Difference between revisions of "Nobility Schemes - Political Factions"

From #BlkDragon*Inn
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 146: Line 146:
   
   
The East can go either for the North or for the South. It will be an important ally.
The East can go either for the North or for the South. It will be an important ally.


==Galanor==
==Galanor==

Revision as of 02:50, 3 March 2013

This plot will revolve around the dynamics and conflicts inside the kingdom of Arangoth. This page will familiarize you with what types of characters are needed and which factions they may be from. The conflicts may result in open war between the North and the South halves of the kingdom.

Before Arangoth was a kingdom, it was a confederacy of five grand duchies and so it still has five main areas to this day. They are Transdariania (the part with Drache), Arania (bordering Elvendeep), Eastern (Far East, bordering Elgar), Leptatarna (North, contains the royal capital) and Ruthmarna (the middle part, with the gold mines). Each grand duchy has several baronies within it, run by barons and populated by all manner of folks that may turn the tide of the conflict.

Types of characters this plot can use. This list is not final and almost anyone can be creatively included.:

Nobles, Merchants: Dukes are called Sithires and Barons are called Floxods. Nobles will have the most direct influence over the course of events. Wealthy merchants are almost as powerful as the nobles. Despite nobles being powerful plot figures, they have to have secrets that threaten their power.

Assassins: Will be hired to kill some NPC nobles/merchants and, if the player wants to, maybe PC nobles as well.

Courtiers, Advisors, Diplomats: Not nobles but people who spend a lot of time around them, who can influence their decisionmaking. They can affect the actions of major NPCs or PCs.

Priests, Holy Knights: Warriors of Menxvan and perhaps other faiths will at first be neutral but people will be seeking their support. Also, they'll heal people.

Knights, Warriors: Will fight on the battlefield when it comes to that, leading troops to victory or death.


Faction List

This list reflects a majority of the county seats in Arangoth. It is not absolute by any means, and can be expanded on to suit player needs or desires. There are plenty of other noble families that would be considered vassals of some of the nobles mentioned here. It should also be noted that this does not include religious figures, ambassadors, diplomats or merchants, all of which are certainly open to players for character backgrounds.

The South

Siding with the South will make your characters easier to play, since the channel is set in Drache, the southern capital.

Drache

  • Leader: Sithire (Grand Duke) Marcion ul-Fenduth Tagran Aldenbar (Closed)
  • Political Alignment: Capital of the South
  • Economy: Major trade center, sea port
  • Best Forces: Royal navy, university mages, elite adventurers

Drache will be the South’s center of operations – if Drache falls, the South loses. It was once the capital of Arangoth during the reign of King Blkdragon and Queen AngelSin. As the main channel setting, Drache boasts a large number of elite adventuring heroes and Royal University trained mages. It also has a small but respectable navy. Drache has access to Alesian legionnaires assigned to guard their embassy, among other foreigners.

Transdariania

  • Leader: Barons, Vassals, Landowners beholden to Aldenbar (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro-southern independence
  • Economy: Important agricultural producer required to feed troops.
  • Best Forces: Big part of Southern infantry conscripts led by knights

Transdarian nobles are turbulent but loyal to Drache, the city being their major market and protector. The area’s grain, meat and alcohol production is critical to the war effort as is the large number of healthy rural conscripts that can join the fight.

Millabratel

  • Leader: Templar Patriarch (Negotiable to veteran players/setting nerds)
  • Political Alignment: Uncertain; healers and first responders
  • Economy: Internal
  • Best Forces: Templar holy warriors

Millabratel is the center of the Templar order. Though the Templars are pro-unity, they will be reluctant to join either the North or the South unless someone gives them a very good reason. They are a powerful and well-trained ally. Before they join a side, they will provide emergency healing services to civilians caught in the battlegrounds.

Sresar Vale

  • Leader: Druidic Elders (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro Southern independence
  • Economy: Agriculture, timber
  • Best Forces: Druids, bandit raiders

Sresar Vale is not profitable enough for any lord to have a stake. It’s a rustic, mystical area, guided by druidic elders, who can be persuaded to lend their powers to the fight. The area has several notorious bandit orders that have been amenable to working as mercenary raiders in the past.

Arania

  • Leader: Senechal Isaacs, beholden to Sithire Aldenbar (Closed)
  • De-facto Leader: Grandmaster of the Watchful Eye
  • Political Alignment: Pro southern independence
  • Economy: Trade with Elvendeep. Timber, limited metallurgy
  • Best Forces: Knights with high level magic equipment, elven mercenaries

The Beady Eye was formerly a knightly order known as the Watchful Eye, now a secret society of outcasts known for killing the king to take the throne over fifty years ago. Arania had not had a governor since then and Arlok, a survivor of the conflict against the order, doesn’t want them around. The Beady Eye wants to claw back Arania, their ancestral province and still harbors a grudge against Tagrana. They can field knights with ancestral arms and have access to elven separatists who are against Elvendeep being a province under Arlok’s rule.

The North

Siding with the North will make it hard to play those characters in the main channel unless well-disguised. The North will have a slightly more antagonistic role in the conflict. Plenty of folks will have torn loyalties, which is okay and to be expected.

Tagrana

  • Leader: King Arlok ul-Dorn (GMPC)
  • Political Alignment: Capital of the North
  • Economy: Forestry, trade
  • Best Forces: King’s personal guard, elite royal knights, court wizards

Recently restored after being a ruin for fifty years, Tagrana has once again become the capital of Arangoth. If Tagrana falls, the monarch could take a stand at Hornath ul-Marfed but it would deal a crippling blow to their operations. Tagrana has access to some of the finest knights of inner Arangoth as well as some Khalar tribesmen.

Hornath ul-Marfed

  • Leader: (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro-North
  • Economy: Commerce, manufacture
  • Best Forces: City sentinels, siege engineers

The biggest city in the realm, a center of commerce and a giant military fortress in one. Hornath ul-Marfed is the North’s most important and only second most powerful stronghold. It has many siege engines defending its cyclopean towers and a force of guards ready to defend it. Through trade and the farms around it, Hornath produces most things the Northern war effort needs.

Arlohorna

  • Leader: Karys Renaven (Closed)
  • Political Alignment: Undecided
  • Economy: Trade with the north, some agriculture
  • Best Forces: Border watch, Khalar mercenaries

The county seat of the Sitharloth County, located on the eastern side of Song Deep. It is the lynchpin of the border defenses protecting the frontier with Kahlahra, as well as a trading hub for goods moving overland between Arangoth and the nations of northern Veth. Arlohorna has access to Khalar cavalry mercenaries.

Gessihorna

  • Leader: Vorfon from the Sanskaranth family (Open)
  • De-Facto Leader: The Lord Templar in Millabratel (Negotiable to veteran players/setting nerds)
  • Political Alignment: Undecided
  • Economy: Military
  • Best Forces: Templar knights, siege engines

Gessihorna is the largest fortified structure castle in the kingdom, large enough to contain a small town within its walls. Gessihorna's defenses are a marvel of Arangothain engineering, designed by Templars with the aid of their ancestral spirits, and modified and expanded several times since the stronghold's original founding. While the Sanskaranth family holds the title of Vorfon ul-Gessihorna, the Lord Templar has acted as the steward of the city and is its effective ruler. To have access to Gessihorna, Templars must be persuaded to join your cause.

Ruthmarna

Ruthmarna is the source of most of the gold and other precious metals in the kingdom. It’s a mountainous area in Central Arangoth and may be a major battlefield.

Lurintheti-Netri

  • Leader: Crown-Prince Emereth ul-Arlok (Negotiable to veteran players/setting nerds)
  • De-facto Leader: Lord Protector on behalf of the Crown Prince (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro-North
  • Economy: Gold and gold products exporter, silver, iron and bronze.
  • Best Forces: The provincial guard

Ruthmarna’s largest city run by the prince’s attendant governor, the Lord Protector and undoubtedly, opportunistic gold mine owners and bankers that always try to squeeze off extra profits. The provincial guard is there to keep banditry down but the humans largely depend on the dwarves to regulate the area. Control of this city means control of a huge chunk of the gold supply and the king’s army will try to hold it at all costs. Mountainous area means mountainous equipment and tactics.

Pro-North Dwarves

  • Leader: Guild-clan leaders (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro-north; conservative
  • Economy: Metals, coal, tools, machines
  • Best Forces: Siege engineers, sappers, dwarven defenders

Many Ruthmarnan dwarves remember how they suffered under human bandit tribes in the time of troubles during the collapse of old Arangoth. They remember, too, how Perlim Larkspin, the returning Prince Arlok’s advisor, authorized a military sweep that liberated Ruthmarna. Their loyalty remains to the North.

Pro-South Dwarves

  • Leader: Guild-clan leaders (Open)
  • Political Alignment: Pro-south; pragmatic
  • Economy: Metals, coal, tools, machines
  • Best Forces: Siege engineers, sappers, dwarven hunters

Many dwarves also believe that the North had outlived its usefulness. Drache’s market for their tools, goods and machines is quickly growing to match and outpace Hornath ul-Marfed and gives them international access. They also blame the machinations of the northerners for the kingdom’s collapse and think that the city elevated by a dragon and a fallen angel at least have more prestige than mere humans.

East

The East can go either for the North or for the South. It will be an important ally.

Galanor

  • Leader: Sithire (Grand Duke) Branth Lurinthmalli (Negotiable to veteran players/setting nerds)
  • Political Alignment: Undecided; capital of the east
  • Economy: Agricultural/timber
  • Best Forces: Sithire’s personal guard and cavalry, royal army detachment

Galanor is the heart of the east, its economy based mostly on raw resources harvested from its forests and farms. Because it’s not directly menaced by Assi threats, it serves as a command center for its more frontier-based cities. Controlling Galanor will likely lead to controlling the rest of the east, as that’s where the supplies go through. Can play as Lurinthmalli or have him assassinated and supplanted.

Angelsin

  • Leader: Open
  • Political Alignment: Undecided
  • Economy: Mixed
  • Best Forces: Royal army detachments, border watch

It’s named after Queen AngelSin and has become the front line in the battle against frequent Assi attacks. The city rotates its army detachments and those who survive the Assi and don’t develop emotional problems often become skilled at fighting light cavalry and quick infantry attacks as well as fending off archers. They will likely support whoever can shore them up against the Assi or appeal to the traditional loyalty by name to Queen AngelSin of the south.

Asprominke (Ravendusk)

  • Leader: Arkhad ul-Broxobain Severn (Closed)
  • Political Alignment: Undecided
  • Economy: Forestry, scavenge, reagents
  • Best Forces: Border watch, mazewood rangers

The closest province to the Elgar has to repel tainted forces of evil constantly. The locals tend to be hardy rangers with strong survival talents. This area has access to Mazewood elves, at least that minority that chooses to work for human money. Severn can be persuaded to be an ally in exchange for a quest.

Mercenaries

(Open)

Ruthmarnan Engineers

Dwarves organize society into profession-based clans with honor rules and initiation rituals. Outcasts from professionally accomplished backgrounds often turn to making siege engines and other war machines for a living. A few can be found around Ruthmarna.

Elvendeepish Warriors and Cavalry

Soranion-dwellers who resent that Elvendeep is technically a province of Arangoth beholden to King Arlok and desire independence. They can be persuaded to join the war against the north for money.

Mazewood Elven Rangers

Elgar-dwelling elves, the bulk of whom will probably remain uninvolved. But some can be bought as elite trackers, marksmen and outdoor assassins for enough coin.

Khalar Light Cavalry

Khalars produce the finest horses on the continent and some of the best riders, too. They routinely train Arangothian troops for money and will probably fight for the North.

Orc Deserter Infantry

Former warriors of the Zul Kiran horde who deserted the battlefield and remained behind in Outer Arangoth and Caern Rhia. Will fight as mercenaries, are trained professionals.

Other Mercenaries

Adventuring specialists from anywhere will join the plot as they present themselves. It's hard to think of a skill that would be turned away by either faction.