|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 14:54:27 GMT
Background
A little over ten years ago, a tinge of guilt began to take hold of mainlanders, who felt sympathy towards those exiled to the Wastes. “A fate worse than death, unbefitting the crimes of desperate thieves and petty banditry”, decried a well-regarded evangelist. This initial guilty tinge blossomed into a full-blown social movement, and as more and more rallied to act, the church was finally compelled to sanction a plan. Gathering a motley group of especially committed volunteers, the church brought together every pious clergymen, optimistic missionary, oath-bound protector, and a smattering of other do-gooders under the common banner of the First Mission of Salvation and Rehabilitation (or simply “First Mission”, for those of brevity).
The initial objectives of the First Mission were typical of these types of humanitarian forays: protect the unprotected, bring hope to the hopeless, and crush evil in places where it flourishes. They saw themselves as the saviors of the wretched, and the tamers of a sinister land. The First Mission had dreams of one day repatriating the condemned Exiles back into proper civilization; to accomplish this, they wanted to build hospitals and schools and temples… instead they built Fort Havensparr.
The First Mission opted to set their roots in the shadow of a towering Vanished monument – a great obelisk of alien metal, easily twenty stories tall. Dubbed “the Spear of Heaven”, or “Havensparr” in the old tongue, the obelisk was originally a gathering spot for vulnerable, newly-exiled criminals to congregate and prey on one another. The First Mission seized the opportunity to use this natural rallying point as a safe haven for helpless Exiles, enclosing the site with walls and holy wards to keep the troubles of the Wastes at bay. The missionaries then went to work fortifying the obelisk itself, building ramshackle scaffolds and dicey catwalks as a way of incorporating some vertical defensibility to the settlement. With no real engineers or civil planners to speak of, Fort Havensparr became something of an architectural hodgepodge – a patchwork of scavenged materials, stitched together in a crude style by men who were better at fighting and praying than building. At a distance, one could easily mistake the outpost for a bandit fortress or survivalist compound, albeit a large one.
A few years into the project, after hundreds of desperate Exiles had already flocked to the protective aegis of the First Mission’s slapdash outpost, corruption finally began to weasel into the ranks of leadership. It started when the most senior leaders of the First Mission locked themselves away from prying eyes, taking refuge atop the obelisk so they could guide the mission outside of public view. Religious missionaries, especially those bound by the oaths of their church, are generally an obedient lot, so when it came time for the leadership to enact their selfish machinations, there was little pushback from the Fort’s denizens. Thus began the dark times at Fort Havensparr. Outspoken individuals found themselves posted to distant wasteland camps. Humanitarian efforts were sidelined in favor of hedonistic vanity projects. Sheltered Exiles were kicked out for the most minor of infractions. Suspicious deaths thinned out the ranks.
Fort Havensparr had been perverted from within, and its loyal members were helpless to do anything about it for fear of running afoul of The Leaders. When word finally got back to the mainland that the Mission had been compromised, supply lines dried up, leaving the hapless band of missionaries trapped in the Wastes without the promise of relief. Where once there was sense of optimistic altruism and cooperation, there was now only deflated hopes and paranoid suspicion.
Even after ten years, Fort Havensparr still stands defiant against the encroaching wasteland, though it is very much a perverse shadow of what it should have been. The hospitals, schools, and temples that had been promised never came to fruition; instead, the Fort is a collection of shabby, overcrowded tents, sullen breadlines, and brutal bulwarks. Atop the obelisk, The Leaders hoard the best for themselves, leaving naught but scraps for the rank-and-file paladins and starving Exiles. In the shanties below, destitute masses band together into communal gangs under the watchful eyes of crooked enforcers and sycophantic priests. Newcomers are viewed not as victims to be rescued, but rather as leeches expecting handouts. Pockets of do-gooders exist in Fort Havensparr, though they prefer to keep a low profile, as the desperate are apt to overwhelm such sources of charity in great numbers, and The Leaders are just as keen to stamp out independent initiatives. While religion permeates every facet of life in the Fort, there is little “good” left to be found here.
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 15:22:38 GMT
Economy
Fort Havensparr has little in the way of tradeable goods - most everything is appropriated immediately in an "every-man-for-himself" environment. Barter is the main form of trade, with practical goods holding the most value. Few people here accept gold as payment, though the more pious clergymen may take it as a tithe or donation to be sent back to the homeland.
What primitive form of currency exists comes in the form of Labor Notes; a promissory contract of working effort on behalf of the issuer, which comes in blocks of single hours of owed labor time. As a general rule, a one-hour Labor Note is comparable in value to a gold piece, though its value is often haggled. Refusal to honor a “cashed-in” Labor Note is a grievous offence punished via banishment from the Fort (or worse, depending on the debt). Members of the First Mission rarely issue Labor Notes, since they already owe their allegiances to their church and to The Leaders, and aren’t keen on allowing another to guide them. Conversely, Exiles are all too quick to offer Labor Notes, as they tend to hoard as many tangible items as they can, and hard work is something they can provide in abundance.
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Jan 15, 2020 15:35:21 GMT
Fort Havenspar took a gnarly turn from Mostly Good with some wayward leadership to mostly Evil with some wayward good foot-soldiers! How does this affect all the Hospitaler bases out there guarding the roads? I pictured these guys as a mostly lawful-leaning-towards-good foil to the mostly lawful-leaning-towards-evil Bloodrock Guild... I'm definitely down with the corrupt and disconnected leadership (although we've got secretive, sinister leadership down at Bowmans) but it'd be pretty great for the overall picture if the majority of troops on the ground were good. Rudderless, hamstrung, under-supplied and undermanned, but good...
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 16:10:44 GMT
I'm writing up the Faction details now. The Hospitaliers remain (mostly) uncorrupted because they are physically far out in the Wastes and are therefore much more autonomous, though the leadership can sometimes "appropriate" one of their groups to further their own agenda. The Wastes will be full of do-gooders who are part of the First Mission, but have been kicked out of Fort Havensparr or assigned to a shitty posting because their goodness became a threat to the corrupted regime.
The intent here is that the top is corrupted and the bottom is powerless to stop them. There are still pockets of good at Fort Havensparr, but they need to be sought out and protected. Good characters will have a place in the Fort among their own kind, but the corruption serves as a reason for them to leave and seek adventure in the Wastes. It's essentially an environment that comes from the extremes of religious obedience and people in power preying on the vulnerable. The grand idea for the settlement though is the purging of the corruption by player actions, which will in turn grow Fort Havensparr into a more charitable presence in the Wastes than it has been - the end goal is getting the First Mission back on track.
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Jan 15, 2020 17:04:35 GMT
Cool. As long as we can easily distinguish them from the creepy fundies running Bowmans. It sounds like you've got a Snowpiercer/Fury Road distopian thing going on up top which works. This is going to significantly muddy the waters on the reasons for the emerging rift with the BEG. Previously, I was just thinking it would be friction over the BEG becoming increasingly pushy along the roads and moving in on Hospitaler territory. Now there could be all sorts of murky interactions between the fractured leadership, the misguided Hospitalers and the Guild.
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 17:57:58 GMT
The Hospitaliers have standing orders to disrupt the BEG (they are slavers, after all). The leadership at Havensparr also has a reason to go up against the BEG: they're sucking up resources and people that the Leaders want to control. There's also a few "geurilla"-style groups in Fort Havensparr which fight the corruption, and because they're still representative of the "good guys" in the settlement, they obviously also have a problem with the BEG. More will come when I put out the Faction details.
And yeah, the whole vibe is meant to be very Immortan Joe/Fury Road.
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Jan 15, 2020 18:11:26 GMT
I sent your last description of Havenspar off to Sketchy two weeks ago. He may or may not be taking a shot at it currently. Hopefully the physical description of the place hasn't changed much with this iteration?
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 19:56:29 GMT
I can't recall exactly what was outlined prior, though I reckon that it wouldn't have changed much, and if it had, I can just re-write the description to match the art.
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 15, 2020 20:47:32 GMT
Factions
The Leaders: holed-up atop the mighty obelisk in chambers of comparative decadence, The Leaders are a council of eight senior representatives who guide the operations of the First Mission throughout the Wastes. Though they are well-known as corrupted and shiftless, few people have the gall to go against The Leaders, as many in Fort Havensparr are still bound by oath and mandate to follow their directives no matter how perverse. Those who protest or disobey often find themselves kicked out, re-assigned, or branded as heretics on the wrong side of a lynch mob. As the more moralistic members were "purged" from their ranks years ago, The Leaders are now free to chase their own selfish agendas, usually at the cost of many unfortunate Exiles and subordinates. Their usual goal is the exploitation of their desperate charges in order to ride out their time in First Mission in comfort and luxury - this is usually accomplished by exploiting their seniority in the church to pull rank, cashing-in great collections of Labor Notes, and bullying those who step out of line. The most powerful member of The Leaders is a fat, lecherous priest named Aldo the Ever-blessed. Aldo keeps the other Leaders in line with a prolonged campaign of extortion, blackmail, and manipulation, and is not above assassination to extend his power.
The Hospitaliers: a sect of battle clerics and paladins loosely affiliated with The Leaders, charged with protecting Exiles far out in the harshness of the Wastes. Hospitalier groups are largely autonomous owing to their de-centralized leadership, and only avoid the corrupting influence of The Leaders by virtue of their physical distance from Fort Havensparr. Each Hospitalier unit falls under the command of a Sergeant-at-Arms, and consists of anywhere between five to twenty-five combat veterans. A unit will take its name from a fierce creature, whose image is emblazoned upon their patches and banners. Of all members of the First Mission, the Hospitaliers are the most devoted to upholding their mandate of protecting Exiles in the Wastes. Consequently, most well-traveled roads remain under Hospitalier protection, and many slavers, marauders, and monsters have fallen to their blades. Hospitaliers have standing orders to hinder, halt, or otherwise interfere with any Blackrock Excavation Guild activity they come across, as their casual cruelty and blatant slavery practices conflict with the guardian oaths of the Hospitaliers. In times when coordination between multiple units is required, the Hospitaliers seek guidance from the most senior member available in the field, promoting them temporarily to the rank of Marshall and following their orders unquestioningly.
Mother’s Mercy: while many have abandoned or been pushed out of the original humanitarian tenants of the First Mission, the largest group still operating within Fort Havensparr who have yet to follow suit are a group of well-meaning acolytes known as Mother’s Mercy. Mostly known for the palliative care they provide to Exiles on death’s door, Mother’s Mercy can also be found working the breadlines, bandaging the wounded, and bartering for Labor Notes (which they then destroy as a charity to the issuer). Mother’s Mercy represents the untainted altruistic core of what the First Mission had intended, and as a result, have become de-facto enemies of the corrupted Leaders. Consequently, the group makes every attempt to conceal its membership and operations, choosing a clandestine approach to caring for their charges which keeps their identity anonymous. They often appear where needed at exactly the right time, and disappear just as mysteriously. Their efforts are directed from an undisclosed location by a masked leader known only as “The Mother”; for obvious reasons, this individual has layered themselves behind numerous trusted agents to further protect their identity.
The Peckers: useful materials are hard to come by at Fort Havensparr, but the most difficult to obtain by far are the bizarre, alien metals held in the heart of the obelisk itself. Jacketed by several feet of solid steel, the innards of the obelisk are made up of nested layers of concentric metallic cores, each with its own mysterious properties. The Peckers, so-named because of their constant “pecking” away at the obelisk with mining picks, are an organization of devoted (some might say insane) fanatics who have been working for years to reach the inner materials of the core. If the ear-splitting noise of metal constantly clanging against metal wasn’t enough cause to give The Peckers a wide berth, then their surly attitudes and squirrely demeanors do a fine job of keeping the denizens of Fort Havensparr at good distance. The obsession to get to the deepest innards of the obelisk has utterly consumed those Exiles unfortunate enough to start “pecking”; so single-minded are they in the task that they eschew all safety concerns, medical conditions, and even go without sleep for days at a time. The Peckers are only tolerated because The Leaders expect to swoop in and take whatever is pulled from the obelisk. Thus far, The Peckers have only just breached the second layer of metal core (what they call “rainbowcopper” - an unnaturally hard, somewhat coarse copper that reflects light in all colors of the rainbow). Until they can figure out how to pierce the much harder “moonsilver” metal beneath, they continue to impotently peck away at the obelisk, blunting hundreds of mining picks in the process.
Divine Justice: depending on who you ask, the Divine Justice are either a group of corrupt secret police operating on behalf of the private interests of The Leaders, or are the vital champions of the common man and defenders of human decency. The truth is something of a grey area. Divine Justice members can be publicly identified by their iridescent armor made of “rainbowcopper” - a tough metal mined from the core of the obelisk. The Leaders had insisted that the Divine Justice be afforded all the best equipment, under the auspices that the protection of the weak afforded them choice of the strongest tools. In reality, the Divine Justice are being fashioned into a private army of repression and enforcement for the whims of The Leaders. Until such time as they are fully ready for “deployment”, however, their members fill their time by helping around the Fort, tending to the sick, and feeding the masses. While such actions seems counterintuitive to the selfish agendas of The Leaders, in truth they serve as a form of propaganda against growing accusations of corruption amongst the upper echelons. Despite their pleasant public façade, every member of Divine Justice has been handpicked by The Leaders for their unflinching loyalty, their deadliness, and their “moral flexibility”.
|
|
|
Post by grutzi on Jan 16, 2020 11:36:45 GMT
Love the whole vibe of the place
Though with Bowmanns also being on the darker end of the morality scale I feel the urge to make Arnlugs Carcass a bit more light and good. The First mission started very good and idealistic and became corrupted and twisted in their desires by the wasteland. Arnlaug and his men started as the worst kind of thieving and murderin scum, but when they build their camp and the exiles flocked to them for protection they suddenly realized, that they could really make a difference ... and that Arnlaug had a real talent as an administrator/leader of sorts. So now they really try to make the place a good place to live and really care about their "subjects" ... they're still bandits and cutthroats ... but honest and direct ones at least, with their heart (finally) in the right place. Think Malcolm Reynolds and the crew of the Firefly ...
I imagine this could work well as a kind of mirror for Fort Havensparr ... and it twists expectations ab it at least. And I kind of think it is important that not all our "leaders" in the wasteland are meant to be killed of or disposed of somewhere ...
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Jan 16, 2020 13:50:54 GMT
The settlers of Bowmans are a bit tight-assed, but definitely all-round good people. Their elders answer to an inimical fungal false-god that needs to be done away with. A couple of the elders are kind of dicks as well, but not all of them. Generally the prevailing alignment would be one of Law and Good with the occasional lapse into mass-hallucination and human sacrifice "for the greater good"... Hold onto those chaotic rough edges at Arnlaugs grutzi! I miss old-school Gygaxian alignments: You could go with Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies... Han Shot First!
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Jan 16, 2020 15:54:37 GMT
I rather like grutzi's take; Arnlaug's are bad guys working to be better, while Havensparr are good guys becoming worse. Bowman's is kinda just doing it's own thing, which is groovy too because when you think about it, classifying a settlement as "good" or "bad" is a huge generalization - settlements are made of individuals, all different from one-another, and all with their own unique moral grey areas.
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Feb 19, 2020 14:08:31 GMT
This took a while, and might be a little busier that what we were imagining, but it's a pretty sweet illustration from sketchy!
|
|
|
Post by DangerousPuhson on Feb 19, 2020 20:33:16 GMT
Fucking hell, super cool! Very intimidating!
I'll modify the town description to match. Nice job Sketchy!
|
|
|
Post by The1True on Nov 15, 2020 16:16:44 GMT
I had a bitch of a time unwrapping my tree, but it occurs to me the pillar of Fort Havensparr could probably be done with a vertical wraparound map. had to shrink it down to fit in Attachments. Lost a great deal of detail. The Pillar is a lot smaller so wouldn't require this stretched out resolution.
|
|