The Noble Bloodline: A Battlefield Control Oriented Sorcerer
Sorry this is a bit late, this took a bit longer than I thought it would. There isn't a ton to elaborate on here- old royal families were often pretty prudish about their bloodlines and marrying within other aristocratic families. This of course resulted in some pretty infamous cases of inbreeding (look up the Habsburgs if you feel so inclined).
Of course, this is high fantasy, not real life. So it can be argued that those nobles have a particular reason for preserving those bloodlines, as for some of them it might be the source of arcane might. It's certainly easier to claim you have superior blood when your blood lets you shoot fire from your fingertips.
Take that, peasants.
Aristocratic Heritage:
This is a ribbon, designed to allow your nobility themed character get by when they find themselves elbow deep in court intrigue. History checks are as useful as the DM wants them to be, so the usefulness of this skill depends on the type of DM using it and the campaign being run.
The language is a reference to how France became the language spoken in many aristocratic courts. If any such language exists in your setting, you now know it, allowing you to blend in with the elites in your society. Sure, maybe everyone just speaks common, but if that's the case then oh well, nothing to be done.
Nobility Obligates:
Learn Command as a bonus spell, and once per rest you can cast it in a advanced form. Command offers you some rudimentary battlefield control right at level 1, and the ability to use a 5 word phrase or sentence allows for more tactically minded players to have a bit of fun with it.
The name for this is a play on the meaning of the literal translation "Noblesse oblige". While historically the phrase refereed to the sorts of obligations that nobles had to their subjects, the phrase "Nobility Obligates" can also mean that the Nobility Obligates other people to do stuff for them.
Kowtow:
A fairly straightforward ability- if a creature fails a saving throw against a spell, they are knocked prone. If you want to show off, you can spend a bunch of sorcerer points to make everyone who fails a save against your spell be knocked prone, which can have some use for big AOE spells like cone of cold or fireball.
The name for this feature comes from Imperial China, as Kowtowing is the act of showing deep reverence and submission to a superior.
Imperial Splendor
A one minute effect that allows you to blind your enemies, while also disabling blindsight and tremorsense. When you get to higher levels there are tons of enemies that have these features, and I can't recall anything that lets you block these senses outright. While allowing you to shut these down is quite powerful... this is a level 18 class feature.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Personal Unions and You: Adding a bit of Spice to Medieval Era-Esq Style Politics
In a lot of fantasy settings, the world is typically carved up into a variety of different kingdoms, who are typically ruled by, well, kings. Lots of countries feature one race predominantly. Usually there’s a bunch of different kingdoms run by humans, with a minority of other races in each one, a dwarf kingdom, and elven kingdom (nearly always located in a forest). To boot, there’s likely one kingdom that’s larger than the rest, which is either the most dominant political entity or the setting’s “evil empire”. Individual cities and towns will have their own dukes and barons who are beholden to their respective kings in some capacity or another.
And… well, in many D&D games, that’s where the political landscape if the world ends. And truth be told, in some campaigns there’s nothing wrong with that. If the campaign has your party romping through the Nine Hells to steal some McGuffin from the palace of Asmodeus, you might well not need a excruciatingly in depth geopolitics on the prime material planes.
But I’ve always been fond of diving headlong into political intrigue, the politics of royal courts, etc. The games I run almost always have some political bent to them, the more the better mostly. So, in what (I hope) will be a series of posts, I’m going to bring up sorts of situations that occurred in history, and talk about how they can be used as adventure hooks to help spice up any campaigns you have centered on political intrigue.
So, let's talk about Personal Unions.
What is a personal Union?
A king dies. His son/eldest child inherits the throne. Normally, that's all well and good- but what happens when the king has no children? He only had a younger brother- but he’s dead too. But said younger brother did have a son… who happens to be married to the queen of a neighboring kingdom.
That son is made king of kingdom A, who is married to the queen of kingdom B. Whoever inherits the throne from their parents will become the king of both kingdoms A and B. Two counties- who might well have been fierce rivals until recently, and almost certainly have varying religious customs, cultures, administrative apparatus, traditions, and what have you, are now ruled by the same person, should they be able to keep the amalgamation together.
Whether coming about through intrigue, untimely deaths, a series of “accidents”, or the turns of fortune, two monarchies can wind up being ruled by the same person. Yet at the same time, this is not a conquest- both countries remain legally distinct entities. One kingdom is not merely annexed into the other.
So, what does this look like? The answer is something very complicated. Partisans of both territories will be greatly inclined to defend every single old privilege and power they can, without any regard for the well being of the new country. People who loved their nation’s independence will rankle against being ruled by a foreign ruler. Countless debates may arise over what nation ought to be contributing more to the royal treasury in taxes- if the new nation even has a unified royal treasury to begin with. And did I mention the paperwork?
The newfound king of two nations might find himself inclined to try and consolidate his power. He will face resistance. Whether working as agents of the crown, or against it, plenty of opportunities for political adventure.
The Culture Question
The Common language in most DnD games makes life easier for the players, but in reality is a pretty absurd concept. Sure, some settings might have a Lingua Franca- but that would be something reserved for noble courts, not spoken by the average commoner. Now imagine you’re running an army where half of it’s members speak one language, and the other half speak a different one. It’s not impossible to do (its been done in real life, after all), but it certainly doesn’t make things any easier.
Language, of course, is only one aspect of culture. What happens when one person leads two countries with two different state religions? When what is taboo in one culture is celebrated in another?
I’m not here to come up with a variety of local customs and whatnot- the goal of this guide is to help inspire you to have cases where those cultures are forced to be united, which can be the cause of many varieties of political tension.
Historical Examples
If any of you are interested in basing some nation in your campaign off a Country created by personal Union, here are some examples you can look to.
The Kalmar Union: This was the Union of the Crowns of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
The Iberian Union: Portugal and Spain were under the same crown for 60 or so years. In this time, their colonial empire covered nearly all of the new world.
Austria-Hungary: Possibly the greatest known example of this, the amount of various kingdoms and titles held by the Habsburg family was pretty absurd. It only was destroyed in 1918, little more than 100 years ago. However, this entire amalgamation was the result of a variety of personal unions, not just the merger of the crowns of Austria and Hungary
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a state with a week monarch and powerful nobility that spanned a large swath of Europe, from the Baltic sea to the Black sea.
The United Kingdom: The result of the merger between the formerly independent Scotland And England. Still exists today.
Sample Plot Hooks
The king of Veredil-Alrhine is a half elf- which is only fitting, as he rules what had been up until recently been two separate kingdoms, one of mostly humans and one of mostly elves. The royal family has been desperately trying to consolidate power for generations, but is constantly meant by intransigence from both sides.
The Baroness of Rivingtell has, through a series of timely deaths, inherited the kingdom of Talrun. She has not yet been crowned, and it’s unclear if she has any wish to be. Some rumor that she’s planning on auctioning off the title of king to the highest bidder, a move of questionable legality.
Through a plague, the Baron of Duskmore has found himself to be next in line for the ruler-ship of the Duchy of Cottenbrook. Many rumors persist that the Baron practices forbidden magic and started the plague that wiped out many of his rivals to the throne of the duchy. Only one remaining family member stands in his way to claiming the title of duke- a young girl, who currently is the duchess of of Cottenbrook (although a regent currently rules in her name).
Two neighboring countries rivals with each other recently came to peace. As part of the peace deals, a variety of noble marriages were made, one of which being the binding together of two noble houses who ruled fiefs on the border of each country. Now, one man is the rightful heir of both fiefs. The Marquis and Duke of Orengrad-Burgundia- or at least, what he’s calling “Orengrad-Burgundia” has now declared the lands under his control to be independent and sovereign from both countries their lands were once under., much to the chagrin of both empires his lands were once a part of. Rumor has it he’s seeking powerful mercenaries and diplomats to help him survive what might turn into an onslaught against him.
The new king of Svolk hates his new subjects. In his prior realms, he was able to rule as an absolute monarch. In Svolk, his power is severely checked by a parliament, which he’s desperately trying to run circles around but to little avail. He's stuck in the middle of a war with another empire seeking to annex territory from his first kingdom, and the people of Svolk don't seem particularly inclined to sacrifice either blood or treasure to contribute to the war effort of a foreign country.
And… well, in many D&D games, that’s where the political landscape if the world ends. And truth be told, in some campaigns there’s nothing wrong with that. If the campaign has your party romping through the Nine Hells to steal some McGuffin from the palace of Asmodeus, you might well not need a excruciatingly in depth geopolitics on the prime material planes.
But I’ve always been fond of diving headlong into political intrigue, the politics of royal courts, etc. The games I run almost always have some political bent to them, the more the better mostly. So, in what (I hope) will be a series of posts, I’m going to bring up sorts of situations that occurred in history, and talk about how they can be used as adventure hooks to help spice up any campaigns you have centered on political intrigue.
So, let's talk about Personal Unions.
What is a personal Union?
A king dies. His son/eldest child inherits the throne. Normally, that's all well and good- but what happens when the king has no children? He only had a younger brother- but he’s dead too. But said younger brother did have a son… who happens to be married to the queen of a neighboring kingdom.
That son is made king of kingdom A, who is married to the queen of kingdom B. Whoever inherits the throne from their parents will become the king of both kingdoms A and B. Two counties- who might well have been fierce rivals until recently, and almost certainly have varying religious customs, cultures, administrative apparatus, traditions, and what have you, are now ruled by the same person, should they be able to keep the amalgamation together.
Whether coming about through intrigue, untimely deaths, a series of “accidents”, or the turns of fortune, two monarchies can wind up being ruled by the same person. Yet at the same time, this is not a conquest- both countries remain legally distinct entities. One kingdom is not merely annexed into the other.
So, what does this look like? The answer is something very complicated. Partisans of both territories will be greatly inclined to defend every single old privilege and power they can, without any regard for the well being of the new country. People who loved their nation’s independence will rankle against being ruled by a foreign ruler. Countless debates may arise over what nation ought to be contributing more to the royal treasury in taxes- if the new nation even has a unified royal treasury to begin with. And did I mention the paperwork?
The newfound king of two nations might find himself inclined to try and consolidate his power. He will face resistance. Whether working as agents of the crown, or against it, plenty of opportunities for political adventure.
The Culture Question
The Common language in most DnD games makes life easier for the players, but in reality is a pretty absurd concept. Sure, some settings might have a Lingua Franca- but that would be something reserved for noble courts, not spoken by the average commoner. Now imagine you’re running an army where half of it’s members speak one language, and the other half speak a different one. It’s not impossible to do (its been done in real life, after all), but it certainly doesn’t make things any easier.
Language, of course, is only one aspect of culture. What happens when one person leads two countries with two different state religions? When what is taboo in one culture is celebrated in another?
I’m not here to come up with a variety of local customs and whatnot- the goal of this guide is to help inspire you to have cases where those cultures are forced to be united, which can be the cause of many varieties of political tension.
Historical Examples
If any of you are interested in basing some nation in your campaign off a Country created by personal Union, here are some examples you can look to.
The Kalmar Union: This was the Union of the Crowns of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
The Iberian Union: Portugal and Spain were under the same crown for 60 or so years. In this time, their colonial empire covered nearly all of the new world.
Austria-Hungary: Possibly the greatest known example of this, the amount of various kingdoms and titles held by the Habsburg family was pretty absurd. It only was destroyed in 1918, little more than 100 years ago. However, this entire amalgamation was the result of a variety of personal unions, not just the merger of the crowns of Austria and Hungary
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a state with a week monarch and powerful nobility that spanned a large swath of Europe, from the Baltic sea to the Black sea.
The United Kingdom: The result of the merger between the formerly independent Scotland And England. Still exists today.
Sample Plot Hooks
The king of Veredil-Alrhine is a half elf- which is only fitting, as he rules what had been up until recently been two separate kingdoms, one of mostly humans and one of mostly elves. The royal family has been desperately trying to consolidate power for generations, but is constantly meant by intransigence from both sides.
The Baroness of Rivingtell has, through a series of timely deaths, inherited the kingdom of Talrun. She has not yet been crowned, and it’s unclear if she has any wish to be. Some rumor that she’s planning on auctioning off the title of king to the highest bidder, a move of questionable legality.
Through a plague, the Baron of Duskmore has found himself to be next in line for the ruler-ship of the Duchy of Cottenbrook. Many rumors persist that the Baron practices forbidden magic and started the plague that wiped out many of his rivals to the throne of the duchy. Only one remaining family member stands in his way to claiming the title of duke- a young girl, who currently is the duchess of of Cottenbrook (although a regent currently rules in her name).
Two neighboring countries rivals with each other recently came to peace. As part of the peace deals, a variety of noble marriages were made, one of which being the binding together of two noble houses who ruled fiefs on the border of each country. Now, one man is the rightful heir of both fiefs. The Marquis and Duke of Orengrad-Burgundia- or at least, what he’s calling “Orengrad-Burgundia” has now declared the lands under his control to be independent and sovereign from both countries their lands were once under., much to the chagrin of both empires his lands were once a part of. Rumor has it he’s seeking powerful mercenaries and diplomats to help him survive what might turn into an onslaught against him.
The new king of Svolk hates his new subjects. In his prior realms, he was able to rule as an absolute monarch. In Svolk, his power is severely checked by a parliament, which he’s desperately trying to run circles around but to little avail. He's stuck in the middle of a war with another empire seeking to annex territory from his first kingdom, and the people of Svolk don't seem particularly inclined to sacrifice either blood or treasure to contribute to the war effort of a foreign country.
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