I'll be posting the stuff I have for Moragne here now that I've figured out how to get the maps up. Moragne is a setting meant for Mongoose Runequest 2, but really suitable for any sort of fantasy gaming. Its original intent was to be early Norman England meets Glorantha, but it's already drifting.

The basics:

Moragne is the "land of the Morags", a group of former-barbarians who conquered the southern Thernish kingdom about a hundred and fifty years ago. They worship a deity known as the Hidden God, and are currently engaged in a crusade against their former allies and neighbours, the Dakons, who took over the northern Thernish kingdom. Their other neighbours include the barbarous Geornlings and Sassens, who supply mercenaries and arms to both sides, and the kingdoms of Lacalle and Bithistia to the south.

The map is at 1 hex = 20 km across

Geography and Climate of Axrew

The red clay soils of Axrew hold water poorly, and much of the unclaimed land is hardened mud, clay and rock with little growing on it. The rest tends to be the sandy remains of ancient seabed, from the time long ago when this was the Great Kever Sea. Southerly winds bring rainstorms south to the Forest of the Vellings, passing by arid Axrew. When a rainstorm does divert into Axrew, it usually causes a flash flood unless the water can be collected. Because of this, an advanced system of irrigation drawing on mountains streams is necessary for even the southern half of Axrew to be cultivated safely. One of Harold the Builder's many great accomplishments was to restore the irrigation system, which had fallen into decline in the century after the conquest. This modern system overlays the older, Thernish system, and the entire countryside is covered with an increasingly cracked terrain. Farmland tends to exist between two canals or rivers, with buildings on artificial hills above the floodplain and crops in elevated rows or frames that trap floodwater between them.

Random Axrew Terrain (1d20)

1-2 Scrub plains & grassland
3-6 Orchards
7-9 Vinyards
10 Rocky plain
11 Abandoned farmsteads on hills
12 Sandy desert
13 Overgrown thornbush & bramble patches
14 Dry riverbed
15 Collapsed canal
16 Tar pits
17 Ruined stone redoubt
18 Planted cropland
19 Boulder field
20 Sinkholes

Random Axrew Weather (d20)

1-2 Precipitation
3-5 Cloudy / overcast
6-10 Clear, dry, cool breeze
11-16 Clear, dry, hot breeze
17-18 Clear, hot, no wind
19 Hot, muggy, no wind
20 Sandstorm

The Court of Axrew

The court of the Duke of Axrew is formally held at the Moot, the ducal castle. The Duke of Axrew, Garth Wifekiller (Garth the Stabber, Garth the Traitor, Garth the Dakon), has not been in his patrimony for about ten years, having gone into exile for (supposedly) killing his second wife, the sister of the Duke of Moragland's wife (and thus King Harold's sister-in-law). He is currently one of the most successful commanders of the Dakon armies, with several thousand soldiers under his command in the Redoubt, a fortress he built along Thernish lines. He is a notoriously violent man, who appears not to care whether he is massacring Dakons or Moragnians, so long as blood is being shed.

In his brother's place, Robert Lameleg is seneschal. He is widely unpopular with local barons because he is an able administrator and cunning politician who has done much to secure royal and ecclesiastical power in Axrew against them. He rarely takes the field, instead preferring to set the barons against one another with suits launched by proxies against them, and adjudicated only by himself and Wentig of Carlaw, the archbishop of Carlaw (widely considered to be the fattest man in Moragne, if not the world). Harold and Garth each receive cuts of the court fees and the fines they levy, which are steep and harsh. The money he keeps goes to financing large mercenary armies which the local lords join eagerly (no one pays as well as Robert), but which Robert simply throws across the border into the Northern Marches. Three times now, his brother and the Dakons have ambushed and massacred these armies, each time making off with the majority of its hard cash in the process. Robert uses these massacres as evidence of his loyalty to Harold, who at the least seems to prefer the avaricious cripple to the unruly barons or his vicious brother.

Other than Robert and Wentig, the most prominent local lord is Count Ogoth V of Aemeth Hall, also known as Ogoth the Dog because of his faithlessness. Aemeth Hall is notoriously impregnable, being built on the side of a mountain with only a single defile up to it (the work was done by demons enslaved by the original Ogoth, according to local legend). It watches over the finest farmland in Axrew, and the source of the best wines in Moragne. Ogoth is a notorious lush, lecher and brawler and a good friend to Robert Lameleg and Bishop Wentig, even though he is regularly accused of supporting the Coiners' Heresy by the Cardinal of Harken (Aemeth Valley was the birthplace of Prudt the Engraver). He is currently excommunicated (for the second time), which means he is not eligible to participate in the crusade against the Dakons, so he has begun raiding and conquering the lands of his more devout neighbours who are off fighting. He is married to one of the daughters of the immortal sorcerer-queen of the Vellings, and has in turn three daughters. He has offered to hand over his position as royal constable (which he holds whenever he is not excommunicated) to the first man daring enough to marry one of them, a challenge no knight appears willing to undertake.

The Knights of Axrew

Axrew is a dry, warm plain interspersed with badlands that forms the central duchy of Moragne. Though poor in wheat and other staple goods, Axrew is fine wine, fruit and olive country, and rich in cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Exporting these to the rest of the kingdom makes has made many of the lords of Axrew rich men. This money buys arms, soldiers, war horses and manors in the capital, and the lords of Axrew field more cavalry than any other province than Terthind. Their estates are large stretches of pasturage and irrigated orchards with a few fields and perhaps a small church for nearby peasants to retreat to. The large stretches of undeveloped but open land, and the fact that their fortunes are safely stored back in the capital of Harken, allow the barons to fight constantly with little risk to their holdings. Mounted combat between champions is extremely common, done as much for glory as any economic or territorial advantage.

The Duke of Axrew taxes an Axrovian lord for three horsemen per two thousand acres in war, but the baron may have many more retainers available for hire using the scutage of more distant lords. Axrew chevaliers are therefore heavily represented in Moragnian armies, and along with the Terthindians, they form the bulk of the cavalry King Harold can field.

A typical Axrovian horseman rides a destrier wearing leather barding and wears a chain hauberk with an unbleached wool gambeson underneath and a linen tabard (usually white or cream with an embroidered design) atop his armour to deflect the heat. He wields a lance and a kite shield, with a shortsword as his back up weapon (in wartime this may be supplemented with the traditional Moragnian battle axe). Young knights wear no helmets but a brightly-coloured headwrap or band to prove their bravery, but veterans tend to wear conical helms with nose pieces that leave their cheeks exposed with a single plume of brightly dyed wool cloth. Their weapons are typically enspelled to demoralise, frighten and confuse an enemy rather than to enhance their lethality. They use spells to augment their strength, speed and endurance in the form of runic symbols painted on themselves and their horses, but rarely to bolster their armour. The symbols are uniformly done in a long-lasting deep red-black dye similar to the colour of irrigated soil in Axrew. It is the background of the Duke of Axrew's coat of arms (a white vertical line dividing two fields of the black-red) and serves as a regional heraldic designation. A knight whose runes have faded, especially the distinctive ones on his face, is dishonoured as no longer a warrior.

Their most esteemed cavalry tactics include charging obliquely across the enemy foot's front in a series of thin and short columns that repeatedly attack the same point in an enemy line, each one hammering in after the other before the enemy can reform. At the Battle of Kel's Pride (1120), this broke King Kel of the Dakons' spearmen, who were unable to maneuver effectively to bring their spears to bear on the Axrovian knights. They also serve as pursuit cavalry and harriers, fending off the flanking attacks of Dakon horse archers, such as the relief column with which Yulet attempted to rescue King Geret at the Second Battle of Lenston (1135).

Religious Orders of Axrew: The Militant Order of St. Aemer of Naral

The Knights of Naral are a militant religious order based out of their mighty fortress, Naral Manor. They are a popular and powerful crusading order involved heavily in the fighting in the Northern and Western Marches. Their ranks have been swelling with land-poor knights from across Moragne, all eager to serve the Hidden God in the fight against the heathen Dakon. Though many are irreligious at best when they join, the esprit de corps of the organisation emphasises piety and asceticism, and the rich rewards of fighting in the marches have turned many a heart to thoughts of the Hidden God. They are one of the few militant orders with a specific focus on Moragne; many of the others have Lacallians and knights from even more distant nations (Sassens, Geornlings, Cassermen, Narboniks, Bithistians, and Cugtlanders), as members. This has led King Harold to encourage the Knights of Naral by treating service to them as payment of scutage to him. They in turn have declared him one of their Grandmasters, and allow him to use Naral Manor as a gathering point for crusaders.

Runes:
Luck, Mobility

Common Magic:
Befuddle, Clear Path, Coordination, Demoralise, Detect Enemies, Lucky, Mobility, Strength, Vigour

Divine Magic:
Amplify, Blessing (Any Combat Style), Blessing (Ride), Channel Strength, Disarm, Fear, Madness

Myths:
St. Aemer's Sacrifice (50%) - Behaviours: Charity to women, children, and priests; Chastity and temperance while on crusade; Fortitude while suffering;
The Glorious History of the Knights of Naral (85%) - Behaviours: Never betray a fellow Knight of Naral; Rashness in the cause of righteousness; Strive for a glorious death

Cult Skills:
Athletics, Axe & Shield, Brawn, Courtesy, Lance & Shield, Lore (Knights of Naral), Pact (St. Aemer, Patron Saint of Naral), Persistence, Shortsword and Shield, Resilience, Ride

Followers:

Applicants - Squires of a current Knight of Naral and the young sons of nobles may ask to join the order. They are tested in arms and must make a donation of 300 silver pieces to fund the good works of the order.

Miles - The lowest level of the order is composed of young men and land-poor knights who have not yet won themselves a piece of land through battle. They must show knightly potential by possessing at least five of the cult skills at 30% or greater. The miles must sanctify themselves publicly in St. Aemer's name, dedicating at least 1 point of POW to his cult. They also swear loyalty to the Militant Order of St. Aemer of Naral and to the Grandmasters of the order personally. After a successful battle, the Grandmasters portion out small fiefs to suitable miles as rewards for loyal service.

Crusading Martyrs - The next level of knights are the rank and file, who gather once a year for worship in the great cathedral of St. Aemer (which will finally be completed in only a few years time if all goes according to plan). The Crusading Martyrs must be landowners, of at least a hide of land. They must dedicate at least 3 points of POW to St. Aemer's cult. They must demonstrate knightly prowess by possessing at least five of the cult skills at 50% or greater, and at least one of these must be the Pact skill.

Grandmaster - The highest level, a grandmaster is expected to own a castle or fortress and to host any Knight of Naral who requests hospitality. They must have led other knights in a successful battle. They must possess at least five cult skills at 80% or greater and at least one of these must be the Pact skill. They must have dedicated at least 5 points of POW to the cult of St. Aemer, and must be of unreproachable character. Finally, the grandmaster candidate must be runetouched by either the Mobility or Luck runes.

Religious Orders of Axrew: The Coiners

The Coiners are a relatively recent variant on the oldest and most enduring heresy in the church, Iconism. About fifty years ago, an engraver in Aemeth named Prudt claimed to have a divine vision in which he saw the Hidden God. He described him as an elderly giant with wings and rising from a throne over a mile in height, wielding a hammer and pick with which he hewed and smote raw earth to become the land of Moragne. It turned out that Prudt had been shaving coins for years, and using the excess silver and brass to mint special "holy coins" bearing a hammer and pick and baptised in a sacred oil which his disciples distributed freely amongst the poor of Moragne. This bought Prudt a lot of popularity, even though he was burnt within two years by civil authorities for heresy and debasing the coinage. Efforts to round up the heretical currency were seen as church-sanctioned theft, and led to riots in every major city north of the Vellingwood.

The pickpennies (as they are known) continue to circulate this day, though their use is frowned upon by royal and church assessors and they cannot be used to pay taxes. Prudt's disciples are still active across Moragne, though they are mainly found in the large cities and the unsettled fisc. They operate similarly to a criminal gang, stealing money, and either shaving it or melting it down to produce more pickpennies. Many peasants find it easier to conceive of the tangible, powerful god of Prudt's vision rather than the somewhat ethereal version the church proposes.

Runes:
Disorder, Earth

Common Magic:
Abacus, Armoursmith's Boon, Bludgeon, Fanaticism, Glamour, Pierce, Thunder's Voice

Divine Magic:
Bless Crops, Blessing (All Cult Skills), Cure Disease / Poison, Excommunicate, Gleam, Heal Wound, Illusion, Rain, Regenerate Limb, Sunspear

Myths:
Prudt's Vision (90%) - Behaviours: Work hard; Share everything you have, especially with the poor and unlucky; Be kind, just and decent to the faithful and potential converts, everyone else is a heretic and deserves what they get
Prudt's Life (65%) - Behaviours: Steal coins to make pickpennies, especially from nobles, churchmen and burghers; Spread the word of Prudt's holy vision; Work to undermine the false priests of the Hidden God

Cult Skills:
Combat Style (Pick and Shield), Craft (Any), Disguise, Influence, Lore (Coiners), Oratory, Pact (Coiners), Sleight, Stealth, Streetwise, Survival

Followers:

Lay Members - Anyone who receives a pickpenny and holds onto it is considered to be, at least by civil authorities, a sympathiser of the Coiners.

Proselytes - This is the lowest level at which one is truly considered, by other Coiners, to be a member of the church. A proselyte is expected to follow the laws Prudt set out in his letters to his faithful followers, mainly to work hard, to think of God in accordance with his vision, and to support and shelter those Coiners actively working to overthrow the false church. In practice, they typically blend in as hard-working members of their local community, usually in skilled trades where they will deal with cash. Their tithes are a tenth of all the coins they make in a year. They must also devote at least 1 point of POW to the Coiner's cult and swear an oath of loyalty.

Picks and Hammers - Picks are devout urban criminals, operating in almost every city and town north of Ethrikston. Hammers are rural bandits who rob travelers and provide protection to Coiner communities. Both must dedicate at least 3 points of POW to the cult, and must be skilled enough to possess at least five of the cult skills at 50% or greater, at least one of which must be the Pact skill. Picks and Hammers provide the backbone of the revolutionary and criminal network that the Coiners operate, and act as enforcers and templars for the Coiners. To become a Pick or Hammer, one must turn over at least 300 silver pieces to the Coiners in a single year.

Priests - Coiner priests are often former priests of the Church of the Hidden God, but even they must show their loyalty to the cult by serving time as either a Hammer or Pick. To reach this level, a priest must have five of the cult skills at 75% or greater, at least one of which must be the Pact skill. They must have dedicated at least 5 points of POW to the cult. Finally, they must have donated at least 750 sp to the cult in a single year for conversion into pickpennies.

Sorcerous Orders of Axrew: The Rivermasters

The Rivermasters are one of the old Thernish sorcerous orders, and one of the most prestigious orders in all of Axrew and Morag. Originally mere raincallers, they have parleyed this talent in wealth and power, and many members now serve as courtiers and advisors to barons throughout Morag. There are no more than 600 Rivermasters who are sorcerors at full strength, but they run a well-regarded school for the sons of freemen in Carlaw called Turhill College that preserves much old Thernish lore and teaches many subjects even to those without sorcerous potential. They are seen as a necessary evil by the barons of Axrew, who pay handsomely for their services and advice, even as they are distrusted as subversives still ultimately loyal to the old Thernish order.

Runes:
Air, Water, Law

Common Magic:
Abacus, Armoursmith's Boon, Cauterise, Chill, Golden Tongue, Mason's Boon, Repair, Understanding

Sorcery (Corrick's Grimoire): Animate(Weather), Fly, Form/Set (Weather), Haste, Phantom Sense(Sight), Phantom Sense (Sound), Project Sense (Sight), Project Sense (Sound), Smother, Telepathy

Myths:
Corrick the Sage and the Wicked King (70%) - Behaviours: Gather knowledge, harm the wicked through trickery
Corrick the Sage and the Waters of Life (50%) - Behaviours: Take the slow, hidden path to your goals, exploit the impatience of others

Cult Skills:
Commerce, Courtesy, Engineering, Influence, Insight, Lore (any), Meditation

Followers:

Lay Members - Lay members are students at Turhill College. Students must pay a yearly fee of 200 silver (scholarships are available) and a typical course of instruction is three years.

Novice - Upon matriculation from Turhill College (based on a series of oral examinations of their knowledge by the Fellows of Turhill College that require the student to possess at least five of the cult skills at 30% or greater), a student will be asked to join the Rivermaster order itself before receiving sorcerous instruction.

Fellow - Members of the Rivermasters may try for a Fellowship in the order, involving further examination by their peers that require five cult skills at 50% or greater. The Fellows must vote unanimously to accept the new candidate, even a single negative vote requires the candidate to wait at least another year before trying again. Bribery, usually costing between 200-500 silver pieces, is an accepted way of smoothing over the doubts of the Fellows.

Master - Masters must possess at least five cult skills at 75% or greater. They must have undertaken the myth of Corrick the Sage and the Wicked King emerging with affinity with the Law rune. They must also produce a masterwork (either a grand engineering project or a scholarly work) or perform a great service for the Rivermaster order.

Cool.

Locations in Western Axrew:

17:15 Sile's Pass - A fortified town (pop. 3500) under the command of Roger, Count of Sile (the surrounding area), it guards the two main northern passes into Axrew. Roger's sons are both crusaders in the Knights of Naral, and both are current prisoners of the Dakons. He has begun charging steep tolls to travelers through the passes to raise their ransoms. Many claim he has also turned to banditry, though nothing has been proven.

17:18 Naral Manor - One of the greatest castles in Axrew, Naral Manor is owned by the Militant Order of St. Aemer, and is the preferred staging ground for expeditions into the Northern Marches. At any given time, up to 250 knights and their retinues (an additional 2500 men) may be here, along with the grandmasters of the order and other religious pilgrims to St. Aemer. Naral County, held in trust by the grandmasters of the order, is known for its fine apples and cider.

21:22 The Leprosarium - The dry climate of Axrew is thought to be particularly amenable to leprosy and other wasting diseases, and many who find themselves afflicted by these diseases head for the Leprosarium, a segregated complex of villages in the middle of the desert meant to house them (pop ~5000). It is a place outside the normal restrictions of Moragnian society, with sexual morality relaxed, sumptuary laws ineffective, and social class abolished. Though leprosy is curable through magic, it is a low priority for the church of the Hidden God compared to the more infectious and mortal diseases rampaging through the major cities. A small chapterhouse of the Dombatian monastic order is slowly trying to cure all the lepers, but only a few priests capable of divine healing are present. The Dombatians administer the Leprosarium, and own the land on which it is built, and they make quite a lot of money from encouraging the lepers' trades.

23:19 The Moot - The castle of the Duke of Axrew, currently occupied by Robert Lameleg. Often besieged by angry vassals, it is one of the most imposing structures in Axrew, its motte raising it nearly eighty feet off the plain surrounding it. It is built on the site of a battle between Thern and Morags during the conquest. The area around the castle is dotted with caves and warrens where Thernish peasants and soldiers attempted to hide after Weallan, Earl of Axrew was defeated. The victorious Morags butchered everyone they could lay their hands on and dumped the bodies further in the caves while searching for the earl's lost wealth. The mass death led to the caves being infested with uneasy spirits and undead abominations, which periodically emerge to ravage the countryside.

Religious Orders of Axrew: The Servants of Acephax aka the Leper Queens of Moragne

The demon Acephax is known as the Finger-Biter, for he is the servant of the Beast whose purview is leprosy, palsies and gangrene. He was imprisoned long ago in a statue that was buried deep underground. Unknowingly, perhaps even due to his malign influence, the great Leprosarium was built atop the very earth in which he resides. In time, he began summoning the susceptible amongst the many lepers to dig into the earth and uncover him. The Leprosarium has many secret tunnels running underneath it that form the highways of his servants. Now, they seek to summon evil spirits of sickness to infect others to increase Acephax's power. Their secret activity is one of the reasons there are so many lepers despite a cure existing. The cult evaluates new arrivals to the Leprosarium for suitability, and recruits those it thinks most likely to serve the order. The upper ranks of the cult are entirely female, the Brides of Acephax, and when he emerges to rule the earth they will be the beautiful and feared mothers of daemonic princelings. The Dombatian brotherhood has heard dark rumours of the cult existing, but has not yet managed to find proof of their existence.

Runes:
Chaos, Death

Common Magic:
Bandit's Cloak, Demoralise, Detect Disease, Disruption, Fanaticism, Hand of Death, Protection, Slow

Spirits: Bane, Curse, Sickness spirits

Myths:
Rise of Acephax (80%) - Behaviours: Spread leprosy and illness; Obey the commands of Acephax; Capture and sacrifice lepers to Acephax

Cult Skills:
Craft (Fetishes), Disguise, First Aid, Lore (Acephax), Resilience, Sing, Spirit Binding, Spirit Walking

Followers:

Lay members - Lay members must be lepers. Most have never heard of Acephax, merely knowing that there are powerful leper queens who run a shadowy underground organisation that they are told serves to find a permanent cure for leprosy.

Cultists - Cultists of Acephax must have five of the cult skills at 30% or greater. They must also be lepers. Followers are aware of the existence of Acephax and gain some idea of his goals. They may be members of either sex.

Devotees - Only women and the sons of Brides may rise to this rank in the cult. Devotees of Finger-Biter must dismember a living leper (usually a non-cult member) and feed the pieces into the great pool of miasma at the heart of the hidden temple of Acephax as proof of their loyalty. They must possess five or more of the cult skills at 50%, two of which must be Spirit Binding and Spirit Walking. They must summon and command a leper spirit as a proof of their competence or they will serve as a sacrifice upon the elevation of another devotee.

Brides of Acephax - The highest level of the cult is composed only of women. They must possess five or more of the cult skills at 85% or higher, two of which must be Spirit Binding and Spirit Walking. They must enter the spirit plane and fornicate with the spirit-form of Acephax, becoming pregnant and giving birth to one of his devil princelings. Brides of Acephax are cured of their leprosy and have any stat loss caused by it restored. They are immune to it in future (save if Acephax withdraws his protection), but still retain the appearance of lepers to non-members of the cult. To members, other lepers, and those with magical vision, they are transformed into inhumanly beautiful versions of the women they once were, often with faint demonic features like a slightly green tint to their skin, or orange irises.

I'm open to comments if anyone wants to make some.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;371663I'm open to comments if anyone wants to make some.

Yep, I have one.

What exactly is the position of Chaos in MRQ II? Is it conceptualized as a threat from outside reality as it was in old RQ? Or is just another part of the world? Is Chaos bent on dissolving reality?

Second, what is the average level of literacy on your setting?

Glad to answer 'em!

Quote from: Imperator;372077What exactly is the position of Chaos in MRQ II? Is it conceptualized as a threat from outside reality as it was in old RQ? Or is just another part of the world? Is Chaos bent on dissolving reality?

Chaos is still bent on dissolving reality, but it's now embodied in the Chaos rune, which is part of the runic system (and therefore reality) as a whole.

In Moragne, the Chaos rune is the rune of the Great Beast, the devil-equivalent of the Hidden God. It's his personal signature, in fact, and they feel about it what a Christian today might feel about an inverted pentagram.

QuoteSecond, what is the average level of literacy on your setting?

Middling. I imagine most people can read a little thanks to the church and the various schools, but few can read well. Most people in Moragne speak Thernish as their "native language", but most learn to read Morag, because all legal documents must be written in it and this is the main use non-intellectuals have for reading.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;372251Chaos is still bent on dissolving reality, but it's now embodied in the Chaos rune, which is part of the runic system (and therefore reality) as a whole.

So, kind of a self-destructive force, ain't it?

QuoteIn Moragne, the Chaos rune is the rune of the Great Beast, the devil-equivalent of the Hidden God. It's his personal signature, in fact, and they feel about it what a Christian today might feel about an inverted pentagram.

Absolutel cool

QuoteMiddling. I imagine most people can read a little thanks to the church and the various schools, but few can read well. Most people in Moragne speak Thernish as their "native language", but most learn to read Morag, because all legal documents must be written in it and this is the main use non-intellectuals have for reading.

OK, so it would seem that the setting is less Bronze-Agey than we may be used to in RQ, wouldn't it?

Quote from: Imperator;372270So, kind of a self-destructive force, ain't it?

Definitely so.

QuoteOK, so it would seem that the setting is less Bronze-Agey than we may be used to in RQ, wouldn't it?

Yeah. It's actually very loosely modelled after a mishmash of 12th century European society, if that helps. The Moragnians have iron and steel and are undergoing a brief cultural renaissance.