Friday, December 1, 2023

Good Hap to the Lunar New Year!

 and the Feasts of Investiture


With the close of Urodas-Bayzadis 1 and the beginning of the new lunar year, it a time for feasting and celebrations. The clash of timbrels and the winding of horns at sundown at the end of the lunar year herald the coming of the new year, and denote the beginning of a night of feasts Cities-wide.

At the top of society, the Souffets feast in their palace and re-invest their officers in the offices they have held for the past year--or choose to invest others in their place, as the case may be. They dine on fine dejeja meat, delectably roasted in butter and stuffed with dates; and eat pickled ninyelu, and rice pudding, and drink lassi, spiced or sweet, and fine wines.

Among the houses of Gadeed, the feasts are no less sumptuous, and mirror rituals of investiture are performed for the various officers of the banu houses. But even in humble households of Gadeed, or even of Cothon, feasts are still held--families take mowaj haunches from the markets for great roasts, or slaughter hmelu for themselves, and even they repeat the ritual for their humble servants of investing them with their responsibility within the household.




For player-characters:

Those who wish to partake in the festivities may spend 100 dinars (gp) per level to participate in a feast, as sumptuous as their means allow--and thus earn experience points equal to the gold they spend.

If they describe their festivities in detail, either below in the comments or on our Discord server, the experience they earn will be increased by 10%.



For Iqtadar Sesel:

In addition to the option above, Sesel, as a citizen, may also be called to perform some further office, into which he would be invested, if selected in particular, or if selected by lot. 

Let Sesel roll a d100 and consult the following table:

1 - called to serve as one of the Thalatheen (a panel of judges)
2-3 - called to serve on the Bem (the popular assembly)
4-10 – no office
11 - Katib to the Harbor
12 - Katib to the Knights Pylaea
13 - Katib to the Censors
14 - Katib to the Poor Brothers
15 - Katib to the Migdol of the Dyers
16-29 - no office
30 - Katib to the Court of the Moon
31 - Katib to the Court of the Mount
32 - Katib to the Souffets
34 - Katib to the Armory
35-49 - no office
50-51 - Hamladdir to the Mahanet (General)
52-63 - no office
64-70 - called to serve the army
71-92 - no office
93 - Katib to Alagadrein
94 - Katib to al Zaytun
95-98 - envoy to the Xolda Princess
99-00 - envoy to the Attine Spire


Thalatheen – the Thirty
A panel of thirty judges who review the conduct of civil and military officers. A citizen selected for this office should roll 1d6 at the beginning of each month; a 1 indicates a review is afoot, details to be generated by the referee

Bem – the Popular Assembly
The Bem is responsible for voting on certain proposals of the Souffets. If the Bem is summoned, the player-character must spend their downtime for that week attending the assembly to listen to debate and vote on the proposal

Katib – Scribe
A minor official assigned to a variety of offices to assist operations. Very much like the quaestors of ancient Rome, the Kataba's chief function is as auditors and assistants. A player-character performing such duties must spend one downtime per month attending to said duties; on the upside, this will entail some familiarity with the officer they are assigned to, and to the arena they are engaged in

Hamladdir – Shieldbearer
No longer literally the shieldbearers/bodyguards of the Mahanet (General), this is a junior military officer who acts as an aide de camp or sometimes a quartermaster. A player-character chosen for this office must either attend the Mahanet in person, or supply a person of character and skill in their stead (e.g. a son, a trusted servant, or perhaps a cousin, &c.). While the Mahanet is in the city it requires only one downtime per month to fulfill this duty, but if the Mahanet marches forth, then his Hamladdir must perforce go wither he goes

Army Service
A player-character called to serve the army as a citizen must supply armsmen to the army according to his rank and wealth. This does not necessarily mean personally serving (many nobles outfit their own Gilmani or men-at-arms to serve), though citizens of lesser means are expected to outfit themselves with arms and serve in the heavy infantry.
An iqtadar of a smaller holding might be expected to send a heavily armed infantryman and his shieldbearer, plus ten archers/skirmishers, and a slave or servant or two to serve their camp.

Envoy to Klackons
An unusual post, but Sesel's reputation precedes him enough that he is in consideration. He helped spearhead the crusade against the creatures haunting the Sixth House in the Spire of the Attines, after all. This post would entail service similar to that as a Kitab, although with the additional responsibility to act as a liaison between Souffets and Klackons under extraordinary circumstances (details to be determined by the referee)


1 comment:

  1. But of course, Bart will spend the tidy sum of 900 gold dinar in order to lay a feast before his men-at-arms and their officers (Gan, Riit Rakir, and Rifat). There will be broiled and smoked meats, fresh chopped fruits and nuts - doused in heavy, sweet cream with sweet sekeker wax/honey, as well as roasted and baked vegetables replete with butter, spices, and a slightly curdled cream ... various cheeses with fresh baked breads, as well as fine M'srian wine and sharp/tangy ale! Gan's Chroniclers will be paid a hefty sum of 500 gold dinar to perform at this feast. Their repertoire will include many local, raucous favorites often heard in the sporty, popular pubs found around Cothon, as well as a few specialty numbers developed by the Chroniclers: The Dance of Flames, The Din-Din Hunt!, and Najm at Hastati Gate. This feast is especially for those working and living at Bob Hall, including the various player characters having connection with Bob Hall (Raoden, Heijo, Sesel, Durham, Najm, Arngier, etc.), Bart's orphaned Crows ... and the renyu from Ft. Doghouse are also invited to partake! At the crescendo of this event, Bart will hold a short ceremony, presenting Gan, Riit, and Rifat each with a heavy platinum cloak clasp fashioned after the head and beak of a crow, with onyx eyes (each worth 50 gold dinar), and each man-at-arms (and each of Bart's Crows) will be gifted a slivered dagger with a crow's head pommel (each worth 35 gold dinar). In total, Bart will have spent 900 dinar for the feast items, 500 dinar on entertainment, 150 dinar on the cloak clasps, and 1260 dinar on silvered daggers - for a total of 2810 gold dinar!

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