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factions:the_noble_houses [2012/09/30 19:03]
dan
factions:the_noble_houses [2015/05/14 21:08] (current)
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 ==== Duelling ==== ==== Duelling ====
- 
 Duelling with swords has long been a tradition among the nobility. Like a lot of other things about the nobility, it used to have a legal role - the results of a duel were legally binding so long as no foul play occurred during it, and duels could be fought to the death if both parties agreed. Both of these things are no longer the case - a death during a duel would attract the attention of the city watch and any agreement made prior to a duel is only binding in so far as considerable shame would fall upon anyone who didn't hold up their side of an agreement. Duelling with swords has long been a tradition among the nobility. Like a lot of other things about the nobility, it used to have a legal role - the results of a duel were legally binding so long as no foul play occurred during it, and duels could be fought to the death if both parties agreed. Both of these things are no longer the case - a death during a duel would attract the attention of the city watch and any agreement made prior to a duel is only binding in so far as considerable shame would fall upon anyone who didn't hold up their side of an agreement.
  
 +==== Knights ====
 +Originally defenders of the crown. Noble families would train a member of the family from birth to be a body-guard to the King or Queen, and those in the line of succession. This was generally considered a fairly good way for a noble house to win favour, the closer the Knight was to the house'​s head the better.
 +
 +Since the revolution, the surviving noble houses have been careful to avoid any appearance of training knights. However, the image of Knights in Armour has been deeply engraved in the public consciousness and has been adopted by both the churches (who were heavily involved in the training of the original Knights) and almost any organisation who maintains a fighting force (where a "​Knight"​ or Standard-Bearer would lead the force into battle as part of Acryn'​s army). Traditional Knights were usually fully armoured in gleaming metal plates. This tradition is maintained by those trained by the churches, but for practical reasons those trained by other organisations tend to use mostly leather, with a few metal plates in key areas. ​
 ===== Notable Families ===== ===== Notable Families =====
 ==== House Graves ==== ==== House Graves ====
 +House Crest: A Wyvern
  
 House Graves are rather iconic of the popular perception of Acryn'​s nobility. Large enough to have weathered revolution without change being thrust upon them and under the leadership of [[resources:​npc:​Duke Corlo Graves]], a staunch traditionalist in his sixties, the family has changed its behaviour little for hundreds of years. Their wealth springs mostly from overland and river trading to the north and west, dealing in wines, spices and clothing with the merchants of Margush and Trantia, often backed by agreements with mercantile groups going back tens, or in the case of one established northern route, hundreds of years. A child with Graves name is unlikely to want for anything, and it is rare that the council does not feature at least one family member (though not Duke Corlo himself, who is rumoured to consider such a position beneath him). Unchanged as it is, however, the power of the Graves dynasty has begun to wither somewhat. While happy to trade with foreign merchants, Duke Corlo is reluctant to work with Acryn'​s own merchant classes, and many other families have significantly larger presences in the city itself. Some of the younger members of house Graves are rumoured to be unhappy about this state of affairs, as the success of their peers in other houses starts to make their birth look like more of a hindrance than a help in making a splash in the modern city. This has only intensified since the upheaval - the massive increase in the difficulty of trade, especially in the first six months after the Upheaval, rocked the foundations of the house, and Duke Corlo is rumoured to have seen off several attempts on his own life from within before business picked up. Apparently in deference to pressure from within, the Duke has recently signed a long term partnership with the Wayfinder'​s guild. House Graves are rather iconic of the popular perception of Acryn'​s nobility. Large enough to have weathered revolution without change being thrust upon them and under the leadership of [[resources:​npc:​Duke Corlo Graves]], a staunch traditionalist in his sixties, the family has changed its behaviour little for hundreds of years. Their wealth springs mostly from overland and river trading to the north and west, dealing in wines, spices and clothing with the merchants of Margush and Trantia, often backed by agreements with mercantile groups going back tens, or in the case of one established northern route, hundreds of years. A child with Graves name is unlikely to want for anything, and it is rare that the council does not feature at least one family member (though not Duke Corlo himself, who is rumoured to consider such a position beneath him). Unchanged as it is, however, the power of the Graves dynasty has begun to wither somewhat. While happy to trade with foreign merchants, Duke Corlo is reluctant to work with Acryn'​s own merchant classes, and many other families have significantly larger presences in the city itself. Some of the younger members of house Graves are rumoured to be unhappy about this state of affairs, as the success of their peers in other houses starts to make their birth look like more of a hindrance than a help in making a splash in the modern city. This has only intensified since the upheaval - the massive increase in the difficulty of trade, especially in the first six months after the Upheaval, rocked the foundations of the house, and Duke Corlo is rumoured to have seen off several attempts on his own life from within before business picked up. Apparently in deference to pressure from within, the Duke has recently signed a long term partnership with the Wayfinder'​s guild.
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 ==== House Terrec ==== ==== House Terrec ====
 +House Crest: a Ram.
  
 House Terrec is almost the opposite of house Graves - young, dynamic and truly children of the times. This is largely due to the internal overthrow of the "old guard" of the house by [[resources:​npc:​Lady Galia Terrec]], the current head of the house, which took place now nearly ten years ago. Lady Galia caused significant consternation among her family when she broke ranks to marry a member of the Engineers guild, but five years later, having significantly increased her already considerable wealth, and gathered many like minded members of the household to her banner, she made her move. For many inside the nobility and without, this moment, so long after the revolution, represents a true paradigm shift in the landscape of Acryn'​s powerful - a significant part of why Galia'​s power play was so successful was simply that no one had really tried what she did, as within the living memory of the rulers of most of the great houses the law would have simply swatted her down. In modern Acryn, however, her bloodless revolution of ruthless business moves and legal plays saw the elders of her family isolated and stripped of their temporal power before they really knew what was happening, and most chose to depart the city to live in comfort among the few external holdings remaining to them rather than stay. House Terrec is almost the opposite of house Graves - young, dynamic and truly children of the times. This is largely due to the internal overthrow of the "old guard" of the house by [[resources:​npc:​Lady Galia Terrec]], the current head of the house, which took place now nearly ten years ago. Lady Galia caused significant consternation among her family when she broke ranks to marry a member of the Engineers guild, but five years later, having significantly increased her already considerable wealth, and gathered many like minded members of the household to her banner, she made her move. For many inside the nobility and without, this moment, so long after the revolution, represents a true paradigm shift in the landscape of Acryn'​s powerful - a significant part of why Galia'​s power play was so successful was simply that no one had really tried what she did, as within the living memory of the rulers of most of the great houses the law would have simply swatted her down. In modern Acryn, however, her bloodless revolution of ruthless business moves and legal plays saw the elders of her family isolated and stripped of their temporal power before they really knew what was happening, and most chose to depart the city to live in comfort among the few external holdings remaining to them rather than stay.
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 === Members === === Members ===
-{{topic>​pc npc +family_terrec&​nouser}}+{{topic>​pc npc +family terrec&​nouser}}
 ==== House Darrish ==== ==== House Darrish ====
 +House Crest: A Tyrant Lizard
  
 House Darish were on the right side of the revolution - just. Initially non-committal,​ they turned against House Salic just as the tide of revolution became inexorable. That they did join, and on the right side, is difficult to dispute, but even before the revolution the family had a reputation for...pragmatism in matters of loyalty, and a decent few of the current high-standing members lost parents or relatives among the other families during the overthrow. The house professes full loyalty to the council, of course, but rumours will **not** go away of royalist plots originating within, and bitter plans for revenge against the city for the wrongs felt to have been dealt in the past. House Darish were on the right side of the revolution - just. Initially non-committal,​ they turned against House Salic just as the tide of revolution became inexorable. That they did join, and on the right side, is difficult to dispute, but even before the revolution the family had a reputation for...pragmatism in matters of loyalty, and a decent few of the current high-standing members lost parents or relatives among the other families during the overthrow. The house professes full loyalty to the council, of course, but rumours will **not** go away of royalist plots originating within, and bitter plans for revenge against the city for the wrongs felt to have been dealt in the past.
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 === Members === === Members ===
-{{topic>​pc npc +family_darrish&​nouser}}+{{topic>​pc npc +family darrish&​nouser}}
  
 ====...And Many More==== ====...And Many More====
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 === Luckner === === Luckner ===
-{{topic>​pc npc +family_luckner&nouser}}+{{topic>​pc npc +"family_luckner"}}
  
  
 ===== Families Dead or Exiled ===== ===== Families Dead or Exiled =====
 ==== Salic ==== ==== Salic ====
 +House Crest: A Raven
 +
 House Salic, the Royal Family prior to the revolution, claimed to have played a part in the founding of Acryn and that they had divine mandate to rule, something which the Church of the Leader were supportive of at the time but are noticeably non-committal about now. Succession was not strictly hereditary, instead a great deal of political wrangling and interpretation of portents and divine will led to the current King or Queen selecting the next ruler from among their children, nieces, and nephews. House Salic, the Royal Family prior to the revolution, claimed to have played a part in the founding of Acryn and that they had divine mandate to rule, something which the Church of the Leader were supportive of at the time but are noticeably non-committal about now. Succession was not strictly hereditary, instead a great deal of political wrangling and interpretation of portents and divine will led to the current King or Queen selecting the next ruler from among their children, nieces, and nephews.
  
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 ==== Cargan ==== ==== Cargan ====
 +House Crest: A Rooster
  
-House Cargan made the fatal error of choosing the wrong side come the revolution. They somewhat salvaged this by spotting the turning of the tide in time for a significant number of them to flee the city. House Cargan had always had significant contacts and holdings across the eastern ocean, and it was to these they fled, far beyond the reach of the common man, and far enough away that the newly convened council ​ never quite achieved the impetus needed to hunt them down and wipe them out - especially as the rulers of Valyyd made it clear that they would not countenance a continuation of a foreign power struggle within their dominion. House Cargan survived, therefore, in significant numbers to rebuild a power base. For a long time, the people of Acryn paid them no heed, far away as they were. In the last ten years, however, the family has gotten bolder, with several members establishing an estate and trading emporium on the isle of Thys, and making overtures to Acryn merchants. Hastily established laws made trading with the family illegal for citizens, but given the web of commerce on the island such laws were essentially impossible to enforce, go-betweens being found for those willing to take the Cargan ​Acra. Up until the Upheaval, the presence of the Cargans remained a hotly debated subject in the council. The difficulty in reaching Thys since, and the troubles faced by the city closer to home, has taken many minds off them, but some few have pointed out that, now the Thys outpost of the family is cut off from the rest, the moment would be ripe to do something about this persistent thorn in the city's side.+House Cargan made the fatal error of choosing the wrong side come the revolution. They somewhat salvaged this by spotting the turning of the tide in time for a significant number of them to flee the city. House Cargan had always had significant contacts and holdings across the eastern ocean, and it was to these they fled, far beyond the reach of the common man, and far enough away that the newly convened council ​ never quite achieved the impetus needed to hunt them down and wipe them out - especially as the rulers of Valyyd made it clear that they would not countenance a continuation of a foreign power struggle within their dominion. House Cargan survived, therefore, in significant numbers to rebuild a power base. For a long time, the people of Acryn paid them no heed, far away as they were. In the last ten years, however, the family has gotten bolder, with several members establishing an estate and trading emporium on the isle of Thys, and making overtures to Acryn merchants. Hastily established laws made trading with the family illegal for citizens, but given the web of commerce on the island such laws were essentially impossible to enforce, go-betweens being found for those willing to take the Cargan ​Riel. Up until the Upheaval, the presence of the Cargans remained a hotly debated subject in the council. The difficulty in reaching Thys since, and the troubles faced by the city closer to home, has taken many minds off them, but some few have pointed out that, now the Thys outpost of the family is cut off from the rest, the moment would be ripe to do something about this persistent thorn in the city's side.
  
 === Known members === === Known members ===
 {{topic>​pc npc +family_cargan&​nouser}} {{topic>​pc npc +family_cargan&​nouser}}
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