Code of Axandorfian Honor

By Sir Bremin Edwinson, Lord of Fieldhoof estate, under Baron Berdon of Haberdin.

1. Be proud of who you are and your affiliations. Do not hide your name. Although trickery can have its uses, it is a low art and should not be practiced by the honorable.

2. Be polite at all times, even towards commoners and the enemy. Discourtesy is a weapon of sorts and should only be used towards those who show themselves to be deliberately rude.

3. Be respectful of your social superiors and of the elderly in general. In turn you should demand respect from your inferiors. Do not allow a commoner, even if he has good value, to become overly familiar in conduct.

4. Loyalty is the key stone of honor. You must follow the commands of your superior, so long as they are not against Royal law. You should take to heart your superior’s general interests acting to protect them as your own. Naturally one is expected to be most loyal to their immediate overlord, having less personal connections to a remote authority, never the less you must never betray your realm. 

5. Integrity is the foundation of honor. When you give your word you must keep it. Unless it is clear that you have been deceived into a course of action that will bring harm to innocents and damage to your overlord. If a man known to be dishonorable demands that you give him your word, you must refuse.

6. Bravery is the sharp blade of honor. You should be bold, displaying leadership and courage. A noble fights alongside his men, never does he hide in safety while they shed blood at his command. This does not mean taking reckless risks or standing against suicidal odds. In a hopeless situation surrender is acceptable. You are expected always to be brave, not always to be victorious.

7. Responding to insults and challenges; according to holy laws it is a matter of appropriateness. A verbal jab should be answered with words not with steel. Naturally this applies to peers, not to everyone. A commoner who insults a noble deserves a short beating and any challenge by a commoner can be ignored. On the other hand any serious challenge by a noble, whatever his rank, must be accepted. The resulting duel must have witnesses and be fought fairly. ( Note that rules for dueling are more strict than the general rules of just combat upon the field. )

8. Fair combat is the proof of a civilized society. This set of rules is expected to be followed by nobles and regular soldiers alike. 1. No sneak attacks. 2. Nobles fight nobles, commoners fight commoners. 3. A foe must be given a chance to surrender. If he is incapacitated he should not be finished off. 4. Prisoners should not be tortured. 5. Nobles should be offered for ransom. 6. Non combatants, peasants especially women and children should never be attacked. 7. If a noble is killed, his sword or armor should be returned to his family, his body too if possible. 8. After any sizable battle there must be a truce to burry the dead.

9. Protecting the weak is a general duty of every noble. Foremost this means protecting the people of your estate from outside dangers. At the other extreme it means helping anyone in distress, if you are reasonably able to do so.

10. Hospitality is a subcategory of politeness. A noble should never turn away a guest. Of course commoners have no claim to hospitality, but they should expect some from an honorable lord. Nobles on the other hand may claim up to three nights as a guest of a peer. Naturally some sort of gift should be presented to the host by the guest.

The capture the princess game.

Taking a noble into protective custody is almost the same as taking him (usually her) hostage. However there are some important differences. A hostage, even if not abused, is generally treated badly. A noble in protective custody is pushed into giving their word that they will not try to escape, where upon they are treated like a guest.

Once a noble is captured in this way, a message is sent to their family demanding a finder’s fee “a ransom” for the swift return of the guest. It must never be implied that any harm will come to the guest. Failure to pay is understood to result in a lengthy delay in the return of the guest.

This is something of a game that goes on between nobles, especially Barons, who are seeking to gain political leverage over rivals. Force is never used on the noble, although the threat of it exists. Force is sometimes used on the attendants resulting in regular soldiers getting hurt or killed. This is considered rude but acceptable behavior.

Actually capturing a princess is a huge risk, undertaken only by Dukes.

( Taken from a 'Noble's Point of View' article ) 

A code of honor is not a legal document. It is a philosophy that outlines the correct ways of acting in all life’s situations. The following is the basic ideas common in all feudal kingdoms, not just Axandorf. 

The three virtues are; respect, responsibility and bravery.

*One must respect elders and social superiors, realizing that they have wisdom and authority. Respect is a healthy recognition of the other person’s honor. It requires obedience, but does not call for blind loyalty. 

 

*One must be responsible, taking credit or blame for their actions, and generally being truthful. They must perform tasks to the best of their ability, regardless of personal feelings. This is often seen as the commoner’s virtue, but it applies to all. It tells the soldier to stand and die fighting. 

 

*One must also be brave in the face of all danger. This is easy if you consider the importance put upon having a heroic death. It is better to take some action, even if it is ill thought out, than to freeze in fright or run away in cowardice. This is not to say that one can never withdraw from a situation. Bravery does not mean foolishly throwing away your life. 

 

Upon these three virtues are based all the rules of Chivalry (as listed above). Respect leads to the complicated social etiquette. Responsibility leads to the honorable forms of combat. Bravery leads to the expectation of a leader to command from the front.

Axandorf – the North March

The entire northern coast of the kingdom, extending about 50 km in land, is the important but nearly uninhabited area of the North March Dukedom. The reason for its importance is one of navigation. The reason for its sparse population is one of climate; it’s a horrible place to live. The land is not very good for agriculture, being swept by salt winds; its soil seems only good at producing pine trees and crabgrass. The summer is cool, while the winter is frigid. Storms are common in all seasons. 

 The March is more a military zone than a proper Dukedom, with its overlord appointed by the king instead of being hereditary. There are three major forts, each ruled by an Earl, who is also appointed. Although the king can select anyone, choices are usually made from the military families of the March, who own traditional estates near the forts.

Each fort has a permanent garrison of 200 troops, three warships and a dragon rider - messenger assigned to it. The forts are built to handle double these amounts and are provisioned accordingly. The forts are linked by a road, but most often travel is by sea. Of course a community of craftsmen exists next to each fort to meet its needs.Although troops are required to live in the fort, they often get married and rent a small house in the town.

Fort Valhaus in the East is the best known and most active. Because it sits near the mouth of the Dorf River, it has a sizable civilian population built up next to it. In fact it is the only fort with any real farming or trade activity going on in its vicinity. On the other hand it faces some of the worst winter weather head on. Over the years storms have done more damage to the fort than battles.

Fort Hafzee is the command center of the March because of its central location. It is also considered something of a week link in the chain because of the time it would take for any relief force to reach it from Gansport or Axandorf city. Thus attempts to strengthen it have frequently been made.

Fort Caspar in the West is the uninteresting but very dramatic symbol of the March. It is located at land’s end on a high cliff, making any attack nearly impossible. It dates back to an ancient Dwarven castle called Tintagar.

Unlike a normal Dukedom, the March has no Baronies. Land is granted in long narrow estates to Lords. There are about 50 estates near each fort; with each estate required to provide 20 armed men as their feudal levee. Thus the Duke can call out about 3000 troops.

The major industry of the March is fishing. Every Lord owns a boat or two and his people act as crew instead of farming. In times of war the 20 man levee forms into a single long-ship crew. For the most part the fish are locally consumed. However there is also whale hunting. This activity brings in cash as whale oil and other products are sold in the big city markets.

Barony of Vetur Noson

The Barony of Vetur Noson is located midway up the Slan Nyttig river, 

between Seewick on the coast and Winterstone in the hills.  

This barony was established, long ago, to mine the Kannos hills iron and nickel deposits. Although they were plentiful the mines eventually ran out. Thus the economy was reoriented to a more traditional one of agriculture. The mines were abandoned and eventually overgrown with the new Kannos Woods, creating the perfect habitat for the Grungan; a race of small Goblin-like cave dwelling creatures. Experts say they are a myth, but people believe they are real. Adventurers often go Grungan hunting in the old mines.

The Slan Nyttig River is both a blessing and a curse for the barony. The river regularly floods in spring most notably in the area downstream from the Tenner Bjon River. Thus homes tend to be built about a mile inland from the river; with a few exceptions placed on rocky hillocks.

The central area of the barony is owned directly by Baron Vetter; his castle being on the hill, overlooking the town of Pittkannot.  The town is larger than one may expect, owing to its heyday as home to a thousand minors in addition to the usual crafts peoples. In recent years several areas have become rundown and shady. It seems the Baron is allowing the brothels to become a major new industry.

The three large estates

AnnVann is the most important, having both a share of the River tax and monopoly on logging in the Allfor Woods. It also controls the main road to Seewick.

Equallin estate is well known for its horses, which often graze outside the borders. It also shares in the River tax and controls the secondary road to Seewick.

BroNos estate is large but not very profitable, being devoted to farming and sheep herding. However it has a sizable castle, built after the first conflict with Winterstone.

The lesser estates

There are 20 other estates in the barony making it very typical in terms of feudal arrangements. 

Both 19. Rogsdor and 20. Tollpoint are important because of their geography. Rogssdor controls the road to Norodor and the only bridge on the Slan Nittig. Tollpoint, as the name implies, exists to tax the river traffic coming down from Winterstone, to this end it has a solid castle.

Game note - 

In the quest to rescue the missing sister, most of the PCs crossed the Slan Nyttig river into estate 11, then rode north to meet the main road. They cut across the Nodgor river and set up their ambush at the point were the road crosses the Nodnos streem (not named on map)