Theme and Mood
In case all the pretty, brightly colored cartoons, silly monsters and freaking game title didn’t give it away, FEUDALICIOUS! is supposed to be lighthearted, charming and fun. Dark Fantasy really has no place here, and the mood of the game works best when these tenets of kinda-sorta silliness are stuck to. Always try to play up the whimsy and fun in this satire of all things Medieval, but don’t let the game descend into mindless farce, either. While moments of drama are all well and good, things should never descend to true bummer-level (Bummer-Level detector sold separately).
Inspirations
Each of the five Species of FEUDALICIOUS! Take their inspiration and themes from a real life culture that you won’t have to work too hard to detect. The Valtborn are a play on the rigid class system of Dark Age Europe. The Lepkin are (obviously) of celtic and gaelic flavoring, and should be played accordingly. Trollochs are inspired by a mash-up of Germanic, Russian, and Romanian cultures (one eye for each inspiration, ha!). Marinauts are inspired by all things ancient Roman, Grecian, and Spartan. The Serpae are parallels of ancient Egyptian and Arabic cultures smashed into a blender. Keep these things in mind when you are creating characters for FEUDALICIOUS! and name your characters accordingly. A Marinaut named “Willy Jo” is probably a super badass and all that, but it isn’t really fitting with the mood of the game. Just because something is light-hearted does not mean it is flippantly stupid.
Party Composition
Ideally, no one in a party should share the same Species. For one, it’s kinda boring, and melding together the various flavors of the cultures in Bravehold just tends to make for more interesting games. However, there are times when everyone playing the same species could actually work quite well (see below). Variety is the spice of life, and all that.
Default Setting
Valtmoor is the perfect setting for FEUDALICIOUS! (The capital city of Silvermont, particularly). The political intrigue and nod to all things Medieval really shine here and exemplify what the game is about. That being said, there are numerous focuses you could build your game around. There is enough detail provided in this setting to set your games pretty much anywhere, so work with places your players want to see and interact with. Below are a few different types of game ideas you could run.
-Typical Game (Recommended): As a default, each of the party members is a hero working together under the legendary banner of the Order of the Stone Weasel Adventuring Guild. The game should start with each member of the party getting an invitation to meet up at the Order headquarters in Silverleer, where they are given (and hopefully succeed at) their initiation Quest. Easy peasy.
-Freelancer: Who needs a Guild? This is the classic sword and sorcery type game, where the players are a band of gold-craving adventure-junkies who travel around from place to place, taking on dangerous jobs for the highest bidder.
-Guild Game: There are numerous other Guilds in Bravehold, each with their own motivations and designs. If everyone agrees, there is nothing wrong with playing an Emerald League or Warhog Society game instead of going the typical Order of the Stone Weasel route (Though I do suggest you start there).
-Noble House: In this type of game, all of the players are working towards the aims of one of the Noble Houses of the Valtborn. Some members might be members of the house by blood, or members of the house by oath, having sworn loyalty to the House in question. This type of game is heavy on political intrigue and favor-currying, and can be a nice change of pace for those with a taste towards scheming.
-WAR!: This type of game really amps up the tension of the Frost Goblin menace, and has the players take on the roles of soldiers or mercenaries who are thrust knee deep in battling the never ending tide of Frost Goblin and Lava Giant aggression. This type of game is quite heavy on the action and large-scale scenes of battle and carnage, mind you, but you probably already guessed that. If your party is far more interested in fighting stuff than roleplaying political machinations, this type of game might better suit them. King Nulgriff must NOT succeed in his grand love quest to earn the hand of the Lava Giant Queen Big Momma Sha’Graan. TO ARMS!
Look, I’m just one fella and I can’t cover everything, but below is a list of some questions that I can hopefully shed some light on. The questions will vary from setting stuff to game mechanics to all points in between, and I will add new ones as I come up with them.
What is beyond Bravehold? Are there other Continents in Nezdriodel?
Could be. As it stands now, venturing too far beyond the Continent of Bravehold and just sailing as far as you can will eventually bring you to a very real end of the world. You see, the world of Nezdriodel is indeed quite flat, and it is possible to sail straight over its edge and into oblivion. Because of this, most explorers don’t make it a habit to test their luck. Some wise scribes say that The Gods are still actively forging Creation, and that the world of Nezdriodel is a work in progress (they are probably onto something there…). Many believe that someday, Creation itself will expand and new, strange Continents will become available to explore. Until then, there is plenty enough to do in Bravehold.
I wanna play a half-Marinaut, half-Lepkin! What are the rules for that?
The rules are simple: Go away and never talk to me again. There is no half-this, half-that nonsense in this game. While each of the 5 Species of FEUDALICIOUS! can (and do)...intermingle, you can only have offspring with another member of your Species. Two Marinauts make goop-goop and have a Marinaut baby, and the same for everyone else.
Do Serpae and Marinauts hatch from eggs?
Interesting question. Yes, Marinauts and Serpae are hatched from eggs. Everyone else gives birth the old fashioned way. Never really thought about it until you asked, but it makes sense.
Dhood, you call these SPELLS? I wanna blow people up!
The Powers listed for each of the five Magical Heritages of FEUDALICIOUS! are designed to provide players with useful utility abilities and neat, flavorful tricks that embellish and enhance their particular style of sorcery. They were not intended to be world-ending damage dealers or unstoppable routes to ultimate power. This game is about fun stories and colorful characters far more than it is about sweet lewtz and big time damage. Some of the spells do direct damage and are suitable for combat, but most are not. This is intentional.
Why would the Marinauts join up with the other Kingdoms? Why would they care about the Frost Goblin menace if they live underwater?
King Nulgriff’s navy is massive, and his fleet consists of countless longboats filled with slavering berserkers, as well as more than a few freaking SUBMARINES. He sees all 5 Kingdoms of Bravehold as standing in the way of attaining the hand of his beloved sweetheart Sha’Graan, and so, he attacks below the waves with just as much ferocity as he does above. While it is true that Marinauts are the least affected by his crusade/love quest, they are still targets of it. Besides this, Marinauts are naturally curious to sample the delights of other cultures, and have long had a romanticized fascination with the world above the waves of the Eternal Sea. In short, they want to experience every single sensation they can that these strange cultures have to offer!
Is “The Eternal Sea” a play on Rome being called “The Eternal City”?
Yup. See what I did, there?
How do Marinaut domed cities work?
Think of it like a giant air bubble that keeps out outside water. Someone with the aquatic trait can effortlessly pass in and out of the bubble as they wish. If you were not born with the aquatic trait, you can attain it for a brief period of time by drinking a Deepling Brew potion (see the Gear section, under Consumables). Sharks and other untrained aquatic wildlife cannot pass through the bubble dome, however. Why? I dunno, man, it’s magic or whatever.
What happens if you cut off a Serpae’s snake hair?
She will probably be mad at you and call you a mean name. After that, it will grow back after about a month or so.
Why don’t the Gods just come down and make everything okay for everyone?
The Gods of Nezdriodel are the most powerful beings in Creation, but they are not all-powerful. While Valtus, The Fates, Mortriggon, Phemos and Shebsharu are on amicable terms and (usually) see eye-to-eye on most matters, they are certainly not omnipotent or all-knowing. Besides this, keeping creation up and running is a hefty undertaking. They are busy holding together the fabric of the universe, as well as fending off the plots and influences of the Evil Gods Tundrak and Kravagon. In short, they’ve got a lot on their plate. Be the change you wanna see in the world, and all that.
If Trollochs can see the future, why haven’t they taken over the WORLD!?
Trollochs get visions of the future that are always accurate, but they are not always CLEAR. Cryptic and vague, Trolloch visions often only make sense AFTER an event has taken place. Beyond this, omens and portents and visions are all perceived differently by whoever is experiencing them. For example, a week or so before the sacking of Wrackhagen, numerous native Trollochs in the doomed port city had omens about a freezing avalanche engulfing the world. Not too long afterwards, most of those people would be moaning ghosts drifting through the ruined streets…So, yes, a Trolloch gets accurate glimpses of events yet to pass, but this is oftentimes more frustrating than it is useful. In fact, many Trollochs believe that their ‘Gift’ is little more than an affliction (as if they needed anything else to mope about).
The Frost Goblins are only one Kingdom. How can King Nulgriff hope to stand against the combined might of the 5 Great Kingdoms of Bravehold?
While it might seem like the Frost Goblins are terribly outnumbered, the truth is a bit more complicated than most would expect. For starters, Frost Goblins breed like rabbits, and King Nulgriff has a seemingly unlimited number of shock troops to hurl at his enemies. Beyond this, ALL FROST GOBLINS do is fight. They don’t believe in defenses or fortifications, and their strategy for war is based solely on blindingly quick attacks that devastate everything in their path. King Nulgriff wants nothing to do with actually RULING over cities. It’s much more fun to raze a conquered enemy to the ground and move on to the next target. Also, the Frost Goblins are absolutely, fanatically loyal to their King, and the 5 Kingdoms all have their own internal problems BESIDES the Frost Goblin campaign. Also, you have to remember that King Nulgriff is a man IN LOVE, and that makes him even more dangerous than normal <3.
