Duchy of Urnst – The Players
Sister Alicia of the Eternal Order of the Sisters of St. Cuthbert, seekers of truth and justice. (A human paladin played by Marianne.) Sister Alicia teaches the families in Lord Stockmoure’s lordship, particularly the family, and attends to their occasional healing needs, particularly spiritual healing needs. Lord and Lady Stockmoure have treated Sister Alicia well, honored St. Cuthbert with both praise at celebrations and generous donations to the order and church. Favorite food: cinnamon buns.
Ericke, a half-elf struck with an odd pox. (A half-elf sorcerer played by Josh.) The Stockmoure’s shephard. The pox is an illness only dragons get. He has seen several doctors, and they have all told him the “dragon pox” (or whatever) is fatal, and that he will be dead in a year or so. Use of his sorcerer powers reduce the symptoms somewhat, and most of the doctors think using the powers will extend his life span “a little..a few months, a year, who can be sure about such things?” A few think they will reduce his lifespan. As a result we get an impatient character long on action and short on planning “we don’t have time to stop and buy horses, we are already late!” He might be self-sacrificing in the right situations (”I’ll hold them off! Run! Run! Go! Now!”) He isn’t searching for a cure, he is (a) attempting to do something exciting in the time left, and (b) hopes to amass gold for the family he will leave behind. He was diagnosed by Pieter yesterday, and has just come up with this crazy plan to provide for his family by leaving them and slaughtering things for their gold to provide for the rest of their lives. Ericke is married to Constance and has 2 children who are concerned about his fate. Favorite food: mutton, damned sheep!
Fychan Nastusia, a crusty old gnome. (A gnome psion played by Alex.) Fychan has spent his years in the employ of Lord Stockmoure, tending his gardens and occasionally his library. Inevitably, when Lord or Lady Stockmoure wander into the gardens, they find Fychan toiling away, although Fychan often plays tricks on the Stockmoures which they find amusing to the fullest extent, such as Fychan standing statue-still amongst the flowers in the garden and only moving when they least expect him to. Often Lord Stockmoure has a strong desire to say, “This is not the gnome we were looking for.” It’s confused him as to why he says it but after a while it became a running joke that all found rollicking fun. Favorite food: breakfast beer!
Pieter Prongkeeper, a man who found purpose in life. (A human pacifist cleric played by Andy.) Pieter is the only son of an ox farmer in Stockmoure and continues his work with animals and people alike although Stockmoure no longer keeps oxen. He exhibited an special affinity for healing the animals as a small boy, and his father encouraged the trait – it seemed to keep the mischievous boy busy. Piether easy-going and gregarious almost to a fault, but his heart was always large and in an honest place. Pieter began visiting other farms, healing the animals and spreading his infectious laughter throughout the fiefdom. Pieter made his father proud and his popular reputation grew – he was never lacking for someone ready to dazzle him with a tale or quench his thirst with a homebrewed ale. When his father died, Pieter didn’t take the mantle of oxen farmer, opting instead to make healing his trade. After healing one of Stockmoure’s favorite horses, Pieter was brought into the employ of the Lord himself, and soon was practicing his trade on the occasional bruised guard or injuried miner. His jovial ways continued for many years, and Pieter grew old and happy, facing life’s little hardships with a laugh and love for experience itself. When the Lord disappeared, Pieter noticed the ill effects on his friends and neighbors. For the first time, he was struck with conviction – the sacred humor that is life and the love of its telling may require stewardship. If things like this can happen on the scale of his own community, the can happen across the worlds – perhaps across the planes. The laughter and love placed in his heart from birth seemed, for the first time, to sour for its lack of sharing. Finding Lord Stockmoure seemed as good a place as any for a newly dedicated evangelist to begin, and Pieter joined the band of other upstart heroes investigating the sudden absence. Favorite food: household specialty, a herbed bread.
Stavro, a young servant. (A human warden played by Lyn.) Stavro is a boy in his late teens, struggling with desires that interfere with his ability to focus on the important things in his adult life. He is the Stockmoure’s stable boy and assists Fychan in gardening duties. He’s always had a fascination and ability with animals big and small, both caring for and hunting them; in fact on occasion the Stockmoures and other families in the lordship have asked Stavro to handle pests (rabbits eating vegetables, rats eating the grain, etc.) His affinity with the Stockmoure’s three horses (named “Labich”, “Roots”, and “Saxxy” by Stavro when he was first hired for the duty) helps him focus and keep his mind off girls and food, his usual obsession. Favorite food: meat pies.
Ingolf, the albino hunter and metalworker. (A human rogue played by Bill.) Ingolf is a tall, wiry albino born to serfs in the Stockmoure lordship. As a result of this condition, he was not able to work in the fields. His family generally treated him poorly, as he was seen as a useless burden. He spent a great deal of time ingratiating himself with other people in the area as a result, and also became quite good at skulking around and nicking small items and food. As he got older, Ingolf was apprenticed to a metalworker living near the mines and learned a bit of that trade. He began making simple locks and other mechanisms, which annoyed his master as such things are not much needed in a place like Stockmoure. Eventually Ingolf’s master rejected him, throwing him out to fend for himself after the youth stabbed a miner in a bar fight (Ingolf had been justified, but his master was made to understand that his materials would become more expensive the longer that the apprentice stayed).
Since returning to his family in disgrace, Ingolf has earned his keep as a marginal hunter (he knows little of animals and the outdoors, but is quite good at setting traps, can move quietly enough, and has a good sense of how to make his shots count), part time tinker, and doing odd jobs around Lord Stockmoure’s realm. Ingolf spends his free time in The Fifth Chance in nearby Kruknik, especially when there are travelers, much to the consternation of his family who think he is wasting money (though he probably brings home more in winnings than he would if he just stayed home). Largely, he grows anxious to leave Stockmoure and find his fortune in some way that does not involve farming. He has been slowly buying and making things that he thinks he will need when he leaves for good, and has put together a respectable set of thieves tools made by his own hand.
Ingolf can go about during the day, but he must wear clothes that cover him fully and a wide brimmed hat. He has a bit of a sinister reputation as a result of going about cloaked with his face covered although he is well liked by those who know him from the tavern.
Characters played by your Master of Dungeons, Chris:
Lord Junel and Lady Abba Stockmoure are heads of the Stockmoure Manor and surrounding lands. The Stockmoure lordship is small realm in the Cairn Hills and consists of grain farms, with a small winery and a copper mine. The serf families have lived in harmony with the Stockmoure family and have been treated well, even when the land and mines are not terribly fruitful (which is often.) The Manor has a tiny stables with 3 aging horses and 2 donkeys, and sheep that graze on the grass-covered hills. The house staff keep chickens and turkeys in a large roost in the walled yard and vegetable garden. In addition to the human serf families that work the fields, the dwarves that work the copper mine, the halflings that tend the sheep and garden, a couple of the human and elven staff hunt deer, rabbit, and fowl that frequent the hills.
The year is Common Year 590, late in another summer of usually dry weather; the hills around the lordship go brown as the grasses dry; the occasional trees dot the hills and provide shade and roosting for the hawks and other airborne predators that feast on the ground squirrels and small reptiles.
Dadat Stockmoure is the only son of Junel and Abba, and is married to Firea and has a daughter Dulcet. Dadat is quiet and unassuming, focused on the task at hand, built like an ox, likes to dance, and is known to have odd cravings. Firea is known for her beautiful locks of hair and her love for cooking, and often assists Bordun in the kitchen. Firea’s overly gregarious, loves music, and laughs at the oddest things. Dulcet is a hyperactive 12 year old girl who talks to herself, loves books, finds little creatures fascinating, and is unable to contain her emotions.
Cedric, the adult half-elf butler, enjoys helping others but is disturbed by the unknown, hence his simple existence in the manor. He does not show emotion, is reclusive even in the manor, and occasionally expresses his unhappiness at being a half-elf. Mariantha, the head maidservant and a halfling is a attractive and shy teetotaler. But when she speaks up, her voice carries. She is a bit suspicious of outsiders. Bordun the halfling cook is always noisy, looks at anyone in his kitchen askance, enjoys food a little too much and is a rolly-polly jolly fellow.
In the mine, Manwohatt Drumblatuf the middle-aged dwarf works hard in search of new veins of ore and gems. He’s a bit short for his height, and everything looks like a rock when he’s holding a pick. He secretly longs for home. Manwohatt is married to Diamanda who mines alongside him. She has scary good looks for a dwarf, just don’t make her mad. She does love flowers and sings with a perfect pitch, and irony is never lost on her.
Hunting in the lordship, Gala Celadonwood is the house hunting expert. She loves the company of non-elves, has a piercing gaze, always seems to be leaning on something, and speaks with a whispering voice.
Stockmoure Manor is a small lordship sandwiched between the much larger lordship of the Meissel House to the north and Lord Madouf to the south. Meissel House is led by an adept and capable family much more wealthy than Stockmoure and headed by Count Urmen Meissel. The Count is quite old (around 80) but has a keen mind and failing body. So far his mind and his connections with the ducal court has kept his three wiley sons from usurping his power or otherwise causing havoc. Occasionally messengers from the Meissel House travel to Stockmoure Manor on minor errands, particularly when copper is needed for equipment repairs or as a chemical reagent; the messengers are efficient and their horses strong and their quality equipment bearing the silver and black colors of the House.
Lord Baring Madouf is the 45 year old half-elf head of a lordship that reaches west to the outskirts of Storaven and east to the headwaters of the Koffel stream. Madouf is a cattle rancher and his cattle have regularly crossed into Stockmoure lands and grazed on the same grass needed for the sheep. Madouf’s half-orc cattlemen are rowdy and troublesome, but generally steer clear of Stockmoure after the Ducal Guard visited Madouf to set him and his family straight. Lady Blita Madouf died a few years ago of an illness, leaving Baring with a young daughter Suzett. Suzett is rumored to have a level head but her father does not show her, or few others, respect.
Stockmoure recently announced that last year was a wonderful year for the grapes and that his fortified wine was seen favorably by a Sister Orman from the Keepers of the Vale. Sister Orman was a special guest at the manor two months ago. She was traveling along the Cairn Hills south for months exploring and collecting rare edible fungi but also visited various houses along the way. Lord Stockmoure made arrangements and left the manor in the hands of his capable wife, Lady Abba.