The Kingdom of Ashdell

IMAGE SOURCE: Woolfe: Under The Red Hood

NAME: Kingdom of Ashdell

KINGDOM AT A GLANCE: Ashdell is a cold little place carved out of an enchanted forest. It’s ruled by tradesmen’s guilds, especially woodworkers and metalworkers.

SIZE AND LOCATION: Small. Ashdell is located in a large evergreen forest in northern Ardell, almost due north of Pakellan.

WEALTH: Medium. Ashdell isn’t terribly wealthy, but it does a brisk business in timber and furs.

STABILITY: High. Ashdell has a symbolic, largely powerless, beloved and content king. Ashdell is effectively ruled by an alliance of several popular guilds, known as the Sovereign Guilds.

DANGER TO TRAVELERS: Medium. Ashdell is carved out of an enchanted forest, and the forest doesn’t much like it. Outlying roads and paths tend to be hazardous after dark.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Ashdell is ruled by a stable alliance between several important guilds: the woodworkers, the blacksmiths, the tinsmiths, the tanners, and the furriers. You could call the system indirectly democratic, as several of these guilds accept people into their ranks based on skill rather than hereditary instruction. And once you're in, you can make your voice heard.

FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION: Ashdell is, by and large, a comfortable place to live so far as freedom goes. Just don’t step on the guilds’ toes: it’s not too safe to make a living as, say, a metalworker if you don’t belong to the appropriate guild. Also, nature magic - the kind that, say, makes trees grow - doesn't get a warm welcome.

COMMON SPECIES: Ashdell is about 40% human, 40% halfling, 10% dwarven and 10% assorted others. Notably, Ashdell has very few elves; they tend not to appreciate Ashdell’s enmity with the forest, and are not trusted in general.

MILITARY FOCUS: Between guild guards and local militias, Ashdell can field a good number of expert woodsmen, primarily archers. At melee range, Ashdell’s people favor axes, spears, and knives.

TECHNOLOGY: Medieval

PLAYER CONTROLLED: Yes

GODS AND RELIGION: Some values of the Mapheri religion, such as personal achievement, are a good fit for Ashdell. Devout followers of Acquil the Swan are few, but most Ashdellers go to ceremonies a couple of times a year.

FOOD: Common meats in Ashdell are rabbit, venison, and elk. Bread from the fields of downstream Aureus is fairly common. Ashdell relies on homegrown root vegetables.

NOTABLE ARTS: Ashdell is known for exquisite woodwork, including sculpture and furniture.

RELATIONSHIPS: Ashdell is a relatively permissive society. In general, marriage is monogamous, but Ashdellers tend to accept polyamorous/polygamous relationships as long as there's not a strong element of compulsion. This is because of an influx of sex trafficking in the first year or two after the Empire's fall: Ashdell is particularly sensitive to sex slavery now. In general, consenting prostitution is legal but frowned upon. Ashdell doesn't much like elves, and elf/human relationships are frowned upon. Most of Ashdell's population is human or halfling, and human/halfling relationships are seen as awkward and inappropriate, though plenty of them exist anyway.

EDUCATION: Most citizens have the opportunity to learn a profitable trade through the Sovereign Guilds. Other kinds of formal education are less well represented, and less prioritized, in Ashdell.

DAILY WEAPONS: Due to the proximity of the forest, and its tendency to grow where it's not wanted, many Ashdellers wear a straight workblade as long as one's forearm (think machete).