Category: Houses of the Blooded

Now that you know why duels are fought, let’s you and me talk about how they are fought.

First, a duel is fought in a series of beats. Each beat, one of the duelists is the aggressor and the other is the defender. The duelists trade back and forth… unless a switch in momentum occurs. A maneuver striking the opponent off guard. We’ll get to that later. First, let’s go through the duel step-by-step.

Step 1: Gather Dice
Each duelist (and there are only two of them) gathers together whatever dice they can. The relevant Traits are Prowess and The Sword, plus any aspects they can invoke and tag. Players should double check with the GM, as usual, for rulings on invoking aspects that may or not be appropriate to the circumstance.

Example
Shara has stumbled into a duel. This is something she does not want to do. Not yet, anyway. She faces off against her opponent and I have to figure out how many dice she has.

Her Prowess is 3 and her skill at The Sword is also 3. That’s six dice. Not a lot to play with. If I want to play it safe, I’ll use at least 4 for the risk, leaving me only 2 to bid in the strike auction (not to mention use as wagers later on).

Fortunately, Shara’s sword has some Style banked. I pull two Style from the sword, giving me a total of 8 dice. That’s a bit better. She also has an aspect I want to invoke: “I know exactly how to hurt you.” The GM tells me that’s fair. Someone is going to get hurt after all. I get three dice from my aspect, giving me a total of 11 dice. Let’s look at the total:

Prowess    3
The Sword    3
Style (from sword)    2
Aspect    3
Total    11
 
So, for this part of the duel, Shara and I have eleven dice to play with. Okay, let’s see what happens next.

Step 2: Strike Bid
Time to determine which duelist makes the first move. Not necessarily the most successful hit, but the first one. And sometimes, that’s all you need.

With all those dice in hand, each player secretly sets aside a number of them, depending on how important it is for him to get the first strike. This is called the strike bid. Both players reveal their strike bid at the same time. The player who sets aside the most dice for the strike bid has the option to go first or second.

Example
With those eleven dice, it’s time to figure out how important it is for me to get the first strike. I know I want to use at least four dice for the risk (to beat the 10). That leaves me six. The more dice I have, the more wagers I can make, the more Style I can get. Of course, if I lose the bid, I lose the dice. I waste the dice, in fact. Bidding dice to go second. I’d better make sure I don’t do that.

So, I decide I’ll put four dice into the strike bid. My opponent reveals two dice. I get lucky. I get to pick whether I go first or second. I pick first. I have eight dice left for the duel.

Step 3: Declaration
Each duelist declares what he will do, starting with the duelist who won the strike bid. The duelists trade strikes, back and forth, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

This step starts with the first duelist declaring a risk. He states his intention clearly. “I want to stab your wrist,” “I want to cut your thumb,” or even “I want to cut out your eye.” Say it loud and say it proud. No room for the timid here.

The first duelist declares his intent and then the second duelist responds, declaring his own intentions with clarity and pride. His intention could be “I parry your worthless excuse of a lunge,” or “I bend sideways, leaving you open for a counterattack,” or even “I spin out of the range of your blade.”

The declarations are important. They set the standard for what happens next. Setting the bar.

Example
Shara won the strike bid, so she has the option to go first. She takes it. I announce, “I slice your leg, just above the knee.”
My opponent, looking to counter that, says, “I parry, putting your blade out of my way.”

We’ve both announced our intentions. Now, it’s time to see who is right and who is bleeding.

Step 4: Risk
Both duelists make their wagers secretly. Then, each rolls their remaining dice.

Both duelists check to see if they roll at least 10. If either of them fails to roll at least a 10, they completely fail at their declaration. Complete Failure. More on that in a moment.

If both duelists succeed in rolling at least 10, see which rolled higher.

The duelist who rolled higher succeeds in his intent. He is the victor. He has complete success.

The one who rolled lower gets only a partial success. He is the defeated. He has partial success.

Complete success means you get to use all your wagers.

Complete failure means you don’t get to use any of them.

Partial success means you can only use half your wagers, round up.

Step 5: Consequences
This is when the bleeding happens.

A successful attack means the victor may apply all his wagers against the defeated. The defeated may, if he wishes, subtract one wager from the victor’s pool, trading wager for wager. In other words, he can sacrifice his own wagers to cancel the victor’s wagers, one for one.
As soon as all the sacrifice is done, the victor applies his wagers.

If the attacker is the victor, he may Injure his opponent.

If the defender is the victor, he may Parry his opponent’s attack.

Injure and Parry are the two basic maneuvers (yes, that’s a game term). Advanced maneuvers may only be taught by fencing masters and each takes an entire Season to learn. I’ll put the advanced maneuvers here so all maneuvers are in the same place. If you want to learn those maneuvers, try looking up the Seasons chapter.

Injure (basic; aggressor; causes Injury)
If you put the hurt on your opponent, you deliver an Injury. Successfully hitting your opponent causes a rank one Injury, listed as “Injury 1.” Each wager you add to that increases the Injury’s rank. So, if you add two wagers to a successful hit, you’ve given your opponent an Injury 3. (One free rank for successfully hitting your opponent and two additional ranks for your two wagers. That’s a total of 3.)

The bigger an Injury, the better it is for you, the worse it is for your opponent.

Parry (basic; defender; free Style)
If the defender rolls higher than the attacker, the defender is the victor and the attacker is the defeated. The defender can then successfully parry the attacker’s attempt at harm. This means the attacker can now deduct wagers from the defender’s wager pool. That’s a good thing for the attacker.

Parrying is a good rest action. It gets you out of getting hit, but more importantly, it allows you to transfer all your extra wagers into Style points. Remember: you can turn any excess wagers into Style.

Advanced Maneuvers
All of the maneuvers below cost 2 wagers to execute. Each also costs one Season action to learn. Get studying.
Bash (defender/attacker; 2 wagers)

Throwing your weight behind your sword, you hope to throw your opponent off balance. Both you and your opponent roll Strength + Athletics (sorry: no wagers). If either of you do not make the risk (roll 10 or higher), you fall to the ground. The higher roll steals the momentum and may make an immediate attack against his fallen foe.

Bind (defender/attacker; 2 wagers)
You may wish to lock your opponent’s blade with your own. This ends any further maneuvers for the beat and both duelists transfer any remaining wagers into Style.

Blind (attacker; 2 wagers)
You slash at your opponent’s eyes, momentarily stunning him, blinding his vision. Your opponent loses a number of wagers from his pool equal to your skill with The Sword.

Feint (attacker/defender; 2 wagers)
A feint to the wrong direction can throw your opponent’s guard off, giving you an opportunity during the next beat. Declaring a feint by throwing away two wagers gives you a number of Style points equal to your skill with The Sword. These Style points can only be used in the next beat.

Lunge (attacker; 2 wagers; add Str to Injury)
A lunge is a dangerous maneuver, but if effective, can be devastating. A ven without Strength cannot make a lunge. Making a lunge requires two wagers. The duelist adds his Strength to the Injury rank. So, that’s one automatic rank for success plus the duelist’s Strength, plus any additional wagers he wishes to add.

The drawback of the lunge maneuver: you may not spend any further wagers that beat. Not to attack, not to defend yourself. All remaining wagers transfer to Style.

Riposte (defender; costs 2 wagers)
For the cost of three wagers, the defender can try a riposte. A riposte is a quick counterattack made by the defender. Like I said, this costs three wagers. The defender now becomes the attacker and may make an attack against his opponent with his remaining wagers. The attacker may only defend with his own remaining wagers.

If the attack is successful or if it fails, a riposte does not count as an attack. The duelist making a riposte does so at the end of the attacker’s beat, giving him first attack in the following beat.

Injury
The ven get hurt, just like us. They feel pain, just like us. They die from injury, just like us. The ven are just a little more butch, that’s all. But they can still be killed. It just takes a little more effort.

When your character takes an Injury, it has a rank. The rank is an indictor telling you how severe the Injury is. You can have multiple Injuries. A cut above the eyes, a sprained ankle, even a missing hand.

Injury 1 and Injury 2 are flesh wounds. A sliver of pain. Just a distraction. Any Injury 1 or 2 heals in an equal number of days. Injury 1 heals in one day. Injury 2 heals in two days.

Injury 3 and Injury 4 are crippling wounds. A deep, piercing wound through the chest. A missing digit. An ear torn from the side of the head. A blinded eye. A rank 3 Injury heals in one Season. An Injury 4 heals in two Seasons.

Injury 5 is a mortal wound. Any ven who takes an Injury 5 is automatically knocked to the ground, helpless. He cannot protect himself. A single action by a ruthless enemy will kill him. He is helpless for one week minus his Fortitude. For the rest of the Season, the character can take no action without spending a Style point. His Injury 5 heals at the end of the Year, losing one rank per Season.

Unfortunately, the last rank from an Injury 5 never fully heals. It remains as a scar on the character sheet.

Any Injury can be tagged, just like an aspect. Your opponent, by tagging your Injury, gains a number of bonus dice equal to the Injury.

This is important now.

The ven are just that tough.

Violence

We are not animals. We must approach every aspect of our lives, even violence, with a civilized mind.
– Virtues

The only thing that separates us from the rest of nature is that we know we are animals.
– Lessons

The ven are civilized creatures. They agree upon a set of laws, and abide by those laws, surrendering certain civil liberties in exchange for safety. Without this mutual agreement, the ven would be reduced to chaos. Nobles are the keepers of civilization, the watershed against that chaos. Even still, there comes a time when words and rhetoric fail, and when they do, the only recourse is action.

The noble caste recognizes this, and recognizes a citizen’s right to defend his honor, and defend it with blood, if necessary. Violence is a part of ven culture, but if arms must be taken up, they will be taken up with a mind toward justice and fair play. Two opponents, each with the same weapon, facing off to prove or disprove a claim of honor. This is the purpose of ritual violence: to address the necessity of violence in a civilized culture.

A formal duel is a serious affair for all involved. Even if a duel is set for first blood, accidents happen. It is more than just a test of skill, but a test of honor for both parties. A most serious matter, indeed. One might even say, “deadly serious.”

This chapter looks at the the role violence plays society. First, we’ll look at duels. Why they happen, how they happen. Then, we’ll talk about Revenge. Why it happens, how it happens. Finally, we’ll deal with the very rare circumstances of the traditional “fight scene.”

The Duel
The Duel is a small book—only a few pages—outlining and making clear the Senate’s overly complicated and convoluted system rules for duels. Over the last two hundred years, the ven have continued to manipulate the system, creating a labyrinth of laws. As the author of the work himself writes:

Authorship of The Duel is one of the most disputed in all of Shanri. The book was written under pseudonym, but many assumed it was the hand of Uthali Rondo, House of the Wolf, Baron Taven who penned the document. It was only recently that some have come forward making the claim that his brother, Uthali Pennin, House of the Fox, Baron Grendir was the true author. Evidence stands for both claims, but too much time has gone by for any truth to be discovered.

The Duel makes clear the procedures for a duel, starting with causes—both just and otherwise—and moving on to ritual. Finally, the author makes a passing reference to revenge… but only for a moment. The true intent of his final cryptic statement remains a mystery.

Three Offenses

If a man so finds himself in a position where his honor is questioned, it is true that he may consider himself under grievance.
—The Duel

I have translated this word as “disonor,” which frankly is a tad bit weak. The original ven word is seventeen syllables long and literally translates as:

The moment my integrity has been so stained that it may only be cleaned with blood.

You’ll pardon me if I use “dishonor.”

The anonymous Author goes on to discuss what exactly constitutes an offense to one’s honor. He defines three “offenses” as valid arguments for grievance. The first is insult, the second injury, and the third serious injury. Each calls for a specific duel with its own rules and outcome.

Insult
“Insulting a man’s honor – chiefly by questioning it – is the least serious of offenses. Calling him a liar is the highest of these low offenses. Intimation is one thing; exclamation another.”
–    The Duel

“Insult” is publicly questioning another noble’s honor. Calling him a liar, an adulterer, a welcher or a thief is cause for the claim of insult. According to the Duel, insult cannot be claimed without a witness willing to testify to the insult before a jury. This is why so many nobles couch their insults in word plays and innuendo, thus avoiding a duel.

Injury
“Injuring a man is inflicting a wound that shall leave a scar on his person, his livelihood or his heart.”
–    The Duel

“Injury” is a more serious crime, one that results in physical, spiritual, or financial scar. The wording of the Duel is ambiguous, a fact many nobles have used to make claim to injury. Like a claim of insult, it must be brought before a jury to decide the validity of the claim. The discovery of an affair is the most common cause for a claim of injury, as well as theft, a loss of honor or Reputation.

Serious Injury
“Some injuries cannot be healed by words. Only blood.”
–    The Duel

Finally, “serious injury” is reserved for offenses that cannot be undone. In other words, injuries that cause permanent and irreparable damage. This is the rarest of all three duels as most juries try to avoid declaring them. But in the most extreme cases, such injuries can only be settled with a duel to the death.

Making the Claim
Once the insult or injury has been made, the offended party must make a claim within two days of the incident. (From The Duel: “to prevent any meddlesome voices from fanning dying fires.”) If no claim is made, no insult or injury has taken place; the offending party is assumed to have spoken the truth. If the offended party does make a claim, all further details are handled by “seconds.”

A second is a trusted friend or relative who speaks for and supports a noble engaged in a duel. The Duel forbids both parties any further contact until the duel, giving them space and time apart, allowing time for their tempers to cool.

The Jury
“A jury must be made op of men and women who are neutral in the affair, who have no vested interest in either the success or failure of the duel. An odd number is preferable, in the event of a tie. The jury is selected by the most distinguished peer at the site of the alleged grievance.”
–    The Duel

When a claim of injury or insult is made, a jury must be formed to judge the validity of the claim. A jury is made up of an odd number of nobles (The Duel calls them “peers”). These peers are chosen randomly or by the seconds. Typically, the noble with the highest Social Rank chooses the jury. He picks an odd number of nobles, in the case of a tie.

It is understood that if the noble intentionally picks an even number of nobles, he wishes the jury to come back with a split decision, indicating that a decision cannot be made.

The jury hears pleas from both seconds and decides who is the offended party in the claim. This can be a tricky situation, as both duelists want that title. The situation becomes complicated by the rules presented by the Duel. If Lord S______ claims Lord B______ has cheated him, Lord S______ has a rightful claim of insult. Thus, it becomes the duty of Lord S______’s second to prove the claim, for if he doesn’t, Lord S______ becomes guilty of a claim insult, which can quickly escalate to a claim of injury (of character).

The jury votes on the validity of all claims and set them in order of injury. This becomes important later, when letters of apology are sent or a duel commences. The most serious injury is set at top, followed by less serious injuries, followed by the most serious insult and all subsequent insults.

Apologies
Once the jury agrees on the crimes, the seconds draft letters of apology for the opposing party to sign. Typically, three copies of the letter are drafted: one for the offended party, one for the offending party, and one for public notice.

A noble can refuse to sign a letter of apology, thus ensuring a duel. He may also refuse to send a letter of apology, although this results in a loss of Reputation. Letters are typically drafted with one signature addressing all the claims.

Arranging the Duel
If apology won’t settle the matter, all that’s left is bloodshed. The seconds meet to arrange the details of the duel. There are many factors to discuss, including time and place, weapons used, distance of stance, and the seriousness of the duel itself.

The Duel demands the offending party be given the right to choose the weapons while the offended party chooses the time and place. The seconds carry the demands and details of the duelists, sometimes making multiple meetings to finalize the details. All of these details are used as leverage points to either arrange for an apology (thus, dodging the duel) or to further enrage the other duelist (thus, ensuring bloodshed).

Choice of weapons is important and the primary concern of the seconds. They must make certain the weapons are identical to ensure a fair contest between the duelists. The offended party may waive his rights to “fair weapons,” allowing the offender to bring whatever weapon he likes to the duel.

Time and place are also important. Just as the offender has choice of weapons, the offended has choice of time and place. Duels usually occur just before dawn as the sun is rising, but not blinding. Noon is also a prime time for duels. Midnight is reserved for duels not approved by a jury, usually fought under a full moon to provide ample light for the duelists.

Finally, the seconds discuss distance of stance. This is how many steps lay between the duelists when the duel begins. This can also be an important factor, depending on the weapons employed in the duel.

The Duel
When the duelists finally meet on the field (having not seen each other since the whole affair began), weapons are chosen and the distance is taken. This is the first opportunity for apology.

In matters of insult, an apology may be made before the duel begins. The offender may make an apology, offering the offended party the opportunity to end the affair before bloodshed occurs. If the offended party accepts, letters are signed and the matter is settled.
In matters of injury, no apology can be offered until blood is spilled. Whether that’s first blood or a duel to injury is up to the duelists.

Duel to the Touch
In the case of minor insults, a duel to the touch may be appropriate. Both duelists stand a few steps apart and at the drop of a handkerchief, they draw swords quickly, trying to gain the first hit against his opponent. The duelist striking first is declared the winner and the affair is ended.

A duel to the touch is rare, usually insisted upon by the elders of a family who don’t wish to see their young killed in a senseless affair of honor. One duelist called this a “lady’s duel.” He was subsequently blooded and beaten by a woman duelist who overheard him and decided it was a matter of honor to defend her insulted gender.

Duel to Blood
Also known as a “blood duel,” duels to blood are used to settle serious matters of insult. Claims of insult are resolved when one of the duelist is wounded to bleeding. This is the most common form of dueling, the others reserved for more serious affairs of honor.

Duel to Injury
More serious matters of honor call for a duel to injury. The duel proceeds until one opponent is blooded (as above). He is then allowed the opportunity to apologize (the offending party) or claim satisfaction (the offended party). An apology or concession ends the matter. If no apology or concession is given, the duel continues, breaking with each blooding. The offer of concession or apology is made again, and if none is made, the duel continues. If a duelist cannot continue for his wounds, the duel is over and the matter is finished.

Duel to the Death
For the most serious matters, a duel to the death is the only way to gain satisfaction. The duel ends when one duelist is mortally wounded. No offers of apology or concession are given, no breaks between blooding. The fight continues until one duelist falls, injured unto death.

After the Duel
Once the duel is over, the matter is settled. No further claims from the duel or its outcome may be made. The seconds are present to ensure a fair fight and prevent dishonorable actions. If they are honorable men, it is assumed the duel ended fairly.

Revenge for a fallen friend killed or wounded in a duel is forbidden. Both men agreed to enter into honorable violence and accept the consequences as honorable men. Plans of unjust revenge are dishonorable, left for men of lesser stature and spirit.

Time is an important element in Houses of the Blooded. It moves forward at a terrible pace, never hesitating, never resting. The passage of time gives characters the chance to grow, to practice, to become more than what they are. Time also brings them closer to the inevitable doom of solace.

Time is measured in seasons. The ven measure the year in much the same way we do. The ven year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. (You may note the ven year begins in spring rather than winter.) In the game, you too will count the seasons’ passing, noting how things change with time.

A season lasts approximately one hundred and twenty days. During that time, characters may find enough opportunity for one or two stories, possibly even three. But when does a season begin and when does it end? And how much can characters do in a season? Let’s answer those questions one at a time.

The Passage of Time
When you first sit down to play Houses of the Blooded, with everybody around the table, character sheets, dice and refreshments ready, the season has begun. In other words, the first adventure begins the first Season. We’ll assume you’ll be starting with Spring. Remember: you have one hundred and twenty days before the end of the season. That leaves you with plenty of time to get a lot done.

The GM prepares a number of “stories” for the season based on how much time he feels the characters can get done. A story, of course, is a fictional tale with a beginning, middle, and an end that the players’ characters take part in—for better or worse. The GM Section has more information on building stories.

Characters cannot participate in more than 4 stories per Season. Upkeep of lands and other downtime actions demand attention. If the players take up too much time with stories, the GM may determine they cannot spend time handling other important activities.

Security & Loyalty
This chapter deals heavily with your Domain (and the Domain of others). Before we go any further, we need to talk about two very important traits: Security and Loyalty.

Security refers to how safe your Domain is from exterior threats which will be covered in “Espionage Actions,” below. The higher your Security, the less you have to fear from subtle foreign influence.

Loyalty is how much your people trust you. The higher your Domain’s Loyalty, the more faithful your followers are and the more they are willing to do for you when it counts.

Each Region has a different value for Security and Loyalty. Your Domain’s Security and Loyalty begin at rank 1. You can change this over time, but for now, that’s where they start.

The Beginning of the Season
Four phases outline the beginning of a Season.

Phase 1: Harvest
At the beginning of the Season, you can harvest all the Resources and Production from last Season.

If this is your first Season (your characters haven’t even had an adventure yet), your character gains a full harvest, free of Troubles.

Once you’ve determined how many Resources you have, you can add them to your Castle Stores. Each Castle can hold a certain amount of Resources. A Small Castle (like yours) can hold ten. A Large Castle can hold fifteen. A Grand Castle can hold twenty. Any Resources you harvest for the Season that you do not use by the end of the Season (through production, storage or trade) are lost.

Personal Improvement (see “Actions,” below) occurs before any Resources or Production are Harvested. Personal Improvement is the first thing that happens during the Harvest Phase.

Phase 2: Planning
For the second phase, you must decide what your Regions will be doing with their time. You write down orders for each Region, telling them what you want to grow or produce over the next few months. You have two options for orders.

1: Resources
Order you vassals to produce their appropriate Resources. Because most of the Regions can grow two different kinds of Resources, you must order which one you want produced.

2: Production
The Village and City Regions have the ability to produce Goods. If a City or Village has the appropriate Resources, they can make weapons, clothing, delicacies, or just about anything else your imagination can muster. But your Villages and Cities need Resources to do it, which means they’re typically using last Season’s Resources to make this Season’s Goods.

All Resources and Production will be gathered at next Season’s Harvest Phase.

Phase 3: Troubles
The first thing to do at the End of the Season is determine what kind of Trouble has sprung up in your Domain. This takes a couple of steps.
Each Region in your Provinces has a creates a certain amount of Trouble. Add up all the Trouble in a Province using the Region Trouble Table (Trouble 1) located below.

Region	Trouble
City	3
Farm	1
Forest	2
Hills	1
Lake	1
Mountain	2
Plains	1
Village	2

Region by Region, roll a number of dice for each equal to the amount of Trouble. For example, rolling Trouble for a Farm is just one die while rolling Trouble for a city is three dice. Roll your dice. If any dice come up 1 or 2, that Region is in Trouble. Any Region in Trouble gives you no Resources and can perform no Production this Season.

Phase 4: Actions
Finally, it is time for you to take action.

Every Season, you get one “Season action.” You can use your Season action for the following tasks.

1) Quell Trouble
You can use your Season action to get rid of the Trouble from one Region. This opens up the Region for Production or Resources at the beginning of next Season.

If you have Vassals, they can take actions of their own to quell Trouble.

The Master of the Road can quell any Trouble occurring in Forest, Hills, Lake, or Mountains Regions.

The Master Spy can quell any Trouble occurring in Village or City Regions.

The Seneschal can quell any Trouble occurring in your Castle Region.

Your Spouse can quell Trouble in any Region.

2) Personal Improvement
You may also use your Season action to improve the traits on your character sheet. Any improvements appear during the Harvest Phase of the next Season.

Find the Personal Improvement section on the Season Sheet. You will see there are lines for Skills and Aspects. Increasing an Aspect or a Skill requires one Season of study. At the beginning of the Harvest Phase, your Aspect or Skill increases by one rank. This occurs before any Harvest is made.

3) Domain Improvement
You can also spend an action to improve your own domain. Both Regions and Vassals can be improved with enough time, Resources and effort.

Improving a Region improves the quality of Resource it produces. All Regions begin at rank 1. Rank 1 Regions produce Rank 1 Resources. As a Region’s rank increases, so do the number or quality of Resources it produces. Finer Goods demand finer Resources. Also, producing finer Goods gets you Style.

Each Season, you can use a Season action to improve one Region. The Region’s rank increases by one at the beginning of the Harvest Phase before any Resources are determined (the same time Personal Improvements occur). Yes, this means you can gain the benefit of this Season’s improvement the following Season.

Higher rank Regions can either produce a number of Resources equal to their rank or one Resource equal to the rank of the Region. In other words, a rank 2 Farm can either produce two Industry or one rank 2 Industry.

You can also improve Vassals. Like Regions, Vassals have ranks. A rank 1 Spy Network is nowhere near as efficient as a Rank 3 Spy Network.

Like Regions, you may spend a Season to improve one Vassal by one rank, and like Regions, the Vassal’s rank increases at the beginning of the Harvest Phase, just like Personal Improvements.

4) Espionage Actions
Certain Vassals—your Spy Network and the Master Spy—are capable of “espionage actions.” These allow you to spy upon and sabotage other Domains. Espionage actions are dangerous. You can very easily lose your Vassal if they are caught, or worse, have your Vassal turn on you becoming a traitor in your midst.

To be clear: you cannot perform espionage actions without a Spy Network or a Master Spy.

Domain Security
To spy on other Domains, you must overcome that Domain’s Security rank. All Provinces have a Security rank equal to rank of the Spy Network operating in the Province. Thus, if you have a rank 2 Spy Network operating in the Province, your Province has a Security rank of 2. If you have a rank 3 Spy Network, the Security rank is 3. This is free. Your Spy Network does not have to take any action to establish this default Security rating.

If you do not have a Spy Network or a Master Spy, the Security of your Domain is zero.

When your Spy Network or Master Spy enacts an espionage action, he rolls a number of dice equal to his rank.

Also, if you have a Master Spy, he may help your Spy Network in many ways. See “the Master Spy” under each heading for more information. If the Master Spy is a player character, use his Revenge rank for all purposes involving the Master Spy.

In order to accomplish any espionage action, your Spy Network must overcome the Security of the foreign Domain. To do that, your Spy Network rolls a number of dice equal to its rank. The risk is the Domain’s Security x 3. Thus, if the Security of a Domain is 4, the risk to spy on that Domain is 12.

If your Spy Network defeats the Security of the Province, you gain the information you sought.

If your Spy Network does not defeat the Security of the Province, they learn nothing.

If your opponent’s own Spy Network used their action to Increase Security (see below) and you fail to defeat the risk, your Spy Network has been captured. You may now be eligible for legal action, depending on your ability to talk your way through ven bureaucracy.

The Spy Master adds his own rank to any attempts to spy on Domains, but he must use his own Season action to do so. If a Spy Network is captured while the Master Spy is assisting them in an espionage action, the Master Spy may make an Escape Roll. He makes another risk against the Domain’s Security. If the Spy Master rolls higher, he escapes. If he does not roll higher, he does not escape. In the event of a tie, the Spy Master escapes with an Injury equal to the rank of the Spy Network.

If a Spy Master has used his espionage action to Increase Security in a Domain and a foreign Spy Master has been captured, add the Spy Master’s rank to the risk to determine if the foreign Spy Master has been captured.

Increase Security
The first action a Spy Network can make is increasing the Security of a Province. If you decide to have your Spy Network “increase Security,” the Security rank of the Province doubles. A rank 1 Security rank becomes rank 2, a rank 3 Security rank becomes rank 6, and so on.
Only one Spy Network may be assigned to a Province (they just get in each other’s way).

The Master Spy may spend his own Season action to add his own rank to the Spy Network’s rank. If he spends his Season action, he adds his own rank to the Spy Network’s rank to the Security rank of the Province. If the Spy Network and the Master Spy spend their actions to Increase Security, add the Master Spy’s rank to the Spy Network’s rank, then double that value.

Spying
You may choose to use your Spy Network to spy on other Domains. If you choose to do so, you can find out one of these things:
•    Discover what Resources the Province is making this Season
•    Discover what Goods the Province is making this Season
•    Discover what Improvements the Province is making this Season
•    Discover what Personal Improvements the Lord of the Domain is making this Season
•    Discover what actions a Vassal is making this Season

Player character Spy Masters use their Cunning or Revenge in lieu of their rank when determining the outcome of these actions.

Sabotage Region Improvement
You may also choose to sabotage Improvements rival Domains are constructing. To do so, you must know the Improvement is underway. You cannot blindly send in a Spy to sabotage something you do not know is there. Thus, in order to perform Sabotage, you must have successfully performed an Espionage action that informs you the Improvement actually exists.

Use the same system for Spying to sabotage an Improvement.

Cause Trouble
You can use your espionage action to sabotage another Domain’s Resource production. You do this by causing Trouble.
Like most espionage actions, your Spy Network rolls against the Province’s Security to do so. If successful, Trouble is increased by a rank equal to the Spy Network. This does not directly sabotage production, but it does make it much more likely to occur.

Bribe Vassal
You can also woo away Vassals from your enemy’s Domains. Bribing a Vassal requires paying double what his liege lord pays him. This lowers his Loyalty by one rank. If you continue this action, continually lowering the Vassal’s Loyalty, as soon as his Loyalty hits zero, he defects to your Domain.

Assassinate Vassal
Straight out killing another Domain’s Vassal is dangerous work. First, the Spy Network must determine the location of the Vassal. This requires a Spying action (see above). If the Spying action is successful, the Master Spy can make an assassination attempt. Handle assassinations like any other espionage action: the Master Spy must roll against the Security of the Province. If successful, he must now make a contested risk against the rank of the Vassal using his own Spy Master rank.

If he wins, the Vassal dies. If he does not beat the Vassal’s roll, the Vassal survives.

Either way, the Spy Master must now escape. He must make a second roll against the Security of the Domain, but this time, he must do so as if the local Spy Network has used their action to Increase Security. (Killing an important member of the lord’s entourage automatically makes it hard to get away.) Again, if he succeeds, he escapes. If he does not, he is captured. There is no additional Escape Roll for this action.

I assume your character is a landed noble: a ven with lands and vassals. As the last part of character creation, it’s time to determine what lands and vassals he owns.

As a beginning character, your ven owns a domain. A domain is a vague stretch of land with various geographical features. Because the sorcerer-kings not only experimented with flora and fauna, but the structure of the land itself, Shanri’s geography is a chaotic mess. Deserts next to forests, tundra next to mountains, and all other kinds of oddities.

Domain, Province, Region
The total amount of lands you own is called your “Domain.” A domain contains many Provinces. As a starting character, your Domain contains a single Province.

Within a Province are many Regions. When you spend points on a Domain, you define its Regions. You have ten points to spend on your Province. Each Province can have up to ten Regions, each Region representing a geographical feature. For example, one point can be spent on Mountains, two points spent on Plains, three points spent on Forests, etc.

A two-point Forest is larger than a one-point Forest. A three-point Mountain is huge, but not as enormous as a five-point Mountain.
Each region produces Resources: valuable commodities you can trade and develop at the end of each Season. If you have the right combination of Resources, you can develop them into Goods, such as weapons, clothing, and art. Weapons, clothing and art get you Style: something every ven cannot get enough of.

For every point you spend on a Region, it produces one Resource. So, a two-point Forest could produce one Food and one Lumber. A three-point Mountain could produce three points of Metals. It could also produce one Metals and two Stone.

Adding Regions to Your Province
Every domain may have as many as ten points of Regions within it. One of those points is taken up by your castle. (It’s a Small Castle, which you’ll learn more about in the Seasons chapter.) The second point is already spent for you as well, giving you a Small Village. Eight more points remain.

The only limitation on your points is that no domain may have more than 5 points of a single Region. You can have a 5 point Forest, but no more Forests for that domain.

Here is an example of a Domain. Lady Shara’s to be specific.

Shara’s domain consists of one Province. That Province contains:

• Yvarai Castle (rank 1) *
• Tudana Village (rank 1) *
• Bangladow Forest (rank 1)
• The Shuathan Plains (rank 3)
  (* automatic)

I took the time to name my Regions. You don’t have to, but then again, why wouldn’t you?

You may also notice I did not spend all ten points on Regions. (Only 6 points spent.) That’s because I’m saving some of my points for Vassals.

Vassals
Vassals are skilled professionals who help you with your Seasonal actions. They maintain peace, justice and order in your domain. Examples of Vassals are sheriffs, seneschals, and even spies.

Each Vassal has a cost. You must pay the people who work for you, after all. Most Vassals require at least one Food per Year, but some require more. Also, the less you pay Vassals, the more likely some other lord will send in a Spy Network to bribe them and steal them away.
Full descriptions of Regions and Vassals are in the Seasons chapter later in this book, but for now, here is a brief description so you know what you’re getting when you spend the points.

Lady Shara has 4 more points to spend. She spends them on Vassals, like this.

• 1 Spy Network (The Dranna Crew)
• 2 Swordsman (Vron Daladan)
• 1 Seneschal (Trev Shona)

I named my Vassals. You don’t have to, but then again, why wouldn’t you?

Regions

Farm
Produces either Food or Industry Resources.

Forest
Produces either Food or Lumber Resources.

Hills
Produces Metals or Lumber Resources.

Lake
Produces either Food or Luxury Resources.

Mountain
Produces either Metals or Stone Resources.

Plains
Produces Luxury Resources.

Vassals

Court Sorcerer
Deals with all supernatural threats to your domain, counters any belligerent sorcery, and makes sure no (other) sorcerers practice their illegal craft in your lands.

Herald
Notifies your people of your will and news of the day. Also delivers propaganda—I mean “messages”—to your neighbors.

Master of the Road
Maintains the Road and deals with orks in your domain.

Master Spy
Helps organize your spy network and makes your espionage actions more successful.

Personal Guard
Increases your personal security and prevents assassination attempts.

Seneschal
Helps organize your castle and other vassals.

Sheriff
Maintains law and order in your domain.

Spy Network
Increases the security of your own domain and helps “investigate” other domains.

Swordsman
Serves as your personal bodyguard, makes your personal guard more efficient and handles duels for you.