Actually, peasants were a general catagorization that included freeman and villeins. The villeins were basically the serfs.
Serfs owed servitude to the Lord for the use of the land and were also under the sole jurisdiction of the Lord. When you look at freemen, pretty much the same could be said of them. They still owed the Lord labor or rent but it was much less and they were exempt of many other taxes.
Point of it all is that anybody could leave the Lord, freeman or villein (serf). It is a matter of money. A "chevage" was paid to the Lord by the serf for the ability to live 'off' the estate. It was suppose to be yearly and then they could do as they wished. Freemen could just leave.
When it comes down to it, the idea of a tax collector is the most out of place. Payments were almost always made in labor and only the wealthy peasants were able to pay their way out of the physical labor with money. You owe so much for the land you use: work to pay it off -or- pay cash the equal of the work owed for it. The Lords counted on a lot of work and if most of the peasants paid instead of worked, they would have to hire them to do the work anyway. If there was a tax collector it was often times a respected person of the village that was given the responsibility by the Lord and only had limited power.
But then again this is a fantasy so anything is possible :-) Go to Comment
Taxes can come in various guises. Part of the reason the collector is so greedy, is he only collects food or wool or whatever they produce, never gets actual cash. If a lords lands are particularly large, not all peasants have to work, but all pay taxes in some way.
An uncaring lord may well give that responsibility to someone the village not trusts.
And if you don't like it, replace him with anyone else. Greed is not limited to tax collectors... ;-) Go to Comment
From http://sinclair.quarterman.org/glossary/glossary.html
A freeman is not a noble and not a serf. A freeman was usually a tradesman or craftsman such as a fisherman, bargeman, fishmonger, leather worker, miller, or the like. A serf could become a freeman by serving as an apprentice to a freeman; by buying his freedom, or by being the son of a freeman.
There can be easily other conditions, such as serving in the army for some time, being the tenth child of a serf, being granted freeman status after some exceptional deed, and so on. Google for more data on history pages. Go to Comment
The characters are starting to become well known as champions of the weak. Well, as long as there is something in it for them.
The amount of money would have to be a delicate balance. Enough to buy land, but not enough to make the lord jealous. It's very diffcult to have a sum like that unless the degrees of wealth between the poor and the rich are vastly different. Like the cost of the lord's breakfast could buy one of the peasant's homes.
Depending on how greedy and/or evil the tax collector is, he might serve as a well timed complication to the exodus by having a small troop of guards show up with him at the village, bent on finding the other 3 or 4 golds he expects. Claim the villagers were trafficking with spys or traitors or such. Were would a serf get such wealth after all? Go to Comment
Actually, in feudalism, serfs couldn't leave. They wer considered a piece of the land. However, peasants were allowed but what was the point? Go to Comment
I like this one also because it untypical and unepic. It is also grounds to start "empire building". After all the orcs will need protector and the PCs could use the rest of the unclaimed land as a new nation for themselves Go to Comment
Hehe! I like it! Portrays orcs in an entirely different light! Can you imagine how nervous you'd be walking into an orcish village, not really knowing if they were genuinely in need... Go to Comment
Yes. It definitely has potential in this regard. It may not be outright "empire building", but many players would like to become lords of their own lands eventually...
Changes minor and major, and how it turned out in the end:
Owing a little favour to someone, it turned out the tribe they should help is a goblin tribe, and the character itself a half-goblin. The tribe was not exactly decided to follow them, and it took some talks and a test to make them believe.
Mission accepted, they traveled long to meet many not friendly to their cause. That fifteen year old wannabee hero, but also militia (very logically) ready for battle. Persuading most of them to be harmless, they were allowed to go into another barony, with a little armed escort.
There was a nice comical borderline encounter. The sleepy guard between two baronies in peace left them through without problems, the first time. The second time, with a complete goblin tribe, the guard rapidly was alarmed and in panic, another guard (with a chefs apron) ran out of the small outpost to save the day with a frying pan. After yet another discussion on goblins that are not evil (and several substantial "gifts"), they were allowed to pass. Not quite what their armed escort expected, and several of them voiced their anger, while one shouted merrily "Thank you, thank you!", while dancing with hands full of money won in the bets they did all the journey.
After that, people were friendlier, or at least the characters learned to evade public attention. Or not quite, because rumours already circulated everywhere. The only problem were the increasing undead attacks. Which was odd, considering that everyone spoke of the Undead showing up here and there, but seeming to attack no one.
(By the way, thanks to MoonHunter for the ending!)
Climax
Ending up between two undead armies, they wanted to flee at first. But as those armies seemed to be reluctant to let them go easily, and as the orcish one "included" them in its ranks, panic grew. There was an empty moment, with repeated calls for the commander, when the players didn't know what to do. (Personal note: drop more and better hints next time!) But at last they figured out the shaman was in fact the the commander, or at least a fitting replacement. Sadly, the battle could not be prevented. And thus both armies have met, with their leaders in the middle, and the history repeated itself. The tribe has luckily withdrawn into safe distance, their shaman was mortally wounded on the battlefield. And has passed away, after his last few words...
Cliche, but I hope it fitted the occassion. Mourning, the tribe has decided to move on, and thanked the characters for their services. Their ways have parted, they may meet yet again...
---
Closing notes:
(Personal note: be better prepared in future climactic scenes! Have more descriptions of everything. ;) )
The only "real" combat happened when lightning struck into the tall tree they were all hiding under, on otherwise open grasslands during a storm. Most of them panicked and run away (including one character), the rest of the party had to deal with zombies that showed up at this wrong moment. Otherwise, combat was basically out of question.
Weak point:
I cannot play a goblin tribe. Fine, there are just three or four relevant NPCs, but still, it gets awkward to make a whole tribe to seem alive, being not only a burden, and not a mere 'background' for my heroes. Retrospectively, in most cases the reasoning "They are humans too - you do the talk." worked for most encounters. The tribe was better in hunting and food-gathering, and occassionaly got a bit rebelious. But most of the time, the PCs were accepted as leaders, for the moment at least.
I am not sure if I have mixed Pride and Weakness (or Dependence on others) in the right way, but hey: the characters did something unusual, helped someone, and changed the world in a way. (And had some fun in-between.)
At the very least, the PC's will have the gratitude of an orc village. It never hurts to have a few extra strong hands to dig earthworks if the need arises.
Another possible reward is a bit more gruesome. The old shaman is gonna die, if the village respects the party so much, they might present them with the shamans shrunken head, a kind of spirtual talisman for wisdom. Could prove to be powerful. Go to Comment
There is a nice plotline, but it really does not have a "dramatic ending". Here is one I thought of.
As the group travels, it will have its share of encounters...
Old men thinking they are being invaded, the 15 year old wannabee hero, wanting to slay them with his rusty old sword, local militia ready for attack, plus a few other strangers on the road. One thing that should occur is having ghostly or even undead humans attack the tribe. These ghosts/ undead died in the great orc wars centuries previously.
The undead occurances should happen with more and more frequency as the tribe moves on. One of the Tribal elders, who is advocating peaceful co-existance and wanting to move, is having awful dreams.
Towards the end of the Journey, the tribe reaches a wide open space. Centuries ago, there was a great battle there. As the Tribe approaches, the sky goes dark, the world gets evil, and the undead army rises. They attack as ghosts, spectres, and zombies. Eventually some undead/ ghostly orcs will come back. A great war will occur, with you and your poor tribe in the middle.
Oh, the peaceful Orc Elder is specifically being targetted by his ancestor, the blood encrusted Orc Warlord who invaded this land with his horde.
How to resolve this... it all depends on the Orc Elder really, how he responds to his ancestor and the army against them. If he opts for peace, eventually peace from the Orcs will come. If he talks to the undead humans, they might listen. If he says we must attack, then it will be a fight to the finish. Go to Comment
If I may offer a twist :
The promised land is an uninhabited mountain/hill range located with in an elven forest.
While the orcs maybe friendly & won't bother the elves (in the future), getting them through the forest might pose somewhat of a chalenge (& I don't think the elves will be very understanding once word got out!). Go to Comment
Plots (Duty) (Multi-Storyline)
Serfs owed servitude to the Lord for the use of the land and were also under the sole jurisdiction of the Lord. When you look at freemen, pretty much the same could be said of them. They still owed the Lord labor or rent but it was much less and they were exempt of many other taxes.
Point of it all is that anybody could leave the Lord, freeman or villein (serf). It is a matter of money. A "chevage" was paid to the Lord by the serf for the ability to live 'off' the estate. It was suppose to be yearly and then they could do as they wished. Freemen could just leave.
When it comes down to it, the idea of a tax collector is the most out of place. Payments were almost always made in labor and only the wealthy peasants were able to pay their way out of the physical labor with money. You owe so much for the land you use: work to pay it off -or- pay cash the equal of the work owed for it. The Lords counted on a lot of work and if most of the peasants paid instead of worked, they would have to hire them to do the work anyway. If there was a tax collector it was often times a respected person of the village that was given the responsibility by the Lord and only had limited power.
But then again this is a fantasy so anything is possible :-) Go to Comment