Organization of Covenant Grogs

The organization of grogs in a covenant may have been arranged when the covenant was founded and reorganized deliberately as the covenant grew in size, or it may have developed organically over its history. This section presents a few concepts around which a covenant organization can be built. Naturally it is possible to mix-and-match; for example, a covenant's soldiers might be organized in a hierarchical fashion, but its servants and specialists might be divided into nations. The manner in which the grogs are organized can be an impor-

tant determiner of the mood and feel of a covenant, and the troupe should put a bit of thought into which system they prefer.

A hierarchical organization of a covenant's grogs is perhaps the most commonly found. It is the least work for the magi, as they have a small number of officials reporting to them, who then marshal their subordinates to complete the tasks at hand. The two most significant hierarchical models adopted are those of the noble household and the military.

Covenants who employ a large number of servants and specialists often adopt an organizational structure that mimics that of the noble household. This is a natural model to adopt, since examples of how well it functions can be found throughout Mythic Europe. However, the level of complexity is only really needed if the covenant is a large one, or is masquerading as a lord of the manor. At its most basic level this organization approximates the norm for covenants perhaps due to the influence of the liber gregis — since the three chief officials in a noble household are the steward, the chamberlain, and the marshal.

The steward (or seneschal) is in control of the lord's lands and the keep, and is often a knight. The steward sometimes has an under-steward called the steward of the household, or fills this role himself in smaller households. Any miscellaneous specialists, such as craftsmen employed directly by the household, fall under the steward's purview.

• The bailiff is in control of the lord's manors. He has a subordinate reeve in each village, who is responsible for the direct oversight of the daily work of the villeins.

• The verderer, or forest warden, maintains the hunting preserve of the household. He is often in control of the huntsmen.
• The chief buyer is responsible for acquiring goods and services needed by the household.
• The auditor keeps the accounts relating to the income of the land.
• The cook is in charge of preparing and cooking all food for the household. Under him are the saucier, the baker, the poulterer, and any number of other kitchen menials.
• The butler is the wine steward, and responsible for supplying the household with food. Under him are the pantrymen and brewers.

The chamberlain (or treasurer, or wardrober) is the chief clerical officer, and is occasionally a subordinate of the steward. The wardrobe is a special room where valuables are kept, and serves as the noble's treasury.

• The clerk of the offices is the chamberlain's deputy, and the chief scribe.

• The chaplain is the household's personal priest. His first duty is to the household's master, but he occasionally hears confession for the servants as well.

• The almoner is responsible for dis-

• tributing wealth to the poor, and hiring temporary staff.

• The usher is in charge of the master's chamber. Under him are the porter, who keeps the keys to the household, the servants of the chamber, the laundresses, and the barber.

The marshal is the leader of the household knights or men-at-arms. He is also in charge of the horses and needs of the stables. In some households, he is considered subordinate to the steward, but in most covenants using this model, this is not true.

• The mesnie are the household knights of the lord, who form his bodyguard. These knights are responsible for training the squires and pages.
• The men-at-arms are the lord's personal fighting force, and are the equivalent of the turb.
• The smith, farriers, and ostlers care for the horses of the household.
• The carters also fall under the purview of the marshal, since he is responsible for all the household's horses.
• Messengers may be hired on at a daily rate, or else employed directly.

Underneath these servants with named jobs is a great mass of scullions, grooms, boy attendants, and helpers. More information on the disposition

A grog character has recently been promoted to a higher rank, and he is still finding his feet. His biggest problem is not the new responsibilities; but instead his friends — now part of his command — and his rival for the position. The latter is eaten with jealousy toward the player character, and in a moment of weakness turned to a witch to secure his revenge. The grog is now under a curse which, whether real or imagined, is blamed for the misfortune that dogs every step he makes. The grog may need his friends to help him get the curse lifted and expose the malfeasance of his rival.

of a noble household is given in Lords of Men.

Rather than dividing the covenfolk by role, a covenant can take a more military approach. In this organizational system, the covenfolk are divided into squads, each of which consists of soldiers and their auxiliary staff. An army in Mythic Europe is largely free of intermediate ranks. The marshal is in charge of his lord's household troops, including the knights and men-at-arms. If his lord goes to war, the marshal takes charge of the menat-arms, while the lord commands the knights; otherwise, he leads the knights himself (in lieu of the tenantin-chief, thus the later rank "lieutenant") and appoints a captain to command the men-at-arms.

This model is appropriate for military-minded covenants, but not necessarily only them. In a similar way to dividing covenfolk into nations (see later), this structure can fill a role where, for example, the covenant is divided over several geographically separate sites. The difference to the system of nations is that, in a military hierarchy, each squad is not independent of each other.

Exempli gratia: Traditional covenants like to follow the early Roman model, where the manus ("hand," singular and plural), comprised of a squad of four men plus their leader (the quincurion), is the basic unit. A decuria is made of two manus, with the leader of one manus, the decurion*, superior to the other. Up to 10 decuriae make up the* centuria*, commanded by a* centurion*.*

Another method of organizing grogs is by nation. A nation of grogs consists of servants, specialists, and soldiers — possibly even companions and magi. The identifying feature of a nation is that it cuts across roles. One's nation may be determined by a number of methods. Sometimes new members are assigned at random, either by lot or in order to fill gaps in the ranks. Otherwise, a recruit might join the nation of the person (magus or otherwise) who inducted him into covenant life. Alternatively, the nations themselves might decide, holding an auction or contest whenever new recruits join the covenant, perhaps having recruits be members of no nation until sufficient numbers of unplaced grogs are accrued. Finally, recruits could be born to a nation, either as the child of a grog, or a member of a specific ethnic group.

Nation-level organizations are common in covenants where magi are relatively independent of each other. Each nation might be dedicated to the service of a single magus, or led by a companion instead. Members of nations often have a Loyalty Personality Trait specific to the nation as well as to the covenant.

The most natural nations form around familial bonds. Old covenants, in particular, have covenfolk who were born in the covenant and have served the magi all their lives. These families can stretch back generations, each one tracing its ancestry back to one of the original servants of the covenant, or even one of the magi. Alternatively, a covenant might, at its foundation, have incorporated folk from the local area who were already strongly divided along family lines. It is usual for a woman to join her husband's family when they marry, but this is not always the case: in Irish clan structures, for example, the man may join the woman's family.

Family-based nations usually have a clear leader, who is often the eldest living member of that family, although some have a council of elders, or an elected head, or a clear line of succession. Families often share distinctive physical features or character traits, and may even inherit particular patterns of warping.

Exempli gratia: When founded, a covenant employed four brothers, who all went on to have prodigiously-sized families. Three of these families still persist (the fourth has since perished), called Rufus, Flavus, and Fuscus, since the families tend to be red-headed, blond, and brown-haired, respectively.

The student bodies of some universities in Mythic Europe are divided into nations, with each nation responsible for the conduct and protection of each of its members (Art & Academe, page 94). These nations are usually loose geographical groups; the closest ethnic groups are well represented,

At the deathbed of a family member, the grog characters discover that their family hides a dark secret. One of their ancestors pledged his soul to a demon, along with one soul from every subsequent generation. The player grogs are among the eligible members for

the demon's appetites, but to secure help from the rest of the covenant, they must betray the darkest secret of their family, condemning them to unbearable shame and dishonor. And how will the magi react if they discover that they have diabolic covenfolk?

whereas more distant students are lumped into much wider categories. Some covenants, particularly ones that straddle borders or have been formed from the merging of two or more turbs with distinct racial identities, use this structure.

Exempli gratia: A covenant on the border between France and Spain might have the nations of Castellan, Occitan, Francian, and German, based on the native language of the members. The German nation takes anyone who doesn't speak Spanish, Occitan, or French.

Exempli gratia: A covenant in the Holy Land might have been founded as a joint venture between Hermetic magi and non-Hermetic wizards. It therefore has two nations: Occidens, consisting of the Western covenfolk who accompanied the Hermetic magi; and al-Mashriq, consisting of the Arabic covenfolk who serve their eastern masters.

Nations may also form where a covenant is split over several geographically separated sites, or has deliberate spatial separation of its turb. There may be some separation of function in these nations; the nation that lives offshore probably has more sailors and fishermen than the nation that occupies the nearby hills, but both nations need their own specialists, soldiers, and servants.

Exempli gratia: A covenant occupying an isolated fort high on a mountain has the nations of Castellum, Moenia, Montes, and Silva. The Castellum grogs live in and defend the fort, the Moenia nation guards the outer walls, the Montes patrol the tundra above the treeline, and the Silva grogs hunt in the woods below the treeline. Each nation consists of servants, specialists, and soldiers with skills appropriate to the habitat in which they dwell.

Exempli gratia: A covenant occupies a number of small islands on a lake. None of the islands is big enough to support sancta for all of the magi, so each island is home to a single magus, and the staff he needs form indepen-

The leader of a soldiers' guild is either incompetent or corrupt, and as a result, the guild has insufficient funds to subcontract other covenfolk for the basic needs of his guild, such as repairing clothes and armor. The soldiers begin to look shabby, and their equipment is of substandard quality. Keen to hide his mistakes, the guild leader is open to "outside contractors," and when approached by a mysterious stranger who seems to ask for very little in return, he is eager to employ him. This stranger could be a faerie, demon, or spy from another covenant seeking to worm his way in to the covenant.

dent nations, governed as their master dictates. There is also a nation answerable only to the council of magi, which provides, supports, and protects the ferry service linking the islands.

An alternative to nations is guilds; that is, organizing the grogs by their function. Many covenants simply divide their covenants into servants, specialists, and soldiers, and consider these three "guilds" sufficient — and often they are. However, the larger covenants get, the more need there is to divide the grogs into smaller guilds with more defined functions. A covenant that has more than one source of income often institutes guilds as a means to organize collecting the revenue and conducting the necessary business that keeps the income sources operational.

There is also a tendency for grogs to self-organize. If there are a lot of craftsmen, then they tend to band together to mimic the guild structure of the outer world. If the covenant uses light cavalry as an elite unit, then these individuals may not want to fraternize with common foot soldiers.

Note that the division of grogs into guilds does not necessarily mean literal guilds; that is, a political unit that can arrange simultaneous withdrawal of services in order to coerce better conditions for their masters. However, the Guild Covenant Hook (Covenants, page 19) can be bought if this situation is desirable.

Clearly a good model for covenant organization is the craft guilds, service guilds, and merchant guilds that are becoming more widespread in Mythic Europe in the 13th century. Once confined to big cities, guilds can now be found almost anywhere, at least in the West, and they regulate the quality of the goods produced by their members. A guild consists of all craftsmen that use the same or a group of closely allied Craft or Profession Abilities. However, at a covenant, a guild might exist for each Martial Ability, or perhaps even for select groups of Arcane or Supernatural Abilities. The guild provides incomes for the destitute and disabled, pays for the funeral services of deceased members, holds its own religious ceremonies, and sometimes even provides schooling for their members' children.

At the head of a guild is the dean, elected by the guild members from among their number. The dean is supported by the aldermen (guild officials), who police the guild, ensure the quality of the work, and enforce the guild rules. Below the aldermen are the senior masters and masters. A master has sufficient skill to run his own shop, and has the right to attend meetings at the guildhall and have a say in the run-

ning of the guild. Senior masters have been masters for ten or more years, and may run more than one workshop, which can prove very lucrative. Each master might have one or two journeymen and several apprentices, who form the lowest rungs of the guild ladder. More information about guilds can be found in Chapter 3 of City & Guild.

The difference between a professional guild and other forms of governance is that the guild exists because its members want it. They have an expectation of advancement through the guild's ranks, and to one day have a say in how it is run. A guild might be a more familiar system for players who are used to concepts of social mobility and providing benefits for the hard workers, although this is an anachronism for much of Mythic Europe outside of the professional guilds.

Exempli gratia: A covenant has three guilds of soldiers: the Red Lions, the Golden Hawks, and the Green Horses. The Red Lions

Every three years, the guilds of a covenant hold a contest that determines the precedence of the guilds. The leader of the winning guild becomes the steward for the next three years, and his guild is accorded many petty privileges: they are seated first for dinner and receive better bread and cleaner salt; they have first pick of new tools; they get the quarters farthest from the pig-sties; and so forth. Suffice to say, it is a serious business.

The contest consists of a series

of physical and mental trials set by the magi, and for as long as anyone can remember, one particular guild has won. This year, however, another guild has a chance, thanks to a secret weapon — the player grogs. They have either acquired some magical item that will assist the guild in winning, or else have good relations with the magi who might be persuaded to help. Naturally, the incumbent guild does not sit idly and permit their rivals to gain the upper hand and break their hegemony.

provide the infantry, and are also responsible for guarding the residences of the magi. The Golden Hawks are archers, and man the gate and walls of the covenant. The Green Horses are a cavalry unit, and maintain all the covenant's stables, not just their own. These guilds are permitted to train their own junior war- riors, and select their own sergeants and captains. The covenant grants the captain a lump sum each year, which is distributed among the soldiers as wages, with some kept in reserve for funeral expenses, rewards, and so forth. Each captain is in charge of the discipline of its own men. Each guild must subcontract the covenfolk for any services, such as care of the sick and injured, or repair of armor or weapons.

Exempli gratia: A large covenant has seven guilds named after their patron saints. The Guild of St. Peter consists of the bakers, cobblers, and masons of the covenant; the Guild of St. Luke consists of the glassmakers, physicians, and bookbinders; and the Guild of St. Matthew contains the personal guards of the magi, their servants, and the senior staff. The Guild of St. James supports the cavalry, laborers, and tanners; the Guild of St. Michael contains the soldiers, sailors, and merchants; and the Guild of St. George contains the archers, armorers, and farmers. Finally, the Guild of St. Andrew cares for the fishermen and all the unmarried women (once they marry, they join their husband's guild; if they are widowed, they return to St. Andrew's patronage).

A monastery is designed along a guild structure. Unlike the clear hierarchy of the noble household, the abbot of a monastery designates officials

to manage each aspect of the daily life of the monastery. These officials are then responsible for meeting the monastery's needs in their department, and can requisition manpower and finances as needed. This is a good model for a small covenant, where staff need not be permanently designated as a cook or a chambermaid, but instead take on such roles as requested.

The abbot is the secular and spiritual leader of a monastery. He appoints various senior obedentiaries to care for different departments, so the terrar is in charge of the estate, the cellarer in charge of food, the bursar in charge of money, and so forth. Rather than having a staff or workforce assigned to each, these positions permit their holder to request the assistance of the other monks in the completion of their tasks. For more information on the internal structure of monasteries, see The Church, Chapter 4.

Exempli gratia: The covenfolk of a small covenant have been divided into four "guilds," one serving each of the four magi (the magistri*). The prefect works for the* magister militaris*, and is tasked with maintaining the covenant's soldiers in a battle-ready state. The cellarer works for the* magister aedificius and is in charge of the covenant's mundane resources: its money, food, and consumables. The sacrist works for the magister flaminis and is responsible for the magical resources of the covenant: the laboratories, the library and scriptorium, and gathering the vis. The herald works for the magister legatus*, and deals with all outside relations with other covenants and with the local dignitaries. None of the grogs are permanently assigned to any of the four magi, but if vis needs to be collected, the sacrist pulls together a team of the most appropriate grogs and sends them off on a mission. At harvest time, the cellarer gathers most of the available personnel to bring in the wheat.*

Some covenants have never instituted any sort of structure at all among their covenfolk. This is usually only possible for very small numbers of covenfolk; without some sort of organization, important tasks are likely to be forgotten or neglected. In fact, if left to their own devices with no formal organization imposed upon them, covenfolk usually seek some sort of structure by themselves; it is natural for humans to seek social order.

If the covenfolk form a strong cohesive group, they can all work together toward the common good without needing a formal social structure. This is not to say that everyone does not know who is in charge, but there are fewer differences between servant, soldier, and specialist since everyone lends a hand in each task.

Exempli gratia: Members of a single family supply nine-tenths of a covenant's workforce. The MacKars are an ancient clan with a strong leader, and while they might have rivalries with other clans in the region, they also have several alliances. Every member of the covenant knows his place, and is trained in the roles to which he is best suited by an older relative. The clan has even produced one Gifted child, of whom they are inordinately fond, and who is now apprenticed to one of the masters.