Kingdom issues (After the bralani)

Even thought the bralani threat (and, it seems, the Lady behind the bralani) has been neutralized the rulers of Khatovar find themselves with a lot of work on their hands. Besides the reconstruction efforts which are needed in the wake of the attack, there is the continuing growth of the kingdom and all the other things that come in its wake.

On a more immediate level, the rulers have a few magical items to make use of towards the betterment of the kingdom. One is the decanter of endless water, which can be either placed at the capital or at Olegton. The capital is obviously the larger and more important settlement, so there are more people who could benefit from it, but Olegton doesn't have as ready a supply of existing water as the capital (being on the shores of a very large pair of connected lakes and with rivers nearby) does. So there are benefits on either side.

Similarly, the manner of use can be varied. Set it up in a permanent location to water a couple of key buildings or areas? Have it be mobile so that it can be moved from place to place where needed? Set it up in a public location to create a never-ending fountain, where all the people can come to drink and/or take water home?

As for the continual flame stones, there are many options there as well. Kara suggests using them in the gold and/or silver mine to increase productivity, providing constant lighting in a safe manner. Another option is to have them be used by the town watch. They could also be permanently placed at points around the city as lamps. Or simply sold to increase trade and obtain more revenue.

Decisions, decisions...

OOC: Please weigh in on what you would like to do with the decanter and with the stones. Also, someone roll me a d20 for a Stability check.

I think, since Olegton needs it more, we should set it up there. Put it as a "permanent" fountain. We dig a fountain well hole and stick it in there. I will work with the witch to cast protective spells on it, and if she doesn't have any we can either research or buy one. The spell would also be useful to protect other parts of our town. I think a perm setup would be better then mobile as it is harder to steal a permanent item, plus strangers seeing a well with water won't think twice.

With regards to the light - it sounds like a great idea to set them up with the mine to help keep it running safer.

I'll tag each of the magic items with the arcane mark in case the items are stolen.

And for the roll....No Wammies!

EDIT: Well that sucks.

The member 'Leonis' has done the following action : Dice roller

'd20' : 1

For the decanter, I'm of two minds. (Me, indecisive? Perish the thought!) The best short-term option is to send the decanter to Olegton to help its development, as long as there's a way we can keep it secure from thieves. For a long-term option, having a public fountain in the middle of the capital would be a great option. Since it can send 30 gallons a round at high pressure, it could even be the foundation of a network of different fountains in the fort and around town, and if we do it that way we could keep the actual decanter in the castle, using the height differential from the fort on a hill to aid the distribution.

For the stones, using them in the mines is the best option. Giving them to the town watch would be nice, but they don't give as much added benefit there as they do in a mine. If we need more, we can always make them, if we get Leonis the scroll. For each stone, it would cost 50gp and two 2nd level spell slots (it's an evocation spell).

I was thinking the same thing, at one point. Keep the decanter temporarily at Olegton to help get the place going, but then move it to the capital. I like the castle idea, and it has the added benefit of making the item more secure.

After the magical items are properly bestowed, the decanter to Olegton for the time being and the continual flame stones to the mines, the rulers focus on the reconstruction.

The quick response to the bralani and the return with Kesten and the magical items has temporarily provided an upsurge of confidence and goodwill in the town, but as the first few days pass, it's clear that the results of the attack will take some time to dissipate. People have died, buildings and walls have been destroyed, fields have been ruined. Many people are homeless, though accommodations are being mad.

On the positive side, the new caster's tower is already producing magical items which are being transferred to Olegton and then on to Aundair for sale, significantly adding to the economic strength of the small nation, which is also bolstered by the gold and silver emerging from the mines. Though money cannot immediately make up for the current problems facing Khatovar, the economy at least provides reassurance that the nation can afford to build more structures and provide support for those who need it - as long as nothing more goes wrong.


OOC: Okay - I went with the decanter being temporarily moved to Olegton, before permanently being placed in the capital. And the stones go to the mines.

Here's a coverage of the contents of the post above mechanically"

Having dealt with the bralani and used the magical items in these ways gives your kingdom a +4 to Economy, Loyalty and Stability and all Unrest drops to 0.

Upkeep Phase:
1 – Determine Kingdom Stability: Failure (natural 1), so Unrest increases by 2

2 – Pay Consumption: Pay 2 BP

3 – Fill Vacant Magic Item Slots: 1 medium item

4 – Unrest: Grabthar lowers Unrest by 1

OOC: The next decision is about increasing the size of the kingdom (i.e. adding another hex). I believe you were planning to head towards the broken temple of Balinor that Jhod Kavken had wanted you to recover. Right? You can get to and reclaim it in two months (including the current one) and it does make good sense for a long-term investment, since you can build a half-price Temple there (which can produce magic items too).

Yup, let's stick with that course of action.

Leonis wrote:

Yup, let's stick with that course of action.

I presume nobody'll have an issue with that.

You will get your last free road from House Orien this month. Considering the influx of settlers, converting an earlier hex to farmland is also recommended (costs 4 BP because they're all hill hexes, but drops Consumption by 2, which means you pay 2 BP less each month).

Now the other big decision is about what to build next. In view of the attack on the town, Svetlana will really be pushing for building that Town Hall she had suggested. Costs 11 BP (halved from 22 BP due to your Castle) of the 15 you have remaining, but it'll raise Economy, Loyalty and Stability by +1 each, as well as halving the cost for building Barracks, Dump and Watchtower subsequently.

I think that is what we discussed before and is good because it will save us money on the other defenses.

That sounds pretty ideal to me, too.

Can we convert more than one hex to farmland?

BTW, is our castle still a wooden fort, or a proper stone castle?

Did we ever decide on a name for the capital?

Rowan wrote:

That sounds pretty ideal to me, too.

Okay. I'll put up a post accordingly.

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Can we convert more than one hex to farmland?

Only 1 per month. When you get to 25+ hexes, then you can do 2 per month. You're currently at 10 hexes, but once you get to 11 you can gain 2 hexes a month, so the kingdom will also be growing faster soon.

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BTW, is our castle still a wooden fort, or a proper stone castle?

With the resources that you were sent and used, I'm presuming it's a combination of wood and stone when first erected, and is being fortified further as time goes on.

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Did we ever decide on a name for the capital?

Not yet. So far, the options that were suggested were Lakeshore (by Julia, from the list of possible ones I gave) and Citadel (by Avi). Any preference? Or want to suggest another?

The expansion of the kingdom continues, and with the grassland areas around Olegton now having been secured, settlers slowly begin to move into the thick forests as well. With the area having been fairly well-explored and Kesten (who seems to be dealing with the experience of capture and near-death by throwing himself fully into his work) leading his patrols back and forth, there are no untoward experiences with monsters or dangerous wildlife. House Orien completes its promised construction of roads at this point, extending them into the newly settled area.

At one point, some settlers do report being plagued by irritating magical tricks and invisible creatures, the description and location of which cause a couple of the rulers to hurry east to the spot, where they locate the source of the trouble. As expected, it is the grig Tyg-Titter-Tut and her companion, the faerie dragon Perlivash. The rulers explain about the kingdom's growth and negotiate 'better behavior' from them, while setting up a certain area of the forest to be left untouched for them.

At the capital, the town hall that Svetlana had wanted is now constructed, along with adjoining structures that will aid in the administrative functioning of the town. Built adjacent to the noble villa where the rulers dwell and the castle at the center of town, it provides regular and easy access to the rulers and governing council, while ensuring that the rulers no longer have to deal with petitioners at their doorstep. Svetlana converts some of the buildings into makeshift shelters for the homeless, which seems to help the town's morale as well.

OOC: I need three Economy checks now.

And these are the mechanical changes for the above.

Improvement Phase:
1 – Select Leadership: No change

2 – Claim Hexes: Claim hex with Fairy Nest (-1 BP; +1 Consumption)

3 – Establish and Improve Cities: Build Town Hall at capital (-11 BP; +1 Economy, +1 Stability, +1 Loyalty)

4 – Build Roads: Get last free road in hex 10 due to House Orien (total roads = 10)

5 – Establish Farmlands: Designate hex 5 (gold mine) as farmland (-4 BP; -2 Consumption)

6 – Edicts (No change): Promotion = None (-1 Stability); Taxation = None (+1 Loyalty); Festivals per Year = 0 (-1 Loyalty)

Don't preclude the notion that the practical jokes are not from Leonis

No Wammies

The member 'Leonis' has done the following action : Dice roller

#1 'd20' : 3

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#2 'd20' : 17

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#3 'd20' : 18

Leonis wrote:

Don't preclude the notion that the practical jokes are not from Leonis

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No Wammies

Nice rolling. The first roll was for selling the minor item from Olegton, which can currently only fail on a natural 1 (DC 20 Economy check and you have a +33 right now), so the 3 succeeded. And the others do so easily as well.

* * * * *
While a significant amount of resources are still being poured into the development of the kingdom, the construction of new buildings, and the reconstruction after the attack on the capital, the establishment of a small but flourishing magic item economy adds significantly to Khatovar's finances. The farmland to the east of the capital, extending all the way to Olegton and around it, was utterly untouched by the attack and continues to produce large quantities of food as well, while logging and other activities in the forested areas produces valuable resources as well. As the year shifts into late spring, Khatovar has its economically most productive month.


OOC: That translates to the following.

Sell Valuable Items: Made checks (35 and 49) so sell 1 minor and 1 medium, so +10 BP

Generate Income: Made Economy check (50 vs. 30) and gained +10 BP

You end up with 24 BP total, which sets you up nicely for the expansion in the next month.

OOC: Mike - any thoughts/opinions about the name for the capital, as I mentioned above?

And now to some less mechanical issues as you go about your rulership...

* * * * *
With the effects of the attack to deal with, allied to their steadily growing responsibilities, the rulers of Khatovar have no leisure to go off adventuring. Especially since all of the area which falls within the domain 'suggested' to them by their Aundairan patrons has now been explored and established to be relatively safe. Nevertheless, the possibility of incursions from beyond exist, whether from the deeper Reaches to the west, Hooktongue Slough to the north or the Nomen Highlands to the south. However, for the space of a month after their return from slaying the bralani, there is no such event.

Not that there aren't other things to keep the rulers busy in town. One possibly unexpected result of the growing numbers of citizenry and the easy access to their rulers (all of whom have gained significant reputations as not just the leaders of the community but also as great heroes) is the increasing potentiality for liaisons. All four of the rulers, at some point or the other, find themselves having to deal with advances from multiple admirers of varied genders, ages, sizes, colors, etc. Whether it be a farmer's daughter asking to speak to Leonis about a private matter and throwing herself at him, or Grabthar finding one of Kesten's guardsmen waiting in his chambers, or Kara receiving a dinner invitation from a local farmer, or Rowan being openly hit on by the widow Lily Tesker - it's unsurprisingly clear that the rulers are the four most popular single people in Khatovar.

Besides romantic/licentious matters, there are also other more personal things for each of the rulers to respond to. Leonis spends a lot of his free time working with Elga Verniex (the now-slightly-less-unpopular Swamp Witch) regarding arcane matters and the newly created mage tower. Elga, having been the one keeping track of people with arcane ability traveling to the capital, mentions to him at one point that there are a few people who have been asking if he is interested in possibly taking on an apprentice or two. Is he?

Kara, meanwhile, receives a sealed letter bearing the House Lyrandar mark, borne by a courier who traveled all the way from Aundair via Olegton to the capital, to deliver the one missive. The letter is from an old friend and acquaintance of hers, now an important official in the Lyrandar enclave in Fairhaven, the capital of Aundair. It begins with pleasantries and congratulations for Kara's success in the Stolen Lands, before moving to more serious matters. The House, the writer says, is watching her progress with keen interest. They are interested in establishing a Lyrandar enclave in Khatovar and asks for her aid and support in doing so. There is a subtle reference to other Houses moving into Khatovar, which Kara knows enough to understand as a reference to House Orien, which established the agreement with the rulers and has been building roads for them for the last half of a year. Orien and Lyrandar are traditional rivals and it's not surprising that Lyrandar wants a piece of this newly available action as well. The letter ends asking Kara to write back, and the courier is waiting (for a couple of days, if needed) to carry back her response. What does she say?

Grabthar, being the most easily noticed member of the ruling quartet, is also the most feared in town, thanks to both his reputation and his official job as royal headsman. Oleg, who has been spending most of his time handling affairs at Olegton, sends him a message asking him to travel east to the new settlement. With the influx of settlers, who inevitably pass through that area as the staging point to moving on to find a home elsewhere in the new nation, there are certain issues with law and order in the area. It would be helpful, Oleg opines, to have one of the rulers pass through the area, visibly examining the progress there and passing judgments on disputes. And who better than Grabthar to do so? With the Orien roads, it will take only only a week at the very most, including travel time.

Rowan, on a day when she is relatively freer, leaves the capital and heads into the nearby woods. After finding an appropriately secluded place, the sorceress places a small number of arcane items on the ground before her and then embarks on a ritual that she has been planning to carry out for some time now. An hour later, after all is done, she sits and waits, knowing that the results will be visible sooner or later. A snuffling red-furred muzzle pokes its way cautiously through a bush, followed by two bright dark eyes, which gaze suspiciously at her. As the creature slowly emerges, Rowan notes that the muzzle is scarred and one of the ears atop the head is not much more than a stump, albeit from an old wound. The creature's ribs are visible and it is generally not in the best of condition. Noting the direction of her gaze, the red fox stops, sits down and switches its tail irritably. "What?!"

Spending time in town Leonis willingly sacrifices himself to the women who desire his body - after all who is he to deny his people access to one of their leaders.

Leonis is interested in taking on apprentices, teaching a class once a week would also be acceptable. He'll even play with the new puppy, but only secretly. Openly he will call Rowans familiar a flea ridden mutt....but if a dog is man's best friend, then a boy is DEFINITELY a dogs best friend


On another note - wouldn't it be funny if a wizard/sorcerer summoned a familiar only to stab it and kill it

OOC: I like the relatively peaceful name Julia suggested for the name of the capital a couple months ago. This is a place of great natural beauty, after all. "The Citadel" seems a bit pretentious for a kingdom of our small size. And isn't there a prominent organization in Eberron called the Citadel?

Now that things are relatively settled here, I think we should make an expedition to our neighbors to the North, and open diplomatic relations. After gathering some intel first, of course.

As for House Lyrandar, we should be friendly to them, but drive a hard bargain. What can they do for us? After all, House Orien built us miles of good broad roads.

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A snuffling red-furred muzzle pokes its way cautiously through a bush, followed by two bright dark eyes, which gaze suspiciously at her. As the creature slowly emerges, Rowan notes that the muzzle is scarred and one of the ears atop the head is not much more than a stump, albeit from an old wound. The creature's ribs are visible and it is generally not in the best of condition. Noting the direction of her gaze, the red fox stops, sits down and switches its tail irritably. "What?!"

Rowan smiles warmly. "There must be a story behind battle scars like those," she says, inviting her visitor to boast about his exploits.

Leonis wrote:

Spending time in town Leonis willingly sacrifices himself to the women who desire his body - after all who is he to deny his people access to one of their leaders.

Leonis finds a number of his nights fairly busy with such activities and also soon has a growing reputation in town as a bit of an easy lay. Once the rumors begin to spread, as tends to be the case with them, reality slowly ceases to matter and the arcanist's willingness and availability is a major talking point as far as local gossip goes. The increased notoriety seems to dissuade some of the women who had originally had interest in him, but others (if not quite as many) fill their place. A couple of men try to do so as well, but give up upon discovering that Leonis swings only one way. A minor issue Leonis has to deal with is also the idea that a couple of people have regarding his willingness to do favors for those who end up in bed with him, the result of some of the gossip.

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Leonis is interested in taking on apprentices, teaching a class once a week would also be acceptable.

Actually, by apprentices Elga meant people (or more likely one person) who'll be working very closely with Leonis, carrying out whatever arcana-related work he wants in return for training (and, presumably, room and board and possibly some pay). Is that something he's interested in?

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He'll even play with the new puppy, but only secretly. Openly he will call Rowans familiar a flea ridden mutt....but if a dog is man's best friend, then a boy is DEFINITELY a dogs best friend

You haven't got to meet the fox yet, and considering that it's already got a 9 Int, odds are it will notice the difference.

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On another note - wouldn't it be funny if a wizard/sorcerer summoned a familiar only to stab it and kill it

Yeah, but then all the other familiars tweet each other about it and the person gets a bad reputation.

Rowan wrote:

OOC: I like the relatively peaceful name Julia suggested for the name of the capital a couple months ago. This is a place of great natural beauty, after all.

Excellent. We have a decision. Lakeshore it is.

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"The Citadel" seems a bit pretentious for a kingdom of our small size. And isn't there a prominent organization in Eberron called the Citadel?

It's actually the King's Citadel, and that's their equivalent of the CIA.

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Now that things are relatively settled here, I think we should make an expedition to our neighbors to the North, and open diplomatic relations. After gathering some intel first, of course.

Actually, if I wasn't clear, you all do have a number of things keeping you busy. Stuff like obtaining the familiar only takes a day or so, which Rowan can make time for, but taking a few days off is tougher. It'll be more feasible in a couple of months, you would presume. Still, if you really want to do it now, that's possible.

What sort of expedition did you have in mind? Just the four PCs? Four PCs plus an entourage? Not the PCs but envoys from your kingdom?

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As for House Lyrandar, we should be friendly to them, but drive a hard bargain. What can they do for us? After all, House Orien built us miles of good broad roads.

With Khatovar not yet being a very large or heavily developed kingdom, the Lyrandar Windwrights Guild can't do much for you, since their airships couldn't dock in Lakeshore and you aren't producing enough (and are too far out of the way) to justify the expense of trading via them.

The Raincallers Guild, however, could be fairly handy, since they use their abilities to help with local weather, both in a magical sense (using dragonmarks and related abilities to actually affect local weather and rainfall) and in a non-magical way (building dams, irrigation systems and reservoirs to help maximize agrictultural production). They're not as famous or glamorous as the Windwrights, but they probably affect the lives of common people around Khorvaire in a more immediate way.

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Rowan smiles warmly. "There must be a story behind battle scars like those," she says, inviting her visitor to boast about his exploits.

The fox peers suspiciously at Rowan for a moment and then opens its mouth in what she recognizes as the vulpine equivalent of a pleased smile. "Of course there is," snaps the fox, but there's no real heat to the comment. "My name is Vulpingetorix." He looks meaningfully at Rowan for a few seconds, before explaining a little peevishly, "That's 'warrior king of the foxes' in ... um, fox. I am the shadow in the night. I am the fangs in the dark. They call me Mister fox! No chicken is safe from my wrath! And as for my scars, you should have seen the other fox. Foxes! And dog!"

Having delivered the little speech, the fox sits and beams proudly at Rowan for a few seconds. Then it shakes itself and says, while scratching behind the tattered stump of a ear with a hind-leg, "But you called me here to be your ... what's the word ... familiar, right? I ..." he pauses dramatically, "...accept! Now you have to pledge me your soul! Right?"

Admin wrote:

What sort of expedition did you have in mind? Just the four PCs? Four PCs plus an entourage? Not the PCs but envoys from your kingdom?

The fox peers suspiciously at Rowan for a moment and then opens its mouth in what she recognizes as the vulpine equivalent of a pleased smile. "Of course there is," snaps the fox, but there's no real heat to the comment. "My name is Vulpingetorix." He looks meaningfully at Rowan for a few seconds, before explaining a little peevishly, "That's 'warrior king of the foxes' in ... um, fox. I am the shadow in the night. I am the fangs in the dark. They call me Mister fox! No chicken is safe from my wrath! And as for my scars, you should have seen the other fox. Foxes! And dog!"

Having delivered the little speech, the fox sits and beams proudly at Rowan for a few seconds. Then it shakes itself and says, while scratching behind the tattered stump of a ear with a hind-leg, "But you called me here to be your ... what's the word ... familiar, right? I ..." he pauses dramatically, "...accept! Now you have to pledge me your soul! Right?"

I wuld think we either send envoys (to show we are not poor/desperate) letting those leaders know we would like to visit at some point. Some leaders don't like to be surprised.

The fox is cut. Shil you should press for the soul. I like the darkwing duck copy/hack/paste

Yea! Lakeshore!

Well, we're still a pretty small place... and the use of airships may not really be profitable for them at this point... but I am certainly flattered and eager to for the successful integration of a house bearing my name into our area. So I think we should extend them an offical invitation to come out and access the viability of sort of arrangement.

Luna wrote:

Yea! Lakeshore!

Fine, but the mages tower will now be called:
The Bastian of Doom & Dispair

Those who can read magic know it is really called. "Back the F off Moses, this is Leonis' Pimp pad and we don't want your Ten Commandments in this crib"

Admin wrote:

You haven't got to meet the fox yet, and considering that it's already got a 9 Int, odds are it will notice the difference.

I was talking out of game. I figured the fox is smart and wouldn't try to out fox it , the show would be more for the public.

As for leonis sleeping patterns and gossip...haters gonna hate sides how many 13 year olds get this lucky hehe

Luna wrote:

Well, we're still a pretty small place... and the use of airships may not really be profitable for them at this point... but I am certainly flattered and eager to for the successful integration of a house bearing my name into our area. So I think we should extend them an offical invitation to come out and access the viability of sort of arrangement

Shil would certain houses avoid us if we dealt with others? Is there some limit? I want to make sure weknow who we may alienate before we do so