Highborn Background
You are the child of an independent regional lord.* Your family had some influence, power, and a wide range of responsibilities pertaining to administration, evaluating disputes, and battle. Your previous station provided some knowledge in the ways of war and the logistics involved in mobilizing and leading a local fyrd (part-time army of free or paid men). You are also versed in the basic administrative functions necessary for managing a community and land, and you have training in passing judgement when disputes arise. However, you are highborn in name only for you have no land and no men. You are among the many Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and other tribes that are migrating from the continent with hopes of re-forging their name and their future on the isle of fertile lands across the sea.
* Like an ealdorman (similar to the later Earl, or Danish and Norse Jarl). Some are independent. Some serve kings.
Highborn Additional Starting Equipment
- Fine clothing: a well-made woolen tunic and pants, a leather belt and bronze buckle with ornate interlocking designs, well-made leather boots, and a weather-resistant, heavy, fur-lined cloak
- Chain byrnie or one random family heirloom (see below)
- Leather coin purse with 20 silver coins
Family Heirloom
Instead of selecting a chain byrnie, the player may opt to begin play with a family heirloom that has the following protective qualities.
Once per game session, the player may attempt a saving throw vs. Spells to avoid all damage from a successful “hit” incurred during combat. The player must announce such an attempt before damage is rolled.
The heirloom is valuable; however, should the player ever sell, trade, or willingly get rid of the heirloom, then the player must immediately make a saving throw vs. Spells with a -2 penalty. Should the player fail the saving throw, the player is cursed for dishonoring the ancestors. The Referee will decide the details of the curse, along with the means (if any) for lifting the curse. The Referee may decide the type of heirloom, or simply roll on the below table.
Random Family Heirloom Table
| d6 Roll | Heirloom |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gold Amulet: a circular gold amulet set within three concentric rings that is decorated with a mosaic of ruby stones that gives shape to the heads of three blood-red ravens. |
| 2 | Necklace of Silver-plated Finger Bones: a necklace of silver-plated finger bones once belonging to the family’s great matriarch. The finger bones have been engraved with protective runes. |
| 3 | Gold Torq: a thick rope-patterned torq of gold with two snarling boars decorating its terminal ends. |
| 4 | Gold Brooch: a circular gold brooch depicting a great tree encircled by intricate interlocking branches. |
| 5 | Bead & Coin-Pendant Necklace: an 18-bead necklace made of amethysts and other semiprecious stones. The necklace’s center piece is a millefiori glass disc that refracts light strangely. To either side of the disc are two ancient gold coin pendants. |
| 6 | Silver Runed Ring: a thick, yet simply designed silver band engraved with protective runes. |