Farnesfield



Farnesfield is a small village bordering the southern edge of Sherwood Forest. It was quietly prosperous in its way, until the stewardship of Ser Walter after its takeover by Robert Giscard, when high taxes, confiscation of lands and sale of tools and livestock drove it into the ground, compounded by illness. Rohen will have to resolve the many issues that this has caused, whilst still paying sufficient taxes to Robert Giscard.

Farnesfield
Current Population: 230 Minimum Population: 280 Ideal Population: 300+

Living Conditions: Poor Loyalty: Poor Production: Poor Security: Poor - Average

Costs

 * 10% - Church
 * 25% - Crown (10% normally, 10% for the crusade fund, 5% for carucage)
 * Debts to family and friends in Normandy, such as Lord Alchere
 * Debts to Ser Humphrey
 * Expenses for retainers and officials, including Ser Robert
 * Personal expenses for noble clothes, equipment, holding festivities and events, etc.

Issues
Only one issue can be resolved per season, but such resolutions are only temporary; for permanent resolutions, multiple seasons must be spent on the same issue.

Population
The population needs to reach 280 for the village to be profitable. (Resolution Applied: Autumn 1192)

Living Conditions
The manor house has been unoccupied for some time and is in a state of disrepair. This inflicts a penalty to Lord Rohen’s living conditions, as well as his social interactions with nobility.

The villager’s houses are also in a poor state, which affects their own living conditions. (Resolution Applied: Summer 1192)

New Labourers and Officials

 * Carpenter: The carpenter is old, and needs apprentices or journeymen to both assist him and pick up the trade when he becomes too old to work himself. (Resolution Applied: Summer 1192)
 * Thatcher: The village is also in dire need of an apprentice thatcher to assist the carpenter with repairs.(Resolution Applied: Spring 1192)
 * Mason: A mason needs to be brought in to facilitate repairs.(Resolution Applied: Summer 1192)
 * Blacksmith: A blacksmith needs to be brought in to facilitate repairs.(Resolution Applied: Summer 1192)
 * Priest: The Church requires a new priest to be brought into Farnesfield, as the former was firmly in Robert Giscard’s pocket and thus left when Ser Walter did.(Resolution to Applied: Summer 1193)

Loyalty

 * Some villagers have profited from Ser Walter’s stewardship, and are thus hostile to Rohen for his ousting of their previous ruler.
 * Others, despite their fondness for Rohen’s father, know nothing of the boy himself, and he will need to prove that a fifteen year old will make a better lord than the alternatives.
 * Workers were overworked by Ser Walter, and now want more time off. Yielding to such requests will increase Rohen’s popularity, but will come at the cost of Farnesfield’s production.

Production

 * Pasture: The pastureland was sold to the Gresham Abbey, and rent must be paid to them in order to use it.
 * Plough: The plough was sold, and rent must be paid to the neighbouring village to use theirs. (Resolution Applied: Winter 1192)
 * Animals: Much of the livestock was sold for fast coin, and need to be replaced. A new ram and bull are particularly needed.(Resolution Applied: Spring 1193)
 * Overtime: In order to increase production, Rohen may need to force villagers to work overtime, which lead to a commensurate decrease in loyalty.

Security
Ser Robert is Lord Rohen’s only retainer, and “Ser Humphrey” has provided three men (from Robin Hood’s bandits) to guard his hall, but more will be needed.
 * A squire or sergeant to aid Ser Robert
 * Several yeomen would also be useful
 * Enough equipment and training should be provided to have a peasant levy force.

“Normal” Lord of the Manor

 * An income of £20 after tax
 * A knight
 * A squire or sergeant
 * Four yeomen (with standard equipment)
 * Equipment for up to twenty levy peasants (spears, shields and leather jerkins)
 * Population of around three hundred
 * Resolution of the aforementioned issues, or additional revenue to mitigate their continued presence.

Labour Points
A variant of the Labour Point system will be used to manage Farnesfield, as follows:
 * Base Labour Points per season (Poor): ( [Profession: Noble] + [Int] ) x 2. Currently 8.
 * Improvements: Add a number of labour points depending on the resolution implemented
 * Adventure: Some improvements will require adventures to complete

Earned (Cumulative)
1192 Summer: 8 1192 Autumn: 8 (16) 1192 Winter: 8 (24) 1193 Spring: 8 (32)

Investment
1192 Summer: New labourers and officials (carpenter and thatcher) - 8 1192 Autumn: Population - 8 1192 Winter: Production (Plough) - 8 --- 1193 Spring: Shortage of Animals (Production) - 8 1193 Summer: New Priest (Loyalty) - 8 1193 Autumn: Village Militia (Security) - 8

Labour Point Benchmarks
Average (Lord of the Manor): 120 Wealthy (Lord of the Manor): 360 Poor (Landed Noble): 1080 Average (Landed Noble): 120 Wealthy (Landed Noble): 360 Poor (Minor Greater Noble): 1080 Average (Minor Greater Noble): 120 Wealthy (Minor Greater Noble): 360

1192 Summer
Villager Homes in Disrepair (New labourers and officials) Rohen and his companions will head to the towns of Newark and Grantham to locate a new Carpenter and Thatcher; For this Rohen will look for the third or fourth of each crafter in the town (As large towns, both should have multiple individuals in this profession). Rohen will look at convincing them to re-locate to Farnesfield, as they will have far more business than competing with others within a large town.

Inform the Crafters to take over the existing workshops and begin repairs on occupied homes first, once these have been repaired, start repairs on unoccupied homes (The unoccupied homes will be restored with Rohens' own Funds)

1192 Autumn
Less than 300 people in Farnesfield (Population) Due to the decline in population from the time of Rohens’ father approximately 17 – 20 homes should be vacant within Farnesfield. To this end Rohen will offer these homes to young, new families (Especially 2nd or 3rd Sons with new wives; as 1st sons will inherit the family home) at a 50% cost rate; the remaining 50% will be paid off by the new owners over the next 10 years. A further 15% reduction in initial cost will be applied if the new owner possesses a unique skill or craft (Mason, Tailor, Blacksmith, Military Experience etc).

All newcomers will meet with Rohen in an interview before purchase so that there are no possible issues what could arise from individuals being added to the community (will also allow Rohen to see if skilled crafters have been attracted to the area to generate new income sources). The vacant homes were repaired and made ready for new occupants last season during the villages re-construction efforts.

1192 Winter
The Plough (Production) Rohen will request that the Carpenter begin construction of a new Plough frame during the winter, the cost of the new plough will be covered by Rohen as it will be cheaper in the long term than paying the nearest village consistently to rent there one out (which could cause farm labours issues with timing). Meanwhile Rohen will Travel with his Companions to Newark or Grantham to buy a new Plough blade from a blacksmith (If one has not been attracted to Farnesfield yet).

1193 Spring
Shortage of Farm animals (Production) Rohen will look to improve the productivity of his lands with new farm animals. This will help fertilize the soil with their droppings, but also provide other benefits such as meat which will protect against famine. After an initial inventory on what female animals the estate has available; Rohen will travel to Grantham or Newark for an animal fayre. Rohen will be looking to purchase 1 Bull for every 10 Cows, and 1 Ram for every 45 Ewes. The initial investment will pay itself off after several years through the production of animal goods such as Meat (Lamb and Beef), Milk, Cheese, Butter etc. Unprocessed Wool will be processed into cloth and then sold in either Newark or Grantham (A possibility of selling these goods to the Templars would be a good choice as cloth is used for a variety of purposes such as funeral shrouds, tabards, clothes etc). As this is done in the Spring, it will allow Rohen to confirm a guaranteed calfing and lambing season for the following year.

1193 Summer
The Church requires a new priest (Loyalty) To remove the old priest, Rohen will look at getting an audience with the Archdeacon. As Archdeacons are nearly always political rivals to the Bishop and are the ones that deal with the local parishes of the area. This means Rohen can look at removing the previous priest and getting a new one installed rather than having to go through Giscards brother with whom Rohen has a problematic relationship with. Rohen’s will pay funds towards the Archdeacon for the removal of the priest and having a new young pious one for the village. To support this claim, Rohen will collect several testimonies from various villagers to provide the Archdeacon.