New and Revised Backgrounds

Some of these are revised from their original rulebook to account for the Dark Age period, some have been taken from Sourcebooks in order to collect them in one place and some are entirely new. A few have also been rearranged into other catergories as they are more appropriate in the Dark Ages e.g. Arcane is now available to anyone.

The backgrounds below are noted if they are only availiable to a single game e.g vampires, werewolves etc.

Arcane In a world where many people never travel beyond their own villages, it is easy to slip around and not really be remembered, Arcane is a step further than this and acts as an unconscious ability that actively causes people to forget you, names in registers and the like become intelligible. Generally you can move around as you wish and it will be extremely difficult to follow you. In game terms you may add Arcane to any Stealth pools, and remove dice equal to your rating from oponents Perception and Investigation rolls if they are actively seeking you.
Level 0	No effect - people remember you just as well as anyone else,
Level 1	Wallflower - People may think they might have seen you in the next village.
Level 2	Your face is quickly forgotten and people have a hard time remembering meeting you.
Level 3	It takes a lot of questioning and resources to discover which county you live in.
Level 4	Any one not close to you can't even remember who you are.
Level 5	If you live a little longer, not even the Domesday book will have a record of you.
Level 6	Even immediate family have difficulty finding you in the village

Fame Obviously this background and Arcane are mutually exclusively.
Level 0	None - beyond your family and friends nobody really knows about you
Level 1	People in your village may swap stories of the time when...
Level 2	You name is known throughout your county, and even men in other kingdoms may know of you.
Level 3	The entire kingdom knows of your deeds, and neighbouring kingdoms will be well versed in your stories.
Level 4	Most people in the country will have heard you name, and many will be able to recite at least some stories of you
Level 5	Throughout England your name is spoken with awe, you are possibly known in other contries.
Level 6	Welcome Beowulf, or are you Sigurd?

Military Force (remembering that 500 men was a large army)
Level 0	None - You have a few friends who might have a knife or two to fight with.
Level 1	Mob - half a dozen armed farmers will fight for you.
Level 2	Militia - you can call upon a dozen spearmen led by a Huscarl
Level 3	Levy - two dozen spearmen and a handful of Huscarls are under your command.
Level 4	Thegn's Guard - you have around 50 battle hardened soldiers and a dozen Huscarls
Level 5	King's Guard - around 100 veterans and three dozen Huscarls are yours
Level 6	Army - 250+ men will fight for you, in addition to 100 huscarls.

Rank (for players wishing to be Huscarls, check the Huscarl page.)
Level 0	Slave - you are a basic slave, considered property and probably have no possessions of your own. May not have Fame or Status at all, or Resources higher than 1.
Level 1	Bondsman - slighty above a slave, you may own a few small items but that is it.
Level 2	Geneats - The most basic level of Ceorl (Freeman), you may own a house or similar and be known locally.
Level 3	Kolsetia - The middle level of Ceorls, you probably own a little land and your own house.
Level 4	Gebur - The highest a freeman can be without owning a lot of land, you are probably a trader or similar and well known in your area.
Level 5	Thegn - You own a large quantity of land (5+ hides) and probably numerous farmsteads, possibly even villages. You maintain your own standing troop of able warriors. Must have Fame and/or Status 2-4, Military Force 2+ and Resources 4-5
Level 6	Eaolderman - Merely a few steps below the throne you control the power of an entire shire of the land. Must have Fame and Status 3-5 and Resources 4-5

Resources
Level 0	No resources; you make your own clothing and tend to aquire tools and such. Nobody is at this level except slaves.
Level 1	Scant resources; there is enough cash to buy clothes and shoes if needed, but not much more. 1 shilling per month 'spending money'.
Level 2	Sufficient resources; you can get by easily enough and still have 3 shillings a month to spend.
Level 3	Comfortable; You may own a small freehold and have a trade, enough to earn 5 shillings a month to spend as you please. If you sold everything, you would have around 5 librum.
Level 4	Wealthy; you probably have a farmstead and a few hides of land. 10 shillings a month is easily taken from what you earn. If you sold everything you would have around 50 librum.
Level 5	Very Wealthy; you own your own farm and multiple hides of land (5+). An allowance of around 20 shillings a month is easy for you. You could probably make around 300 librum if you sold up completely.
Level 6	Rich; multiple villages and probably markets are within your lands. The local fortified town is yours as is most of the land within 20 miles of your personal residence. 1 librum a month to spend is nothing, and you could easily sell up and make 1000+ librum if you could find anyone to buy everything.