The Last King of Ireland

Game Master Amergin the Wise

RECRUITMENT IS OPEN!

We are looking for ONE player to join our ranks as we have lost our good Sister Cobhlaith to the caveats of life. We are hoping for a divine character, but anything goes so long as it fits the tone of the campaign.

I invite you to consult the initial recruitment post for more details. The PCs are presently level 5.

LEVEL 5
ABILITIES: buy 20
RACES: human
CLASSES: fighter, ranger, cleric, bard, barbarian, rogue
WEAPONS AND ARMOR: limited (historically accurate)
MAGIC: while magic will play a part in driving the story forward, this remains a low magic campaign and choice of spells will need be approved
OTHER: Automatic Bonus Progression √ Feat Tax √

Dot, I missed the other recruitments and I'm a sucker for historical fantasy.
I was thinking of a monk from Donegal, maybe Clonleigh Monastery. Would you accept a Sacred Fist Warpriest (basically a monk/cleric) to make a Friar Tuck-inspired brawler?
Otherwise I'll go with a more austere cleric with the Lawspeaker and Evangelist archetypes, an itinerant preacher.

I think that a monk would be an interesting option given that our previous divine characters were a priest and a nun... And the Sacred Fist Warpriest would work!

That being said, I suggest another monastery as we've just adventured in Donegal and it is unlikely that we'll be heading back there for a while. Perhaps one of the southern monasteries? I'll have to do some research into warrior-monks given that getting the tone just right will be crucial!

Note that the party will need a healer...

Would this be a good time for Cardinal Borgia to make an appearance? He normally takes the Cardinal cleric archetype (unsurprisingly) so in fluff terms I'd say he is a recently sent Papal Nuncio, most likely sent to preach to possibility of a new crusade to reinforce Christian Outremer. I imagine he would have started in England and Scotland and then be swinging through Ireland from the north, intending to return to Wales from the south of Ireland, hit London once more and return to France at Dover.

The only thing I wonder about is why he'd stay to deal with these affairs in Ireland - although if its going to produce a new High King, then said High King would be practically obliged to support a new Crusade in gratitude so...

He'd be a cardinal (more skills, less BAB/armor prof, one domain, no spont casting) but would you allow an ecclesitheurge as well? There's some crossover on the 'Domain Mastery' vs. 'One Domain' bit, but I'd just say he simply gets to prep domain spells in non-domain slots and nothing else, which is barely a boost.

If more combat effectiveness was wanted I could always take straight eccl and skip the cardinal (although I'd want to keep it in fluff at least). Maybe a single level of monk to help with armour/saves.

Worth pursuing?

You're a few centuries off with Cardinal Borgia. That being said, it might be interesting to have a Roman preacher in Ireland! Keep in mind that while paying homage to the Pope, the Church of Ireland remained quite independent – which is why, in fact, the previous pope signed the Laudabiliter... The difficulty would be creating a character who sympathizes with the Irish. I am not suggesting that the players will be de facto against England, but having an antagonist priest would make things unpleasant!

I know Borgia is off historically - he was created originally for a game set in 1458, which worked quite well, but I can always reuse him as a precursor to the more famous ones!

I think I could manage making Lucius sympathetic, since he comes from Spain (and in this timeline Asturias) and is used to the faithful natives being under almost constant aggression from outsiders. That would give him a personal reason to side with the Irish - and let's not forget the trouble that the English's norman cousins in Sicily have been causing the Holy See!

I think preaching Crusade is a good way to get him there, as Papal Nuncio he wouldn't need to have much/any connection in order to simply be there, but his personal feelings might lead him to spend a bit of time on the cause of Irish Unity - for the good of Christianity and a future crusade of course! If the English start messing with that... well, a sharp talking to is in order!

Pope Alexander III is the incumbent right? I think I can make something sensible, probably involving the humiliation involved in the Treaty of Benevento, combined with the trouble with the German Anti-Popes, leading Alexander to command that a new crusade be preached, hopefully untiing Christendom and gettig both the Sicilians and the Germans off his back. Lucius is sent to the British Isles in order to preach to this effect. England isn't interested, Scotland says yes if there's enough interest, and Lucius is working his way back through Ireland when he joins the party.

Shall I sort everything out for the alias etc or not bother? I don't want to bring something that would disrupt the flavour of your campaign.

I'll have to do a bit of research into 12th century Spain, but I believe that you've correctly understood my concern. The Church of Ireland was divided insofar as the Reformation was concerned, but they were certainly united when it came to an English invasion, so having a character that has no love for the English could help.

That being said, I do not mind if the character is a bit haughty as the Vatican undoubtedly saw the Church of Ireland as backward despite the facts that its own power was in question and that the Irish had the finest scribes and one of the richest Catholic traditions in Europe.

Now that being said, I think that having such an elaborate backstory that will likely never play a part in the game would be a pity! Perhaps an Irish priest or monk who travelled to Rome and became a Reformist, and then returned to Ireland to "set things right"? And rather than playing into the third crusades, which are decades away, perhaps something that has to do with the Laudabiliter and the English invasion specifically? Perhaps he wants to "set things right" because he knows that if the Irish do not change their ways, the invasion is inevitable?

Also, having family in Ireland will tie you into the setting in a more concrete and immediate way...

Makes sense?

I've not managed to make sense of a warrior monk without going Templar, so I started making an Ecclesitheurge, then realized your first cleric had this archetype. Would that be a problem?

I don't think so. Given the historical flavour of the campaign, the Ecclesitheurge seems an obvious contender!

...A thought: it is conceivable that an Irish priest could have participated in the wars in the Holy Land. While I have yet to find anything that suggests that the Irish participated in the Second Crusade, there is some indication that Irish warriors (and monks?) did travel there in the 12th century. And there are examples of warrior priests in the Catholic church.

Food for thought!

I like the idea, but his name makes it awkward... unless perhaps there is Irish descent in there somewhere and he volunteered for a mission to go to Ireland and determine just how much work there was to be done there. Perhaps he sent back a fairly positive report, which Adrian promptly ignored and signed the Laudabiliter anyway! Borgia got in a bit of a snit and, once Adrian died and Alexander III was appointed, got himself appointed for a 'second tour' in Ireland so he could go and try to sort things out a bit without the Laudabiliter being needed? That would give him a suitably anti-English slant.

@Sapiens. I'm happy to drop Ecclesitheurge, it crosses oddly with Cardinal anyway. Want to tie our stories together? A Cardinal would travel with at least one or two attendents (even if he is going 'low profile') and this could easily include a more 'bodyguard' type or a straight cleric (personal confessor, chaplain etc - lots of options).

Are we progressing to something useful Amergin?

Ah... I hadn't understood that you were attached to the Borja alias. Unfortunately, playing a Cardinal isn't going to work. If you are attached to the Borja for some reason, we could find a way to write a Spaniard into Irish history...

@ Sapiens and Borja: keep in mind that I am looking for a single player!

I'll step out then - no sense trying to contort history this much for a historical game! Enjoy the game folks! :)

Sapiens here: I was actually referring to Brother Ó Máille. In the end, I went with a meek support/healing cleric who should be kept away from the frontline. You'll find him in this placeholder alias. I briefly considered making a pagan one focused on curses and debuffs, but it would be five centuries too late, I fear.

A few mechanical notes:
- As domains I took Knowledge(memory), Healing and Protection(defense), which I think are appropriate. When I switch to a different "spell" domain as per the Ecclesitheurge's feature, I'll get approval first.
- On a related note, I hope it's ok to pick a subdomain as a "spell" domain.
- I picked Scribe Scrolls, thinking of them as illuminated prayer scrolls.
If any of these things are not kosher, just tell me. Also, his origin is in County Kilkenny, but that can be move to any of the monasteries founded by Colmcille. As a wandering preacher, he could be found anywhere.

Recruitment is open! We are looking for a cleric (level 7) to join the party!

Would you accept a warpriest instead of a cleric?

Nevermind I found the answer in one of the previous recruitments. I should have a character up shortly.

Here is my submission. I'll be recycling an old alias if selected:

Sorry for the delay! I've been away on business (which means brutal schedules and too many hours travelling) and won't be back until next week...

No worries.