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Adrian

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Thanks for the lore CJ, sounds interesting, if slightly worrying. Glad to hear your operation went well, now you just have to get better, same goes for you Mikka! Interesting to read/hear that it was a plot to invade England! I had actually begun thinking that the crowns would have some other meaning in the magical sense and the Archmage was simply curious or ambitious enough to make a grab for it. Tricksy, very tricksy!

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Thanks for the lore CJ, sounds interesting, if slightly worrying. Glad to hear your operation went well, now you just have to get better, same goes for you Mikka! Interesting to read/hear that it was a plot to invade England! I had actually begun thinking that the crowns would have some other meaning in the magical sense and the Archmage was simply curious or ambitious enough to make a grab for it. Tricksy, very tricksy!

 

 

That is entirely possible. After all, something beyond the mundane political is clearly happening: once the crown was removed, and only Edith knows where from to date, though she may have told Silas by now? -- anyway while the removal of the crown has removed a mystic ward to the French Invasion, it also seems somehow linked to the rise of the drakes, and that in turn is somehow linked to your covenant. So there is more to it than a mere French invasion, and presumably Stephen Eruditus has some idea of that, even if Archbishop Stephen does not. :)

 

cj x

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I'm off to my parents now. Last quick update --

 

1214

 

2nd July 1214. Pope agrees to lifting of John's excommunication, which Bishop Eustace of Ely performs on this day.

 

July 27th 1214 Battle of Bouvines in Flanders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bouvines By this battle John effectively loses control of Brittany and Normandy to France

 

19th October 1214 King John returns to England.

 

20th November 1214 50 Barons gather at Bury St Edmunds, and at the high altar of Bury abbey swear an oath to enforce a document they have drawn up to restrict the powers of the King, Magna Carta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta#Rebellion_and_creation_of_the_document. This meeting takes place under the cover of a tourney, and the oath is sworn upon the relics of Saint Edmund.

 

Christmas Day 1214 King John holds court at Winchester, then hurries back to London, fearing rebellion

 

December 27th 1214 King John arriving in London finds himself faced by the hostile barons, who demand he agrees to their Magna Carta. He plays for time, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Marshal and Eustace Bishop of Ely agree to act as guarantors of his intent, and a further meeting with the Barons is agreed for Stamford at Easter 1215.

 

1215

 

3rd February 1215 Bishop Eustace dies at Reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustace_%28bishop_of_Ely%29

17th April Good Friday 1215 By Good Friday, 2000 knights plus a large number of other troops have gathered at Stamford with the rebellious barons to meet John. King John, perhaps wisely, remains at Oxford, attempting to gather loyal troops and nobles.

 

27th April 1215 The barons have arrived in Brackley, Northamptonshire. John sends the Archnbishop of Canterbury and William Marshal to find out their demands, and they return to him with a copy of Magna Carta. John indignantly refuses, asking why they do not just ask for his kingdom, and saying he we will never be their slave.

 

2nd May to 17th May 1215 The Barons advance to Nottingham and besiege the castle which stays loyal to the King John. Robert FitzWalter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fitzwalter appointed as Marshal of the "Army of God and the Holy Church" as the Barons call themselves. For two weeks they make no progress, and give up the siege. Robert's standard bearer and several others are shot dead by crossbowmen from the walls.

 

20th May 1215 The Barons arrive at Bedford, where Walter de Beauchamp receives them cordially. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Beauchamp_%28judge%29 and joins the rebellion. Messengers arrive from London declaring the city has declared for them.

 

21st May 1215 Barons camp at Ware, Hertfordshire.

 

Sunday 24th May, 1215. The Barons enter London peaceably, while the citizens are mainly at church. They place their own men on the gates, and ask the prominent citizens to support the cause. They send out letters to the remaining uncommitted nobles, many of whom come to London to join the revolt. The King, deserted by almost all sends William Marshal to say he will agree to the Magna Carta, to be signed on the 15th June.

 

15th June 1215 John arrives at "a field between Windsor and Staines" - traditionally said to be Runymede Island in the Thames - with many Bishops. "The whole nobility of England" is present. He signs the Magna Carta http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/magna-carta/ :) is the best account and very accessible... After signing it and agreeing to 25 Barons being appointed to oversee it, and saying he would judge cases arising from it at Westminster on 16th September, John leaves with 7 loyal knights and goes to Windsor. Fearing (further) treachery he flees before daybreak, riding hard to the Isle of Wight, where he immediately sends the Papal Legate Pandulph to Rome to try and get the Magna Carta overturned by the Pope. He sends emissaries to his remaining possessions across the Channel, to raise troops, and orders them to gather at Dover on Michaelmas, October 11th. He has no intention of honouring Magna Carta!

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King John the Pirate :late June - mid September 1215 Still on the Isle of Wight, though sailing around the Cinque Ports, King John with some loyal knights of Pandulph (Papal Legate and Bishop of Norwich currently on his trip to Rome as John's emissary) becomes ... A PIRATE!... Yes, seriously. he may well have at this time found himself conducting operations or even negotiating a truce with his old friend and enemy Eustace the Monk, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustace_the_Monk who however declared with the Barons against John. Meanwhile rumours spread that John had renounced his faith, drowned at sea, or was simply missing. Very few knew where he was at this time...

 

20th June 1215 Simon Langton, brother of Stephen Archbishop of Canterbury elected Archbishop of York. As the brothers were strong supporters of the Barons, King John appeals to the Papacy.

 

13th July 1215 William de Aubigny was considered a threat to London by the Barons, and had supplied his castle at Belvoir for a long siege. The barons returned to Stamford to celebrate with a great tournament - however FitzWalter suddenly became aware a few loyalist knights and possibly de Augbigney were planning to take London, so the tournament was abandoned on the 14th, before they all returned to London.

 

21st July 1215 The Stamford tournament having been called off because of a threat to London, it was rescheduled for July 21st at the woods outside Staines, and with the Barons camping at Hounslow. A bear was given by a noblewoman as the main prize! Meanwhile representatives of the Pope arrive summoning the leaders of the barons to make an appearance before the 4th Lateran Council in Rome in November 1215.

20th August 1215 Pope refuses to ratify Simon Langton as Archbishop of York, and his election is declared invalid.

 

24th August 1215 - as noted above the Pope had already summoned the barons to the Fourth Lateran Council in November, and on the arrival of Pandulph was furious at the rebellion. While John had long been a thorn in the pope's side, he had in 1213 finally repented and by doing homage to the Pope for England and Ireland had made himself effectively a vassal of the Pope - so the Pope saw it as his possession, England, that was threatened! Also, John had taken the Cross, that is agreed to go on crusade, and the Church promises to protect the lands of crusaders while they are away from rebellious vassals and other lords, so the Pope was bound to act. On August 24th he issued a Bull condemning Magna Carta, asserting his right to England, and threatening in very clear terms the rebels who were to make peace with the king, surrender London, likewise renounce Magna Carta and end the rebellion. Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury was to act as mediator. Given Stephen's long history or arguing with the King and open support for the barons this was unlikely to work!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Langton The Barons were to be excommunicated until they made amends for their acts.

 

11th October 1215 William de Aubigney finally comes to London and joins the rebel camp - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_3rd_Earl_of_Arundel and with 140 knights is given Rochester Castle, which the Bishop surrenders without a fight. John has few men left he can call upon now. However John arrives at Dover to find a large force has gathered to support him, coming from Poitou, Gascony, Flanders and many other overseas Angevin possessions. Only one loss, that of Hugh de Boves saddens the occasion -- he had been lost with his ship in a storm that suddenly blew up from nowhere while he was crossing over from Flanders, and his body washed ashore near Yarmouth. King John is deeply angered by this tragedy, and rants and raves all day. Could there be more to it than meets they eye?

 

The army of mercenaries includes men of Louvain and Brabant, and is described as "an immense multitude". They proceed to besiege Rochester Castle holding out under the latecoming rebel William d'Aubigny.

 

13th October 1215 Hearing of the Siege of Rochester the barons are forced to act, for they had sworn on holy relics and the gospels they would come to D'Aubigny's defence if he was attacked. They marched as far as Deptford, but a light wind blowing in their faces from the south strangely frightened them, and they turned and returned to London forgetting their oath and leaving Rochester to its fate. Another mysterious incident which may indicate a powerful Auram magus was afflicting both sides?

 

 

4th November 1215 Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury is suspended from office by the Papacy for refusing to issue the Pope's denouncement of Magna Carta (see 24th August above) and excommunication of the Barons. The Papal Legates, Pandulph, Bishop of Norwich, and Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester excommunicate the barons instead.

 

10th November 1215 Walter de Grey, Bishop of Worcester elected Archbishop of York as Simon Langton's election had been declined by the Pope. He was in Rome at the Fourth Lateran Council, where he successfully argued he was not "uneducated" as the Chapter which had refused to elect him and preferred Simon Langdon claimed. This argument cost him ten thousand pounds of silver paid to the Papacy to prove his point :)

 

24th November 1215 After a long and incredibly bloody siege, when attacks on breaches in the walls and the best efforts of miners have failed, d'Aubigny and his garrison are finally forced to surrender by starvation to John. John orders the execution of the entire garrison, but his mercenary Savaric de Mauleon persuades him mercy is the better option, lest an example be set for when royalist castles are taken. The nobles are committed to dungeons, the soldiers given to the kings solders to ransom, and the crossbowmen are hanged for the slaughter they had inflicted upon the attackers.

 

28th November 1215 The mercenary Falkasius and the Earl of Salisbury take troops from Rochester and begin to lay waste to the region around London, attempting to force the barons out. The rebel castles at Houslow and Tunbridge are taken by these commanders for the King.

 

2nd December 1215 Bedford castle having held out for seb days forced to surrender to the King. The Home Counties - those around London - are now constantly harassed and effectively controlled by King John's troops, the barons remaining in London, their situation becoming increasingly desperate.

 

20th December 1215 On learning of the suspension of the Archbishop of Canterbury and his brother's replacement at York by Walter de Grey, King John marches to St. Albans where a group of English Churchman are read the news and a circular letter distributed to all the churches. Best of all is the confirmation the barons are all now excommunicated!

 

21st December 1215 John marches his army to Dunstable.

 

22nd December 1215 John moves to Northampton, burning the homes of his barons tenants, taking their livestock and laying waste to the countryside. Anyone not taking shelter in a church is imprisoned, tortured till they reveal what wealth they had, and held for ransom, until they can pay all their wealth to be freed.

24th December 1215 King John's army arrives at Nottingham, all castles en route having been abandoned by their defenders, and the King having taken the supplies left as they fled and hid wherever they could. The countryside continues to be laid waste by the King, and houses burned, treasures looted and ordinary folks kidnapped and held for ransom as a form of extortion.

 

Christmas Day 1215 King John holds court at Nottingham, but his mind is intent on continuing to put down the rebellion. It looks like he is succeeding, and many barons must regret joining the revolt.

 

Boxing Day 1215 King John marches to the Vale of Belvoir, and arrives at Langar, where the castle is faced with the execution of William de Aubigney, their liege lord who was captured at Rochester, or surrender. They surrender. another force marches to the town of Dovington, owned by the rebel John de Lacy, and burn it to the ground on finding the inhabitants have fled. The army shamefully treats women, robs churches, digs up cemeteries, and even tortures priests taken at the altar. No mercy is given, but this laying to wast of the opponents lands is actually very typical of medieval warfare,where pitched battles are rare.

 

1216

 

The king now appoints his supporters to ruling over various parts of the country, and sets about ravaging the south. Torture, murder, looting and burning are common, as the king makes his anger felt on the common folk, who hide in churchyards as the only places some of the king's men still respect, doubtless sheltering in the Dominion auras. The Isle of Ely falls and atrocities are carried out there. Meanwhile the Barons continue to remain in London, feasting, drinking and dicing, and are only moved to take action when yet another letter from Pope Innocent III arrives excommunicating them all individually by name.

 

January 1216 John marches against the Scottish under Alexander II, who had joined forces with the rebels, and they are forced to withdraw. In a desperate situation, the barons (still in London )sent the Earl of Salisbury and Robert FitzWalter to negotiate with King Philip of France, offering Prince Louis the dauphin the throne if he would invade. 24 hostages from the greatest nobles of England were demanded and sent to Compiegne near Paris, and in return the French finally sent assistance.

 

February 27th 1216 French nobles sail up the Thames and join the barons. The barons hear from Louis he will come on Easter Sunday: to celebrate they organise a joust outside London, where Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex is killed accidentally by a French knight when a lance splinters and gives him a mortal wound. He forgives his opponent, and dies amidst great sadness.

 

April 10th Easter Sunday 1216 Prince Louis had still not set out for England, as the Pope was declaring an invasion illegal, as England his possession and John rightful king and a Papal vassal. Simon Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury has his suspension lifted on the understanding he does not re-enter England until peace has been established.

 

April 25th 1216 King Philip of France had been forbidden by the Pope to invade England (as a Papal dominion), or to allow his son Louis to. He sent word to the Pope that England was by ancient claim a vassal of his, and that King John had no right to give it away. The assembly of French nobles at Lyons declared that a King had no right to give away his kingdom, or his subjects would be mere slaves.

April 26th 1216 Prince Louis makes an impassioned case to the Papal Legate to France Walo, declaring that King John is under sentence of death for murdering his nephew Count Arthur of Brittany (c. 1210), and had no right to give away England which belongs to the French crown. Furthermore King John after taking the cross as a Crusader had broken his vows by taking French castles, and King Philip had not responded as to do so would be an offence under Church Law. he continued in the same vein, and when the Legate would not be moved remarked that if Walo fell in to the hands of Eustace the Pirate ( a French ally at this time) Louis would not be responsible for his fate - a remarkably blatant threat. The Legate furious, fled immediately.

 

April 27th 1216 Louis receives permission from King Philip to invade England at a meeting at Melun, France.

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Players are usually like a herd of felines. Sure you may get most of the covenant to agree that they are all going to focus on one art and try to form something like a writers circle. But then you realize half didn't build their character right for the job. Of the ones who did most of them have other projects they HAVE to get to first.

"Dude I totally got to get all my arts up so I can get an apprentice."

"Yeah sure once you get an apprentice you'll have lots of spare time." :roll:

One of the beauties of ArM is that the realities of gaming nicely mesh up with the problems facing the characters within the game. Magi usually work alone because they all see themselves as special unique snowflakes with their own motivations and goals. And they'd all become Gods if all the fraking distractions didn't keep getting in their way.

Generally when I hear a player tell me their how long their real plan for ultimate power will take I double or triple their estimate. If it involves another PC controlled by another player I go exponential. And that's without me actively trying to come up with monkey wrenches. Nevermind the ones who don't bother to actually figure out how long initiating 4+ mystery virtues, getting a familiar, training an apprentice, and gathering several queens of vis will take before they can start to enchant their uber talisman.

A Great quote in my opinion as is put it direct how it looks for me. ^^ Oh in X years I could do this and this so yea lets go for this now. But then ohh ahmm I need to put something inbetwean as I need this as soon as posible and whats about my other plans ^^

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What is the current season? I have clearly lost track. JUst got back from East Anglia and feeling a lot better, the pain is now very much under control and I'm recovering well

 

cj x

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I mentioned it in the hyperborean thread, but it got buried under our discussion:

 

 

The characters get 3 experience per session participated, so a maximum of 12 for the four sessions from the bar brawl to the catacomb massacre. Everyone also gets 1 confidence per participated session, i.e. max 4, and Dirk gets an additional one for reaching a personal goal.

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