Dragons of Tirenia

In the pre-dawn twilight, the heirs of House di Benicio made their way through the Dwarf Gate district in search of the treacherous Marco. Matilde and Naso were not with them; they had gone on a different mission at the same time. The air was smoky from the local foundries, and the streets were already coming alive with dwarven workers heading to their jobs, while the first gondoliers were beginning to punt down the canals. There was a dark mood in the street, after the news of the attack on the Grande Convento last night. There was a group of eight soldiers of the Compagnia del Pennacchi Rosso in the street outside a jewelers' shop, given a wide berth by the dwarven passers-by. Most of them were lounging, watching the crowd; one was looting through the shop; one was restraining the jeweler's wife; and one was methodically beating the jeweler in the street. Blood splattered around his fists as he struck. Outraged, the group intervened. Fighting broke out in the street, and th...

With the cities of Tirenia growing rich from foreign trade, there are more and more shops growing up everywhere. Street vendors sell delicious food, while permanent shops display wares from around the world, and on festival days, vendors would assemble at the local market to offer the greatest range of products. Vanzenia is so rich, it claims to have a market every day! With such a range of products and merchants, a would-be buyer must be wary of being cheated - merchants are mean hagglers, but they might also use rigged scales, or lie about their goods. This is why the cities do their best to regulate the merchants to keep commerce as fair as possible. This is why most shops are open to the street, and why for expensive sales you might hire a public notary to witness it, so both sides could make sure the sale was fulfilled properly. Permanent shops are now common throughout even the smallest villages in Tirenia, but there is a much greater range of products on sale in a big city lik...

There are dozens of different languages spoken in Tirenia. Different regions have developed their own tongue, which are descended from the Auromian language of the gold dragon empire. In practical terms, this means that while everyone in Tirenia can generally understand each other, there is also a lot of room for confusion and irritation. In game terms, there is no 'common' language, as featured in other games. Instead of knowing different languages, a character can learn   dialects. Characters who don't share a dialect can still make themselves understood, but have Disadvantage on Charisma-based skill checks. On the other hand, when one is far from home, it can be extremely reassuring to hear a familiar language when you are far away from home. At the Dungeon Master's discretion, characters far away from home can have Advantage on Charisma-based skill checks when talking to someone who shares the same language as them. In this time before the invention of printing, l...

Crime is a major problem in Tirenia. The great cities of the north have established effective methods of dealing with lawbreakers. Most of them have special civic guards whose job it is to maintain public order, such as the Guardie d'Argento of Medilano or the Pacificatore of Fiumenze. These are, effectively, private soldiers whose job it is to protect their masters' interests by keeping the peace. Smaller towns may have an official, known as a potestas ,  who is responsible for providing their own men to help combat violent crime; in some areas, the potestas also serves as mayor. However, many crimes committed against individual citizens may be ignored. White-collar crime, however, is rife throughout Tirenia's cities. With these sorts of crimes, they may be taken to a public official such as a magistrate or the potestas for arbitration; more often, those wronged will take matters into their own hands. In southern Tirenia, where organised crime is more widespread, the Benev...

Medieval mapmakers had peculiar ideas about the world. Ever since the ancient Greeks, they knew that the world was round. However, to them the point of a map was to visually depict God's creation. Mappa Mundi  were a type of medieval and renaissance map that divided the world into three continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) to reflect the threefold nature of God. They drew the east at the top of the map, where they presumed that the Garden of Eden was, even if no-one was quite sure exactly whereabouts. This visually showed how man had fallen by leaving the Garden, and also associated it with the dawn. Jerusalem, where Christ died on the cross, was shown at the centre of the map, at the point where the three continents met. They knew about the equator, but assumed that it was an impassible ring of fire that would burn up anyone near it. And they believed in the Antipodes, a continent to counter-balance the northern hemisphere - although there was much debate about whether anyone woul...

I recently finished reading this lesser-known work by Lois McMaster Bujold, better known for her multiple award winning series, the Vorkosigan Saga. She wanted to try her hand at a fantasy novel, set in an alternate-reality Renaissance Italy. Apparently, it wasn't a very big success. I find this strange because I absolutely adored it! Fiametta Beneforte, daughter and unofficial apprentice to a powerful artificer-wizard, and Thur Ochs, a Swiss miner whose main talent is how immensely reasonable he is, meet when Montefoglia is taken over by Uberto Ferrante, a neighbouring lord with a penchant for black magic. They have to save Montefoglia, but more importantly save the soul of Fiametta's father Prospero from an evil ritual. McMaster Bujold has a lovely writing style. Chapters are alternately from Fiametta or Thur's point of view, and really help to illustrate two highly likeable characters. Either of them would be a wonderful PC for a Dragon Princes game. In addition,...

After the party, the group returned to Paolo's new hideout, a former carpenter's home on the edge of the Distretto Bruciato that was still largely intact. There they discussed Gianetta's offer. They could not see any way of avoiding working with her, although no one trusted her at all. Matilde arrived before long and updated everyone on what she had found out with Niccolo about the Aboleth: a strange, mythical aquatic terror that might be what Carnelio was keeping in his basement. When Paolo returned later that night, his reaction was not at all what the others were expecting. He had been helping out at the Grande Convento, which had been attacked by Morignus' marcenaries. Chiara told him about Gianetta, and Paolo's tune immediately changed. He withdrew his offer of shelter and said that he would have no further part in the coalition against the dragon, but would lie low until it was all over. Everyone felt extremely betrayed - none more than Adrianna, who decided...