I've got a lot of notes to write up for the thread, so it might be in dribs and drabs, but i'll kick it off today with the first write-up. For the readers' benifit, i'm explaining things and going step by step in the local area generation first.

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Introduction

I had 3 players for this play-test. We chose to play a local game without using material on the Architects. The players decided that rather than picking one feature and creating the local area from there, they would randomly roll to see which feature each of them hailed from. As the ideal size of a local area is 4 features, I created one more.

It is worth noting that, in general, 4 local areas (ideally 16 features, give or take) make up a Political area (used in Political games). The greater area can be created if necessary once the game has started and the PCs start solving problems and making friends and enemies. You'll notice that in the Customs & Communities section, there are a couple of entries that specify a Political area. Even though we are playing a local game, these entries are relevant to the area, as it comes under the auspices of a Political area (which we might get round to expanding on at a later date.)

The Local Area

The following features make up the local area.

Player A rolled Scribes Quarters
Player B rolled Courts
Player C rolled Hunters Lodges
I, as GM, rolled Diviners Tents

Because the area contains Courts, we decide between us that this area is in fact the hub of the Political area. It's where the Political Area Authority Figure lives and dictates and mandates originate from. As the area contains Hunters Lodges, we also decide that the area has at least some decent open areas within it with vegetation, game, etc. With this decided, the players name the local area as Fireleaf Park. Furthermore, the greater Political area is named as Fireleaf Hold and is ruled over by the Fireleaf family. We also decide, that as the area contains Courts, Servants Quarters and Barracks will make up part of the wider Political area should we get around to expanding it. It makes sense that a ruling family would have these resources relatively close to hand – even if these features aren't the focus of play to begin with.

Fireleaf Park Customs & Community

With that decided, we then move on to creating a distinct culture for both the Local area where play begins and the wider Political area it is a part of.

Rolling on the Customs & Communities tables created the details found in this section.

Total Population: 250 (see GM section below)

Local Deity: The Penitent
Holidays & Celebrations: Ancestor Day
Political Area Government Type: None
Political Area Mandates: Census

Census: The Authority Figure is carrying out a census. Every person, head of livestock, property deed and resource is being catalogued for unknown reasons.

Political Area Customs: Narcotics are a recreational activity & cows are revered
Political Area Unusual Crime: Illegal word or name

Initial Thoughts on the Local & Political Area

The results we gained were discussed and we saw that a general theme was present. It seemed to us that the results suggested that a Hindu type community would fit the results. The open areas of Fireleaf Park have resulted in a culture that venerates animals, and cows in particular. It is the belief of the inhabitants that they are truly blessed when compared with other areas of the castle and many believe that when they die, they inhabit the animals of the park. For this reason, hunting is a ritual heavy endeavour and hunters must give thanks to those they kill. Arcane rites determine which animals can be killed and religious ceremonies involving The Penitent ask forgiveness for the kill.

The largest ceremony is Ancestor Day, when inhabitants dress in animal costumes and act out ritual hunts. On Ancestors Day a single cow is anointed with oils that allow the soul within it to be reborn into human form. The beast is then slain to release the soul. Many residents consume hallucinatory drugs recreationally, as they are thought to get you closer to enlightenment. These drugs are grown in allocated fields within the Park area. A community of seers and diviners have grown up around these fields. They promise knowledge of the future and give advice to those who pay for it.

An archaic law passed by the Duke's ancestors is rarely enforced, but folk still refrain from using the prohibited word, "meat." This is seen as a slight to the souls that inhabited the slaughtered animal. Bounty, or blessed flesh is normally used as a substitute. No one has been punished for breaking this law in living memory (punishment used to be loss of livestock or expulsion from the area). Indeed, over the years, the forbidden word has become a curse or insult. 'Meat-head' is someone without faith, and 'meat-trader' is someone without moral fibre. Use of these invectives seems to be tolerated, although they are seen as serious insults by the more pious.

There is no government. Edicts and rules come directly from Duke Everlast Fireleaf. The ongoing census has folk a bit jittery. Why is it being conducted? (I'll flesh that out in the GM section once the area has been populated with NPCs and Problems have been created.)

Below are descriptions of the local area features. This information is expanded from building the culture & community and creating problems via Veiled Horizons - it also links in to the NPCs created for the area, which i will write up next time.

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GM Information

I created this section via the Problems & Politics section of Veiled Horizons. Fireleaf Park actually turned out to be Lurking Menace central, as you'll see below.

Sections labelled GM Note are included for the readers' benefit, but were not revealed to the players at the start of play.

Scribes Quarters

Feature Size: Normal. 100 yards by 100 yards. Population 100

The Scribes quarters are a rambling set of musty corridors, sleeping alcoves and large, chilly scribing rooms. At it's tallest; the quarters reach three stories – containing room after room of records and tomes that require copying. The quarters are attached to the Court by a covered walkway through a leafy copse.

The tomes that spill from many chambers are ancient and were found here when the Fireleaf family took up residence centuries ago. They are said to contain statistics on the populations of many far-off places. The scribes are employed in the never-ending war to copy the contents of these tomes before their information is lost to time, mould and bookworms. Few even remember why they do it anymore, but it's a steady trade and one that is well regarded by the Duke and his court.

Some say that in the dead of night, the quills can be heard scribbling all on their own. Frightened apprentices hurry to bed at night with their lucky cow medallions clutched in trembling fingers. The whispered talk in the cloisters is that Quills is concerned.

GM Note

Problems & Politics: Lurking Menace. The menace turns out to be the Mistress of the Veil

The haunting of the copying halls is by the Lurking Menace known as the Mistress of the Veil. A spurned lover, she constantly scribbles out marriage records contained within the archives, to the scribes' consternation, and vanishes whenever someone approaches. Maybe some record of her exists within the archives? What happens if she is tracked and confronted? Both the scribes and the Duke are becoming vexed that so many marriage records from ancient days are being vandalised and lost. Investigation has turned up nothing...so far.  

Also unknown to the players is that the Duke's census is being carried out to the same standards as those found in the archives. When completed, the Duke wants to chart his family relations back as far as he can to try and explain why his cosy courtroom is being haunted (see Courts, below).

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Courts

Feature Size: Small. 50 feet by 50 feet. Population 20

Court is a fancy name for the squat, square manor house found in the centre of Fireleaf Park. Cosy is a polite way of saying small and quaint is a polite way of saying out-of-date. For the head of a Political Area, it is a bit of an embarrassment, but the Fireleafs do not concern themselves with such considerations. They are very much a hands on group of individuals, so the intimate nature of the court suits their needs and shows their subjects that the Duke is no remote and uncaring figure. It was decided by the group that there are some Noble Houses somewhere else in the Political Area where the Duke and his family usually reside – this leafy retreat is purely for business.

Some of the Servants from beyond the park say the place is haunted.

GM Note

The bijou little court has been suffering from a haunting for some time – footsteps are heard and yet there is no one there. Thumping on the walls at night has scared off the odd servant that is cleaning. This is the work of Flatfoot, a Lurking Menace who haunts those who have left a companion to die in the wilds or those who are lost. The Duke is carrying out the census to try and figure out why it is happening.

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Hunters Lodges

Feature Size: Normal. 100 yards by 100 yards. Population 100

The Problems & Politics created for this feature resulted in a change to the culture of the area.

These rustic shacks made from the trunks of felled trees serve as the home for the hunters of Fireleaf Hold. The actual land they patrol is much larger – perhaps as large as one square mile – quite a rarity in the Stone Horizons. This land is about equal part light forest and grazing land and supports a decent population of domesticated and wild animals. Due to the religion of the area, the sacred duties that the hunters must observe means that when they leave their lodges, they must always be wearing their animal masks – similar to those worn by the population of Fireleaf Hold during Ancestor Day. This marks them for all to see as petitioners of the blessed flesh. Unfortunately, it appears that someone is exploiting this custom – recently animals have been slaughtered without the proper ceremonies and rituals being observed.

GM Note

Stalker Wisp-beard is an experienced poacher who came to the area some time ago and saw the opportunity to exploit the beliefs of the area for his own profit. He murdered the real hunter and took his place – as masks hide his features and he is a gifted mimic, he has been able to pull it off. He sells the rare meat outside of the Political Area for a tidy amount of money. This is the problem of the area.

Mr. Hedgerow is the bastard son of Lord Blackhand Fireleaf. The Lord bedded his mother 25 years ago and Mr. Hedgerow is the result. His mother died in childbirth – left to die by Blackhand, and the child given to foster parents among the hunters. This betrayal is why Flatfoot is haunting the Courts. Mr. Hedgerow links into the problem of the court.

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Diviners Tents

Feature Size: Compact, 200 feet by 200 feet. Population 30

The Problem & Politics of this area resulted in a change to the culture of Fireleaf Hold.

The Diviners Tents are clustered around 2 fields cleared from the enclosed forest. These fields grow Green Farsee, the narcotic used by both them and the local populace to grant visions. There are a dozen multi-coloured tents in total and they are arranged all around the fields, which are very modest in size (200 feet square). The Diviners say that they have honed their skills so that they can better interpret the visions granted by Green Farsee. They probably receive one or two visitors a day – some from Fireleaf Park and some from the greater political area and even further a field. They have some renown. These contacts have resulted in them granting other services. They import goods from a far off cluster of Alchemists Tents and these goods are available along with their divining services. They also import goods from a Cremation House. It was decided by the group that it would fit the customs of the area better if these diviners actually offered the same services as the Cremation House. They burn the dead. To give further flavour, we decided that a mighty river flowed through Fireleaf Park, and bodies are placed onto barges, before being set alight and allowed to flow downstream. As a result, the diviners fill a religious role as well as their more suspect fortune telling.

This change results in my deciding that folk originating in this feature start the game with a bonus of +1 to their Status.

GM Note

I decided that there is a schism in this feature. Some diviners want to focus on their religious duties and others want to protect their fortune telling legacy. This schism forms the basis of the Problem that PCs can interact with and try to solve during the game.

Sorry i haven't had the time to write up the playtest yet. I've been chipping away at actually finishing the game. I'll try to get another write-up posted in the next day or two.