The Cuthren Village Campaign Page

What's here?

• RETHEM A brief overview of the kingdom in which Cuthren village is located.

• CUTHREN VILLAGE An overview of the village itself.

• VILLAGE TROUBLES An overview of some of the problems and dangers facing Cuthren.

• CHARACTERS FOR CUTHREN Some thoughts on PCs appropriate for a Cuthren-based campaign.

• CAMPAIGN SESSION SUMMARIES Summaries of game sessions played (listed so far: Sessions #1-4).

RETHEM: A BRIEF OVERVIEW (For a map that emphasizes political divisions, please click here).

Rethem is the harshest of Hârn’s kingdoms. Force, rather than law, rules in this land. No king has risen to the throne save over the corpses of his closest relatives. Once there, no king has ever worn the crown securely– and the current monarch, Chafin III, is no exception. The powerful Earl of Tormau calls Chafin an usurper and is raising armies to depose him; it’s only a matter of time before full-scale civil war erupts. Moreover, Rethem’s two neighbors, the Kingdom of Kanday and the Thardic Republic, thirst for war. The fierce Kuboran tribesmen in the northern forests pose a constant threat.

Outsiders call Rethem the ‘black-souled kingdom’ for good reason. The dark churches of Agrik (“The Tyrant of the Foul Chamber”) and Morgath (“The Wreaker of Chaos”) are dominant here, while those of Larani (“The Lady of Paladins”) and Peoni (“The Gentle Lady of Simple Virtue”) are banned. Rethem’s churches, however, are as fractious as the kingdom itself, with competing orders, temples, and priests all vying for supremacy. Unlike Hârn’s other kingdoms, Rethem has no laws against witchcraft, human sacrifice, or cannibalism.  

CUTHREN VILLAGE (To see Cuthren's location on a larger-scale map showing political divisions, please click here).

Cuthren stands in the isolated marches of eastern Rethem, on the Techen-Senun Road, just a few miles from both the Thardic and Kandayan frontiers. It also borders the great forest of Laxley, which is home to brigands, bandits, and outlaws. The Earl of Techen, who rules this frontier, has not taken sides in the dispute between King Chafin and the Earl of Tormau. He is more concerned with the Laranian crusaders and Thardic legions across the border, than with disputes over royal legitimacy.

Cuthren’s lord, Sir Sevlin Cuthren, is a warrior first and foremost. All too aware of the closeness of foreign armies, he maintains a much larger military force than is usual for a knight with only one manor. Caring little for the details of rural economy, Sir Sevlin lets his peasants do more or less as they wish, so long as they pay their rents and meet their labor obligations. His leniency ends quickly, however, in the face of insolence, disobedience, or insult. The broken bodies of those who have provoked his wrath hang in gibbets throughout the village.

By Hârnic standards, Cuthren’s peasants are wealthy. Most families hold enough land to feed themselves and even to make a profit. A few are very wealthy, almost being minor gentry. Cuthren, however, suffers from a shortage of hands. Villagers regularly hire outside laborers, especially during the plowing and harvest seasons. Cuthren also needs more skilled craftsmen. Strangers may find a warmer welcome in Cuthren than in most villages– at least, if they’re willing to work.

THE TROUBLES OF CUTHREN

Like all villages, Cuthren is subject to the misfortunes of plague, bad weather, and the like. What worries Cuthreners most, however, is war. An uneasy peace exists along the border, but fanatical Laranians in Kanday or ambitious legion commanders in Tharda may well view the upcoming civil war as the perfect opportunity to attack. Located so close to the Thard River, and right along the main road between Rethem’s two easternmost fortresses, Cuthren is likely to be in the thick of things, should an invasion come.

Like other nearby villages, Cuthren has been troubled by the brigands of Laxley Forest. One particular bandit gang, the “Brothers of the Green Wood”, has been especially troublesome of late. Attempts to root out the brigands have so far failed, for the forest is dense, dark, and dangerous.

Located on a main road, Cuthren sees a goodly share of local traffic, including messengers, soldiers, peddlers, laborers-for-hire, nobles, and the occasional mendicant priest. As it is located so near the border, a few foreigners even pass through– and undoubtedly, the occasional spy. Such visitors bring news, and sometimes goods to trade, but they often bring trouble as well.

Quite a few of Cuthren’s serfs and slaves have fled over the past several years– either across the border into Kanday or Tharda, or into the forest to become brigands. A few have been recovered, but many have not. Just this summer, four young, able-bodied serfs fled and all four so far evaded capture. Sir Sevlin has vowed that any future runaways will be “pursued relentlessly and treated with no mercy whatsoever”once found.

Some peasants– particularly the older ones– tell tales of the Black Hag, an evil witch who dwells somewhere within the dark heart of Laxley Forest. It is said that she can take the shape of a raven, a bat, and an adder. As such, she travels among men and women to lay curses upon them. Impotence, infertility, madness, disease, and bad luck are often attributed to her malevolence. It is whispered that she also grants favors to those who are willing to pay her (unspecified, but undoubtedly terrible) price.

CHARACTERS FOR A CUTHREN-BASED CAMPAIGN

You should plan to play a character who can be fitted into the life of a rural village like Cuthren on a long-term basis. This does not mean that the PCs need to be farmers (although if anyone would like to be, this is certainly an option). Nor does that mean that PCs must have grown up in Cuthren– or that they can never leave. It simply means that you should create characters, who are part– or who could reasonably become part– of the village community or the lord’s household, rather than being mere passers-through.

What does this mean, practically speaking? Well, it means that characters who primarily suited to an urban environment (footpads, Lia-Kavair, courtesans, litigants, etc.) might not work very well. The same with sailors, pirates, shipwrights, pilots, and other seagoing types. Craftsmen who make luxury goods (e.g. glassmakers, jewelers, perfumers, lexigraphers, etc.) will probably not make sense in a rural village like Cuthren, either. Shek-Pvar mages, astrologers, alchemists, and other arcanists might be a bit awkward, but if you’re really dying to play one, I’m willing to try to work something out. Non-human PCs will not be appropriate.

By contrast, characters who are suited for a rural/wilderness environment would fit especially well in Cuthren. For ordinary members of the actual village, this might include:

• Any type of farmer, including yeoman farmers (who are, essentially, ‘soldier-farmers’).
• Herdsmen (Cuthren is known for its sheep and swine).
• Guilded or non-guilded craftsmen involved in the ‘post-processing’ of agricultural goods (e.g. millers, hideworkers, salters, bonecarvers, basket-makers, chandlers, brewers, clothiers, etc.), or mercantylers of such goods.
• Those who make a living from the forest and its products, including timberwrights, charcoalers, and, of course, trappers/hunters/poachers.
• Other craftsmen of the sort likely to be useful in a rural village, including smiths, potters, woodworkers (including coopers, carpenters, cartmakers, etc.).
• The village midwife, herbalist, and/or healer.
• A priest of Peoni, or possibly a mendicant priest of Ilvir who’s decided to make Cuthren his new home.

Now, if none of those sound exciting to you, please keep in mind that you don’t have to be a ‘traditional adventurer-type’ in order to have great adventures. (Just ask Bilbo Baggins…) However, there are options within the lord’s household that may be more appealing (especially since your PC would then be maintained at Sir Sevlin’s expense!). Although I probably won’t let you play Sir Sevlin or any of his children, any of the following would work beautifully:

• Knight-retainers of Sir Sevlin (perhaps nephews, cousins, or foster sons of the lord)
• Squires (i.e. knights-in-training).
• Men-at-arms in service to Sir Sevlin.
• Sir Sevlin’s huntsman, one of his assistants, or perhaps Sir Sevlin’s ostler.
• An Agrikan priest/chaplain.
• A tutor/teacher for Sir Sevlin’s youngest child– probably a herald, a priest of Save-K’nor, an arcanist, or possibly even another priest of Agrik.
• A harper, minstrel, or other entertainer in the employ of Sir Sevlin; possibly a skilled slave.
• A cook, cook’s assistant, or other kitchen food/preparation staff (e.g. a baker, an alewife, a dairymaid).
• A gardener, an orchard-tender, or a beekeeper.
• Domestic servants/slaves (OK, not very interesting, I admit).
• Bonded craftsmen in the service of the lord, perhaps a clothier, a metalworker, a weaponcrafter, or the like.

Anyway, those are just some options that struck me as especially well-suited to this setting and this campaign. Other possibilities certainly exist– I only listed some of those that seemed especially obvious and straightforward. If you have something else in mind, I’m sure we can work it out.