My prep notes for the Rhine Tribunal of 1228

The Rhine Tribunal of 1228

Location: Dunremar

Day 0: Pre Tribunal talks

Murion:

Having sponsored the foundation of the Rhine Gorge Covenant (in my game's case, Waldheim) she wants to keep them in the Rhine.
• Does not want them to leave, feels betrayed
• Will not force them to stay since she already has one petty resentful Dankmar to deal with
• Warning that if they leave the Rhine, they will lose the protection afforded, and will become minnow in a sea full of Hermetic bandits and raiders from Normandy and elsewhere.
• Threaten the Bonisagius party member with expulsion from the House if he joins Lotharingia

Gilds

Pre-vote meeting, chance to mingle with the respective members of the Gilds that mages have joined. The Apple will be very self congratulatory, happy about upcoming victory. Linden Gild is unconcerned but in a high note.

Day 1, changes in status

Awarding new Journeymen

  • Amphitrite ex Bonisagus, filia Tandaline ex Bonisagus (child of Philip Virilis): MuAqAu. Stern looking southern girl, dark hair, dark eyes, dresses in blues.
  • Cygnus ex Bjornaer, Filus Ardea ex Bjornaer, Swan form, preening, womaniser, plans on moving to Thebes, for the “easy vis and easy women”, hopes to a find a Leda. tall Scandinavian guy with pale blond hair.
  • Ruprecht Ex Mercere, filius Horst ex Mercere of Fengheld. Unusually hairy, watchful, taciturn and wolfish. Originally from the Pommeranian march, recruited by Horst to replace him. He is a wolf skinchanger.
  • Vladena ex Miscellanea, Filia Ilona of Roznov. Czech, piercing crazy stare, tattooed, carries a spear.
  • Cyra ex Miscellanea, filia Amalkades ex Miscellanea, which Gauntleted several years ago, will be joining Fengheld as a Peregrinator.

Awarding New Magister rank

  • Richenda Spinosa ex Flambeau, Filia Indulius (of Fengheld), Polish, Fire-Fae Blooded, He mage, kind of angry.
  • Emilia ex Tremere, Filia Severicus, in Roznov.

Awarding new Archmage rank

No one

New Roznov Chapter House

The Covenant of Roznov will be founding its first chapter house, in the area near Sedlec Abbey in Bohemia, with the agreement of the Cistercians from whom the land was purchased. It will be headed by Emilia ex Tremere, Filia Severicus, formerly of Roznov, and in time, she hopes to attract one or two magi with similar interests. Quaesitor Tabanus ex Guernicus will be joining her.

New Covenants being founded

Heorot

Vetoed by Crintera. Theordrich ex Jerbiton will make a final appeal to Crintera for sponsorship as they are the final holdouts. Try to shame them into it, but it falls on deaf ears.

Wladheim,

The party's Covenant is fully recognised.

Afternoon: book fair
Evening: feasting, meats, wines and exotic foods from all the regions are brought by the participants for the feast.

Day 2: General issues to discuss

Dunremar’s broken tower

San Lazarro has been offering to fix Durenmar's broken tower every Tribunal for well at least 10 tribunals. They even offer to do it for free.

  • The Romans just want the prestige of meddling in our affairs!
  • Those are jumped up hedgies trying to insult us!
  • Not that Durenmar is going to let a bunch of upstart Miscellanean Mystery Cultists do something they could perfectly well do themselves, when we get around to it...

Dunremar’s beer Heist

Someone had the audacity of stealing Dunremar’s beer.
Dunremar is outraged, but no one does anything about it.

  • Peter von Wurzburg ex Verditius (of Fengheld) suggests making their own beer or wine, that Ricardus has all the right skills to get the best hops.
  • Ricardus Caespius ex Bonisagus has more important matters to address and research to carry out. (Starts mumbling incoherently using neologisms and made-up terms)
  • Caecilius ex Bonisagus claims that such a mundane crime is beneath him to investigate, backed up by other Quaesitors.

Feasting

In the evening, wine contest: Peter von Wurzburg's vintages vs the best mundane wines of the Rhine, brought by Wilhelm Weiss

Day 3 Gild issues:

Oak and Ash gild – joint declaration

Preparation for an expedition into Scandinavia proper to be made, to find and eradicate the Order of Odin. Peter ex Flambeau will be in charge of the organisation.

  • Cintera against it, no good justification, suggests that the North is not part of the Rhine.
  • Fengheld mostly abstains on the matter.
  • Most of the Western Covenants are in favour
    result: voted for, unless the players manage something exceptional

Hawthorne

Couldn’t agree to a single issue to bring to Tribunal.

Elder

Handri and Vinaria ex Merenita make a joint appeal. Reports of loss of faerie auras: Boii Spring is now a divine aura for most days of the year due to the excessive number of Christian pilgrims. Demand more be done under the Guardian of the forest clause to protect Faerie auras.

Linden

Occultes ex Bonisagus reports that the several embassies led by Boris ex Mercere to the Novgorodian Tribunal have been fruitful. Relations with our Eastern neighbours are currently at a high point. We have agreed not to support the formation of a Baltic Tribunal and let Novgorod deal with the matter internally.

Apple

Lotharingia Tribunal vote

In my saga, the vote passes, with Stentorius of Fengheld betraying Murion and the block of Tremere votes (21 in total) is the margin of difference between the Yes and No camps. Stentorius becomes the magnet of Murion's wrath. He'd given her his word and betrayed her. This is part of a Tremere ploy as well as his own personal advancement, to become exarch of an additional tribunal.

Ash gild

Philipus Niger proposes that with the Rhine losing it's northern Port (the Occulus switching to Lotharingia), it is urgent to reclaim Rethra and asks for a party to be formed to investigate, and restlle it. He will push young Ash gild members to go, and Johannis Acer ex Merenita will go too out of wanderlust.

Election of Grand Tribunal Representatives:

Murion, Stentorius and Viniaria

7 Likes

Who finds the silver there and gets the mines in your saga? See Kutná Hora, especially;

The town began in 1142 with the settlement of Sedlec Abbey, the first Cistercian monastery in Bohemia, Sedlec Monastery, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey. By 1260, German miners began to mine for silver in the mountain region, which they named Kuttenberg, and which was part of the monastery property. The name of the mountain is said to have derived from the monks' cowls (the Kutten ) or from the word mining ( kutání in old Czech). Under Abbot Heidenreich, the territory greatly advanced due to the silver mines which gained importance during the economic boom of the 13th century.

This is brilliant.

I like how you many of the issues are decided before the tribunal even begins.

I get the impression that at least some of the issues are decided without the involvement of the players. It is nice to have a few details like this as it makes the world feel alive, like the NPC's are engaged in their own politics besides the PC's.

I take it that your PC's chose to join lotharingia?

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That is exactly the Tremere plan. Severicus is a Te mage, so sniffing out silver is trivial for him, and he can secure one of the HRE's best mines for his House. Convenient...

Also, my players are reopening the lead mine of Ems which is a few kilometres only from Waldheim, so this will make a nice mirror to their action, in time.

They did, despite Murion's threats. The Bonisagus player is considering going ex Misc, but since we ended the session with them slinking off at dawn on the morning following the vote, they will have a little time before the fallout.

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Doesn’t the creation of a new tribunal have to go up for a vote at Grand Tribunal?

I think so, by winning the vote in the Rhine, they are securing the issue being brought to the Grand Tribunal, later in the year, where it will be voted upon by the Grand Tribunal representatives.

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Right on. That makes sense. Well, as the head of House Bonisagus, Murion’s got one last chance to block our intrepid heroes!

She will fight tooth and nail against this. However, this is not the party's plan, rather they are caught up in Tremere machinations. So really it's Murion vs the apple Triumvirate + Stentorius.
They were strong-armed into supporting it by the apple Gild but given the choice between the stagnant, oppressive Rhine they chose to try their luck in the Apple-Lotharingian Tribunal.