The Life of a Grog

Living at a covenant usually offers better prospects than most peasants or townsfolk can otherwise expect. They have a job for life, so long as they prove useful. Food is provided communally, and the buildings are

Any sort of social structure can lead to rivalries among the covenfolk. One nation may have deep-seated prejudices against another (perhaps arising from racial or cultural incompatibilities), or a guild might consider its tasks more important than those of the other guilds, and seek an improved status for its members.

In addition to tension between groups of covenfolk, there can also be tension between prominent individuals. If the covenfolk are split into families, there may be a longstanding feud between the leaders of two families; or there could be a power struggle within the turb over who deserves to be captain, once the present incumbent has retired. A common rivalry occurs between the steward and the chamberlain over precedence; many stewards believe that they should be the superior of the chamberlain. The turb captain need not be excluded from such rivalries; it is common for the captain to think himself more important than either, and he uses the armed men under his control to enforce this point.

The covenfolk are divided into at least two factions, who cannot see eye-to-eye, and this rivalry has gone beyond petty annoyances to a situation where it can occasionally interrupt the smooth running of the covenant. The magi are either unwilling or unable to resolve whatever started the conflict, although their attempts might also lead to stories. This is not the same as either the Divided Loyalty or Rebellious Covenfolk Hooks (Covenants, page 19); the different factions of covenfolk can be equally loyal (or disloyal!) to the magi.

It is sometimes necessary to know what patrols certain members of the turb are assigned to at any one time. The following charts should help; randomly determine what patrol (night or day) and watch (first to fourth) a character is in, then cross-reference the time to determine the type of duty. You may instead wish to divide all soldiers into watches ahead of time, so that when an event occurs, you can randomly determine which of the watches is on duty, letting you know which grogs have to deal with that event first.

The grogs are divided into four watches. The day and night patrols vary as to when they take their off-duty and free shifts. One-quarter of the covenant's fighting force is combat ready at any time, and another three-eighths can be mobilized quickly; the rest are asleep.

SHIFT	1ST WATCH (NIGHT/DAY)	2ND WATCH (NIGHT/DAY)	3RD WATCH (NIGHT/DAY)	4TH WATCH (NIGHT/DAY)
Eventide	Duty	Off / Free	Off / Free	Off / Free
Nighttide	Off / Free	Duty	Off / Free	Off / Free
Midnight	Off / Free	Off / Free	Duty	Off / Free
Foredawn	Off / Free	Off / Free	Off / Free	Duty
Morntide	Duty	Free / Off	Free / Off	Free / Off
Forenoon	Free / Off	Duty	Free / Off	Free / Off
Afternoon	Free / Off	Free / Off	Duty	Free / Off
Foredusk	Free / Off	Free / Off	Free / Off	Duty

The grogs are divided into two double-watches; as before, the day and night patrols have different assignments when not on duty. One half of the covenant's grogs is combat ready, and another quarter can quickly support them; the remaining quarter is asleep.

SHIFT	1ST AND 2ND WATCHES (NIGHT/DAY)	3RD AND 4TH WATCHES (NIGHT/DAY)
Eventide	Duty	Off / Free
Nighttide	Duty	Off / Free
Midnight	Off / Free	Duty
Foredawn	Off / Free	Duty
Morntide	Duty	Free / Off
Forenoon	Duty	Free / Off
Afternoon	Free / Off	Duty
Foredusk	Free / Off	Duty

The section on duties applies mostly to soldiers, rather than servants or specialists. However, the serving staff tend to follow similar watch patterns to the soldiers, since they must provide food for the soldiers when their watches are complete, and they must arrange their cleaning schedules around their duties. The remaining part of this section applies equally to all grogs — what they do on their free time, how they are rewarded and punished, and what the covenant provides for them in terms of accommodation and pension.

A soldier's time is divided into three periods: duty (or watch duty), off-duty, and free time. He actively guards the covenant when on duty, does other jobs around the covenant when off duty, and has self-governed time to himself (usually reserved for sleeping) when free. The turb is usually divided into two patrols (the day and night patrols), of roughly equal size. Both patrols pull a duty during the day and the night, but the day patrol has its off-duty during the day and sleeps at night, whereas the night patrol sleeps during the day and has its off-duty during the night. The two

patrols swap duties periodically, so that the day patrol becomes the night patrol and vice versa. This typically occurs every one to three months.

A patrol may be split further into different areas of the covenant, so that each patrol might consist of a wall patrol, a gate patrol, a keep patrol, and so forth. However, an individual might not perform the same service in each of his duties: on one duty, he might be on wall guard, and on his next duty, he may be patrolling the tower or the forest. The liber gregis suggests that a minimum of two grogs constitute each sub-patrol if possible.

The turb captain is responsible for keeping track of the duties and patrols, but a sergeant usually issues orders and assignments to the men. The grog's mess hall usually has a peg board, letting a grog know where and when, and with whom, he is on duty. Each column on the board indicates a different patrol, and a grog finds his mark on the side of the board and reads across to discover what patrol he's been assigned.

The liber gregis sets out the expected pattern of sentry duty, both on expedition and while stationed at the covenant, and the system it adopts is broadly based on the Roman model. The 24 hours of the day are divided into eight watches of three hours each: four day watches and four night watches.

Times of watches are approximate, based on the height of the sun during the day, and the rising of the moon or stars at night. On overcast nights, watch durations are even more approximate, and are usually estimated from the time it takes for a log the diameter of a man's arm to burn: approximately one hour. During the day, the sergeant on watch is responsible for determining shift changes; at night, this is left to the grogs on duty.

Each patrol is divided into four watches. In normal sentry duty, a patrol spends one watch on duty, then three watches off-duty. It then spends another watch on duty, and the next three watches are free time. The first watch of each patrol is assigned the eventide watch as their duty watch, followed by three watches free (if the day patrol) or three watches off-duty (if the night patrol). The two second watches take the nighttide watch as their duty watch, the third watches commence with the midnight watch, and the fourth watches commence with the foredawn watch. The pattern then repeats itself starting at the morntide watch. In double duty, a patrol spends two watches on duty, then two off-duty, then two on duty, then has two free watches. The first and second watches of both patrols start duty with the eventide watch, then are relieved by the third and fourth watches at midnight.

One of the most important and most onerous duties of a soldier is to stand guard over the covenant. This duty generally consists of standing out in the elements, trying to remain alert while absolutely nothing happens. This tedium is punctuated every few months or years by brief moments of excitement and violence. While on sentry duty, a grog's patrol is assigned an area — the gate, a section of the wall, the bailey, and so forth — and he must be aware of anything unusual that he sees or hears. Of course, at a covenant, "unusual" has a different connotation than it does elsewhere; he may be on the lookout for a faerie infiltration, invisible thieves creeping in, anything up to and including a fullon assault by a dragon!

A grog on watch duty is not permitted to eat, or drink undiluted wine or ale. He is usually permitted a small fire, unless ordered otherwise. He must remain in his armor at all times, and must keep at least one hand on his weapon. His purpose is to remain alert and aware of any potential dangers, and, depending on his station, to patrol across his designated area. If he hears or sees anything suspicious, he should first alert the other grogs of his duty, then the duty sergeant. Obviously, he should raise the alarm for any immediate threats.

Characters can regain Short-Term Fatigue while on duty or offduty. Normal sentry duties do not incur the loss of Long-Term Fatigue, as long as they are maintained in a regular fashion. If a grog's sleeping time is interrupted, or he chooses to spend it carousing or gambling with his comrades, then he loses a Long-Term Fatigue level which can be regained from normal sleep when he is next permitted.

It may be important to determine whether a grog can remain awake during his duty watches. This involves a Stamina + Concentration roll; failure indicates that the character is dozing or asleep. It is not necessary to roll for every grog on every duty — only if something happens during a shift is this absolutely necessary — but the storyguide should ask for occasional rolls anyway, to keep the players on their toes! Characters who are asleep have a –9 penalty to any Awareness rolls. A character who is woken up suddenly, in addition to still suffering from any Fatigue loss, has a –1 penalty

to all actions for a number of rounds equal to (6 – Stamina).

REMAIN AWAKE ON DUTY: Stamina + Concentration + simple die

EASE FACTOR: 3 (single duty); 6 (double duty); +3 for night time

PENALTY TO AWARENESS FOR BEING ASLEEP: –9

TIME TO RECOVER FROM BEING WOKEN UP: 6 – Stamina rounds

Double duty is ordered when trouble is expected; grogs work longer shifts, and more of them are active at a time. When on double duty, the turb is divided into two duties, and a grog is on watch for two watches, with two watches off-duty. As before, sleep is permitted after two active duties. If possible, it is arranged so that half of each duty is asleep and half is resting. So, if four grogs are on sentry duty, two take the first duty while one sleeps and the other is off-duty. After two watches, the duties switch; one of those who has just been on duty sleeps, while the other remains awake. In this pattern, there are always threequarters of the grogs awake at any one time, and half of them are alert, armed, and ready for trouble.

Double duty is tiring, and cannot be maintained for extended periods. At dusk, make Fatigue rolls for every grog. The Ease Factor is three, but increases by one for every double duty watch endured since the character's last normal duty (thus it increases by two every day). Failure results in the loss of one Long Term Fatigue level. Characters on double duty cannot regain Long-Term Fatigue levels until they change to a normal shift pattern, or they sleep uninterrupted for at least ten hours.

DOUBLE DUTY FATIGUE ROLLS: Stamina + simple die versus Ease Factor 3 + number of double duties

The working day of most specialists in the covenant is from forenoon until eventide (approximately 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). If they are entitled to food provided by the covenant, they eat after the soldiers at dawn and dusk, and with them at noon. Other than that, they toil under their own recognizance, or under the command of their workshop master or the steward.

Servants need to fit their duties around the other inhabitants of the covenant, but tend to keep similar hours to the specialists. Kitchen staff rise earlier since breakfast needs to be cooked and bread prepared for the whole day. There is usually someone in the kitchen at all times, even if it is just a scullion stoking the fires under the ovens and guarding the stores against hungry soldiers coming off a watch. Chambermaids must often be opportunistic about when they can gain access to the magi's quarters to clean, and become experts at slipping in and out without being noticed.

A grog off-duty is not necessarily free to do what he wishes, it just means he does not have to patrol the covenant. Off-duty time is usually welcomed by the grogs as a relief from the tedium of being on watch. Offduty grogs may divest themselves of their armor if it restricts them in their tasks, but are encouraged to wear at least their under-armor padding if possible. For some tasks, like drilling, wearing armor is mandatory.

In common with most of Mythic Europe, two hot meals are provided each day: dinner is the larger meal and is served midway through the forenoon watch, and supper is served at the end of the foredusk watch. Grogs on off-duty gather in the mess hall after taking bowls of food to those on duty. At other times, the ability for a grog to get hot food depends very much on their personal relationship with the servants. However, a daily ration of bread, cheese, and ale is provided to each grog.

If a grog is off-duty during the daylight hours, then he is usually occupied on the drill ground with the other off-duty shifts. The drill sergeant puts them through their paces, improving their general fitness and providing Teaching in Martial Abilities. Grogs must drill together regularly if they are to be able to fight as a trained group.

Not all of a character's off-duty time is occupied with drills, however. A soldier is expected to take care of his arms, armor, and kit. He must clean the armor and make repairs, sharpen any edged weapons, and smooth out nicks and dents. Any repairs he cannot perform himself must be seen to by the covenant's weapon-smith. Grogs may also be assigned to work crews: assisting the teamsters in unloading provisions; cleaning the latrines; and, during the autumn, helping with the harvest. Furthermore, if a magus needs an errand boy or a test subject, the sergeant assigns an off-duty grog. If he gets time to himself with all this going on, a grog can put in some Practice with a particular Ability.

A grog whose off-duty watch is during the night has an easier time of it. He is usually left to catch up with some sleep (as long as he remains in minimal armor), and may be able to entice his buddies into an illicit dice

To specialists and servants, offduty is much the same as free time. Servants work a particularly long day, and tend to sleep when not on duty; specialists usually have more energy to join the soldiers in their leisure pursuits.

Free time is precious to all grogs; it is when they sleep. A grog's daily routine is physically and mentally demanding, and, as mentioned earlier, a grog who does not sleep in his free time suffers a Long Term Fatigue level until he manages to sleep for at least two continuous watches. Strictly speaking, grogs are not permitted to sleep at any other time, but many manage to sneak a nap, at the risk of getting caught by the sergeant.

Grogs do not have to sleep in their free time; they may choose to spend it how they like. If they want to drink their wine or ale ration rather than save it for the meals, they may do so in their free time, but only in the watch immediately after they come off duty. Being drunk on duty is grounds for punishment. Grogs often gamble with each other during their free time, either on dice or coin games, on tests of skill such as quoits, or on dog fights or cock fights. Finally, a grog assigned punishment duties (see later) must perform them in his free time.

A grog's life might seem a hard one, but he is recompensed with food, accommodation, and a promise of a pension in his old age. Compared to the life of a serf, grogs have it easy. Nevertheless, it is good for morale if the covenant is seen to reward skill,

good behavior, initiative, and uncommon bravery. A maga who commends a grog to the turb captain, steward, or chamberlain does not usually concern herself with the nature of the reward, and rarely bestows it herself. Instead, the official himself determines an appropriate remuneration, and announces the reward in front of the rest of the turb. However, magi do not always recognize the importance to turb discipline of maintaining a chain of command, and sometimes hand out ad hoc rewards.

The fare of a grog is usually pretty plain, so a simple and effective way of rewarding a grog for a well-done job is to give him a one-off or temporary elevation in his provender. Typical improvements in rations include a private cellar of salt, wastel bread (the best bread available), fresh meat, or a double ration of wine or ale. This improvement in rations might last a day, a month, a season, or a year, depending on the magnitude of the rewarded behavior. A grog spending a year on improved rations receives a –1 improvement to his Living Conditions Modifier when making aging rolls. A grog receiving one of the other rewards listed here often also receives improved rations as well.

Monetary rewards to grogs are not that useful; they have little opportunity to spend hard coin. Nevertheless, grogs sometimes hoard what coin they can with a particular purpose in mind: perhaps a favor for his love, or a superior weapon. Pay and a Half can last for a season or more, or it might be permanent.

Covenants often gather superior arms and armor, either scavenged from the battlefield, received as gifts, or left behind by former companions or grogs. They might also acquire tools of superior quality from former covenfolk or from outside the covenant. This equipment is often given out as rewards. This is a little backhanded, since the covenant is rewarding a grog by making him more efficient at what they pay him to do, but most grogs do not complain. This equipment might be Expensive rather than Standard cost, or it might be particularly wellcrafted and provide actual bonuses (see City & Guild, pages 67–71). In rare circumstances, a grog might be granted a lesser enchantment or even an invested item, although this usually requires great heroism to provoke such a gift. All gifts are permanent, but a grog who is demoted as a punishment must usually surrender any such equipment in addition to any other punishment.

The highest reward offered by most covenants is a promotion. A standard grog can be promoted to custos, and a custos may be promoted to sergeant, or the equivalent for servants and specialists. They may even aspire to be captain, chamberlain, or steward one day. Increased rank has several privileges — better food, better accommodation, better pay, and often a better pension.

The liber gregis devotes a whole chapter to punishments, but it is clear that Beorhtric was a just captain and only used these punishments when warranted. Without punishments, discipline cannot be maintained. It is also important that the covenfolk know that the covenant is prepared to inflict these punishments, so they are handed out in public before the rest of the covenant. These punishments are applied to all covenfolk, not just the soldiers, although it is rare for one of the servants to have the opportunity to commit an offense that warrants a severe penalty. One individual, often the drill sergeant, is usually responsible for inflicting the punishments on all of the covenfolk. This presents the covenant as a coherent body of law to its inhabitants.

Corporal punishments are normally reserved for poor discipline. A grog who is insolent, disobedient, or insubordinate is subjected to physical punishment appropriate to the crime. These sorts of punishments are short, sharp shocks that are over with as soon as the wounds heal. Punishments involving the withholding of privileges are usually applied for failure in a duty, and the degree of failure determines the severity of the punishment. This does not mean that, every time a mission fails, the grogs are punished; only if it fails because of their actions or inactions is discipline applied. These punitive measures are usually long term, or even permanent. The two types of punishment are often combined: for example, if insubordination leads to failure in a mission.

Punishment, if inflicted in an appropriate manner for clear reasons, does not usually result in a loss of Prevailing Loyalty (see Covenants, page 36, and Chapter 4), even if the majority of the covenfolk do not agree with the punishment. Naturally, it is appropriate for the punished individual to suffer a reduction in personal Loyalty, but this may only be temporary, and if the punishment is correctly applied, then the overall effect may actually be an increase in loyalty. However, if punishment is frequent, inconsistent, or disproportionate to the infraction, then the magi can expect the covenfolk to become more hostile toward them. Punishment is not usually inflicted by a magus, and using magic is specifically advised against due to the danger of alienating the covenfolk.

The punishments of the liber gregis are listed later, in order of severity. The crimes for which they are inflicted have been purposefully omitted; every covenant places different importance on infractions, and it is impossible to generalize. Most covenants do not have a definitive list of crimes and their associated punishments (although some do); those with access to the liber gregis assigns punitive action based on the type of crime and its severity.

This is the lowest level of punishment, consisting of a single blow to the face, hand, or thigh with a rod. The drill sergeant usually carries such a rod specifically for this purpose (traditionally made from the virile organ of a bull), and the punishment is usually applied immediately.

Every covenant has duties that are considered to be the most unpleasant of all; these are usually drawn by lot, but are occasionally assigned as punishment. Typically, emptying the latrine pits is the worst of all jobs, but at a covenant, worse jobs can doubtless be found — feeding Master Hygwald's familiar, removing the rotting corpses from Master Lucas's laboratory, or accompanying Master Orsinio on a mission to the Black Bog of Doom.

Grogs usually receive basic but nutritious fare of good grain, occa-

sional meat or fish, and a daily ration of ale or wine. The threat of being reduced to barley (rather than wheat), having the meat ration removed, and/ or the ale exchanged for small beer (or worse, milk!) for a month is a good incentive to avoid bad behavior. A character who spends one or more season a year on reduced rations suffers a +1 penalty to his Living Conditions Modifier; if he is on reduced rations for three or four seasons, the penalty is +2.

This punishment usually takes place in front of the entire covenant; the offender takes one, five, or ten blows to the back from a strap. 1, 2, or 3 Light Wounds are inflicted by this punishment, and the offender takes 1, 3, or 5 long term Fatigue levels as well.

Rank has its privileges: the wages are higher, the ration of food is better, and the accommodation is superior. Furthermore, rank has implications for one's pension once one is too old to serve the covenant (see later). Reduction in rank is permanent; all grogs have the capacity to re-earn the rank they once held, but a captain will be reluctant to promote someone who has lost his rank through punishment.

Much more brutal than simple flogging, miscreants are sentenced to a number of lashes (usually a multiple of 10), made with either the long whip or the short whip, with the latter being the more severe punishment. 10 lashes inflicts a Light Wound, 30 lashes a Medium Wound, and 50 lashes a Heavy Wound. If the short whip is used, 2 wounds of each type are inflicted. The punished grog is permitted just one week to recover from his lashes (just one day if ten or fewer are inflicted); if he cannot work after this time has elapsed (which is likely if he received more than ten lashes), then his pay is docked for the time he takes to recover.

Being dismissed from the service of a covenant is a step rarely taken lightly. Covenants value their privacy, and dismissing a grog from a steady job is likely to leave that individual harboring a great deal of resentment that could be used against the covenant. Of course, magi have ways of securing silence, from simple threats and sham curses, to more direct magical measures, such as mutilation of the tongue and modification of the memory.

The most extreme punishment suggested by the liber gregis is for the malefactor to be beaten to death with clubs or stones. This form of justice is often meted out by the rest of the turb, who wear blindfolds. This is so that the character who inflicts the death blow cannot be identified, absolving him from any personal responsibility, and instead leaving the whole group accountable for the death sentence. Very few covenants actually have the legal right to order the death of their men, so this group responsibility can be important if the death becomes known in the wider community. However, since many grogs are misfits or outcasts, their death often goes unnoticed and unremarked. Beorhtric writes that he has only ever heard of this punishment being applied once, and never ordered it himself.

Grogs usually have a section of the covenant set aside for them. This is usually divided into servants' quarters, soldiers' quarters, and specialists' quarters, more for practical reasons than anything else. Soldiers in particular, with irregular watch duties, can easily disturb the sleep of others. These quarters usually consist of a large room; each grog is assigned a bunk and a chest in which to keep personal belongings. Custodes and higher ranks occasionally have private rooms, or at least bunks further from the drafts and closer to the fire. Married covenfolk often have a separate room.

There is usually a single mess hall set aside for all grogs to eat together, but because of watch patterns not everyone eats at the same time.

It would be a very unusual covenant that didn't actively encourage its covenfolk to get married. It is the duty of all Christian men to marry, and have children; and it is certainly useful to the covenant to raise the next generation of covenfolk. After all, being exposed to The Gift at an early age means that, by the time adolescence is reached, the child will have grown accustomed to the adverse effects of the magi's presence.

Because of a general reluctance to bring outsiders into the closed community of a covenant, matches between the covenfolk are encouraged. Describing the courtship and eventual marriage of a favored grog is an excellent way to add depth to these characters, and have the players invest deeply in the sense of community that their covenant should engender.

As a grog gets old, and decrepitude sinks its inescapable claws into him, there might come a time when the troop decides to retire him. Old grogs are valued by magi because they are usually exceptionally competent and less likely to react badly to The Gift, and yet as a character ages, he may be inclined toward lighter duties. The decision to retire often comes suddenly, after a serious aging crisis that leaves the character crippled or weakened.

Assuming that a covenant cares for its retired members, the grog is still counted as a member of the covenant as far as its finances go. Some covenants move retired grogs to a secondary location where they can live out their final years in peace, but others prefer to keep them around to act as babysitters, sources of information or training, and perhaps to still ply a trade if it does not impose strenuous demands.

A grog's pension is one of the enticements that keeps a grog at the covenant. Few professions allow their members to continue to draw a wage after their working life has ended, but ever since Rome, this has been the prerogative of the professional soldier, and many covenants have extended this right to all of their grogs. Pensions are usually half to threequarters of their former pay. Covenants occasionally charge rent for the accommodation of their retired members (and thus avoid having to pay them any pension), but still provide food free of charge.

A widow is normally granted the pension that would have been owed her deceased husband. In any case, the widow of a grog is usually cared for by the other grogs who worked with her husband.