Bridge War! (Adventure Location)

Inspired by the history of Milwaukee, this is a small adventure location with competing factions and easy connections to other underground lairs. It is also a dungeon with a river in it, to satisfy Loch's prompt for Glaugust 2025 and win my full participation badge.

The Situation

The dungeon, such as it is, is the intersection of two nameless underground rivers shortly before they feed into the Terrible Lakes. It is divided into three wards— the goblin town of Nilbog, the deep dwarf company of Hoheim, and the serpentfolk complex of Slither's Point. Each, wanting to control trade along the dungeon rivers and achieve prominence over the others, has spread rumors against the others, set their tunnels at odd angles, and eventually made bridges spanning those odd angles to direct the flow of foot traffic. After sabotage of two bridges, the wards are tense, and war is ready to leap up and set the forces against each other.

The contents of the dungeon proper should be pretty easy to adapt to your game world, but if you want to run this as a one-shot, it might help to define a bit of a situation on the surface. Something like…

The country here is pleasant, with many rivers running through marshes, woods, and open land to a massive freshwater lake. The main inhabitants are the Pkékejewen Tribe, several hundred people in distributed settlements of matt-covered dome homes or wooden longhouses, occupied with hunting Gygaxian monsters, botany, and supporting a lodge of pyromancer-researchers. If they ever establish trade with Hoheim, the steady supply of worked goods would dramatically increase their military potential.

Three days to the south is the great city-state of Chipotamia, whose symbol is the bull, the overbroad pauldron, and the secret sign of every thief's brotherhood. Its fugitives and outlaws use Pkékejewen backlands to conceal their hideouts and smuggling routes, which the emir increasingly blames on the tribe. If he ever learns of the dungeon wards, he will try to bankroll Slither's Point to push out the goblins who make a haven for crime.

Five days north along the river is Agaamishkode, recently called the Ashen Lands after half the thousand-mile-wide forest was burned. Ruled by dryads and peopled by ensorceled lumberjacks, rangers, and elves. Valuing fecundity in their servants, the verdigarchs would aid the growth of Nilbog if they could.

Two days to the west are the wood pillars marking the beginning of the other lands of the Kenupik Alliance, of which Pkékejewen is a junior member. Five other tribes guarantee their independence against the north and south, and when their bands walk together they paint scales on their shields and fangs on their arrows. 

2d6 Underground River Encounters

2 The wizard Lesekeme, always looking to buy human bodies at a bargain. Paddles his own solitary gondola. 9 HD.

3 2d6 Kuo-Toa Pilgrims. They argue with the serpentfolk and try to sell you medallions of the "Sea Mother", a humanoid figure with lobster claws they worship. See D2: Shrine of the Kuo-Toa.

4 4d4 Kobolds of Korm Basin on a scavenged barge. They trade scavenged goods and rumors about the tomb of the Sandlanders, and may hire out mercenaries to help them defeat "the Svarts of the Green Star". See White Dwarf #9's The Lichway.

5 3d4 Deep Dwarves here to interface with Hoheim. Ride in a water-crawler, a device halfway between a buggy, a bugge, and a submarine.

6 6d6 Goblin Merchants on pontoons, refreshing the wares of the stalls at the wharf and buoying Nilbog spirits with patriotic slogans.

7 3d6 Human Smugglers on silent rafts. D4 specialty: counterfeit goods, stolen goods, slaves, cursed and evil objects.

8 2d6 Troglodyte Corsairs on a ramshackle lifeboat. Fleeing their gang in the Incandescent Grottoes after the death of their beloved Boss Trog.

9 2d6 Serpentfolk Pilgrims on a snake-prowed ship. They argue with Kuo-Toa, pray in the temple, and worship the Great Egg.

10 1d2 Big Crayfish (stats as giant crab)

11 3d4 Fungusjack Dwarves on over-engineered stone rafts. Sell goods carved from giant mushrooms. Hate the deep dwarves out of classic Gygaxian animus. See Dungeon of the Undermoon.

12 The dragon Appetite (stats as green dragon), a mud-grey, smug swindler who loves to boast about his marks and meals as he passes through.

 Area Key

The dungeon  lingers under a wooded stretch of the much more mundane Firefly River. It can be accessed from the surface by the underside of a bridge (area 11), a brick factory (area 14), or a hole in a gulley (area 18).

The rivers here flow briskly southeast, 10-15 feet deep and have a vaulted ceiling that comes to a peak 15 feet above the surface. Bridges leave 10 feet of clearance. 

1. Western Bridge. Barricaded by the serpentfolk in solidarity with Hoheim. Takes one man-hour to disassemble, but 1-in-6 chance per turn of 8 goblins showing up to gank you and a separate 1-in-6 chance per turn of 4 serpentfolk showing up to throw firebombs at you.

2. Eastern Bridge. Open and clear. 

3. Fallen Bridge. Destroyed by Hoheim sabotage, but there is enough wreckage to potentially scrabble across (2-in-6 chance of dumping you into the current-swift water, save vs death if you're wearing heavy armor). The Nilbog bank opens directly to the home of Kill-Burn, the hobgoblin mayor, while the Hoheim bank has a cannon pointed directly at it.

If the wreckage is carefully searched, the remains of a deep dwarf can be found, still clutching a +1 star-nosed warhammer and a stick of waterlogged dynamite.

4. Nuisance Bridge. Despised by Nilbog, defended by Hoheim. The struts and supports have been weakened by a barge crash paid for by Nilbog, making it sway when any weight is put upon it. 1-in-6 chance of crashing apart when crossed (1d6 damage, save vs death if you're wearing heavy armor).

5. Docks. Uneven wharf for ships to dock, with a ramp allowing easy ascent from the river. A dozen goblin porters and three merchants selling standard dungeon equipment and several oddities. Any Underground River Encounters will stop here to trade.

6. North bridge. Tense standoff. A goblin brute squad of 8, led by Kill-Burn's brother hobgoblin Swill, guards it against a team of 6 deep dwarves waiting for them to leave so they can steal supports of the bridge to repair Nuisance Bridge (area 4).

7. Warren. Rough-hewn hallway with many small goblin burrows branching off. 2-in-6 chance per turn of encountering 1d4! goblins. The community is broken up into "pads" of 1d6 that include roommates, partners, and siblings. Children are raised in common and avoid outsiders.

By night, the warren comes alive with communal activity— washing clothes, preparing food, chasing children around, exc. The deep dwarf trader Agnar Oversen hangs out here, as he doesn't want to be seen as a turncoat by the dwarves of Hoheim. Here, he can be induced to offer gossip he has heard on the other side.

 But sike! He is a spy sent by Hoheim to mislead and confuse. He is eager to report that the dwarves plan to sabotage a goblin dam several miles up the western river in order to spread out their forces.

8. Kill-Burn's Chamber. Home of the mayor of Nilbog, the hobgoblin Kill-Burn— tall, pumpkin-orange, with a gallant tailed coat of chain and barbed flail, he is martial-stern and gold-grasping, ever thinking of how he can achieve prominence over Hoheim and Slither's Point. After the river-facing wall was blown apart by a dungeon catapult, he dragged in the goblin's shrine to Saint Rosetti so none of the denizens will dare attack here. The room is furnished in helter-skelter fashion, with a pile of cushions, a hanging portrait of a Chipotamian merchant, and old shipping records. 

The portrait has a small artist's signature: Aflatun, Summer 1451. Behind the portrait is hidden a small alcove concealing a safe with a combination lock. If 1-4-5-1 is entered, it reveals its contents: 2,500 gold coins, a Belt of Levitation, a little vial of powder, and an apatropaic pearl on a string cord. 

9. Fortune Teller. Their door advertised with a weeping eye, this is the home of Ever-Woe, a goblin sage and seer. The room is decorated with rocks and semiprecious mineraloids, and they wear stone necklaces and earrings that dangle near the floor, with one eye that seems like a smokey quartz. Boasting perfect knowledge of all things on or below the earth, they will answer questions for a fee.

Remote viewing: Ever-Woe can consult a grid of moss agate to peer at a location the PCs specify, learning about three of the following (d4): 1. a random encounter, 2. a notable personage, 3. a landmark, or 4. an oddity. This viewing costs 400 gold coins, but if they view an especially dangerous area (i.e. the most suitable PC level is more than 1), the cost is multiplied by the "intended" PC level.

Dowsing: Ever-Woe knows of a fat untapped vein of gold to the north that they can reveal for 10,000 gold coins. Digging down to it would be a project for dozens of people, and the DM is required to make it into a cool adventure, but the amount of gold in the vein can yield 100,000 coins.

Identifying magic items: as however you normally do that.

10. Temple. Single, singularly empty chamber ever since Kill-Burn moved the shrine-figure of Saint Rosetti to his own chamber. Here lingers the shaved troll priestess God-Grime, mother to the troll guarding the bridge. Her neutrality to the squabbling of the wards is represented by her hands being sewn together in prayer (-3 to hit, 1d2 damage, bit attack unaffected). She can explain the doctrines and deeds of Saint Rosetti; how she donned antennae and chitinous armor and devoured the worked metal of men, and how she fresses still at the core of the earth, softening its heart.

11. Troll Bridge. On the surface, a wide wooden bridge across the Firefly River is infested by a shaggy-haired troll named Bother-All. He accepts a gold coin per head to cross the bridge, or if asked will give a riddle instead of a fee. "We have caps but no head, we fall without ever having climbed, and if lucky we become a new home for our kind. What are we called?" The answer is "acorns".

Under the northern end of the bridge, a tunnel leads down into the earth. The troll's bachelor pad, with a sleeping pallet, soggy tapestry of a knight fighting a dragon, and crate full of beer, 600 gold, and old newspapers he is using to learn to read. The tunnel continues down into Nilbog.

12. Hall of Statues. Row after row of nearly identical stone bureaucrats. Despite seeming flat, the hall feels oddly uneven to the foot. -2 to fighting for non-dwarves.

Those with stonecunning do not get the penalty to attack, and can actually pick out incredible variation in the statues, including a hidden panel in the side of one, containing a cache of small gems worth 2000 gold.

13. Courtyard. Here the three wards meet to attempt to resolve their dispute. A square, no-fun fountain with a statue of a frowning bureaucrat dribbles water sedately. Ten deep dwarves dutifully guard the dungeon's treasury, openly bragging about how they will use it for punitive measures once they dominate all three wards enough to vote to award themselves the funds. There is a 1-in-6 chance per turn that a goblin nabob and serpentine priestess are here to argue with the guards and deadlock votes for policy proposals. 

The treasury's iron door is shut with a mechanism that seems simple but requires a dwarf's stonecunning or an hour of futzing to unlock. Within the treasury is 4,000 gold coins, unfashionable cube diamond earrings worth 200 gold, a wand of Water to Beer (works on water in someone's stomach, 12 charges), a scroll of Hart's Red Store (summons a furnished 600 square foot wood house with a basement and, if on a river, a water mill. Lasts 10 hours), and a mayflower salve (heals for 1d4 damage, three doses)

14. Brick Mill. On the surface, a remote brick factory powered by a mill on the Firefly River. However, the foreman, a refugee from a failed uprising against the verdigarchs of the Ashen Lands, has made a pact with the deep dwarves to conceal the entrance to their ward in the basement of the factory in exchange for protection if the mill is ever attacked. The well-formed staircase down is guarded by a squad of six deep dwarves with cream-colored brick hammers. They may escort a party down into Hoheim if they think it will drive business or make their ward look good compared to Nilbog.

15. Barracks. Here deep dwarves are stowed in boxes when not in use, with 1d4+1 always on guard. A food-dwarf, Ole Risesen, cures dungeon fish in potash lye. A carefully capped hole leads down into the underdark.

If the cap is opened, a grue (stats as henway, giant) immediately climbs up to devour the inhabitants.

16. Circular Chamber: Wet, with irregular ripples in the wall and odd, whispery echoes at every sound. The deep dwarves constructed this chamber so that they could be nourished and replenished, despite their proximity to the surface. A wide chair sits at the center of the chamber. If someone meditates in this chamber, they feel undwarfen features drained from them (d4): 1. lose 1 Dex and gain 1 Con, 2. lose the ability to interpret art but detect object value at a glance, 3. lose 1 Cha but get 25% more efficient work hours, 4. gain stonecunning (a sense of architecture tricks, exc.) but beard grows 1 foot longer and if your beard is two feet or more in length, save vs becoming an NPC dwarf.

17. Snake Temple. Constant sibilant songs, fireside orgies, and doctrinal duels. Twelve serpentfolk are always active, six more in side rooms sleeping or engaging in aftercare. The sanctum of the priestess Karina they dare not disturb.

Within the sanctum, Karina feigns meditation, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. After a series of humorous miscommunications, she accidentally started a cult she now has no way out of, and lives in constant fear of being found out and has too many evil instincts to seek compassionate forgiveness. Directing the serpentfolk of Slither's Point to act as a counterbalance between the two other wards seems to her like the only way to avoid being overrun. She has received as gifts 650 gold coins, a tobacco pipe of Slither on Water (3 charges), a bottle of whiskey horrifically poisoned (stinks of krait venom, save vs death) which she hasn't tried yet because she hates whiskey, and a scroll of Confirmation (makes someone a senator for 1 hour, with all that implies and a big sash that says "senator"). Any amount of these treasures she may trade away if she sees gain in it.

18. Snecret Tunnel. Hidden behind a false boulder, the tunnel runs up the surface to a root-covered hole in a gulley. Whenever it rains, the whole ward floods. Serpentfolk periodically head up to the surface or hunt or scare away children by breaking up their stick forts or pretending to be drunk settlers and heckling them.

19. Hatchery. On a plinth, surrounded by four fires in a chamber whose every inch is carved with devotional images is an egg-shaped rock that Karina told the other serpentfolk was an angel dinosaur egg. The plinth has been trapped with a pressure plate, and if removed, the floor will fall apart, dropping everyone in the room into a vat of goo after just a couple of seconds.

The egg: by contrived coincidence, the egg is neither a dinosaur egg nor a simple rock. It is a geode containing Ryba Biskupia, a funny-looking fish man with a crumpled cap who will grant three wishes with the following provisos: that to kill, he must bring back someone else of his choice back to life and vice-versa, that he cannot force anyone to fall in love; and that if a wish is made to increase someone's most vital attributes directly, rather than turning them into a giant or a big brain or something, the best he can do is a +3 competence bonus that doesn't stack with later wishes. 

Resolving the Bridge War!

By allying with a faction and driving out their rivals room-by-room in standard dungeon fashion, the party can conquer the dungeon wards. This module is a little cash-poor, so it might be appropriate for the victor to make a few cash gifts on the next couple return visits as they more fully capture trade. Alternatively, the party may broker a truce between the factions, in which case they should be awarded commemorative medallions and a discount on services offered in the wards.

It is also possible that the party may cause other forces to get involved in the Bridge War!, either by negotiating alliances or simply making outside forces aware of it. If a surface faction like Pkékejewen or Chipotamia backs Nilbog, it will be enough to finally win Kill-Burn dominance. If a surface faction backs Hoheim, then Slither's Point will switch sides to keep the balance, and it will require a steep escalation from Hoheim's patrons or another faction's aid to win the Bridge War! without a party-led attack. It would take the same amount of intervention to get victory for the serpentfolk, but in the process it's likely that Karina is unmasked, loses her nerve, or otherwise breaks up the snake cultists, leaving their surface patrons to administrate the dungeon directly. In any case where a surface faction wins the Bridge War!, they would reward the party for any service rendered on behalf of the dungeon ward.

Under the Evening Moon I Keep on Killing Mosquitoes (Cloak and Sword Scenario)

An introductory adventure for any number of Cloak and Sword PCs, that should be a good start to a long campaign or a simple one-shot. The DM should be explicit that conflict between PCs is likely and remind them not to optimize the fun out of it. They may then make the classic joke that anyone who gets their PC killed in the most spectacular and stylish way gets a bonus level for their next PC.

When making characters for the scenario, the DM tells the players that their characters have been condemned to death by the crown, and that they should decide for themselves what crime they have been condemned for, whether they are guilty, and who they might blame for their arrest. However, it is their good fortune to have been entrusted to the mysterious Lord D'Reveville, who holds a grand ball for the condemned and always pardons one, sparing them and absolving them of their crime.

Treated courteously by their captors on the way to Reveville, every PC who is not an out-and-out chansel is offered a choice— if they agree to abide by the rules of courtesy in the lord's house, to not attempt an escape by violence or vandalism, and to injure no one in a dishonorable way, they will be given freedom to move within the palace, allowed to carry their arms, and participate fully in the festivities in their honor.

The Host- D'Reveville. A stalwart lord trusted by the king for decades. He is an elfin-featured fay of the satisfaction at revelation of a secret. The secret he nurses best is his resentment of the king, and he intends to use his pardon this year in the way he thinks will most likely result in the king's assassination, though he is too cautious to explicitly offer a quid pro quo.

While in his palace, he can move as fast as the wind and knows the movement of all notable figures. He will not break his word or act improperly. He is beautiful, an inhuman mystery who always seems about to unmask, even when his face is uncovered. If his palace burns, so does he.

Upon arriving at the palace, the prisoners are given quarters commensurate to their station, fine clothing and their effects, and some time to rest. The lord visits them and shares that his daughter and two other maidens will be using this ball as their official "coming out" into polite society, and reminds them of their oaths. To those who have not taken the oath, he reminds them that there are many guards and high walls, and that they will be watched carefully. The prisoners have the night to rest, plan, and size each other up.

The Grand Ball

During each event, each PC can either participate directly and squeeze a quick task in on the side (e.g. spying on someone else, conspiring, searching part of the palace), or shirk the event and perform up to two tasks. When participating, each PC or group of PCs has a 3-in-6 chance of being engaged by a random Chance Encounter. When performing another task, they have a 1-in-6 of running into a Chance Encounter, and are automatically spotted unless they have taken precautions. Many guards ring the perimeter and the main areas, so assume they notice anyone's presence at an event or along an obvious escape vector. Two guards follow any prisoners who haven't sworn an oath of good conduct at all times.

D6/d10 Chance Encounter

Roll a d6 when you just want a prisoner, a d4+6 when you want someone else, or a d10 when it could be anyone. If an encounter doesn't seem physically possible, have them emerge from a secret passage or have the Host arrive in a jumpscare.

1. The Angel- Michel. A pacifistic detenu desperate to win the Host's favor and get out of this situation, but afraid to promise too much. Certain that if he can stick around long enough, his star will rise. Condemned for refusing conscription during an invasion. Family D, Virility C. Hard preference for killers.

2. The Diplomatist- Fortimond. A charming people-pleaser. Wishes there was a way to cooperate his way out of this. Remembers an old story about a secret tunnel out of the palace. Condemned on trumped-up treason charges by his elder brother Fortilinus. Family A-, Virility W

3. The Spaniard- Jualome. Hates everyone here, and would really like an honorable reason to puncture a couple Frenchies on the way down. Actually very perceptive and witty. Condemned for serial murder after breaches of dueling etiquette. Family D+, Virility Q. Soft preference for Spaniards.

4. The Wolf- Jezebel. Energetic, but in this situation frantic. Cannot help being friendly, cannot help standing out. She seeks vindication, the acknowledgement that it is not fair that she was put in this situation, even if she is not spared. Condemned for grand fraud following a disastrous investment scheme. Family C-, Fertility M. Soft preference for men.

5. The Sorcerer- Job. Straightforward and hard-working Huguenot rustic, overwhelmed by all this splendor and popery. Wants to see you all burn. The only one of the prisoner NPCs not trusted to keep an oath of good conduct, and laden down with chains. If ever freed, knows the Grace Ignite. Condemned for heresy. Family F-, Fertility J (but chaste). Hard preference for non-nobles. Soft preference for Huguenots.

6. The Duelist- L'Haineuse. A swordswoman always masked in thick iron. Unbeknownst to anyone here but the Host, she is his bastard daughter, and wishes to kill the Debutante to impress him. Poor conversationalist. Framed herself for murder to get here. Family B, Fertility N. Hard preference for women.

7. The Debutante- Mensante. Beautiful young woman, the daughter of D'Reveville and a mother recently deceased. The beneficiary of numerous tutors, she is a polymath and insightful study. Lacking experience and companionship, she desires greatly to leave her father's unfulfilling guardianship. Ultimately, she wants to kill her father in revenge for her mother. Family B, Fertility B.

8. The Lush- Aursia, a close friend of the Debutante. Confident and self-directed, she is cripplingly dependent on the Host's Oakwood brandy, and though she is quick to offer love, she cannot be constant. Family C+, Fertility K. Hard preference for men.

9. The Wallflower- Eorda. Practical, but definitely a third-string debutante. Unrefined and likely to believe lies. Family C, Fertility U.

10. The Captain- Couldred. Long-time undramatic captain of the guard of the Reveville estate. Grim and proper, she senses that the Host no longer takes her into his confidence, not knowing that this is because he seeks to destroy the king, while she is a great patriot. Family F+, Fertility A (somehow). Soft preference for anyone with a pulse (touch-starved).

Event Itinerary

This itinerary describes the default actions of the NPCs, so change them as you will. Don't feel the need to describe every character's actions all the time, but be free with it, especially when PCs are paying attention to them.

Games: An abrupt start with the lord, prisoners, captain, and various minor guests. Charades, yes-and-no, and other parlor games. The Diplomatist and the Angel attempt to play earnestly. The Sorcerer uses the games to make politically insensitive jokes. The Spaniard, Wolf, and Duelist stand around awkwardly. If the players really want to play out a couple rounds of yes-and-no, have the lord do some foreshadowing with his answers: a portrait, a tunnel, a spy.

Presentation: The three maidens are presented in identical off-white gowns, with no indication of which is the lord's daughter. Fanfare as the band strikes up, and drinks are dispersed. The Duelist spots the Debutante and flees to the library, overcome with anger. The Wolf tries to talk the Debutante into intervening on her own behalf. The Spaniard feigns interest in the Lush in order to make a scene and have an excuse to duel someone. The Diplomatist comforts the clearly nervous Wallflower. If PCs want to get positive attention from a maiden, they will have competition. The Sorcerer stands at the edge of things and pretends everybody stinks. The Angel approaches the least-busy looking PC and asks if they'll collaborate to find a way out of here. The Captain and the Host keep an eye on things.

Open Mingling: The Debutante comforts the Lush, and the Wallflower swoons over an uninterested Duelist. The Sorcerer brokers an alliance with the Spaniard. The Diplomatist inspects the garden. The Wolf begs for clemency from the Host before despondently trying to provoke someone into insulting her so she can duel then and increase her chances. Everyone else sort of floats around and tries to enjoy themselves.

Dancing: The maidens give their first dance to whoever has made the best impression on them, but PCs can wheedle at the last moment. If you have your first dance with a maiden, you both save or hold Esprit for the other, and the maiden gets -2 to saves vs love. Each dancing PC has a 1-in-6 chance of bumping into the Spaniard due to his unfamiliar dancing style, for which he will challenge them to a duel.

Dinner: Everyone has a tense meal— niçoise salad, roast cauliflower, and eel de parsley, paired with an exquisite 1474 Cerevino white. For desert, blueberry souffle, fresh berries, and a 1608 desert red. The Duelist stares daggers at the debutante.

Meander: The guests perform a digestive constitutional. Maidens infatuated with anyone will exhort them to attempt escape. If she is not infatuated with anyone, the debutante will try to convince a PC to try to kill her father. Meanwhile, the Duelist follows her, waiting for a chance to make an attempt on her life. The Spaniard contrives an excuse to duel the Captain, and if he survives, he retrieves the key to the Sorcerer's chains and frees him to start burning the palace down.

Speeches: Everyone present is invited to give a short speech on any topic they like. The Sorcerer gives a speech on why being catholic is gay, but is cut off. The Diplomatist speaks on the value of discretion. The Angel speaks on the nature of harmony. The Debutante compares those who make their own fortune with those who rely on their ancestral name. The Host offers a cryptic parable that sounds like it summarizes the events of the night.

Imprisonment: The prisoners are returned to their cells, and the host announces who he shall spare. If the PCs have gotten to this point, they're probably in serious trouble. The end!

Palace Layout

Among countless bechambers, hallways, and other features, the palace has the following locations:

Ballroom: Site of the majority of events, where NPCs can usually be found when they're not specifically somewhere else.

Feast Hall: Site of dinner and speeches

Cellar: Where the wine is kept, as well as bricks and mortar. A recently redone section of wall covers up an alcove containing a model of the palace, covered in the Host's blood and arcane writings. Anyone magical or possessing a college education can decipher the writing to learn that this was the site of a ritual binding the Host to the palace; damage done to the building is done proportionally to him, and his perfect knowledge of where people are does not extend past its walls.

Garden: Exquisite topiary, a beautiful gazebo, and austere statues of the great investigators of history— Elijah and a priest of Baal measuring the flames of their pyres, Thomas inspecting Jesus's wounds, and Friar William of Bookman. Probing the wound in Jesus's hand presses a hidden switch, which sends a rumbling thrum through the ground…

Oubliette: Just a hedge wall out from the garden is a deep hole in the ground, with a knotted rope bolted next to it for climbing in and out. Unless distracted, the Host will sense if people are messing around in the hole and come to call them back. One brick is carved with a message "ToM PoINts tHE WAy," If the hidden button in the garden has been pushed, a small lid pops open, leading to a secret tunnel that lets out in a lime kiln a quarter mile outside the palace.

Eyrie: Various messenger pigeons. One, just arrived, bears a message from Olivia of Monfor, the queen's handmaid, accepting the Host's offer of an exchange of information and asking to set up a covert rendezvous. To agents of the king, this would be taken as evidence of treason.

D'Reveville's Chambers: Hidden in his bedframe is a journal, evidently started somewhat recently. In addition to some so-so poetry, he expresses regret about an old pact he made with a fay of the winter court, granting him power but making him obedient to everyone who knows his first name, since he believes in time he would have accumulated that power on his own.

Library: Portrait on the wall that much resembles the Host. Small inscription reading "Medouin L'Fay, first lord of Reveville. By a chair sits a book on the D'Reveville family (frequently studied by the Debutante) providing a family tree from the first fay given form through the ages, though none of the lords are listed as having more than one child, nor a mother, until Melien married Mendred to sire Mensante. If the Host is addressed as Medouin, he must obey all commands but will quickly try to kill the offender and regain control if not prevented. If addressed as Melien, he is not compelled as this is just his latest alias, but he will be aware of what they are attempting and make sure to punish them.

(Satisfying deus ex parabola's Glaugust prompt "Random Encounter Table: Dangerous Badass About To Be Executed" and Gokun's prompt "Debutante ball encounter table".)

Wonder Every Acre: Thoughts on Hex-Fills

 While working on some example region contents for Manteu, I tried to lean into my keying mantra, a principle so simple as to be obvious, but which is easy to forget. "What is the most interesting thing that could be here?" If your setting could have Dracula, put his castle in a place it might be found. If your setting has a pope, put her on the map. If your setting emulates some genre, encode places and situations where the cool stuff of that genre can show up. 

This list will give the verbatim notes I made in free minutes at work one day in bold, and commentary in italics.

d100 Manteu fills

1. Judas. I was always very impressed with the Halton brothers' Hexcrawl of the Marcher Lords, which has Judas Iscariot in the very first keyed hex. Introducing a character who looms large in both real legends and the worldview of the characters is a great way to make setting details feel practical and important, and unlike meeting Charlemagne or Aragorn, Judas doesn't have great capability that would trivialize common challenges for the party or some great project he should get up to that might overshadow them.

2. Guy Fawkes Revolutionaries I don't know that much about the early 17th century, so I quickly started reaching for historical episodes outside France. I think people like big-hatted revolutionaries as characters, and the basics of the Gunpowder Plot can be easily adapted to the milieu. I imagine the region would have a secret cell of revolutionaries, with some sign the PCs might interact with, like a merchant trying to purchase arms and powder and asking them to be on the lookout for some.

3. Merican Pretender Earl Stafford Blanche-Boilingsex, the "real king" of Merica. Such figures always find powerful hosts, and by virtue of their precarious station make great supporting NPCs. The players might want to help him get onto the throne, or get paid to kidnap him, or want to convince him to support the things they care about. If you're going to define the areas surrounding the setting of the campaign, it's nice to have some notable characters from those places. Plus it's always fun to do a posh English voice as a change of pace from an otherwise non-English milieu.

4. Lady Dracula. Potential patron, seeking those who can secure her an estate in En Plus Paris. Horrific deathtrap. Great monkey wrench for existing romances with her predatory charms. Probably can't truly fall for your gallant PC unless they find her hidden heart, and even then it's more work than just trying to kill her. Should give a good bonus for true love.

5. Odinic Musketeer. Another cheap trick. Blesses the gallant and hospitable. Curses the mealaday and suspicious.

6. Heretical Cathedral Can seem at first like a somewhat helpful base of operations, but has the fun character of hiding Huguenots or something worse. Cathedrals are nice because it's easy to imagine what their native NPCs might be like, what problems they may have, what objects they may seek, and to afflict them with ghosts and skeletons and the like.

7. Grendelle-infected wolves Wolves that ain't right is a great cheap trick. They are numerous and weird, and no one will doubt that they'll track you down if you try to move through the region. You get a twofer here, getting to do stuff with wolves and a unique monster.

8. Court of Miracles Good opportunity for the low-status PCs to shine. Great way to find rumors or get into trouble.

9. Beggar King Ditto

10. Fay sorcerer charlatan Nice to make a social problem with a very punchable problem hidden underneath

11. Pilgrimage site The hair of Saint Enilla, torn apart by Vikings. Good place to find people from far off lands.

12. Princess in disguise Simple mysteries are good enrichment for players. Give the nameless chevalier a notable tic or interest, and have the king's seneschal mention that the missing princess has that same trait a few sessions later.

13. Pirate waylayers People love pirates

14. Treasure Island People love pirates, and love treasure maps

15. Panopticon The Bentham jail. Good place to get thrown into, good place to have to get someone out of, good place for random bandits to be from.

16. Envoy of Prester John Like entry 1 but more obscure, mingle myth and happenstance

17. False Grail Again not knowing so much about the early 17th century, I started bringing in the older stuff and the romantic tales of the past. To preserve the sense of time, I feel like it's important to keep the older stuff feeling older. A grail relic that's an old tourist attraction, or a site that claims to have once held the holy grail seems about right for that.

18. Excaliber (sic) It's cool to have a kickass +5 sword that gets you in trouble somewhere on the map. Because of the themes of the setting, I might have it as the sword of the mythic paladin Roland, guarded by an old hermit who will only consider mentioning it if the PCs mention some great need.

19. Robin Hood Again adapting a British thing, but like pirates and revolutionaries, people love jovial outlaws. Giving him a penchant for black powder and Huguenot sympathies can embed him well enough in this setting. Can serve as an ally, a problem, a regional hazard, a bitter enemy, a rival suitor, or a beau.

20. Mustard Smugglers Once I read an article in which the author boasted they never set up interesting events or situations in their games so that players could find them unless they went really far out of the their way to get involved in them, using the example of mustard smuggling in Dijon. It's still really funny to me. Oh, and players love smugglers of uncommon kinds of items.

21. Nomad Meetup Players like nomads and want them to like them. As nomads famously move around, you have to think of a place they're more likely to be when keying regions.

22. Hidden Templar Cache Probably the way to do this is to have the region contain the first clue in a multi-step treasure hunt, driving PCs to explore new regions and backtrack to old landmarks. People like treasure hunts.

23. Charlegmagne (sic) Paladin trapped Perhaps it's that Roland guy from before. Howling often heard from within a cairn or a massive half-submerged boulder sometimes shaking. Open it and you'll free a well-intentioned but outdated guy with 20 HD.

24. evil horse Not sure exactly what I meant by this. Maybe there are rumors of a deadly horse in the region, but can be tamed and ridden as a mostly-loyal bad boy horse with a cool ability, like turning into mist for a few seconds, or fangs.

25. incredible highwayman Queering the high-status/low-status distinction. Anyone worth their salt can come up with six options for funny robber tactics or weird affectations or secret identities.

26. ghost of massacred Huguenots Simple, unsubtle storytelling. May be calmed by deeds the presumably-Catholic PCs would feel uncomfortable doing. Could be they have to seek out the help of a Huguenot "priest", but he's likely to want help in return.

27. Agincourt Holdouts Like post-WWII holdouts, but they're all 80-year-old archers with Northern accents.

28. Angelic writing just splayed across a hillside. Angels are apparently a big deal, but you probably can't see them, so signs of their actions remind you they're around. Because it's writing, you can try to translate it if it's unreadable, or attempt to interpret it if it's French but cryptic.

29. Traitor to Spain That is, a local noble acting on behalf of Spain. Happy to host you in his castle and ask what you're up to, and listen to rumors you've heard. Has a suspicious amount of gold.

30. Grandiose wolf-hunter starfort Headquarters of  boneheaded but dangerous zealots. Good allies if you're actually hunting a wolf, good cloud cover for anyone trying to frame wolves for their murders. Another versatile region content.

31. Monks healing amnesiac detenu. Easy to hitch up to a PC's life history.

32. helpful nuns Often we see clergy in these sorts of games only when they're weird. It's good to make sure to have some random, basically friendly NPCs like this.

33. Hrothgar If monsters are to be called Grendelles, I might as well have at least a few sad noblemen in remote villages, their manses occupied by freak monsters.

34. Unicorn woods Another medieval throwback, but people like unicorns and it would be fun to take the modern musketeer's romantic milieu as a development of and counterpoint to old-fashioned chivalry

35. Ruins of Lancelot's castle I bet I could make players sad here.

36. Merlin's pupil They call her Nimue I think. A fay magician with noble pedigree but maybe she buried her mentor (girlboss!). Just seems like an interesting character with versatile use.

37. Iron-masked bandits Reusing the images of the source material in a new context

38. Most beautiful beggar

39. Academy under siege I think it's around here in the list that I remembered I wanted a very warful Manteu, with platoons of soldiers wandering around. This is a fun way to introduce a small army, give it something to do, but ensure it sticks around long enough that we don't have to worry about it too much.

40. Gunsmith innovators Provide cool prototype guns in exchange for fat sums. A pistol you fire once, rotate, and fire a second shot out the butt. A musket with seven barrels arranged in a fan. Real for-real versions of those fake guns from the House on the Rock

41. Evil, powerful sword Like Excaliber (sic), it's fun to have a Stormbringer. The rules normally let you spare those you defeat in a duel, but perhaps this bloodthirsty blade forces the deathblow. Maybe it confers also the Lupe's ferocity ability.

42. Faust's Folio Imbued with MD and graces-- summoning shades of the dead or myriad charms 

43. Beastman gentleman recluse I think I was imagining a send-up of the classic Beauty and the Beast novel. A good potential suitor, potential threat.

44. Well to Hell Good hazard, good excuse to introduce some dangerous wandering monsters. Creative methods of traversal also make this a shortcut to a different country to explore, if players want to leave Manteu for a change of pace.

45. Roman Lich Not sure the best way to situate such a figure. Maybe stealing and interrogating damosels from a submerged Pompeii-like village, or fixing up some ancient fort. 

46. King's Hometown w/ secret This one seems like it would require more footwork to get the core of the idea, but I do like the idea of randomly finding a small town that has a clear connection to the country's most majorest figure. Could be concealing a secret daughter, a childhood swaperoo, or other juicy fact.

47. Phantom of the Opera This is 250 years off from the setting inspiration, but it is French, which goes a long way. We love to see a romantic make a giant half-submerged deathtrap dungeon.

48. Eternal Fay Masque Honestly on second thought I don't like this suggestion as much. Having a masque is very cool, but it might be better if it's monthly or something. Get a chance to get to know local and elfin powers when they're undisguised, but have to enter the masque to get in contact with the powerful Lord of Winter, or evade the antimortal prejudice that prevents you from accessing the juicy goss or impressing the Comte D'Mushrooms.

49. Possessed exorcist in church

50. Hermitage of treasure hunter repentent (sic) Like the entry on the Templar treasure cache, I imagined this might be a good way to set off a treasure hunt. The hunter could have been one of a craze of people seeking the embezzled riches of Lord L'Sanbraise which never turned up even after his disappearance, and she might have some breakthrough clue she will not use herself.

51. Cursed deck of cards Make people play Poker or Basset to get redraws of your favorite Deck of Many Things.

52. Man who totally resembles the King Another flexible element to incorporate into a player scheme, or if they're straightlaced a treasure to give to the king.

53. Lady of forest Fort is secret Wolf In picaresque episodiques, you want to hit a certain number of monster-of-the-week plots, just barely complicated enough to fill a session. In this case, I might have the lady of the fort offer to host traveling gallants for a few days, perhaps because one is nominally her relative, or because she is infatuated with one. Also, it's funny when someone is secretly something that "should" be obvious. Lady D'Ourseville

54. Masked duelist leads guerilla (sic) war Sort of a lucha Zoro guy to fulfill Grace's take on the lutteur. Plus another excuse to throw a small army around. Who is the target? By default, I suppose a lord partisan to the queen or king, or perhaps Spanish occupiers.

55. excellent bureaucrat is exile is the devil An excellent secretary, the sort of person who would be a very good retainer, running things for a local village. I would probably lay it on thick here so players understood the allure. "What a shame, his skills wasted in the countryside," one peasant laments. "Yes, but how lucky for us!" her friend replies."

56. Mausoleum conceals weapon lab Like with other secrets, this wants a clue or tell. I'd do something gothic or spooky as a sort of red herring, like having lighting strike the mausoleum every night (but not because it's haunted, because it's powering some kind of thunder-tines imbuing ball lightning into cutlasses). 

57. Alleged angel mayor bans nobles Flavorful "locked" region that can't be easily entered.

58. Abbey at war with bird men I don't remember what I wanted to do for this, except that it was inspired by Mattimeo.

59. Micro-region of hated ethnic group Hated minorities seem like a neutral setting element, but in fact they are straight upside for most groups of PCs, who never seem to bring themselves to be as callous and unjust to them as the NPCs are, and are likely to win the alliance of the disadvantaged.

60. bandit mountain sanctuary Hidden monster lairs are neat work because they come with their own clues-- monsters showing up periodically

61. noble's mountain redoubt, great secret Now, what did I mean by "great secret?" Probably something related to the noble in question, who I imagined as a major figure in En Plus Paris or other major city. A secret daughter or second husband, say, or a Most Dangerous Game preserve.

62. Asylum town threatened by ghost There's good potential in showing the players something straightforwardly good and nice, like an accepting community dedicated to creating a healthy environment for the mental recovery of guests, then threatening it.

63. cave academy with a revelation By "revelation," I think I meant an important secret setting detail that isn't per se hidden but that requires academic work to uncover. Without prep, I might resort to a cellular cosmogony model of the world, or useful information about the nature of the devil, or love.

64. spirit of wisdom locked in a castle

65. Back way into the City of the Mind

66. Necropolis to speak w/ dead I think it would be neat if you could take dead bodies to some weird location to get information from them. A classic "Special" area in a dungeon.

67. Land poisoned by Letarrasque Simple travel hazard that foreshadows a major danger elsewhere in the country.

68. Dragon becomes a hot man Like Lady Dracula, this introduces a potential suitor who is also a great danger. You might not need to set up any special situation for them; it's easy to imagine a curious dragon just turning into a (naked?) guy and walking up to PCs on the road.

69. Devil selling magic bullets Freischutz, a very German figure of folklore, is not French. But he does seem like a transferable character with a cool magic item. Maybe he's from Inferie.

70. Horses act like wolves Freaky!

71. Wild Hunt I'm embarrassed to say that while I've heard of the Wild Hunt, I don't think I truly grasp the vibe or storytelling potential it offers. But I suspect it's right for this.

72. Great smith lacks ingredient Simple """"quest""". Potential ingredients: weather vane of a deconsecrated church, the blood of a king, or the tears of true love.

73. Hostile spooky woods Classic simple hazard. I would make this especially nasty to emphasize that your average PC gallant is not the overland travel freak that is common in OSR games.

74. secretly occupied town Very polite guards offer escort, trying not to let slip that anything is amiss.

75. leper-musketeer guards weird town Desperate not to get anyone infected, their profession puts them in a situation where they might risk it. Perhaps this town is weird because it houses an especially dangerous grendelle, and that's why pre-doomed musketeers are desired as guards.

76. evil fox mayor I was definitely thinking of Reynard the Fox, but that doesn't give a specifically good affordance for mayoring. Maybe he's the husband of the mayor, who utterly refuses to believe that he isn't a fox in disguise.

77. Bluebeard. Seems like a great suitor A trap, but for suitoring. It's very nice to come up with texture and dangers for the specific picadillos of a game's premise.

78. demon huntsman VS Huguenot stag A region in chaos because of the competition of two forces. Both weird and confusing, either plausibly able to get help from the party. Perhaps the huntsman wants help, driving the stag into his trap; while the stag seeks to trap the huntsman in the old overgrown hermitage.

79. short-sighted mutiny I'm imagining a platoon of soldiers tired of manual labor, ready to start cutting throats and seizing travellers on the off chance of getting a ransom.

80. Platoon imprisoning alchemist The party should find evidence the alchemist is guarded against her will, perhaps finding messages in a bottle thrown down the river.

81. evil night horse + haunted house See entry 24. I think I was sleepy.

82. Goblin Hole Inspired by the "Gap of Goeblin", a French folklore thing that wikipedia never gets around to describing, but I like to imagine a small hole in the side of a cliff by the side of the road that leads to a secret goblin country. Who knows in what soils fed etc. etc.

83. Gothic wildmen (French cavemen) People like cavemen.

84. Half-dragons war with their mother Another two-forces-at-war region. Many players will be loathe to contend with a dragon if they have a chance, but by setting up forces against the dragon already it increases the chances they'll try to help. I might have three half-dragons, capable of assuming human form and only surviving this far because their mother is unwilling to destroy them. One wants to catch her up in a giant cage (stupid), wants to get several hundred people together for a murder mob (stupid), and one wants to find a hottie to seduce her and get her guard down (but will fall in love with the person they hire, stupid). 

85. Noble looking to abduct a husband Woah, equality 😳

86. Lutteur takes all comers, aided by evil snake (In a fight)

87. Fortune teller dire wolf In many OSR games, sages are the first resort of a party interested in learning about magic items or important history. These figures usually dispense information for gold, a way to prevent depending too much on them. In the C&S paradigm, PCs may not be wealthy in the vulgar way of adventurers, and the stakes of information they seek may be different. This sage then is a different sort of encounter. Not a cost but a danger, they are a real threat in a game that doesn't assume quite so many giant monster fights, but are susceptible to some kind of negotiation.

88. Potion-seller but cheese It would be weird(?) to find that Manteu is full of classic fantasy-style potions, unless an alchemist is handing one to you directly. Better maybe to imagine that a master cheesemaker can imbue strong effects into their work. And so very French.

89. Reincarnated queen leads barbarians When I wrote this, I think I was pondering the potential dramatic effect of the different layers of pseudo-French history that could be brought into play, and I liked the idea of the Goths having some kind of continuance, however improbable, into the (early) modern day. To help bridge the gap, I thought it would be neat if some monarch or figure from midway between the periods improbably returned to lead them. A Charlizemagne, perhaps.

90. Cruel taxes trap PCs Social traps very relevant to the densely populated land of Manteu. An "exit tax" on those who pass through the land meant to target petty nobility or disliked groups can create a small crisis to resolve.

91. Fairy horse on the moors Another attempt to introduce a mount-as-treasure. Unlike the unicorn that loves purity and the evil horse that loves evil, this one should be charmed by the fulfillment of some challenge. Perhaps it can only be tamed when it is neither day nor night, or when it is mounted neither still nor running.

92. Haunted villa getting Scooby doo'd I just think it would be funny.

93. Roadside hashish den is portal to elsewhere I've heard that Alexandre Dumas was a bit of a hashish fiend, 

94. Vampire in a grave freaks a town

95. Cavalry regiment raiding on behalf of queen More attempting to introduce random platoons everywhere.

96. Nomads in great treasure hunt battle  Another on-ramp to a big treasure hunt, with flashy violence to draw players' attention. I imagine the majority-settled people of Manteu normally don't take nomads too seriously, so it's a good way to not blow the secret of the treasure hunt wide open.

97. long-dead knights guard bridge Another Arthurian/Medieval trope tweaked to fit into the later setting. We might imagine this bridge simply leads on to another region, to a dungeon plateau, or through a mountain pass.

98. Fort Knox. Sells vault space Another simple amenity that may be useful in the course of a campaign.

99. Bloodline of Mary Let's see, what's a gameable send-up of that Dan Brown-style myth? Haven't done much thinking about the legendary basis of C&S catholicism. Sort of don't want to precommit to one for the sake of this entry. Maybe this is a supernatural bloodline descended from Saint Cussata, who possess remarkable artistic skill and use her relics with overwhelming potence. This sort of seems like a plot element more than a good hexfill, so I consider this entry a failure😔

100. Swordwolf guards relic The lupe class can use weapons, though it is often better with tooth and fang. The main draw of an animal using a sword in its mouth is that it is pretty cool, so this guardian fulfills that potential image even when the party lacks a wolf with a cool magic sword. What relic does she guard? A phial with the tears of Saint Isaac, that hides the innocent from the cruel who pursue them, and that exudes a healing film. This must be in a high cave, with shrines dedicated to Isaac and the wolf throughout the region.

 

"Phlox, you didn't put a pope on the list!" The pope figure is definitely on the map, in one of the major cities. This list is for random regions that might be crossed in play, okay?

Cloak & Sword Procedure Cheat Sheet

 The original rulebook seems to have been taken down, but I still have the player-made summaries.

(Technically, this satisfies Archon's Glaugust prompt "city adventure".)

So is Man Atrocious (Cloak-and-Sword Setting)

As one of the last people to jump on the cloak-and-sword bandwagon, I've decided to make myself useful and compile some of the setting details you can find dispersed elsewhere, not touching on the more complicated and remote countries like Noblessie, Inferie, and the Dragoman empire.

As far as I can tell, the presumed primary setting of a Cloak and Sword game is a Frenchish land called Manteu, rife with ruffs, black powder, swordsmen, finely bred horses, smoking clubs, Latin, wars on the continent, and the overripe flower of chivalry. When people want to disambiguate the setting from the genre which is called "cloak and sword", they call the world Manteu.

Manteu! Manteu! Called "land of earnest-speakers" and "The Only Place in the World, à l'Exception" and "A ruin without realizing it" and "the sort of place where hardly anyone knows how many wars are going on in it" and "a kingdom three weeks and two centuries across" and "150% France-per-France".

Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier

It has the influence that France had in an earlier age, when French (the language is still called French) is the language of the entire continent of Ganymed. The cultural capital of the world, En Plus Paris (tr. grand city of Paris) is home to the high king, the queen, their respective musketeers, the cardinal, his musketeers, various grand dukes, marquises, baronettes, and so-ons, and an endless war against boredom as all these armed swaggerers hit the club, flirt with people they shouldn't, and pursue schemes without end goals. Outside the great cities, political organization is more Beowulfine, with a king or a lord in a big house and usually some big problem they need a hero to solve.

The king is at war with the queen. The queen is at war with the Spanish. Everyone is at war with the Huguenots, but most especially the cardinal is. Everyone is also fighting the robbers, beggars, and wolves. The fay of the summer are at war with the fay of the channel, apostalizers who converted when French blood turned the very fish faithful. The Spanish are at war with everyone. If the hated Dragomen ever show up, it's on sight. People are generally sexist and stuffy in sufficient extent to furnish any life's ambition or true love with endless obstacles.

Heroes, as such, tend to be split in a dichotomy. Gallants include anyone who is a dramatic Player Character-like character loyal to their family, invested in fashion and both l'Action and l'Amore. Chansels (or, if men, Chansiers) seem to be an unflattering stereotype of non-cloak and sword PCs (or players who act like this is a normal dungeon setting?), derogated as unmoored and violent petit bourgeoise, greedy, "only eat one meal a day," uncaring of discomfort, romanceless freaks who take a scientific approach to killing. Damn meal-a-days.

Magicians and the magical abound, and while they are found in every scenario and great scheme I could find, it seems there's no totally politically captured institution of wizardry. Notably, the Academie Gramarie has ensured their independence by capturing the king's true name, and the Scholomance has stolen the heart of a mountain-sized black dragon, Letarrasque, so neither can be easily jerked around by standard politics.

Blogposts are always talking about whether angels can see you or not, so it seems like the default answer is "no." Basically it seems like the setting is undergoing a worldwide titanomachy, with demons, Grendelles, and horrible elves on one side and the angels, who few people can actually see, on the other side. The crowns of Ganymed all champion the angels, while their hated enemies in the Dragoman Empire side with the Grendelles.

There are gunswords, and this is what "Damascus Steel" refers to here. Apparently only manufactured in (or just invented in?) the Dragoman Empire.

Provinces of Manteu include:

• Les Lances, rich and suspicious land that was once the front-line in invasions, and before that was settled by Vikings
• Mauve, the fashionable second banana to En Plus Paris, known for growing wine and traitors. The setting of a very good introductory adventure.
• Competence, the gateway to Levol, known for its herbs and therefore its witches. Maintains a policy of non-interference with the red wolves, whoever they are.
• Angevine, where half-angels are born to unmarried volunteers.
• Boucony, a rustic land where everyone wears a beret and is very pedantic. They love pistols here.
• Nigaudy, where tits-out blood feuds are somewhat more common and somewhat less whimsical.
• Dijon, home to a city where nothing ever fucking happens until you make it happen.
• Region de Fableau, accessed only through the enchanted tapestries of Saint Cussata.

Farther afield, we find such lands as

• Spain, which is constantly invading but the source of all gold in the world
• Merica, a former rival now long-eclipsed, an island nation with some measure of refinement
• Nedde, rich city-state of clothiers, windmills, and tolerant merchants
• Levol, peninsula of robbers and priests where some secondary action often takes place. Home to an anticardinal who challenges the legitimacy of the cardinal in En Plus Paris

A commoner in Manteu has a first name and maybe an epithet. Pick Gallicized Biblical names like Marie or Emmanuel. Nobility (broadly defined, often including all PCs who aren't definitely common based on class choice) follow a different formula:

• You can be named for the place you rule or hail from, like D'Mauve or D'Lances.
• You can have an epithet, like L'Paresseux (the sluggard) or L'Joyeux (the gay)
• Each noble family has a one- or two-syllable name stem that they pass on to descendants and those who marry in. The end of each stem has an optional consonant to help avoid awkward names. Each individual's name will sound like their parents', with a different ending. There are 35 traditional endings for men, though only 20 are common, and 35 traditional endings for women.

Example stems (playable???) include

• Forti(n), the royal family of Manteu
• Fe(r), a family once prolific for their banking wealth that have recently suffered a great downfall
• Cou(l), the traditional dogsbodies of the royal family, in tension with themselves as some have declared for the king and some for the queen.
• Ma(l), the open secret wife and children of the cardinal.
• Au(r), perhaps the most cursed family which hasn't been killed off yet.
• Eo(th), a tenacious and prolific line that holds pride for its Viking blood

To give you a sense of how these names work, and because it took me like four hours to interpret all the conflicting sources, here is a name generator. Remember to decide whether to keep that optional letter, turning Ma(l)bert into either Mabert or Malbert, for instance.