Duchy of Dran

[hcobb]

Job number one for the Wizard's Guild isn't maximum profits (which is why they're not run by dwarves.)

Job number one is to prevent the emergence of competition. Hence they are happy to do a lot of things at levels below the maximum price they could charge in order to monopolize mindshare. The reason to raise prices would be to choke down demand to match the available wizard-hours (which are so tight I've got them dipping down into child labor).

https://www.hcobb.com/tft/wizards_dran.html

If you want to increase prices above the standard economic model then decrease the supply. Either reduce the number of wizards or reduce the percentage willing to work for the public. What if the local government demands that all wizards work only for them on the things they demand? Then all PC purchases of wizarding is automatically in the black market with those costs and risks.

[Skarg]

That's closer to how we had the Wizards' Guild in most places.

The WG as written has rival factions, and then there are all the individual wizards, many of whom (especially the more established and capable ones) have little intrinsic interest in providing utilities for society, which greatly reduces their availability (and increases their rates) for various projects.

That's why our gate networks tended to be mostly ad hoc - the guild would request or sometimes instruct wizards to create gates, but most wizard who could create gates tend to have many other things to do, so it's a matter of working it into their itinerary, which given that there is not a comprehensive gate network being maintained, takes some time and serendipity to get done unless there's a compelling reason to make it a priority.

[hcobb]

If you have a dozen child wizards available (Harry Potter, transit trainee) then you can have one hundred crossings per hour, otherwise your fix is from stored power and you do one hundred per week at most.

The only alternative to Wizard strength is if you can Drain Strength from each passenger directly into a powerstone or Mana reserve. (In which case it exactly balances out.)

[JohnPaulB]

About 250+ years ago, the Kingdom of Tanander had an upheaval (the Great War) which destroyed it. (Hints about this from Tollenkar's Lair p 1)

Per the Rulebooks As Written, I am not sure if Elyntia went to war against Tanander or whether Tanander had a war with one of its other neighbors or it was a civil war. If someone has RAW data on this, please post here.

"Tanander was once a kingdom. Its southern parts are now a squabbling jumble of counties and city-states; the northern reaches are thickly wooded and have no organization at all, and few folk venture there. Elyntia honors the Bright River as the old border – so, south of the Bright, force is the only law." (ITL p 173)

Bordre is a city of Dran. If Fard and Bridgeport are also of Dran (using the Evenflow as a border between the two duchies), then both Kel and Dran share the Tanander border at Bright River.

"Kel is the duchy to Dran’s west, and the name of its capital city. It is slightly smaller than Dranning, but has a thriving river trade. The Duchess of Kel is young and energetic, but her ambition runs toward improving her duchy rather than extending its boundaries." (ITL p 173)

"Dran is one of several Elyntian duchies. It has remained peaceful and reasonably prosperous since the great war. Its lords have a reputation for prudence, caution, and tradition." (ITL p 173). The current ruler is "the aging Duke Dran XII." (Tollenkar's Lair p 1)

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So if the Bright River is the recognized border, who do the village of Tore and the small villages/hamlets of Dill, Praete and Akyrs belong to?

I doubt these are the southern city-states that ITL was referring to. Do you think they were saved from the brutality and collapse of most of Tanander and have a friendly existence with its neighbors to the north?

[the1weasel]

Regarding Tanander, I’ve never seen anything else published that gives any more detail on Tanander or what the status is of those southernmost villages on the S. Elyntia campaign map. I always assumed this was intended to be left up to the individual GM to flesh out.

[phiwum]

That's how I figger it. I have Tanander as a setting for warlords competing for dominance. I haven't thought much about Dill, Praete, Tor and Akyrs yet. They may be relatively peaceful and civilized enclaves.

Note that the placename on the map is Bridgefort, not Bridgeport. I reckon that, like the other square symbols, this is an army installation -- with a village living in its protective shadow, perhaps. One of the unnamed forts is on the "wrong" side of the river for Elyntia, which is a puzzle for the GM to solve.

[JohnPaulB]

Elyntia has a King.

There is a Duke of Dran: Duke Dran the XII.

Does the Duke have a Count or a Baron under him?

If so, would a Count have a portion of the Duchy, like maybe 30 hexes on the Province scale map of ITL p 171?
There might be only one Count under the Duke, which might mean he has all the rest of the area in his direct charge. Or all the domain might be parceled out to several counts.
Perhaps there is a Count whose domain is the Huldre Forest above the Bright River?

Might a Baron's domain be a city hex like that of Bordre or Tro?

[hcobb]

The count of Canigli seems to only reign over that one city, and has lords of some rank under himself.


I doubt that Elfwood or the northern Dwarven cities report to Canigli.

[JohnPaulB]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The count of Canigli seems to only reign over that one city, and has lords of some rank under himself.


I doubt that Elfwood or the northern Dwarven cities report to Canigli.

Thank you for reminding me.

The count (ITL p 172) is loyal to the Duke of Dran and since this is on the west side of the Trassy River, the Trassy might be the border between Dran and Bolors.

[the1weasel]

IIRC, the there are no other GMCs mentioned in the political hierarchy of Dran though the goblin count of Canigli and Dutchess of Kel are mentioned as well as the famous Siegfried of Koros, tho Koros is not on the map. ��*♂️