Frequently Asked Questions

At Popular Request

No, really.  We truly do get these questions all the time.

Q: What does "Avag co Bepsic" mean?

A: We could tell you but then we'd have to kill you.
 

Q: No, really.  What does "Avag co Bepsic" mean?

A: It's our secret club password.  You should see the secret handshake that goes with it.
 

Q: No, REALLY.  Stop being a jerk.  What does "Avag co Bepsic" mean??

A: Oh, OK, if you insist.  We use golden plastic coins as Drama Dice markers in our game.  We got them from a Dollar Store in 2000, as I recall.  They are made in China, and show the right profile of a bearded man looking vaguely Byzantine, a laurel wreath below, and a motto above: "Avag co Bepsic." We thought it would be funny to make it our motto.  We searched, and enquired on numismatic mailing lists, and found no translation in any real language or from any historic coin, so we suspect it's simply gibberish.  For some reason, we get a lot of questions about this from church folk.
 

Q: Is the game still running?

A: Edmund announced that he was taking a break after our last big adventure in September 2003.  He rescaled the campaing because the characters had grown so much that plots, henchmen and villains needed to be adjusted in consequence.  The campaign resumed in March 2004.  Five years have passed, making the year 1674. 
 

Q: What happened to the Castillan heroes during those five years?

Lucas – has been juggling dealing with troublesome Nobles who oppose the formation of the Council of Commoners, troublesome commoners who mistrust the fact that the effort to form the Council of Commoners is being overseen by a disgraced nobleman, taking care of Cleo Bellini and their son, and taking an extended vacation to Avalon every year to visit Seldane.
 

Melisandre – has married Javier and currently rules as Queen of the Castilles.  The troublesome political climate has prevented any sort of revelation of the secret that she and Constanza share, as Javier continues to sit precariously on the throne, and her sense of loyalty to Castille and to her family prevent her from just cutting and running.  Rumors of Sebastiano Biancastro have occasionally surfaced, but thus far he eludes capture, and has not made any sort of contact.  There have also been three attempts on her life.
 

Constanza – continues to circumspectly play the role of Javier's mistress, while maintaining the search for Sandoval and taking on increasing responsibilities in the Castillian Navy at the behest of her uncle.  Her time is spent going back and forth across Théah hunting slavers, artifact traders, and rooting out members of the Inquisition, so she seldom has a quiet moment to herself.  Also establishing the King's Men as an organized corps, and raising young Pascal Rois et Reines de Rogné de Montaigne.  Plus also trying to send aid to the koenigsreich of Wische.
 

Ferdinand – has found that being a Don isn't all its cracked up to be, particularly when many of the other Dons are resentful and contemptuous of you.  He has fought (and won) 15 duels, but this has only served to enrage the noble swordsmen of Castille even more, and the "City Improvement Project" for La Reina del Mar (which consisted of putting up numerous statues and fountains of himself and Tiny Lucas) turned into a boondoggle that for a time completely emptied the coffers of his estate, and turned the peasants against him.  Since then he has delegated most of the day to day affairs of running his holdings to a seneschal and has done what he does best – hunted monsters.  He has made repeated trips to Eisen, accompanied by Tiny Lucas and, occasionally, a minstrel.  He has also gone on several missions for the mysterious Comte de Sinjin.
 

Juan – disappeared soon after Melisandre took the throne.  Rumors have placed him in Gallegos working with Ernesto Castillius to form the new Republica del Fuego.  In truth, however, those rumors are planted – Juan continues to travel Castille (and occasionally beyond) as a musician, all the while acting as the eyes and ears of the Queen (and, of course Die Kreutzritter).  He has, on a few occasions, teamed up with Ferdinand to deal with a particularly troublesome and powerful creature, but mostly lives a solitary existence on the road.
 

Mendoza – has been unobtrusive enough that nobody knows that he's there.  He has actually been following everyone else around, off and on, for the last five years.
 

Q: Does the DunDraCon Cathay game form part of the Aldana Steel continuity?

A: Yes, it does.  This game was playtested in our group, then run at DunDraCon 28.  It forms part of the official Aldana Steel history.
 

Q: Where did you get your name for "Aldana Steel"?

A: If you're asking this, you're probably unfamiliar with the game "7th Sea".  In the game, Aldana is a powerful noble family in Castille, a parallel universe equivalent for Spain, and Aldana steel is used to create high quality rapiers.  We adopted it as the title of our campaign because it is set in Castille and three of the original six characters were of the Aldana family or closely related.
 

Q: Can I link to your site?

A: Sure.
 

Q: Will you put a link back to my site?

A: Maybe, if it's relevant and if it's not a mere plug for shameless merchandising or other money-making scheme you have devised.
 

Q: Is this a play-by-e-mail game?

A: No, it's a tabletop game.  We meet every two weeks in the Seattle area.
 

Return to top