INTRODUCTION

This is a historical adventure, not merely in that it is set in a historical place and time, but in the fact that the characters are based on people who really lived and the events are based on a variety of similar events which actually happened in the period. Some specifics have been changed or added, but in essence, this is how it was six-hundred and fifty years ago.

The nature of money as used here should be noted. The standard coinage is the Pound (£) (20s), the Shilling (s) (12d) and the Penny (d). 1 UX$ on the Oroborus price list is equal to about 3 Shillings.

Players should be prepared for the rigors of this background. Characters should have almost no personal wealth or possessions (PRIx2s) and be young and inexperienced. It might be a good idea to have a fairly large group of characters, even two per player, as large numbers may be needed. Alternatively, it might work well with a party of 4-6 primary characters with one or more retainers or hangers-on each.

BACKGROUND

It is March 19, 1342 (First Tuesday After the Passion, 16 Edward III). The characters are natives of the city of Great Yarmouth (Magna Jernemuth) on the eastern coast of Norfolk. Edward III is King of England, and although the economy is unstable because of the war in France, the Norfolk coast is kept prosperous by active merchants who are involved in trade, smuggling and even piracy.

Local officials and personages of note include Robert Causton (Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk), Peter Cressy (Bailiff of Great Yarmouth), John Perbroun (Former Admiral, Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth), Sir Robert Morle (Admiral of the Northern Fleet, Baron), Sir John Shardelowe (Local Knight), Sir John Bardolf (Baron), John Elys (Former Admiral), Sir Thomas Drayton (Former Admiral, Baron) and Hugh Reppes (Powerful Local Merchant & Pirate). More of the significance of these characters will be developed later.

Great Yarmouth is a major port for international trade and for herring fishing. Major exports going through the port include fish, wool, grain and cloth. Major imports include iron, salt, and wine. The merchants of the town have become rich and powerful through this trade, and some families have as many as a dozen ships and close to 1000 men in their employ. The Reppes, Perbroun and Drayton families are particularly powerful. There is competition with other Norfolk ports, particularly Lynn to the north. When not engaged in honest shipping merchants from Great Yarmouth engage in piracy and raiding along the coast of Flanders and France. Their counterparts across the sea often respond in kind, so private wars spring up from time to time. Because of the large number of ships controlled by these merchants of Great Yarmouth (over 50), they have been recruited as a major part of King Edward's fleet, a status which earns them considerable protection when they stray outside the law. Another regular practice is that of stripping wrecked ships, a right which the King assigns to various local nobles, but which the merchants of the town often preempt by reaching the wreck first and removing the goods before the rightful wreckers arrive. As will be seen, this is an important part of the adventure.

One final important aspect of life at Great Yarmouth is the fair, a yearly event which attracts a large number of merchants to the town, bolstering trade and profit considerably. For some years this fair has been under the control of Hugh Reppes. He is a powerful local merchant who owns a large fishing fleet and commands a lot of manpower. During the time of the fair he uses these thugs to make sure that a good portion of the profits come his way. He unofficially runs the town, but usually maintains good relations with the other major merchants and nobles in the area.

THE SITUATION

The characters should be young men of the town, involved in crafts or trade, perhaps fishermen or sailors. Most of them should either work for or be associated with Hugh Reppes. This could be anything from being a sail or on one of his ships to being a member of another major family which cooperates with him.

It is the day of the fair in Great Yarmouth. The town is busy, but the characters have finished their work of preparing stalls and helping tradesmen and merchants set up. They are sitting down on the Yare wharf having some beer and bread for an early lunch. They have seen little of Hugh Reppes, because he is extremely busy up at the Guildhall coordinating the fair. To their surprise, William Playford, a clerk in the town, comes running to find them and reports that Master Hugh wishes to see them on a matter of great urgency. As an alternative the GM may wish to have one member of the party selected ahead of time, contacted and used to recruit the rest of the characters.

When they arrive at the guildhall they are taken in to meet with Master Hugh in a private back room. Hugh Reppes is there with Peter Cressy, one of his top associates. He seems very busy, and while they are talking messengers and clerks will come in from time to time with messages for him. He informs the characters or at least the leader that during the night a ship was wrecked on the St. Nicholas Rode, an area of sand-bars and shoals north of the town. He believes that this ship is the Rodecogge belonging to an old enemy, John Pape of Graveling in Flanders. The ship is stuck on a sandbar with a major breach in its hull, but it is likely that at high-tide it will be floated free and then sink.

It is now about 10 am, and something has to be done about the ship before it is floated free at the 5 pm high tide. Unfortunately all of the men who regularly work the coasts as wreckers for Hugh and his cronies are currently occupied with the fair, so he has to find someone he can trust who might be interested in this opportunity for advancement. Those who are willing to go to the Rodecogge and remove everything of value will probably advance in Hugh's favor which is very useful if they plan to continue to live in Great Yarmouth) and will also receive a percentage of the take. He will offer something like 5% of the take, but expects to settle for around 10% split among the wreckers. He would go as high as 15% or even 20%. However, the higher he goes the more attention he will pay to just what they bring back, and as he has a good idea of the content of the ship he will not react well if they pocket too much. If they take a small percentage he will be much more lenient on what they steal. He has a good intelligence network and even has a partial manifest of the ship, not surprising since a member of the crew named Charles Benoit is in his pay and was at least partially responsible for the wreck. Once the arrangements are made, he will see that they are given three carts with horses and encourage them to set out immediately. A large party will be useful for getting out the most possible loot, but it will mean more people for it to be divided among. This whole interview will be rushed, so it will not be until they have agreed and are on their way out that Peter Cressy(who will lead them to the wagons) mentions that there may be as many as a dozen crew members still on board guarding the cargo and that other members of the crew may have gone either to the Sheriff (Robert Causton), one of the local barons, or the Admiral (Robert Morle) for aid. Robert Morle has the official salvage rights for that particular part of the coast. So, they should be aware that there may be interference and competition and that they may not be in the right and so should be careful and devious. He also mentions the great value of the cloth and movable goods to be found in the wreck and that they should concentrate on cloth, jewelry and coinage first. If they think of it they can ask for and have two small cart-size sailing launches in addition to the three carts.

The St. Nicholas Rode is about 15 miles out of town, about a two hour drive on the coastal road and about an equal time by boat, for although the distance is less there are more obstructions. If they set out by 11 am they should arrive at 1 pm and have some four hours to do their work.

ENCOUNTERS & THE TRIP

There are a number of possible encounters on the way to the St. Nicholas Rode, both at sea or on land. Several of these are described briefly here and can be elaborated on appropriatly.

On land or on the road it is inevitable that they should run into at least some merchants traveling to the fair at Great Yarmouth. Since they are on the Lynn road most of the merchants are likely to be from Lynn. Some may have come from Norwich via Lynn and there will even be some from York or other farther of f places in the north. Some typical merchants would be wool-sellers with hides of wool, farmers with produce or even livestock, vintners and brewers, butchers, tailors and various sorts of metal smiths. Many of these will travel with one or two wagons and an appropriate number of apprentices and journeymen. They will be of varying wealth, and there will probably be some who are quite poor. In addition they will probably encounter a few beggars and traveling entertainers. Many of these possible encounters could serve to slow them down, and should be used for that purpose. Rich merchants are always reluctant to give way to anyone, and since they are late getting to the fair they will be in quite a hurry. Another possible encounter might be Benedict Sardica, the papal claimant to the Bishopric of Norwich, an annoying and self-important Italian whose claim to the bishopric has not been legitimized by the king. They might ever run into Hugh Betele, the Mayor of Lynn with a number of his men (10-12), who, if he were to find out about the wreck might want to salvage it himself. Finally, one or more of the people they encounter might have seen the wreck from the road or might have encountered the party which was sent out from the ship that morning, in which case they might be able to inform them that a party was sent down to Norfolk to contact the Sherriff. Some might even mention how they had run into Sir Robert Morle on the road and told him of the wreck, at which point he had turned home to fetch more men to establish his right to wreck on that bit of coast.

Encounters at sea should be somewhat rarer and easier to avoid. The most likely encounter would be with one of the ships which patrol the Norfolk coast looking for smugglers and pirates. If this should happen they it should be with the Magdelene from Lynn which is under the command of Peter Melchebourn. It will stop them and question them, and if suspicions are aroused it will keep an eye on them so that they cannot approach the wreck. The Magdalene carries a crew of 80 and is empowered by the king to take any measures necessary to maintain order on the coast. If they avoid this encounter or deal successfully with it the Magdelene is not likely to discover the wreck while they are working on it. One other sea encounter which might be viable would be with another group of wreckers sent down by boat from Lynn (the next nearest large town). They would be organized and fairly serious to deal with, perhaps with 10-15 men, but might be willing to team up if properly persuaded.

AT THE ST. NICHOLAS RODES

The St. Nicholas Rodes is a complex of sand-bars, rock shoals and tidal pools which covers a fair portion of the coast near Great Yarmouth. At high tide it is completely submerged, but provides hidden dangers beneath the waves. At low tide large portions are exposed and it is possible to walk fairly far out to sea, though the footing on the wet sand and rocks is treacherous.

The Rodecogge has been breached by rocks and is caught up on a sand-bar about 50 yards from shore, but it is possible to walk to it at low tide (from about 10 am to 5 pm if they are lucky).

The ship is easily spotted from the shore. The characters will first see it from a bluff above the shore which is reached on a track from the main road. There is a slope down the bluff, but it is too steep and treacherous for horses and carts, though people can scrabble down with little trouble. Thus, the y will have to leave any loot on the beach and then carry it up to the wagons above. From the bluff or the beach they will be able to tell that there are a few men on the deck of the ship and that they have a launch in the water around the stern to depart with if they need. They will also see that two men from the boat are posted as guards on the beach, apparently having walked in on the sands. These guards will be hard to approach covertly, as they are surrounded by open sand in a 10 yard radius. Once they are a bit closer, perhaps down on the beach, the characters will see that the breach in the prow of the boat is large enough for it to sink rapidly, but also large enough for a man to pass through, although it is partly filled with sand.

The two guards on the beach are Flemish Marines. They are armed and will confront any suspicious persons, but they will be reluctant to attack a large group, preferring to retreat judiciously. If attacked they will defend themselves. Note also that anyone attacking them will be within range of the crossbow men on the ship who can reach about half way to the bluff (20 yds up the beach) with some accuracy. There are 11 more marines on board. Remember that they can see everything that happens or the beach and can communicate by shouting.

The men on the deck of the ship have crossbows and other weapons, and attempting to scale the sides would be suicidal, but once under the prow two or three attackers would be shielded by the curvature of the hull and be able to dig out enough sand fairly quickly to enter the hold through the hole. It would be useful if this were to occur to someone in the part y after they have dealt with the two guards on the beach.

The distance on the sands to the Rodecogge is 50 yards of unsure footing. This should take about three Combat Rounds for the average character. However there is a 100-((AGI or DEX)x4)% chance of each character stepping on sinking sand and being delayed for 1D4 rounds extricating himself. All the time they are crossing the sands or trapped on the sands the 11 crossbow men on the ship can fire on them with potentially devastating effect.

Once they reach the wreck they will have to dig inside. It will take 100 ROUNDS/# of Diggers to clear the sand. However, each person there over j has a 20% chance of being exposed to fire from the deck, rolled each CR. While they are digging it will take 25 rounds for 10 of the marines to be lowered to the sands so that they can run around and attack the characters. It would probably be wise for them to make some effort to defend their rear once they get into the hold, perhaps by filling in the gap with sand, moving something over the hole or attempting to ambush the pursuers if they follow them into the hold.

THE WRECK OF THE RODECOGGE

The letters given here refer to the maps of the Rodecogge which are provided. Descriptions and information apply to those areas as they are approached or entered by the characters. All creatures and crew mentioned are described in the appendix.

A: The front of the ship is breached in a number of places in the lower hull. This consists mostly of a large rip in the left part of the bow. This rip has opened the sides of a number of cabins. This is one of them. It is used as a cabin for 6 crew members, but the contents have been broken and swept out by the impact of the wreck. The room is partially filled with sand and there is a dead body trapped under the sand with just a leg sticking out. No furniture or personal possessions remain.

B: This is just the corner of a large cabin which housed B crewmen. It is mostly full of sand, but provides an easy access to the corridor which leads to the hold.

C: This cabin housed 4 men, but is now empty except for sand.

D: This cabin is almost completely filled with sand, buried in which are the bodies of j of the four men who were sleeping here when the ship wrecked. The door at the back is blocked by wine casks which are jumbled up against it, though they can be moved and a passage out cleared if two men work for three hours. The stairs up can be reached in just 20 minutes by three men moving casks.

E: This cabin is intact, but empty. The 6 crew members who were in it escaped through the hole in the prow and climbed to the deck after the wreck. Some of their personal possessions are still there, but nothing of value was left behind.

F: This cabin was unoccupied when the ship wrecked, but was used by 4 men. Since the cabin is sealed shut by casks their personal possessions remain, including their personal fortunes. This money is hidden beneath a loose board in one well and consists of 135s worth of coin and jewelry.

G: Eventually they should be able to make a path through the casks as described at 0. This will allow them to reach this open area in the hold and pass through it towards the stern of the ship, if they wish. There are a number of different types of things stored in the hold, including barrels of various liquids and powders (circles on map), bales of cloth (crossed squares on map) and cages for wild animals (hatched squares on map). The barrels/casks contain Salt) 150£ worth--half a wagon load), Iron(lOOO£ worth--a full wagon load), Wine (1500£ worth--two full wagon loads), Oil (200£ worth--one half wagon load) and indigo (3500£ worth--half a wagon load). The bales are linen)150£ worth--half a wagon load), Silk (2000£ worth--half a wagon load) and wool fells (1500£ worth--half a wagon load). A wagon load corresponds approximatly to the load for a skiff, so there is enough here for several loads for their available transport. All told, these goods make a total of l0,OOO£. Most of the cages have broken open and released the exotic animals which they contained. There are a few harmless, colorful birds flying about and no dangerous animals in area G. If the birds can be caught they will be worth about 500£ more. The dangerous animals are out of their cages, but blocked from area G by a line of bales and cages which can be climbed over by agile men. They are making a forbidin9 racket. For more detail see H. In addition, characters in this area can be seen from an open hatch in the roof directly between the two masts (see

R: There is a fair chance that as many as 6 crossbowmen will be posted there to fire on them as they pass through the hold, assuming they know the ship is being invaded. Both of the stairways in this hold lead up to the main deck.

H: In this section there are several loose wild animals which have broken out of their cages. These are a pair of large wolves(male andf emale) and a leopard. When the characters enter the hold they will hear the sound of animals fight ing.By the time they arrive at this area they will discover that the two wolves have killed the leopard and that one of the wolves is wounded. The cages and bales are arranged in such a way that the wolves cannot escape easily, but the wolves are scared and angry and not dispossed to let anyone pass. There are many ways to deal with the wolves, such as fire, attacking them, distracting them, etc. Characters will have to find which way works best for them.

I: This cabin was empty at the time of the wreck. It is used by 4 sailors and most of their personal possessions are there, including 35s hidden in one of the bedrolls.

J: This cabin houses 6 men who were on duty during the wreck. Personal possessions left behind are of little value, save for a sealed locket hung on the wall which is worth 5£.

K: The 6 residents of this cabin have vacated it and moved their gear above decks.

L: Essentially the same situation as K,

M: This cabin houses 4 men. Some possessions were left behind, including a rather nice collection of carved ivory worth about lOL.

N: This cabin also houses 4 men. Of these three were above decks during the wreck, but one was below. He was attacked and killed by the leopard and his partially eaten corpse is in this room. In a pouch he has collected all the goods of his comrades, worth a total of 5£.

0: This is the cabin of the Helmsman of the Rodecogge. The cabin is fairly lavishly furnished, with some tapestries and rugs, as well as finely made furniture. In a small desk there is a pouch which contains 55£ in gold and two emeralds worth 80£.

P: This is the galley. It is used to cook and serve all mealef to store food, wine and water, and as a residence for the cook and two cabin boys/assistants.

Q : At this point one of two masts comes up through the deck of the ship. It is on this deck where most of the surviving crew will be found. All of the crew are either on this or one of the upper decks.

R: This is the hatch through which goods are lowered into the hold. Marines on deck will use it to fire on any intruders in the hold.

S: This is a sitting roam and map room used by the captain. There are some fairly valuable books, maps and charts stored here, worth about lO0£.

T: This is the captain's sitting room, used for meetings with merchants and officials and for entertaining. There is a lang table with silverware and accoutrements worth 8O£.

U: This is the captain's private cabin. He owns some valuable jewelry, including an ornamental chain, a pair of brooches and a gilt picture frame, valued at a total of 30£. Beneath the bed, as might be expected, is a strongbox containing the gold which is being transported as part of the cargo as well as the a pa rating funds far the ship, totalling some 5OOO£ of easily transported loot.

V: This is the forward castle (foc'sl), a raised deck ideal far boarding other shipe and far placing archers and al so useful far mounting esi ge engines, though there is none aboard at this time. The launch is kept here when not in use.

W: This is the rear castle, a raised deck usef primarily by the helmsman who steers the ship from the large wheel mounted at the beck and linked by ropes to the rudder which is at the rear of the ship. The rudder lines run externally dawn the stern of the ship and the wheel is rather large and hard to ape rate, a not completely refined technological innovation.

Status of Ship and Crew: Originally there was a crew of 70 men. 28 men died in the wreck or were ewept overboard and last. Of the remaining 42 the captain (John Pape), 12 marines and 5 sailors were sent out for help. 2 marines were posted on the beach. This leaves the helmsman, 10 marines and 12 sailors alive and on board to guard the ship. All these men will be on deck and ready to defend the ship. Note that the marines will go into combat first and if they are defeated the sailors will be likely to surrender or try to strike a deal with the raiders. They might even be willing to help unload the ship for a share in the loot. It is important to note that if the crew can be impressed with overwhelming odds (for example if Lord Morle teams up with the characters) they will try to make a deal on the spot and trade assistance in robbing the ship for freedom and a share in the loot.

EVENTS DURING THE RAID

While the characters are subduing the defenders and unloading the ship there are events transpiring in the background which may be important.

News of the wreck has reached Sir Robert Morle, Admiral of the North, who has wrecking rights an this stretch of the coast. He will gather up some of his mounted men fairly hastily and head to the ship to assert his rights and rob the ship himself. He will be able to raise 15 men plus himself, all mounted, skilled and well armed, but they will get there fairly late in the day, probebly between noon and 3 pm.

After the wreck Captain Pape was be fairly quick about setting out with 17 men (as mentioned above). They went on foot to find the sheriff and get his protection, because they have a licence of protection from the King, which theoretically makes them immune to Lord Morle's wrecking rights and grants them protection from robbers like the characters. Sometime between 3 and 6 pm (possibly after the ship has begun to sink) Sheriff Robert Caustan will show up with 20 armed and mounted men. Also with him will be Captain Pape and his men. Causton's goal will be to get all the goods off the ship and to a safe warehouse in Great Yarmouth until the king can dispose of them. Once the ship has been emptied, Causton will attempt to pursue or find the criminals, seize the goods and make appropriate reparations and arrange far punishment. If they are captured they will be held in the rather formidable edifice of Norwich Castle, a Norman fortress recently turned to use as a prison.

It is also possible that around noon a group of competing wreckers from Lynn will show up. This group will consist of 12-20 seaman-types looking for some loot to grab up.

Finally, remember that Charles Benoit, a member of the crew, is in the pay of Hugh Reppes, and will do what he can to help the characters out, short of endangering his awn life, such as persuading the rest of the crew to make a deal and doing little things to slow the crew down.

In any and all of these encounters the persons involved will be cautious and leery of getting into direct conflict. Lord Morle or wreckers from Lynn will be willing to team up in the robbery. Causton will be far firmer and official. Lord Morle will attempt to assert his rights and overawe the characters before attempting to deal with them. If they have a iready taken the ship the situation will be quite a bit different, as they will have an advantaged position in dealing with any who arrive. If they have not taken the ship they will need help quite a bit more. How all these conflicting interests are resolved is up to the gamemaster.

TRANSPORTING THE GOODS

Once the goods have been removed from the Rodecogge by whatever means they will need to be taken to Great Yarmouth as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are 6 waganloade worth of goods with a total value of 15,OOO£ (including the captain's gold). They should have at least three wagons and possibly two boats as well. The gold takes little space and is of great value, so should definitely be taken. The most valuable 3 wagon load would be the Indigo, the Silk, the Wool, the Iron and a quarter of the Wine. If they also have the two boats they would want to take the remainder of the wine as well. This would necessitate leaving behind the Salt, Oil and Linnen, a total value of only 5OO£, which they might use to pay off those who assist them or could come beck for later. If they have only the two wagons they may very well wish to make two trips, in which case they will have to leave goads behind, with someone to guard the goode, who will certainly encounter both Lord Marie and the Sheriff, and be in serious trouble, though they might try something subtle like hiding the leftover goods in the nearby woods or burying it.

Should they decide to take off an their own an d not return the goods to Hugh Reppes in Great Yarmouth, they will become hunted outlaw's and also be placed an his hit list(and he has powerful connections). In addition, they will have a very hard time selling the etalen goods at anything near their actual value without his connections. If they take them beck as originally planned, the will be paid the full percentage arranged be are they set out, which might be enough to make them rather wealthy men. In addition while under Hugh Reppes' protection they wiil be fairly safe from prosecution or pursuit.

MAJOR CHARACTERS

SIR ROBERT MORLE, ADMIRAL OF THE NORTH

Robert Morle is one of the major nobles of Norfolk. He is a local beron and Admiral of the Northern Fleet, with 50-80 ships at his command. He is a trusted friend of the king with considerable clout and good connections. He has the wrecking rights on the St. Nicholas Rodes and tries to make th em pay whenever possible, though he is a fairly reasonable man and willing to take a emaller profit if some one else doas all the work.

JOHN PAPE, CAPTAIN OF THE RODECOGGE

John Pape is a Flemish merchant and pirate who has some dealings with the English King and the Count of Flanders. He has been a constant thorn in the side of English merchants, but usually manages to avoid any retribution. He has protection from the King, at least theoretically, and this will be supported by royal officials if he can track any down.

ROBERT CAUSTON, SHERIFF OF NORFOLK

Robert Causton is Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and a member of a major regional family. He controls considerable power beca use of his value to the king and the position to which he has been appointed, which includes responsibility for domestic security for the entirity of East Anglia.

THOMAS SWEYN, HELMSMAN OF THE RODECOGGE

This is the helmsman of the Rodecogge and the second in command of the ship. He is a large, hard-tempered Flemishman who has served with Pape for a few years. He maintains discipline on the ship and is loyal to his employer, but should it seem wise he would readily sell him out as he is a true pirate at heart.

CHARLES BENOIT, AGENT OF HUGH REPPES

Charles Benoit is a typical Flemish seaman who has spent some time in England and was contacted by Hugh Reppes to act asaspy in John Pape's crew. He is a bit more skilled than the average sailor and is also a pilot/helmsman.

PETER CRESSY OF GREAT YARMOUTH

Peter Creesy is a merchant of Great Yarmouth and one of Hugh Reppe8 chief lieutenant8. He is a skilled seaman and warrior and good at convincing people to do his will by whatever means nacassary. He has a beckground serving with the king in the French wars.

PETER MELCHEBOURNE OF LYNN

Peter Melchebourne is a major merchant of Lynn and captain of the Magdalene which is one of the ships comissioned by the king and adairal to patrol the coast for attacks, pirates and amugglers. He will arrest anyone suspicious and have them taken to Lynn and then to gaol in Norwich. If the evidence is ovarwhalming against those arrested the merchants of Lynn have been known to dispose of criminals in a free form manner.

HUGH REPPES OF GREAT YARMOUTH

Hugh Reppes is the boss of the Great Yarmouth Fair and coordinates the actionsof illegal wreckers and pirates in the area. Ha is a royal custome official and has held other p.ublic offices, as well as being one of the major merchants providing shipe for the northern navy. He has a good bit of pu 11 in his rag ion despite his dubious activities and is on good terms with the king, which makes all the difference.