From: Chris Clements Subject: [WFRP:1017] Praag Well, with all this talk of Arianka, I thought I would throw in some background material from my campaign "Key to Arianka" that I ran a few years back. I found Praag to be a great backdrop to the first adventure ("The Swooping Hawk"), and it definately added an odd twist to the story. The first adventure had part of it take place in Praag, so, to anyone who's interested, here's a short snippet (I've deleted parts of the writing to make it more functional in a stand-alone context): ---Praag--- -History- Praag, the city of the defeated, is enwrapped with huge moss covered stone walls resting on the flat wheatland of Kislev. To the north, just a few hundred feet away from the city proper snakes the cold River Lynsk, which is frozen over for most of the winter months. The city itself is pivotal in staving off the migration of chaos and many battles have been fought at its walls. The last such major battle (over 200 years ago) something horrible happened - the city was overswept in the tide of chaos after a long and bitter siege. As it was overrun, chaos left an everlasting mark that would plague Praag for as long as it exists. Those that perished within imprinted their horror and pain into the very buildings they died defending. The stuff of chaos trapped part of their loathing and suffering, damning the city to be forever unclean. The citizens who escaped returned when their town was liberated by Magnus the Pious and his Imperial army. What they found was a twisted little hells where there houses once stood. King Zoltan I ordered all the buildings to be purged by the cleansing flame and to be rebuilt afterwards. A few years later strange things started to happen. At first they were ignored by everyone, in the vain hope that these were just isolated incidents. They were not. These 'incidents' continued to grow in frequency and danger as each winter came and went. The citizens were facing another siege, one that could not be defeated by steel. They turned to their King, pleading for him to stop the taint from growing within their city. He heard his peoples appeal and attempted all that was in his power to stop the cancerous foulness to no avail. For each building he had burned two more became 'infected'. Exorcisms only drove of the evil away for a little while and many clerics were perishing in these attempts. All he did failed, and he began to think that Praag would indeed fall to chaos. He began to give up hope. Hope was given to him in those shadowed times. An initiate of Ulric by the name of Grinvar came to King Zoltan with a solution. Grinvar described a ceremony, using holy relics of all the churches, to ward off the growing chaos. This ceremony would be led with the flames of Ulric himself, burning away and purging Praag of the defiled areas. When asked how he came upon this solution, Grinvar explained Ulric had sent it to him in a dream. Many court members scoffed at this, and an advisor to the king warned that Grinvar was probably mad. Seeing this doubt, Grinvar raised his hand aloft and cried the name of Ulric. Blue flame surrounded his mortal frame and danced around the court, burning everything and everyone, yet leaving no marks that could be divined afterwards. All felt as if a great malignancy had been purged from their hearts, and the walls no longer moaned or reached for the living. The King bowed to Griznar and proclaimed that the city was be saved. King Zoltan also promised that those of Griznar's line would always be honored and have a place in the court. So began the Ceremony Depurgas and the position of Attendant of the Flame. Since then, the ceremony has been done over eighteen times, on the anniversary of the Fall of Praag and Griznar's solution (which happened exactly a decade later). This also coincides with Ulric's chief holy day, the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is when the defenders of Praag must face the enemy on the longest night of the year. It is a test of faith in which the citizens must temporarily abandon their city while it is rumored the gods fight for Praag's soul. Only those who ally themselves with the gods may attempt to help cleanse the city and challenge the horrors that arise when chaos is provoked by the enactment of this ceremony. There is much more than this, but I am unsure of how useful it would be out of context. I can tell you that it was sure was fun having my pcs arrive into a mostly empty Praag ("...the whole city to ourselves!"), except for the groups of clerics and templars. And of course, the tainted things the cleansing ceremony awoke... -Personality of the City- Praag, in day to day life, is not so much different from any other major city. Peasants do the physical labor. Nobles gripe about the peasants and drink the day away. Merchants haggle over the price of their latest ware with whoever is interested. Life, as it is in Praag, goes on at a regular pace. At first glance, it is hard to imagine that this place has the horrible reputation that it does. It is altogether normal. It is only after a day or two are spent within the city does the poor traveler realize this normality is forced. The people treat each other civilized enough, but behind their smiles and greetings hide anxiety and fear. General conversations exclude anything that deals with mutants or chaos. Woe betide the wanderer who mentions a vile god's name (even if only in a curse) within Praag's borders, for the citizens believe that god turns its attentions to their poor beleaguered city. It is not unknown for a visiting merchant who speaks dark words to either be run out of Praag, have stones cast at him, or ( in the extreme cases) be lynched by a mob. Witch-hunters operate here, more than anywhere else in the Old World, with terrifying freedom. A mutant, to the population of Praag, is a painful reminder of the polluted energies that build within their homes. The government feeds into this paranoia by sanctioning hunters to publicly execute any found mutants, cultists, and foul chaos spawn. The cults that manage to survive this intense scrutiny manage to do so by only through numerous safety precautions and by being suspicious of everyone. Official witch-hunters, servants to the High Inquisitor, have even a broader range of powers, making them a power to be feared in Praag. +Attitudes+ Praag's citizens are survivors. They endure their lot in life with an outlook that borders on fatalism. The here today, gone tomorrow attitude is prevalent through most of the populace. This defeatist attitude is ingrained into their core personalities as they grow up and see the first hand effects of chaos close up. Fortunately for the rest of the Old World, Praag is to proud to surrender. It is pride that keeps the people moving. To think one is defeated is acceptable... to acknowledge such defeat is unthinkable. This strange dichotomy is very difficult for visitors to understand but to the people who live there it makes perfect sense. Praag has been called the 'Wounded' or 'Dying Wolf' who rips the throat out of its enemy with its last ounce of strength. The people realize the chaos within their city will eventually be their downfall, but they'll do their damn best job of bloodying its nose before their gone. Why don't the citizens leave to greener pastures? Life in Kislev is rough, and those who find a niche generally try and stick with it. What would happen if a laborer moved and couldn't find work elsewhere? He would starve. And would the merchant had to give up all his old contacts and start from scratch? The merchant would have to be desperate indeed. "It may be hell, but it's my hell" is a common saying amongst those who live in Praag. Life is not all that bad there, as long as a person watches out what they say and pay lip-service to the more kinder gods. Add to this fact that most of the population are unable to leave if they wished. Fearing the peasants would decide to go elsewhere, King Zoltan I had made into effect a law that bound the people to their liege-lords (nobles or powerful merchants whom the lower class are employed by). This bill was called the "Dark Prison" by its detractors. To traverse outside city walls, an individual must prove that they have the right to leave by showing the proper documents. These documents could only be obtained from the individual's liege-lord through a large fee, and then the transfer to the individual must be approved by a ruling magistrate. +Religion+ The people of Kislev are not known for their piety, and most citizens of Praag fall into this category. The public view the clergy and gods as ineffectual, unable to stave off the raids from the Chaos Wastes. The exception to this is Ulric, who the populace view as more capable due to his help in protecting their city, but not by much. The three main gods of Kislev (and therefore Pragg) are Ulric (called Olric), Taal, and Rhya. Other gods, while represented, are often ignored. A good example of this is the Temple of Verena, established after the city was rebuilt (see history). It is normally empty, with the occasional scholar stopping in to use the library. Fortunately for the temples, the less popular cults are funded by the government, mostly due to tradition and for fear of what the gods reaction would be if their temples disappeared. +Laws+ The laws of Praag are practical and harsh. If an individual commits a crime and is caught that person faces swift punishment. A magistrate reviews the evidence in the case and considers a brief oral statement given by the defendent to the arresting officer (who has sole control over the reliability of the declaration). The watchman can usually be expected to recite the defendant's speech word for word, and deliberate altering of the arrested's message only happens infrequently. Trials are for the upper-classess exclusively (the Boyars, priests, upper-bureaucrats, and the aristocracy) who have more rights in defending themselves. The one exception for trials in this case is the large public affairs held by the Servants of the Flame who judge those accused of bearing the taint of chaos. All who appear in that court are always found guilty, and it is run only to serve as a warning to those who would harbor impure loyalties in their hearts. +Resources of Praag+ The land surrounding Praag has many sources of wealth. Lumber, fur, and coal all rest within the city's reach. The staple crop produced from the neighboring farmlands is sugar beets; bright red beets slightly smaller than potatoes which have a sweet inner core after their bland exterior is removed. Other crops include wheat, oats, barley, cotton, tobbacco, and potatoes. Common livestock include the usual: sheeps, cattle, and hogs. Metals that are mined from the Foothills to the east are copper, iron ore, and to a lesser extent, nickle. Another resource that was recently discovered is oil. +Important Individuals+ King Zoltan II - the King is a proud (some might say arrogant) man, who despises the city he rules. He is often outside the city, vacationing in the numerous private estates he owns around Kislev. Zoltan cares little for the day to day politics of Praag, and only involves himself on personal level when he wants more money for his coffers (i.e.he wants to raise taxes). Princess Catherine IV - in all but title, Princess Catherine rules Praag. She has her father's blessing in this, and she sees to all the minor details that "bore" him so. A highly intelligent young woman, the Princess discharges her responsibilities to the city in an efficient manner. Vladmir Cossak, Attendant of the Flames: in charge of the Ceremony Depurgas, Vladmir follows the examples set by past attendants and tries to remain in the background. He is the highest ranking cleric of Olric in Kislev, on par with Ar-Ulric in Middenheim. Vladmir is fanatically devoted to his position and has a deep hatred of chaos in all its forms. Basil Vardaski, Chief Inquisitor: the Chief Inquisitor is the most feared man in Praag, without a doubt. Churlish and cynical, Basil Vardaski controls Praag's official witch- hunters (read: secret police) with a dispassionate ruthlessness that would do a Champion of Khorne proud. Enemies of the High Inquisitor have a tendancy to disappear... +Important Groups+ Black Daggers - a cult who worships a unnamed god of chaos (even they do know the god's identity). This god is mentioned by the cultists as 'The One Who is Unamed' or 'Our Silent Watcher'. The cult has so far evaded the vicious witch-hunters attentions by having their meeting places outside the city. Their goals are mostly unknown, and seem to vary from each reported activity. Cult members are quite fond of using poisoned weapons, daggers being their favorite envenomed weapon of choice. Boyars - just below being nobility themselves, Boyars are wealthy landowners. They are not a single cohesive group in a normal sense, but wield considerable political influence when they are threatened as a whole. Servants of the Flame - this group is mainly composed of clerics of Olric who, along with their duties leading the Ceremony Depurgas, form an official court which judges "crimes against nature" (i.e. worshipping a chaos god, being a mutant, etc.). Very cooperative with the sanctioned witch- hunters. Chris Clements chris@atmnet.com "Death? Yeah, I've met him. I wasn't impressed."