Crow
2007-12-08, 02:31 PM
I come to you all in need of some assistance today. I will need some help with the day-to-day administration of a stronghold, and the politics that go hand-in-hand with the administration of a fledgling town on a frontier. In addition, I will need help coming up with dilemmas and troublesome issues that may arise while doing these things. I will start by laying out who the characters are, and with a little background information.
The Players:
Sir Edgar Swordhand, Knight 9 - Edgar started his career as a squire to a knight who fell in battle. His service to his kingdom eventually earned him his knighthood. He has had only two assignments as a full-fledged Knight; A partially-successful diplomatic mission to the Kingdom's allies, and the successful defense of one of the kingdoms smaller towns against an invading army.
Niobe Arenii, Bard 6/Ranger 2 - Niobe has personal reasons why she has chosen to adventure with Edgar, and is not giving them up. She gets along well with Edgar though, and has always been a useful and steady companion.
Halas Groman, Exalted Monk 5 - Halas has come to the aid of Edgar's cause as a result of his life's calling of helping the weak. A holy man who has sworn himself to a life of poverty, Halas can be somewhat condescending when forced to deal with politicians.
Notable NPC's:
Svala Kyrrsvanr, Wizard 9 - Svala rescued Edgar when she found him dying in the snow beside his master's body. Originally travelling with him to his kingdom as a favor, she now considers him a friend. She assists him by dispensing occasional advice when asked, and by providing potions of varying types.
"The Captain", Class and Level Unknown (Scout 3) - The Captain is a mercenary leader, in charge of band of scouts. As a mercenary, he has been paid to provide various special warfare services to the Kingdom, and has worked with Edgar on occasion. His real name is still unknown, as he has never revealed it (though has given a false name), and the group just calls him "The Captain".
Adrastus, son of Acestes, Fighter 6 - Adrastus agreed to lead a unit of Edgar's troops in a recent battle. Originally a mercenary aquisition, Adrastus travels with Edgar in the hope of finding asylum for his people, who come from a broken kingdom. Adrastus has a servant, a Cleric (level 4) of Heironeous.
The Situation:
In our ongoing campaign, the main characters have been playing an increasingly important role in a conflict that has erupted in my camapign world. After being charged with the defense of one of the Kingdom's southern towns, Edgar prepared the town's defenses, and was ultimately successful. After the battle, Edgar dispatched the Captain to notify Edgar's superiors in the north of the battle's outcome. After a couple weeks with no reply, and in fact no word whatsoever from the north, Edgar decides (against Svala's advice) to go on a foray to a tomb (6 days away) to cleanse it of undead.
The foray is ultimately successful, though not in the way the party thought initially. Unfortunately, upon returning to town, they find it has been attacked and pillaged. Things get worse as they investigate. The town has been slaughtered to the last man, and there is melting ice covering much of the town. The moat is still partially frozen. There is no sign of snowfall in the surrounding countryside. Staying in the dead town for a few days, the Captain finally returns. He tells a story of how his men happened upon an enemy camp, and how the enemy were appearantly working with a white dragon. It is unclear who is working for who, but the dragon spotted the Captain and his men and hunted them down as they attempted to escape. Only he escaped, though exceptional luck.
The group then set out to discover the fate of the rest of the Kingdom. As they travel, they find that the enemy is occupying most of the kingdom, and that the enemy's dragon was in most cases the deciding factor in the battles. During the course of their investigations, they find a small pocket of civilians which flad one of the Kingdom's major cities. They are living deep in a forest to the west of one of these cities.
Edgar is able to convince the civilians to follow him to an abandoned keep far to the south and west. On the way, the proccession is shadowed by orcs on worg mounts. the orcs keep their distance, but do not attack. Upon arrival, the group is forced to defeat a massive troll and his bugbear soldiers who had occupied the keep. In the proccess, Halas frees the Troll's goblin slaves.
After the battle, the group finds out that there is a gem mine nearby, which the goblins had been forced to work in. Halas is able to convince the goblins to work the mine in exchange for protection and fair compensation. Halas aslo manages to calm the civilians and convince them that working with the goblins is a good idea. The people reluctantly agree. Meanwhile, the captain has set out to do reconaissance on the orcs tribes that had been shadowing them earlier.
So that is the situation.
I need to know what issues that Edgar may need to deal with as this community gets back on it's feet. There are about 300 people, and 20 soldiers with them. I am assuming he would need some sort of income to help repair the keep, but am unsure how things like taxes would work. There are the orcs in the surrounding countryside, but i would like to avoid the old "kill the orcs and make the area safe" routine. What sort of things happen day-to-day that would require a ruler's attention in a keep or town? Should Edgar appoint an advisor to run day to day business? Does Edgar try to attract more people to live in his town? Does he try to retake his kingdom, or start a new one?
As you can see, I have little to no idea what to do here, so any help would be much appreciated.
The Players:
Sir Edgar Swordhand, Knight 9 - Edgar started his career as a squire to a knight who fell in battle. His service to his kingdom eventually earned him his knighthood. He has had only two assignments as a full-fledged Knight; A partially-successful diplomatic mission to the Kingdom's allies, and the successful defense of one of the kingdoms smaller towns against an invading army.
Niobe Arenii, Bard 6/Ranger 2 - Niobe has personal reasons why she has chosen to adventure with Edgar, and is not giving them up. She gets along well with Edgar though, and has always been a useful and steady companion.
Halas Groman, Exalted Monk 5 - Halas has come to the aid of Edgar's cause as a result of his life's calling of helping the weak. A holy man who has sworn himself to a life of poverty, Halas can be somewhat condescending when forced to deal with politicians.
Notable NPC's:
Svala Kyrrsvanr, Wizard 9 - Svala rescued Edgar when she found him dying in the snow beside his master's body. Originally travelling with him to his kingdom as a favor, she now considers him a friend. She assists him by dispensing occasional advice when asked, and by providing potions of varying types.
"The Captain", Class and Level Unknown (Scout 3) - The Captain is a mercenary leader, in charge of band of scouts. As a mercenary, he has been paid to provide various special warfare services to the Kingdom, and has worked with Edgar on occasion. His real name is still unknown, as he has never revealed it (though has given a false name), and the group just calls him "The Captain".
Adrastus, son of Acestes, Fighter 6 - Adrastus agreed to lead a unit of Edgar's troops in a recent battle. Originally a mercenary aquisition, Adrastus travels with Edgar in the hope of finding asylum for his people, who come from a broken kingdom. Adrastus has a servant, a Cleric (level 4) of Heironeous.
The Situation:
In our ongoing campaign, the main characters have been playing an increasingly important role in a conflict that has erupted in my camapign world. After being charged with the defense of one of the Kingdom's southern towns, Edgar prepared the town's defenses, and was ultimately successful. After the battle, Edgar dispatched the Captain to notify Edgar's superiors in the north of the battle's outcome. After a couple weeks with no reply, and in fact no word whatsoever from the north, Edgar decides (against Svala's advice) to go on a foray to a tomb (6 days away) to cleanse it of undead.
The foray is ultimately successful, though not in the way the party thought initially. Unfortunately, upon returning to town, they find it has been attacked and pillaged. Things get worse as they investigate. The town has been slaughtered to the last man, and there is melting ice covering much of the town. The moat is still partially frozen. There is no sign of snowfall in the surrounding countryside. Staying in the dead town for a few days, the Captain finally returns. He tells a story of how his men happened upon an enemy camp, and how the enemy were appearantly working with a white dragon. It is unclear who is working for who, but the dragon spotted the Captain and his men and hunted them down as they attempted to escape. Only he escaped, though exceptional luck.
The group then set out to discover the fate of the rest of the Kingdom. As they travel, they find that the enemy is occupying most of the kingdom, and that the enemy's dragon was in most cases the deciding factor in the battles. During the course of their investigations, they find a small pocket of civilians which flad one of the Kingdom's major cities. They are living deep in a forest to the west of one of these cities.
Edgar is able to convince the civilians to follow him to an abandoned keep far to the south and west. On the way, the proccession is shadowed by orcs on worg mounts. the orcs keep their distance, but do not attack. Upon arrival, the group is forced to defeat a massive troll and his bugbear soldiers who had occupied the keep. In the proccess, Halas frees the Troll's goblin slaves.
After the battle, the group finds out that there is a gem mine nearby, which the goblins had been forced to work in. Halas is able to convince the goblins to work the mine in exchange for protection and fair compensation. Halas aslo manages to calm the civilians and convince them that working with the goblins is a good idea. The people reluctantly agree. Meanwhile, the captain has set out to do reconaissance on the orcs tribes that had been shadowing them earlier.
So that is the situation.
I need to know what issues that Edgar may need to deal with as this community gets back on it's feet. There are about 300 people, and 20 soldiers with them. I am assuming he would need some sort of income to help repair the keep, but am unsure how things like taxes would work. There are the orcs in the surrounding countryside, but i would like to avoid the old "kill the orcs and make the area safe" routine. What sort of things happen day-to-day that would require a ruler's attention in a keep or town? Should Edgar appoint an advisor to run day to day business? Does Edgar try to attract more people to live in his town? Does he try to retake his kingdom, or start a new one?
As you can see, I have little to no idea what to do here, so any help would be much appreciated.