Welcome to 9th Century Earth

The setting is 9th century Europe. The area is North and Western Europe to begin with (chance of always expanding beyond this when time comes). Majority of areas under Human control with small pockets of Halflings & Gnomes largely in Western Europe, and similar pockets of Dwarves & Elves east of the Rhine & in Scandinavia (with the odd Halflings & Gnomes in the latter). There is the odd scattered humanoid populations found in human controlled regions bring in skills to these areas. Half-Elves rare and found spread out among the different countries. Magic is generally uncommon and magic items even rarer. Both found throughout world but not as common as once was. Dragonborn are very rare and generally killed at birth for their links to dragons throughout majority of world. Asia is only place they are found in any number due to region’s outlook on dragons. Tieflings are also very rare, and usually killed too. The latter being because of their dark ancestry. Happens in every country / region. Half Orcs rarely seen due to both them and Orcs being uncommon in the world at large. Usually associated with being byproducts of magic / curses or appearing in areas associated with these. Many of the old religions still exist with quite a number of followers and the Abrahamic religions aren’t as dominant yet as they were at the time. Many mystery religions also exist as well as many of gods in Rome, Greece, the Middle East & North Africa. This partly due to the effects of the Romans not having as much control over the areas the old Roman Empire did in our timeline. Many of the tribes of Celts still have some minor control over some of their old territories in Europe, and the Roman Legion didn’t wipe out all the Druids at Anglesey. Because of this they have some clout in these places and regularly causes problems for the invading Germanic tribes. Other religions, gods and cults seem to have also appeared throughout the world too. In every case these seem to be small and usually hidden away in every conceivable place a person could think off. Where they came from or what these are exactly is open to speculation. The Angles, Saxons & Jutes have got majority rulership in England. The Franks are still a powerful nation based in the areas of modern-day France & west Germany. In every case, variations of the Germanic & Celtic (Brythonic & Gaelic primarily) languages are spoken, along with Latin, and to a lesser degree Greek. The latter languages are used in many cases for writing, though Germanic Runes and Celtic Ogham are used the odd time. Many of the other cultures like the Greek city states, the Carthaginians and some of the eastern Steppes peoples still exist to a minor degree as Rome just could not completely destroy them. Something somewhere seemed to have slightly restrained or weakened the Roman Empire’s influence.

Some basic rules I'll be implementing to get us started: (most are an attempt to speed up play) Allowing only one of the following to be in party at present due to their rarity: Dragonborn, Tiefling or Half-Orc. All other races from expansions fall under the same rule here. As for Classes, only one Paladin can be per party. Treating them as being a very rare type of Class at the mo. Also, no Monks allowed at all for time being. Obviously based on martial arts movies, & the Shaolin Monks, and not in line with anything to do with monks of any type in Europe. Seems to be more of a Far East class so might appear later down the line. Initiative will be Side Initiative. One roll for either side in combat. Still potentially get a situational bonus or minus here. Types of adventure will be any type depending on what I can think up. Won’t be simple hack-n-slash, at least all the time. Will be trying to add in a bit of good old Grimdark to it all though. Remember to run character details past myself, especially personality and background details. May lead to some interesting little quests or side adventures down the line. Any critical hits suffered may lead to me rolling on the DMG optional injury table. Rarely though. If reduced to zero HPs, your dead. None of the rules for going lower than zero and doing death rolls every time. Where possible will be aiming to use historical style names or phrases for PCs, NPCs, equipment etc. Examples: Seax for the type of knives regularly used & carried by the Germanic peoples, Gallowglass for an Irish Fighter, Skald for a Germanic Bard or shaman for some types of Druid (usually a non-Celtic type). The very odd time you may be forced to make an Insanity check, this is done as a DC against Wisdom. If failed may result in a roll on the DMG optional Insanity tables in the DMG. Short Rests used as normal, except doesn’t restore lost Hit Points. That’s what Healers, Healing Potions and the like are for. Long rests are unaffected. Common language usually refers to Germanic, Celtic, Latin or a mix of these at present. Forbidding Neutral Evil & Chaotic Evil alignments for characters. Meant to be the heroes of the piece after all.

The True Dark Ages Discussion Boards

Truly Dark Boards

Fri, Feb 18th 2022 05:07

For the general discussion of the setting, it's creatures, empires, religion, and magic. Anything general fire away here, and hopefully get a good chat about it all, including any inspiration behind it all.
Any one can post here, hopefully, and all welcome. And just to say: Bring It On & Let The Good Times Roll!!!

The True Dark Ages Discussion Boards

Truly Madly Deeply Cults

Sat, Mar 26th 2022 01:19

As most who look into my world will notice, a number of cults exist in it. Quite a few will have specific creatures and/or individuals attached loosely. Anyone who is curious about these can always ask on this board. This could be, 'Why a cult like this?' or 'What is the inspiration behind that?' Always worth asking, Any suggestions you might have let me know too.