The Siege of Fineberg

[Tybalt]

This is more of a campaign entry than it is about a world per se. However I'd be interested in what people think.

Basic information: New Edom is a Republic made up of people of a variety of human types with some nonhumans as well. Currently it is in the grip of war. Two large armies have invaded. One is striking for New Edom's fertile interior. The other has captured the coastal port of Harbourtown and marching on land and moving by sea advances to the city of Fineberg. Fineberg is a fortified city located between a small river, the Erken, and a larger one (about the size of the Mississippi) the Silver River. There are fortified bridges leading into the city and to the north of it. The Silver River meets the sea just a few miles south. Because the Silver River is navigable the city has a port.

Across the river is the wild country of goblinland. Recently a victory over the Goblin Confederacy resulted in re-fortification of the ruined city of Highport and placement of a garrison there.

It is now mid autumn. The forces of Duke Anderman must achieve victory over the coastline so that they can join with the armies of their king and complete the conquest of New Edom before winter comes. If not then the conquest will have to wait until they can campaign in the field again.

What I'm trying to put together is a set of playable adventures for my players involving this siege. They are currently in command of a group of their own henchmen and some soldiers, and are mostly doing unusual jobs, scouting missions and intelligence gathering and the like. (which amounts basically to adventures)  I'd be appreciative of any feedback or added ideas. I had started this brainstorming in another forum but it occured to me to try it here as well.

The Army of Eastern New Edom (defending Fineberg) [spoiler]Army of Eastern New Edom
General Carmel (12th level fighter)
Lord Aholibamah (18th level wizard)
High Priestess of Ishtar (12th level cleric)
High Priest of Osprem (9th level cleric)
Prince Mane Andoe (Elvish commander, figher/wizard 9/9)

1200 heavy infantry
400 crossbowmen
133 scouts (barbarians, rangers, rogues)
250 elvish longbowmen
400 medium cavalry
680 sappers/miners/artillerists
25 cooshee
25 hippogriff riders
125 lizardfolk marines
33 Locathah sea scouts (mounted on giant eels)
[/spoiler]

The Army of the the Duchy of Deva [spoiler]
Army of Deva
Duke Anderman (12th level fighter)
Kalikazan (21st level lich--disguised as a man)
Mog Agorn (9th level cleric)
10 giant trolls
1 Wyvern
1 Blue Dragon
2200 barbarian infantry
600 barbarian light cavalry
2700 mercenary heavy infantry
600 archers
600 goblins (miners and light infantry)
264 hobgoblins (elite heavy infantry)
2100 medium cavalry[/spoiler]

 Adventure Plots  [spoiler]
Adventure Plots
1. Hold Until Relieved: An outdoor adventure. The players are sent to help evacuate local villages and their goods. I will have someone (probably the pseudo dragon that is the companion of one of the characters) alert them to the fact that a group of hobgoblin raiders are approaching the village they are helping. They must find a way to delay the hobgoblins long enough for the villagers to escape. The players will be aware of the possibility of contacting a medium cavalry company for help, but they will be at least a day away.

2. Reluctant Allies: an outdoor adventure. As the enemy forces draw nearer, the commander of the defending forces is concerned about them making fortifications upriver to control resources and possibly send attacks by that means. Apparently there has been no sign of one of the key allied groups, the aquatic elves of the House of Mannan. The players (who in a previous game helped obtain this alliance) are sent to find out what is happening. It is discovered that a group of Koalinth raided the House of Mannan and kidnapped children of the leaders, and are holding them hostage. If the House of Mannan elves are so much as seen near the Koalinth lair they will kill a hostage, brutally. (I should add that this elvish tribe is becoming increasingly neutral and isolated, fearing attack by other powerful creatures. They need to be convinced that their allies are truly concerned about their welfare) If the players succeed in rescuing the children the water elves will promise to help protect the river. (Note: the Koalinth are normally not that much concerned with surface affairs save for the occasional raid, but were basically bribed by the hobgoblin warlord's agents)

3. The Siege Begins: I was planning on having the players involved with at least one escalade attempt of the enemy. This would partially be a hack and slash affair but also to give them a chance to defend a mini fortress as the enemy try to take one of the fortified bridges leading across the smaller river into the city. This fortified bridge has a small tower on either end of the bridge and a raised wall in the center with a couple of murder holes to defend the river itself. The players will command their own followers plus a company of city militia. I was thinking that because of the lack of field experience among the city militia commanders that people who were locally known for heroics would raise morale by being given at least temporary command. While barbarian infantry lead the assault goblin engineers attempt to destroy the fortifications. (Note; because of the fortified bridges it is very difficult to just send boats over the river. Once landing they would face a steep slope of the opposite bank followed by being fired upon from the city walls and towers)

4. Respite: this is some time I will give players to do training/buying and other stuff like that, and some roleplaying stuff if they want to do that. Essentially the enemy give up on the assault (unless something weird or disastrous happens in the previous adventure) and it is down to engineers on either side. The players are given a bit of a rest but are warned that it is expected that the enemy will start to fortify a camp nearby and they may be needed. It is also a chance for me to introduce key NPCs in the city that they don't know yet.

5. Urgent Fury: until now the defenders' militia and the regular forces of the Republic have been destroying the enemy attempts at counter fortification but two factors are inhibiting this. The first is that large numbers of the enemy have been arriving and the raids are becoming difficult. The second is that while magically both sides are fairly even a new enemy wizard seems to have arrived. She must have a wand or staff or ring of spell storing because she hurls lightning bolts like there's no tomorrow. To make matters worse, the hippogriff rider scouts are being attacked by both a wyvern and a dragon, which makes things difficult: the city's mages can't do intelligence and fight off the enemy wizards and clerics at the same time. The pcs are called upon to help defeat these problems. However there are two major hurdles: the wizard seems to pretty much appear out of nowhere and the dragon seems to fly away from the camp altogether during the night. While one group of heroes from the city promise to take out the wyvern and the wizard riding it, the players will be asked to take on the other problems. (Note: this will be used for foreshadowing of the truth about the enemy lead wizard, who is really the lich in disguise. The attackers will all be killed or captured)
(part of the mystery here is that the dragon and the wizard are the same person) The players will have to sneak past enemy sentries, track down this dangerous enemy going into territory overrun with raiders, some hapless refugees and bandits and brigands who are in some cases deserters or malingerers from both sides.

6. Assassin's Knot: a murder mystery. (based on the old TSR adventure) A grim wait has settled upon the city. With one of their big guns taken out (again, barring disaster or weirdness) the enemy are resorting to the following tactics: dismay (now and then sending magical attacks or siege weapon attacks into the city) engineering (using magic as well to speed things up, since goblins are competent but lazy engineers. This is countered by dwarvish engineers and city spellcasters, and is kind of an ongoing duel the players will be aware of but not part of) However one of the city councillors has been murdered. The players are known to be clever and are asked by the Prefect of the city to investigate the matter, though they are given no powers of arrest. They find themselves competing with a city watch captain who is suspicious of them and believes the jurisdiction to be his. In fact he is being manipulated by someone who has much to gain from the murder. The conspirators are not traitors, they are merely power hungry and removing a rival.

7. The Autumn Feast: normally the autumn feast is a celebration of the late harvest and of plenty. It is normally a time of one of the three seasonal markets of the city as well. Because of the lack of plenty and the grim awareness of rationing one of the city patricians decides to hold a party that will have distractions, entertainments and games. The players are invited to the party. (I'm partly basing this adventure on two others: Masque of Dreams from Dungeon Magazine by Matthew Conklin III, Michael Kaluta and Rob Lazaretti, and "Murder Most Magical" from the Four from Cormyr module) Originally it was to be a masqued ball but because of paranoia from the murder of Councillor Grellus recently it will be costumed but not masked, though faces may be painted. However a traitor is at the party. The plan is to discredit the city leaders by giving them a wine with a hallucinogen in it to make them behave ridiculously. The players have the chance to find out who the traitor is and also to discover that there is an enemy agent who has a secret lair in the graveyard where a force of undead are being created.

8. Too Quiet on the Front: for a disturbing amount of time there has been no enemy mining detected. Not by dwarves, not by city engineers, not by magic. What are they up to in the enemy camp? Scrying seems to detect little but illusions are suspected. The players sent to find out what is going on. This involves dodging sentries and outposts, sneaking across the river, possibly disguising themselves to get through the encampment and figuring out who is where and what is what.

What they will discover is that the enemy wizard is gathering power into a magical device that can summon a super earth elemental that can ideally just burrow through the mines and break down city walls. (note: because the lich is so busy focused on this and fairly well guarded they can with stealth and cunning attack and destroy his device without him just being able to blast them easily to oblivion--he will only have lower level attack spells memorized because he is so focused on his research. He will not face an attack himself in any case but will retreat if surprised and call for guards)

9. Dark Winter: as winter sets in it becomes grimly apparent that the enemy can float supplies by sea to the ruined town of Korthering just a few miles to the south. While encirclement is not complete (the city can still float a few supplies down the larger river but they are constantly attacked by enemy raiding parties) people are afraid that if the enemy don't leave they will not be able to plant come spring. What will they do then? This is an interlude in part but also the players will be sent to escort an envoy upriver to several places to find out how much food and possible reinforcements can be sent. This is sort of a mini campaign phase I thought of, but my ideas are not complete about this yet. Any help would be much appreciated. What I had as the bare bones were visiting two other towns of the republic as well as an elvish town called Lioslinn that is on an island in a lake. This is where their elvish allies originally came from but most of the elves there are reluctant to become involved. It was in fact their more passionate fellow countrymen who went to join the defenders and these others are wary of humans.

10. The Parley: Frost is on the ground, and the clouds are dark in the skies. All the leaves are fallen. The enemy duke is reluctant to continue fighting into winter and would prefer to not have to keep his armies in the field. Added to this some of his forces (orcs, goblins, hobgoblins) are now grumbling that the loot they took from the few areas they got to before the evacuation forces did was not enough. The tribesmen want to go home, they feel there is no glory in a siege. Only fear of standing up to the duke (who is a fearsome warrior) and his wizard ally keeps them in check. He wants to see if he has intimidated his opponents enough for them to either treat with him or outright surrender.

In the city, debate is the result of the offer of parley. People who have family members that might have been captured or enslaved, people weary of the fighting and the rationing, members of the upper classes who identify more with the duke than their own citizens will all want to parley, while the commanding general and her advisors and the lord wizard don't really think there is any point. There is also this complicating point: is the city allowed to negotiate in its own right or does it have to go along with what the leaders of the Republic say? The general is a member of the Great Council (equivalent to a Roman legate being a senator) and so insists that the city has no  right to conduct its own foreign affairs. The city leaders are severely divided on this issue.

This is sort of the main background to the adventure I was planning, which is more about intrigue than hack and slash or dungeon delving. Essentially in the midst of all this planning (the parley is to take place in a week) one of the principal concerns is over how much food, animal feed and potables remain in the city. The General orders the Quartermaster-General to investigate this. The players are instructed to help. However while things seem fine on paper they are not in reality. The players discover a black market conspiracy, but it involves some people of the highest quality: guildmasters and merchant leaders as well as clerks attached to the council and members of the city watch. These people if need be are prepared to kill to keep their secret, fearing that the general will have them killed and their property confiscated. (note that the discovery of the location of the held back stores of food and grain will enable the General to refuse to give concessions to the enemy)

11.Land of the undead: this camps to keep the city defenders from roaming freely but many of their forces retire to bivouacs in abandoned villages and manors. Winter sets in. The city celebrates somewhat quietly, more of a collective sigh of relief than anything else.

However some of the outlying towns to the north have sent a request for aid. They are being attacked by living dead and the people are terrified. They seem to come out of nowhere and then, horribly, drag away those they kill, who sometimes reappear then, former loved ones with a malign hunger to tear living flesh. They are different types of undead too: ghouls, shadows, wights, zombies. The outlying towns and villages expect that in exchange for their help in promising food next year that they will receive military aid. This is promised but it will require careful preparations and in the meantime the players are sent ahead to find out why this is happening, where the undead are coming from.

What is happening is this: the lich realizes that winter campaigns are tough on the living, but needs to be able to send out forces that will not tire nor require warmth to harass the northern villages and towns that support the city. During the warmer months raiding parties were foiled by the general's scouts and riders. Once a certain number of undead are created, they can really replenish themselves by killing. One of the riddles here is that a local enemy agent was actually a double agent and betrayed the lich, failing to deliver this area to him. In exchanged he was cursed, made a zombie that creates others by killing. Discovering this and rewarding him for his courage will break the curse. (if the players fail to discover this, which can be learned by investigation, then undead continue to wander the area, making people afraid to venture out unarmed and never at night. The region will be reluctant to send out the food because of this)

12. Hungers: It is deep winter, and stomachs are growling. Weaker pack and riding animals are reluctantly killed for food. It is rumored that people are eating rats and worse in poorer areas of the city. Faced with pleas by some on the council and their backers to consider a surrender or second parley, a group of fanatics decide to root out those who lack faith in the Republic. If someone has a cool adventure idea for this it would be great but what I was more thinking is that this is a roleplaying interlude in which the players may have an opportunity to somehow use their influence to oppose the fanatics. Otherwise they may prove their usefulness to the General, who is distracted with other concerns. The fanatical faction contains city leaders, army leaders and the like and they will hold public rallies, urge a witch hunt against those who would betray the city. They will publically demand that all rationing and housing be equally available to win over the lower classes and those who are not part of the commune charter of the city. (it is not exactly a disaster if they gain influence but it does have a grim effect on life in the city. They will become an acknowledged power group and have a lot of say in things)

13. Black and Red Doors: A plague called the checker plague (which involves both black body issues and skin bleeding) has struck the city. Houses that get it are painted with a black and red stripe crisscross and people in them forbidden to leave. The fanatical faction if not halted quickly gains control over this, offering themselves with false humility to lead in this dangerous work. No one knows what is causing it, though both the Temples of Ishtar and Osprem begin to investigate. (both of whom are held suspect by the fanatics because they are 'aristocratic and factionalist') In the meantime a witchunt is begun against immigrant peoples who the fanatics claim are the cause of the plague. The players have an opportunity to look into this and will ideally discover that it was in fact caused by a traitor within the Temple of Ishtar. If the fanatics discover this it will give them fuel, but if handled discreetly the plague will simply stop. However they will in the midst of this have to prevent a fanatic led riot from destroying a settlement of the immigrant people. (f anyone has any cool ideas on who they could be I'd be very happy--I was just thinking of making them a rather poor folk who are normally fishermen and have some odd but harmless religious practices which require them to isolate themselves from others outside their community sometimes) the players may have to decide about the lesser of two evils here. If they can persuade the Temple of Ishtar authorities to make a public statement and stress their own cooperation with city authorities then the fanatics will be made to look like fools.

14. Ice Storm: a scout reports that the enemy supply ships are trapped by ice in Korthering! The players along with other raiding parties are sent as a foray to destroy them. However the lich and other spellcasters are busily working to free the ships. This is a deadly battle on ice that may become unstable, with ships that can still act as wooden fortresses. The lich has prepared to conjure creatures that can fight specially in winter conditions. The trick is that the players and their allies must strike fast swift and hard to avoid being surrounded as the half ruined town is the main bivouac of the enemy reserves. The players are instructed to capture one ship and use its war engines to destroy the others while the lord wizard and his escort do battle with the lich. The wizard and city spellcasters summon weather to cloak their arrival and the General leads the main attack force. The players are expected to sneak aboard one of the ships while the main force strikes at the enemy units and summoned creatures defending the spellcasters.

15. As spring approaches, rumors and intelligence come of a fleet being sent from the enemy home port of Deva to reinforce their invasion forces in Harbourtown. An all out attack is planned via the Silver River which will enable them to entirely encircle the city of Fineberg. They still outnumber the defenders too much for them to take to the field.

The Temple of Osprem has some news however. Studying old legends and comparing them with tales told by the lizard folk allies they have discovered that an ancient bronze dragon lives at the bottom of the sea off the coast of the Republic. It might be possible to appeal to this old heroic warrior and gain him and possibly any descendants as allies. The  priests have discovered an ancient artifact in their vaults which may be of service, known as the Apparatus of Kwalishâ,¬Â¦by means of this device the pcs should be able to descend safely and reach the lair of this old dragon. [/spoiler]

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Wow, Tybalt, it seems like I haven't seen you in a while.  Glad to see New Edom is getting used.
That's a lot of adventure ideas!  I will be honest, I only read about half of them.

Most sound pretty good starting points for adventures.  I'd say the ones with the most promise are:
1. Hold Until Relieved.  This sort of thing is what they make classic action movies about...
3. Siege Begins.  Defending a fortress is always exciting
4. Respite. A great idea.
7. Feasts/Carnivals work great in games, and this one sounds all the better since you've got so much going on.
8. This has possibility.

[Tybalt]

I guess it's a lot of adventures because its for the main thrust of my campaign, which is about this war.

How does adv. 8 have possibility? Are there ways you could suggest to develop it?

One thing I haven't figured out yet is how the war is to end.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

8. Too Quiet on the Front: for a disturbing amount of time there has been no enemy mining detected. Not by dwarves, not by city engineers, not by magic. What are they up to in the enemy camp? Scrying seems to detect little but illusions are suspected. The players sent to find out what is going on. This involves dodging sentries and outposts, sneaking across the river, possibly disguising themselves to get through the encampment and figuring out who is where and what is what.

What they will discover is that the enemy wizard is gathering power into a magical device that can summon a super earth elemental that can ideally just burrow through the mines and break down city walls. (note: because the lich is so busy focused on this and fairly well guarded they can with stealth and cunning attack and destroy his device without him just being able to blast them easily to oblivion--he will only have lower level attack spells memorized because he is so focused on his research. He will not face an attack himself in any case but will retreat if surprised and call for guards)

Heroes of Battle[/i] on victory points, rewards, and so forth.  It has lots of great information on running military campaigns.

[Tybalt]

Thank you for the insights. (lol at the bard) I'm sort of thinking that I want the end of the war to not be a typical one, but I'm still mulling ideas around.

 The City of Fineberg Part 1: History and Details

Overview
Fineberg was originally a city ruled by priestesses and priests of the goddess Ishtar. It still features a ziggurat like temple and the surrounding grounds. However when the uprising of the people overthrew King Obed along with it all royalist claims were destroyed. Thus the former ruling elite were forced to bow to the wishes of the new Republic and become mere custodians of the temple. Mere custodians is perhaps a misnomer, as they control a lot of rents and also gain revenues from performing rites over livestock, crops and breweries. They still take a percentage once a year from all taverns as Ishtar is the patroness of taverns among her many titles. The Temple still employs 200 people in addition to clerics, administrators and hierodules.

The Government

Town government is elected by the guidsmen(and women) of Fineberg as well as by clerics of the Temples of Osprem (goddess of sailors, sea travel and fisherfolk) and of Ishtar (goddess of war, love, fertility, motherhood, brewers, craftsmen). Honorary citizenship is given to soldiers of the Republic serving in Fineberg and to officials of state. It consists of a Prefect of the Council and fourteen councillors.

Members of the Commune have the right to a fair and open trial in matters of law, reside within the city, operate businesses there, are entitled to protection and arbitration and to reside on city land. They have the following duties: guard the city and its freedoms with their lives, not aiding foreigners against the people; obey their lawfully elected leaders; pay their debts to the city; be law abiding, loyal citizens.

All adult members of the commune must be members of the militia. However there are two parts ot this: the select embodied militia (roughly 325 members) who serve a full year's service at a time, and the sedentary militia (about 4,000) who train once a month and are the body from which the select militia are picked. To volunteer for the select militia results in exemption from taxation for that year, but regular roll calls and duty rosters are maintained to defeat cheaters. To be a member of the militia one has to provide: a suit of armor (at least leather and helmet) a crossbow and at least 50 bolts, and a hand weapon. These are inspected once a month by the commander of the city militia and his or her officers.

Revenues

Annual Taxes: 6 silver per gold on moveable property
       2 silvers per gold on real estate

(note: members of the sedentary militia and the council pay a flat rate of 20 gp a year)

Law

High Court: this is a court of the Republic and a Guardian of Justice presides over it, with 15 members of the Nocturnal Council serving under the Guardian. It presides over cases of murder, rape, treason, armed robbery, piracy, kidnapping, sedition, treason. Council Police act as enforcers of this court, though they only can perform arrests if given warrants to by the Guardian.

City Court: this is presided over by the city council and magistrates are rotating members of the council advised by law clerks. Fraud, public disturbances, false measure, land and business disputes as well as petty theft are dealt with.

Note: the city prison is used more for questioning or detaining prisoners than as a sentence: fines, public labour, execution are the ultimate sentences. Execution is used only in the case of High Court related crimes.

The Fairs

There are two major fairs in Fineberg, which are the Summer Fair (in July-August roughly) and the Winter Fair (November-December). These are major affairs. Cooks, bakers, butchers, innkeepers and such hire extra help for these seasons. The fairs are the lifesblood of the city and are presided over by merchants known for their fairness and honesty, who are titled "Keeper of the Fair" and are served by appointed notaries, tax collectors, clerks, porters, couriers, criers, inspectors and weighers.

Fineberg produces goods from the following sent in by the farms and estates around it: wool, hemp, cattle, horses, grain (oats, wheat, barley) hops, whale and seal oil, iron, castoreum, apples, walnuts.

The goods they will receive may include: glassware, taffetta, indigo, cochineal, oranges, tarragon, nutmeg, muslin, gauze, sugar, alum, saffron, furs, velvet, silk, copper, nickel



The People

The city's population is approximately 11,000, most of whom are tradespeople.

Guilds

Guild laws in general are of two kinds: external and internal.

External:
1. Protect the public. For instance butchers cannot sell the meat of cats, dogs, rats or horses. Candlemakers cannot sell beeswax candles that are disguised tallow. Bakers must use clean water. Ale cannot contain anything other than grain, hops or water.

2. Proper business competition. Tailors may compete with tailors but they cannot for instance mend clothes as that takes business from old clothes peddlers, as an example.

3. Combinations to fix prices or seek a monopoly on materials is forbidden. Retailers may not buy produce except on the market days when the farmers are present with their goods. They may not speculate. (this is one of the most abused laws in the city and often such cases are brought to court, but many never reach the courts)

4. Fines and physical punishment exist for infractions. Serious ones that harm other people might be brought to the High Court.

Internal:
1. Apprentice only those whose craft may require it. Most guildsmen may have one or two apprencties but grain merchants, ale brewers, goldsmiths, greengrocers, shoemakers, stonemasons, blacksmiths, glaziers, tanners are allowed more than two.

2. An apprentice must provide a certificate of sober legal service, produce either a masterpiece or a transaction of "good and worthy service" and demonstrate sufficient capital to start a business before they can apply to become a guildsman. The final act is to pay a fee of ten percent of a standard wage to the government. If they cannot pay this they are recognized as journeymen but are not guildsmen.

3. Guildsmen have the right to the following:
   1. Vote for city councillors.
   2. Vote for the city's representatives to the Great Council of the Republic
   3. Serve in the militia
   4. Vote to recommend prices for goods and services (note: this is merely advice until agreed upon by the city council)
   5. Call meetings
   6. Shelter in the guildhall when requiring it
   7. Practice business as appropriate to the guild without let or hindrance in accordance with the law.

The Kinds of People


Most people in Fineberg are human, but the following other groups exist.

1. Elves are the largest such group, with nearly 300 of them living on a street called the Elvish Quarter by locals. It has a number of beautiful houses and shopfronts, most with gardens in a little courtyard and in spring and summer flowers and plants growing in vines over the houses. This is part of a pact with the Elvish city of Lioslinn, that a trading population lives in Fineberg. Though they are not part of the commune officially they are granted honorary citizenship and have a special agreement to help defend the city.

2. The Dwarves of Fineberg live in a fine stone hall called Dvergrhall which while not a fortification is very stout and impressive. Roughly 45 dwarves live in the hall, while another 40 live in other parts of the city. Though a small population it is a well respected one. Many of them are smiths, armorers, masons and engineers.

3. The Gnomes of Fineberg usually just arrive for the trade fairs, so the few that live there are mostly guests or family or retainers of Lord Rhonaby Manogan, who is the envoy of the Gnome Kingdom of Nibelheim. He lives in a beautiful house which is a low slung but impressive manor in the city.

4. The recent treaty with the lizardfolk has brought some of them who were refugees from fighting Sahuagin to live in a small fishing town near the harbour. They are still a curious sight but are known to be allies.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

An atypical end for the war would be for the "good guys" to lose despite their efforts.  Perhaps the PCs might then join/form an underground resistance.

Another might be if the PCs uncover that the entire war has been some conspiracy.  Perhaps the city ruler and attacker are working out some common scheme towards some nefarious end (personal gain, profit from war, or something darker).

You have an impressive amount of detail for the city, but that's good if it's going to be the focus of an entire campaign.

You list two sets of internal guilds and no external ones.  Was the first set supposed to be external?  Can you explain what you mean by the terms?

By the way, I think you mean lizardfolk are a curious "sight" (not "site").

[Tybalt]

Thanks for the corrections. External refers to matters that affect those outside the guild.

I've been thinking that perhaps the war is in a way a diversion, perhaps the Lich is in fact using everyone and doesn't so much care about the outcome of the war as he does about certain events to come into alignment so that he can fulfill some kind of demonic bargain.

[Tybalt]

The Great Council of New Edom
The Great Council consists of several councils that together agree on matters of law, taxation, defense, and other affairs of state. They are:

1.   The Council of Lords (Consisting of High Lord Jetheh, Lord Magdiel, Lord Tybalt, Lord Aholibamah, Lord Dunsinaine) This is the main executive branch of government. It is an office elected for life (until sanity, health or criminal behavior demand resignation) and is elected by the general body of the rest of the Council from persons who are New Edomite citizens, known for honesty and just behavior, proven patriots (by serving at least five years in the Army of the Republic), literate and at least thirty years of age. The Lords have the power to protect orphans and the poor, to command the military, Council Police and to also command the militia in times of emergency. They may direct the other branches of government according to already agreed upon matters of law.
2.   The Council of Guardians consists of seventeen Guardians of Justice, who are the supreme court of the land, and judge all cases that are High Court cases. This office is served for ten years. They must be at least 40 years of age and practiced in law. They are elected from among the city magistrates. Three Guardians of Justice are assigned to each major city (Touchstone, Harbourtown, Glasstower, Lookinghaven, Fineberg) and two are assigned to ride circuit through the rest of the country.
3.   The Council of Ministers who are chosen by the Lords and Guardians from among a body elected by the Council of Representatives. These carry out direct offices such as Ministry of Culture, Controller of Mines, Collector General of Revenues, First Prefect of the Archives, Minister of Public Works, Minister of Outer Lands. This office is served for four years.
4.   The Council of Representatives represent the major towns and cities of New Edom, and are each elected by the appropriate voting population. (which is usually the Commune of the city) In particular this group has the duty of revision of existing and proposed laws before proposing them to the general body of the Great Council for voting.
5.   The Council of Guildmasters represents each Guild that exists in New Edom.
6.   The War Council, consisting of 4 Generals each commanding an army of approximately 5,000 troops including militias in the regions to which they are assigned, a Quartermaster-General and an Inspector of Fortifications.
7.   The Nocturnal Council. This is a council within the council and does not vote but does advise. It consists of: The 10 oldest Guardians of Justice, The Minister of Culture and any living predecessors, examiners (officials who check and audit those who are elected to office) certain citizens who have traveled abroad under official auspices and are invited to join, and also each of the above is entitled to appoint one person approved by another member to join, being required to be of an age between 30 and 40. The Nocturnal Council meets between dawn and sunrise, hence its name. It is largely an advisory body but may carry direct appointments and commissions from the Guardians or the Lords.

The Council Police

This is an organization headed by Abishai Kohath, a long faced rather solemn man who is rarely seen to smile and has a reputation for a ruthlessly efficient style of command. He is the protege of Lord Magdiel, one of the Council of Lords. (the Council of Lords is the highest rank within the Great Council, its members are elected for life only after proven service to the nation)

It consists of four main branches: administration, enforcement, investigation, training. The training branch operates from the remote grim fortress of Stonehaven, where the members, regardless of class, are trained to deal with interrogation, physical endurance, code writing and interpretation, languages and in loyalty to the state above all things. Following this they are apprenticed according to aptitude within the appropriate branch. Council Police are also chosen for a rare ability to resist magic or at the very least deal with it well.

Administrators are basically clerks, but they must be close mouthed, loyal, attentive to detail and methodical. They can be of any class but are most often recruited from the commoner class's ambitious types.

Enforcers are basically toughs but they must be more than thugs, though some appear so. They have to be loyal to a fault, determined and quick on their feet. It is often they who have to burst into the hidden chambers of a cult or accompany troops head first into a warren of possible assassins. Most of them are noncomissioned officers of junior rank.

Investigators are recruited mainly from rogue classes and magic using classes. They must be fiercely loyal, determined, ruthless and intelligent. Invesitgators may be put to work as spies, interrogators, and investigators who assist the Guardians and the Nocturnal Council in dealing with matters of state law.

Magical Laws

All Mages must be bonded, and must be tested by the three master magicians of New Edom (Lord Aholibamah, Lord Magdiel and Mistress Ravel). All practicing clerics must belong to a noted temple or faith recognized by the state. Both must be available to help protect the state, heal, or offer information gathering spells when the interests of the nation are at stake. (Note: this is not lightly abused because ultimately most magic users and other spellcasters are either patricians or in the direct service of the state in some fashion)

Sports and Entertainment

The Commons and Little Fairs
The Fairs are held in a public park called the Common that have planted trees and a pool. It is near a public road called Victory Road that has statues of heroes of the Republic lining it--Sif Finnhald the Gladiatrix, Lord Aholibamah the Wizard, Willem Touchstone the second High Lord, Lord Dunsinaine the victor of the 1st Goblin War and others. This is also an area for the 'little fairs'.

Little fairs are irregular markets that are basically just local peddlers, entertainers and the like who set up around the Commons to offer their wares. This is a huge affair during the seasonal Fairs but regularly one can find things such as hot pie sellers, nut sellers, tinkers, musicians, puppet shows or actual plays on moveable stages and so on. It is a place to go and relax. At night it has a slightly unpleasant reputation but one that is eagerly sought out by apprentices needing a change of pace, off duty soldiers and the like, and so it can be rather rough. There is a strict curfew however and at midnight the watch come and chase everyone away who doesn't have a license to camp there.

Minor Sports

Dogfights, cockfights (more expensive) and ratting as well as games of dice are common. Most of these are held in a barn or tavern as appropriate, though taverns are not supposed to and may be closed down if caught. Wine Criers and other inspectors will swoop down doing investigations now and then. However few are ever closed down because in fact taverns usually would rather pay a steep but unofficial fine and few inspectors can resist the temptation. The times when one is closed down it is usually due to an inspector getting caught with a hand in the jar, so to speak.

Horseraces
Races are actually associated with the animal market in Fineberg. It is a good and fun way to test out animals or to prove a bloodline, and as patricians are the largest group that raise horses it is something of an aristocratic but popularly watched sport still.

Military Contests

At the drop of the hat the Fineberg Militia will hold contests in wrestling, archery, mounted drill and jousting as well as feats of strength and horsemanship. When they hold them they will let one non-militia member of the citizenship per event compete against an avowed master of a skill and if he can beat him he is made an honorary member of the militia with the officers of the militia donating the appropriate arms and equipment to him. (or her)

Bards and Players

There are two kinds of plays in Fineberg. The more important and notable kind are practiced by the temple of Ishtar, which observes celebrations in the form of dramatic reenactments of rituals and major events. These are not meant to be purely solemn and sometmes have deliberate humor or bawdiness in them. They are staged quite well in the main square beneath the ziggurat of the temple and are well attended. Because the players all wear masks the dignity of the clergy is well preserved. The plays include such events as the quests of Gilgamesh, the descent of Ishtar, the creation of the world (and defeat of Tiamat) and others.

There are also plays that are purely secular or at least enacted by private play companies. These may be as stated earlier staged by travelling groups on the Commons or in taverns that hire them, or else in a guildhall that has hired them and opens the even to the public for a fee. They also will do private performances in important houses or even the Council Hall.

Music

Bards are the highest expression of musician still but are in some ways an old tradition rather than the most popular in some circles. To simply hire musicians and to read about one's exploits satisfies more than one wealthy merchant or military commander or councillor in a tradition that is increasingly literate in the upper classes. However bards still have a certain power among the ordinary folk and certainly have a reputation for their other qualities apart from the musical. Some have turned playwright and feature musical elements in their plays, which are very popular. A genuine bard can at the very least play for his supper in most taverns in Fineberg.

Musicians or groups of them are also popular, and most taverns will have someone playing a stringed instrument, woodwind or drum or combination thereof. Public dances are held during significant celebrations on the Common and musicians vie to play in competitions held by the Keeper of the Fair for that year.

Schools and Books

The Temple of Ishtar provides schooling for aspirant scribes, clerics and administrators. It requires a fee or promise of service and is one of the principle educators of Fineberg.

The Republic also provides educators, whose value ranges from the dubious to the excellent. It is considered a nuisance because it is required by law and thus workable family members often have to be excused for four hours a day, three days a week, to be taught letters and numbers and the like by some scribe in the service of the country. These schools are maintained from the pool of general taxation. (in other words the patrician and other landowning classes--small farmers, millers, miners and animal raisers)

The Public Schools fall under the protection of the Ministry of Culture, which is an executive office that is part of the Council of Ministers on the Great Council of the Republic. It is provided free. Because the quality of the educators is not fully guaranteed (yet) most wealthier people hire private tutors. The best final education is at the College of Lookinghaven, which is some fifty miles away in the city of that name.

Libraries are mostly private, but there is a public library mostly associated with custom, law and history that is maintained at Council Hall. There are also some small private libraries in the hands of notable individuals.

Death

The necropolis of Fineberg is near a street that has services necessary to the disposal of the dead: carpenters, masons, waxworkers, apothecaries and so on. A small guild deals with the actual disposal but always works under the direction of clerics from one fo the temples.

The necropolis is walled and the walls are decorated with friezes showing images of the fate that awaits the dead. There are magic wards placed over it and watchmen with a cleric of either temple attached to patrols guard it by day and double the guard by night. Inside are a set of tombs and catacombs in which the dead reside. It is a place feared to go near even by night. The guard is partly because of fears of the walking dead--not that this has happened but you never know--but also because the Republic is still home to secret cults and evil secretive wizards and priests who might practice foul necromancy. The most feared area within is a place called only the Pit, where the ruined bodies and bones of executed criminals are flung after being burned and cursed. In fact the ground are actually rather beautiful, with finely groomed paths and planted trees and shrubs that elves maintain, as they somewhat lack the fear of death humans have.

The fear of necromancy is not unwarranted. In one of the small towns to the north, a place called Verity, only recently a Council Police investigation turned up a cult worshipping the dead remains of King Obed, which they had secretly gathered up and put under a hill. These remains had reanimated and those secretly sacrified to the old King had begun to animate as well, hungry for flesh and blood.