New Player’s Guide to Acarthia

Contents

I. Setting II. Places III. People IV. History V. Organizations VI. Justice System

Setting Alliance LARP Denver is a medieval fantasy live action roleplay set in the Kingdom of Acarthia, in the larger world of Fortannis, with continents divided from each other by mysterious fey mists. Many different races inhabit this world, from elves to ogres to dragons and unicorns. Most Alliance LARP Denver events (dubbed “Ducal Gatherings” or “Gatherings” in game) are set within the estate of New Acarthia, on the western border of the kingdom. A couple events each year take place elsewhere in the continent. The Kingdom of Acarthia is governed by an absolute monarchy. What the King (or Queen) rules, goes. Below the King are three Dukes or Duchesses; below them are Baronesses and Barons, all of whom wear leather or metal coronets or crowns to mark their status. Paladins and knights are sworn to their liege lords. All nobles are sworn to the Code of Chivalry and can be identified by the white belts they wear. Their squires (who are technically commoners) can be identified by red belts. Nobles have significant power within their own lands, though limited power in the lands of other nobility. It’s possible to become a noble in Acarthia, but it takes a lot of work, time, and effort! In this world, death is only rarely permanent for most sapient beings. People often die many times before their final, permanent death. When a person dies, their body dissipates, and their spirit wanders to an Earth Circle for resurrection. The spirit can slowly, painfully resurrect itself, or a healer can gently guide the spirit back into life with a tale. There is magic in Fortannis, divided commonly into the schools of Earth and Celestial. Celestial magic is a wizard’s magic, calling forth elemental power to strike down foes. Earth magic is the healer’s magic, calling upon the earth itself to heal wounds. Any spell that calls upon the Earth can also be inverted, calling upon the forces of Chaos to harm people, the earth, or create undead from the bodies of the fallen in a display of necromancy; this is highly illegal, often despised, and generally believed to harm the Earth itself.

Ducal Gatherings During the War of a Thousand Skirmishes, the estate was a gathering place for the duchy and kingdom’s forces where the Duke and Duchess met with their barons, knights, and military advisors to strategize. After the war ended, the Duchess continued to hold monthly Ducal Gatherings within New Acarthia to facilitate communication and solidity within the Duchy. The presence of nobles and their courts attract adventurers, merchants, and farmers; the presence of so many people and coin attract monstrous creatures. There are quite a number of white­belted nobles and even crowned nobles in attendance at each Ducal Gathering! For more on the Ducal Gatherings and the estate of New Acarthia, see“A Visitor’s Guide to New Acarthia”in the Player’s Guide.

Places The Kingdom of Acarthia is about the size of the United Kingdom, situated within a sizable continent. It is currently ruled by King Nigel Moorefield. Its colors are red and gold, and its sigil is a gryphon. The kingdom is divided into three duchies, each of which is divided into multiple baronies, and further divided into individual estates. Each estate is owned by a particular noble. The oldest duchy, and the one most of the game events take place in, is the Duchy of Acarthia. It is currently ruled by Duchess Iliana Tiberion. Its colors are green and gold, and its sigil is a dragon. The Duchy is divided into four baronies, ruled by and primarily composed of player characters:

Bayenna: The eastern­most and youngest barony in the Duchy of Acarthia, flanked by rivers and an inland sea. The baron is His Excellency Egil Nordheim. Their colors are blue and green, and their sigil is a pair of crossed trident. See the Player’s Guide section: “Barony of Bayenna” for more information.

Rivervale: The oldest barony in Acarthia, with marshy land surrounded by rivers and two inland seas. The baron is His Excellency Darius Rivervale. Their colors are green and white, and their sigil is a key and laurel. See the Player’s Guide section: “Barony of Rivervale” for more details.

Tiatar: The second­oldest barony, on the eastern bank of the Starfall Sea opposite from Rivervale. Their barons are Her Excellency Kathryn Elavir and His Excellency Eldred Morningtide. Their colors are purple and black, and their sigil is a cerberus and three spires. See the Player’s Guide section: “Barony of Tiatar” for more information.

Warchester: The south­eastern­most barony, standing as buffer between Acarthia and many of the monstrous races. The baron is His Excellency Alaric Manco. Their colors are red and black, and their sigil is an eagle wielding two axes. See the Player’s Guide section: “Barony of Warchester” for more. The Duchy of Lomeeria is the second oldest duchy, in the north and west of the kingdom. It’s ruled by Duchess Lyse Ungsteen, and encompasses the baronies of Ungsteen and Tasis, as well as the barbarian freehold of Yalinth. Their colors are gold and black, and their symbol is a bear. See the Player’s Guide section: “Duchy of Lomeeria” for more information.

The Duchy of Rowàn is the youngest duchy, far to the north and east. It’s ruled by a duke and encompasses the baronies of Epyxia and Norwist, as well as the biata freehold of Phoenix. See the Player’s Guide section: “Duchy of Rowàn” for more information. Several of the lands surrounding Acarthia are dominated by various non­humans. (See the Player’s Guide section: “Guide to the Larger Realm” for more information.) The non­human lands include:

Aspen Woods: Home of the wood elves and the wild elves, just north of the royal estates. Quilleralene: Kingdom of the somewhat xenophobic high elves, protected by a magical barrier, just

to the east of the kingdom. Mystic Marsh: Land of the mystic wood elves. Querene: Home of the stone elves. The Foothills: Home of the hoblings just north and west of Bayenna. The Wylands: A coastal land filled with wylderkin, far to the south and east. Phoenix: An Acarthian freehold to the north dominated by biata and gryphons. Yalinth: An Acarthian freehold to the northwest dominated by the barbarian tribes. The Yalinth Hills: Home of the high orcs in the far northwest. Garthok: The far northern land of the high ogres. It’s nominally a freehold of Acarthia. The Seven Hills: Home of the cat­like sarr, far to the north and east. Howling Woods: Full of wolves and the monstrous races (orcs, ogres, trolls, goblins, kobolds, and

more), just west of Acarthia. The Fens: Far south and east of Acarthia, this is home to a race of lizard men.

People Acarthia is populated by all the civilized races, but primarily by humans, and most of the reigning nobility are humans as well. The civilized races are listed in the Alliance Rulebook (ARB) as playable races: barbarians, biata, dark elves, dryads, dwarves, elves, gypsies, high ogres, high orcs, hoblings, humans, mystic wood elves, sarr, stone elves, and wylderkin. The monstrous races are myriad, but the most commonly encountered ones are those who were in Dargok’s Legion (ogres, orcs, kobolds, goblins, gnolls, and trolls). It is proper to bow or take a knee in the presence of a crowned noble (king/queen, duke/duchess, baron/baroness), and to address all nobles with their proper titles. The various nobles are addressed as follows:

King/Queen: Your Majesty (identifiable by a metal crown) Duke/Duchess: Your Grace (identifiable by a metal circlet) Baron/ess: Your Excellency, or My Lord Baron/My Lady Baroness (identifiable by a leather coronet) Knight: Sir or Dame (identifiable by a white belt) Lord/Lady: Your Lordship/Ladyship (identifiable by a white belt)

See the Player’s Guide section: “Dramatis Personæ of Acarthia” for more.

History To calculate the current in­game year, take the current out­of­game year and subtract 1600 from it. Thus 2015 out­of­game corresponds to 415, in­game, which is written formally as the 415th Year in the Age of Chivalry (or, 415 A.N.). A more detailed, complete history can be found in the “History of the Kingdom” section of the Player’s Guide.

Acarthia was founded in Year 0 by King Sebastian Coldstone, uniting the human lands and imposing the Code of Chivalry. Around the year 210, human expansion became more prevalent under the rule of King Nathan Coldstone, and over the next couple hundred years, the current borders of the kingdom were established – sometimes through treaties and agreements with the non­humans of the surrounding lands, but more often through military force. In the year 406, the War of a Thousand Skirmishes began between the Kingdom of Acarthia and the Legion of Dargok, the monstrous races of the Howling Wood who united under the banner of ogre chieftain Dargok. It ended in spring 413 at the walls of the capital city of Acarthia, in a duel to the death between Dargok and Duke Jonathan Tiberion of the Duchy of Acarthia. After Duke Tiberion’s death, his wife, Dame Iliana Tiberion, took up the mantle of Duchess. September 413 marks the start of our game. In January 414, Warchester nearly fell to a resurgence of the Legion of Dargok attacking the town of Wildwood. The combined forces of Acarthia fought back the monstrous races, but at the loss of the Warchester baronial court. In September 414, elemental rifts opened across the kingdom, and hostile elementals poured forth. The rifts were finally closed in November 414. In October 414, the Acarthians discovered that Dargok had most likely been raised as undead.

Organizations Alliance LARP is a highly social game, and it can be hard to survive or thrive in the game without being part of a group. Players are strongly encouraged to join one of the many organizations in Acarthia, or even create their own group! A more detailed list of groups can be found in the “Kingdom Guilds, Orders, and Organizations” section of the Player’s Guide, and New Acarthian full charters can be found in “A Visitor’s Guide to New Acarthia”. You cannot generally come into the game as a member of a group (particularly: guilds, town guard, chivalric orders, most general orders, awards). There is an in­game joining process for each group. The only exceptions are player­run organizations (e.g., baronies and the Vigilant), at which point you must speak to the players who run those organizations in order to join prior to coming into game.

Mages Guild: For celestial casters and anyone seeking to get a magical item identified. It is much cheaper to learn spells or purchase magic if you’re a member of the Mages Guild.

Healers Guild: For earth casters and anyone seeking healing. It is much cheaper to learn spells or purchase magic if you’re a member. The Earth Circle for resurrections is here too.

Merchants Guild: For artisans, crafters, merchants, alchemists, and the buying and selling of items of all sorts. The Guild can appraise your items if you’re not sure how much they’re worth.

Town Guard: Guards, investigators, and keepers of the peace among residents of New Acarthia. Joining the town guard means you’re provided with basic equipment, a safe bunk, and the protection of a Ward.

The Vigilant: A dedicated order of people who are chartered by the King to investigate and hunt the undead as well as necromancers.

Baronial Courts: Some baronies are interested in recruiting new members to their court. Swearing fealty to a barony and joining its court provides certain protections and privileges from that court, but also means you are under the Baron or Baroness’s authority and judgment. Note: Being from a barony’s lands does not mean that you are a member of their court!

Chivalric Orders: There are a number of chivalric or knightly orders that a knight can aspire towards. Read the “Kingdom Guilds, Orders, and Organizations” in the Player’s Guide for more.

General Orders and Awards: There exist a number of orders, societies, and awards that do not require membership in the Order of Chivalry to join or receive. Read the “Kingdom Guilds, Orders, and Organizations” in the Player’s Guide for more.

Justice System Deputies and sheriffs do most of the investigation into criminal activity. Magistrates charge, judge, and sentence criminals. Nobility can sometimes fill these roles or circumvent their decisions depending on the noble’s rank and whether or not the crime happened within their lands. Criminals are typically sentenced fairly early, and cells are just holding cells for until the suspect can be seen by a magistrate. Any person convicted of a crime may be subject to Death, Obliteration (an expensive ritual that leads to three Deaths), a fine, a prison term, performing a public service, exile, required to make restitution and pay costs, banishment, and/or any other punishment that the magistrate deems appropriate. Prison terms are not at all common. Many codes (healers’ Code of Ethics, knightly Code of Chivalry) and even some of the laws are more flexible than they are black­and­white, and also subject to a high amount of interpretation, which varies per person and culture. A list of the most common laws and further information on the legal system can be found in the Player’s Guide section, “Laws and Codes”.