Geography

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

This is a repost of stuff I sent out about the geography of Agondre:

It seems that I have been assuming a bit too much local ignorance. Let me mend that a bit:

- There will have been occasional representatives of civil authority, most often tax collectors, toll collectors, and so forth. I've been skimming over all that as uninteresting. Even so, it is true that the duchy is not ruling with an iron fist.

- Shepford isn't really on the trade routes. It's something of a backwater.

- The duke of the Gastreyr is Duke Leopold. He is grossly fat. (I'm thinking of Nero Wolfe as a model for him.)
The local baron is Alistair. He is handsome, but he stutters. His barony is Montmorency; Covanion is the seat of the barony.

- The nominal capital of the Empire of Agondre is Cardior, well to the north. The Empire is in decline, with various dukes warring over real power. Young Emperor Damaskenos is largely a figurehead. (Think of him as the emperor of Japan, with dukes as shoguns.)

- Duke Leopold has been largely keeping the Gastreyr out of the fighting. He sells grain to other duchies (whose names I will have to make up later, sorry) under a set of treaties that require them to come to his aid if he's attacked. This is probably not stable long-term, and this is a regular matter of concern for the political analysts drinking in taverns.

- One of the duchies under that treaty is Talein, to the northwest. Talein has lots of ragged, mountainous coastline. (Think of geography like Greece, but somewhat cooler weather.) They make excellent swords and other weapons there, but aren't agriculturally favored like the Gastreyr.

- To the north is another duchy under that treaty, Thoracis. It is hilly, with good mineral resources. They are the place to go to for good armor.

- To the south is the duchy of Genathiel. There's a lot of jungle there. According to rumor, the main products of Genathiel are spices, drugs, piracy, and debauchery. Port Royal is "the wickedest city on earth", a city so invidious that the GM didn't even come up with an original name.