A History of The Empire of Manrath, and its Government

Today we cover the basics of our world background and its governmental make up. The world, as stated in the first outline post, is my common DnD world Artheria. Those campaigns were so long ago that anything that occurred in those games is long lost to history. Some of the flavor and style of that world remains though, if you read through the old races post, (Found easily on the right) you'll see my style with all the races, and that flavor still exists in the world.

The written history of the Empire is known in its entirety only by few. There is no internet or other central database, and while grand libraries have information available, physically finding a 700 year old text from the start of the empire is a very difficult ordeal that requires perseverance and luck.

What is taught to today's school children is a very simplistic origin story of the Empire. The early tribes of humans were united by the first Emperor, a powerful warlord known as Manrar. The land he conquered was named after him, Manrath. Grade school then teaches our children that the third Emperor, known as Tigris, formed the foundation of our modern government, the Triumvirate.

The Triumvirate was made to enforce law and order in all aspects of life. It is taught that the Empire had grown too large for one man to govern himself, and so Parliament was formed, giving the common man, (and later women and then various religious and ethnic minorities.) the right to vote. Then to enforce the laws Parliament and the Emperor, a third branch was made, Regulation. Like the government, Regulation was split into a trinity. The Chantry, Ministry, and Templar.

When one gets into college, education becomes more detailed, and those that study history learn that ancient races, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Halflings, and often even Orcs and Lizardfolk are represented in ancient treaties, but as the Darkspawn have increased, those races have decreased. The Chantry and Ministry run most of the universities in the cities, and as such they determine what knowledge the general public knows. The Chantry in particular has a vested interest in keeping knowledge of demi-humans to a minimum. 'The Way,' the religion of the Chantry, is very similar to rougher Catholicism. It is very human centered, with a belief that God created humans in his own image. This makes the Chantry very skeptical of all demi-human gods. (AKA most of the traditional DnD pantheon) It even uses a cross as its holy symbol. I still use my 'flexible favored weapon' rules for clerics and deity weapons, and as such the most common weapons that represent the Chantry are small arms, (pistols) longsword, and greatsword. (Often a Zweihander or other extremely large sword will be shaped like a cross when used by Chantry crusaders or inquisitors.)

(Chantry Crusaders are fierce warriors.)

As of 117 years ago, the 'Pagan Emperor' Antonius introduced, and managed to pass, a freedom of religion law throughout the empire. This means that technically all religions are allowed in the Empire, however, over the years the more religious and Chantry affiliated members of Parliament have weakened those laws. In most cities religions that the Chantry doesn't approve of, (almost all of those that aren't the Chantry itself) are forced into poor neighborhoods, bad buildings, and other obvious signs of discrimination. Since over 70% of the population of Manrath regularly attends Chantry services every week, they have a genuine mandate on most of their actions in the cities. Since the Chantry runs the churches it is the most popular of the 'Regulation' branches among the common people. The Chantry enforces church code, but they tend to leave most magic-users alone. Unless a necromancer is animating the corpses of prominent members of the church, or summoning an exceptionally powerful demon near a population center, the Chantry leaves those matters to the Ministry. 

The Ministry of Magic handles regulating magical law in the cities of the Empire. At the current telling of this tale, all magic-users are to be registered approved students/graduates of the Ministry. Magic is a powerful force, and it is believed it must be able to be recorded and studied. This makes the only approved casters registered intelligence based casters. Sorcerers, Bards, Warlocks, and all other types of magic users are viewed as outlaws in the Empire. Most unregistered mages go to great lengths to hide their abilities within the city limits. Ministry enforcers scry on their cities from towers above the Universities. From the safety of their towers they can project their magical power all over the empire, summoning creatures bound to their will, projecting harmful illusions, or even teleporting if it was required.

The Ministry also regulates what kinds of magic are taught to the next generation of wizards. Depending on the individual schools administration, different schools of magic are highlighted. In Barshaw, the University of Necromancy has such sway that prospective students can sign over their eventual dead body to the school to cover tuition costs. Much of the labor that maintains the grounds is undead. In Harkota, it is rumored that demons and elementals often escape the confides of the school and wreak havoc in the streets. As long as the Ministry can control it, they don't seem overly moral in their research choices. The Ministry values knowledge above all else, and the power that comes with it. While the Chantry has some legal restrictions on what exactly it can do, (it doesn't chase out opposing churches anymore, for example) the Ministry has much more freedom in how it can enforce its laws. The Ministry is accused of all manner of underhanded practices, from pressuring parents to sign over custody of their magically gifted children, to enchanting senators to vote their way. Still, many believe that the power and destructive capability of magic must be kept regulated and controlled, and a corrupt Ministry is better than mages going around doing whatever they want.

(Cowled Wizard of the Ministry.)

The final branch of Regulation is the most visibly active of them all, the Templar. While the Chantry is busy running schools, churches, and homeless shelters, and the mages of the Ministry are cooped up in their universities, the Templar are keeping darkspawn away from the trains, breaking up smuggling rings, and protecting the farmlands from the Orcs. The Templar are the foot soldiers of the enforcement triad. Chantry and Ministry will often request the Templar hunt someone down for them, and the majority of these requests they accept. The Templar code is much more of a policing than a military mindset. For example, while they use guns and explosives, every Templar carries at least one non-lethal weapon. The Templar always try to use non-lethal solutions first, only killing if they view it necessary. The Templar also run the courts, training both defense and prosecuting attorneys. (Yes, that is an obvious conflict of interest, why do you ask?) Judges, however, are voted in when the country votes for Parliament. 

And with that... we're going to call this a post, I was going to go into more detail on the darkspawn, but it's been a long week and I'm exhausted.

A New Adventure...

Today we begin a new DnD adventure, that started from a strange, but fun, personality test found here. This happened to come across my facebook, I took the test... then posted it to my gaming group, then I decided to make a game with those characters.

A simple basis for what has turned into a highly complicated game, full of intricacy, politics, philosophy... but I digress.

The world is a somewhat 'modern day' DnD world. Think Final Fantasy, Steampunk, and other 'magic and technology' style worlds. I'm mixing Final Fantasy, (Mainly 6) Shining Force, Warcraft, Steampunk, and most importantly, Dragon Age Origins together for this DnD adventure.

What does this mean?

There is everything that is normal in a DnD game, dragons, genies, orcs, goblins, giants, etc. But there are also Darkspawn, from Dragon Age Origins. There are also guns and explosives in fairly common use, (Found in my old post here) and there is electricity, plumbing, washing machines, and other modern day comforts. However, most computer and telephone technology is in the 1950's level. TV is a very recent invention, only those that are well off have them or telephones, and what is the point anyway? Magic makes communication and TV mostly something only the poor would want anyway... still going to take some years before the lower classes get them outside of hotel rooms.

Magi-tech reactors, trains, large ships, even primitive planes have given humanity the decisive edge in adapting to Artheria. (The world, yes it's my old DnD world, thousands of years later) Over the last thousands of years, Humans have been becoming the dominant race covering the globe, and Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings are seemingly gone now. The common folk simply belief they're legends, mythological stories of a bygone era. Only those who are educated know that these humanoids all existed, and that much of Human understanding of Magic, Engineering, and Architecture was actually 'borrowed' from those races.

At the current point in time, the world is divided into essentially 3 broad areas, Civilization, Farming Suburbs, and Wildlands. Regardless of the type of terrain, the world can be broken down as such. The areas we would call 'Civilization' are large, grand cities, with a style and fashion similar to the 1950's and earlier eras.

(The Modern City for our DnD world.)

The cities, for the most part, are safe from the dangers of the outside world. (AKA Darkspawn, Dragons, Giant Tribes, etc.) But they are policed by three separate organizations, The Chantry, (Religious Leaders), The Ministry of Magic, (Mage Regulators) and The Templar. (Law Enforcement of the government, work for both the Chantry, the Ministry, and Themselves as well. All three of these will be spoken of in detail in a later post, this one is going to be big enough as it is.) Some people much rather be their own boss, and choose to live a rugged life farming out in the suburbs. The farmlands, as the city folk call them, are very dangerous for reasons pertaining to the wilderness. Wild life, monstrous humanoid tribes, and most horrifically Darkspawn, raid the farm lands for food and people, which might even be the same thing.

(Many rather have their own home, away from the cities, and take their chances.)

The final broad category is the wilds, which is relatively self explanatory. Dragons, Ruins, Orcs, Darkspawn, Undead, Twisted Necromancers, and more make their living out in the wilds of the world. 

So what is this world we keep referencing? The Empire Of Manrath is where this tale takes place, more specifically the Province of Kenrath. The map, which I drew, (I'm not a great artist) is as so:

(Our Little Fantasy World)

(That took me many many hours to do....)

This is the world that we have made. Many of these provinces were named/designed in part by my players. Which I do enjoy, I like taking their ideas and tossing my own twists on them. (Waliroe, Mordeth, and Feralath were all originally from players.)

The bulk of this story is going to be taking place in the area around Norshaw, in Kenrath. Each 'Shaw' is a massive city, housing many many hundreds of thousands of humans. A full 80% of the Human population of Kenrath lives in these massive cities. 

Almost everything else belongs to the beasts... the Orcs, Dragons, and Darkspawn. 

The provinces are broken down like so:

Kenrath is the main province of our game, and it is a mostly rolling grassland/forest province, that experiences decent rainfall, has fertile ground, and a few large mountain ranges near the coast line. It has many ancient, old forests, with many trees scattered throughout the province that easily top 150 feet, and resist any attempt to be cut down. Many locals feel these trees are proof that this whole land used to belong to the elves. Most of the farmers settle near Lake Shaw, towards the Mordeth border, which is far more secure than the other side of the cities. Kenrath has such threats as Darkspawn from the mountains, and monstrosities from the Ruins of Waliroe, not to mention scattered Orc tribes. Traveling off the beaten path, or not taking the railroads, is not advised.

Places of Note:

Kenshaw: the capital of the province houses more than 1 million people. It contains the largest Magical Universities, Churches, and centers of industry in the province. The only functioning port in the province is located here.

Barshaw: the city to the north of the capital has a few of the ancient trees that make the province famous. It houses about 700,000 people, and the city is of very industrious in mindset. If they could, the city representatives would chop down every tree, and mine every cave it could get its hands on.

Norshaw: the most northern major city in Kenrath, and the starting point of our game. 400,000 people, and many ancient trees. In between two of those trees is the Cafe of Broken Dreams, an extra-planar cafe whose owner/creator is unknown. The place has stood for the entire history of the city, and not much is known about it. The Cafe attracts many adventurers and other important people though.

Waliroe is the other main 'province' of our current game. Waliroe was once its own country, with a powerful reliance on Magi-tech, and with one of the most powerful Magi-tech reactors on the planet. (Think Nuclear... just with Magic) The city's reactor had a meltdown, and now the land is nothing but a magically radiated wasteland. The surrounding provinces have since moved in and taken over for the shattered government, and now the Empire 'rules over' the entirety of Waliroe. (Though only the area near the bottom dotted line with the houses is even somewhat safe.) 'The Crater' and the 'Old Waliroe Ruins' are both very dangerous places to explore.

Mordeth is the economic powerhouse of the provinces. It has the most fertile, most protected land in the region. The only obvious threats are from the magical wastelands to the north, and the Darkspawn that live in the mountains much rather attack Feralath and Crombar than Mordeth. Crossing the river is dangerous to the primitive creatures, so raiding the other territories seems to be their preferred attack pattern. Mordeth has claimed the bulk of Waliroe.

Places of Note:

Entrar: The capital of Mordeth, and currently of the whole empire. The Emperor lives there, and Parliament currently meets there. The city houses more than 10 million people, and houses all the luxuries, education, and corruption the modern world has to offer.

Nothia: A major trade city, a central hub between Mordeth, Feralath, Kenrath, and the recently claimed lands of Waliroe. It has become a very wealthy merchant city relatively quickly.

Feralath is a rough, wild place. It has enemies on all sides. (Except the south) Darkspawn from the mountains, orc tribes and monsters from the northern wilds, and barbarians from the desert. The land has harsher winters then Kenrath and Mordeth, and the people that live there tend to be more cautious and less welcoming than the other provinces.

Places of Note:

Feralas: The capital of Feralath houses a little under half a million people, and scholars claim it was once the center of a massive orc empire in time the Dwarves were the dominant force in the region. The residents of the town are very defensive in mindset, as are its representatives in parliament.

Crombar is similar to Feralath in many ways, only with a much greater emphasis on securing the border with the Anvar Wastes. It is a more dry land than Feralath, with less rainfall than its neighbor to the north.

Places of Note:

Cromyr: Often allied with Feralas in parliament, this city houses over half a million people, and is the central staging point against the barbarian tribes of the Anvar Wastes.

The Northern wilds are an ancient, thick forest. Full off orcs, giants, darkspawn, and other monstrosities. While the Empire 'Claims' those lands, (and the Anvar Wastes) they actually have very little, if any, presence both here and in the Anvar Wastes, which are a great desert.

Mankar, to the south, leads to the rest of the Empire, and is a very populated region with great political power, but isn't part of this region.

Places of Note:

Harkota: The old capital, before the Emperor moved it to Entrar, a massive city of over 20 million, with all the most prestigious schools in the land.

....

Now that we can see where the people are, we can discuss the government that rules them.

The Empire of Manrath is a rather complex system that has stood now for over 700 years. A large part of its longevity is that the government is divided up into 3 major parts, Emperor, Parliament, and Regulators.

The current Emperor is the Emperor Claudius, a tall, menacing man, with a mind towards expansion. The Emperor is not a king, like his title suggests. He actually only has limited voting power in the Parliament, but he is the official head of the Military, and he is an exceptional general. His gear is magically empowered Magi-tech, and many an orc and darkspawn have fallen under him. He is married to a skilled aristocrat, who bends many of the representatives in Parliament to their way.

(Emperor Claudius, conqueror of Waliroe.)

The Parliament is made up of voted in representatives from every city. The more populated the city, the more members it has. This is a direct ratio, more populated provinces often use that power to get what they want against the smaller provinces. On the map above, Mordeth and Mankar have the most representatives. The Parliament makes the laws of the land, and the Emperor's vote counts as Ten votes in Parliament. The Parliament currently has 90 seats, meaning the Emperor's 10 vote is rather substantial. It is massively lopsided towards the cities though. The entire farming population of Kenrath has only 2 representatives in Parliament, and Mordeth has only 4 representing them. The total 'farming/suburb' count in Parliament is 9, they often band together, but they have very little political power against the 81 members that represent the cities. 

(The Parliament building, located in Entrar.)

The true power behind almost everything in the Empire however, is the branch called 'Regulation.' They are the enforcers of the laws, in theory. This branch is split into three parts, the Chantry, which is in charge of religious enforcement. While technically the law is freedom of religion, the codes that govern where churches for certain religions can set up are enforced by the Chantry, and they are very selective about what gets enforced. The religion the of the Empire and of the Chantry is simply called 'The Way,' and it is very similar to Catholicism during its more extreme days. They employ inquisitors, have many connections within the Templar and the Emperor's military. They do tend to stay away from dealing with any manner of magic-user though, leaving that for the Ministry in all but the most extreme circumstances.

(The Chantry enforces The Word of God.)

The Ministry of Magic is arguably the most powerful of all the branches. It is made up almost exclusively of wizards, and they believe that not only must all magic be regulated. In order to be effectively regulated, the only way to practice arcane magic is through the use of runes, scrolls, books and the like. As such, the only 'approved' magic users are typically Wizards, Warmages, and Beguilers. Overall it's only intelligence based casters that are approved. Low level sorcerers and most bards are below the notice of the Ministry, but once a Bard or Sorcerer begins to cast level 3 or greater spells, they begin to become noticed by the Ministry. Most Sorcerers become hermits in the wilds rather than deal with the ministry. (Level 7 for Bards, and 6 for Sorcerers) The Ministry runs every magic school across the Empire, and its enforcement has exceptional reach, scrying the cities from the safety of their towers.

(The ministry of magic is typically eccentric... and very powerful.)

The final branch of enforcement is the most prominent of them; The Templar. They are the special forces of the police, the equivalent of a SWAT team. They are always well armed, trained with guns and explosives, and not only do they enforce the laws of the land, but they often are deployed against the Darkspawn when they threaten a city or major farm territory. The Templar, while they are separate from all other branches, to seem to help out with all manner of job. Whether it would fall under the Emperor's jurisdiction, Chantry, or Ministry, the Templar often has a hand in the enforcement. Templar enforcers are well armed, capable, and often very enthusiastic with their work.

(Templar Enforcers are modern, capable warriors.)

That covers the basics of the government. Now let us move on to the population...

The humans of Manrath do have a unique trait. Bloodlines. While Demi-humans, (Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Halflings) are now practically myth, the evidence of their existence exists within humanity all over. The world of Artheria has a very vibrant past, and as such, humans have mingled with practically everything, demi-humans, elementals, angels and demons, fey folk, even intelligent plant life. Nowadays, those signs are subtly shown throughout the population.

Every person who took the personality DnD test was human, but with different levels of other races. (For example, I was human, with a 2nd place tie of Gnome and Dwarf, so my bloodlines are Dwarf/Gnome) Then to give people a choice, I allow them to have a choice for a secondary bloodline, this can be chosen from; Celestial, Infernal, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Fey. I chose air for the NPC character I'm mainly playing. Hence, Demar is a Gnome/Dwarf/Air Human. We have an Elf/Celestial, Dwarf/Celestial, Elf/Infernal, Elf/Wood, and more. (Lots of elves...)

As the characters grow stronger, the 'Bloodlines' will level up. This will happen every 5 levels for the first type. (Dwarf, Elf, etc.) The 2nd bloodline, (Celestial, Elemental, etc.) is based on story advances, not levels.

Demi-Humans, (this is the first edition term for Elves, Dwarves, etc.) are much more powerful than they are in the PHB. Not only do they have all of those abilities, but many more. Think Tolkien influenced. Elves are practically immortal, Dwarves are tough beyond belief, Halflings are resistant to evil, and lucky, etc. The following are some of the things that these races are known for:

Elves: Arcane and martial masters. They are said to live thousands of years, have advanced magical prowess, and great martial prowess as well. They are known as super aware masters of the wild, with great mastery over mithril and magic.

Dwarves: Master smiths that are tough beyond belief. Highly resistant to magic and corruption, living in massive well made underground cities. Dwarven military prowess is legendary. Guns, explosives, and rune magic are what they are known for.

Gnomes: Eccentric engineers and mages. Gnomes were legendary for advanced gadgets, blackpowder weapons, and magi-tech.

Halflings: The short folk were rumored to be practically immune to any type of dark magic, with a courage that made not only full grown men, but Elves and Dwarves feel bad about their valor.

Depending on your bloodlines, you will gain stat bonuses (and penalties) and abilities. I apply these to my boss NPCs as well.

I am not posting the actual numbers, since I want to have flexibility depending on the characters. Many things will be taken from the posts I did on this blog last year.

Many of the rules that I have on this blog still stand, I will be using the Magi-Tech engineer class I made, and also all the house rules that are posted on my house rules page. I will be adding to that page somewhat regularly, I plan on adding a few 'class variants' that I'm using for enemies, and a few prestige classes to that page soonish. I am also using most of the class changes I've made in the class posts. Should we play more than one game in this world, the variants, prestige and core classes I make on here will be open to newly made characters.

And with that, enough for one day. Next post will cover the history of the Empire, Chantry, Ministry, Templar, and Darkspawn in much more detail. Stay tuned adventurers!