Table of Contents
Welcome to James Kemp's Wiki
This is a collaborative web platform that allows people to edit1) the web pages to provide additional content for some of the stories I have written and the roleplaying games that I am involved in, whether as a player or GM.
There are several namespaces operating slightly different wiki subjects. These are, in no particular order:
- Skyss - Story Background - a fantasy novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2016.
- Perfects - background for the near future story and some police roleplaying that I ran in that universe
- Theocracy of Daprav - A D&D campaign that I ran with Glasgow University Games Society around 2002-3.
- Jim Wallman's Universe - a roleplaying by e-mail campaign that I play in, this is an unofficial wiki and none of it is canon unless Jim says it is.
- Interstellar Freelance Unlimited - subset of the Universe pages covering the activities of a mercenary company that we are currently roleplaying every Full Moon.
- Earth Imperium pages. These cover the activities of the Government of the Solar republic (aka Earth Empire) in Jim's Humanity Will Prevail campaign, including the Earth Imperium News Items.
- Free Worlds Alliance - covering the activities of another emerging polity in the Humanity Will Prevail campaign. Mostly contributed by Eric Moroney.
- Universe Background - page collecting the various bits of background info that have come up in various e-mail discussions for the campaigns set in Jim Wallman's Universe.
- Master map of the Universe (6Mb PDF, as at 3212).
- Delta Green - some roleplaying campaigns about horror and conspiracy. The main one was set in Berlin in 1953.
- Free games rules - a collection of free rules for wargames and other sorts of face to face games that I have designed or run.
- Wargames rules - I'm not just a player of games, I also do rules for them from time to time as well as one-off games. A primary outlet for this is through Chestnut Lodge Wargames Group.
- Other free rules - at the moment just those for the 1689 (Orange or Lemon? and Bonnie Dundee, respectively about the debates in the Scots Parliament and then the military campaign of Viscount Dundee during 1689) and The Other Side of the COIN (about what makes people become insurgents). All games that I have have produced for Chestnut Lodge Wargames Group.
- Background for a near future universe where I have written some fiction and also run some roleplaying games in.
Comments and complaints to me at webmaster@full-moon.info please.
James Kemp
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Background to the Campaign
The The Theocracy of Daprav is an ideal state bordered by Barbarians, but it wasn't always this way. The God Daprav looks after his people and ensures that no-one goes hungry and that all have a part to play in the great wheel of life. In many aspects, male, female and both or neither, Daprav looks after the people and ensures that all goes according to his grand plan.
All citizens go through a community service programme in their late teens, usually shortly after their 16th birthday. They spend a year working on a variety of community projects and trying their hand at a range of skills to see what they get on best at. They also get tested for their ability with administration and at the end are selected for a suitable job.
A number of those finishing community service will then go on to join the church bureaucracy which needs an ever increasing number of people to aid it in holding back the barbarian hordes on the southern border as well as in the mammoth task of organising the state and ensuring that everyone gets a fair share of the produce of the country.
It is amongst these that we find the members of the party. They belong to a Ministry of Internal Affairs Patrol. These are an elite that are used for investigating incidents along the Southern border (and elsewhere). They are supported by Ministry troops that perform a more overt border guard role as well as dealing with occasional large scale incursions of bandits across the border.
At the start of the campaign the patrol are straight out a year at training camp in the North of the country. There are eight agents in the patrol (although not all are player characters) and they are lead by one of the more senior agents. They have been assigned to Camp Albany in the Southern Border region. This is their story...
Stoolball
The Official Rules (Summary)
Daprav Stoolball Society
Introduction
Stoolball is the most exciting sport in the world. The epitome of skill and teamwork combined with the renowned Dapravian sense of fair play make it an absolute joy to watch. Even better fun is playing the game! What other sport gives you the same thrill, or fast paced action combined with the competitive edge and danger of stoolball?
Choosing Your Team
Stoolball is a full contact game requiring fast reflexes ant a measure of skill with a paddle. Players also need to work well as a team and to have no fear of injury. You should choose the largest two as your defenders, but the most fearless ought to be the stool-keeper as the 'keeper cannot flinch when the ball comes towards the stool. The swiftest and surest of foot should play in the mid part of the field as they will be the fastest to the ball and may even score from there.
Last, but by no means least, come the attackers. These two are the most skilful with the paddle and should be capable of hitting an unguarded stool from the other side of the pitch with ease. They also need to be swift of foot and able to put themselves in the correct place to receive the ball.
In all you need seven stout-hearted sportsmen to form your team. One must be designated at the stool-keeper, no more than two may be designated as defenders and the others must play in the outfield and attempt to win control of the ball and glory for the team. Each team will have a Captain to control the players and ensure that they play to the spirit of the game. The Captain may play in any position on the field.
The Umpire
The umpire must be of good sight and clear mind and be conversant with the rules and spirit of the game. He shall be the sole determiner of what constitutes fair and unfair play and none shall argue during the course of the game with the umpire’s decisions at lest they be excluded from play. Should the umpire find that a player is acting unfairly then he may stop play and award a penalty to the opposing team. He may also warn the player, and for extreme or repeated unfair behaviour he may remove the player from the playing court.
Equipment
Each team must have its own stool, stoutly constructed from wood so as to withstand sudden impact of one or more players unbalanced, or the high speed of the ball hitting it. It must also be able to bear the weight of the stool-keeper sitting or standing on it in its defence.
Also each player must have a paddle for playing the ball. No other part of his body may be used for this purpose, save that of the ‘keeper who may deliberately interject any part of his body between the ball and the stool. The paddle should be flat or convex on both sides; any player that has a concave paddle should not enter into play with it other than as a stool-keeper. The paddle must have blunt rounded edges and be at least one inch in thickness along the blade. In total it should be no more than three feet in length and at least one foot six inches. The blade should be no more than four inches across at its widest point.
One ball is required for the game, although it may be prudent to have spares available should anything befall the ball during play, it not being unknown for a ball to break when hit with extreme force. The ball should be constructed from a two-inch core of cork tightly wound with wool and then covered with buff leather. The leather should be shrunk onto the core to ensure a tight fit and therefore allow the ball to bounce.
Protective equipment may be worn if the player wishes. However any protective equipment that is worn should not be enchanted in any way whether to improve its level of protection nor to deflect or attract missiles. Perform any active measures to improve defence, movement or agility.
Playing Court
The game is played in a court 50 yards square. This should have stout walls between 12 and 18 feet high. The walls can be of either stone or wood, but should be of hardwood if so constructed to allow the ball to bounce.
The court is divided lengthways into three areas. Each team has a defence area 16 yards deep and the middle of the field is 18 yards deep. Within each defence area is a close defence area that forms a rectangle round the stool four yards deep and 16 yards wide.
The stool is positioned in the middle of the close defence area four yards from the back wall. Round the stool is marked the close defence area two yards in front and behind the stool and eight yards either side. Within this area the designated defenders and stool-keeper may tackle opposing players with no risk of penalty. The keeper may also block the ball with any part of his body so long as he remains within this area. Designated defenders may not leave the rear area except for starting play.
The middle area has a four-yard square right in the middle of the pitch. One yard from this on either side and running parallel with the team defence areas are the start lines. Each of the six start lines are 10 yards wide and they run one yard apart back towards the defence area. The line nearest to the centre of the court is known as the ‘initial start line’ or the ‘zero line’ as that is where a team that has yet to score will stand when the game is started (and re-started following one team scoring). On either side of the four-yard box there is a line ten yards from the box for the umpire to stand on when re-starting the game.
Play
The object of the game is to hit the opposing team’s stool with the ball. Only the paddle may be used to strike the ball for this purpose. Each time a stool is hit the game will be re-started by the umpire. The game ends once a team gains a clear lead of three strikes or achieves a total of 6 strikes. For every strike that a team has scored they start one-yard further back from the initial start line in the mid-field of the court.
The umpire throwing the ball into the centre of the four-yard box starts the game. Players may not move forward of the start line until the ball hits the ground inside the box. If the ball does not land inside the box then the umpire should retrieve the ball and re-start the game.
Tackling
Only the designated defenders and the stool-keeper may tackle players by making contact with them with any part of their body or with the paddle. Other players may come into contact with each other in the course of contesting possession of the ball but may not deliberately trip or hit opposing players.
Use of Magic
Magic may not be used by any player or umpire when the ball is in play. When the ball is not in play then it is permissible for a player to use magic for the purpose of healing injuries to players or to repair equipment with the permission of both captains and the umpire. In no case should magic be used to improve the capabilities of players beyond those that they started the play with.
D&D Game-related rules
Stoolball uses the combat rules for play.
order of play
Players move in initiative order and NPCs are assumed to have an init modifier of +2 (although you may vary this to suit the quality of the team you want to achieve). Where a player is acting in defence they may opt to delay action pending the outcome of a lower ranked player. (Basically they forgo their action and get an attack of opportunity if appropriate.)
Hitting the ball
To hit the ball is a DC 15 task (again NPCs have an assumed +2 skill). The paddle is a club and if the player has a relevant weapon proficiency then it should work as normal.
Once the ball is hit the player should roll against their dexterity to see how well they controlled the hit and whether the ball goes where they desired.
- On a natural 1 it goes straight up in the air.
- For DC 5 it went the correct distance but direction randomly determined by the umpire (bearing in mind the direction the ball came from).
- DC 10 goes within 90 degrees of intended direction.
- DC 15 goes where it was intended to go.
- DC 20 is required to score a goal unless within the close defence area.
- DC25 is required to score a goal from the mid-field
- DC 30 to score from the other end of the pitch.
There must be a clear line between the player and the goal to score. Any other players (including NPCs) within a yard of the direct line may get a chance to hit the ball as it passes, but must score more on their skill check than the original player did.
Tackling other players
Tackling is done as per the melee rules, damage from a paddle is 1d6 and is only subdual (except a natural 6 which does 1 HP damage and 5 subdual).
The Theocracy of Daprav
The Theocracy of Daprav is a human state run by its priesthood. The country is mostly farmland and is very fertile. Most of the population lives in small villages which can be found every three to five miles or so. There are small towns every twenty to thirty miles which act as administrative centres for the surrounding villages.
All administration is done by clerics and the church employs a large number of people in a variety of roles. There is some private enterprise but this is limited as the economy doesn't use cash. Instead each person has a resource allocation some of which they can use to exchange for goods or services. Everyone carries an ID chit which allows them to access Church run stores to replace lost/damaged equipment and to get accommodation for the night when they are travelling.
As one would expect in a well run economy like that of Daprav, vagrants and poor people are non-existent. Everyone is well looked after (and in times of dearth the priests use their miracles to feed everyone).
One of the most popular recreational activities is playing Stoolball which is a fast-paced contact sport played by teams of seven paddle-wielding sportsmen. It can get quite violent, although injuries are healed by magic during the game.
Mage magic is frowned upon and the people would shun anyone that tries to use it. That's assuming that they could tell the difference between it and a God-given miracle. None of the PCs has ever come into contact with a mage or sorceror.
The Northern border has nomad barbarians, but this is nothing compared to the depredations of the bandits in the south. It is necessary to station troops in the south to deal with the bandits, which isn't necessary in the North. Outlanders are rare in the state and are usually confined to enclaves in the major towns where all trade is conducted. Those that manage to penetrate into the interior tend to be escorted firmly back to where they belong.
The PCs come from the coastal districts to the North of the Theocracy. So far none of them have had any direct contact with outlanders.
Murder! - Part 2
The patrol go to the main Watch House and report that they have some information about the previous night's murder.
They are shown in to see Sergeant Harrison who is in charge of the investigation to catch the murderer. Harrison is in his 40s and is quite fit looking with very short iron grey hair. At the point when they enter his room he is sitting at his desk eating breakfast, a pastry, and drinking coffee. There is a cigar that has gone out in an ash-tray on his desk. The room is about 15 feet on each side with a window looking out on the city. There is the desk, a meeting table, half a dozen chairs a couple of cupboards and a filing cabinet. On every available surface there are piles and piles of papers, including on the floor. Many of them are in battered cardboard folders, some held together with linen tape others relying on the weight of the files above them to keep them closed.
Harrison isn't particularly friendly and quizzes them about why they have appeared in his office. Gregory explains that they were witnesses, almost, to a murder the previous evening. Harrison softens and asks them what they know. Gregory tells the story. Once he has finished Harrison tells them that this is not the first murder, in fact it is the seventh in the last eighteen months and that the Watch, specifically Harrison, has no idea who is behind them.
The patrol offer to help Harrison by looking over the evidence he has so far just in case thy can spot any links. Harrison sneers slightly but gestures to one of the piles of papers and says that they are welcome to read through, but that they mustn't remove any of it from the building. Melody gave Sgt Harrison the original footprint after copying it.
From the papers it becomes apparent that all the murders were committed on foogy nights. The shortest time lapse between the murders is 3 weeks and the longest 6 months. None of the murders took place within three days either side of a Full Moon. All the victims were non-native sailors, none were robbed and all had their larynx ripped out. Two of them were found with their trousers round their ankles. All were on the waterfront and slightly off the main thoroughfare. They were all from different ships.
After gathering this information from the files the group went to the library to check the weather records. Fog is prevalent in the Spring & Autumn with occasional fogs in winter. The previous night's fog was unusually late, the previous murder had been eight weeks earlier. There had been four foggy nights since then, two immediately following the murder and one on the Full Moon. The last being the night before.
Murder! - Part 3
After reviewing the evidence the patrol decide that they need to find out more about the footprint. So they take it down to the Bureau of Shoes (Office of Procurement, Footwear Directorate). Unfortunately the office is closed for the night.
Down the Docks
They decide that the next best thing would be to go down to the docks and look for more clues. Accordingly they split up to tour the waterfront taverns. [Can you think of a worse idea?]
Valanthe went into the 'Dropped Anchor' and met some of the crew from the 'Falcon' the ship on which the seventh victim had been a crew member. She got talking to his sombre former shipmates and discovered that he had been part of a small group that went on a pub crawl the previous evening. They'd started in the 'Dropped Anchor' which was the closest pub to the ship. They'd moved across the river and along the opposite bank before crossing back. They'd stopped in every single pub along the way, six including the 'Dropped Anchor'.
On leaving the 'Tarry Sail', the first pub back on this side of the river, he had said that he was feeling ill and that he would catch the others up in the next pub. That was about 11pm and was the last he had been seen alive. The crew reckoned that he would be able to handle himself in a fight and were somewhat surprised when he turned up dead.
Bureau of Shoes
In the morning the they go to the Bureau of Shoes. A boy takes them to see 'Mr Archibald', this involves a long back corridor in a part of the building clearly not frequented by visitors. They end up in a large store-room with floor to ceiling shelves filled with boots and shoes.
Archie clearly knows a lot about boots, more than anyone sane would wish to know. They show him the boor print that they've taken and he waxes lyrical for several minutes about the boot and how the pattern of nails tells you about how it was made and which type, and how minor variations note different types. He also talks a bit about the patterns of wear.
Archie tells them it is a good boot, and well made. The type is reserved for the more senior members of the theocracy and only goes to sub-deacons and above. Of course, people at that level would have more than one set of footwear, as they'd be authorised for shoes as well as boots and probably also indoor and outdoor varieties. What Archie finds most interesting about these boots though is that they have an unauthorised modification to the heel, the hobs are aligned differently to the standard pattern. Other than that they are a size 9 standard width boot.
Before leaving the patrol ask Archie to let them know if the boots get returned, but not to let the owner know that they are interested.
Delving Deeper
Having established the size and type of boot (Type 23, size 9 standard) they look for records of who had been issued those boots. The obvious place is the Office of Central Statistics. Being Ministry of Internal Affairs agents they find the record keepers very helpful and in a short time they have a list of names.
- Ministry of Food - 3 pairs
- Ministry of Internal Affairs - 5 pairs
- Office of Religious Orthodoxy - 2 pairs
- Bureau of Planning - 3 pairs
- Ministry of Supply - 5 pairs
They then move on to checking where the people are with the various Ministries.
Ministry of Food
One pair was issued to a Deacon in their personnel department responsible for senior posts. He is currently on a sabbatical to undertake a pilgrimage and has been out of Templeton for six moons.
The second pair was issued to a sub-deacon responsible for grain export. He is currently based outside Daprav liaising with a neighbouring state on grain exports from Daprav.
The third pair was issued to a sub-deacon responsible for beer production in the South West, he hasn't been to Templeton for several years.
Ministry of Supply
One pair was issued and four remain in their stores. The issued pair went to an Archdeacon responsible for robe procurement. He is frequently out of Templeton to visit weavers and farmers in cloth and dyes production.
Bureau of Planning
Their three pairs have gone to a Bishop overseeing the forecasting department and two of his Archdeacons. One in weather and the other in trade forecasting. None of them are based in Templeton.
Office of Religious Orthodoxy
There's a little less help here, but they get a look at the file and both pairs issued show as having been returned some time ago.
Ministry of Internal Affairs
They take a different tack and visit the personnel office after hours since their investigation isn't an official one. They find a file-list hanging from a noticeboard in a personnel office lined with filing cabinets. This leads them to the right cabinet which is swiftly opened. Four names come from the appropriate file.
- Chief Priest (2 pairs)
- Archbishop Hugh (responsible for security on the Southern Border)
- Archdeacon Marius in the City Watch (issued 2 days before the murder)
- Deacon Elvar in personnel.
