Rider of Rohan Cultural Setting (Long)

[khelek]

I have recently gotten BW, and am looking to start a game for my current group. I have played many variations of Middle-Earth gmaes before, and though I really like the setting, have found them to be very very off the mark or what have you. I really like BW and think it would do excellently, which is what drew me to BW in the first place, though now I see it is full of delisious goodness for all sorts of settings (Thank Luke).

Anyways, in every game of LOTR I have run, regardless of systme some one want to play a Rider of Rohan (even in time periods that they are still the Eothed). That is fine with me, as I love the Riders. Maong the other setting changes I am preparing which include: reduction of Faith and religion for this setting, some mods to Sorcery (looking at the posts about Corruption). I wanted to write up a Cultural Setting for the Riders (I can asily put together a Southron or an Easterling without lifepths or picking and choosing, but I wanted the Riders ot be fully reailzed so that the players have it as a fully fleshed out interesting option).

Below is my first draft. Please comment, as I am sure you can see (I am still Born Chattel!) I am new to BW (old to Tolkien) and would like any insite to these guys. Without Further Ado:

************************************************** ****

Riders of Rohan Cultural Setting

The Rohirrim Cultural Setting contains the Village, Peasant, Noble Settings, and the Soldier, Outcast and Noble Court Sub-Settings. The Rohirrim have no cities and live either semi-nomadic lives on the Fold, in one of the many small villages of the Mark or in the homesteads that dot the land. Rohirrim may Lead into other Mannish Culture Settings via the Outcast Lead, see Outcast Sub-Setting.

The Mark is Calvary oriented and most soldiers seek to become Riders. They are also slightly poorer than the other Mannish Cultural Settings, when granting resources for the Village, Peasant, Noble Court, and Soldier (Sub-)Settings reduce Resources by 10 (For less than 30rps) to 20% (For greater than 30rps).

Mearas are the White Horses of the Rohirrim, they are binger, faster and long lived. Only a fraction of the Nobles have access to them as they are for the Line of the Kings only. See Resources.

Noble Setting

Life Path(note) Years Res. Stats Leads

Mark Born 10 10 -- Soldier, Village, Noble Court
Skills: 3, General, 1: Riding
Traits: 2, Born to Ride, Mark of Privilege, Your Lordship

Page 4 10 +1P Village, Outsider, Court, Peasant
Skills: 8, Riding, Horse-wise, Brawling, Sword, Etiquette, Read, Write
Traits: 1

Squire(1) 6 12 +1M,P Village, Soldier, Outsider
Skills: 9, Sword, Shield, Spear, Bow, Read,
Traits: 1

Mearas Groom(2) 6 15 +1M Court, Soldier
Skills: 9, Horse-wise, Horse Husbandry, Rohirrim-History, Mending, Riding, Border-Wise, Dunlanding-Wise
Traits: 2, Soothing Voice

Shield Maiden(3) 5 15 +1M,P Court, Outcast
Skills: 9, Spear, Shield Training, Armor Training, Javelin, Field Dressing, Command, Sword, Soldiering
Traits: 2, Proud, Fearless

Rohir (Knight)(4) 4 20 +1P Court, Soldier, Outcast
Skills: 6, Conspicuous, Group Tactics, Orc-Wise, Dunlanding-Wise, Intimidation
Traits: 2, Sworn To Honor, Rolling Thunder

Lady(5) 5 15 +1M Court, Outcast
Skills: 8: Etiquette, Persuasion, Inconspicuous, Household-Wise, Hospitality-Wise, Conspicuous, Observation
Traits: 1

Spear-Captain(6) 6 24 +1M/P Soldier
Skills: 8, Command, Group Tactics, Heraldry, Navigation, Observation, Tactics
Traits: 2, Domineering

Lord of the Mark(7) 8 28 +1M,P Court, Soldier
Skills: 5, Estate-Management, Noble-wise, Hunting, Court-wise, Rule of Law, Etiquette
Traits: 1, Noble Oblige, Arrogant, Regal Bearing, Pompous

Dame(8) 6 26 +1M Court
Skills: 8, Estate-Management, Administration, Court-wise, Rule of Law,
Traits: 1, Noble Oblige, Regal Bearing, Pompous, Arrogant

Master of White Horses(9) 8 35 +1M,P Court, Soldier
Skills: 6, Mearas-Husbandry, Appraisal, Stable-Wise
Traits: 1, Love of Horses, Low-Speech (Horses), Affinity for Horses

Prince of the Mark(10) 2 12 +1P/M Court, Soldier
Skills: 2, General
Traits: 1, Born to be King, Arrogant, Regal Bearing

King of the Mark(11) 8 70 +1M
Skills: 4: General
Traits: 2, Oath of Eorl, Determined, Galvanizing Presence

1: Requires Mark Born or Page; 2: Requires Mark Born or Mearas Groom; 3: Requires Mark Born and either Young Lady or Page; 4: Requires Rider and either Squire or Mearas Groom; 4: Requires Young Lady or Shield Maiden; 6: Requires Rohir; 7: Requires Your Lordship and Rohir; 8: Requires Lady and Your Lordship Trait, 9: Requires Mearas Groom and Age of 40 or greater; 10: Requires Your Lordship Trait, and Rohir; 11: Requires Prince of the Mark

Soldier Sub-Setting Modifications

Mark Born may not Lead into Runner, Bowyer, Shieldman, or Spearman Life Paths.

Remove:

Musician
Crossbowman
Sailor
Footsoldier
Calvaryman
Atillator
Chaplain
Wizard of War

Add New:

Life Path (Note) Years Res. Stats Leads
Horn Sounder 3 4 +1M Village, Peasant, Outcast, Servitude
Skills: 4, Horn, Conspicuous, Riding
Traits: 1
Replaces: Musician

Spearmaker(1) 5 12 +1P Village, Peasant, Outcast
Skills: 6, Spearmaking, Carving, Haggling, Drinking, Mending, Wood-wise
Traits: 1
Replaces: Atillator

Shield Bearer(2) 3 5 +1P Village, Peasant, Outcast
Skills: 6, Soldiering, Sword, Shield, Brawling, Foraging, Hold-Wise, Drinking, Fortifications
Traits: 1, Mind Numbing Work
Replaces: Footsoldier

Spearman(2) 4 6 +1P Village, Peasant, Outcast
Skills: 6, Spear, Soldiering, Formation Fighting, Fire Building, Foraging, Field Dressing, Road-Wise, Armor
Traits 1: Disciplined
Replaces: Footsoldier

Rider(3) 4 14 +1P Court, Noble, Outsider
Skills: 10, Riding, Mounted Combat, Spear, Sword, Horse-wise, Field Dressing, Javelin, Hunting, Armor
Traits: 1, Impulsive, Suspicious of Outsiders
Replaces: Calvaryman

Heavy Calvary(4) 5 18 +1P Noble, Outsider, Village, Peasent
Skills: 6, Armor, Formation Fighting (Mounted), Intimidation, Tactics, Campaign-Wise
Traits 2: Arrogant, Fearless, War Cry


1: Requires Apprentice; 2: Requires one prior Soldier Life Path; 3: Requires Squire, Mearas Groom, Shield Bearer, or Spearman; 4: Requires Rider.


Village Setting

Remove:
Priest LPs
Sailor
AcolyteLPs

Add (From City):
Baker
Laborer
Saddler
Armorer

Add New:

Life Path (Note) Years Res. Stats Leads

Village Elder(1) 10 15 -- Peasant
Skills: 5, Rule of Law, Social Interrogation, Intimidation, Gossip-wise, Life-wise, Local History, Ugly Truth
Traits: 2, Meddling, Senile

Retired Soldier(2) 10 10 +1M Peasant, Court
Skills: 4, Ugly Truth, Intimidation, Soldier-wise, Instruction
Traits: Always Tired, Respected Opinion

1: Requires that it be at least the 5th LP and character is over 50 years old; 2: Requires any two Soldier Life Path and starting age of 40 or more.

Exile Sub-Setting
All character entering or leaving the Rohirrim cultural Setting must come though the Exile Setting, this Setting cost one to Enter and one to leave as per normal Lead rules. These people live on the verge of the Rohirrim culture, learning its ways or avoiding them. They wander the Fold and the Riddermark, some are leaving and some are coming.

Life Path(note) Years Res. Stats Leads
Exile(1) 0 0 0 Any Non-Rohirrim, Outcast
Skills: 0
Traits: 1 Outlander

Wanderer(2) 4 5 +1P/M Any
Skills: 5, Foraging, Hunting, Fire Building, Inconspicuous
Traits: 2, Curious

Stranger(2) 4 4 +1P Any-Rohirrim
Skills: 4, Rohirrim Ways-Wise, Forage, Road-wise, Inconspicuous
Traits: 2, Wary

1: May gain the Trait Point form this path once; 2: Requires Exile.




New Traits

Born to Ride (C-O): Call on for Riding Skill

Exile (Dt): This character has a -1D Reputation among the Rohirrim for being a stranger among them. They treat them with Wary Suspision, even those that once were from the Mark themselves.

Oath of Eorl (Ct): The King of the Mark is sworn to respond to the call for help from Gondor due to the ancient ties of these two people.

Respected Opinion (C-O): Duel of Wits Call-On all for Points and Dismissal

Rolling Thunder (C-O): Call-On for Spear Charges (Close Maneuvers that have a Spear Strike)

Soothing Voice (Dt): Horses ridden or being handled by a character with Soothing Voice have their Hesitation reduced by One, except for Wonderment.

War Cry (Dt): Those allies that can hear the character have their Hesitation reduced by 2 for Pain and Injury for the length of a battle or when the character with War Cry fails a Steel Test. A character may only be under the effect of one War Cry at a time.



Designer Notes:

The Rohirrim are a Warrior centric culture, the Nobility are very tied to the identity of a Horse Warrior, thus almost requiring Leads to and from the Soldier Path to gain high rank in their Culture. The Rohirrim have two types of war horses, their well bred chargers and the Mearas, which are almost Heroic in their own right. I wanted the Riders of the Mark to have a slightly different Culture than that of the other Men, i.e. Gondor and Arnor. They can access these other cultures, but their own culture looks aghast at those that leave. I wanted a few Traits that highlighted their riding ability, but without them becoming so ridiculous that they would never get off their horse.

In addition to the well known horse warriors they also control a number of fortifications from long ago, and the Shield Bearers and Spearmen make up the bulk of that force.

Though Spears and Lances are different, from what I know they did not have the Lance yet, and charged with spears and switched to swords when their spears broke or were lost. They are generally light cavalry, but have a number of heavier units. Spear-Captains would lead groups of 20 to 50 with Captains leading 100s. They would of course use Sabers and other curved swords. They have Archers, but are not Horse Archers, relying upon javelins and fast horses to put them into a position, obviously a tactic that will get them into trouble against a powerful missile presence.

I still have to go though the Noble Court Sub-Setting.. but it will be much like the Village Changes, removals of some non-cultural elements.

[khelek]

Oh, forgot to mention...

still working on the Resources list for these guys, which will include the Mearas and the Rohrim horses (likely a little more Forte than the elven, but not as quick?... not sure just yet) still perusing the mount burner.

The other resources should be pretty standard... no crossbows of course. Though I may add some Saruman tools.. afterall his name means Crafty Man, and he did give some gifts to the Riders before he went down the dark path... we shall see.

[Raegenhere (Huscarl)]

Hi Khelek,

Just a couple of thoughts. First of all, love what your doing!

1. There's another fourm talking about Blood Inheritance. What about something similar from the line of Kings, e.g., grandson of Helm Hammerhand (innate strength)

2. I'm probably wrong, but reading and writing doesn't jump out at me. I'd be thinking epic oral poetry, specific skalds (poets) and each warrior able to construct or wanting to martial, movement, prowess poems. I'm sure there could be DoW for some of these things. I'd probably argue that their law and tradition would be oral as well.

3. Whilst 1 nation, there are different parts of the Mark and different commanders and regions. I would assume (when the nation not aroused) that there would be competitive sports and such between the areas. Horse-racing, martial prowess. Might be a bit too hamfisted, but are there regional traits, etc.

[ASIDE: In game, if there was a dispute, would a killing result in weregild or a family feud. At what point would the King and authorities stand in].

4. The lords and up to the King should have some trait such as ring giving (aka gift giving) and the host have trait such as fealty (loyalty).

5. I know it's taking Shield Maiden a bit like Eowyn, but what about some doomish trait (perhaps something like constrained). Eowyn wanted to demonstrate her martial prowess. So whilst a maiden can be trained, she might never be allowed ride with the host in times of battle. She's more than a normal woman, but never allowed to be a man.

6. I agree with your replacement of musician with horn player. It fits.

7. The culture would strike me as big into feasting. So heavy drinking as a trait should be more pervasive. What is the cultures attitude to drunkeness, what are other cultures?

8. Just wanted to check, I would view Host as Riders. For want of a better word, richer families who are able to field an armoured man on horse, and or noble family. The spearmen and rest I would see as the levy, general populace who are trained, and in times of combat would rally to defences to fight. I wouldn't see this levy as presenting itself in the field for battle? The Rohirrim, would use appropriate tactics on the enemy, hit and run, shock charge etc. Maybe, it's just my stylised impression, but the 6,000 riders that went to Minas Tirith, I wouldn't have viewed any foot soldiers with them, they were left behind in the fortifications. I guess, if a Rohir is seen outside Rohan, then he's not a foot soldier, he's cavalry, or a trader / etc? Not sure, what do you think?

Raegenhere.

[khelek]

Thanks for the Feed Back Raegenhere!

In order of comments recieved:

1: I have not seen that line of discussion.. If I offered any it would likely be as a Lord, Prince, or King of the Mark Trait...

Can you direct me to that convo?

The Rohirrim that I know of would be:

Helm Hammerhand - Valient Defender
Erol - Brought he Rohirrim West.
Fram - dragonslayer

A few more but limited...


2: I fought with this comment myself (before you mentioned it) and here are my thoughts./

A. I need to redo a numebr of the skills for hte Court Setting to reflect your comments.. Skills like: Oral History, Epic Poem, List Deeds, and Tradiotnal Law should be added.... wghile removing Read/Write and the other skills that denote a Literary society...

B. Add and removbe the Nobles as required, add things likek Skald, Traditions Judge... over all I am going to lean heavily on the Dwarven LPs to offer up some ideas... (the Riders and the Dwarves have some shared history.. they warred over dragon spoils... makes the Glitter Caves seem that much more important! as this shows a lettign go of the past).

C. If you notice unlike the normal Noble Setting Squire does not require Page... I picturted Page as the entrance into the Noble Court, while Squire was enterance into becoming a Warrior, a very seperate process than the classic noble setting. I thought about seperate Lords paths for those that jhad served in combat and those thtat had not.. but I ultimately did not want to beocme that controlling. And will try to simulate this though some of the Traits that are required thought he Court Setting.

3. I have seen some of the discusison on Sub-splats.. and agreed with come comments on the desire to reduce this.. I thought a while on weather I shoudl evebn change the Riders... I feel that if a Player wants to play a family then that is fine, but I don't want ot make it required or part of the setting. The Noble path is all those who rule, and are born to the Horse. I see the Village and Peasant settings as those that the Rohirrim have picked up over time, rather than the True horse lords.

I wanted the Rohir (Knights), Spear-Captains, and Lords to be the Family and Clan leaders. and then leave it at that a Lord might control a Clan of 200 riders and 500 villagers and peasents.. and presnet himself with his banner when War was called... otherwise he would protect his section ofthe Fold.

4: Agreed that I probably could set up the traits better with a few more about loyalty and Hosptality.. though I might make somehtign like Ring Giving or Hospitality Skills. \rather than relyign on forcing traits. Defintly will think about this.

5: At the time of the War of the Ring the Shield Maiden was a thing of the past, i think they had become very Gondorish in that respect. That is oen reason I gove them Pride... and they are limited in their Marital paths beyond Shield Maiden as they are not really part ofthe military.... maybe a Trait such as Sworn to to Protect... which directs them to protect the non-warriors.. the postion that Theoden triend to force on her.

6: Thanks

7: I might include Drunken.. or Glutton as Second Traids for Lords or Heavy Cavalry... that way make it onlythose wishing to take a LP more than once will get these traits... seem reasonable...? I wanted to fiocus more oone Pride Arrogence, and Suspision as the themes of the Riders...

8: Yes.. the Shield Bearers and the Spearmen are the peasants... they man the Fortifications, and Fords... they are the guards at the gate as well in the Holds... They are likely seekign to become Riders as well.. but likely many of them just head home rather than become a Knight.

When the Army went ot war in the RotK they moved FAST... thus leavign behind all the non-riders... plus they probably left some at the Helms Keep and with the people at Dunharrow... I wanted a Shoeld bearer to also be a part time thing.. you could be a Farmer and a shield bearer.. your lord might call you to arms but the rest of the time you did your other work. The Shield Bearers and Spearmen are the semi-0trained soldiers that Rohan has a protection form invasion.. not for Forgien wars...


Hope that helped...I got a lot of work todo.. but for the moment I am going camping...

[Raegenhere (Huscarl)]

Hi Khelek,

I've been signed up to MERP.com for quite a while. Hadn't gone back in a bit, but found that the ICE MERP stuff is gone.

However, I tracked down a site (needs ftp) to bring across a softcopy of Riders of Rohan. Just thought I'd mention this, but I'm sure you have it already.

http://merp.50megs.com/download_links.html

2 other items that might be of interest are on MERP.com website (and probably searchable anyway) re: Riders.

* Parma Endorian Essays
* Ea D20 (Races)

Raegenhere.

[khelek]

Well it is done... at least as far as I care to take it. Along the line sof 12 pages..

Raegenhere thanks for your comments, I tried to work in as many as I could. I can't get though the Fire Wall at my office to ftp anything, and the Riders of R is one of the supplements that I do not have. thoughI have been purusing the MERP website... though I am a Contextualist at heart.

Anyways.. Not sure If I should rempost my Rohirrim here or not (I guess I will), the Forum eats my formatting. Is BW willing to Host a PDF? otherwise if there is interest in one that is readbale feel free to PM your email andI can send a doc or pdf.. otherwise enjoy the next 11 pages of unformatted text!

[khelek]

Added: Court, Skills, Traits, Resources and tweaked a number of other things:


*****************************************

Riders of Rohan Cultural Setting

The Rohirrim Cultural Setting contains the Village, Peasant, Noble Settings, and the Soldier, Outcast and Noble Court Sub-Settings. The Rohirrim have no cities and live either semi-nomadic lives on the Fold, in one of the many small villages of the Mark or in the homesteads that dot the land. Rohirrim may Lead into other Mannish Culture Settings via the Outcast Lead, see Outcast Sub-Setting.

The Mark is Calvary oriented and most soldiers seek to become Riders. They are also slightly poorer than the other Mannish Cultural Settings, when granting resources for the Village, Peasant, Noble Court, and Soldier (Sub-)Settings reduce Resources by 10 (For less than 30rps) to 20% (For greater than 30rps).

Mearas are the White Horses of the Rohirrim, they are binger, faster and long lived. Only a fraction of the Nobles have access to them as they are for the Line of the Kings only. See Resources.

Suggested Common Traits
The GM may have Rider players choose three (3) of the five (5) listed traits to represent the shared culture of the Rohirrim.

Heavy Drinker
Boaster
Suspicious of Outsiders
Home in the Saddle
Temperamental

Noble Setting

Life Path Years Res. Stats Leads
Mark Born 10 10 -- Soldier, Village, Noble Court
Skills: 3, General, 1: Riding
Traits: 2, Born to Ride, Mark of Privilege, Your Lordship

Page 4 10 +1P/M Village, Exile, Court, Peasant
Skills: 8, Riding, Oral History, Horse-wise, Brawling, Sword, Etiquette
Traits: 1

Squire1 6 12 +1M,P Village, Soldier, Exile
Skills: 9, Sword, Shield, Spear, Clan/Family-Wise, Brawling, Inconspicuous, Dunlanding-Wise, Border-Wise
Traits: 1

Mearas Groom2 6 15 +1M Court, Soldier
Skills: 9, Horse-wise, Horse Husbandry, Oral History, Riding, Grain-Wise, Appraise (Riding Equipment)
Traits: 2, Soothing Voice

Shield Maiden3 5 15 +1M,P Court, Exile
Skills: 9, Spear, Shield Training, Armor Training, Javelin, Field Dressing, Command, Sword, List Deeds
Traits: 2, Proud, Fearless

Rohir (Knight)4 4 20 +1P Court, Soldier, Exile
Skills: 6, Group Tactics, Conspicuous, , Dunlanding-Wise, Intimidation, Traditional-Law
Traits: 2, Sworn To Honor, Rolling Thunder

Lady5 5 18 +1M Court, Exile
Skills: 8: Hospitality-Wise, Observation, Etiquette, Persuasion, Inconspicuous, Household-Wise, Conspicuous
Traits: 2, Forbidden to War, Restless

Spear-Captain6 6 24 +1M/P Soldier
Skills: 8, Command, Group Tactics, Heraldry, Navigation, Observation, Tactics, Traditional-Law
Traits: 2, Domineering

Lord of the Mark7 8 28 +1M,P Court, Soldier
Skills: 5, Rule of Law, Traditional-Law, Estate/Village-Management, Hunting, Court-wise, Etiquette
Traits: 1, Noble Oblige, Arrogant, Regal Bearing

Dame8 6 26 +1M Court
Skills: 8, Estate/Village-Management, Administration, Court-wise, Rule of Law, Appraisal, Soothing Platitudes, Ugly Truth
Traits: 1, Noble Oblige, Regal Bearing, Arrogant

Master of White Steeds9 8 35 +1M,P Court, Soldier
Skills: 6, Mearas-Husbandry, Appraisal, Stable-Wise, Court-Wise, Etiquette
Traits: 2, Love of Horses, Low-Speech (Horses), Affinity for Horses, A Way With Horses

Prince of the Mark10 2 12 +1P/M Court, Soldier
Skills: 2, General
Traits: 1, Born to be King, Arrogant, Regal Bearing

King of the Mark11 8 70 +1M
Skills: 4: General; 2, Rule of Law, Traditional Law, List-Deeds
Traits: 2, Oath of Eorl, Determined, Galvanizing Presence

1: Requires Mark Born or Page; 2: Requires Mark Born or Groom; 3: Requires Mark Born and either Young Lady or Page; 4: Requires Rider and either Squire or Mearas Groom; 4: Requires Young Lady or Shield Maiden; 6: Requires Rohir; 7: Requires Your Lordship Trait and Rohir; 8: Requires Lady and Your Lordship Trait, 9: Requires Mearas Groom and Age of 40 or greater; 10: Requires Your Lordship Trait, and Rohir; 11: Requires Prince of the Mark


Soldier Sub-Setting

Mark Born may not Lead into Runner, Bowyer, Shieldman, or Spearman Life Paths.

Remove
Musician
Crossbowman
Sailor
Footsoldier
Calvaryman
Atillator
Chaplain
Engineer
Wizard of War
Captain

Keep
Runner, Archer, Herald, Bannerman, Sergeant, Veteran, Apprentice, Journeyman, Armorer, and Quartermaster

Add
Life Path Years Res. Stats Leads

Horn Sounder 3 4 +1M Village, Peasant, Exile, Servitude
Skills: 4, Horn, Conspicuous, Riding
Traits: 1
Replaces: Musician

Spearmaker1 5 12 +1P Village, Peasant, Exile
Skills: 6, Spearmaking, Carving, Haggling, Drinking, Mending, Wood-wise, Shield Making
Traits: 1
Replaces: Atillator

Shield Bearer2 3 5 +1P Village, Peasant, Exile
Skills: 7, Soldiering, Sword, Shield, Brawling, Foraging, Hold-Wise, Drinking, Fortifications
Traits: 1, Mind Numbing Work, Heavy Drinker
Replaces: Footsoldier

Spearman2 4 6 +1P Village, Peasant, Outcast
Skills: 6, Spear, Soldiering, Formation Fighting, Fire Building, Foraging, Field Dressing, Road-Wise, Armor
Traits 1: Disciplined
Replaces: Footsoldier

Rider3 4 14 +1P Court, Noble, Exile
Skills: 10, Riding, Mounted Combat, Spear, Sword, Horse-wise, Field Dressing, Javelin, Hunting, Armor, Skirmish Tactics, List Deeds
Traits: 1, Impulsive, Suspicious of Outsiders
Replaces: Calvaryman

Heavy Calvary4 5 18 +1P Exile, Village, Peasant
Skills: 6, Armor, Formation Fighting (Mounted), Intimidation, Tactics, Campaign-Wise
Traits 2: Arrogant, Fearless, War Cry

Engineer 5 5 12 +1M/P Village, Peasant, Exile
Skills: 6, Fortification, Engineer, Supply-wise, Fire Building, Mason
Traits: 2, Stoic, Hard Headed
Replaces: Engineer (this version has less science and more “experience”)

Marshal6 6 25 +1M,P Noble, Court
Skills: 9, Command, Oratory, Strategy, Tactics, Border-Wise, Conspicuous, Soldier-Wise, Traditional Law
Traits: 2, Sworn to the Mark, Suspicious, Savvy
Replaces: Captain

1: Requires Apprentice; 2: Requires one prior Soldier Life Path or any Sergeant LP; 3: Requires Squire, Mearas Groom, Shield Bearer, or Spearman; 4: Requires Rider; 5: Requires Journeyman, 2xLaborer, or two soldier lifepaths; 6: Requires: Spear-Captain, Heavy Calvary, Lord, or Prince of the Mark.



Village Setting

Remove
Priest LPs
Sailor
AcolyteLPs

Add (From City)
Baker
Laborer
Saddler
Armorer

Life Path Years Res. Stats Leads
Village Elder1 10 15 -- Peasant
Skills: 5, Traditional Law, Intimidation, Gossip-wise, Life-wise, Local History, Ugly Truth
Traits: 2, Meddling, Senile

Retired Soldier2 10 10 +1M Peasant, Court
Skills: 4, Ugly Truth, Intimidation, Soldier-wise, Instruction, List Deeds
Traits: Always Tired, Respected Opinion

Village Herbalist

1: Requires that it be at least the 5th LP and character is over 50 years old; 2: Requires any two Soldier Life Path and starting age of 40 or more.


Court Sub-Setting

Remove
Torturer
Man-At-Arms
Student
Page (old)
Squire (old)
Knight
Jester
Governess
Chaplain
Doctor
Atillator
Court Priest
Master of Hounds
Bailiff
Justicar
Coroner

Keep
Servant
Nurse
Groom
Gardener
Forester
Young Lady
Herald
Falconer
Courtier
Court Sorcerer (First Trait: Shadowed)
Court Chef
Armorer
Steward (Requires: Skald, Chronicler, Lawyer)
Huntsman
Master of Horses
Hostage
Constable (Requires: Spear-Captain, Lord, or Heavy Calvary)
Treasurer (Requires: Lord, Constable, Steward, Lawyer, Official, Spear-Captain)
Chamberlain (Requires: Lord, Constable, Steward, Lawyer, Official, Spear-Captain, Treasurer)
Advisor to the Court (Requires: Lord, Constable, Steward, Lawyer, Official, Spear-Captain, Constable, Treasurer, Chamberlain)

Add
Page (As Rohirrim Noble)
Squire (As Rohirrim Noble)

Life Path Years Res. Stats Leads
Skald 5 9 +1M Village, Peasant, Exile
Skills 6, Epic Poem, Oral History, Traditional Law, Poem, Conspicuous
Traits: 1, Other-Worldly, Poetic

Hall Sentry1 5 12 +1P Soldier, Village
Skills: 6, Intimidation, Observation, Standing Still, Drinking, Etiquette, Brawling
Traits: 2, Suspicious, Bored, Drunken, Skeptical
Replaces; Man-At-Arms

Physic2 8 14 +1M Village, Peasant, Exile
Skills 7, Surgery, Persuasion, Herbalism, Bloodletting, Soothing Platitudes, Oratory, Falsehood
Traits: 2: Disturbing, Over-Zealous
Replaces: Court Physician

Chronicler3 10 14 +1M Village, Exile
Skills 7, Oratory, Epic Poem, Traditional Law, Etiquette, Oral History, Conspicuous
Traits: 2, Prone to Exaggerations, Loud

Arbitrator4 10 20 +1M Exile
Skills 5, Traditional Law, Rule of Law, Oratory, Interrogation, Persuasion
Traits: 2, Stern, Righteous
Replaces: Judge/Justicar

1: Requires: Shield Bearer, Spearman, or Veteran; 2: Requires Village Herbalist, Barber, or two Soldier Life Paths; 3: Requires Skald, or one of the following plus one other Court Life path: Page Minstrel, Herald; 4: Requires Steward, Judge, Chronicler, Rohir, Veteran or Elder.



Exile Sub-Setting

All character entering or leaving the Rohirrim cultural Setting must come though the Exile Setting, this Setting cost one to Enter and one to leave as per normal Lead rules. These people live on the verge of the Rohirrim culture, learning its ways or avoiding them. They wander the Fold and the Riddermark, some are leaving and some are coming.

Life Path Years Res. Stats Leads
Exile1 0 0 0 Any Non-Rohirrim, Outcast
Skills: 0
Traits: 1 Exile

Wanderer2 4 5 +1P/M Any
Skills: 5, Foraging, Hunting, Fire Building, Inconspicuous
Traits: 2, Curious

Stranger2 4 4 +1P Any-Rohirrim
Skills: 4, Rohirrim Ways-Wise, Forage, Road-wise, Inconspicuous
Traits: 2, Wary

1: May gain the Trait Point form this path once; 2: Requires Exile.



New Traits

A Way With Horses: (Dt): By spending time with a horse, a month per Will exponent of the horse, the Master of White Steeds may remove one Character Trait. By Spending two months per Will Exponent with a Horse they my add one Character Trait to the horses, or rewrite one Instinct (not-belief). Each of these actions may be done to any one given horse (Mearas or otherwise) once. The Master of White Horses may “work” on a number of horses equal to his Perception Stat.

Born to Ride (C-O): Call on for the Riding Skill.

Skeptical (C-O): The Sentries of the Hall have hear it all, their Will Stat is considered 2D higher when trying to use Persuade, Falsehood, or other social skills to talk your way past them.

Exile (Dt): This character has a -1D Reputation among the Rohirrim for being a stranger among them. They treat them with Wary Suspicion, even those that once were from the Mark themselves.

Forbidden to War (Ct): Though many are, or were, Shield Maidens, the Ladies and Dames of the Mark are forbidden to go to war. Not that this stops them.

Oath of Eorl (Dt): The King of the Mark is sworn to respond to the call for help from Gondor due to the ancient ties of these two people; and to protect his own lands form invasion, the Oath of Eorl is a 4th Belief and overwrites the Sworn to Honor and Sworn to the Mark beliefs. The King of Rohan gains +2D Reputation among all Rohirrim, and an +2D Affiliation with the Rohirrim Nobility. The king also gains a +1D Reputation with the people of Gondor.

Respected Opinion (C-O): Duel of Wits Call-On all for Points, Rebuttals, and Dismissal Actions.

Rolling Thunder (C-O): Call-On for Spear Charges (Mounted Close Maneuvers that have a Spear Strike scripted). This may be used to re-roll the Positioning or the Striking Tests, but only one roll may use this Call-On.

Shadowed: (Dt) Sorcerers are often outsiders as the Rohirrim nation has no place for them. But due to influence of the West, and Gondor in particular, they have found a home in the Horse Courts. They have a -1D Reputation among the people of the following settings: Village, Soldier, and Peasant as the Shadow marks their passage.

Soothing Voice (Dt): Horses ridden or being handled by a character with Soothing Voice have their Hesitation reduced by One, except for Wonderment.

Sworn to Honor (Dt): The Rohir are leaders of the Mark, they are followed by a number of Riders and often are the heads of Old Families, and sometimes even clans. They are sworn to a Lord of the King of the Riddermark. They may add a 4th belief to indicate this Oath of Loyalty.

Sworn To the Mark (Dt): The Marshals of East Fold and West Fold are the great captains of the Mark and report directly to the King. They are sworn to protect the Boundaries of their homeland from all threats, and challenge any who cross the territory. They gain +1D Reputation for Rohirrim and a +1D Affiliation with the Nobility of the Mark, these Reputation and Affiliation Dice stack with any others. They may add a 4th belief to indicate their Oath to protect the Riddermark, this replaces any 4th belief from the Rohir LP.

War Cry (Dt): Those allies that can hear the character’s call out have their Hesitation reduced by 2 for Pain, Injury, and Surprise/Intimidation for the length of a battle or until when the character with War Cry fails a Steel Test. A character may only be under the effect of one War Cry at a time, and they are not affected by their own War Cry.


New Skills

Bare Back Training: Root: Agility (Aptitude Only). This Training may be opened but may not be advanced. With this Training the Penalties for riding Bareback on a horse are reduced from +4OB to +2OB. Lance like charges with Spears are not possible without Stirrups though. The Specialty Spear thrust as described in the Master Burner may still be attempted.

Epic Poem: Root: Will. This Skill is the ability to recite the Epics of the Rohirrim, the stories form along ago. FoRKs: Oral History, Oratory.

List Deeds: Root: Will, This Skill may add to the Body of Argument if performed as the first action of the Duel of wits. It can not be contested. When a Rohirrim comes into a new group by making a successful List Deeds test against the highest Will of the target audience they may give themselves a +1D Reputation for a week per success over obstacle. The GM may raise or lower the Base Obstacle if the character’s deeds are very Notable (lower Obstacle) or very trivial (raise obstacle). Failure may grant the character the Boasting Trait for a time. FoRKs: Falsehood, Oratory, Epic Poem.

Oral History: Root: Will. Similar to the normal History Skill this is the History and Great Deeds of the Rohirrim.

Standing Still: Root: Forte. This Skill is used for standing still for long periods of time even when heavily Armored. Will FoRK To Assist if they are done while completely stationary: Inconspicuous Intimidation, and Observation.

Traditional Law: Root: Will. This skill contains the Old Laws of the Rohirrim, prior to the time they came to the Mark. This includes correct behavior for Blood Feuds and Marriage as well as penalties for horse stealing, murder, and other less savory practices. Often much harsher than the Rule of Law, it is none-the-less the Law that many of the people follow as it keeps their traditions alive. This Skill allows correct interpretation of the Old Law, and the correct assignment of penalties, from lashes to exile. FoRKs: Rule of Law, Oral History.


Resources

Arms Note Riding/Work Horse 4
Armor Note War Horse 10
Shield Note Mearas Steed Note
Missiles Note House/Property Note
Cloths 1 Workshop 20
Boots 1 Herd – Livestock 10
Finery 5 Herd – Horses 20
Traveling Gear 2 Barding Note
Skill Tool Kit 7

Notes:

Arms: Arms covers the appropriate weapons for the character. Prices as described in the Character Burner. The Rohirrim have access to all grades of weapons. They are primarily armed with Swords (curved is most common for riders and strait most common for non-riders), and Spears. Other weaponry is foreign and costs 1.5 times the normal cost; including bows. Spears and Javelins have a great deal of Variety. The Long Spear is widely used (but can not be thrown), but they also have a short Spear (Pow: , Add: , Spd: , Length: ) which may be used from horseback and/or thrown.

Armor: The Rohirm use standard Armor Resource from the Man Section of the Character Burner. They do not have normal Full Plated Mail which costs 1.5 times the normal cost.

Shield: The Rohirm use standard Shield Resource from the Man Section of the Character Burner. They do not use Tower Shields, and must may 1.5 times the cost for one of these strange devices.

Missiles: Missiles primarily includes Javelins (Pow: , Add: , Spd: , Length: ), which are short thrown spears. On both Superb hit, and a hit that is blocked by Armor, they bend so that they may not be thrown back. The require 3 actions and a Ob 1 Mending or Soldiering Roll to bend back. Javelins are normally carried on a horse in groups of three or five, depending how much tie a soldier thinks he might have.

Traveling Gear: Traveling Gear includes tents, bed rolls and horse care equipment, along with the standard cooking gear. The Rohirrim Traveling Kit is very complete and many live semi-nomadic lives in the summer traveling with their herds.

Horses: Not every Rohirrim has a Horse, but most have access to one. Many Rohirrim have two or more in fact. Riding and draft horses are everywhere, they are standard rouncies and draft animals. These use the Mount Burner or the Riding Mount Resource from the Man Section of the Character Burner. They are slightly cheaper as they are ubiquitous. The War Horses are less common, but hardly rare in a nation where almost half the soldiers are cavalry; use the Warhorse Resources from the Character Burner, with two of the following three Traits (player’s Choice): Smooth-Backed, Good Boned, and Fleet of Hoof. These are superior Horses.

Mearas Horses: These horses are descended from an ancient line of horses that were brought to Middle Earth from the Great Huntsman himself. They are glossy white, though some are smoke grey, intelligent and proud. They only allow the greatest of nobility of the Rohirrim, the King of the Mark or some one with the Prince of the Mark LP, to mount them. Only the King of the Mark and the Princes of the Mark may purchase these Steeds, they cost 15rps and the Approval of the other players and GM, a character may only have one Mearas and the GM should not be afrait to say No to these Steeds, they might be earned by one who is worthy, but they are expensive and have a habit of killing those they do not feel is worthy to be riding them. These Steeds should be run as a separate character, and are most certainly not considered property. Mearas have the following stats: Pe: B3(4), Wi: B4, Ag: B4, Sp: B7, Po: B7, Fo: B7; Attributes: He: B5, St: B7, Re: B4, MW: B13, Hes: 3, (Unflinching, Determined), Spd Multiplier: x8, Skills: Rider Training, Mounted Combat training, Formation Fighting Training, Intimidation (B3), Brawling (B4), Foraging (B2); Traits: Level-Headed, Loyal, Determined, Aggressive, Long-Limbed, Keen-Hearing, Hooved, Ungulate, Good Bone, Fleet of Hoof, Sleek(Ct), Well-Groomed, Unflinching, Smooth-Backed, Sharp, Long Living (Old Age 45+), Proud, and Arrogant.

Herd: Standard for Mannish Cultures, counts as Property. Herds of Horses have not been trained, and include a mix of young, old and foal bearing animals. Those that are fit War training are bought by the Crown.

Barding: Barding is armor for Horses. Horses must have Mounted Combat Training to wear Armor proficiently; without Mounted Combat Training all Riding Tests are +2Ob as the mount does not know how to move in the armor. Horse Barding is described in the Mount Burner (modify protection dice for 2nd Ed Rules), and costs 2xthe amount of normal Armor of the same type. Most Armors of the Rohirrim can Mend and make Barding, though this takes quite a long time, 2x normal repair/crafting time.

Designer Notes:

The Rohirrim are a Warrior centric culture, the Nobility are very tied to the identity of a Horse Warrior, thus almost requiring Leads to and from the Soldier Path to gain high rank in their Culture. The Rohirrim have two types of war horses, their well bred chargers and the Mearas, which are almost Heroic in their own right. I wanted the Riders of the Mark to have a slightly different Culture than that of the other Men, i.e. Gondor and Arnor. They can access these other cultures, but their own culture looks aghast at those that leave. I wanted a few Traits that highlighted their riding ability, but without them becoming so ridiculous that they would never get off their horse.

In addition to the well known horse warriors they also control a number of fortifications from long ago, and the Shield Bearers and Spearmen make up the bulk of that force.

Though Spears and Lances are different, from what I know they did not have the Lance yet, and charged with spears and switched to swords when their spears broke or were lost. They are generally light cavalry, but have a number of heavier units. Spear-Captains would lead groups of 20 to 50 with Captains leading 100s. They would of course use Sabers and other curved swords. They have Archers, but are not Horse Archers, relying upon javelins and fast horses to put them into a position, obviously a tactic that will get them into trouble against a powerful missile presence.

[Raegenhere (Huscarl)]

Hi Khelek,

Looks great. Hopefully you can get the .pdf put up.

A lot of attention and detail has gone into this.

Very usable skeleton for Anglo Saxon and Viking characters as well.

Raegenhere.

[Raegenhere (Huscarl)]

Hi Khelek,

I tried that ftp myself (without firewall) and no luck.

Noble Knight (US) have a copy listed for USD 15.00 (not bad).

http://www.nobleknight.com/ProductDetail.asp_Q_ProductID_E_13297_A_InventoryI D_E_2147437844_A_ProductLineID_E_109_A_Manufacture rID_E_25_A_CategoryID_E_12_A_GenreID_E_

Raegenhere

{EDIT I missed it in the earlier post, here is the forum link to the topic of blood and birthright and such:

http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2130}

[ghashsnaga]

I went ahead and formatted your plain text into a pdf file. I edited to look as closely as possible to the BWC book in size and formatting. I haven't put any graphics in yet. Could I send you the PDF and the original .odt file?

[khelek]

thats cool.

The version posted to the Forums needed some editing, which I have worked on, but not reposted.

You want the newer version of the text, most of the eidts are obvious?

I will PM with my email, would you mind shooting what you made over to me, it would be cool to see.

[ghashsnaga]

I'll wait for the PM and send you the pdf. I didn't put the author's credit or copyright in there. That needs to be added as well as any corrections. I am working on some graphics to place in there.