magical places, etc.
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