Seafarers’ Guild Rumors

May 4, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Below are some rumors about the Seafarers’ Guild. I haven’t really decided yet which ones are true, so please leave me a comment telling me which ones you would like to be true:

  • The guild reports to no one and is following the will of Admiral Limani without supervision or accountability
  • A new Emperor has been selected, but refuses to come forward while Emperor Hotashen lives. The guild actually reports to the new Emperor.
  • Emperor Hotashen isn’t really sick; the Guild still reports to him.
  • The Guild has captured the Emperor and hidden him away. The Harbingers Council made up the story of his illness to cover his disappearance. The want to put Lord Kenlo Ling on the Imperial seat because of his ties with the Guild.
  • The Council has kidnapped the Emperor and made up the story of his illness to cover it. The Guild is doing his best to find him.
  • The Guild and the Council are working together to overthrow the Emperor and have the Moot of Harbingers become the sole ruling body of Guang Keshar
  • The Guild has found a cure for the Emperor’s illness, but is withholding it for their own reasons.
  • The Guild is searching the world for a cure to the Emperor’s illness.
  • The Guild has found a cure, but it’s on the other side of the world in the hands of barbarians who won’t give it up for anything less than the hand of the Emperor’s daughter in marriage. Because the Emperor has no daughter, this is a problem.
  • Emperor Hotashen has named Admiral Limani as his heir, he just hasn’t made it publicly known yet. The Council knows this and is looking for a way to subvert it.

Which one of these should be true and why? Do you have any other suggestions for rumors? Please leave a comment below. What you suggest could become an official part of Lia Tsashu.

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Richichi Adventure Seeds

April 21, 2010 · Posted in Adventures, World Background · Comment 

Below are some ideas for involving your PCs with the Richichi race. While these are aimed for playing in Guang Keshar, they could easily be adapted to any world where you’re using the Richichi.

  1. One of the PCs resembles a thief who stole many valuable items from all of the Richichi clans. Now they demand that the PC return the items and face justice.
  2. A Richichi youth wants to become an adventurer. She’ll attempt to join the party, but her parents forbid it. If the PCs refuse to take her, she follows them anyway. The problem is, she’s only four—two years before she reaches majority.
  3. A blight has infected the Richichi orchards. They know it has a magical origin, but can’t find a way to combat it. The Richichi hire the PCs to determine who caused it, how it happened and why. They will pay extra if the party can find a way to cure it.
  4. The PCs discover a plot of some young Richichi who plan to collapse the lodestone mines during the night when no one’s there. If the PCs tell the authorities, no one will believe them.

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Introducing the Richichi: A New Player Race

April 12, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Best known for their beautiful gardens and abundant fruit and nut orchards, the Richichi have well earned the nickname “homebodies”. While other races,such as the satyrs and centaurs keep to themselves, the Richichi frequently build their towns near (or within!) human cities. Cheery and affable, Richichi make good neighbors.

Physical Description

Standing approximately 2-3 feet high, the Richichi resemble nothing more than giant bipedal ground squirrels with delicate and dexterous four-fingered hands (three digits, plus a thumb). Their fur ranges from dusty grey to nut brown in color with black stripes beginning behind their ears and running to the tip of their bushy tails. They wear few clothes, but love to adorn themselves with jewelry, hats, ribbons, belts and any number of other accessories.

Personality

Richichi are very organized and show meticulous attention to detail. They tend to be a very practical and “down to earth” people who care little for adventure or flights of fancy. While their legends and stories tend to be focused around clan histories, they are also very fond of jokes and displays of wit. They arealso very chatty and love to gossip.

Society

Though usually aloofly polite to outsiders, they are open and warm to members of their own clans. Even non-Richichi who have a close connection with one or more members of a clan will sometimes find themselves included as family. And once you’re family, you’re always family. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s best to remember that among clan members, the Richichi have very little concept of privacy.

Religion

Being home and family-focused, the Richichi care for all living things and have no patience for cruelty of any kind. While some city Richichi and those serving in the Great Houses do participate in the formal worship of Huang Ti, most tend more towards simple, home-based spiritual practices.

Adventurers

Very few Richichi take up the adventuring life, but some do have a restless wanderlust or are inspired by non-Richichi tales of daring-do. These are generally youths who eventually tire of the constant adversity and trials of the adventuring life and settle down in their middle age. The few Richichi adventurers tend towards professions or classes requiring wit and intelligence, such as bards.

Male Names: Rakki, Tikki, Shishi, Babaki, Kikio, Papillio, Mamano

Female Names: Babala, Tichia, Bebeta, Takia, Shakka, Pappaple, Bakka, Lakake, Papiya

[This article was featured in the Guang Keshar Development Newsletter, along with  D&D 3.5/Pathfinder stats. For more advanced information and exclusive content, subscribe to the newsletter today].

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Lia Tsashu’s Guilds and Guild Politics

April 5, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 
A Roman denarius, a standardized silver coin.
Image via Wikipedia

Now that we know what kinds and how many of each type of business Lia Tsashu has, we can work out how many guilds there are and how powerful each of them is, how they relate to each other, and what part they play in Tsashu politics.

Lia Tsashu’s town council—it’s main governing body—is split between merchant guilds and craft guilds. Every trade in town has it’s own guild, but not all of them are large enough to play an important part in the town’s politics. The town council needs to be big enough to allow interesting conflicts between its member, but not so big it’s unwieldy for the GM.

The Guilds

Based on sheer numbers, Tsashu’s most influential guilds are:

Merchant Guilds:

  • Dockworkers (including boat handlers)
  • Millers
  • fishmongers
  • Livestock dealers
  • spice merchants
  • “Hospitality” workers (inn-keepers, pub and restaurant owners, hostlers)

I put millers here, rather in the craft guilds. While millers do, indeed, produce flour, they act more like selling agents for the grain farmers.

Craft Guilds:

  • tailors/clothiers
  • Barbers
  • leather-workers
  • jewelers
  • shoemakers
  • Masons (for simplicity, lets include all building trade workers here, including roofers, framers, etc.)

Additionally, a couple of businesses would have more clout than their numbers would suggest:

Others:

  • Banks/moneychangers (after all, money talks. Especially in Kukuri)
  • Fix-its (because of their magical abilities, minor as they might be)
  • Magic-shop owner (because he’s a sorcerer of PC-level ability)
  • Priests/shamans (because of their influence on the townspeople).
  • Farmers (who don’t actually have a guild, but do send a representative to the Council)

That gives us 17 council members, not including the mayor and the two magistrates (the “mayors” of Bigtun and Littletun).

Politics

Now that we’ve figured out who comprises the council, we can figure out its politics. Here’s where we can start to bring in the theme I’ve chosen for this city (stagnation vs. growth.) to flesh out the bare structure and give the council some life.

Basically, the town council is split into two factions: the craft guilds and the merchants guilds. We can postulate that the mayor and magistrates’ sympathies lie with whichever guild they belong to. Or they can form a third, neutral faction. The merchant guilds would have much to gain from increasing the town’s size and increasing the mining operations. While the craft guilds would also benefit from more people (who equal more customers), they’re the older guilds in town and, therefore, are more conservative and would prefer things to remain “status quo”. They oppose the mining operation and the Seafarers’ control on the basis that both bring an increased number of “undesirables” to the town.

The merchants are a newer influence on the town. Lia Tsashu hasn’t been a mining and trade town for very long—it was primarily a farming town until the Seafarers’ Guild took it over. Now it’s becoming a stop on the Seafarers’ trade route, as well as supplying ore for the Seafarers’ tool-makers. This has caused a rapid growth in the city over the course of the last five years, to the tune of 30%, which raised Tsashu from a population of 2800 to 4000 in a very short period of time. This rapid growth has caused resentment between “old-timers”–those born and raised in Lia Tsashu—and the “newcomers” who’ve recently moved here.

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A Brief History of Lia Tsashu

March 15, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 
CHONGQING, CHINA - JANUARY 15: Free laba porr...
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Located a little inland from Kukuri’s western coast, Lia Tsashu (pronounced LEE-a TSA-shoo) is a rarity–a Seafarers’ Guild town located inland. It started as a fishing village, named Tsashu for the river it sat next to, on opposite banks from the Richichi village of Chatki. The Richichi, who resemble 3′ tall ground squirrels are famous for the fruits of their orchards and Chatki, though not the largest orchard town, was still one of the most prominent.  It’s one of the few places in Guang Keshar that the malaka fruit–so essential to keeping sailors healthy during long ocean voyagers–can grow abundantly.

During the time of Emperor Hanatan, when Atum still sat as one of the Council of Harbingers, it’s sub-House Kukuri, seeing profit in both fish and fruit, obtained governance of both villages.  To make tax-collection easier, Kukuri merged the two villages into a single town it called Lia Tsashu. The also saw potential of it as a quiet place, far from the temptations and distractions of the larger cities to the south, where sensitive records and accounts could be handled. The Richichi are also well-known for their meticulous attention to detail. House Kukuri already employed many Richichi accountants; they felt these accountants would feel more comfortable (and therefore do their work more accurately) around more members of their own race in a town that’s scaled to their size.

Tsashu had been a minor port on the Kukuri trade route, specializing in the exporting dried fruits, nuts, and salt fish commonly used as travel food, both on shipboard and overland. The Seafarers’ Guild resented the monopoly House Kukuri (an independent Major House at that time) had over the food supplies needed by their ships. To bring this small, but important town under Seafarers’ control, they created rumors that Kukuri was building it own merchant fleet, something prohibited by Imperial Law:  only the Seafarers may operate and maintain fleets of merchant ships.

They blockaded the Kukuri islands, preventing any ships from leaving or entering legally. Any ships found entering illegally were sunk, along with their crews and cargo. Kukuri appealed to the Imperial Moot to no avail: Emperor and Moot sided with the Guild and actually aided the blockade with ships of their own. Kukuri had no choice but to sue for peace.

House Kukuri agreed to dismantle all merchant ships in current production. Additionally, as punishment, the Seafarers’ Guild demanded (and were given) the town of Lia Tsashu. Kukuri removed its accounting offices, leaving the town largely deserted. Shortly after Kukuri transferred ownership to the town to the Guild, Guild members sent to map out the borders of the town discovered a rich vein of lodestone—the valuable rock that always points due North, absolutely essential to the safe operation of ships.

Currently, Lia Tsashu remains in Seafarers’ hands. Many of the houses and lands previously own by Kukuri accountants have been filled by miners who dig out the lodestones for their living. Other trades and businesses continue as before, for Seafarers’ towns are independently chartered and as long as they pay their taxes, the Guild takes little interest in their day-to-day affairs.

————

Lia Tsashu will be the first Guang Keshar product for sale from rpgGM.com. Find out more about it here:

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What’s Next?: Lia Tsashu, a Seafarers’ Town

March 10, 2010 · Posted in Teasers · Comment 
With the free adventure done and out the door, I’m starting work on the first actual Guang Keshar project. This is Lia Tsashu, a Seafarers’ Town (yes, the one Malik went to in A Taste of Intrigue). In addition to details of town locations, this supplement will feature:
  • Detailed NPCs with histories, goals, and connections to other PCs.
  • Character webs that show NPC relations at a glance.
  • An interactive town map.
  • A new PC race: the Richichi.
  • Information about the Seafarers’ Guild and their shapeshifting ability.
  • A short adventure set in the town.
  • Plot hooks for further adventures in Lia Tsashu.
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A Taste of Intrigue: Dramatis Personae

January 25, 2010 · Posted in Teasers · Comment 

The free adventure is in the final editing stages. It should (barring unforeseen disasters) be available for download near the end of next week.

Seeing it’s a stand-alone adventure using pre-generated characters, I thought I’d include a brief summary of those characters here:

A Note on Names

The standard naming practice in Guang Keshar is [First Name] [Last Name] ( for example: Brian Kendari) except for the names of members of the Imperial and Great Houses. These are listed [Last Name] [First Name] (for example: Kukuri Kanalen), unless the person’s title proceeds their proper name. These are known and “Imperial Style” names. Thus, the current Lord Kukuri, Hashayan, could be listed as “Kukuri Hashayan, Lord Kukuri” or “Lord Hashayan Kukuri”.

The Characters

While each of the members of House Kukuri has their individual opinions of each other, here’s how each of them is viewed overall by their relatives:

Hashayan (HA-sha-yan): Known to his family and friends as “Shaya”, Hashayan was a major juvenile delinquent who gotten himself expelled from more courts and lands than anyone could count. The youngest child of Lord Shakim Kukuri, no one was more surprised than Hashayan himself when his father named him the heir to House Kukuri. Even though he didn’t want the job, since Lord Shakim’s assassination at the hands of House Hoten, Hashayan has tried hard to settle down and be the best ruler House Kukuri has ever known.

Bashya (BAASH-ya): Short for Bashami. Serious, imperturbable, “no dirt on my armor please”, Bashya is either stoic or pretentious, depending on who you ask. As Kukuri’s Mistress of the Hunt, she’s always been more comfortable in the wilds of Kukuri than in the Kukuri Court; consequently, she’s seldom seen there. She has a special bond with her sister, Lumel, who is the only one able to get Bashya to agree to anything. A fact Lumel uses to her own benefit, when her plans require it.

Galetsen (GAAL-tsen): Unquestioningly, the physically strongest member of House Kukuri … perhaps even of the Empire itself. Galetsen’s loyalty to the Emperor and to Kukuri is equally unquestioned and he seems to be one of the few people in Empire with no enemies. He generally stays out of politics and doesn’t take sides in family quarrels.

Kanalen (KAA-na-len): Though universally regarded as cold, arrogant bastard, Kanalen gave his all to protect Kukuri when Hoten invaded. Though not terribly liked by his relatives while alive, he will still be sorely missed, especially by Hashayan.

Kayan (KAA-yan): Charming and cavalier, Kayan’s as good with a bon mot as he is with his sword. The eldest of the Kukuri siblings, he’s said to be the second-best swordsman in the Empire. With his incredible skills and winning smile, he can sometimes charm even his siblings to go along with his schemes. While they don’t generally trust him, most of them can’t help but like him. Which makes him the perfect hand for Lumel’s mind.

Limani (LEE-ma-nee): Quiet and reserved, Limani leads Seafarers’ Guild, as her mother did before her. She prefers her ships to any court, making a her a rare presence at Kukuri Castle. Her loyalties and motives are unknown, but her general absence and lack of interest in either finances or politics has caused her family to disregard her as a player in the political games.

Lumel (LÜ-mel: Sorceress extraordinaire. That’s the one thing all about Lumel all her siblings can agree on. She is the undisputed expert in arcane matters among House Kukuri and her talents are said to rival even those of Ling Kenlo, the Harbinger of Sorcery. Personal opinions of her range from “manipulative, opportunistic witch” to “Kukuri’s rising star”.

Malik (ma-LEEK): Hashayan’s illegitimate son. Raised in Hoten because neither of his parents wanted him, Malik has the sympathies of much of Kukuri Island’s populous. His family, however, is more cautious. After the invasion attempt, Hashayan brought live in Kukuri Castle. From all reports, father and son were getting along well with Hashayan doing his best to become the father he should have been all along. Until a month ago, that is, when the two had a serious falling out, though no one seems to know over what. All that is known is that Malik stormed out of the castle and hasn’t been seen since.

Tsalim (TSA-leem): Kanalen’s illegitimate son from a brief affair with Lady Marlani Seleni, Lady Hoten. Since the assassination incident, Tsalim has cut his ties with House Hoten and sworn fealty to House Kukuri and to Lord Hashayan personally. Lord Kukuri seems to have a special fondness for the lad and he and Malik were raised almost as brothers. The rest of House Kukuri is more restrained, staying just short of calling him a Hoten spy. Though very close before the invasion, he and Malik seem to have had a cooling of relations since. The fact that Hashayan is very open regarding his affection for Tsalim doesn’t help the youths’ relationship any.

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A Taste of Intrigue

January 18, 2010 · Posted in Teasers · Comment 

My free adventure, A Taste of Intrigue, is in the final stretch of editing and should be available in the next two weeks. The very first newsletter will contain a link to download it. So if you’ve already signed up, you’ll still get your copy.

Here’s a teaser from the beginning of the adventure:

Kukuri Galetsen rolled the pieces over in his mind again. Still nothing added up. He simply couldn’t figure out why Kanalen’s son, Tsalim had attacked Kukuri Hashayan, Lord of House Kukuri. Of course, there was the usual cry of treason and Hoten plots, but that didn’t make sense, either. Why attack the Lord in the basement of his own castle? And why would such as skilled sorcerer as young Tsalim physically attack a much older and much more skilled fighter? It simply didn’t make sense.

But many things about the last month hadn’t made sense. Lord Hashayan’s behavior for one. There’s nothing specific that Galetsen could put his finger on, but the Lord just hasn’t seemed himself recently. He couldn’t help but think the two were linked and he wished again that he could question his nephew directly. But Lumel had Tsalim under lock and key and was permitting no one to see him, save herself.

Galetsen swirled the wine in his glass as he continued to think. Everything connected – he was sure of that. It was simply a matter of why and how.

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Dangerous Servants II: The Moot of Harbingers, pt. 2

January 11, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Welcome to part two of our survey of Guang Keshar’s main governing council, the Moot of Harbingers. Part One covered the Imperial Seat as well as the Seats of Wisdom, Leadership and Tradition. Today we’re covering the Seats of Faith, Battles, Sorcery, and finally, Means. House Kukuri, who holds the Seat of Means, is the subject of the first adventure set in Guang Kesahar. It will be available in the next month to everyone who signs up (or has already signed up) for the Guang Keshar newsletter.

Now we return you to our regularly scheduled program:

5. Thumun: Seat of Faith. Current Harbinger: Batsenmen of Thumun. Heir: Maritha of Thumun

To Thumun fall all of the religious duties for the Empire. As Heirophant, Batsenmen possesses considerable power and (at least in theory) can override the Emperor on affairs of the Spirit, though this has never happened — at least not in living memory. Batsenmen is known as a religious fanatic who regularly communes with Huang Ti Herself. Bad blood exists between Thumun and Ling, as Thumun believes that sorcery and magic, being a gift from Huang Ti, rather than resting in the “secular” hands of House Ling. Batsenmen’s eldest daughter and heir, Maritha, is best friends with the to-be Lady Ling, so this state of affairs may change once that marriage is consumated and Maritha replaces her father.
House colors: orange and brown.

6. Hoten: Seat of Battles. Current Harbinger: Benali of Hoten. Current Acting Harbinger: Tiber of Gishma.
Tiber holds the Seat of Battles in regent for Benali of Hoten, the underage eldest of son of the previous Lord Hoten, Lord Hoteni Hoten. Lord Hoteni died nine months ago while fighting House Kukuri when the two Houses blood feud broke into outright violence. Tiber is a cautious and capable warrior who places the welfare of his men before his own. He is now considered the premier warrior of Keshar, though his daughter, Ganiri of Gishma (the fiance of Benali) awaits the day when she can disprove it. Tiber’s affection for his charge and student, Benali, is well-known; his animosity to Melani of the Seafarers, the Lady Hoten and Benali’s mother, is equally well-known. Tiber has made is clear that he is eager and ready to turn over the Seat as soon as Benali is of age.
House colors: midnight blue and black.

7. Ling/Guagim: Seat of Sorcery. Current Harbinger: Rishana of Guagim/Kenlo of Ling. Heir: None named.
Ling was the original Harbinger of Sorcery, but he left Guang Keshar for reasons unknown, having named no heir. Ballads claim he left for Kagalen Kesharim (literally “other realms”, the Keshari term for other continents). The empty Seat lead to a bloody conflict as Ling’s descendants fought for the right to rule the House of Sorcery.

Rathim of Ling eventually claimed the seat, but then proceeded to betray the Council to an invasion force from Kagalen Kesharim. The Empire fought back and eventually drove off the would-be invaders, but the battle was a long and bloody one. In punishment for Rathim’s actions, House Ling was stricken from the Council and the Seat of Sorcery was given to the leading Major House under Ling’s rule: Guagim. Guagim has held the Seat now for many centuries while the Ling lands have grown wild and inhospitable. The House Ling gradually fell into the status of legend.

Recently, though, things have gotten complicated. The Seafarer’s Guild brought a man before the Council who claimed to be the direct descendant of Ling. Sorcery verified the man (named Rathin the Second) was indeed who he said he was and the Ling lands were restored to him, though the Seat of Sorcery was not.  Rathin II never gave up fighting to have the Seat of Sorcery returned to House Ling, leading to much strife and conflict among the members of the Council, who chose one side or another.

An agreement was reached where Rathin II’s only son, Kenlo of Ling was to wed the eldest daughter of House Guagim, uniting both Houses into one. For multiple reasons [which will be covered in the history of House Ling. Watch for it sometime in 2010. --Jade], Rathin II broke that promise and married his son to House Tsalim’s oldest daughter. This has caused hard feelings between the House Guagim and alienated Ling from some of the other Houses, most noticably, House Thumun. However, the Council has upheald that Ling Kenlo will inherit the Council Seat.

Technically, then the Seat belongs to Kenlo Ling, but until recently, he as been underage. So Rishana of Guagim has continued to function as Harbinger of Sorcery until Kenlo actually claims his Seat.
Colors: Guagim — blue and green; Ling — cream and wine.

8. Kukuri: House of Means. Current Harbinger: Hashayan of Kukuri. Heir: None named
This Seat controls the Empire’s Exchequer. All money matters fall under the purview of House Kukuri. Kukuri wasn’t among the original Harbingers, but when Atum was elevated about the Seven, it left an empty Seat and, well … money talks. Before House Kukuri’s elevation to the status of Great House, it was an independent Major house, answering only to the Emperor himslf, and has always held the Empire’s purse strings. The current Lord, Hashayan of Kukuri is a likeable young rogue with a penchant for getting into trouble.
House colors: cream and gold

Have fun with this. Go play in my world. I’d love to see the NPCs people create. Please feel free to leave comments about how great (or awful) this product is and give us a taste of how’re you using it in your game (if you are).

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