A N D E R L A N E
For starters, it's been
quite a while since I've updated this series with any additional
articles, and for that, I apologize. The pitfalls and challenges of Real Life always gets in the way
of personal projects, and as such these articles predictably fell out
of the top positions on my to-do list. However, I will soon be
starting up an active campaign in this setting and it should be an
excellent opportunity to give everything a dry run and see how it
holds up to the actions of some dynamic characters.
Additionally, I've made a
couple of changes to the setting, but only as far as nomenclature is
concerned. 'Windmarch' and 'Seagate', while I liked the names
themselves, felt a bit too generic and lacked any sense of national
identity. Granted, the name of the game has been to try and create a
world that is simple, straightforward and can accommodate a variety
of stories and play-styles. Nevertheless, I decided to rebrand
'Windmarch' as Anderlane (the subject of this very article) and the
nation of 'Seagate' as Barasea (the next article's subject).
What follows is my
attempt to try and marshal together the pieces of information about
Anderlane that I have floating around inside my mind, hopefully
coalescing them into a cursory guide to the nation itself. It's not
going to be a Frommer's,
but it should help convey the fundamentals about the place.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
The nation of Anderlane
is one of the major 'northern' nations in Dragonsgate, sitting to the
north of Andujas and Ferrago, and alongside its brother nation,
Barasea. The two kingdoms were once united as the Empire of Algard in
the days before the Maradi pushed northward from the sands. After the
incursion was repelled, the Andujan provinces were united under a
singular throne, but the damage done in the war led to a considerable
amount of political infighting in the houses of nobility in Algard,
fueling a plutarchically charged collapse of order and instigating a
severe shortage of tradeable commodities and foodstuffs. In short, a
cardiac arrest gripped the empire, and it was split it in two.
Political rivalries and disputes about the decisions to begin
diplomatic relationships with the new nation of Andujas (or to
attempt to annex it into the Empire) caused a huge rent in the
status quo in the Imperial Court, notably between the House of Landen
and the
House of Thormund (and all of their respective allies and
kinsmen). Tensions escalated as the economy of the empire ground to a
halt and the Emperor was ousted from the throne by a cadre of nobles
hailing from all of the major houses who realized that as they could
not make effective decisions for the empire as a whole, that the best
decision would be to break the empire into two halves, each led by a
monarch that matched the philosophies of the nobles who would serve
as his vassals. This created a very turbulent time where titles and
fiefs were redrawn and nobles were recreated as masters of different
lands in their new kingdom. House Thormund became the most powerful
family in the east and laid the foundations for the new monarchic
lineage that would build Barasea; House Landen became the monarchic
line that would lead Anderlane.
The castle at Edgemoor,
straddling a deep ravine known as the blue cliffs, became the major
focal point of the two countries' East/West boundary, with two keeps
on either side of the ravine and a bridge connecting the two; the
House of Thormund took the Eastern keep, as it stood within the lands
of the nascent Barasea and the House of Landen took the Western Keep
as it stood within the limits of Anderlane. In the one hundred years
since the Maradi invasion, the nobility remains strongly in tact and
the King's control of the nation has changed very little. Barasea,
however, underwent further sweeping changes, as we will see in the
next post.
The country is divided
into four duchies and five shires (hey, Anderlane is supposed to be
vaguely Anglo-Saxon).
The Duchies are Windmarch
(the capital city and its immediate surroundings are considered a
royal fief, giving the King the mostly technical title of 'Duke of
Windmarch' in addition to King of Anderlane), Haidon, Thurnwall and
Vanley; the shires are Argrave, West Arborland, East Arborland,
Stormland and Thrace.
The capital city is
Windmarch (I decided that I should keep a reference to the original
name of the nation somehow).
Other major cities in the
nation are: Briston, Holston, Artis, Canson Hill, Stormridge,
Banniston, Velving Cross and Thasholm. Lasthill, Springpool, Archmere
are locations of major military outposts meant to secure trade routes
through the country.
POLITICS
House Landen is the main
noble family in the kingdom (the current Royal Family), with a fair
number of its kinsmen in notable bureacratic positions and holding a
majority of seats on the King's privy council. That said, the
influence of House Landen in the kingdom is immense, but that is not
to say that they are the only noble family in the country that holds
any power.
The following is a list
of the major regions in the country and the noble house that
currently holds the fief in possession. In addition to the duchies
and shires of the country, there are a handful of smaller holdings
that belong to what would be considered the major nobility of the
realm (ie. Nobles holding more than one title simultaneously, much as
the King is both King of Anderlane and Duke of Windmarch
concurrently).
1. Haidon – House Arken
2. Vanley – House
Brightblade
3. Thurnwall – House
Graystone
4. Stormland – House
Fourwell
5. Argrave – House
Carhaen
6. West Arborland –
House Blackdrake
7. East Arborland –
House Threnmoor
8. Thrace – House
Highglen
The King himself
autonomously governs nearly all major decisions pertaining to
domestic and international matters, though he is advised extensively
by his Privy Council, which consists of individuals he appoints from
his own court. The Privy Council commands no explicit power or
resources, but their influence is still highly regarded, and many
instances have been observed where the Council is the de facto ruler
of the realm, cleverly manipulating the decisions of the monarch with
delicate wordplay and psychological tactics. It should be noted the
council can petition the King to certain actions (or to dissuade the
king from certain actions), but there is no method of compelling the
monarch to act under their advice. As the council is often assembled
from courtesans who would be considered either close friends or even
family of the king, their advice is scarcely ignored outright, or at
least they aren't imprisoned for voicing opinions contrary to the
monarch. Members of the Council usually include the following: the
High Clerics of the Churches of Heironeous, Pelor, Ilmater and
sometimes Jophar; other titles include the Lord Steward, who manages
the royal holdings and estates; the Lord Exchequer, who manages the
kingdoms finances; the Lord Chancellor, who by default also presides
over all official courtly meetings and matters; the Lord Barrister,
who handles all judicial matters and handles the enaction and
official ratification of new Royal Charters or Royal Decrees; and
finally, the Earl Marshal, who reports to the king on all military
matters and handles the security of the realm.
DEFENSE
The army of Anderlane is
sizeable, consisting of 11,000 royal regulars (basic soldiers, not
hereditary knights) that can be marshaled at any time, 340 hereditary
knights and an additional 2300 men-at-arms that can be summoned to
duty from the nobles of the country. The navy is somewhat smaller,
with three flagships, twenty frigates and eleven caravels. The main
purpose of the naval forces is to protect the coastal lands of
Anderlane and to safeguard shipping routes to the Far West to the
lands of Formarest. The flagships are rotated between the major port
cities of Anderlane, accompanied by a handful of frigates and
caravels. The names of the flagships are the
Horizon, the
Blade of Nessus,
the Sovereign Vengeance.
The
Earl Marshal has direct command over all naval forces and all ground
forces, managing orders to all of his generals and sub-captains.
Major Outposts and
Fortresses: Each of the following outposts is garrisoned with its own
reserve of royal regulars, which are supplemented by local militias
paid for and equipped by royal funds. The royal family never entirely
trusted the machinations of the other noble families and saw it
prudent to establish permanent holds and keeps that placed soldiers
loyal to the Crown within the lands enfiefed to the king's vassals.
-Wyley Keep
-Ironfane Hold
-Meagrove
-Harnhold
-Janforth Castle
-Thurnwall Tower
-Brycecroft Castle
-Leeside Bastion
RACIAL COMPOSITION
Before the Maradi
invasion, the people of the Algard Empire had developed good
relations with the dwarves that lived in the mountainous regions in
the west, and as such, over time, some of them left their
subterranean cities and joined their human counterparts, adding the
smithing skills of the dwarves to the aptitudes of the people of
Anderlane. As such, the quality of their worked metals is much more
highly sought after than the metalwork done by the smiths in Barasea.
RELIGION
Heironeous, Pelor and
Ilmater are the major deities worshiped in the realm of kingdom of
Anderlane, which is to say that their temples are somewhat
proliferate throughout the kingdom; Moradin has the occasional temple
in areas that have higher populations of dwarves mixed in with the
humans (ie. Close to the mountains); Thestu, god of the North Wind
has some temples in the coastal cities. Perhaps the largest religion
by and far is that of the monotheistic religion dedicated to Jophar,
a highly venerated god of protection and vigilance. Anderlane has a
considerably large population of druidic peoples, commonly referred
to as pagans or heathens, and as such, the ancient, nameless gods of
the forests and wildlands are worshipped along the outermost,
northern borders of the country. As far as tolerance of the pagan
gods and practices go, the regions that are most heavily intertwined
with the church of Jophar are less tolerant of the heathen ways; in
the region of Thrace (controlled by House Highglen), are the most
sympathetic to the pagan way of life and as such, the influence of
the church of Jophar is highly limited.
TRADE + RESOURCES
Anderlane maintains
strong trade ties to Barasea and to Andujas, though it is beginning
to open trade direct trade routes and establish companies and
ventures with Maradi consortiums after the latter's intent to join
the Council of Nations was made clear. Additionally, the country
maintains consistent flow of goods to the lands of Formarest across
the Empyreal Sea. Anderlane's major trade goods are hardwood timbers,
coal, iron ore, gems, wool, wheat, granite and finely crafted
weaponry (a legacy of the master dwarven smiths that have been
assimilated into the country). Wheat and timber are particularly
sought after in Andujas, where such materials are incredibly
difficult to come by; iron ore and gems find a steady market in
Barasea where the basaltic soils make mining incredibly difficult and
costly.
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