Kingdom Story Seed -- The House de Calmar

This story seed is intended to be used with Kingdom as a means of quickly assembling a game session setup for 3 - 5 players.

Times of sorcery and intrigue always have at least one extended family whose dabbling into things unspeakable, either magical or social -- and frequently both -- become the stuff of legends. The House de Calmar is one such, an extended family of depravity and indolence, propped up with sorceries, cunning political intrigues, and simply enough gall to both shock and fascinate those outside the House. The necessity of "keeping things in the family" is never lost, and much time is spent managing the affairs of the outside world to maintain the mirror-finish that those without the blessing of being accepted as insiders see from their vantage.

Families often find that their members are both their best friends and worst enemies, sometimes within the same conflict. Likewise, blood is thought thicker than water, leaving those who might wish to intervene from without facing a terrifyingly united front of individuals who've honed their knives on each other so long that the flesh of those beyond their circle parts like thighs before a whisper. It can be extremely dangerous to court the enmity of such a family.

Customize

• The era is [the 13th century | the 18th century | the modern day | the 23rd century]. 
• The House de Calmar [has a family seat within a massive granite-stone manse on the lazy estuary of Sallenelles in northern France | owns the top twelve stories of a high-rise apartment building deep in the financial district of Houston, TX | is spread out amongst the suburbanites surrounding New Orleans, as more social convention than blood-ties | rules with an iron fist from the aristocratic quarter of an O'Neil satellite (sometimes referred to as Hatur) orbiting above Dubai]. 
• The focus of the House is [simple demonstration of superiority over one another in closed affairs | decadent indulgence of whatever appetites any member possesses | the domination of interests outside the House | utterly incomprehensible]. 
• Sorcery is [wide-spread and well-known, one element of life among many | a secret held dear and fast by every family member | the privilege of only a few, who keep it sharp like a favorite dagger | the bane of the House and hated without question -- except by those who use it]. 
• Socially, [the House is relatively unknown, only recognized as an entity by the most educated or those who've delved too deep | players on the local stage, movers and shakers in their immediate area, but not beyond | a global power to rival corporations, small nations, and real economies].

Threats

• The head of the House and a younger son are dividing forces to compete for the eye of a prospective member. 
• A local politico has begun asking questions of people and places he truly ought not. 
• Rumors have stopped being rumors and are being published frequently as facts -- unpleasant and inconvenient facts even for those of the House. 
• Spiritual forces are aligning against de Calmar, being pushed into the world by conflict beyond. 
• People are becoming restless, taking a harsher tone about the House in their midst; without the screening presence of a content society, the House would be threatened by revelation. 
• Ex-clave de Calmar want to know more about the business of the family and are becoming desperate. 
• The local political ruler is becoming obviously weak, providing both opportunity and threat.

Locations

• The seat of power. A throne carved from a single chunk of granite, cast over with velvet pillows or bare and hard, as the mood of the Lord demands. 
• Porta Mer. The gate of the sea, a port where the people of the community to do business and socialize. 
• Vorago Tenebricosa. A secret redoubt of black rituals, dark learning, and hidden knowledge, located beneath the catacombs of Paris, where the most hideous of experiments may be pursued by the House. 
• Whysperwynds. The premiere night-club, where the rich, the powerful, and the notionally meaningful gather to preen and primp for their lessers. 
• The Gentlemen's Room. A club, though one extremely well concealed and rarely discussed, where truly powerful members of the community come to discuss business. It has been accessible to women for twenty years, but everyone seems comfortable with the name for various reasons. 
• The courts. The law of the land must be executed somewhere, and the high bannisters, expensive marble, and be-wigged old men at least make a show of it being here. 
• The Pool. A place of reflection and relaxation, filled with an amount of water truly stunning, no matter where it is. Servants bustle, but quietly. 
• Pain's Tower. A single rough iron pillar, barely hammered into shape, stands in the midst of a black room. Manacles red with rust and muddy with dried blood dangle from several spots. Occult paraphernalia are laid out with surgical precision, just as surgical tools are distributed with occult intent.

Character Concepts

• Lord Alexander de Calmar, head of the House, reprobate, pervert, and lover of dominating control. 
• Duc Arik de Calmar, thrall of the household and long-time friend of the Lord of the House, stalwart, chaste, and honorable, often affected with the malaise of ennui. 
• Duc Rak de Anguille, taking sanctuary in the House, with a penchant for libertine sexuality, a fascination for writing long letters about transformative bestiality, and possibly inculcating others into hir twisted desires; gender is, at best, fluid. 
• Countess Aube de Calmar, originally a servant, elevated to Household by the Lord for exemplary service and dependability; a frequent dope-fiend and dilatant, she is well known for castigating the weak-minded with iron rods for offending her. 
• Princess Michele de Calmar, adopted daughter and lover of the Lord de Calmar, in accordance with long tradition, passionate, easily addictive, submissive to the point of mania; exalts in being the subject of many sorcerous experiments and her manacles of bondage, as well as being fiercely territorial. 
• A distaff cousin of the House, now sent to the seat to be educated in the more rarified methodologies wielded therein. 
• One of the hundreds of servants who work within the House, increasingly uncomfortable with the things he's learned. 
• The bastard child of one of the lesser aristocrats of the House, sent to learn and spy, and earn adoption and recognition.

Potential Crossroads

• Contest the mayoral race with our own candidate, Countess Aube, trusting to our ability to fix the vote? What if Aube doesn't want to be mayor? 
• Host a gathering of the most infamous and most decadent magi at Whysperwinds? Much could be learned, many dalliances could be had, but it also makes for an entertainingly large target. 
• Destroy the reputation of the President in return for the insult he paid the House last year? He's never been a friend of the de Calmar, but destabilizing such a large government always carries risks. 
• Strike the final blow against the treacherous House Nouvel Ordre, burning their seat to the ground with everyone within trapped to burn alive? Surely that will have some unpleasant repercussions, but it is so intensely satisfying. 
• Induct Kask de Vierge into the House de Calmar as a Countess? Her family will undoubtedly object and has much power among the clergy, but her actions and public face have long been an embarrassment to them. We can proceed on this course even against her will. 
• Shall we cast a tenth part of the servants and nobility of the House into the sea, as demanded by long ritual every five-hundred years? The ritual pre-dates the Empire, the King, and the Presidency, but no one quite remembers what it's meant to avert or summon forth.

Inspirations

• Ars Magica -- One of the finest and most detailed RPGs ever written in a traditional vein, and simultaneously a pioneer in one of the sea changes in RPG play styles: troupe style. Any suspicions that I may have played a high-ranking Tytalus magus with an obsession for Perdo Corporem are absolutely true. 
• Nobilis -- Cunning, well put together, and intensely focused on characters with no question about whether they can do something, only what the consequences will be, Nobilis will always be an inspiration for my Kingdom games. (First or Second editions only. Third gets -- off in the weeds.) 
• My pet, Michele, for her guidance, inspiration, and weird adoration for my work; may she continue forever.