Post by Kay on Dec 25, 2016 20:38:14 GMT
KINGDOM AT A GLANCE:
Haven is a large town on the Western hemisphere of Ardell. It is a republic ruled by guilds that convene and discuss what is best for their home. There are occasionally other votes that all people are allowed to vote in, but not many. It is situated in a clearing in which the inhabitants have a quick connection to both the mountains and the oceans.
SIZE AND LOCATION:
Big enough to be a force to be reckoned with, small enough to be little more than a strategic target in case of war. Think Redcliffe from Dragon Age.
WEALTH:
Medium-Low. The town specializes in mainly trade with other nearby hamlets which all depend on the city’s factories to process their goods after which the profits of said goods are split 60-40 between Haven and the people who supplied the raw materials.
STABILITY:
Very stable.
DANGER TO TRAVELERS:
Low. The guardsmen patrol the forests, plains, mountains and shores in groups of five and still come out on top.
FORM OF GOVERNMENT:
A council of guilds rule over Haven. They meet out in the open for all of the town to see so that if any issues arise, even for the smallest of people, it can be addressed by the men and women who are in charge. These meetings are usually amicable.
FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION:
The guild may sometimes invoke edicts against the people's will, but it is generally a free society where people have their own rights and ideas.
COMMON SPECIES:
Elves, humans, dwarves and any other sentient being willing to help the community.
MILITARY FOCUS:
Haven has a small army of its own that is comprised of several soldiers hired by each guild that governs the city. These armies all focus on some very specific aspects of warfare that speaks to them the most. The engineer’s guild has an affinity for siege machines, the artisans have — oddly enough — an affinity for archery and the miners have a rather obvious affinity for swords and blunt weaponry whereas the merchants like horses and cavalry.
Needless to say though, the army as a whole can be seen as a jack of all trades. As it is a master of none, and they all rely on each other to work in real combat. Heavily.
TECHNOLOGY:
Early Renaissance. As a big town where people of all walks of life and where everyone is encouraged to explore as much of the known universe as possible people have always tried to push the boundaries of what they know to be possible. The latest invention being a city-wide irrigation system that handles both the freshwater and sewage that flowns in and out of the city.
People share showers, nobody has the luxury of their own private showers and bathhouses, but privacy is still afforded those who desire it. A separation of men from women.
PLAYER CONTROLLED:
Yes, but this is primarily a setting.
NOTABLE ARTS:
Haven is a city mainly known for its woodwork which fuses human, elf and dwarven artistry into one. From the simplicity of the humans, to the intricate carvings of the elves and the robust shapes of the dwarves. Every piece seems to have its own little story and the artisans are not shy of giving you a bloated story of how the item was made with only a few alternate truths thrown into the mix.
RELATIONSHIPS:
The people of Haven are in general rather open-minded, though there are certain traditions that do come to clash at times. For one, prostitution is legal and something that the officials and locals of Haven are perfectly fine with as long as the client and provider keep their business to a certain district drawn up between the commercial area and the newly constructed dock. To add, the prostitutes -- freelance or otherwise -- have their own guild and as such have some say when the elected officials of Haven calls for a meeting. They are often opposed by the more conservative minded folks, but little come of it other than bitter stares and name calling behind the government's closed doors.
In general the people are monogamous in love, but every now and then there are cultural exceptions to the rule. They are however not as frequent as one might expect. Then at last there are the more wealthier folks around town who have a tendency to arrange weddings. The council frowns upon this and in recent years many strides has been made to destruct this tradition as a whole, but change has to come in strides and the council knows this.
EDUCATION:
Education is afforded those who can afford it or care for it. School is mandatory between ages six to nine during which children are taught basic literacy, writing as well as mathematics. Beyond that and the families will have to start paying for the education at an increasingly hefty sum put in place to discourage a society built on theory over practicality, focusing instead on experience over theory. As such it is not in the norm to see highly educated farmers or even merchants as people tend to focus more on getting themselves involved in the workforce rather than chase theory.
That said, there is a university in the city which offers a higher education that is on par with most other faculties around the continent. Though since its specialization in latter year has come to be an infusion of magic and engineering -- which did result in the city's irrigation and sewage system -- the people who join the college are very niched. There is other fields, of course, though they are not as big as the Imagineering, as the people studying there calls it.
DAILY WEAPONS:
The people of Haven do travel the city with small arms like daggers for last second self-defense. Other than that they are generally unarmed unless they venture outside the walls. The guardsmen are generally able to handle what few problems arise within the city. That said, crime is as much of a problem in Groveswind as it is anywhere else in the world. Though perhaps in comparison of the most recent years, not so much.
