<strong>Toni</strong> <strong>Sihvonen</strong> (<strong>order</strong> <strong>#92780</strong>) 6
<strong>Toni</strong> <strong>Sihvonen</strong> (<strong>order</strong> <strong>#92780</strong>) 6 In return, a lord must be generous. He must furnish heorthgeneats and other dependents with room and board, steeds, armor and weapons. He must give worthy gifts to allies and diplomats. Above all, he must redistribute loot among his men, so that each man gets a little, and the best men get a lot. A generous leader will be praised as a beahgifa (“ringgiver”), his chair is a gifstohl (“gift-seat”) and his hall a hringsele (“ring-place”). But a lord who keeps more than half the plunder for himself will lose followers, while a follower who withholds his loot will face his lord in court. Both will earn a bad name. [New Trait and Passion rules - Penalty for Refusing to Share: page 123. Glory Awards - Gifts: page 1271 Tkade Saxons consider trade a noble activity. As noted under “Rank,” a ceorl who trades skillfully can be ennobled as a thegn. While Saxon farmsteads are nearly self-sufficient, ceorls still need simple luxury goods, metals, and spices: nobles need all that and more. Although Germanic invasions have disrupted Roman currency and trade networks, the Germans have established their own barter routes on the North Atlantic and Baltic, stretching from the distant lands of Wends and Slavs, through Denmark, to Dublin, Eburacum, and the Saxon Shore. Saxon warriors turn to barter when it offers more gain for less risk than raiding. Yet they remain warriors, whose bargaining favors the better-armed party. Such trade - less “free market” than “black market” - is fraught with tension and incipient violence. It can be civilized a bit by exchanging hostages, or trading under the eyes of a Just king. [Market Prices: page 1291 Saxon Flaws Hengist’s Saxons were an army of poor but well-armed and desperate warriors turned loose in a country of rich, ill-defended cities and farms. They overran that country and eclipsed its native culture more thoroughly than did the Romans. Common sense - and not just the evidence of cities left to ruin, civilians enslaved, trade and Christianity smothered, and Latin literacy ignored - tells us that the first Saxons in Britain were a ruthless bunch. Cruel Saxons The Cruel trait is a point or two higher among Saxons. Even Saxons who avoid excessive cruelty are still callous compared to Arthur’s knights. Visitors to Saxon lands may see horses ridden to death, slaves treated worse than horses, body parts taken as trophies, and other examples of the Cruel trait in action. Saxons even boast about their dark deeds. The occasional finger or hand sacrificed for rune-lore shows that the Saxons are Cruel even to themselves. Truly Cruel Saxons God help the Christians captured by a truly Cruel Saxon, like Sir Turquine of the Dolorous Tower. They may be tortured and raped for amusement, then bound and thrown to wolves, bears, or snakes. They may be crucified in a parody of Christ or Wotan, or have their ribs cracked open and their lungs flung out, in the sacrifice of the Blood-Eagle (a cliche of the Vikings, but a favorite of the author). Such sadists are feared by other Saxons and will likely end up as nithings - as soon as they are no longer needed against the Britons, that is. Greedy Saxons Pendragon knights are not out for financial gain. Many players do not keep track of money, which is just as well, since money is beneath the notice of a real knight. This helps distinguish Pendragon from the “hack ‘n slash, grab ‘n run” mentality of first-generation role-playing games. The Saxons, however, play by those old rules. Loot draws them into British lands, and the promise of dragon-hoards and magic weapons sends them into the Otherworld. Invading a keep - or a less defended place - killing its inhabitants, and running away with their treasure is a worthy adventure for a band of thegns. Saxons should keep track of their money, both as an index of success and to pay the gesith-gifts and wergilds that go along with it. Slave-taking Saxons Slavery is universal in fifth century Europe. By the Apogee phase of King Arthur’s reign it has vanished from Logres and is waning in other lands where Arthur has influence. Slaves are replaced by the peasants, who are in many ways equally powerless - yet they are not laboring animals to be hurt or killed, bought or sold, and raped or bred at their owner’s whim. Between Arthur’s moral leadership, the rise of serious Christianity, and the bitter memory of “Welsh” enslavement by Saxons, player knights can gain an ahistorical dread of slavery. Knights with kinfolk in Saxon captivity have an especially good reason to Hate (Saxons).
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