Interest and development thread for a new Kingdom game

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Troop stuff sounds good Deag, although I think maybe we should keep to early medieval stuff and leave out things like gunpowder, Landsknechts and other such stuff.

I got bored so I had a go at doing the Coats of Arms and mottos for the stuff I created. As always, if they're trash or you want to use others, don't hesitate to say so.

Sudwald:
Sudwald.png

Strong as Oak.

Nordland:
Nordland.png

Ever vigilant.

Baron Marco Littorai (Regent of Wyneland):
Wyneland-1.png

For Gold and God.

Count Girion Heldorn (Count of The Dale and Barrowlands):
TheDale1.png

Courage conquers all.

Count Vagmar Jorgmund (Count of the Ironlands):
Ironland.png

Iron, Blood, Stone.

I'll likely have a go at the remaining 2 provinces after my exams tomorrow if no one else wants to.
 
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Last 2 province proposals, as always, if they're trash or you have suggestions, then please say. I think it might be interesting to have Drachenstien (A), Jorgmund (Ironland) and Haalbirk (Taaland) as the last surviving provinces/families from pre conquest times. The idea being that they sided with the conqueror, and due to their isolated place and being allowed to keep their lands, their culture survived somewhat. Thoughts on the idea?

C - Taaland, the smallest County of Neumark, Taaland is an poor, isolated region on the West coast of the Kingdom, it is the ancestral seat of House Haalbirk, who have ruled over the County since times before the conquest. Like the Drachenstiens and Jorgmunds, they kept their holdings and status by siding with the conqueror when his armies arrived in Neumark. Together, these 3 families represent the last real remnants of pre-conquest culture, and while it has been diluted, the blood of the old Kingdom still flows in their veins. Head of House Haalbirk is Count Matthius Haalbirk, 27, who inherited the seat not long ago, after his father and 3 brothers succumbed to the plague. His wife, Leah, also died in the plague, leaving him distraught and without family save his 3 year old son, Karl.

Taaland.png

Taaland is not particularly special as a province. Geographically, it includes a small stretch of the Iron mountains and their foothills, but is mostly made up of low plains. Their are few settlements in this small province, and most of the peasants spend their lives farming or keeping pigs. Taaland's only real claim to fame is the large Pig farms that exist in many parts of the province. Taaland pig farmers are usually a step above the usual peasant on the social ladder, and many develop a considerable amount of wealth for lowborn people.

vejle-fjord09.jpg

Militarily, Taaland is a weak province. Like all the peoples with the blood of the old Kingdom, they prefer to fight with maces, axes and war picks. However, unlike the other provinces of the old Kingdom, Taaland has a sizeable force of horsemen, due to its open planes. Levies are still low in number, but like all those of the old blood, the people are tough, fierce and regard skill at arms as an important part of life, with the best warriors being greatly respected.

D - Yaurkeshire, a province much like Sudwald, made up of low plains and open deciduous forest, Yaurkeshire differs from Sudwald geographically because of the presence of the Iron Mountains in the North of the County. Despite the presence of the Iron Mountains, mining is not as widespread in Yaurkeshire as it is in Ironland, and indeed, very few valuable mineral veins have been found in Yaurkeshire.

cumbria.jpg

Yaurkeshire is a vassal of Sudwald, and the current ruler, Count Edmund de Vard, 34, is subject to the Arch Bishop of Sudwald. Before the conquest, Yaurkeshire actually made up the Northern half of Sudwald. Needing to appease the Church and pay it back for its aid but not give away too much of his new realm, the King split the province in 2, giving Sudwald to the Church. Count Edmund has 2 children, Edward and Edwhina, both 14, and many question both his creativity and his suitability as a ruler. He is weak, constantly ill and quite simple. Furthermore, he is near constantly accompanied by his Aunt Hilda, who has been his constant companion and adviser since the death of his parents in an violent winter storm, 26 years ago.

Yaurkeshire.png

Militarily and culturally, Yaurkeshire is similar to Sudwald, as would be expected of a County so similar to its neighbour and overlord.
 
I would certainly be interested in joining this later, preferably as the Lord of Fenland (In other words: Dibs suckers!). I'd be glad to help develop this in any way I can, right now I'm working on the different dynasties and family trees.
 
Are there any other things that need doing that I can work on?
 
I'd suggest doing the coat of arms for the other major houses like Veruns, Harrald and Alton.
Here's a Family Tree of House Verens that I've been working on, showing both the known family and relatives through marriage:
House Verens.png
I've been using some CK2 icons, so for those of you that don't know:
Two rings = Marriage, Skull = Dead Person, Blood = Characters in the dynasty, Sword on Shield = Knight (This one isn't in CK though)
 
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Are there any other things that need doing that I can work on?

Chartered cities, we need one to be the capitol, and at least two more IMHO. One could be in the river delta where Fenland meets the sea, perhaps called Dyflin (an old hiberno-norse name for Dublin)? Meanwhile the capitol needs something semi-classical.

Also, we need to have a general sketch of the rest of the world. I have a few ideas:
 
Pardon the abstract art. Just meant to give you a general sense of the geography, hopefully someone can make something out of this mess.

Okay so Neumark is the n. The G is Gallus, our France-like neighbor and rival. The O is Ostheim, our germany/HRE. The V is Valtheon, basically Italy. It's where the Primus lives and is a mess of petty lordships and city-states playing him, Gallus and Ostheim against each other.

a is a contested area between Gallus and Ostheim. Sort of like the stretch in real life europe from flanders through the netherlands. Changes hands a lot. I'm thinking of calling it the 5 Free Cities.

b is our Denmark/Norway equivilant, where the ancestors of the Drachens came from. Now converted to the High Church and less pillagy than they used to be. Names welcome.

c is like a reconquista-era spain/aragon. Borderland between the High Faith and the infidels.

d is like Hungary or maybe Poland, edge of the High Church world

f is steppes. fierce nomads may appear from here

e is infidels, they follow the Thousand and One Gods once worshipped under the Valtheon Empire.

Unmarked circle on the right hand edge is a potential Ireland analog. I'm undecided about including it.

Basically these countries may or may not be involved in creating situations that Neumark has to deal with.
 

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First idea for a city. I'll post another one later, along with some ideas for the rest of the world. As always, criticism/suggestions are welcome. And yes, I did go a bit crazy with the lakegate, it might be a tad too large.

The Free City of Dyflin, an odd city situated near the North West coast of Neumark. Nestled in the delta regions of the Fennlands, Dyflin is a city surrounded by bog and water. Indeed, the only way to reach Dyflin without a boat is along one of the 4 great causeways that enter the city from North, South, North East and South East, each of which has a fortified gatehouse halfway along it. The Western side of the city is given over to the lakegate, which is a vast portcullis built into the wall over the deepest parts of the water that surrounds Dyflin. Behind the lakegate is the merchant quarter of the city, home to many docks and warehouses. Dyflin is surrounded by very high stone walls, some newer, some older. The oldest are built around the lakegate.

Dyflan.jpg

Red represents walls, gatehouses or towers. Green is the causeways. Blue is water. Grey is marsh and bog. White isn't really anything, it just marks the rough boundary of the merchant quarter. The extra wall inside the city is the area in which the rich live, walled off from the peasants. The lakegate is somewhere along the stretch of wall that runs out into the water along the westside, it's big enough to fit quite a few ships through at a time, and tall enough to let through most ships. This section of the wall is much higher than the others.

Dyflin itself is the largest trading centre North of Aubeville (Another city I'm planning), and many southerners call it the only civilised place north of the Glauborne. Dyflin's main trade comes from the harvesting and sale of Oysters, although other goods are traded as well. Dyflin is ruled by the Grand Elector. The process of selecting a Grand Elector occurs after the death or resignation of the previous one, and is carried out by the 12 Electors of the city, who vote and choose one of their number as the new Grand Elector. The Electors themselves are the leaders of the 12 Great houses of Dyflin. These Great Houses are all extremely powerful, being based around huge mercantile wealth or historical ties to nobility.

Dyflin.png

Dyflin is protected by her walls, geography and the men of the city watch. These men are employed as guards of the city, and are expected to protect it against all threats. They are a mix of mercenaries, down on their luck city folk looking for a roof and pay, or minor criminals, forced into service on the watch. Naturally, the city watch is incredibly corrupt, and spend most of its time either blackmailing minor shop owners, engaging in trade wars on behalf of the various Electors and finding excuses not to train or maintain their equipment. Because of this, the city watch is an incredibly poor fighting force, low on morale, without training and whilst their equipment should, in theory, be some of the best around, the Electors often find excuses not to pay for the upkeep of the watch, resulting in a lack of new equipment. That which they do have is poorly maintained.

The Royal City of Aubeville is a huge city situated in the South Neumark. It is a mighty city with high grey stone walls and towering buildings. It is built on several tiers, each with higher walls than the last. The first tier is on a level with the river, and is made up of bustling merchant districts full of exotic wears and docks swarming with workers unloading cargo. The second tier is slightly raised, sitting at the bottom slopes of the hill around which the city is centred. This tier has an indistinguishable border from the first, but it is mainly a residential area, in which the poorer cityfolk live. The third tier sits atop high cliffs, and as such dominates the skyline of the city. Here, the wealthy make their home, and it is from here that most of the cities administration is handled in the building known as 'The Tower of Aubeville', a squat stone keep with a curtain wall, surrounded by a moat, that protrudes one large round tower from its roof. It is from here that the Grand Prince rules his city, and gazes in lust at the castle of the King. The Castle of the King is a mighty and towering creation. A huge stone keep, accompanied by 2 sets of walls and set atop the highest part of the plateau, it is unreachable save for by its one access road, due to the cliffs that surround it.

Aubeville-2.jpg

White is open ground, blue is the river. Grey is cliff, black the city, with the black gaps in the cliff being the roadways up to the next level. Red is walls, towers, gatehouses, etc...

The current Grand Prince, Karl Valten, has little Royal blood in him, and neither did his father, the first Grand Prince of Aubeville. The Valtens had always been powerful rulers of Aubeville, holding the title of Lord High Mayor of the city, but it was not until King Roland's father fell into heavy debt during his war with Gallus that they achieved their current title. Heavily in debt as he was, the King had no choice to accept the offer made by House Valten; that they would pay off all his debt with their mighty mercantile wealth, in return for him elevating them to the status of Grand Prince of Aubeville, a hereditary title that made them equal or higher to all save the King.

Aubeville.png

On the back of its new status and prestige, House Valten made sure that Aubeville's already bustling trade boomed, with its harbours and markets multiplying in size time and time again over the recent decades. Aubeville is now the richest city in the Empire, and from its high walls the banners of House Valten fly proud.

Grand Prince Karl Valten of Aubeville is 57 years old, and has 4 children. His 3 daughters, Aliet, Adele and Charlotte are 40, 37, and 25 respectively, and are all married to wealthy merchants from Aubeville. He has a son, Friedrich, 35, who is currently serving as the Master of the Guard.

Aubeville is protected by a 2 sets of walls, one at the edge of the city, the other around the edge of the rich quarter, running the top of the first set of cliffs on the plateau. Aubeville is also protected by the Castle of the King and the Tower of Aubeville, which both provide tough last defences for any would be attacker. The defence of Aubeville is the task of the city militia, who are equipped with high quality arms and armour. They favour the use of Halberds and Crossbows, and whilst they do not train regularly, their high quality equipment, paid for by the vast coffers of House Valten, makes them some of the most formidable troops around. As House Valten well knows, it pays to be protected in the merchant business, and even more so when you are at the top of the chain.
 
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I'm curious about something. Can a lord lose all his holdings? And, in that case, what happens to the player?
Also, can we, say, declare independence from the Kingdom?
And if say Gallus or Ostheim invades and conquers Neumark, will the game go on?
 
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A bit of an explanation on it:

First, I've added in orange some secondary roads comming from the Crownway, in line with what was said in the backstory.

Doom, considering that you've filled the missing pieces of the map, you should have some priority in adding the locations in them. We'd need the capitols of Nordland, Sudwald, Ironlands, Taaland and Yaurkeshire; nothing fancy, just the names and an estimated location. Also, considering their size and role, there should be IMHO secondary locations for the Dale, the Ironlands and perhaps Nordland (since they are either large or Large Lordship's vassals).

I've already taken the liberty of adding a location for the Wynelands:
St. Andrew (monastery): A part of the Most Holly order of St. Balduine (with it's main holdings in Gallus), the monastery is in the upper Wyne area, and it's lands stretch up to the river itself. It's known in Neumark and beyond for it's impressive bothanical garden, where almost any plant from the island is presserved, thanks to a clever use of the terrain and skilled monks. Any man who wishes to become a herbologist must spend a season here, studying the ancient scrolls and working in the Garden of Delights, as the folk call it. The knowledge preserved here can be a great asset to any lord who wishes to get the most from his farmlands.

Thus, there's the farming-bonus-giving-order.

Also, on free cities. There's the capitol and there's Dyflin; keep in mind that according to the backstory I gave to the Middlands, Glorket is lobbying to become one as well, so there's the third one, and it gives something to play with from the start.

And I found a pic that resembles my idea for the Mercian Hills, the area around Hightower (Eoforshire):

 
We still need a name for the Western Islands. I suggest naming it ''Vestaskland'', to tie in to the Viking age, maybe this being one of the last Viking fiefdoms?
 
Ok, if you like I can alter the lore of Aubeville so that it is the capital? It wouldn't take that much change, and most of it would fit well.

Here's my idea for the world. As always, suggestions are great, and the scale might be a bit off.

neumarkworld-1.jpg

Basically, in the North, you have an Arctic circle kind of area, which attaches us to an as of yet unnamed Kingdom (Which I think forms a cool shape when combined with us), although this isn't really an invasion route unless you have an army of Polar Bears.

To the West, we have supposedly endless ocean, which carries on forever and that has never been crossed by anyone.

To the South, we have the main continent, our version of mainland Europe. Here you have Gallus, which is bigger than us, Osthiem, which is a giant and an Italy style area bordering the warm sea to the South.

To the East, we have a Hungary/Poland style realm, which ends in an isthmus, where a city like Byzantium can be, the gateway between 2 worlds.

To the East of that we have a huge steppe, inhabited by dangerous bandits and the odd raiding tribe. Eventually this step gives way to the Far East, a China like area which I haven't drawn, as it would double the size of the drawing.

To the South of that, we have a Holy Land style area, currently inhabited by heathens, as well as a Spain style area that is fighting for its life against the Heathens, which are pushing it back more and more towards the Ocean.
 
Map looks pretty good, only there should be more bays, islands and other irregularities on it, looks a bit too... polished, at the moment.
They're the Ash Islands, someone has to pseudo translate it to norse
Well my suggestion essentially translates to ''West Ash Land'' in mangled Swedish. The Ash Islands would be ''Asköarna'' in Swedish, so you could work from that
 
Yeah, that is just meant to be a general outline. It's nowhere near a final idea.

I think perhaps that little island Yaurkeshire has should be transferred to the Ash Islands. Also, I think perhaps Taaland should also be a vassal of the Ash Islands, along with Ironland who already is.

As for settlements.

The Dale:

Mistwater - Stone Keep next to a small palisaded town. Seat of the Count.
Daleport - A small fishing village near the northernmost end of the coast. Wooden keep, palisade and small village.
Breckon - A small village situated in the interior of The Dale. Equidistant between the mountain and the 2 hills on your map.

Norwald:

St. Albert's - A large fortified monastery with a small village. Near the N of Norwald. Seat of the Arch Bishop.
Seaston - A small fishing village on the coast, near the border with Darkwood.
Lakehill - A Motte and Bailey castle situated between the hill and the lake in the North West of the province.

Sudwald:

Shireton Abbey - An unfortified monastery with a village. On the southernmost hill. Seat of the Arch Bishop.
Nottering Castle - A small stone keep near to a village. Southwestern corner of the province.
Millton - A small village with a mill, on the upper reach of one of the Glauborne's tributaries.

Yaurkeshire:

Yaurketon - A castle and village on the Western hill in the province.
Cearlin - A small village near the border with Taaland.

Taaland:

Taalhelm - A stone keep and small village on the hill in the province. Seat of the Count.
Schwienton - A small market town situated in the Eastern reaches of the province. Huge pig trade.

Ironland:

The Stonefort - A large stone keep with several curtain walls, built on the side of a mountain. Only one road up. On the second southernmost mountain on your map. Seat of the Count.
Morian - A small mining village on the second northernmost mountain.
Ironguard - A small stone fort guarding the main road into the Ironlands. Situated on the hill.
 
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I'm curious about something. Can a lord lose all his holdings? And, in that case, what happens to the player?
Also, can we, say, declare independence from the Kingdom?
And if say Gallus or Ostheim invades and conquers Neumark, will the game go on?

Lose all your holdings, and you lose- unless you can persuade another lord to take you in. Then you need to find allies and resources to recapture your birthrig
Declaring independance is possible. Your vassals may or may not support you, and whomever is Regent will almost certainly fight you. But you can concievably make yourself a sovereign and interact with the other players as such.
Total victory by aone foriegner would resulthave in theirthe claimant being puta on thethe throne. Said ruler"happy would be an Npct that players could resist or collaboratemay with asthe they see fit
 
Ok, if you like I can alter the lore of Aubeville so that it is the capital? It wouldn't take that much change, and most of it would fit well.
That'll work

Here's my idea for the world. As always, suggestions are great, and the scale might be a bit off.


Basically, in the North, you have an Arctic circle kind of area, which attaches us to an as of yet unnamed Kingdom (Which I think forms a cool shape when combined with us), although this isn't really an invasion route unless you have an army of Polar Bears.

To the West, we have supposedly endless ocean, which carries on forever and that has never been crossed by anyone.

To the South, we have the main continent, our version of mainland Europe. Here you have Gallus, which is bigger than us, Osthiem, which is a giant and an Italy style area bordering the warm sea to the South.

To the East, we have a Hungary/Poland style realm, which ends in an isthmus, where a city like Byzantium can be, the gateway between 2 worlds.

To the East of that we have a huge steppe, inhabited by dangerous bandits and the odd raiding tribe. Eventually this step gives way to the Far East, a China like area which I haven't drawn, as it would double the size of the drawing.

To the South of that, we have a Holy Land style area, currently inhabited by heathens, as well as a Spain style area that is fighting for its life against the Heathens, which are pushing it back more and more towards the Ocean.

Overall it's good. I like your map, but lets carve off a section of Ostheim and Gallus to be contested territory (a la flanders-belgium-netherlands). Neumark's mirror image could be our Denmark/Norway analog.

Vestaskland sounds good.