Vos Regents

[stv2brown1988]

Has anyone ever tried to run campaigns in the Vos area? I have some players that want to use Frostburn rules and prestige classes and the only Birthright areas suitable (IMO) would be the Vos area and/or Drachenward.

This is particularly bad for my player that always wants to play wizards. I seem to recall a quote that says Vos would warn away Bards, spit at thieves, and kill wizards on site.

Also, how would you suggest handling two priest regents one of kriesha and one of Belinik as players? I was thinking of putting them both in one country and having them be co-operative rulers of a combined church.

[ausrick]

Well, I have the Vos Suppliment at home but I never really read it all that closely, I'll re-read it and glean some information.

In the mean time. Maybe its the harsh treatment of the Vos on their wizards, but a lot of Vos wizards seem to find their way to Anuire to stir up trouble. The swordmage is rumored to be a vos wizard and a necromancer to boot (talk about outcast), and I believe Doyle had a convention adventure where the players were traveling through Aerenwe and ran into a vos wizard using the wall of stone spell to make himself a tower.

As for your game, a source regent anywhere is powerful, and sources are kept mysterious to the uninitiated (Commoners, warriors, etc.) I wouldn't see any reason why a player character couldn't be a Vos source regent in Vosgaard, he would just have to be careful on who knew what he was and what powers he was capable of. A truely wise ruler would want to have him on his side, but a ruler who wanted him out of the picture could easily stir up the people against him.

[stv2brown1988]

Thanks for the reply Ausrick.

I was planning on starting the PCs out at 1st or 2nd level maybe with only one holding or source. I thought it would make for a fun campaign with all the players very low level regents; you know drive the spirit of cooperation into the party if they had to combine efforts to get anything done against the more "seasoned" regents.

So really, I guess I was asking how does a low level wizard "hide" and adventure among the Vos. I can certainly understand refugees fleeing to another region. What about some sort of stigmata, "Kill a wizard go to hell" or something like that. Does that sound too lame for a warrior people?

[Green Knight]

I think that could work for the majority of Vos. They may hate the arcane, but they are a superstitious lot, and their fear keeps them in check. Of course, this is an excellent adventure opportunity, as not all Vos will be equally timid. I can see the Wizard's companiouns needing to defend him from time to time!

[Doyle]

I would suggest that a mage in Vos lands would probably be best equiped with a short sword, several daggers, clothing that looks a little like cheap padded or leather armour and any scrolls are encased in a leather wallet that looks suspiciously like lock-picking tools.
It would be an excellent test of roleplaying to hide the characters true calling from the other PCs as well as the locals they are helping.

As an amusing aside, a friend of mine who played an assassin in a live roleplay game always used to dress as a mage's apprentice or scribe. The parties real mage and the other assassin were always the first target of NPCs, but the apprentice was rarely bothered and always left a trail of annoyed (slain) NPCs

If being a mage in Vosgaard is considered a blasphemy - even against evil gods, then don't look like a mage... Or move to Anuire where it's a little more popular. And yes Ausrick, the game was called 'Fools Reward' and will be running again at Retrocon in June.

[ausrick]

Yes, if the wizard picks a skill that an expert in that field would also do traveling and possibly adventuring, he could dupe people into thinking he is an expert npc class fairly easily. If he avoids witnesses to his arcane power, this ruse could work very cleverly. And woe to the person who underestimated him as a lowly wandering healer or herbalist or whatnot. All it costs the player is max ranks in a particular skill or profession. And I bet he could get into all sorts of fun roleplaying scenarios. What you will have to work out is whether or not the PC's know he is an arcane caster, and how ok they are with that.

[Benjamin]

I agree with my esteemed colleagues that a wizard in Vosgaard would have to hide the fact. I'd imagine such a wizard would need to take Still Spell feat, as well as Silent Spell, to avoid being noticed. That or pick up one of the variants where chanting is used, or disguise the spells to look like prayers. Anything, so long as someone who sees it doesn't say "hey, that doesn't look right - it's a WITCH!"

I ran a Vosgaard PBEM waaaay back in 1998. I had a horrible problem with that aspect and didn't handle it well.

[Satchkep45]

Glancing at my books, it appears that both the Tsarina Marisha Rodelovisk (the ruler of Rzhlev) and Tsar Drago Koskov (the ruler of Molochev) are secretly wizards. The Tsar's description explicitly says that he's hidden his magical abilities. The Tsarina has only recently become a wizardess. This doesn't even count the two open wizards (Unva Farzeb, the ruler of Zoloskaya and the Raven) and Y'urre, the puppet master wizard who controls the Manticore's Domain. The Master of Timoshev is also probably a powerful wizard, Firosk Slecktra in the Battle Fens is certainly a wizard of great power (and the book hints that she may control a landed domain) and the ruler of Tuar Awnwnn is probably a mage.

So we've got four wizards who openly rule domains, one secretly in control and three possible mage rulers in Vosgaard, a region with 13 realms. In comparison, Anuire has 29 domains (I think, I'm counting in my head) and 7 mage rulers (Taeghas, the Imperial City, the Sielwode, Tuarhievel, Ilien, the Chimera and the Gorgon).

I think the lesson might be that you can certainly be a mage in Vosgaard and even rule a realm... just either be secretive about it or powerful enough that nobody can do anything about it. I think the Book of Magecraft states that those mages and magicians who do surive in Vosgaard are some of the most canny and competent in all of Cerilia. Of course, even Firosk Slecktra had to begin as an apprentice once upon a time.