Request that the Earl of Westwater appear for an audience to discuss the funding of Westwater's repairs and the status of his vassalage.
Hold open council for the commons and nobles, separately.
Have scouts dispatched across the countryside for two weeks, while the army reassembles, in an attempt to locate the bandits' encampments.
Have agents try and pinpoint the source of the pirates infesting the coast. Try and locate their docking grounds.
Have my steward come up with opportune ways of increasing trade through the province. Also appraise the cost of expanding the city docks.
Have announcements placed around the city offering employment for any would be warfare/charisma specialists. Adept, in the earlier's case, renowned, in the later's.
[3] The Earl tentatively agrees to discuss both the topics, but refuses to come to you in an audience, instead insisting you send an emissary to him to discuss such things.
[2] The scouts have no luck in finding the encampments at this time.
[2] The agents trying to find the pirate lairs happen to have the same amount of luck as the scouts, finding neither hide nor hair of the corsairs.
[6] Your steward, a bright and eager lesser noble, claims to have several ideas he could implement that would certainly boost the trade throughout the duchy if the bandits weren't in the way. He only requests that he is paid for this with a pound of silver, and an estate to call his own.
[5, 2-
2] While, being unable to find any statesmen within the duchy (And most such men would have moved away the very instant they could, to form their own kingdom somewhere), you are easily able to flag down several adepts of the art of military strategy. Each has his asking price of a single pound however, which may make it an expensive proposition to hire all three...
Open Court:
The Peasantry[4] The peasantry are doing comparatively well within the duchy, and there's little for them to complain about. The situation for them could be better, but not by much. With a cessation of hostilities from the civil war, they have had time to settle down and have been able to properly tend the land.
A few villages have sent a couple of petitioners, in light of the recent campaign against the bandits, to fortify their villages along with the materials to do so. While expensive, it could prove valuable for holding the land against marauders and other miscreants, along with reassuring the general peasant population.
Steward's opinion: While it certainly has it's merits, the sheer expense of providing the materials would take around five pounds out of the treasury. And if an enemy manages to take the village, it would be harder for us to reclaim it. Furthermore, if we want to keep any future parcels safe, we'd need to have them fortified as well. Giving them the rights to build it themselves, but not providing the materials would be cost-effective, but it would prevent us from raising any levies from them for the year.The Burghers[5] Compared to most of the cities, Stormport emerged from the war unscathed, the middle class flourishing with the goods coming in from the demesne and the capital. Even with the recent spate with the bandits and pirates, the city is doing extremely well.
The burgeoning population however, has meant the city is starting to be overcrowded, and that a lack of work is starting to become a problem. Fortunately, the representatives have a few plans on how to deal with this. Building up more houses would mean the overcrowding would no longer be a problem, but would be very expensive to do so within the walls. Of course, outside the walls means that in the case of a siege, these populace outside the walls would be cut off from the interior. Modifying the walls to enclose a larger area would not be a difficult task however, as the wood-and-earth fortifications are rather uncomplex and simple to refurbish, though it would take time to do so. This would also have an impact on the lack of work, since the city has an abundance of the unemployed.
Steward's opinion: Expanding the city is a costly, but necessary expense, with how quickly it's growing. With the extra supply of labour, and the simple defences means it's far cheaper than what it could end up being. Around three to five pounds would be enough however.The Nobles[6] The nobility have thrived, having dodged the worst of the war being no worse for wear. Of course, this has led to them pushing the boundaries on occasion, with them levying higher taxes upon the peasants at times, along with a few disturbing reports of them co-operating with the bandits.
Though given the rumours against them, the nobles seem rather content at your rule, though more than a few have come to ask you if that, with your blessing, they could take some of the unemployed burghers and take them as serfs, and claim some extra farmland with the new labour. Though it would take a while, it could bring in more than a few extra parcels under your banner.
Steward's opinion: While the idea is certainly sound, I doubt the city-dwellers would be happy that they can be dragged off to the fields by a noble just because the city was overcrowded. On the other hand, once they adapted to their environs, the extra land that they could settle would certainly be a big boost to the economy.
Upon my return to the Capital begin searching for any hired blades or solo mercs with a reputation of completing the jobs they're given successfully.
Ask around about rumors or knowledge of the bandit knight I faced in the battle, and exactly why these bandits seem to be so well supplied.
[4] The capital happens to have a reasonable number of freelance mercenaries, most stopping on their way to Falken and Selridge to take jobs there.
[5] The bandit knight, though you are unable to learn his name, but are able to learn that he is either related to a prominent noble, or was one at a point. [1] Of course, when you ask around about how they are supplied, everyone refuses to answer your questions, going so far as to refuse you service if you keep the questioning up.
Hold an open council for the commoners and the nobility--concerns on Severance and probably the outlying perimeters.
In the ^above^, open the prospect of what was detailed by the Prince; encourage the act of exploration and discovery, for wisdom, wealth and prosperity.
Have my spies or those of...'dubious' connection to initiate a talk with any bandits plaguing my lands-the cause, and their beliefs under the white flag of peace.
Lower the taxes at the ports, and order the sailors to spread word of the focus on national trade.
[3] It doesn't take long before word reaches you that the bandits have gotten word of such by accosting a messenger delivering a message between agents. The agent in question reports they are somewhat... confused by such an offer. They sent a message back via the same messenger, requesting a meeting between you, and their local leader in one of the inns along the road to Dorenstadt to further discuss such an arrangement
[2] While the tax cut goes into effect, the message goes onto deaf ears, which only leaves you potentially out of pocket next year with the reduced tax income. (Severance Tax income reduced by .75 pounds until repealed.)
Open Court:
The Peasantry[5] The peasantry are seemingly completely happy with your rule, having very well prospered due to the duchy being located away from the primary battlefields. A population boom has lead to an increase of the farming population, and the harvests as of late have been well, providing the peasants with more wealth than most others inside the kingdom as of late.
Though this recent swell of people and money has brought the villages into prosperity, some of the younger villagers, along with some of the nobles, feel it's time to spread their wings. The peasant petitioners do not come to you with an individual request, joining the nobles in theirs for some reason...
The Burghers[1] The burghers, at the very least, are dissatisfied. The events that led up to your father taking power have taken a toll on them, and his policies have not helped. And with the recent bandit and pirate activity, it's only getting worse. With the manpower and arms kept by the levies though, it is unlikely they could muster up any threat of any proportion without outside interference. Some of the burghers have taken to emigrating, heading to Stormborough and Stormport to go somewhere where the conditions for the townspeople are better.
Still, a few petitioners have taken the plunge into the open court with an open mind. The representatives state that unless something is done about the economic state of the city soon, it's likely to start seeing mass emigrations to other cities. They don't care how you do it, so long as there's something being done.
Steward's opinion: There's more than a few ways we can go about this. The easiest option would be giving the city a break from taxation for a few years, but that would certainly cut into our treasury and no doubt some of them may end up using the money to hire a private army in the worst case. Some investment money would surely help with their complaints, but with a city this size, it'll be fairly expensive to do enough for it to be meaningful. A trade agreement with one of the neighbouring fiefs could yield a cheap way of satisfying them, but that would depend on the bandits being nullified, and said neighbour agreeing to it.The Nobles[5] The nobles, having long languished under house Severance, have reached a level of well-being that they have not had even before the severances were in power. Between house Flazer acting as an unofficial dispute-resolver for the other houses, and your father's actions, have ensured a sense of definite loyalty towards your reign. Most of the noble houses have even had to start splurging on things they have not done in the past due to the prosperity of not only themselves, but the peasants as well. The recent denial of Duke severance's marriage offer has only bolstered their faith in you.
Baron Traviath heads a small group of petitioners, both noble and peasant, coming before you with a proposal: With the increase of the wealth of the general rural population, and the explosion in population of the people, the petitioners request your permission, and funding, for a wave of settlement in some of the unclaimed land within the ducal borders. While told this would be expensive endeavour, Travaith assures you this will assuredly bring in large-scale returns after a couple of years.
Steward's opinion: With due respect, this plan is not only ideal, but with the peasants and nobles co-operating on this, it has a very real chance at succeeding. It will be expensive to commit to, and the bandits are likely to throw it into disarray for their own purposes, but if it's successful, we're looking at doubling the amount of parcels we have, more if we're lucky, and half at worst. This is, of course, going to cost us atleast five pounds to get this off the ground, and the entire treasury to reap the rewards...
Allocate 1 pound to the Mining Guild to increase productivity.
Allocate 3 pounds to the Master of Arms to raise a (Dwarven) levy with shields and Heavy Training. (That should be 3 pounds total, yes? Raising a levy isn't given a cost, so I assumed it was 1 pound.)
The miners guild takes the money, saying they cannot exactly expand the current operations with that amount, but they can try looking for a new vein of materials. In a few days though, the guild excitedly reports that they have found a mineral find that could potentially bring in a great amount of wealth, and the size of it means that that it'll be extremely unlikely to run dry within several hundred years by the surveyor's estimate. They only need more funding in order to start the operation on that lode though...
[5 = Gems, 5= Huge deposit found!]
The master at arms complains that he cannot raise a levy with what you wanted with the funds you provided. In order to do so, he would need atleast ten times that amount, but it would affect all the levies of your realm once it was. ((Upgrades can only be bought for retinue units Hans. Levies can't be upgraded in the same way))
Author
Topic: You are King: New Realms: IC Thread (Read 13611 times)