To be clear: I had no idea! All I know is that there were no rabbits or chocolates at Easter, then...
"No chocolate" is one of the main things keeping me from traveling back in time to the Middle Ages. Chocolate candy was invented in the mid-19th Century
Yeah but they had other "candied" items... well okay mainly sweet bread.
Honey in there somewhere surely.
Dried fruit, especially dates from the Holy Land, would have made luscious candy substitutes. Figs, apricots, raisins, and temperate fruits like pears and apples were all dried for later use. Quinces and other fruits would have served as well.
Locally you might have seen dried currants, dried apples, pears, and plums, and perhaps even dried cherries,
But most of those would have been exorbitantly expensive.
Which reminds me, jams were used medicinally in the 12 century. Cobhlaith should store up some of those.
Sister Cobhlaith has more to say. (A LOT more to say, for sure)
But first a game question. Would she be able to cast Detect Magic in a church? Would she even try?
Absolutely. After all, these are divine prayers in a divine place!
Ah, of course.
So, to nibble away at this in tiny bites:
Largay is under the King of Breifne.
What other petty kings are also under the King of Breifne?
Is Boho one of them or do they owe allegiance to someone else?
And Paidraic's wife Brigitt is the sister(?) of one of these petty kings?
And what is the relationship of Paidraic to Largay?
I've tried reading the earlier posts, but I think I need to ask some questions to keep it all straight. I'll get to the higher level kingdom stuff as I go.
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1) Largay swears allegiance to Cavan, who in turns swears allegiance to Breifne
2) I haven't yet identified other petty kings of Cavan or Breifne, but the McKiernans are likely the most powerful family in the nearby region
3) Boho swears allegiance to King Mulroney of Fermanagh, who in turn answers to the King of Airgialla
4) Brigitt is the sister of Sean Quinn who until recently owned the lands of neighbouring Belcoo and swore allegiance to Boho
5) Padraic was born and raised in Tuaim
Don't hesitate to ask!
Or, St Laurance O'Toole
Stolen heart of Dublin's patron saint returned intact
Crazy! I had no idea. Thanks for the news :)
If the household does not have wine* Sister Cobhlaith will try to find either "aqua vitae" or whiskey, since it was beginning to be used in some European monasteries for medicinal purposes.
*Sister Cobhlaith simply assumes a well-run household will have wine. ;-)
If all else fails, she will try to obtain a bottle of church wine from Brother O'Maille
I've done a bit of research on the matter, but there isn't much out there. Obviously, wine would have been available in Dublin. But I believe that it was a rare thing in such remote places as Tuaim. Your best bet is Brother O'Maille, and he is more than happy to provide :)
It is interesting to note that Paris at this time was going through a veritable cultural renaissance. So having travelled to France, Cobhlaith would have been exposed to a great many things that were unheard of in Ireland!
I was surprised to discover how late the invention of distillation was. I expected a much earlier discovery.
I would imagine the delay in the discovery of distillation has probably more to do with the ability to make suitable glass or metalwork. Although they could make some wonderful things, effective pipework isn't terribly easy, and therefore expensive to try out a theory.
Yeah, beer, ale, and meads ruled for a long time in this area of the world. Also you know... people getting kidnapped every year and moved around makes things like innovating difficult.
Yeah, beer, ale, and meads ruled for a long time in this area of the world. Also you know... people getting kidnapped every year and moved around makes things like innovating difficult.
You may want to read "How The Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill.
It's a fun read, although he's pretty heavy handed in how he stuffs facts and beliefs into the prose to support his thesis. It relies a lot on St Patrick hagiography as well.
Nonetheless, it's a different view of the "dark ages" with Ireland as the shining beacon of learning and civility.
Swamped with work and sick as a dog. Not a great combination. Next post on Monday. Thanks for your patience!
I may actually look that Up! Might help with Aoife.
Get better Anergin!! I know the terribleness of being sick at work! >Went through it Monday<
Ouch! I hope you get well soon Amergin.
I've heard good things about that book. So many to read here though.
So, question... how much about Daire would Aoife actually know?
Probably only vague rumours of some mischief... :)
Than I am playing it right! XD
Aoife, are you a little nervous about the river? XD
I'm not the one who almost drown! XP
And I swear if Aoife has to save another member of the clergy I'm going to demand sainthood! XD
(I know that isn't how it works. In making a joke.)
The clergy need all the help they can get, as far as I can tell ;-)
This is why you put ranks in swim laddies
Hey!!!
*points to a Swim of +6(+3WA)*
About the horses: I actually did some research when came the time for you all to cross the Blackwater and, indeed, horses can swim! In some cases, trained horses can even swim with a rider on their back!
Yep! Some Horses actually like the water, though that is normally during the summer. (duh)
Word of warning: after the river come the bogs! Mwahahaha!
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We too can be pored over by future archaeologists! :D
Perhaps some extended survival tests?
What do you mean? Keep in mind that I do want to have skill tests, but I want to avoid these endless and pointless lists of dice!
In Rolemaster, you would roll and get complete or partial success, or a failure that could lead to real consequences... Basically, in this case, an excellent swimmer would have been almost guaranteed a complete success, with a slight chance of things going really wrong.
I'm thinking along the lines of some of the FFG rpgs, with degrees of success/failure, which can be cumulative over tests.
To simplify, it could be a survival/climb/swim test per significant obstacle, using the group's average score, the highest, or lowest.
Correct me if I'm wrong but.... I thought Aoife was to take the horse across while Thorun and Ruadhán got the boat...
I had understood that everyone was waiting for Thorun and Ruadhan to get the boat. Then Ruadhan decided to swim back across...
Having been a lifeguard once upon a time, I figured that swimming a few 60' laps in calm water shouldn't be so hard unless you really don't know how to swim, so I decided that I would move things along! Apologies for the much ado about nothing. GM fail: raise the stakes, drop the tension, lose the interest.
I think that I will try the Rolemaster modus operandi, next time...
Practical question (story oriented)
If the horses can swim, can we not all stay on our horses and have someone lead the first horse? with the rest on leads? Perhaps with a safety rope that keeps us connected to our horse.
Blue-water sailor here, and we just tie ourselves to the boat when it gets risky. If we get washed over, comrades pull us back up.
Because a horse can swim, but only a combat trained horse can swim with a rider.
Because a horse can swim, but only a combat trained horse can swim with a rider.
*sigh*
Ok
but only a combat trained horse can swim with a rider.
I've been trying to find that in the rules. Can you link to it? My search skills aren't bringing it up.
I've read through the mounted combat and the handle animal sections, and it doesn't seem to be talked about either of those places.
I would say that a horse needs to be trained to cross with a rider. While for ease of play I would agree that warhorses are so trained, in reality, I wouldn't bet on it: there is no reason to think that a horse trained for war would have been trained in water as well.
Yeah, I think they need training, but I was considering more along the lines of Handle Animal, and animal companion Tricks.
I agree that combat training doesn't seem quite on track.
ETA:
Although, apparently wild ponies swim in the ocean without human training
What are we trying to achieve here? I was suggesting that Aoife and Cobhlaith try to talk to the little girl by splitting up and going around the boulders. And perhaps grab her tightly by the arms if she tries to run away.
One small hostage might ensure that the boys don't leave without her.
Is the direction that Ruadhan points one where Aoife and Cobhlaith would be going if they need to use the bathroom?
Are we going to sneak up on the boys? Tackle them? Let them run home and alert the village?
So, a question for the GM
Sister Cobhlaith and her friends are trying to reach Saint Colmcille's monastery in Doire
Does that make a logical destination? I was trying to name a spot that, if we had been offered "escorts", we could arrive there, stay at the monastery a few days, and then keep going to the boys.
I was hoping for a truthful statement that would be difficult to disbelieve.
If that's not a sensible choice, what would be?
The destination would totally make sense :)
I have family visiting for the long weekend, so Day 3 of the journey will continue on Tuesday... These travelling posts require a fair amount of thought and research!
(I hope that all of you have been checking your path on a map!)
Enjoy your weekend
Sorry (not sorry) about skipping your bogs ;-)