Atela is ruled by the Kingpriest. The Kingpriest is the
hereditary monarch of Atela and the head of the Church. As such, secular and
religious law are closely intertwined.
Beneath the Kingpriest are the Nobles and the Clergy.
Nobles oversee large estates. They provide resources and men
to the Kingpriest and well as acting as judges in secular matters. Nobles are referred to generically as 'Lord
So-and-So.' Their wives are referred to
as 'Lady So-and-So.' Noble children have no formal title. Noble titles are
always passed to the eldest son. Women cannot inherit a noble title; their
title is dependent upon marriage. Nobles tend to marry among themselves and
weddings are usually carefully arranged to benefit both families. Noble
marriages must be approved by the Crown. Nobles who break their oaths to the
Crown can face serious repurcushions up to and including death.
In addition to landed nobles, Atela also has knights.
Knights are usually common soldiers, or the later-born sons of nobles, who have
served the Crown and been granted noble status for their actions. Knights swear
lifelong fealty to the Kingpriest and act to enforce the Crown's edicts and
directives. They also defend the people from various threats and are usually
assigned to oversee military garrisons. The son of a knight does not inherit
his father's title, but most marry into noble families. Very rarely a knight is
raised to the status of a noble, at which point his eldest born son can inherit
the title of 'lord.'
As noted earlier, the daughters of noble have no inherant
title they can claim. Instead, to become a 'lady' or 'dame' they must marry
either a noble or a knight. Noblewomen are trained in the social graces, as
well as the practical matters of administering a household and/or estate. Many noblewomen exert tremendous influence
behind the scenes.
The clergy in Atela serve the Church. They include bishops, priests, monks and
nuns. The clergy are responsible for the moral and spiritual welfare of the
people. Aside from monks and nuns,
clergy in Atela are not expected to be celibate. It is common for a priest to
have a wife and children. However, unlike nobles, the children of clergymen
cannot inherit their father's title or authority. They are considered peasants, unless they
formally join the Church.
Bishop is the highest title that a clergyman can attain.
Bishops report to the Kingpriest and oversee the priests, monks and nuns in a
specific region. Bishops are appointed exclusively by the Kingpriest.
Priests are commonly encountered in Atela and every village
will have at least one, possibly more, to serve the needs of the community.
Priests use divine magic to ease and protect the lives and souls of their
charges. The Church considers priests their first line of defense against the
Devil and his minions. In effect, priests often act as the eyes and ears of the
Church, reporting suspicious activities to their superiors. More than one warlock or heretic has been
ferreted out and executed because of priestly astuteness.
Monks live apart from the people, dedicating themselves to
God through worship and service. They take oaths of celibacy and often carry
out administrative tasks for the Church. In addition, some monasteries and
nunneries oversee vast estates that contribute to the physical wealth of the
Church. Monks of a more militant bent often develop martial skills that are
useful in the defense of the Church and its followers.
Like monks, nuns also live apart from the people, dedicating
themselves to God through worship and service. Like monks, nuns also take
lifelong oaths of celibacy. Nuns tend to function as teachers and healers to
the people, but many are also learned religious scholars. Many intellectual women find that joining a
convent gives them an acceptable outlet for their intellect. Nuns are also
afforded greater physical freedom than most other women in Atela, as serving
God's interests can require them to operate outside normal social restraints.
Beneath the nobility and the clergy are the peasants. The majority
of Atela's population falls into this social stratem. The majority of peasants live in villages and
hamlets, overseen by a local lord or a knight.
More rarely a peasant might be overseen by an abbot, abbess or a bishop.
Every peasant swears fealty to the Kingpriest on their fifteenth birthday.
Most peasants work the land and are uneducated and
illiterate. Some are talented craftsmen, such as blacksmiths or potters. Those
of an adventurous bent join the army and become soldiers. Truly ambitious peasants
may manage to start a business, such as a shop or a tavern. The most ambitious
make their way to Alda, hoping to make their fortune serving the needs and
desires of the nobility and the clergy.
A WARNING
Atela is not a politically correct setting. It is a
conservative patriarchal society led by a theocratic authoritarian ruler on a
world succumbing to an ice age. Anything
that threatens the status quo, either religious or secular, will be viewed as a
threat, at best, or evil, at worst.
Most women are treated like second-class citizens. They're
expected to obey their husbands and produce children.
Any kind of sexual deviance from the norm is not tolerated.
Anyone who professes or advocates a different view of
religious scripture would be branded a heretic and most likely burned alive.
Anyone who questions the Kingpriest's rule would be branded
a traitor and most probably executed.
This should be explained to your players before you begin a
campaign in this setting. Some players
may not be comfortable with the setting. Some DMs may not want to run this
setting. However, the whole point of Atela is to get away from the sort of
generic high-fantasy sacharine settings that have become prominant throughout
roleplaying.
That said, an interesting twist for this setting might be
for your players to play the 'villains.' Perhaps their characters want to
overthrow the Kingpriest? Help the giants? Ally with the elves? Perhaps they
are heretics? Or warlocks?
Or, if you want, they can be the first foreign visitors to
Atela in over a decade, with strange customs and outlooks that send rumbles
through the entire society? They might find allies among the dispossessed,
hungry for knowledge of the world beyond the Last Kingdom? They'll definitely
find enemies, among the nobility and the clergy.
Or perhaps they are loyal citizens of the Last Kingdom,
going forth to battle the enemies of humanity. They battle giants in the west
and venture into the Dark Wood, seeking to rescue children from the clutches of
a warlock coven? Perhaps they're persuing a heretic spreading dangerous ideas
through peasant villages that make the entire kingdom vulnerable?
The choice is yours.
The Last Kingdom awaits.
