[Casus Belli] Pushing for inspiration

The Saturday after next (June 18th) although it may be the next week depending upon game events next week, I'm scheduled to resume my GURPS: Casus Belli game. This game is basically low-fantasy (for now) that is currently set in north Wales, circa 457 A.D. ... so during the era of the historical Arthur. Interestingly, I have set it in the Dresden Files universe because ... for reasons.

There are currently way too many players, which is not something I can really resolve as this is using the Saturday Fantasy Grounds group, which existed in its current form before I ended up talking myself into running this game. All characters (except where noted) are traditional Celts who have backslid into the "old ways." Some character notes:

  • Bradan - he's the "leader" of the group and is played by the usual GM of the Saturday group. Put simply, this character is something of an asshole but that was intentional so as he's planning on evolving into a much more rational individual as he ages. I have no plans for him to develop any sort of supernatural abilities. 
  • Marcus - younger brother to Bradan and twin to Meadhbh, he was fostered out to a Roman friend of their father who basically kidnapped him. Marcus has just returned to Prydain after twenty or so years serving with the Roman legions. He's very paladiny like, which causes conflict with the barbarians.
  • Meadhbh - younger sister to Bradan and twin to Marcus, she's very much the stereotypical battle maiden. Think Red Sonja but as a Celt and you're about right. She's a fledgling Wolfsister (ala Perrin from Wheel of Time). The player used Alex Kingston from that BBC Boudicca movie as an avatar and that played into ...
  • Heddwyn - cousin to the three children of Caddell, he is a Bard (in training to be a druid) and is now a fledgling sorceror. Player focused on the druid's being lawyers and is thus, the group's primary "face" man. He chose to use Matt Smith from Doctor Who (with the beard) as his avatar and given Eleven's relationship with River Song (played by Alex Kingston), he decided Heddwyn has (had?) a crush on Meadhbh.
  • Paulus - Catholic priest who was once a bishop until his lands were overrun. To be honest, he's a problem character as the player decided he was going to be Merlin even though Merlin already exists. He's currently being suborned by a powerful Fae and, in my GURPS: Red Sky game, I established that he'll go evil and Heddwyn ("The Last Druid") will kill him.
  • Angus - Bradan's "spymaster", he pretends to be an idiot to walk among people without drawing notice. 
  • Aedan - blacksmith. Sadly, this player is mostly a nonfactor because he's so damned quiet during the game.
The previous run of the game ended with the characters being forced to flee their traditional home (which was a day or two out of modern-day Glouchester, though they called it Glevum back then.) They ended up in northern Wales as stated (just outside Rhos) and even ended up in charge of Caerhun, a (then) abandoned Roman village. As the "season" ended, Marcus was believed killed in action due to a massive lightning strike (caused by Heddwyn, actually, who was not physically present at all) but will naturally survive.

This second "season" is going to start easing the players into the whole realm management thing, with them taking the various kingdom roles (currently, this is mostly handled by NPCs, but that'll change over time.) I've sort of figured out four major "story arcs" for this season:
  • Marcus' Return - he has been off becoming the inspiration for Tristan and Isolde over in Ireland, and is arriving ahead of a huge Irish raiding party/army. This arc requires the PCs to obtain a sufficient force to defeat the Irish.
  • Stabilization - with the Irish gone, the characters will by necessity need to be focused on stabilizing the cantref. I intend on bringing in Marcus' "Isolde" to marry the baron - and thus, cause him much angst.
  • Coup! Shortly after the conclusion of this arc, a coup transpires and the PCs find themselves facing the assholes in this cantref (think county.) It will culminate (hopefully) in the characters putting coup down and re-establishing the proper order ... although at this point, Bradan will be the official heir to this cantref as the current baron will have lost ... certain parts necessary to sire an heir.
  • Return to Ireland. Once the battles have been resolved, Marcus will need to return to Ireland to rescue his "Isolde" who will have vanished during the Coup. During this arc, a lot of the more supernatural elements will be coming to bear and not all of the main PCs will necessarily be present. This arc and this "season" will end with the conclusion of this storyline.
More info to come as I think aloud...

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