Castlefield: Sovereign Nation in the Hundred Kingdoms

[Lord Heru]

i just saw this thread and just want to pop in for a moment and say that the setting is awesome. I very much like what was done and how it was implemented.


If I was to change anything its this: increase population figures, increase exalted numbers, increase thaumaturgy's presence, increase the number of small communities that dot the area, and maybe increase size of territory though that is not a important.


All in all I love it, great job, and I would love to read more if you have any more information.

 

[Persell]

I had one question- are any of your setting's nobility Dragonblooded? There are alot of lost egg families out there, and its perfectly plausible that these minor dragonblooded families would want nothing to do with the realm or even lookshy.

There are notable Dragon-Blooded in the area, most notably the children of various members of the Gens of Lookshy (either from those on vacation who have come to see the First Age constructs like the Headwater Dam or from various members of the kingdom travelling to Lookshy on vacations or business matters of their own), but for the most part, they represent a minor portion of the community.  Many of the Dragon-Blooded who have realized their Exaltation in Castlefield have been absorbed into the Seventh Legion.  Virtually none have gone to the Realm as a lost egg, as many do not want to place themselves at the mercy of the Immaculate Faith and the Hundred Gods Heresy, being heretics themselves and all.


This has led to many of the Dragon-Blooded in the region who wish to stay without being recruited for the Gens doing their best to keep their heads low and their natures private.  Three openly Air-Aspected are among the few freelance sorcerers in the kingdom, licensed by the crown to practice their Arts.


Of course, this is just in Castle Hill.  Farpost certainly has at least a scale's worth of Dragon-Blooded, mostly Earth- and Fire-Aspected, to help with their mining operations, as well as a handful of Wood Aspected aiding with their logging industry.  In Marsh Edge, only Silver-Edged Sorrow, the Marsh Lord and titular god of the area, knows for certain how many Blooded serve him, and how many of them are Water Aspected from other areas of the kingdom.  


I've yet to flesh out the other four kingdoms (Foxwood, Ten Gales, Elban and Lucien Hills), but they're likely to have their complement of Terrestrial Exalts as well.

 

[Persell]

If I was to change anything its this: increase population figures' date=' increase exalted numbers, increase thaumaturgy's presence, increase the number of small communities that dot the area, and maybe increase size of territory though that is not a important. [/quote']
Bear in mind that this is less than 1/5 of the kingdom that came before.  This kingdom is what is left of the duchy of Castlefield, before Kirleann was shattered apart.


Castlefield and Lucien Hills, the two duchies to the north- and southeast, were mostly the food production duchies, meaning rural populations with a few large settlements scattered through and various First Age constructions aiding the population in that goal.  The ruined castle on the hill (which is what the capital of Castlefield is creatively named after) was the home of the Duke, who was by all (now lost) accounts a Dragon-Blooded prefect charged with the protection of the duchy, as well as being a summer home for the kingdom's Solar ruler.  


Foxwood was mostly for the Lawgiver's recreation, with grapevine fields and large tracts of forests filled with game, lakes teeming with fish, and large pavillions where gods and Exalts could relax and enjoy company.


Ten Gales was the more heavily urbanized area, with larger settlements than anywhere else, major trade hubs and banks, transportation centers and the capital of the entire Kingdom.


Elban was an area off-limits to the average mortal, ringed with massive jade and obsidian obelisks that could shield the entire area from threats either inside or out.  Elban contained the true workspace of the Exalted: a pair of factory cathedrals, biogenesis laboratories, wildlife preserves of created species for study and exploitation, arcane sanctuaries for spellworking, and a large library of knowledge, including several dozen banks of dream tutor crystals and half a dozen Perfected Calculation Arrays.


All of these names have been badly mangled from the original Old Realm, and their purpose and way of life has mostly been lost since the Shogunate.  The Dragon-Blooded tried to keep it together, but failed miserably as the infrastructure was beyond their ability to repair and maintain.   The Contagion decimated the population, uncontained Essence from damaged manses and large-scale artifacts and the invasion of the Fair Folk further, sharply decreased the population.  Through some miracle, no shadowlands ever formed, but the taint of death and loss can still be felt by individuals sensitive to such things in certain areas.


Anarchy erupted in several areas, further decreasing the population and legacy of the region.  In one particular case, a bandit lord of Elban went into the Crystal Tower (one of the more breathtaking and prominent First Age edifices in the duchy) and touched something he shouldn't have: a reality engine used by the Twilight circlemate of Kirleann's ruler in her studies and projects, which imploded two days after activation.  The obelisks ringing the duchy responded to the threat and activated for the first time in centuries, extending a protective force barrier around the area, but their maintenance had obviously fallen off sharply since the Usurpation.  The field failed along the border to Ten Gales, leaking twisting Essence into the neighbouring nation, which ravaged through most of the south-eastern half and destroying four large communities.  


To give you a hard-number comparison of the relative populations of the entire area once known as Kirleann:


First Age: 23 million


Age of Sorrows: 250,000

 

[Lord Ben]

Disregarding Gem...


1/20th of the population being in the military isn't completely off-base.  When talking about Europes military population compared total population you should remember that rice is a much more efficient crop to support non-farmers.   Even at the American Revolution 19/20 were involved in agriculture.   In ancient Japan I think it was 8 adults working the field could support 13 people?  And if I remember correctly approximately 1/20th of the population was Samurai class (including samurai classed women, children, and the elderly).


Also, it could be a roman style military where they also do things like irrigate new fields, etc instead of standing around all day waiting to get invaded.

 

[Scionic]

Disregarding Gem...
1/20th of the population being in the military isn't completely off-base.  When talking about Europes military population compared total population you should remember that rice is a much more efficient crop to support non-farmers.   Even at the American Revolution 19/20 were involved in agriculture.   In ancient Japan I think it was 8 adults working the field could support 13 people?  And if I remember correctly approximately 1/20th of the population was Samurai class (including samurai classed women, children, and the elderly).


Also, it could be a roman style military where they also do things like irrigate new fields, etc instead of standing around all day waiting to get invaded.

In the game Rhapsody is running (I play the Dawn she mentioned), things have gotten pretty messed up in her storyline and I am putting most the survivors of Castle Hill to work, especially the remnants of the military.  Loving the setting, she's done a lot to make it particularly vivid.