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Now onto the actual post.
So you've built a nice Mythic
Bastionland realm where everybody lives happily alongside each other.
Let's fix that. Who do we have in in the four holdings of
this realm?
The Amber Knight rules over Archforth, the Seat of
Power in the centre of the Realm
The Boulder Knight rules over Buckwall, a fortress in the West
The Chain Knight rules over Castle Churn in the North
The Dawnfather, high priest of a sun cult, rules over the town of Daybreak
in the East
We'll use the Spark Tables in the Quickstart to make them nice and
complicated.
First we'll give each one an internal conflict. The Drama,
Woe, and News tables can all work for this, so we'll just jump between them.
Archforth: Jealousy/Family - A powerful family, let's
say they're more money-powerful than knightly-powerful, jealously eye
the seat of power, waiting for the Amber Knight to slip up and allow them to
seize the support of enough of the other vassals.
Buckwall: Sanctioned/Famine - The harvest failed, so food is being strictly
rationed, so much so that people are actually starving. Tough times over here.
Castle Churn: Tournament/Content - A tournament is being planned, and I
guess "content" means that this holding can comfortably spare the
resources to make it a lavish event. A real contrast to Buckwall.
Daybreak: Banishment/Duel - The Dawnfather has been challenged to a duel,
with the loser being banished from the realm. He seeks a champion, as he's no
fighter himself.
Next we'll take each pairing of Holdings and create some
inter-holding conflict. Here's we're rolling first on the Relationship table to
see how the Rulers are connected, then on the Conflict table to see how their
Holdings are in conflict with each other. I like the idea that the relationship
between rulers and holdings might not always add up. Sometimes the council make
demands of their ruler, and sometimes circumstances give you little choice but
to go to war with a dear friend.
Archforth and Buckwall
Harmonious/Friend - The Amber and Boulder Knights share a
lot of common interests and values, enjoying a unified desire for peace in the
realm.
Bloodfeud/Occupation - Buuuut, the conflict between their
Holdings goes back further than themselves. Powerful families within each
Holding have long feuded, and each have seats in their respective councils,
ensuring the feud continues. The current status is that Archforth keeps a small
garrison inside to Buckwall, an occupation attempting to keep things
contained.
Archforth and Castle Churn
Hateful/Peer - The Amber and Chain Knights once travelled
together in the same company, but quickly grew to hate each other. The Chain
Knight especially resents this new situation where the Amber Knight holds
authority over them.
Theft/Negotiations - Thieves from Castle Churn have stolen a
tax coffer headed to Archforth, denying it of course. Archforth has entered
into tense negotiations to try to amend this crime, hoping to avoid sending an
armed presence to another of its holdings.
Archforth and Daybreak
Friendly/Rival - The Amber Knight and the Dawnfather share a
friendly relationship, though the Dawnfather is open about his desire to
convert the whole Realm to his cult. This honesty actually keeps things quite
civil, and so far no boundaries have been pushed... until...
Waterway/Standoff - Daybreak is the Realm's sole eastern
port, and Archforth has used it to ship merchants in and out of the realm for
generations. The Dawnfather has now cut them off, demanding a higher cut of the
profits. The negotiations have stalled at a deadlock, with neither side
benefiting from the current situation, but neither wanting to give ground to
their rival.
Buckwall and Castle Churn
Hateful/Supporter - The Boulder Knight has the poorest lands
in the realm, the Chain Knight has the most bountiful. Surplus grain has long
been traded at a generous price, but resentment grows each year that Buckwall
becomes more reliant upon Castle Churn.
Deceit/Skirmishes - Under a false banner, soldiers from
Castle Churn have been attacking the outer lands of Buckwall, hindering their
already struggling farmlands, hoping to stir the vassals into rebellion against
the Boulder Knight.
Buckwall and Daybreak
Adoring/Successor - In desperate times, the Boulder Knight
has proclaimed the Dawnfather as his successor, swayed by the promises of his
cult.
Conquest/Truce - Of course, this didn't come about
peacefully, but followed a failed attempt by Buckwall to conquer some of the
outer lands of Daybreak's domain, the oath of succession being a necessary part
of the truce to avoid a violent counter-attack against the Boulder Knight's
weakened realm.
Castle Churn and Daybreak
Secret/Peer - The Chain Knight is secretly a part of the sun
cult, with equal rank to the Dawnfather. Perhaps the Dawnfather is the face,
the Chain Knight the brains.
Debt/Tension - The wealthy lands of Castle Churn provided a
lot of early support to the Dawnfather in establishing the sun cult, and likes
to give occasional reminders that this debt should be repaid some day.
You could work through even more Spark Tables to flesh this out, but I think it's a good starting point.
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