Border Closures

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brilliantlight
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Re: Border Closures

Post by brilliantlight »

ewancummins wrote:I might if I were a lawful evil ruler who believed his female relation would be treated differently than a common concubine.
Why would you believe that? There is nothing in his background that suggests that he would do anything but abuse her. Also is Aubauker LE? I thought he was LN.
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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

brilliantlight wrote:
ewancummins wrote:I might if I were a lawful evil ruler who believed his female relation would be treated differently than a common concubine.
Why would you believe that? There is nothing in his background that suggests that he would do anything but abuse her. Also is Aubauker LE? I thought he was LN.

I am fairly sure the Lamordian ruler is listed as LE in at least one source, but perhaps I am thinking of the Living Brain and not the living baron?

As far as abuse, I don't know that canon supports only your reading of Drakov. It doesn't get very detailed about his general treatment of high born ladies, does it? Gypsies and slaves aren't noblewomen.

Maybe he's an all around monster. Maybe he is not. I don't think canon is detailed enough to admit only one view on how Drakov would treat a foreign and high born wife.
He is not Bluebeard.

There's a guy to whom you don't want to marry off your daughter!
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by brilliantlight »

ewancummins wrote:
brilliantlight wrote:
ewancummins wrote:I might if I were a lawful evil ruler who believed his female relation would be treated differently than a common concubine.
Why would you believe that? There is nothing in his background that suggests that he would do anything but abuse her. Also is Aubauker LE? I thought he was LN.

I am fairly sure the Lamordian ruler is listed as LE in at least one source, but perhaps I am thinking of the Living Brain and not the living baron?

As far as abuse, I don't know that canon supports only your reading of Drakov. It doesn't get very detailed about his general treatment of high born ladies, does it? Gypsies and slaves aren't noblewomen.

Maybe he's an all around monster. Maybe he is not. I don't think canon is detailed enough to admit only one view on how Drakov would treat a foreign and high born wife.
He is not Bluebeard.

There's a guy to whom you don't want to marry off your daughter!
The Gazeteer II says Aubreckers rule on Lamordia is light which hardly sound LE. It also says he was a goodhearted lord that fell into melancholy after the death of his sons. The whole domain is pretty orderly so I would say he is LN, possibly even LG.

About Drakov, again would you take the risk if it was your daughter? In any case it is canon that any superior officer can exercise "first night rights" on any underling and Drakov is the highest ranking officer in Falkanova. He is a rapist/torturer/mass murderer in canon, nothing I would want to risk marrying any of my female relatives off to. Since it says Aubrecker got depressed when his sons died it sounds like he cares about his family. I doubt he would marry off his daughter to someone like Drakov.
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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

Sure, as you like.

Or maybe he does. History affords numerous examples of arranged marriages to tyrants and brutes.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

Other places to look for canon on Von Aubreker:


Black Box (Though I seem to recall there is not much there)

Living Brain entry in the Ravenloft MM appendix

Adam's Wrath (I think he gets an NPC writeup)

Domains of Dread (hardback)
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

I looked it up in DoD.

No alignment given , but the "light touch" is mentioned.

I tend to agree with you. That does not seem so LE.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

Update

Looked in Adam's Wrath.

He's Lawful Neutral.

His...well, spoilers.
:azalin:

But I agree. As written , it seems unlikely he would marry his daughter off to Vlad Drakov.


This fits with Drakov being unable to gain the respect of other rulers, which is what he craves. I think the Black Box text implies that is actually his curse, not getting stomped in wars.
He loses wars because of the nature of the demiplane and darklords.
It could be read that way, no?

Even if Drakov temporarily conquers another domain somehow, he will never have legitimacy. He will never be accepted by other rulers as a true king. Forever the jumped up, brutish mercenary. Forever the murderer and thug.


May transfer some of this tangent to another thread.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by brilliantlight »

ewancummins wrote:Update

Looked in Adam's Wrath.

He's Lawful Neutral.

His...well, spoilers.
:azalin:

But I agree. As written , it seems unlikely he would marry his daughter off to Vlad Drakov.


This fits with Drakov being unable to gain the respect of other rulers, which is what he craves. I think the Black Box text implies that is actually his curse, not getting stomped in wars.
He loses wars because of the nature of the demiplane and darklords.
It could be read that way, no?

Even if Drakov temporarily conquers another domain somehow, he will never have legitimacy. He will never be accepted by other rulers as a true king. Forever the jumped up, brutish mercenary. Forever the murderer and thug.


May transfer some of this tangent to another thread.
Agreed, marrying the daughter of a baron would give him the respectability he wants.
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Re: Border Closures

Post by brilliantlight »

thekristhomas wrote:
ewancummins wrote:That isn't really about border closures, though. Thread drift.

It may connect to the 'War in the Core' thread.
Indeed! Coincidentally I've just suggested another possible groom for Gerda, the daughter of von Aubreker, on that thread, Jacques Renier!
Jacques Renier makes more sense. Herself doesn't have the kind of nasty reputation Drakov has. She is seen more as a "party girl" by outsiders. They certainly don't know she is a wererat.
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Re: Border Closures

Post by ewancummins »

brilliantlight wrote:
thekristhomas wrote:
ewancummins wrote:That isn't really about border closures, though. Thread drift.

It may connect to the 'War in the Core' thread.
Indeed! Coincidentally I've just suggested another possible groom for Gerda, the daughter of von Aubreker, on that thread, Jacques Renier!
Jacques Renier makes more sense. Herself doesn't have the kind of nasty reputation Drakov has. She is seen more as a "party girl" by outsiders. They certainly don't know she is a wererat.

The eldest son of Jacqueline Reiner, yes.


Makes sense.

I think it might also make sense for him to marry one of the Weathermay-Foxgrove sisters.

Or maybe not.

Is the mayoralty of Mordentshire actually hereditary, or just an elected office that tends to be held within one or two families?
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Border Closures

Post by brilliantlight »

The Lesser Evil wrote:
ewancummins wrote:

Right, I'm not suggesting anybody but Drakov is trying to invade Darkon.

Tepest not only looks like a good target for an ambitious neighbor, it might be invaded even with border closures as part or the setting.

The Three Sisters may not care who rules. Tasty foreign humans enter in force? So what. More meat for the pot.
As far as the Mindefisk Sisters go, I think how they would react to an invading force and/or close the borders seems a bit opaque. On the one hand, we know that one of the reasons they were trying to seduce the dandy is because they wanted him to take them to the city or something. They were bored in podunkville, nowhere. Presumably they feel the same way about Tepest. In my understanding, it's part of the reason why they're trolling people all the time. So they might let an invasion force in for funsies for a while.

OTOH, the Inquisition is a pawn they use from time to time to spread misery and woe, something they're probably able to do because the Inquisition is scattered and unorganized. If a more organized force came in, they might lose a valuable asset. Not to mention the goblins, another favorite puppet of theirs, being reduced or eliminated. So after a while, I think the Hags would tire of an invasion and then seal the borders while their agents cleaned up house.

That is not to say that Tepest might totally need the borders to protect them from Nova Vaasa. For the most part, the Nova Vaasans are a conventional military force that is used to fighting out in open, grassy terrain with relatively less supernatural creatures than the ones that haunt Tepest. Their horsemanship and normal tactics would be relatively less useful in the dingy swamps and dark forests of Tepest.

In addition, if Nova Vaasan troops went into Tepest, they would most likely face a (even if unintentional) united front against them as everything from the fey, the goblins, the humans, and assorted various monsters attacking the invading foreign entities. The Nova Vaasans would face a quagmire of a guerrilla war. Think of how Falkovnia tried to invade G'Henna during the Starving March. This isn't to say the Nova Vaasans couldn't take Tepest if they really wanted to. The question is if they'd really want enough to stick around in a mess that would probably go on longer and messier than they'd predicted.
I am willing to say they flat out get butchered if they try to take Tepest. Those fey are nasty and there are a whole lot of them.
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Re: Border Closures

Post by High Priest Mikhal »

ewancummins wrote:Is the mayoralty of Mordentshire actually hereditary, or just an elected office that tends to be held within one or two families?
It's elected, according to Gaz. III.
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