One of the great things about using a (semi) historical setting for Ravensrodd is that it simplifies a lot of things; for example, I don't need to cover a huge range of weapons and armour, only those that were available in the 14th century.
But it can also lead to complications; as I found out on page 1 of my draft rules...
I was trying to decide what to call the group of characters a player controls. I wrote down 'company', 'fellowship', 'warband' and 'guild'. After a bit more thought, I added 'crew', and 'gang', mostly because I kept hearing about Malifaux and its crews, and I remembered playing Necromunda with gangs.
I decided pretty quickly that I wasn't going to use 'warband' - it just didn't seem appropriate, as the players in Ravensrodd weren't at war... 'band' on its own was possible though. I quite liked 'fellowship' too.
But then I had a problem... Ravensrodd is set in the 14th century; so are any of those words appropriate for the setting?
So I started looking into the etymology of the different words. 'Crew' went straight away; it didn't come into use until 50 years after Ravensrodd was destroyed; the same applied to 'band'.
'Guild' was in use at the right time, but applied exclusively to groups of craftsmen and merchants. 'Fellowship' was also in use from 1200, but was also a euphemism for sexual intercourse... so that only left us with 'company' and 'gang'.
The original meaning of 'gang' was ‘going, a journey’, then later in Middle English ‘a way’, also ‘set of things or people which go together’. So, 'gang' would work. Problem was, I just didn't like it very much. Even though it has been in use since the 14th century, it just feels like a modern word to me.
'Company', though, I like. It was in use at the time, it could apply to a gathering of people, trade guilds, a group of soldiers, or just the people you share your bread with...
So, a group of characters in Ravensrodd is a Company. Now, I accept that a lot of people might think this kind of thing is a bit too much effort for something so basic, but I'm a wargamer - so I'm a bit weird...