I'm honestly trying to make it less bizzarro than the more recent stuff. On my honor, I will try to adhere more closely to the Standard Fantasy Conventions Treaty of 1986.

Except for the riding birds. Those have got to stay.

Where Is the Campaign Going?

The campaign is going to start with a lot of internal politicking. The exact scenarios are still under development, but expect adventures like Going to the Princess's Wedding or Spy on the Rival Countess. Remember L5R court scenarios? Yeah, like that.

After we're more or less settled and everyone's got a grasp on Saromatia, its culture, and the main NPCs, we'll shake things up a little. Something Unexpected will happen, right in your Countess's back yard, and how she and you handle it could affect the course of nations.

Like most of my campaigns, emphasis will be on NPC interactions. In particular, finding out what people want and what they're willing to do to get it will be important. Some people will be willing to resort to violence, so combat is a possibility - but the game will probably be comabt-light, as usual for me.

What Your PC Must Include

We'll be making 100 point characters. Points? Yes, we're using GURPS rules. I'm going to start with just what can be found in GURPS Basic Set and GURPS Compendium I. I also highly recommend GURPS Lite, a 32-page free introduction to GURPS. It has more than enough to make cool characters without getting bogged down in details. (Exception: You'll want the bigger books for any magic-using PC). I've also compiled some of my thoughts on the AD&D-GURPS transition, how some skills and stats cross over, and what rules quirks you'll want to take notice of.

All PCs are going to start as special operations personnel in the service of a Countess Charlee of Saromatia. Your daily "cover" which justifies your continual presence at court, with weapons and armor, is that you are members of Her Grace's elite body guard. You will be given a bonus package of Advantages, Disadvantages, and skills which are common to all of these body guards as part of your "cover." You will not have to pay character points for this package.

You must begin play at least nominally loyal to the Countess, even if it's only the loyalty money can buy. If you want to be a double agent, you'll have to commit that treachery during play.

What Your PC Must Not Include

You may not be a centaur.

Various Options That Work

A formidable mountain range borders Saromatia to the west, and dwarves live in it. Some dwarves have even settled within the queendom's borders. Your county, being on the western border, includes some of these dwarven settlements. You may play a dwarf from either Under the Mountain or from a town.

There are mountains and an ocean in your county. Skills relating to these two geological features may be useful. At the very least, being able to do them may open options for you later. I don't have enough adventure ideas planned out to guarantee that they'll be used, but since you live near mountains and the sea, it's a good guess.

You do not have to be from Saromatia, although it is recommended. The queendom is fairly isolated, as the seas around it are treacherous. You could arrive in Saromatia via shipwreck, passing though the centaur grasslands to the north, or come from one of the few trading vessels willing to brave the rocky shores.

Other demihumans are open for negotiation. Given the excess of elves in the last two campaigns, I'm discouraging them in this one, but if you really, really want one, I'll listen to your character idea.

The most commonly-encountered sentient nonhumans in Saromatia are dwarves and centaurs, and they each have their own languages. The rare elemental-kin speak their own tongues (a different language for each except salamanders, which are mute) but most also speak the human language.

In GURPS, you may take Allies, Enemies, Patrons and Contacts as Advantages or Disadvantages. I have a list of NPCs you might want to fill these roles soon, and their cost. You can also create NPC descriptions to fill the role. Also, we will have "Schrodinger's Contacts." For 50% higher than usual cost, you can determine your Contact during play. If it would suddenly be useful to have a Contact in the Queen's Laundry, you can decide that that's your Schrodinger's Contact. Once determined, the Contact stays constant. PCs will be limited to one "Schrodinger's Contact" each.

Example: Moe looks over the NPC list and decides he wants Zazabeth, the bartender of the Kort and Carrot, as a Contact. Sarah doesn't see an NPC that interests her, but wants an Enemy, so she makes up a landed Lady Knight who hates her character for some reason. Chris wants to keep his options open, and spends extra points for a Schrodinger's Contact - he can determine who the Contact is whenever he likes.

Quick Overview of Setting

I recommend reading as much background as you can stand; it's all here on the web. For those with limited time and/or attention spans:

Politics: Saromatia is a fairly equal society that happens to be ruled by women. It's a feudal queendom. The Queen is tops, and a Council of the nine most powerful landholders are under her. You will work for a Countess who is on that Council.

Religion: One goddess (Saromata), three Faces (Maiden, Mother, Crone), nine Aspects (nature, war, spring/rebirth, fertility, home, rulership, death, magic, prophecy). Four elemental Lords. One Fortuna (power of luck). One Dark Queen (force of evil). If you're confused about this whole "Aspects" and "Faces" bit, read the lyrics to Meredith Brooks's pop song Bitch, which might be a little more familiar.

Geography: Mountains (with dwarves) to the west, rocky seacoast to the south and east, grasslands (with centaurs) to the north. Saromatia itself tends to be hilly with dense forests in the south and east, fading to the treeline in the west and plains in the north. Earthquakes are rare but not unknown.

Foreign Affairs: Relations are good with dwarves, despite dwarven patriarchal society. Metal goods, raw ores, cut stone, and jewels are traded for agricultural products. Centaurs are a perpetual nuisance, continually raiding the northern borders. Exotic goods (silk, spices, other imports) are rare and expensive, since few traders make it to Saromatia.

War: Like normal knights, the landholding ladies of Saromatia have a military duty. The army is sex-segregated, with men forming units of heavily armed and armored shock troops. Women's units depend on speed; they are the light infanty, the archers and slingers, and the light cavalry. Saromatian's light cavalry uses large riding birds native to the north, not horses. The army is mobilized every few years to remind the centaurs why they oughtn't be raiding.

Sex Roles: Women rule the home (and the nation) on the logic that a woman knows that all her children are her own. A man doesn't know, and might be cruel to children he doesn't believe are his. The mother, then, is the obvious steward of the family. Aside from this legal turnaround from most of the rest of the world, most of Saromatia (i.e., the peasants) live very much like their counterparts elsewhere. Men do the tasks requiring heavy lifting and sheer strength and women do the rest.

Assorted Weirdness: There are no horses in Saromatia. (There are tough, scrubby mules, domesticated mountain goats, and oxen). Birds of all sorts are very popular with the rich.

Magic: Magic is so important, it gets its own page.

Character Names

Saromatian female names
Saromatian male names
Dwarven male names
Dwarven female names

A list of French city names is useful for naming hometowns. Avoid names starting with "Saint" and famous names like Paris.

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