Meleeworld
The Brouhaha is a fast paced battle wherein the participants must rush to gather resources, produce facilities and develop weapons of war and defense before their rivals.
Resources are limited, so every move is important in this hectic game of strategy and opponent move blocking.
After a long wait the Chalice of Thought Faction Book is finally available to order!
There are those who the townsfolk call outsider, ronin or worse. These people are often the cast out from society, opting instead to live away from the cities and towns... to live as travelers. What some may call vagabond, they call family. To the Chalice, the path to self discovery begins when you accept that you will never be accepted by society at large.
Inside this book you will find:
and much more.
The Order of the White Talbot leads knights on 4 month siege of the Capital, finally retaking the city from the remnants of Draco Drachen's occupying army. Though it took cutting off Nicholshire from all supplies and the death of nearly 6,000 occupying barbarians and Justice soldiers, the coalition formed by Grand Master Sir Steven Dunbar drove the remnant army from the city with great strength and prowess. Sir Dunbar led an army consisting of his knights, supplemented by 2,000 Talbot men at arms and 1,500 archers.
In addition to the Knights of the Talbot, the retaking force was helped by the allies from the Unbound, the new faction from Maarek's Landing, recently founded as a counter force not restricted by the non-aggression treaty signed by the other 9 greater factions at the Conclave of Tempest Point. This treaty, although broken by the Granite Spire, prohibited the factions from assisting in any way with the war. Although many joined the Unbound as a result, several others simply fought without any badges or flags of faction affiliation.
In Breitenburg, a peasant's revolt drove Duke Aiken from his position. Aiken was killed and ousted by newly named Duke Desmond Wade. During the assault, Wade challenged Aiken and his general OX. The peasants fought the Duke's Guard until OX himself turned a pistol onto Aiken and shot him dead. Desmond Wade claimed the crown as the body of Aiken was turned over to OX. OX, was seen skinning the body of Aiken shortly before fleeing the city, where he has not been seen since.
Rumors persist that the body of Aiken was not in fact Aiken, but that his wounded body was shuffled off by local Doctor Michael Seraph. The scuttlebutt says that Seraph took the body to revitalize Aiken and by using strange medical practices make him stronger than ever before.
Tanaka the Dragon Slayer has remained under the care of the Barber Surgeons at Nocturne. Castellan Maarek Elets declared that once he is restored to health, a great festival will be held in the capital for he and the rest of the heroes of the Drachen war.
Among those to be celebrated for great service:
Reports all across the land tell of the brave and valiant men at Maarek's Landing that faced off against the Justice army on two fronts. Fighting across the great bridge, Justice forces slowly made their way into the city, breaking through to the city.
The Unbound, Duke Valguard's new faction held them off for hours, until they were attacked from behind in the city as a force of Justice sappers emerged from a tunnel dug from beyond the walls. luckily this second force was much smaller, but the danger was sufficient to allow Justice to gain a couple of crucial advantages.
Many went to Valhalla this day, said the Duke after the battle was over. Though Justice was routed, they succeeded in destroying a huge portion of the Great Bridge, effectively cutting Maarek's Landing and the Hinterlands off from the rest of the Kingdom.
Ships sailed south, but were stopped dead in the water as a small fleet of Justice ships was sunk in the relatively shallow waters, creating a bottle neck leading to the MacKreg strait., making ship travel impossible. For the moment, it would seem that the Unbound were victorious in the defense of their city, but have been taken out of the war until that bridge is repaired of those ships are moved.
Castle Nocturne, known as Cormick of the East, this city in the swamps is home to just over 100 people from the Shade Realm and Alluvium who have been found a way to live together despite their differences.
Things may change, however, as the Dukes of Analova have spoken. In a rare meeting at Council Hills, the Dukes of 12 counties in Analova gathered together to oust Drachen from prince-hood following the evidence gathered by Sigismund of House Mendoza.
The news of this betrayal caused Drachen to immediately take a portion of his guard south to the Kaylinn Swamps, declaring his intent to get revenge by destroying Nocturne and the whole House Mendoza with it.
Will the little city in the swamp stand up to the might of Duke Drachen or shall they fall like a house of cards? Time will tell.
In response to the great injustice that was Maarek’s annexation of the four outland principalities into the Kingdom, Kragan declared war on the Kingdom of Praelia in 26 ACI. The war was not the wisest move, one must admit, but to the viking mentality there is always a reason to fight and die. Maarek sent the Order of the Talbot, and a contingent of Analovan militia to change Kragan’s mind. There was going to be a huge battle, but Kragan’s ally - a Chalice of Thought shaman - told him of the future. He said that a greater victory would be held by tongues rather than fists. So, in an amazingly out-of-character move for the viking leader, he agreed to parlay at Skoal Pass. Here a retinue of the vikings and knights met to discuss terms of war.
Three days of discussions, honor duels and drinking took place. Now I wasn’t there but from what I hear the Knights of the Talbot Grand Marshall was quite able to drink horn for horn with the Conqueror. So, in the end there was no bloodshed. A treaty was forged between the Marshall and the Viking. All of the land, from Kragan’s Coast in the north, down the mouth of the Prahova, across the fields to the western border of Drakwald and the Canady Mountains would become Nordurheim. Land owned Kragan, governed as part of the Kingdom but laws made by Kragan’s way - so long as none patently violated Altarian Law. Thus, the kingdom within a kingdom of Nordurheim was created.
The Mountains of Malone are surrounded by the Pinewoods of Tor. These woods are massive straight trees that have grown for millenia. Some of the trees are so massive that they are over 200 feet in circumference. The canopy of of the pinewoods can blot out the sun in many areas, and even the wind and snow are lessened within the protection of the great pinewoods.
Toran villages and towns in the area are often Valeerian or Wildman ran. So very few others choose to live this far north. Some Valeerians have built treehouse towns to protect themselves from the creatures of the forest floor, although this does little against those who can fly or climb.
Wildmen villages are more often on the outskirts of the pinewoods, having lacked the technology to build well within and preferring a more nomadic life. Wildmen do speak, when they speak to outsiders, of spirits that live within the pinewoods. These seem to be related to the strange ruins that can be found in and around the woods. Clearly some lost civilization once held ground here, but it has long since disappeared without a trace of the apparent culture remaining, only some art on the walls of their ruins.
The capital of Krymm and the most oddly named city in Praelia is Westershire. Named by and explorer who was so far from his mark that he thought he was on the west coast, this bustling city sits on the south banks of Lake Overturf. A marvel to the land, the city is an engineering wonder.
When Nevermore was destroyed, the Engineers moved far south and set up their new home in Westershire. Home of the Helwig University of Mechanics, Westershire has many advancements that seem like sorcery to others. From flowing water in houses to the steam rail system that moves high above the city, engineers from all across the kingdom come here to witness the newest and most amazing things.
One of the most interesting aspects of the city is the Carbone Tower that allows the two airships of the Engineering Lodge to dock and fly between Nicholshire and Westershire. These facilitate speedy travel, though scary.
Like with shields, we have spent decades researching and developing the safest gear possible for sports reenactment. From the oldest dowel rods and swing set parts, to the modern Class 4 gear, much thought and study has gone into learning what makes weapons safer than others.
For the longest time, 5/8ths was the gold standard for padding. Why was this the standard in so many groups? The answer is more pragmatic than scientific. The padding we could purchase came with a 5/8 inch wall so it was just law.
Over time we experimented, and found that simplifying to 1/2 inch exterior padding on a striking surface was not only just as safe, but often more accurate as weapons often were compressed below the 5/8 inch rule anyway. Likewise we found that 1/3 inch was sufficient for non striking surfaces as a minimum.
Other considerations such as tip padding have been unparalleled in research. How to make the strongest 'horse pill' while maintaining structural integrity and safety. Ultimately the 1 inch compressed pill on non-striking tips proved to be the safest around. This was contrary to the popular belief that a longer, softer tips were best. The science showed that the longer the tip, the greater chance of it bending and breaking the core through.
Other considerations that we improved upon were things like points and eyesocket safety. The truth of the matter is that no weapon is going to be 100% safe in the hands of an unsafe combatant. When all of the factors were equalled out, 95% of the time injury was not due to negligence or unsafe weaponry but unsafe and uncontrolled people. To this end we focus more on teaching control first, and it was no surprise to discover that injury diminished with better control. Thus, the weapons were never the problem at all.
Thieves on the rise in Clarksville!
A series of thefts has the citizens of Clarksville on alert as they fear for their goods and safety. These thieves have made their way throughout the city for the past few nights stealing money and anything else they can get from houses and travelers. The only description of these thieves is that they are short like pigmies.
Travelers in the area are advised to be on alert.
