Smog & Mirrors Design Journal

Currently, this blog is on hiatus.

That's not because the Smog & Mirrors project is dead (in fact, I'm working on playtest scenarios right now), but because writing has more-or-less evolved into a state of continually editing and re-editing the rules to make sure they're coherent.

Next comes a complete rewriting of the background. As the setting's evolved over several years (and as my understanding of the historical period that the game parodies develops), the earlier bits don't match the recent bits any more.

Something I threw together at work, to help create and flesh out characters in Smog & Mirrors.

Fortunately, there's ten main categories, so I could maybe make it a D10 chart for the more indecisive players and for quick generation of NPCs.

Self improvement
- Overcoming personality flaws
- Improving positive aspects

Vengeance
- Against individual
- Against group

Faith
- Fighting enemies of the faith
- Spreading the faith
- Upholding tenets of the faith

Wealth
- Treasure
- Money
- Social standing

Knowledge
- Thaumaturgy
- Solving a mystery
- Carrying out research
- Exploration - ties in nicely with Wealth

Patriotism
- Defend country's interests
- Defeat country's internal enemies
- Defeat country's external enemies

Ideology
- Political alignment
- Bigotry
- Decadence
- Revolution
- 'White man's burden'
- Imperialism

Loyalty
- The military
- Lover
- Family
- An organisation like the Candle Bearers, a crime syndicate or a cult

Justice
- Catch criminals
- Keep the peace
- Vigilante justice
- Righting wrongs
- Protecting the weak
- Protecting the wealthy

Penitence
- In eyes of others
- In own eyes


Anyone think of anything else I may have missed?

Here's the second half of the post with the days of the week. There are 397 days in a year, spread amongst thirteen months.


1 - Primus (31 days) - Patriarchal tradition marks the end of the year as being the longest night, Candlemas. Immediately following this is the month of Primus, a time where Patriarchists, Messianists and Salites carry out rituals of purification and preparation for the new year.

2 - Ventotus (29 days) - The second month of the year. Along with Calorus, it is jointly the shortest, thanks to Lutherius' appropriation of a day from each.

3 - Initius (30 days) - Initius is the first month of the pagan year, but third under the Creationist Patriarchy's reckoning. As the start of spring, Initius marks the beginning of new life, both in a literal sense, in that the lambing and sowing seasons both commence during Initius, and in the metaphorical sense, where grudges and disagreements born over the past year are set aside. On the three occasions where the factions of the Great War have attempted to negotiate peace, two have taken place in Initius.

4 - Veridis (31 days) - Veridis is the month in which most flowers and trees blossom.

5 - Lutherius (33 days) - Named for Kaiser Luther II, the founder of the Creationist Patriarchy, this month is slightly longer than any other. In 708 AI, Luther decreed that his month should be the longest of the year, and took a day each from Ventotus and Calorus.

6 - Sextilis (30 days) - The sixth month of the calendar. The summer solstice occurs on the 24th of Sextilis. In centuries past, Patriarchists held this day as holy because Gaius (the sun) was in the sky longer than at any other time of the year, although this belief is dying out; it ceased to be an official Patriarchal holiday almost a century ago. Messianists symbolically celebrate the birth of Siegfried on this day (it is believed he was actually born in Veridis), while pagans of various stripes tend to mark the solstice with bonfires and symbels.

7 - Calorus (29 days) - The seventh month of the calendar, and typically the hottest of the year.

8 - Fructus (31 days) - Fructus covers the first half of the harvest season in Appalia. Schools traditionally allow this month and the next as holidays, so that the children of farmers can assist their parents in bringing in crops. This practice has broadened so that urban schools also close for at least some of the harvest season.

9 - Messis (31 days) - Messis sees the conclusion of the Appalian harvest.

10 - Godanis (30 days) - The tenth month is named for Godan, a pagan god of magic, poetry, prophecy and death, worshipped in Northold and parts of Goethia and Brigantia. The 1st of Godanis is known as 'the Night of the Departed', when the dead of the previous year are remembered.

11 - Undecimensis (31 days) - The eleventh month of the year.

12 - Duodemensis (30 days) - The twelfth month of the year, commonly regarded as the start of the winter season.

13 - Terminus (31 days) - The final month of the year, leading up to Candlemas, the winter solstice, on the 31st of the month. Pagans do not view Candlemas as the end of the year (instead celebrating New Year three months later, in Initius). As Candlemas Night is the longest of the year, many pagan traditions hold that it is when evil spirits roam free. They tend to stay indoors and light candles on doorsteps and in windows to prevent such spirits from entering their homes. This practice has spread to wider use amongst some Patriarchists and many Messianists. Although the pagan beliefs gave the festival its name, other religions view Candlemas more favourably: the Creationist Patriarchy celebrates Gaius' gift of the year just ended while Messianists treat the 31st as Nathaniel's symbolic birth date (placing both messiahs' birthdays on a solstice).

A funny one to start with: The Conservative Party claim that they aren't, in fact, from outer space, and here's a photograph to prove it, courtesy of the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5061700.stm


I've been scribbling some notes for Smog & Mirrors in quiet times at Kate's school. Here's a few that I scanned in for permanence. Don't mind the occasional random thoughts that leak in and bear little relevance to the rest of the pages:

http://i6.tinypic.com/123xxug.jpg - The World. This is the first map of the entire world that I've done. (Well, the New World is on a separate section, but you know what I mean.) There's lots of blank minor countries to fill in later, or maybe I'll leave them blank for GMs to play with, perhaps. I could probably do with slotting in one or two minor Appalian ('European') nations as well, on the map that I posted up here a while ago: http://i3.tinypic.com/vysgmw.jpg I'm not happy with the New World's shape - it's a bit boring. Maybe a few more countries in the southern half, possibly as more 'blank slate' regions, to stop it looking so much like a flat splodge. Mountains and so on would probably help as well. And maybe some deserts and great lakes.


http://i5.tinypic.com/123v828.jpg - Brigantian background notes. A series of scribblings about the 'Britain' of Smog & Mirrors: (It's the flag at the top that's the actual Brigantian flag; the rest were just brainstorms. The three crown motif represents the kingdoms of Briga, Sald and Cymri, which combined to form Brigantia - well, a Brigant chieftain conquered the other two.


http://i6.tinypic.com/123wd20.jpg - Frankland and Goethia. Notes on 'France' and 'Germany'. Germany has a bit of a Roman-esque feel to it. This page also includes a potential optional set of hit point rules for the game, which I'll probably include as a box-out for those who don't like the idea of a random table thing for injuries.


http://i6.tinypic.com/123wfoh.jpg - An Ink Study of Homo Equinus. Okay, it's a doodle I did of a centaur, but I really like the effect of the micropoint ink after it's gone through a scanner; reminds me of Japanese brush and ink work, or maybe watercolour line art. (I might do more drawings like that, in fact.) They're intended to be a little grimmer than the traditional Greek guys, as in bestial-looking corrupted thingies. In-setting, ancient art shows them in the 'Greek' style, leading to various unproveable theories as to why the entire species apparently degenerated over a few thousand years.


http://i6.tinypic.com/123wmtg.jpg - Swamp Troll and Two Ophidians. The swamp troll (properly a 'palusin') is a monster type for the world. They normally live in marshlands and bogs, but have recently started dwelling in disused sections of trench. Ophidians are a PC species of lizardman. The two seen here are an Imperial Lacertan soldier and a Tosalan steppes warrior. Imperial Lacerta is a collection of kingdoms in 'sub-Saharan Africa', while Tosalan is unusually far north for the cold-blooded ophidian species, and is wedged between 'Japan', 'China' and 'Russia'. As such, the Tosalan ophidians wear heavy fur almost all year round. I might make them warm-blooded, or somewhere between the two (from my research, cold and warm blood appears to be an outdated scientific myth anyway). You'll notice in the circle at the bottom that there's a few notes about the ophidian languages - it turns out that one of the country names I came up with for them (Praata) is actually unpronounceable with their physiology...


http://i6.tinypic.com/123xm3r.jpg - Praatan Sailor and Quetzalan Soldier. Praata is an ophidian naval power on the east coast of 'Africa', contesting the 'Indian Ocean' region with Brigantia. It's famous for its naval power and anti-piracy operations. Quetzal is 'Mexico/South America', financially weak and a neighbour of the Commonwealth of Vinland. Also on this page are insignia for the Vinlandic Nationalist Workers' Party (the early Nazi party of Smog & Mirrors - you didn't think I could write anything without them in, did you?) and the Picks, a global collectivist organisation, although the same symbolism finds its way into most of the more localised groups, unions and parties.

With thanks to my good friend Lorna for some suggestions regarding contractions.


The Days of the Week

Lunedaeg - The first day of the working week, named for the moon, representing Gaia. Unlike Soldaeg, which is dedicated to Gaius, Lunedaeg is not a holy day, a result of the Creationist tradition of diminishing Gaia's role in her union with Gaius. Some Messianists hold ceremonies at the end of work though.

Belldaeg - The second working day, named after Bellus, the daemon prince of war. Historically, many great battles have been fought on this day, often the result of opposing armies camping for several days until Belldaeg comes around. In the Great War, several early offensives were timed to begin on Belldaeg, but this has grown less frequent in an attempt to keep the enemy off-guard.

Almsdaeg - Named for Almus, daemon prince of life, this is traditionally the day on which farmers would begin planting seeds in ancient times. Children born on Almsdaeg are said to be blessed with good health and long life. Also, many couples also believe that the chance of conception is greatly increased on Almsdaeg.

Thulsdaeg - Widely believed to be named after Thul, an old god of the sea, still worshipped along Northold's coast and who gave his name to the sea between that island and mainland Appalia. Sailors in Northold, Septentrionalis and northern Appalia traditionally avoid setting out to sea on Thulsdaeg, as it is believed to offend Thul.

Drondaeg - The last day of the working week. The word 'Drondaeg' is a contraction of 'Dracondaeg' (the day of the Dragon), although few still realise this. In times past, folk believed that the Dragon's worshippers were most powerful on the night of this particular day of the week and that they would go forth and tempt people into service to their master.

Salusdaeg - Salusdaeg is the first day of the weekend. Following immediately after Drondaeg, Salusdaeg is a holy day for Salites and some Creationists and Messianists (although in the latter cases, it is less important than Soldaeg). Traditionally, people gave thanks to Gaius and Gaia for bringing them safely through Drondaeg, but nowadays Salusdaeg services are more general in nature.

Soldaeg - The final day of the week, a holy day for Creationists, as it is dedicated to Gaius (in his representation as the sun). Neither Messianists or Creationists work on Soldaeg and both faiths hold religious services at places of worship. Along the Appalian front, it is rare for fighting to occur on Soldaeg.



I'll get onto naming the months tomorrow(ish).

Apart from a brief polygonal sketch I put together at a Writers' Guild meeting once, this is the first map I've put together of Appalia, the main continent of Smog & Mirrors.

Eventually, there'll be cities, mountains, rivers, provinces and so on, as well as possibly some more little islands (and perhaps slide in one or two smaller countries here and there?), but this'll have to do for now.

http://i3.tinypic.com/vysgmw.jpg

The Paladin Corps

'Article the fifteenth: The Order shall, in all times of War, defend Goethia from every Threat and Enemy, whether they originate within or without the borders of Goethia. This they shall do with Words, Fire, Sword and Spellcraft.

'Article the sixteenth: The Order owes not Fealty to the Kaiser of Greater Goethia, the Patriarch of the Church of the Creation, nor any other Noble or Priest, but owes Fealty solely to the People of the Land of Goethia and their kin.'

The Imperial Charter of the Paladins, 42 A.O.



The Paladin Order of Goethia (also known as the Order of Paladins, the Knights of Goethia or, more recently, the Paladin Corps) is the oldest professional military body in the world, dating back to before the time of the Twin Messiahs. For almost one thousand years, this knightly order has defended the lands of Greater Goethia from all manner of threats.

Founded in 53 A.O., in the aftermath of one of the many Tchielsovan conquests of Polska, the Paladin Order was created to provide Goethia with a dedicated standing army to defend against any further westward expansion of Tchielsovo's borders. In 49 A.O., Kaiser Gunther II died childless, sparking a civil war as four contenders to the throne fought the War of the Crown. After two years of watching the bloodshed, the paladins made their move. Under the leadership of Grand Master Frederick Nobilis, the paladins murdered two of the faction leaders and seized Goeth in the name of the Goethian people. Exhausted by conflict and with the capital in their hands, the two remaining would-be kaisers were unwilling to face the armoured might of the paladins and sued for peace.

Frederick did not claim the throne, but appointed himself regent until 'such a time as a true and worthy ruler becomes apparent'. Five years passed, in which time Frederick took on more and more constitutional powers, much to the distress of the Goethian nobility and his own officers within the Paladin Order. Patriarch Eduardo the Quiet stepped in, citing his independence from the power struggles of the War of the Crown (he was Castilan, and had only been Patriarch for a year at this point, so had missed the war). He urged Frederick to find a new kaiser quickly, to avoid unrest and future civil conflict and proposed a compromise solution.

Eduardo understood that although Frederick honestly believed that his regency was a temporary measure, the paladin grand master would find it more and more difficult to relinquish his power as time went on. To prevent Frederick becoming a tyrant, Eduardo came up with a proposal that would strip Frederick of his power, yet still allow him to fulfil his self-avowed duty.

The Paladin Order was given areas of land spread throughout Goethia, with which to earn income from rent and trade. In return, the order renounced the right to rule the country by regency and swore to protect the Goethian people from harm. The stipulation was added that such harm could be caused by internal, as well as external, threats. The idea was that the order was still legally able to intervene in any future civil wars in the highly effective way they had with the War of the Crown, although would not be able to set up their own rulers.

Initially, Eduardo hoped to affiliate the order with the Creationist Church, rather than the Goethian crown, but Frederick's rigid principles rapidly disabused him of that notion; the paladins were founded to protect Goethia, not to serve as a templar order for the Patriarchy.

Frederick allowed one of the two surviving faction leaders from the war to ascend to the throne as Kaiser Wilhelm IV, while the other, Sigismund of Brems, was gifted with a consolation prize - the Duchy of Bergseen. On the one hand, this was a large stretch of land to give to a single noble, enough to placate all but the greediest. On the other, it was far enough away from Goeth that the failed contender for kaiser would pose no threat to the victor. The first imperial act of Wilhelm IV was to sign the Imperial Charter of the Paladins, which formalised the promises made on Goethia's behalf by the Patriarch, and so the Paladin Regency came to an end.

Since this time, the Paladins have acted as servants to whosoever rules Goethia, without favouring any particular rulers or houses. When something has threatened Goethia, their knights have been the first to take up arms (being the only professional military force in the country) and they rapidly built up a reputation for fearlessness and strategic mastery.

The order temporarily fell out of favour when they refused to join the 32 T.I. crusade against Frankland. Kaiser Maximilian III believed that Messianism (and particularly a Messianist Frankland) threatened Goethia, but the order disagreed. Frankland showed no desire for war, and no matter how distasteful the Messianic Heresy might be, the Paladins were a secular order. Historians now believe that several high-ranking officers of the order were actually secret Messianic converts and they persuaded their Creationist brethren to keep their swords sheathed.

So it was that Maximilian sent an army of levied peasants, semi-professional men-at-arms and their knightly masters to war, rather than the Paladins. Confined to the Imperial Palace by ill health, he left them under the direct command of Patriarch Karole II. There were whisperings that, once the crusade was over and the army back in Goethia, Maximilian would strip the Paladins of their lands, or even declare the entire order outlaw, as punishment for what he perceived as treachery.

Maximilian was soon thankful of the Paladin Order's neutrality. While his army was fighting the crusade, the Dragon-worshipping hordes of Sven Finerada invaded and stormed Goeth. With much of the city watch and imperial guard with the crusade, the defence was coordinated by the Paladins. With much of their strength in distant parts of the country, they could not hope to fend off the assault, so fell back to the Patriarchal District and Imperial Palace, both compact and heavily fortified areas that could be well-defended by their small numbers.

And defend them they did, for the four months it took the siege to be broken (by a combined force of Creationist and Messianic warriors). Maximilian forgave the Paladins and actually rewarded them with a permanent chapter house within the walls of the Imperial Palace.

When the Privateers' Charter was written in 403, the order immediately signed its warriors up, to grant it protection against interference from future kaisers. Ever since, all Paladins have been privateers, although they have never received direct payment and have fought only in the service of Goethia.

The next occasion in which the role of the Paladins caused controversy was in 437, when the order deposed Kaiser Heinrich the Mad, following the insane ruler's execution of three Paladins for imagined offences. For a short while, Goethia feared that another, perhaps more permanent, regency was in the offing, but the order stepped aside after a few tumultuous days and allowed one of Heinrich's distant cousins to take the throne.

The order nearly disintegrated at the end of the Twelve Year War in 742. Brigantia claimed the Goethian Vinlandic colonies, forcing the Paladins out of the New World, while, back in Appalia, Goethia itself fell apart as Ostbergenland and Bergseen declared their independence. Some Paladins argued that they should fight to bring the breakaway provinces back into the empire, but others believed that war would mean fighting against fellow Goethians at a time when all of Goethia was already exhausted and weakened by too much war. For the sake of the greater good, and to prevent a fracturing within the order's ranks, the Paladin Order unilaterally rewrote the fifteenth article of the Imperial Charter of the Paladins (quoted above), so that 'shall defend Goethia from every Threat and Enemy' became 'shall defend the lands of the Goethians from every Threat and Enemy'. In this way, the Paladins maintained their vigil in Ostbergenland and Bergseen (often referred to as a symbolic 'Greater Goethia'), and were welcomed by the new countries' rulers as a stabilising force in difficult times.

The order returned to the New World in 870, when the Vinlandic government invited them to re-establish their chapter house in Streben, so that they could again protect the largely Goethian-descended populace in the manner they did their cousins in Appalia. Although the move was initially unpopular within the Commonwealth, Paladin troops rapidly made themselves welcome by fighting courageously in the Quetzal Gold War and the annexation of Honigbiene and Rosamond into the Commonwealth. Later, they also served with distinction during the War of Secession, although there they controversially only fought against provinces peopled mainly by non-Goethians.

It is politically indiscreet to refer to the staunchly independent and multi-ethnic Commonwealth of Vinland as being a part of 'Greater Goethia', so the term 'heritage lands' has become used to refer to the nations in which ethnic-Goethians can be found.

Normally, when one Goethian nation has gone to war, Paladins from those countries not involved have remained neutral. As the Great War escalated, many Bergseen and Vinlandic Paladins resigned their commissions and re-enlisted with Goethian or Ostbergen Paladin chapters so that they could fight to defend the Goethian people.

There are fifteen Paladin chapters in existence, each distinguished by a name dating back to its founding. Originally, there were twelve chapters, which were based in Goethia and what became Ostbergenland. A thirteenth was created when Bergseen was founded, as there was no existing chapter house in that territory. The final two chapters were founded to protect Goethian colonies in Terra Meridia and the New World, respectively. Although nominally based in Goeth, the Pioneer Order keeps most of its military strength in the colonies it protects. In the time of Goethian rule of Vinland, each of the original twelve chapters had rotated garrisons to defend the sparsely-populated colonies. By the 870s, the order realised that it needed a larger, more permanent presence, and founded a new order, the Vinlandic Order of Paladins.


Paladin Chapter Roster

Chapter Number	Name	Location of Chapter House (O = Ostbergenland, G = Goethia)
I	The Paladins of Goeth	Goeth (G)
II	Knights of the Sepulchre	Schloss an der Grab (O)
III	The Patriarchal Order of Templars	Klosterheim (G)
IV	The Lances of the South	Wittenfeld (O)
V	Defenders of the Blood and the Soil	Brems (G)
VI	The Dark Watch	Höhlehaven (G)
VII	Watchtower Knights of the West	Grosshugelheim (O)
VIII	The Order of the Rock	Felsburg (G)
IX	Sentries of the Eastern Border	Luckenstadt (G)
X	The Healing Flame	Sieburg (O)
XI	Vanquishers of the Dragon	Kraterseeburg (G)
XII	The White Castellans	Weissenschloss (O)
XIII	Guardians of the Lake	Friedensdorf (Bergseen)
XIV	The Pioneer Order	Goeth (G, but see above)
XV	The Vinlandic Order of Paladins	Streben (Vinland)

The Paladins have historically moved with the times with regards to their fighting style and organisation. In their earliest years, they were a cadre of knights and their professional retainers. Later, they became musketeers and then riflemen. Nowadays, each Paladin chapter is organised as a small army, complete with artillery and machine gun support. Most also have balloons and aeroplanes for reconnaissance purposes.

Although there is a high degree of variation, depending on need and casualty rates, most chapters are approximately 10,000 fighting men and women strong, plus support personnel such as medics, engineers and serfs. The leader of each chapter is known as the 'master' (as yet, there have been no female chapter heads). Masters are officially on a par with colonels in the regular armies the Paladins fight alongside, although they have been known to overrule orders from superior officers in favour of their own strategies. As masters typically serve on the front lines and have an enormous amount of respect within their lands, it is rare for this insubordination to be punished, although there have been a few civil trials in recent years; as privateers, Paladin officers cannot be court martialled, although they can be sued for breach of contract.

The Paladin Order, as they fight in the Great War, rarely opt for the large-scale 'grand offensives' more typical to the conflict, instead fighting as stormtroopers. Small units of Paladins, often commanded by NCOs rather than commissioned officers, infiltrate Dead Man's Land, usually at night, and creep into lightly-defended areas of enemy lines, capturing artillery or command posts and ammunition dumps. When the regular army attacks shortly afterwards, the intention is that the Paladin infiltration will have crippled enemy resistance. The Paladins are even more heavily equipped with submachine guns, shotguns and grenades than the regular Goethian or Ostbergen soldiery which, along with the more extensive training and higher morale of Paladin units, notably increases their effectiveness.

The success of stormtrooper tactics, particularly those of the Paladins, has inspired imitations in other militaries, the most well known being the reinvention of the Brigantian huscarls as 'commandos'. The Goethian Legions, on the other hand, feel that they invented stormtrooper tactics and there is a growing resentment that a 'gang of mercenaries' (as one centurion was quoted as describing them in the Goethian Tribune) have claimed much of the glory.

The Paladin Order has long realised that its guardianship of the Goethian people requires far more than simple military might. The order has an extensive and secret network of informants and agents living both within the heritage lands and beyond, keeping tabs on political developments, revolutionary movements, extremist groups and darker threats. The order has, on several occasions, supplied aid to the authorities, the Patriarchal Inquisition or (possibly, although no one is quite sure) the Candle Bearers in eliminating nests of Dragon cultists.

Typically, Paladin agents merely gather information and report back to their chapter houses, but sometimes circumstances require more active intervention. Blackmail or bribery are most commonly used to influence the politics of home or other countries, although assassination has been used, albeit only as a last resort.

During wartime, the order has offered its services to Goethian and Ostbergen military intelligence, although only Ostbergenland has accepted. In a rare moment of introspective honesty, Ostbergen High Command realised that their spy network ranged from inept to non-existent and gladly took the order's offer of help. The Goethian Legions, feeling secure in their espionage abilities, pressured the kaiser to graciously reject the offer. Nevertheless, the Paladins have ensured that they keep their agents supplying information to their soldiers serving alongside the legions, as they do not trust the Goethians to a) produce accurate information, or b) to share that accurate information with the Paladins.

Because of their neutrality in the current conflict, the Paladin chapters based in Bergseen and the Commonwealth of Vinland work slightly differently.

The Vinlandic Paladins (also known as Paladin XV Corps) have largely adopted the stormtrooper ethos, thanks to their experiences in the brutal War of Secession, but rely more heavily on horseback cavalry as much of their work takes place on the deserts and plains of the country. Their espionage work is largely non-interventional and they are currently just observing the growth of the collectivist and nationalist parties, apparently unsure of how to respond to them.

In ever-neutral Bergseen, the Paladins have long drifted into responsibility for securing the nation's banking system and merchant houses from crime. As such, the Guardians of the Lake (a.k.a. Paladin XIII Corps) are renowned as criminal investigators par excellence. However, with no power of arrest, they have a historical tendency to be extremely final when they do find bank robbery or fraud suspects. The Bergseen civil police therefore try to work closely with the Paladins, to ensure that each investigation has at least one detective who can legally detain suspects. Nowadays, the Paladins are a lot more accommodating towards this approach and are actually petitioning the Bergseen government for a change in the law that would allow the police to deputise them and give them power of arrest.


Plot Hooks for the Paladin Corps:


- The PCs are Goethian legionaries, racing a group of Paladins to capture of a hill upon which the Frankmen have sited artillery.

- The PCs are Paladins serving on the front line. Having just captured a vital objective preliminary to the main Goethian offensive, they come under sustained attack from legionaries. Although the official investigation will state that it was an unfortunate 'friendly fire' incident and a few junior officers will be lightly reprimanded, there is evidence to suggest that it was a deliberate attempt by someone within the legion hierarchy to cause harm to the Paladin Order. Such a destabilising act, in a time of war, must be investigated and punished.

- Working as Paladin agents, the PCs uncover a Dragon cult in an enemy nation. Without alerting the authorities to their presence (spies are shot, remember), the PCs must somehow facilitate the destruction of the cult.

- The Ostbergen Archduke's cousin is visiting the front lines for a surprise inspection. Because of recent dissent amongst the army, the Paladin PCs are recruited to provide a bodyguard detail for the count. There could be an enemy attack, or perhaps collectivists or anarchists closer to home have found out about the visit and have their own plans.

- Collectivist and nationalist gangs have been rioting in a major Vinlandic city and the provincial government are either unwilling or unable to dispatch the militia to suppress the violence. At the request of several local leaders and national newspapers, the Paladin Order sends in a unit to put down the street fights and shame the provincial or national government into action.

- The Bergseen Zentralbank is robbed for the first time in over one hundred years, the culprits getting away with several million marks worth of notes, bonds and bullion. Although the financial loss can be covered by the bank's insurance, the damage to the reputation of the entire Bergseen financial sector is devastating. The Zentralbank requests that the Paladins find the gang responsible and deal with them in such a way that it is another century before anyone dares violate the heart of the banking system again. Of course, the civil police have other ideas, and just want to bring the gang to justice. The PCs may be in either faction, or even be the robbers themselv

This is a cult that was originally conceived for a Warhammer 40,000 short story that was rejected by Inferno! magazine. I've expanded and reworked it to fit into the Smog & Mirrors world.

Like the Orbis Brethren, they are designed as an NPC organisation, rather than anything the PCs would willingly join.


( The Nobodies )


.

Not the most inspired piece of background I've come up with for Smog & Mirrors, but it's kind of important for a player's guide to roleplaying the Great War. (As in, it tells you when you can and can't kill people...)

It's probably not entirely finished, but it's nearly there.



The International Articles of War


History
The bitterness of the Forty Years War (670-712) saw vast swathes of Frankland, Beronia and many of the Arbien city states devastated. Farmland was salted, cities were burned to the ground and their populations put to the sword, wells were poisoned and livestock slaughtered. In total, about one third of the population of the participant nations lost their lives in the conflict, from violence, hunger or disease.

After the war ended in victory for Frankland (who expanded their borders almost seventy miles into Beronia and captured several Arbien city states, only to lose them again within a century), the participants took decades to recover and many destroyed towns were never rebuilt. Realising that even his victorious nation was far weaker than his grandfather's had been at the start of the war, the Frankish king Louis IV set out writing what he called his Articles for the Conduct of Soldiers and Kings During Times of Warfare.

The articles were a set of mutual agreements between nations for what could and could not be done in the course of a war. Following negotiations with all Appalian rulers, the document was ratified at a joint signing ceremony in Laurentin in 718. The first time the new treaty, referred to more commonly as the International Articles of War, saw use was during the Twelve Years War, which saw Ostbergenland and Bergseen splitting off from Goethia. Most observers of that war saw the articles of war as a great success, with one describing them as a 'civilising influence in Appalia, the home of civilisation'. Both Ostbergenland and Bergseen joined the treaty shortly after the war. The Commonwealth of Vinland became a signatory shortly after declared its independence in 803. Many Appalian leaders believed (correctly, as it turned out) that wars overseas would become more common throughout the ninth century, and took Vinland's acceptance of the articles as a signal to begin a recruitment drive for signatories around the globe. Hso Chan joined in short order, but Nihon resisted, claiming that its armies were already subject to their own honour code in times of war. In Terra Meridia, all but one of the Imperial Lacertan kings signed the articles in 821, although the eighth joined four years later after being ordered to do so by Emperor N'Shsah. Other Terra Meridian nations followed suit, fearing that Imperial Lacerta would be more likely to declare war against nations unprotected by the treaty than against those that were. Isolationist Atyria held out against what it viewed as an Appalian influence until the early tenth century, when Colonel Majid made signing the articles one of his first acts as dictator.


Content

Although they have been modified slightly over the centuries, the International Articles of War state that:

- The formal declaration of war by the aggressor party is a legal requirement before any military action may be taken.

- The wholesale destruction of cities and towns, or their populations, is forbidden, as is the deliberate destruction of agricultural land and water supplies. In times of siege, the besieging party must always allow refugees to leave a settlement, as well as allow for the surrender of any defending troops.

- Regular soldiers of all warring parties must wear clothing or some other form of identification that clearly signals them to be of their faction. Irregular militia must be led by regular officers wearing such colours.

- In battle, a faction must always offer the enemy the opportunity to surrender and, if offered without conditions, this surrender must be accepted. All uniformed members of the enemy army become 'prisoners of war'. Privateers who do not wear a uniform are protected by the Privateers' Charter (see Privateers, above). Military personnel not wearing uniform in a war zone may be recognised as outlaws by the opposing party (see Outlaws, above).

- Casualties may not be killed by their enemies and should be treated as prisoners of war.

- Prisoners of war may not be deliberately harmed by the capturing party. They may be traded in exchange for other prisoners of war, although this is not compulsory. They may also be set to work as indentured labour by the capturing party (see Slavery, below), but must be returned to their homeland within five years of the end of the state of war. The care of prisoners of war, including casualties, is the responsibility of the capturing party.

- Civilians, medical or diplomatic personnel must not be deliberately targeted. Nor can they be held as hostages. This includes military personnel assigned to medical or diplomatic duties.


Impact

Although most nations abide by the articles or war most of the time, the fact that there is no independent body enforcing them means that the consequences of breaking them are minor. Effectively, only the losing side in a conflict has to worry about having its soldiers, generals and politicians prosecuted for crimes against the articles of war; war criminals in the winning army are usually regaled as heroes by their side.

This attitude does appear to be shifting in recent years, with increasing controversy over such Great War incidents as the devastating shelling of Laurentin by besieging Kirchefluss Accord troops in 927, the sinking of various merchant vessels by submarines, and by both sides' ongoing airship bombing raids of installations close to civilian areas. A Brigantian colonel was hanged in 924 after ordering his troops to execute three hundred Goethian prisoners of war, while several Ostbergen and Goethian officers have gone to prison for the same.

The uncertainty in the minds of the most pragmatic politicians and soldiers as to who will win the war is helping to restrain all but the most bloodthirsty hands; no one wants to end up put on trial by their enemies at the end of the fighting. Nevertheless, many soldiers on the line feel distant from the politics and legalities of fighting and act in accordance with immediate need: if a rapid advance is needed, surrendering enemies may be shot rather than taken prisoner, while some officers will look the other way as their men take out frustrations on enemy civilians and prisoners in the aftermath of a hard-fought battle.

Typically, the discipline level of the army in question has its impact on how closely its men follow the articles of war. As the war grinds on, more and more frontline officers are looking the other way as their men snipe at enemy stretcher bearers, shoot prisoners, or abuse civilians. Military police units have never been as overworked as they are nowadays.

Notably, none of the provisions of the International Articles of War apply if the enemy have not itself signed the document. As such, the Vinlandic War of Secession was ferociously bloody, with both sides viewing one another as traitors to the principles of the Commonwealth, leading to many massacres of civilians and POWs. Other civil conflicts, colonial wars and actions against elf tribes have seen the most dreadful 'war crimes' taking place, simply because they do not legally count as crimes in the circumstances.

Another secret society, this time based on the Ku Klux Klan (very active in the period this game's paralleling).

For those who know their classical languages (or who just butcher them, like I do), 'Orbis' is the Latin word for 'circle', as 'Kuklos' is the Greek word. I find it sweetly ironic that these people who, in our world, hate black people, in the Smog & Mirrors world, refer to one another as 'brothers'.

Unlike most of the other secret societies I'm working on for Smog & Mirrors, this one is not intended to be used as a PC faction, due to the sheer unpleasantness of the Orbis Brethren's hatemongering beliefs, and the plot hook suggestions hopefully reflect this.


"It's all well and good to blame the collectivists and the war profiteers for all of society's ills, but I think our friend Mr Festredner is only looking at the surface of Vinland's problems. As a nation, we know that we should pride ourselves on our strong, pure, Brigantian and Goethian stock. But Vinland is no longer pure! Look out in the streets of our cities and towns and you will see the mongrelisation of our race, with mutants, pikers, uruks, Meridians and Ostappalians! These agents of the lizards south of the border seek to dilute the blood that makes Vinland strong, to weaken us and make us subservient to the Parasite Patriarch who trespasses in Goeth!"

--- From a speech given to an Orbis Brethren rally in New Sussald, 926


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