Aug 8, 2024 12:16 am
The year is 1642. Charles I sits the joined thrones of Scotland and England and unrest lies heavy upon the land. The rebellious Scots, defying demands from the Crown for ecclesiastical reform, have defeated English armies and occupy Northern England. The Catholic Irish, fearing Protestant ascendancy, are in open civil war after the execution of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. Parliament withholds taxes from the Crown, demands reforms and threatens sedition. King Charles himself, after failing to arrest five members of Parliament on charges of treason, has fled London for the north country and clouds of war are mustering on the horizon.
As powers and thrones move against one another, vying to impose their will, the ordinary people of every day are the ones who suffer for it. You are one of those ordinary people, unimportant in the grand schemes of powerful aristocrats, clergy, and republicans, except by virtue of how they may use you and bend you to their purpose. The question is, will you be bent? Or be broken?
You will play as members of a village who become caught up in the tides of war, pushed and pulled by both the Royalists and the Parliamentarians as they vie for control of England. Which side you will help, and how you help, will sometimes be up to you and will sometimes be up to the coercive hands of those who rule. Whoever sits the throne or in the halls of Westminster is likely little concern to you anyway--it doesn't matter if you're dead.
This game will utilize the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rulebook and will be set against the backdrop of a pseudo-historical English Civil War. The direction of play we take will largely be dependent on the players, but I hope there will be a good mix of character-driven roleplay, investigation, realpolitik, espionage, and combat.
Given the backdrop and setting, a certain degree of gritty realism should be expected, as well as themes or incidents which depict violence, moral compromises, and religious and political conflict.
