Shield Lands (Circa 582 CY)
Ruler: His Most Honourable Lordship, Holmer the Earl of Walworth; Knight Commander of the Shield Lands (C7, F10)
Capital: Admundfort (21,300)
Population: 65,000
Demi-humans: Few
Humanoids: Few
Resources: foodstuffs
Overview
When the Bandit Kingdoms began to grow powerful, the petty nobles of the north shores of Nyr Dyv banded together in a mutual protection society. The small Earldom of Walworth had the advantage of possessing a sizeable island upon which was built the only city in the whole district, so its Lord was chosen as the Knight Commander of the combined forces of the nobles. A headquarters was established at Admundfort, and a holy order of religious knights began. The Shield Lands are still ruled by many small noblemen, while the Earl of Walworth is hereditary general of their combined military and naval forces. Their military activity brings contributions from Furyondy and Urnst, as well as many esquires and knights to serve in the core of the army, the Knights of the Holy Shielding.
At present the Shield Lands are menaced by the growing might of the Horned Society, whose humanoid legions often raid into these lands, as well as by the many petty kings and warlords of the Bandit Kingdoms. The Knights of the Shield try to protect the frontiers as best they can but the situation grows more desperate in the Shield Lands with each passing day.
Climate
The Shield Lands enjoy a temperate climate. Summers are hot
with temperatures reaching the high twenties (or above). Rain is
infrequent during the summer so many communities (especially
those close to the main rivers or Nyr Dyv) use irrigation.
Although summers are often unbearable hot, winters are a stark
contrast, and are bitterly cold. Snows blanket the plains
isolating many communities for the coldest months of the year and
the thermometer seldom rises above freezing. Of course close to
the Nyr Dyr winter is less severe (thanks to the influence of the
lake) and this is another reason why the bulk of the population
live within a few leagues of the lake shore.
Autumns and springs are also extreme with frequent rainfall that
turns the roads to mud, making them all but impassable for
several weeks of each season.
Geography
The Shield Lands stretch from the Ritensa River in the east to the Artonsamay River in the west (a distance of some 450 miles), while Nyr Dyv (Lake of Unknown Depth) forms the southern boundary of the Lands. The northern frontier is less easily defined. The Shield Landers claim the lands as far north as Rift Canyon (which makes the Shield Lands approximately 150 miles deep) but much of this region is considered to be untamed border lands and despite numerous attempts, remains largely unsettled. The northern frontier is disputed by both the Bandit Kingdoms and the humanoids that inhabit Rift Canyon and it is for this reason that the northern region remains unsettled.
The Shield Lands consist of relatively flat plains and gently rolling grassland, broken by the occasional gully, stream bed, or copse. The soil is relatively fertile and capable of supporting many forms of farming as well as animal herds. Farming is the main source of revenue in the lands and most citizens are subsistence farmers, growing grain and other crops as well as herding sheep and cattle. Most of the population live close to the Nyr Dyv and it is along this coast that the main road linking the Urnst states and Furyondy passes, and this is a major source of revenue for the local lords. There are many small rural communities and fishing villages located along this road and the shore of the lake.
As one travels further northward the lands become increasingly less fertile and less intensive farming practices are used. Sheep flocks and cattle herds are more predominant and crops such as potatoes replace the wheat, barley and corn grown in the southern regions. The northern fifes tend to be poorer than those of the south, however many of the more independent minded Shield Landers prefer to living in the less developed north and it is these people who have been slowly pushing back the northern frontier. Northern communities are almost always located near a lords keep and are always protected by a palisade, as well as by armed troops.
Government and Politics
The Shield Lands have no central government as such. The "Lands" consist of a patchwork of feudal fifes in which the local nobility (barons, counts and lords) hold all secular authority. The Earl of Walworth is the hereditary military general of the combined forces of the Shield Landers but exerts no political influence, or control, outside his own lands. Each noble fixes his, or her, own taxes and is responsible for law and order in his manor. Likewise, each Lord maintains their own standing army and knights who are responsible for defending the fife. All nobles contribute to the upkeep of the Knights of the Holy Shielding (the religious order of Knights sworn to defend the Shield Lands).
The Council of Nobles
The Shield Lands are collectively controlled by two dozen noble
families, and each of these nobles holds a seat at their council
which is known as the Council of Nobles. The nobles meet for a
week in Admundfort once every three months to collectively decide
on matters of importance to the Shield Lands as a whole (the
council decides on matters such as trade, military forces,
international policies, etc.). The council meets during the first
week of Fireseek, Planting, Reaping and Pachwall each year but
the Council may also be convened during an emergency if required.
There is some rivalry between the various noble families; and the council is often disrupted by factional bickering and infighting; thus its effectiveness is somewhat limited. Holmer, the Earl of Walworth, as the most powerful noble in the Shield Lands, is the chairman of the Council and he maintains order at the Council meetings. Although there is often a divergence of views all decisions are acted upon by a majority vote (which is binding) and once a consensus has been achieved the nobles close ranks and act as a unified body. There is a great deal of political machinations as the various nobles try to outmanoeuvre each other and increase their own personal standing within the Council, or to get their proposals accepted, thus the council is often a hotbed of political intrigue. This makes the decision making process slow but once a decision is made and a unified position accepted Council action can be swift.
Law and Order
Law and order in the Shield Lands lies directly in the hands of
the nobility. Each noble or noble family is directly responsible
for maintaining law and order in their fife or manor. Each noble
holds a court at least one day per week, these courts are known
as the Lords Court. Any freeman, peasant, or serf can petition
the court to act on any civil or legal problem that they may face.
As well as the court most nobles also employ a sheriff who is
responsible for both the collection of taxes and administering
the lords justice.
The Shield Lands and other Nations
The Shield Lands enjoys friendly relations with many nearby nations, such as the Urnst states, Furyondy and Greyhawk who see it as an important bulwark against the expansionist regimes of Iuz, the Horned Society and even the Bandit Kingdoms, all of which pose considerable menace on it's northern borders.
The Bandit Kingdoms
The Bandit Kingdoms lie north-west of the Shield Lands beyond
Rift Canyon. The Shield Lands are often the target for bandit
raids so relations between the two nations can be described as
being strained at best. The Shield Landers often conduct punitive
raids against the bandit kings but are unable to dislodge the
kings from their strongholds.
Furyondy
The Shield Lands maintains friendly but cordial relations with
Furyondy. Although the Shield Lands gained their independence
from Furyondy during the fourth century the Shield Landers have
always been wary of their former overlords; many nobles believing
that Furyondy would make an attempt to reclaim the lands one day.
Also, there is a great deal of rivalry between the Knights of the Shield and the various knights and nobility of Furyondy. These petty rivalries have a tendency to blow up whenever officials of the two sides meet and they tend to cloud the judgement of both parties.
The Horned Society
The Shield Lands are in a state of perpetual war with the Horned
Society. Society forces often raid into the Shield Lands so the
northern nobles maintain a constant vigil against this threat.
The growing might of the Horned Society is seen as being the
greatest threat that the Shield Lands now face but the various
nobles are unable to agree on what measures should be taken to
counter this threat.
Population
The majority of Shield Landers and human and most are of Oerdian stock. Shield Landers, as with most Oerdians, tend towards tan to olive complexions and their hair colour varies from honey-blonde to black.
Shield Landers tend to be a hard working, simple and rustic people. Most people work on the land and they have a no nonsense approach to life. Some of the more enlightened and cultured Furyondians tend to view Shield Landers as being a bit backward, however "down to earth" is probably a better phrase to describe the average Shield Lander.
The majority of citizens (about 96%) are human and most are law abiding (the majority are lawful good or lawful neutral in alignment). Approximately 30% of the population are serfs who are tied to the land while a further 30% are peasants. Approximately 20% are yeoman and a further 15% are freemen or townsfolk. The remaining 5% of the population are members of the nobility of wealthy merchant families.
Language
Common is the official language of the Shield Lands and is the
most widely spoken tongue.
Demi-Humans
Few dwarves, elves or gnomes are to be found in the Shield Lands.
The most populous of the demi-human races are halflings;
approximately 2,300 of these folk dwell in the Shield Lands.
Halflings tend to live in their own communities and there are
several such settlements in the Shield Lands. Halflings enjoy the
protection of local nobility but most such settlements are left
to rule themselves (via sheriffs elected from their midst who are
responsible for maintaining order and collecting local taxes on
behalf of the local lord or baron).
Religion
Agriculture, Trade and Commerce
The Shield Lands are a relatively poor land in terms of natural resources, except for land. The southern soils are quite fertile and support several kinds of agriculture but as one travels further northward the soils become less fertile and the farming practices become less intensive. Intensive farming tends to give way to pastoralism with sheep flocks, dairy and cattle herds predominating. While the growing of wheat, barley and corn gives way to growing potatoes and similar hardy crops.
Infrastructure tends to be limited and there are few roads. The Shield Lands lies between two prosperous nations, Furyondy and Urnst, and some commerce passes along the highway that passes along the northern shore of Nyr Dyv and links these two nations. However, the Shield Lands doesn't enjoy as much overland trade as it might otherwise be entitled to. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, winters are quite severe in the Shield Lands and trade is all but halted for several weeks during the worst weather (sleds do continue to operate but even the most hardy merchants find difficulty in travelling during these months) but of more concern are the autumns and springs. Rains during these months convert the roads to mud that is all but impassable to traffic until either the summer sun bakes the mud or the winter snows freeze it so that trade can resume. Secondly, the local nobility charge heavy tolls for the use of, and upkeep, of this road and this also tends to dissuade some merchants from using the highway. Thirdly, the highway is sometimes targeted by the bandits of the nearby Bandit Kingdoms and this makes the route less than safe, of course many nobles offer to escort caravans through their territory, for a small fee of course. Finally, the Nyr Dyr is one of the major waterways between East and West and most commerce passes through this waterway rather than via the Shield Lands as it is both cheaper and faster.
The southern communities tend to be richer than those in the north. Most southern villages produce a surplus crop which is sold in the markets of Critwall and Admundfort. The Southerners use barges, boats and all kinds of vessels to transport their crops along the coast when roads are too muddy to use.
The northern fifes tend to be poorer than their southern neighbours and there is some rivalry between he southern and northern communities because of this. Northern settlements tend to produce less and although self-sufficient produce little surplus for trade. The poor quality of the northern roads also make it difficult for the northern villagers to get their products to market.
The Shield Lands sell their surplus agricultural and dairy products to nearby states with Greyhawk and Nyrond being their most important trading partners. The sale of these products brings much needed revenue and commerce to the Shield Lands. Admundfort is the only major port in the Shield Lands and much of the Shield Lands commerce passes through this town, benefiting the local townsfolk and Earl Holmer.
Armed Forces
The Shield Lands has no standing army as such. Each of the
noble families supports their own retinue of men-at-arms and
knights, who are responsible for maintaining law and order, and
for defending the fife in times of strife. Each noble maintains a
force of between 20-100 soldiers as well as several knights. Many
nobles also maintain local militias in their lands which can be
raised in times of need (a typical village will have a trained
militia of 10-30 men). In times of need the local militia's
become the backbone of the Shield Lands army. All told the Shield
Lands can assemble an army of approximately 2,000 militiamen in
times of need, which is then augmented by units of conscripted
peasant levies (up to 4,000 such troops may be raised in these
lands). The nobles men-at-arms provide the heavy infantry while
the nobles and knights form the bulk of the cavalry.
It takes time for the various Lords to assemble their troops,
raise militias, and conscript peasant armies. The Knights of the
Holy Shielding therefore are sworn to be ready at a moments
notice to serve as a vanguard for the army.
At full muster the Shield land army comprises of the following:
Knights of the Holy Shielding
The Knights of the Holy Shielding are based in Admundfort and
hold several key keeps and border forts throughout the Shield
Lands. There are some three hundred knights in this order and all
are seasoned warriors (minimum of 5th level). Each knight is
responsible for maintaining a small retinue of 4-5 men-at-arms (typically
2-5th level warriors), thus when fully assembled the Knights of
the Shield can field a total force of 1,200 men who make up the
bulk of the medium cavalry in the army.
Many of the Shield Lands nobility are also members of this order.
Border Forts
The Knights of the Shield maintain twelve border forts in the
Shield Lands. These keeps are spread across the northern and
western borders of the lands. A keep is typically garrisoned by
10 knights and their retainers (40-50 men-at-arms). A keep will
usually also contain 10-20 soldiers and auxiliary troops such as
scouts.
Factions within the Shield Lands
What follows is a brief list of some of the factions, groups
operating within the borders of the Shield Lands.
The Horned Society
The Horned Society has several agents operating in the Shield Lands. At present the Horns are trying to infiltrate the courts of various nobles so as to be able to influence the outcomes of the Council of Nobles. At present it is not known how successful these infiltrations have been but the Horned Society has been linked to the murder of at least one minor noble in Admundfort in the past few months. The Horned Society is most active in and around Admundfort and have connections with the local thieves guild. A prominent merchant, Olskag is a contact for the Horned Society agents.
The Old Guard
Several of the older nobles are less than anxious about the
threat that the Horned Society poses- and can't be convinced
otherwise. This faction is led by none other than Baron Despar of
Critwall, an elder landholder and snob. He cannot be convinced
that "those hobgoblin rabble are a threat to us." He is
extremely conservative, proud, set in his ways and stubborn. But
he is a major player in the politics of the Council and leads a
powerful conservative lobby. There is also a long standing
rivalry between Baron Despar and Earl Holmer which is related to
both the economic superiority of Admundfort as well as being a
personality clash between the two nobles. Despar refuses to budge
an inch to the "young whippersnapper" as he considers
Earl Holmer.
Earl Holmer and Allies
Earl Holmer is the leader of the Knights of the Holy Shielding.
He is a man who likes to act decisively but finds his hands tied
by the petty bickering, fighting and squabbling that the Council
of Nobles usually degenerates into. He is trying to appease all
factions but currently is appeasing none, he is sure that before
too long the nobles must unite against the Horned Society but
doesn't want to throw his weight around (he is all too aware of
how Despar and several of the other nobles view him and his
Earldom). He is supported by some of the northern nobles and the
Knights of the Shield but is unable to convince the conservative
Baron Despar of the threat to the north-west. However although
keen to continue supporting the Knights of the Shield in their
small scale actions against the Society he is unwilling to commit
the army of the Shield Lands in a campaign against the Society,
as some of the militant northern nobles are demanding.
The Southern Nobles
The Southern Nobles tend to be richer, more conservative and less
willing to act against the Horned Society- many don't see any
threat there except for the occasional hobgoblin raid which they
see as being of nuisance value only. The northerners are trying
to convince these men of the trouble facing the lands but are
making little headway. Most southern nobles re opposed to
increasing their commitment to the army, Knights of the Holy
Shielding, or in any other motion which would cost them money.
The Northern Nobles
The northern nobles tend to be poorer and more militant that
their southern kin (this may or may not be due to the fact that
many of them worship Trithereon). Most of the northerners want an
increase in taxes paid by all nobles to help support them in
their growing battles with the Horned Society/ Bandit Kingdoms.
Several of the northerners are extremely concerned of the growing
threat that the Horned Society poses but are having difficulty
convincing their southern kin to act.
Clergy
Several churches are active in the Shield Lands. The church of
Trithereon has a strong following, and support amongst the
northern nobles. The followers of Trithereon tend to be vocal and
militant - demanding military solutions to the problems facing
the Shield Lands.
Cities, Towns and Villages
There are but two main towns in the Shield Lands, Admundfort and Critwall.
Admundfort
Admundfort lies an island, some two miles off the coast of the
Shield lands proper, in the Nyr Dyr and is the largest town in
the Shield Lands (population of 21,300). Admundfort is ruled by
the Earl of Walworth, who is the most powerful noble in these
lands. The Earl maintains a city watch of 200 soldiers who are
paid for out of local taxes and also maintains a small navy.
Admundfort is an important port. Much of the Shield Lands
agricultural production bound for other lands passes through
these docks. Thus Admundfort is an important centre for trade and
commerce for the Shield Landers.
Critwall
The town of Critwall has a population of 5,500 and is the second
largest town in the Shield Lands. Critwall is ruled by a local
Baron, Despar, and the barony is the second most powerful in the
lands. Critwall is primarily an agricultural town and is the
centre of commerce in eastern Shield Lands. Much of the trade
bound for Furyondy passes through this town, as do caravans
heading for Urnst (and of course the baron gains revenue from
taxing all such trade).
Villages
A Shield Land village typically has a population of 250-300 souls.
Most villages are located in the fifes of the various nobles and
as such enjoy the protection of the local Lord. Many villages,
especially those near the border regions, are protected by
earthen ramparts and palisades and as well as maintaining a small
militia (10-30 strong) often contain a small garrison of Lords
troops or even a knight or two. Most villagers are farmers
although there are also many fishing villages along the shores of
Nyr Dyr. Most villages have basic amenities- a tavern, a
blacksmith, cooper, miller, etc. as well as a church (which is
usually a stone building that doubles as a shelter in times of
strife) but few other services available. Most villagers are
quite poor and barter is often the dominant form of trade.
Places of Interest
Fields of the Dead
The Fields of the Dead lie on the Shield Lands between Rift
Canyon and the Ritensa River. The fields are an area of rolling
plains that over the centuries have been the site of several
major battles. It is said that the bones of the dead lie
scattered across the plains and that there are numerous burial
cairns and tombs scattered across this windswept and desolate
landscape. Most Shield Landers avoid the fields and none will
venture onto them at night as it is said that the spirits of the
dead still haunt the area. Some bands of adventurers occasionally
make forays into the fields in search of the ancient treasures
that the region is said to contain.
Nyr Dyv
Nyr Dyv forms the Shield Lands southern border and is the largest
lake in the Flanaess. The lake is a major waterway and many ships
ply its waters. There are many fishing villages along the Shield
Lands coast and the lake provides much bounty for the local
fishing industry.
Rift Canyon
Rift Canyon lies in the badlands between the Shield Lands and the
Bandit Kingdoms. The canyon is over 180 miles in length and 30
miles wide at its widest point. The rift is full of monsters and
humanoids and these are a definite menace to the Shield Lands.
Attempts by Shield Land troops to clear the canyon have always
met with fierce resistance from the inhabitants and the troops
have been forced to retreat.
Rittensa River
The Rittensa River forms the border between the Horned Society
and Shield Lands. The river border is heavily patrolled by the
Knights of the Shield and the knights maintain several keeps that
overlook the river. Even so humanoids from the Society often ford
the river and raid deep into the Shield Lands.