Campaign: Trouble in Kirath

Trouble in Kirath

The Setting: With the recent hostile takeover of Visnia, the port city of Kirath is playing host to a menagerie of political upheaval. Public opinion of both the previous and current governments are abysmal, with the current government serving only as puppets for Visnia. The many thieves and other petty criminals are causing crime to skyrocket as their numbers swell from displaced or disgruntled citizens. Some of the more intelligent or clever thieves are beginning to dream of the future, forming small gangs throughout the city and city state. The Mercantliers, powerful independent trade organizations, are beginning to see that the small garrison of soldiers remaining in Kirath are ill-equipped to handle rampant crime, and are beginning to take measures into their own hands.
If matters were not complicated enough, Kirath has long been a small seat of Peril's power, and many magical artifacts are produced and supplied from the port city. The political upheaval is giving them cause to increase their investment in the region, possibly turning the puppet government in their favor and creating a permanent base for the organization.
The commotion and possible involvement of Peril in the area has the Conclave and its Inquisition curious about its welfare, being an important port for the east. They also intend to lure local government into their debt, possibly starting with Visnia, and eventually adding the port to their sponsored territory. First, however, the crime in the area must be assessed for involvement against the Conclave's code of conduct; Kirath has had ample opportunity to become a guild hotspot.
Unbeknownst to the Inquisition, Kirath is a guild hotspot. While most of them only have small memberships living in or working out of Kirath, it is imperative that the city remain free of the Conclave and that Peril retain its seat in the region for the eastern guilds to remain powerful.
Everyone wants a slice of the pie, but city state does not have enough to go around.

The Plot: More or less contained in the setting section, there are many powerful forces taking interest in the previously independent city state and many forces on their way to power in the region. Peril and its sponsored guilds will be working to advance their cause in the area while listening for more information on the rumors of the Inquisition's interest. The Conclave and Inquisition will be sending small groups to investigate the area and pave the way for further work to be done. The Mercantliers are upset that their more profitable sea lanes are threatened by politics (that they don't have both hands in) while being threatened by growing criminal organizations that must be bought out or uprooted. The local government, run by power-greedy committees, doesn't sympathize with any group, but is especially receptive to any possible offers for Visnia that they may take credit for. Visnia is occupied in the surrounding hamlets in the city state and delicate political proceedings with Eulmarch and Nasdem, particularly the effect taxing trade from Eulmarch will have on the dilapidated 'kingdom'.

The Roleplaying: The characters that choose to participate must be from one of the factions and carry out that faction's philosophy fully, doing everything they can to have their faction win in the end. Roleplaying will be conducted by one or more GMs and will focus on intrigue, corruption, and back alley brawls. Although all characters must be approved by me, characters for Peril must first be approved by Tentacle Therapist; it is possible that no characters for Peril may be accepted, so it may be best to create characters for guilds or other parties. Characters with little backstory will be accepted, as will multiple characters in the same faction or alliance, as long as roleplaying does not become too complicated to proceed regularly (or at least semi-regularly).

The Groups:

Government of Kirath: Individuals of an oligarchy that were put into place by Visnia. These individuals are wealthy and somewhat powerful alone through their own design, but are inherently allied to Visnia and disregarding of the public; Visnia was sure to place such people into power. Character restriction: only a couple characters will be accepted, if any, due to the many sides that must be roleplayed by the GM. More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available.

Visnian Military: Small garrisons of soldiers are left behind in the port city to maintain control of the government and trading rather than policing the populace, although major crimes, especially those dealing with Visnian interests, will be responded to with force. Character restriction: only a couple characters will be accepted, if any, due to the many sides that must be roleplayed by the GM. More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters will be lower ranking officers attached to squads or platoons of soldiers.

Peril: The shadow organization working behind the scenes to influence world proceedings. Kirath is ripe for intervention, perhaps buying out the government to not only serve Visnia but to also insure Peril's interests in the area. Peril is allied with most, if not all, guilds in the city state and region, and maintains several under-the-table connections with both the Mercantliers and the various criminal organizations that are beginning to spawn. Character restriction: only a couple characters will be accepted, if any, due to the many sides that must be roleplayed by the GM. More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters must first be accepted by Tentacle Therapist.

Guilds: Small groups of mages that detest the Conclave and it's questionable ethics regarding magic. Guilds must have business in order to survive, and will do whatever they can to insure their own interests in the area. Most, if not all, guilds are allied with Peril, while several have under-the-table connections to both the Mercantliers and the various criminal organizations that are beginning to spawn, though most connections are through Peril itself. Character restriction: More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters will belong to guilds that are created by the roleplayer; it is acceptable if the guild is nothing more than a name. Characters that are made to belong to guilds created by other roleplayers must be accepted by those roleplayers first. Characters will most likely be mages, although mundane agents of the guilds are allowed.

Conclave: The incredibly powerful magical organization pulling the strings on most of Ara'niel's magic supply. The Conclave's base of power is an island fortress far to the west, and their influence is minor this far east. Their ethics regarding magic is one of complete control and regulation, viewed by many to be oppressive and despotic rather than the salvation from destruction that they preach. They are always looking to profit, indebting foreign powers by offering magical artifacts and services in return for tribute, lenient trade, and a base of power in the region. The Conclave has its sights set on Kirath as the gateway to expand eastward. Character Restriction: no characters will be accepted for the Conclave.

The Inquistion: The Conclave's political and somewhat militant hand that secures their influence abroad. The Inquisition is composed of trained members of the Conclave who hold the Conclave's ethics above all else. The Inquisition has very powerful agents, though they do bring apprentices or newly inducted members on foreign missions to quickly teach them about their future with the Inquisition. Kirath is a hotspot for trade in the east and would serve well as a base of power for the Inquisition, as well as a stepping stone to supply the future war between the shattered Scirathian Kingdom and gain a greater foothold. Character Restriction: only a couple characters will be accepted, if any, due to the many sides that must be roleplayed by the GM. More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Only mid- to low-level mages will be accepted, though they will have access to the Conclave's resources. Characters will be the initial force that investigates the region and will arrive by ship a little later in the campaign, though roleplaying on the ship in transit beforehand is optional. Characters will repeatedly report to the senior Inquisitors that remain on-ship, and future ships will arrive if things proceed well enough.

Mercantliers (Mur-kant-lee-A-s): Powerful (read: Wealthy) independent trade organizations that have heavily invested in the port city of Kirath. The current political situation is very distressing for them, and crime is approaching ridiculous levels. Most of their influence with the government has been severed, and proceedings with Visnia is slow. The military garrison is uninterested with the criminals plaguing their businesses, so the Mercantliers are beginning to ship overseas mercenaries to the area to uphold their interests. The Mercantliers have some ties with the Inquisition, and although they secretly do some business with Peril, they will be more than happy to drop such connections if the Inquisition and the Conclave have their interests at heart. Character Restriction: only a couple characters will be accepted, if any, due to the many sides that must be roleplayed by the GM. More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters will be mid-level agents, merchants, or overseers of the Mercantliers.

Mercenaries: Individuals of varying levels of skill and professionalism recruited by the Mercantliers to be shipped to Kirath to control the crime in the area. The mercenaries are nothing more than a gamble for the Mercantliers, as many of them were criminals and are now swords for hire. Rumors about the Inquistions involvement are making many of the mercenaries jittery, and the money the Mercantliers are offering is quickly losing its appeal, even as they ride the waves towards the port city. Character Restriction: More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters can be pretty much anything of varying degree of skill, but there will most likely be major personal conflict with other forces in the area. Characters may freely (although it must be roleplayed out) transfer their allegiance to another faction with the obvious consequences such actions carry.

Criminal Organizations: Although crime has long been a problem in Kirath, Visnian intervention and the recent power struggles working behind the scenes has left much of the populace disgruntled or displaced from their homes or jobs, including many who live outside the city that move in only to find that the hope for better tomorrows is rendered bleak. Poor, furious with the government and other controlling factions moving in, and with nowhere left to turn, many people are resorting to crime. In fact, the criminal organizations are beginning to be seen as the only true force that has Kirath's best interests at heart, causing even more people to join their ranks. Most criminal leaders deal business with Peril, though are quite hostile to Visnian military, the government, and the Mercantliers. The people view the rumors of the Inquisition with mixed feelings; the Inquisition could either raise their quality of life astronomically or only further twist the blade embedded in the deep wound. Many of the criminal organizations are remnants from criminal groups that were present before Visnian intervention, who focus more on money and personal benefit than the livelihood of Kirath, so buying out such organizations is theoretically possible, though it would cause some of their member base to become furious with them and switch to other groups that maintain loyalty to Kirath alone. Character Restriction: More characters will be accepted if more GMs are available. Characters can be pretty much anything of mid to low degree of skill, but there will most likely be major personal conflict with other forces in the area. Characters may freely (although it must be roleplayed out) transfer their allegiance to another faction with the obvious consequences such actions carry. Characters will either be crime bosses or mid-level 'officers' for other bosses.

Note: This is, so far, a WIP concept. Feedback and suggestions would be appreciated.

Frequently Asked Questions: None.

I like it for what it is.

It's certainly different from our average rp event, certainly more story and character driven as opposed to action.

Although with so many stories being told in a single settling it's going to be rather hard to keep track of it all. Another issue being what exactly the main goal, or ending of this campaign is supposed to be.

That aside I am quite interested in this, and I look forward to rping it.

The "hard to keep track of it all" is why there's character restrictions in the first place. If I'm the only one that's going to be GMing it, then there will be limited characters on limited sides.

The main goal is to maneuver to a point where your side wins, or most sides at least have no chance of accomplishing their goals. The end of the campaign will result in Kirath being mostly controlled by one of the factions, or somewhere near it where none of the other factions can really change it, so a 'premature' victory is possible.

Ok that begs the question of how exactly one will measure control of a city that exists almost entirely in our own collective imaginations...

The GM will decide. It'd mostly be about influence... If one of the criminal organizations allies with Peril and the guilds, who stop the Inquisition from gaining a foothold, gain the support of the people, and take steps to overthrow the government/negotiate with Visnia, etc., then they'd pretty much win. If the Inquisition did get a foothold, constructed some sort of embassy, negotiated trade with Kirath's government and Visnia, uprooted Peril and shut down the guilds, they'd pretty much own Kirath at that point.
The Mercantliers, though, can't really win on their own, unless they somehow manage to get enough wealth to just buy out every damn thing in sight, or completely control the flow of trade in the city. They're more like very powerful allies that have specific worries and goals that others can try to pine for their favor.
Also, when imageshack finally lets me put up the updated world map and perhaps fashion some sort of city map.

How is that city map coming along anyway?

Not sure when I'll be able to post it, since I need to finish it, scan it in, digitally re-do it so it doesn't look horrible, etc.
I am going to make a nation profile for Kirath and also post the layout of the city itself.

Something I'd like everyone to pitch in... how wide do you think the Sciras river at the mouth is? It's pretty big on the geographic map, so approx. distance from one side to the other..?

OVER 9000!

Crom... Seriously? Surusly, Crom?

I'd say, with somewhat noticeable lateness, similar in size to the Rhine River.

Though I sort've pictured the two rivers in the UPT being about the same width as the Missouri/Mississippi.