Marked by Ashes - DnD Succession Quest

SteelWriter77 · May 18, 2024

Ranan said:
If its gotta be a daughter I'll say Venomir is in a Mulan situation. Real name Venomira. Successor will be chosen from siblings children.

oohh that's fun, trying to continue the legacy of Great Kings

SpacePaladin · May 18, 2024

SteelWriter77 said:
oohh that's fun, trying to continue the legacy of Great Kings

It's definitely a bit odd, since they never had male-only succession, the number of male rulers had more to do with the luck of the dice, and we have had a queen before.

But Kerovamar went both ways and probably experimented with the Polymorph spell, so I doubt he would have much issue. If anything, he might have been a bit hurt his kid didn't want to come out to him.

Alucard Vampiry · May 20, 2024

Decided to start rolling in here from now on, thanks to Rolz dying every time I use it. So, let us see...

Edit1: Well, this is just bad luck, she still had two years of a reign so her projects had a headstart at the very least. I will try to not make the update short.

The update is dropping this Thursday, the updated territory map is dropping tomorrow.

Edit2: Hold on, forgot the +10 bonus this makes this slightly less bad. The Golden Age doesn't apply to Longevity or marriage, however. Only Actions made by the Monarch.

SpacePaladin · May 20, 2024

Man, Kero manages to suck up large amounts of luck. Those kinds of rolls probably weren't sustainable. Still, ouch on the longevity rolls.

Maybe the reason he chose to die when he did was because he already buried several children, and that's depressing, even when said children live to ripe old ages.

Alucard Vampiry · May 23, 2024

"Our ancestors built this kingdom with their bare hands, I will not be the one who brings it to ruin"

Longevity roll: 2 = 30 Years Old by time of death
Marriage roll: 56
Number of Children: Doesn't matter 'he' isn't interested

Early Reign

Reforms & New Tech: 1d100= 75+10 = 85 Great Success
The Future of War: 1d100= 37+10 = 47 Minor Success
New Training Methods: 1d100= 59+10 = 69 Sucess

The short reign of King Ghesh Venomir was odd, as not only did 'he' pass over his older brother thanks to complications that were known only to their clan and themselves, but Venomir was not even a man, to begin with, but in actuality a woman named Ghesh Venomira who decided to hide her true gender and adopt more masculine mannerisms. This secret would be hidden known only to the higher echelons of the Clan and the Shadows. The true gender of Venomir would not become true to the public for centuries for the lips of Clan and Shadow were sealed.

For physical appearance 'King' Venomir had golden scales with brown spots, as well as the presence of a physical mutation, in this case, a tail the first to have appeared in a ruling Monarch since the times of Queen Dranya.

Venomir was said to be cold, pragmatic, strategic, self-sacrificing, and charismatic, befitting more a veteran of many battlefields. Indeed Venomir would show more care for the Legions that protected Tymanchebar than more civil aspects in his reign. He was said to be extremely popular with the masses, and easily capable of drawing crowds to himself, however, he would have difficulty forming more personal relationships with individuals outside of his close family.

Venomir was a King who was said to be a warrior who longed for war, leading his soldiers, entertaining himself by taking bands of soldiers into a Sky Ship and heading to kill bands of bandits, traitors, and rebels, using his immense charisma to draw crowds to himself. However, this should not mean that he did not keep matters of his kingdom close.

The Shadows, the hidden daggers, and ears of the Monarch, alongside chosen advisors who handled more civil matters in the King's absence, kept the kingdom running and the Shadows made sure that the King heard of all things that happened during his absence from his Clan-Hold. And if ordered to, eliminated anything that he ordered them to kill.

Marriage & Children

The marriage of King Ghesh Venomir never produced any heirs, considering the King's true gender this makes sense, even if polymorph potions could be provided to the King so she could attain the necessary equipment to reproduce with the queen, Venomira never showed interest in women.

All of this could not have made the situation of Yancesith Thersira, renamed Ghesh Thersira, any better. Born to a wealthy Clan and said to be the greatest beauty at the time, she was set to be married to the higher members of Tymanchebar's society, when she heard that she was going to marry the King, both she and her Clan were beyond joyous.

However, the truth soon came out to the Queen that the King she had married was actually a woman and had no interest in procuring children through magical means thanks to an accord with her older. Worse, a Wizard in the employ of Shadows made her swear a Magical Oath that prevented her from spreading the truth, but the same Wizard promised that if she ever revealed the truth not only herself but her Clan would suffer as well.

With both of these threats the Queen never spoke a word, and her relationship with the 'King' was said to be cold but socially acceptable, at very the least in public.

The Future of War

To anyone who knew Venomir, the first thing they could say about him was that he loved the army, it was the only thing he truly enjoyed apart from conflict in times of war where his sword was blooded with the blood of his enemies. So, it came as no surprise that he wanted them to become far more powerful.

Ideas of new weapons and vehicles soon came forward, tools that could provide Tymanchebar with a far greater advantage in any future conflict. Those projects were stealthy 'aircraft' to transport spies and remote-controlled magical constructs for surveillance, Skyships armed with magical artillery and repeating crossbows or ballistas, and Skyships of various sizes meant for logistics transporting various amounts of troops and supplies. It was ambitious in the extreme it would grant a new type of advantage against any potential threat.

The projects themselves were a success. The Stealth Aircraft, the first vehicle to use said name, used the same principles as seen in the Skyships to make it float, but it was lighter, lacked proper armor, and was smaller, these facts made sense with the point that it wasn't meant to fight but to secretly arrive at locations. It was camouflaged and enchanted with spells that would make it impossible to see with the normal eye and require extensive magical means to detect. Its design was based on avian animals. With two wings at the side and a nose at the front, the crew was composed of only two with a cargo bay that could hold ten additional personnel or 20 lbs of supplies.

The new Skyship models proved themselves to be very good new components to the Sky Fleet, with the new more aggressive model reserved for line fights and aggressive pushes, and the larger broad ones helping with any logistical issues of supplies as well as more rapid troop movements as more soldiers could be moved than before.

However, these were not his only projects, for the army, Vesomir would order new armor, transport, and equipment. For the armor Vesomir wanted something like a pilotable golem for the heavy end and resistant and maneuverable light armor for the light end, for transport beyond the previously mentioned skyships of various sizes he wanted armored "land-ships" and swift hovercraft for scouting and troop mobility, for communication, some kind of system whether magical or mundane that allows swifter communications whether in the form of a large immobile structure or a small portable tool.

Again all these goals succeeded.

The new armor was a hollow metal golem-like suit that was enchanted with magic despite this it was surprisingly comfortable for those worn it as the armor changed itself to better fit the one who was wearing though not at the level of ancient armor made with magic before the events that hurt and nearly killed magic. It was divided into main versions, with some customized ones between them, the heavy and more resistant type was enchanted to be resistant to damage and be faster than expected, while the lighter armor was enchanted as well, it was not as resistant but it more than made up for its sheer speed and mobility.

The land-ships were more tricky to create, metal monsters that could move troops in heavily armored and enchanted vehicles, slower even with said enchantments it more than proved its worth by providing soldiers with a well-protected armored vehicle that they could move in dangerous terrain. The Hovercraft applied the same theories and applications with the Skyships but on a lower scale, it could not sail across the skies but it could move rapidly in the earth faster than any other common vehicle or beast.

The communication advice was ironically enough the easiest one to make as the scholars that worked on them already had an example with communication spells or messenger stones or crystals. Working with those concepts they managed to create a tiny magical device that could tap in magical lines of communication that could only be accessed if one held these devices. The range was extremely long with an entire group capable of communication across an extremely large area.

The Hidden Daggers

While the new inventions to the method of warfare would be among his most official actions, King Venomir would decide to invest in the Shadows through the records of the cost to improve them would never be made official.

The first was to create secret hidden fortresses monasteries in remote areas of the kingdom, where they could meet and plan their moves across both Tymanchebar and other nations. In these monasteries, they would gather uncared-for orphans both Dragonborn and not, and there they would train them in harsh conditions, indoctrinating them in the ideals of the Shadows.

Loyalty to the Monarch. Loyalty to Tymanchebar. The Monarch is Tymanchebar. And so the Monarch must be served and protected above all else.

Their numbers would swell, and they would become even more powerful in the same shadows of which they were named, the secret daggers and ears all at the service of the ruling Monarch. With their new assets, they would launch assassination against high-ranked members of the resistance in occupied Turmish as well as help occupying forces from all members of the Alliance, not just Tymanchebar, further quelling the resistance.

Defamation attacks would also be used against the resistance, with attacks against common-born targets being blamed as being carried out by the Resistance who in this series of events became so radical in their thinking that they started killing even those who were not in favor of the Alliance.

This caused the population to grow further and further away from the Resistance of Turmish who if nothing changed would die a painfully slow death in the coming years.

One of their other missions was gathering information on the East, on what exactly was in it, while they had no such luck, their information network was strengthened in that region of the world.

Homegrown Legions

The final project started by King Venomir would be the new training proportioned to the Legions that would be adopted by all Clans that held standing armies of properly trained levies. However, Venomir felt that the training imposed on them could be improved. Establishing new sets of common or specialized training that would bring the soldiers of Tymachebar to a new level of combat efficiency.

However, those were not all the reforms. By royal decree, all Dragonborn would now need to pass militia training where they could either help the proper soldiers in keeping the peace against bandits or other sorts of scoundrels, help said soldiers in times in great crisis, or keep away from becoming a liability by going to prepared shelters. While no hatchlings would participate in said trainings all those that reached adulthood would need tp pass through it.

This was met with courteous applause, as the militia training was something that all villages, towns, and Clan-Holds already did, to the populace both low and high born this was merely an official legalization of a common aspect of their culture.

Death & Legacy

King Venomir's death would come all of a sudden, an assassination, similar to the one carried out against the King's ancestor King Lakoderon, through this one was very different. Instead of human cultists of Tiamat, it would be carried out by a very different being.

A great Metallic Wyrm of the line of Bronze would attack a party led by the King on a diplomatic visit to Akanul, Venomir would die at the hands of the metallic beast but not before taking out the beast in a mutual kill.

The King's death was a surprising announcement to the entire kingdom, with many calling him the King Who Never Flew having a shorter reign than even King Lakoderon's own. However, his, or rather her mark, was felt across the Kingdom as her tactics and inventions continued to spread even if they had never reached their peak. At the funeral, the Clan leaders, shortly after breaking the news to her older brother who they immediately put a crown on, had a discussion about whether or not to reveal the King's true gender.

As history told they would choose not to.

Venomir, no, Venomira would rise to the hall where her ancestors dwelled in unburdened by the secrets and duties that she held in life. Free, at last.

…..

POTENTIAL ISSUES

Once again a Monarch has fallen, through this time it was at the personal hands of a Wyrm instead of their servants. Culture. Ancestors. Clan. All of it demands that you take vengeance.

What in the name of Ghesh is going on in the East?

The Resistance in Turmish, apparently sensing their potential demise, has become more radical in their guerrilla war against the alliance ironically enough becoming the same thugs that the Alliance accuses them of. While this has made a large swathe of the population come to the side of their conquerors, the Resistance has become bolder and more destructive.

…..

State of the Realm (1700 DR) is up next… tomorrow.

Ryzer · May 23, 2024

Man, you could even say that those reforms were created at the perfect time, kek like damm just after finishing all of it our Monarch get ganked by a dragon, welp time to show how true the reform made the army, lets gift our fallen King the best gift that he(she) could ever wanted and that is the blood of our enemies.

It is becoming tradition for our Kingdom to be in war after war, and its not even our fault.

Alucard Vampiry · May 23, 2024

Ryzer said:
It is becoming tradition for our Kingdom to be in war after war, and its not even our fault.

To be honest majority of your wars are always related to Dragons in some form. So it is kinda the Dragonborns own fault for being led around by their hatred of all things Dragon. Really they wouldn't mind if every single Dragon and their Gods dropped dead.

SpacePaladin · May 23, 2024

Isn't it supposed to be "Venomir" not "Veromir" or "Veramir"?

Alucard Vampiry · May 24, 2024

SpacePaladin said:
Isn't it supposed to be "Venomir" not "Veromir" or "Veramir"?

Error on my part, but there is no way I can fix it now, I will when I get back home.

Ranan · May 24, 2024

So cool seeing my character in the story, unfortunate that she died young but at least her reforms went well even if they didn't get to full capacity. Maybe the next leader can use a minor or secondary goal to finish things up

Alucard Vampiry · May 24, 2024

(Light Red is Akanûl, Yellow is High Imaskar, Light Tan is Unther, Light Green is what remains of Chessenta, Grey is the Tymanchebar, White is for Puppet States under your and your allies control)
Form of Government: Feudal Monarchy
Ruling Dynasty: Ghesh
Succession Law: Absolute Primogeniture
Language of the People: Draconic
Culture of The People: Abeir Dragonborn
Religion: Ancestral Worship based around legendary clan members of the past.

Modifiers: Golden Age (All actions gain a +10)

Alucard Vampiry · May 24, 2024

@VaguelyLeft it is your turn now, you have until Tuesday to make a character sheet.

SpacePaladin · May 24, 2024

The Threadmark still calls him Veromir.

Alucard Vampiry · May 24, 2024

SpacePaladin said:
The Threadmark still calls him Veromir.

It is fixed.

VaguelyLeft · May 24, 2024

I'll get to making the sheet in a day or two probably.

VaguelyLeft · May 25, 2024

Name: Ghesh Valdrath

Date of Birth / Age at Ascension: 34

Relationship with Previous Ruler: Older Brother

Personality: Valdrath is by all appearances the ideal king. Known throughout the realm for his great wisdom and intelligence, noble lords often come from throughout the land to seek his counsel. His compassion legendary, he is loved by the lower classes for his charitable efforts. His strength respected, those who have dueled him speak of his great skill and honor. Yet, the storied Ghesh clan unanimously agreed to pass over him in favor of his younger "brother." This is due to a condition that Valdrath suffers from. At times, Valdrath is overcome by a deep malaise. This leaves him lacking in the ability to act in anyway, a deep emptiness consuming his thoughts and feelings. The universal frustration at this condition, both from himself and his family has left him with a deep self-hatred. Often he spends his days outside of his malaise consumed with a desire to prove his usefulness to others. While this contributes to his public perception, it leaves him tattered emotionally. Thus, when forced to "relax", Valdrath spends much of his time in his quarters alone, reading through various texts. This sort of behavior, while not unenjoyable, contributes to the feeling of emptiness.

Largely gentle and loving to loved ones and strangers alike, his soft heart is seen as both a strength and a weakness by many. Yet still, it leaves him easy to love for those close to him.

Bio: Valdrath was not born to be king. Born the fourth of five children, he was destined for a life in the supporting role. Yet, as time continued on and his father stayed in the world, his older siblings would pass from a practical age of accession one by one. Thus, by his teenage years, it was clear that Valdrath would be the most likely of the children to succeed his father. Suprisingly, this brought minimal resentment from his older siblings, likely due in part to the family's close relationship. As he grew, this choice in successors came to be seen as nearly prophetic in its insight. His great skill came to be clear as he came to accel at nearly any task he put his mind to. As he aged his acclaim only grew and grew. Yet, as the brightness of his accomplishments grew, so too did a void in his soul. As this void grew it became ever more noticeable to those close to him. While not unsympathetic to his plight, there was a fundamental lack of understanding on their part. Encouragements and suggestions would be offered that only served to worsen the problem. By the time his father's life was coming to an end, the problem had become unmanageable. Thus, an agreement was made to pass the throne instead to his younger sister Venomira while he would take an occasional advisory role. To the public, this choice would be laid at the feet of undefined medical concerns. This choice came as somewhat of a relief to Valdrath. His sister was far sturdier than him, and had always shown the qualities expected in a leader, only strengthened by her time in the military. While the reason she disguised her gender escaped him, he placed his full support behind the choice. Thus, the rule of King Ghesh Venomir was a largely calming presence for Valdrath, marked by a notable improvement in his sense of emptiness. Then Venomir was killed. Slain in a mutual dual against a Wyrm. A shocking loss, this sent the clan into a frenzy. While attempts were made to find an alternative heir, his ascendance was ultimately a foregone conclusion. He remained the most reasonable option. Thus, the throne passes to King Ghesh Valdrath, a man both great and empty in equal measure. Only time will tell which emerges victorious

Style of Governance: Valdrath has a focus upon placing the right people in the right jobs. His judgement of who is the "right person" supercedes social class and relationships, thus leading to a large number of lower classes serving in his court. Nonetheless, the greatest burden is often put upon himself, with efforts endlessly made to "prove" himself to some undefined judge. Thus, whenever possible Valdrath will lead an initiative, but when not the leader is often undeniably skilled.

Core Goal: Valdrath views issues abroad as the primary threat to his people. While they prosper to an extent previously unimaginable due to the rule of his venerable father, the world beyond suffers. Of particular interest is the situation in the East. While the nature of the crisis in the East is still a mystery, he feels this is a result of inaction rather than genuine inability to know. Thus, Valdrath plans to place the full weight of his attention upon three prongs:

Identify the problem in the East
Prepare for the spread of the catastrophe.
Attempt to pre-empt the crisis if possible.

The order of these priorities indicates their relative importance. Towards this end, a campaign of espionage and diplomacy will be conducted on a scale never seen before. Connections will be built, secrets learned all under the umbrella of a new Ministry of Distant Affairs led by Valdrath and his chosen experts.

Secondary Goals:

Normalization of the situation in Turmish. While Valdrath feels that crushing the Bahamut worshippers is a worthy goal, he does feel that the heavy-handed strategy utilized has had too many negative consequences. Thus, Valdrath aims to help quell dissent through largescale assistance to the citizenry, all coming with an expectation of conversion of course. Infrastructure will be reconstructed. Schools will be built. People will be healed. Along with numerable other assisstance programs. These actions will, hopefully together lead to the stabilization of a new friendly state in Turmish.
Make the wyrms pay. Valdrath is a kind man, but hatred for the wyrms runs deep in hid realm. While more controlled in his feelings on the wyrms than many of his kin, this hatred has been stoked by the death of his sister. Thus, Valdrath plans to put in effort to find and punish any wyrms in his realm and their sympathizers. Hopefully, these efforts will allow his sister to rest in peace.

Minor Goals:

Strengthen ties between the Alliance. The Alliance has served the nation well. While there is no reason to believe the Alliance is at threat, there is little to be lost in insuring that the bond between nations remains strong.
War games. The various branches of the military are some of the best in the world, though unfortunately the navy lags behind. Nonetheless, there is always room for improvement. One idea Valdrath has is for the various branches to hold events where they compete and exchange expertise.
Worship of the ancestors. Support religous activities.

Tell me if I need to edit anything. The basic idea is that he's got serious depression in a society that has no understanding of what that is. This came in part from me trying to think of a good reason for them to skip him in the line of succession. His primary goal is basically to preempt possible future crises.

rush99999 · May 26, 2024

Alucard Vampiry said:
with a cargo bay that could hold ten additional personnel or 20 lbs of supplies.

I didn't know that the average dragonborn weighed only 2 lbs.

Alucard Vampiry · May 26, 2024

rush99999 said:
I didn't know that the average dragonborn weighed only 2 lbs.

Look, I did the calculations on the fly and I can say 'magic!' to get away with real world inconsistencies.

SpacePaladin · May 26, 2024

VaguelyLeft said:
Worship of the ancestors. Support religous activities.

Man, if this goes critical maybe we can ascend some more ancestor gods.

And as much as I would love Kerovamar to get in the pantheon, I think Drinaar gets first dibs on ascension due to his involvement in killing two incarnated gods.

rush99999 · May 26, 2024

Alucard Vampiry said:
and I can say 'magic!' to get away with real world inconsistencies.

Pretty weak magic if it can only carry a sixth of what a creature with a strength score of 8 can. :grin:

Alucard Vampiry · May 26, 2024

rush99999 said:
Pretty weak magic if it can only carry a sixth of what a creature with a strength score of 8 can.

It is meant to be a stealth craft to take agents to other nations so they can infiltrate them, or give some supplies, nothing more.

SpacePaladin · May 26, 2024

You know, it's ironic. Kerovamar lorded his status as first born over his twin brother, then he not only (likely) outlived his oldest children, but passed over his (likely) oldest surviving child for his youngest.

His brother would probably needle him about it in the afterlife.

Alucard Vampiry · May 28, 2024

Alright, going to roll for actions now. Going to show Minor Actions rolls.

VaguelyLeft · May 28, 2024

Well. Not every roll was bad I guess.

Alucard Vampiry · May 28, 2024

VaguelyLeft said:
Well. Not every roll was bad I guess.

Yep, and I finally get to reveal the plot thread I have been working up for the past updates.

Edit: Update is dropping this Thursday.

Marked by Ashes - DnD Succession Quest

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