Caelin
Jun 11, 2017 23:19:08 GMT -6
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jun 11, 2017 23:19:08 GMT -6
Overview
Effectively on a failed state, Caelin never recovered from the Bernese invasion. A mix of poor governance and highly almost comical misfortune, along with bandits driven from Tania and Khathelet, swamped the small Caelin army and nearly ripped the country apart in bandit wars. By this point, most of Caelin is actually under the control of various bandit warlords, some of whom believe themselves to be the next true Bandit King, with the capitol city surrounding Caelin Castle and some nearby territory being all that remains of the once peaceful march.
To jump into the real world for a second here, this place is a mix of drug cartel-controlled Mexico and Mad Max - the bad guys ARE the government across most of the territory, most villages and towns pay tribute or are legitimately just under their control, and crime is rife - women, slaves, mercenaries, loli whores, you name it, some bandit somewhere in Caelin has you covered.
There are a variety of sizes to the bandit-controlled territories and their overall influence; some of the best known are a bandit known as the Bull in the north, a giant brute of a man who wears a mask he claims was hollowed out of a dragon's skull and supposedly bears Minotaur blood; Asim of the east, a former Nabatan said to have the strength of ten men and the cruelty of eleven when enraged, who keep his forces from harassing areas under his control too much, and at least five smaller scale warlords who claim to be named Hargus. However, bandit power structures are ever fluctuating and there are countless smaller scale roaming bandit gangs and smaller territories that could prove easier to dislodge.
Military
None to speak of. Caelin never had much of a military in the first place and 90% combined casualty/defection rates crippled the remainder over the last few years. The few remaining knights and mostly conscripted infantry protecting the last bastion of the Marquess are all that remains.
The bandit 'militaries,' on the other hand, enjoy advantages that bandits elsewhere in Lycia can only dream of. Abandoned siege equipment, defecting soldiers, out-of-state mercenaries, forced conscripts from villages, and even abandoned fortresses all ensure that the major bandit forces within Caelin can each operate as almost sovereign city-states with enough military force to discourage all but a concerted effort by a major regional power to dislodge them. What they typically lack in tactics, these forces often make up for in raw combat experience; several were formed from paramilitary forces that grew larger and inter-bandit combat offers both a high casualty rate and eternal training. Some of these forces are MUCH more dangerous than even some armies.
Relationships
Effectively on a failed state, Caelin never recovered from the Bernese invasion. A mix of poor governance and highly almost comical misfortune, along with bandits driven from Tania and Khathelet, swamped the small Caelin army and nearly ripped the country apart in bandit wars. By this point, most of Caelin is actually under the control of various bandit warlords, some of whom believe themselves to be the next true Bandit King, with the capitol city surrounding Caelin Castle and some nearby territory being all that remains of the once peaceful march.
To jump into the real world for a second here, this place is a mix of drug cartel-controlled Mexico and Mad Max - the bad guys ARE the government across most of the territory, most villages and towns pay tribute or are legitimately just under their control, and crime is rife - women, slaves, mercenaries, loli whores, you name it, some bandit somewhere in Caelin has you covered.
There are a variety of sizes to the bandit-controlled territories and their overall influence; some of the best known are a bandit known as the Bull in the north, a giant brute of a man who wears a mask he claims was hollowed out of a dragon's skull and supposedly bears Minotaur blood; Asim of the east, a former Nabatan said to have the strength of ten men and the cruelty of eleven when enraged, who keep his forces from harassing areas under his control too much, and at least five smaller scale warlords who claim to be named Hargus. However, bandit power structures are ever fluctuating and there are countless smaller scale roaming bandit gangs and smaller territories that could prove easier to dislodge.
Military
None to speak of. Caelin never had much of a military in the first place and 90% combined casualty/defection rates crippled the remainder over the last few years. The few remaining knights and mostly conscripted infantry protecting the last bastion of the Marquess are all that remains.
The bandit 'militaries,' on the other hand, enjoy advantages that bandits elsewhere in Lycia can only dream of. Abandoned siege equipment, defecting soldiers, out-of-state mercenaries, forced conscripts from villages, and even abandoned fortresses all ensure that the major bandit forces within Caelin can each operate as almost sovereign city-states with enough military force to discourage all but a concerted effort by a major regional power to dislodge them. What they typically lack in tactics, these forces often make up for in raw combat experience; several were formed from paramilitary forces that grew larger and inter-bandit combat offers both a high casualty rate and eternal training. Some of these forces are MUCH more dangerous than even some armies.
Relationships
- Tania isn't particularly fond of the Caelin bandits pushing into their borders; Caelin counters that Tanian bandits were what led Caelin to its near demise in the first place. Neither territory is particularly eager to take responsibility.
- Khathelet benefits from Araphen's aid in controlling its own borders against Caelin's refuse, and wants nothing to do with Caelin
- Santaruz would love a satellite state and is itching to prove its knights in a glorious crusade to purge Caelin of bandit scum, but demands vassalage in return. Caelin understandably is not fond of the idea. Santaruz nonetheless eyes it more and more greedily by the day, and some say that the chivalrous territory is considering invading in the name of the 'greater good' anyways.
- Laus, similar to Santaruz, would love a vassal state. Unlike Santaruz, they actually get fairly good use of mercenaries from Caelin's various warlords, and enjoy how much trouble Caelin causes for Santaruz, so they are content to let things stand as they are... for now.
- Several other Lycian territories unofficially recognize certain bandit warlords, and rumors say that Laus even helps fund some of them, though as ever, no proof ever surfaces of Laus's wrongdoing.