RP Guide

Most people care far more about work, debts, food, animals and family but were still concerned with who sat on the throne, especially if they were a bad ruler. The day runs on daylight, weather and the Church calendar. Travel takes time and supplies, and news comes by way of markets, sermons, letters and whoever's passing through. Villages live off their fields, their livestock and each other. Towns have the workshops, markets and specialist trades. Kuttenberg's silver mines and mint need food, timber, tools and carters just as much as they need skilled miners. Everyone in medieval society needed the other to supply what they didn’t have, creating a web of codependency, however that web had a hierarchy. Yet, people still drank, joked, flirted and threw a good feast, life needs leisure.

Work out where you grew up, what you learned, who you rely on and why you've ended up here. A farmer notices the weather and the animals. A merchant's kid notices prices and who knows whom. A servant knows the household's habits and who actually gets to see the lord. Reading, writing and doing accounts are all separate skills. A trader might be sharp with numbers and still pay a clerk to write his letters. If your character can do something unusual, give them someone who taught them, and leave room to learn more in play. Being unschooled isn't the same as being stupid. Before you start your character, have an answer to these:

• What is the goal with my character, their dreams and aspirations?
• What are my character’s strengths and weaknesses?

Pick a few skills and keep them believable. People in this period could do various tasks to keep themselves and their family running, but would not be a master of everything. Leaving room for your character to require services of others is an easy way to create roleplay. Outlaws need motives and limits as well. If your character commits a crime, leave the victims, witnesses and whoever comes after you something to play with.

Most ordinary people in 1403 don’t have a proper surname yet. You’ve got a first name, and when there are three Jans in the village, people tell you apart by your dad (Jan, Mikulas’s son), your trade (Martin the Smith), where you’re from (Ondrej from Rataje), or whatever nickname stuck (Red Vaclav, Jakub the Hare). Family names are only just starting to settle, mostly in the towns, so yours might change if you move or take up a new trade.

Nobles are named after their seat: Hanus of Lipa, Otto von Bergow. Get a new castle and the name can change with it. Noble house names need staff approval, and lords are whitelisted, so don’t turn up on day one with a title and a castle. Talk to us first and we’ll work out where your family fits in.

Women are usually known through their family, like Katerina the miller’s wife or Anna, Jan’s daughter, unless she runs something of her own and people know her by that. Germans follow the same pattern in German (Konrad Schmied, Heinrich von Aussig), and Jewish characters usually go by their father’s name, like Samuel ben Isaac.

For first names, men are often Jan, Petr, Martin, Mikulas, Vaclav, Ondrej, Jakub, Pavel or Jiri, or a short form like Jesek or Jira. Women are often Katerina, Anna, Marketa, Dorota, Eliska, Ludmila, Agnes or Magdalena.

English versions are fine too, the same way the game turns Jindrich into Henry. Just stay away from modern names, fantasy names and the game’s own famous characters.

Birth, money and office aren't the same thing. A noble has standing because of who they are. An official has authority because of their job. Neither one means bottomless money or unlimited power. Noble or Baron is the highest rank you can play here.

Noble is about status. Lord can mean someone who actually holds land and rights, or it's just how you address them. Baron is our top playable tier.

A landed lord hears petitions, keeps the books, runs a household, settles disputes and owes political or military service upward. People expect protection, hospitality and patronage from him in return. If you play a lord, hand out work: order repairs, hire escorts, hear complaints, deal with the neighbours.

Being a knight and being noble aren't the same. Plenty of nobles were never knighted, and a soldier in good armour still isn't a knight. A knight might serve a lord, train men, escort travellers or look after an estate. A squire is an attendant or someone in training, and there's no promise he'll be knighted.

A burgrave oversees the administration and defense of a castle on behalf of its lord, managing its fortifications, provisions, garrison, visitors, and the execution of the lord’s orders. Usually appointed from among military commanders, officials, or trusted individuals, a burgrave acts as the lord’s representative and wields considerable authority in their absence.

Know who your official answers to and where their authority stops. A lord doesn't own a royal town just because he's nearby, and a captain can't make up laws because he has guards.

Social rank shapes how individuals address and conduct themselves toward one another, but it does not define a person’s entire character. Characters of lower station need not speak in broken English, nor does politeness imply agreement. Respect is often expected and maintained in public as a matter of honor and social order, while private settings offer greater freedom to voice grievances, disagreements, and personal frustrations.

Use clear, slightly formal English. In game, English stands in for whatever your character actually speaks, usually Czech or German. The phrases below are handy English stand-ins for the setting, not word-for-word translations of what people said in 1403.

When you meet a noble, a small bow or nod is enough, then say what you want. At a formal audience, wait to be received. You don’t need to kneel or say “my lord” every sentence in normal conversation. Get a title wrong and a proud lord might well tear a strip off you for it. That’s his character, and it’s fair game. Just keep it IC: the character gets told off, not the player.

Pick by what you actually mean. “Indeed” agrees that something's true. “As you wish” accepts an order. Neither one is a straight swap for every “of course”.

Use clear, slightly formal English. In-game, English stands in for whatever your character actually speaks, usually Czech or German, so aim for language that fits the setting rather than a word-for-word translation of how people spoke in 1403. Rank shapes how people address one another, so remember Command v Request. Those of higher station may give commands to their subordinates, while those of lower station should make requests of their superiors. A lower-ranking character should not command someone above them, just as a superior who constantly asks rather than commands may appear weak. Among equals, less flattery is needed. Respect and courtesy matter, especially in public, but they do not require agreement or define a character’s entire personality.

Everyone has a reputation to lose: the honest merchant, the reliable servant, the soldier on watch. A public accusation can wreck someone's living. Witnesses, promises and oaths count for a lot. An accusation still isn't proof, and the accused gets a chance to answer. Remember, in some ways honor/reputation is more important than groschen. Coin can’t always buy an outcast back into society.

Towns, lords, and the Church each had their own powers and privileges, and officials were expected to stay within their authority. Towns and lords maintained soldiers or paid guards, while the Church was ideally focused on spiritual matters, though bishops sometimes took on secular roles, including military leadership. These overlapping powers offer room for roleplay, but having a title does not mean you can do whatever you like, and in-character authority never overrides server rules.Do: Give warnings, give people time to react, and keep punishments proportionate. Let the other side bargain, get help or come back later with a grudge.Do: Give warnings, give people time to react, and keep punishments proportionate. Let the other side bargain, get help or come back later with a grudge.Do not: Kill someone for a rude greeting, magic up a squad of unnamed soldiers to win an argument, or lock someone up with nothing to do. Losing a fight or a deal should lead into the next scene.

Do: Give warnings, give people time to react, and keep punishments proportionate. Let the other side bargain, get help or come back later with a grudge.
Do not: Kill someone for a rude greeting, magic up a squad of unnamed soldiers to win an argument, or lock someone up with nothing to do. Losing a fight or a deal should lead into the next scene.

In 1403, most people in Bohemia and across Christendom were Christian by birth through infant baptism, though their devotion varied and local beliefs often blended Christian practices with older folk traditions. Religion was woven into everyday life, shaping the calendar, marriages, funerals, oaths, and hopes for the future. The supernatural was also a familiar part of how people understood the world, and relics, blessings, prayers, and folk remedies offered protection against spiritual dangers. The Western Church had two rival popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon (‘usually called an anti-pope at times), while Jan Hus was already preaching in Prague, though the Hussite Wars had not yet begun. People could be devout while criticizing corrupt clergy, and belief did not make everyone a fanatic. Relic traders and practitioners of folk magic also had a place in this world. Let faith, superstition, doubt, and self-interest shape your character naturally. Piety was the honorable thing to display, but not everyone displaying it meant it.

Being religious doesn't put the guards under your command. Excommunication and other Church penalties aren't something to pull out mid-argument. Comforting a grieving family, fixing up a chapel or making peace between neighbours can be just as good RP as a sermon. Also, excommunication is a sentence worse than death, which means you are outside the church, and salvation. Most people will want to avoid excommunication, and others defying the church must be certain in their convictions.

Women worked in farming, trade, textiles, domestic service, and workshops, and some managed businesses or estates outright. While fighting, knighthood, and most town offices were largely a man's domain, women still held influence in many areas of life. Public life was generally associated with men, while women were expected to focus on the private life (household, family, family business, etc.). However, these boundaries were less clear in village life, where work, trade, and daily survival often brought men and women into shared spaces. A woman can be outspoken, skilled, or well-read; give her strengths, relationships, and ambitions beyond the obstacles she faces. A noblewoman's influence might come through land, family ties, patronage, or managing an estate while her husband or father is away.

Give her a way to answer back, bargain, find witnesses or get support. Being turned down for one job shouldn't lock her out of everything.

No harassment, no “back to the kitchen” lines, no changing the rules on her every time she meets them, no ganging up to keep her out, and no personal or sexual humiliation. An objection should start a scene, not end someone's RP.

Period prejudice can be part of a scene. It should give her something to push against, though, not shut her out.

Do:

• Let attitudes of the time show: a clerk who asks where her husband is, a merchant who won't believe her prices, a priest who doesn't like her opinions.Do:
• Let attitudes of the time show: a clerk who asks where her husband is, a merchant who won't believe her prices, a priest who doesn't like her opinions.
• Give your objection an in-world reason and a way round it, like a sponsor, a trial, witnesses, a letter or a fee.
• Respect authority she can back up: a will, a letter from her lord, a household that takes orders from her.
• Let people change their minds. A woman who's good at what she does earns a name like anyone else.
• Flirt a little and take no for an answer, IC and OOC.

Don't:

• Brush her off with insults or “know your place” lines that go nowhere.
• Keep moving the goalposts, or bring up the same objection every time she walks in.
• Ignore her documents or witnesses just to win an argument.
• Keep her out of every job, meeting or scene just because she's a woman.
• Keep making unwanted advances, make comments about her body, or say anything about the player's real gender or voice.

Family, faith, social standing and reputation shape relationships in our setting. Who you court, who you are married, who the other could be married to, and family expectations can all give people something to talk about.

On this server, relationships outside accepted marriage are generally kept discreet. Trusted friends may know, but intimate matters are expected to be in private company. Letters, quiet meetings, family introductions and marriage negotiations can all give a relationship something to play around.

Disapproval and awkward encounters can happen naturally. Give the other character room to answer, argue, bargain or seek support. Keep them involved in the story! No harassment, repeated targeting, hunting for private relationships or using someone’s background to shut them out of RP. Playing the attitudes of the setting is not permission to take your own prejudices out on another player.

Love stories are welcome here. Courtships, affairs, a lord with a mistress, scandal and heartbreak are all good RP. Romance was part of everyday life in 1403, from a father hunting for a noble match for his daughter to a secret affair that could ruin two families. Keep it in character and keep it respectful. It’s your characters falling for each other, not you chasing another player. Nobody owes anyone a romance: it only happens if both players want it, and if someone says no, drop it.

• Sex scenes fade to black, every time. This is a roleplay server, not somewhere to get your kicks. If you’re mainly here for sexual RP, you’re on the wrong server and you won’t last long.
• Sexual violence or coercive sexual RP of any kind gets you an immediate permanent ban. No warnings, no exceptions.
• Nobody forces marriage, pregnancy or anything to do with children onto another player's character.

Keep the setting in mind, and be decent to the people you're playing with.