Sagremor le Desirous (c) Timothy Ferguson, 1996. Based on previous Chaosium works, which are (c) Chaosium. Sagremor's sheet is given in "The Boy King", but quite simply he's a whimp. He's only attained about 1200 glory, despite being chivalrous and having the Emporer of Constantinople as his Dad or uncle, which must cull him a fair bit of glory in terms of the 10% inheritance rule. This version is based on Greg Stafford's, but here's a fresh look, with a handy sidebar on creating Byzantine characters. By the time of Arthur's coronation the Roman Empire had been paritioned for almost two centuries. In the West it was in decline, it's authority only titular over the Franks. Western Gaul it had similarly lost, although Rome retained power in Italy, Septimania, Iberia, Burgundy, some of the Mediterranean islands and parts of Northern Africa. In effect, the Western Empire was a buffer state for the still-secure Eastern Romans. When Arthur invaded, he faced the forces of France and Rome, but the bulk of the Eastern army were not deployed against him. The Capharacti who Arthur faced during his Continental campaign were similar to British knights errant. Generally they had come West to challenge the warriors about whom they had heard so much and thereby win glory. ======================================================================= SIDEBAR Byzantine Romans are gnerated as per the core rules save for some minor modifications. Eastern Romans are quite certain that they have the true Roman Empire, that they speak the one civilised tounge and that thiers is the true branch of the Christian faith. Their Loyalty (Emporer) is not, therefore, directed to Arthur after his Roman campaign. Thier Suspiscious (non-Romans) Directed trait is only 1d6, but includes Romano-Britons, whom they consider little better than the other Western savages with whom they have interbred. Byzantine Romans speak Greek, considering it the civilised tounge, and use it for documents. Many know Latin, but use it only to communicate with the Westerners. They play the lyre, a harp-like instrument. Although still Deceitful and Proud (+2 in each), the mystical influences of the Orthodox church prevent more than average Worldliness. Members of the lnded classes of the East gain a bonus of five points to their Intrigue scores, but have no Tourney score, Tourneys being foreign to them. Eastern faeries are sufficently dissimilar as to make thier Faerie Lore score zero also. Although the voyage is difficult it is clearly not impossible for Byzantine lords of means to visit Arthur's court at any time. One limiting factor is thier Loyalty (city) score, which, if high, will eventually cause them to pine for thier native soil. Sangremor has the fortune not to have a Love (city) score. Perhaps he was born and raised in an army camp. Lesser warriors can travel to Britain in the entourages of these potentates, and often have "Loyalty (Gropu)" for the other members of thier expedition. =============================================================================== In seeking out Arthur's knights to win themselves fame, they are following, perhaps unknowingly, in the footsetps of Sangremor, called "le Desirous" in reference to his love for adventure. Hearing rumours of a great court and mighty battles in distant Britain, the landless Sangremor begs his father for a ship and crew, then sails around Iberia and to Britain, quite an adventure in itself. With his elegant manners and dashing air he quickly becomes a favourite of the court, so Kay teases him mercilessly until Sangremor and another victim, Donidas, head out to the wilds to prove thier valour. They do mighty deeds, but it becomes apparent that Sangremor suffers a madness which comes upon him when he becomes afraid he might die. After Sangremor proves himself he then fades into the backgorund, becoming one of the many excellent knights other authors allow their favourite to joust down, so as to show that they too are of superlative quality. Sangremor seems to fare paticularly badly against Tristram. Sangremor is unusual in that he appears to be a berseker in a similar tradition to the one presented in "Saxon Shore". Although he doesn't attack his collegues, he often has a headache and feels famished after important battles. When the fear of death is upon him he seems to suffer a sort of panic attack, but since this never allows an opponent the opening to butcher him it may be assumed that, like Saxon bersekers, he becomes morose after his mind pulls free of the red haze of battle and he is confronted with the savagery of his own actions. In game terms Sangremor, if Passionate in battle, prefers the Berseker tactic. Unlike Saxon bersekers he does not fling off his armour before battle, but he does receive 12 points of magical protection from his patron, Archangel Mikhail. Although this is not cumulative with physical armour it covers his entire body in the same way as Armour of Chivalry and is immune to the Double Feint Tactic. He does not ignore knockdown from horseback, although his armour protects him from its damage completely, but cannot be knocked off his feet by anything short of a killing blow. He does not fall unconcious until he dies. Unlike Saxon bersekers he cannot keep fighting with mortal wounds. After each battle he spends the next few hours in Melancholy, although he will merely avoid those attempting to break his mood, not assail them. This habit of lying around after battles muttering about the mortal nature of Man leads Kay to goad him with the epiphet "le mort jeune" which means "the dead youth" in an attempt to force him to work through his inner demons. In this case, there is no record of Kay's satire having any success. The alternate explanation for Sangremor's lying around as if dead is that he is a warlock, who is repaying with sleep the magic that aids him in battle. If this is so, he pays off sleep remarkably quickly. Sangremor is killed by Mordered at Cammlan, after leading an interesting, but unexceptional, life at court. As with many characters who appear at the start of Arthur's reign, he seems not to age in a normal fashion. Perhaps this is another blessing from the Archangel of Battles. Sangremor has a daughter by one of his lovers. Tennyson has him married off to a young woman whose bedroom he accidentally sleeps in, having gone through the wrong door in the dark. Our Arthur is not so much of a prude as to force marriage on a man for a bit of slap and tickle, especially when both parties fervently swear that they were unaware that they were sharing the same bed. If you choose to use this story, the outcome is a happy one, with each loving the other. Possibly she is the daughter of someone so important or influential that marriage is the only option for him, or Gwenivere and her ladies feel it would be a good match and so apply pressure, or he is smitten by love at first sight and offers to marry her upon waking up. ============================================================================= INSERT: A Note on Sangremor's skills. Although an excellent courtier, Sangremor's combat skills are notably weaker than those of his fellow Knights of the Round Table. He is extraordinarily handsome, but is rather out of touch with common skills such as "Folk Lore". He has a Chirurgy score and is not ashamed of it in the way Western Nobles would be. The rules of Love do not preclude one loving several members of the opposite sex and it is not impossible that Sangremor is polyamorous. ============================================================================= Personal Data Name Sangremor le Desirous Homeland: Constantinople Culture" Byzantine Religion: Orthodox Christiany Father's Name: Theodosius Father's Class: Noble Son Number: 3 Lord: Arthur Current Class: Knight Current Home: Camelot Age 41 Year Born 490 Personality Traits Chivalry Bonus [] (total =80+) Yes Religion Bonus: No -Chaste- 12 / 8 Lustful * Energetic 16 / 4 Lazy -Forgiving- 10 / 10 Vengeful * Generous 12 / 8 Selfish Honest 14 / 6 Deceitful * Just 16 / 4 Arbitrary * -Merciful- 13 / 7 Cruel * -Modest- 6 / 14 Proud Pious 13 / 7 Worldly Prudent 2 / 18 Reckless -Temperate- 15 / 5 Indulgent Trusting 15 / 5 Suspicious # * Valorous 17 / 3 Cowardly Directed Trait: # (Non-Romans) +6 Directed Trait: Passions Loyalty (lord) 12 Love (family) 10 Armour (Senehauz) 17 Love (wife, eventually) 17 Hospitality 13 Honor 19 Loyalty (Emporer) 15 Loyalty (Arthur) 21 Loyalty (Round Table) 17 Loyalty (to his retainers) 16 Equipment Carried Armor [14+3/12+3] Clothing 10L. in value and of odd style. Equipment: Notes: Sangremor still has a ship moored somewhere. Statistics SIZ 15 (Knockdown) DEX 14 STR 12 CON 19 Major Wound) APP 24 Damage ((STR+SIZ)/6) 5d6 Healing Rate ((STR+CON)/10) 3 Movement Rate ((STR+DEX)/10) 26 Total Hit Points (SIZ+CON) 31 Unconscious (HP/4) 8 Distinctive Features Dashing air, Features of a Roman God, Habit of lying around mumbling to self. Byzantine accent, impeccable manners. Skills Awareness 7 Boating 0 Chirurgery 6 Compose 0 Courtesy 23 Dancing 13 Faerie Lore 2 Falconry 10 First Aid 14 Flirting 12 Folk Lore 2 Gaming 10 Heraldry 12 Hunting 6 Industry 0 Intrigue 12 Orate 9 Play (Lyre) 7 Read (Latin) 5 Read (Greek) 15 Recognize 4 Religion (Christian) 5 Romance 17 Singing 9 Stewardship 2 Swimming 5 Tourney 12 Coat of Arms: As per "The Boy King" Glory 10 000 Combat Skills Battle 14 Horsemanship 12 Weapon Skills Sword 19 Lance 16 Dagger 12 Spear 4 Horses Best Warhorse: Arabian Charger Type Damage 6d Move Armor HP SIZ CON DEX