Toni Sihvonen (order #92780) 62.142.248.1

Toni Sihvonen (order #92780) 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).