Sample Fiefs Thread?

[Aurin]

this is definitely one of my favorite threads on the boards! Keep up the good work!

[Angelman]

Indeed! This is all very inspiring, and I want to do loads more of these (if only I could find the time...). Keep 'em coming, pleoploids!

[Bertjammin]

Here's another one from me...a bit of a cheat as it's another fief form our ongoing campaign but I thought it was worth a share anyhow

Deep Core 104 “The Midden Barony”
Overview
The Midden Barony is typical of the boroughs of the Justinian city of Deepcore 104, a great urban complex set deep into the ground on the Southern Follari continent of the Hawkwood world of Ravenna. Ruled by the Baroness Helena Midden Justinian and her husband and consort General Sir Anthony Masseri Justinian the barony is a mediocre work horse in the stables of the House.

Relations
Deep Core 104 is one of the few Second Republic “deep core” mining facilities that has been reopened on the planet Ravenna (see FSR Game Master’s Guide pgs 104-105 or Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs pg 13) and the only one currently under the control of House Justinian. The City is vast and not yet completely mapped, let alone fully reopened or populated, but the areas of the city currently sanctioned for use are divided into a variety of boroughs. Each is known by separate and often unique names drawn from the unearthed signage, local lore or personal preference of the ruling noble. The Midden Barony abuts “The Barony of Abalone” and “Crofter’s Holt” and sits below “The Folly”. Over recent years the neighbouring boroughs have each expanded, edging ever nearer as they reclaimed areas of the ancient city complex until now the only route the barony has for expansion is either to build into the existing mine shafts or down, deeper into the core city. Deeper exploration is currently prohibited by a church mandate so the long term viability of the fief is in doubt.
As with most Justinians the local boroughs have cordial (if often formal) relations and exist in a constant state of friendly rivalry. They can however always be counted upon to draw ranks and stand together against any external faction, be it their “hosts” the Hawkwoods, envious Guilders or the local Orthodoxy (who are intent on curtailing further development of the Deepcores).
The overall city is ruled by Earl Kiruda Quentin Justinian and the Baroness administers her fief at the Earl’s sufferance. The earl is a hardened military man and a veteran of many campaigns who has taken enforced “retirement” as one of the landed gentry very badly. It is probably fair to say that he tolerates the barons below him as a necessary indulgence; if they run their fiefs without having to involve him directly that’s fine. He can get on with hunting, walking his hounds and what little martial practise his wife and physician will permit him.
The Baroness is well aware of the limited growth options available to her fief and is earnestly seeking suitable political marriages for her four children, both to secure their personal finances and to strengthen the prospects of the House as a whole.

Description
The Deep Core cities are vast urban complexes built around the edges of huge and ancient mining shafts, some of which that penetrate all the way to the planetary terraforming engines close to the world’s core. 104 is no exception and the Midden Barony occupies a section of the complex about 0.8km across, beginning some 1.3km from the surface and extending to workings approximately 5.4km down.
The original cities were wonders of Second Republic architecture and innovation but over time superstition, technical ignorance and neglect has led to degradation in the systems and infrastructure. Power is erratic, living quarters are often in states of disrepair with leaks and inadequate plumbing a constant issue, while some areas can even be prone to collapse, whole sections of floor suddenly cascading into the mines below.
Most serfs resident in the barony toil on the mine faces; digging out ores, aggregates and Ravenna marble using the same simple tools that would have been familiar to an Iron Age craftsman. Life is simple and harsh but the Baroness, and those of the Midden family before her have used a campaign of “social reinforcement” to drive out those elements of the peasant populace who have ideas above their station. Ignorance is rewarded, unquestioning obedience is seen as a blessing and those who feel or think otherwise are often sent on dangerous tasks such as blasting new shafts, repairing collapsed areas or “reclaiming” abandoned sections of the city. It is often rumoured that the family supplements their income buy selling the most recalcitrant individuals into contract (i.e. slavery) with the Muster.

History
Deep Core 104 was, like all the Ravenna Deep Core cities, placed under Church Interdict during the early New Dark Ages with House Justinian being granted permission to commence the reopening of it in 4803. The Midden Barony was refounded and declared a borough of the city in 4845. The Sector was held and administered by the ruling Earls until 4863 when it was granted to the current Baroness’ grandfather, Baron Richard Midden Justinian (4823-4936), a favoured cousin of the ruling Earl at the time, as a fortieth birthday gift. It has remained as the main family holding since then.

Assets
The mining works within the barony are moderately prosperous but many observers and members of the Prospectors Guild suggest that if they are not extended further they may be fully tapped out within the next twenty years. Currently the workings generate 4000fb per annum in mineral revenue with rumours of a estimated 1-2000fb further revenue generated from the sale of slaves.

Men-at-Arms (80 plus levies, normally 2-300 levied peasants, but over 1000 troops could be raised if necessary)
The Midden family House Guards number about eighty able men. They are well disciplined and loyal to a fault but generally reserved for the defence of the family household and leading units of peasant levies. In such a role they are commonly referred to as the “Drivers” by the general populace and act to keep order, maintain the “social balance” and “encourage efficiency”. The guards are usually armed with clubs, war swords, metal chain mail and most will carry a Drexel Firehunter revolver. The peasant levies whom are recruited to help enforce order and would act as the main force if the barony was ever called upon to fight are usually provided with a spear, leather jerkin, a knife and one in four will be provided with a brace of javelins instead of their spear.

Personas
Baroness Helena Midden Justinian (born 4933)
Baroness Helena is very regal and stately in appearance and demeanour and maintains the image of the demure and slightly stand-offish matriarch. She is always impeccably dressed and is renowned for her skill at floristry and floral arrangement. Those who have only seen this side of the baroness have little clue as to the recklessness of her youth and of her past as a seasoned front line soldier and officer. She made her reputation fighting alongside Hawkwood allies against Decados forces, even prior to commencement of the Emperor Wars and retired from active service a highly decorated veteran. Now she sees all that as almost a past life, her duty has always been to her House and now that requires her to be a political leader, stateswoman and ruler. She sees much of herself in her eldest daughter, Arcadia, which makes her equally proud and fearful.

General Sir Anthony Masseri Justinian (born 4945)
The General (as he insists on being referred to) first met then Lady Helena on the battlefield. He was a junior officer in command of a House Masseri artillery unit supporting House Decados forces, having attained his role by birth and rank rather than any ability or merit. His unit was then essentially sacrificed by their allies and were swiftly and completely overrun by the Justinian forces led by Helena. As a noble and officer he was placed under arms and retained as a captive for ransom. The almost impoverished House Masseri never attempted to pay a ransom, and behind closed doors many say it was a sign of how much he was valued. During his “imprisonment” he remained a housebound guest of Helena’s family and the two began a friendship. Helena’s father saw the political benefits in a marriage with an enemy House and so the prisoner became the bridegroom. He adores Helena and sees himself as every bit her equal, she on the other hand has always seen him as little more than a comical buffoon, somewhat charming at times but ultimately beneath her. She has, and has always been a dutiful scion of her House and so when duty required that she wed the pompous walrus she did so, and he has helped her bear four Justinian heirs of whom she is dreadfully proud (Arcadia (born 4980), Selwyn (born 4983), Tarquin (born 4986) and Stephanie (born 4989)).
These days the General feasts, gambles, hunts and offers uneducated and short sighted opinions loudly. He is every bit the stereotypical landed gent feasting off the backs of the peasantry and he is very, very content with his lot.

Potter (born 4963)
The chief of the Baroness’ household servants, if she has a confident it is he. Potter is unassuming, quiet and in many ways the perfect servant, having been born into the role as the son of the previous Major Domo. He is loyal to a fault when it comes to the Baroness and the fact that he has never taken a bride supports the common suspicion that he has an unrequited love for his mistress. It is safe to assume that anything he overhears or is told will find its way back to Baroness Helena.

Clodius (born 4956)
Over the past ten years Clodius has risen in stature within the local peasantry as a works foreman and popular leader. Unlike many would-be serf leaders that have risen to prominence in the past he does not apparently seek to overthrow the nobility or change the order of things. Instead he appears very loyal to his Justinian masters and encourages the same passionate devotion in his followers. Because of this the Baroness has given him great leeway to organise and coordinate sections of the workforce, with positive results to date. The General seems less inclined however and is frequently heard to refer to him as “That Bastard Clodius”. Though this comment may be the reason why some gossips have seen fit to allude to a possible physical resemblance between Clodius and members of the Justinian family.

Milo (born 4960)
This grim and rugged, but well turned out, freeman has been resident in the fief for some years now. He has no apparent Guild membership but seems to be very close to the Chainers of the Muster. The fact that he has occasional audiences with the Baroness has increased rumours that he is in some way related to any potential slave trade within the fief.

Using Baroness Helena as an ally
The Guilds are often looking upon Sector 42 (and the rest of the Deep Core city) with envious, greedy eyes. The Baroness may seek out those who could be sympathetic to her but with good knowledge of the Guilds to act to dissuade them or negotiate mutual terms.
The only long term hope for the fief and family appears to be deeper expansion and the marrying off of the Midden heirs. Baroness Helena would certainly appreciate individuals who could campaign on her behalf with the Church and Hawkwood leadership to lift or extend the mandate on further expansion or those who could find suitable candidates for marriage for her offspring.

Using Baroness Helena as an adversary
Socially minded characters may be horrified by the living conditions of the Baroness’ serfs. Her mandate of “social reinforcement” and the possible enslavement of less than obedient serfs may be applauded by many nobles and even some in the church but a rabble rousing guilder, cleric or open minded noble might look to stir up open dissent and even a full on peasant uprising.
The Guilds, particularly the Scravers, Muster and Reeves would like to place Deep Core 104 under their control and would love to place a spy, contact or other operative within the Baroness’ household.
While nominally friendly and allied to each other the neighbouring fiefs of Deepcore 104 would love to expand their territories and may look to encroach upon The Midden Barony. Justinian leaders might make good use of a cadre of freelancing individuals who could offer plausible deniability.

[Amlost]

Monteret’s Gap

Overview: Monteret’s Gap is located in the southern reaches of the New Rockies on Aylon. It is a minor manor of Count Seron who has appointed Othan al-Malik, the last scion of the Anazeh family, as the manors landholder and protector. Mainly known for the large hunting lodge the fief is largely a forested preserve of the count. Small farms and herding stations in the foothills provide a meager income for the fief.

Description: The New Rockies dominate the northern skyline of the (650 km2) fief. Sitting in the foothills of this mountain chain lie a hilly strip of land that descends towards the Navraji Desert. The fief is home to a small population who farm the lower and more arable reaches of the region. The northern region is a protected heavily forested area known as one of the greatest noble hunting preserves on Aylon. Travelling nobles have been coming here for centuries in search of hunting prizes not found on other worlds.
The major road thru the province runs east-west along the foothills of the New Rockys. The road crosses the Comstock Pass just to the East before ending near the Counts Palace on the Mari Sea and leads all the way to the Rhea Ocean. The lesser used path thru the Region leads north-south; the southern road leading to the Lathne Baronetcy’s Ukari trading posts near Mwerra Apada. The north road leads, thru the little used Monterets Gap, to the great wild plains of central Gjallnar.
The 90 room Great Lodge has existed on this site since the al Malik conquered Aylon from the Toronsens in 4488. The Lodge has It has been built, burned, rebuilt, sacked, and expanded over the years. Numerous outbuildings, follies, and ruins dot the expansive property. Annually it hosts hundreds of nobles who come to hunt the big game native to the upper mountains. The current Count is not an avid hunter; he avoids the almost constant hunts when possible joining only for the most important visitors.
The village of Baad Rogree lies about two miles south (downhill) of the lodge. The quite brick abodes of the village maintain a population of less than one hundred people being home to the family’s of the Lodges staff, two extended peasant farming familys, and a few freeman merchants.
The villages of Res Graham and Forstater Hall sit on the main east west road. With a population totaling no more than five hundred they are sleepy hamlets that support twenty some outlying peasant farms. The villages support a number of minor craftsman whose woodwork is looked for across the region.
Sitting by itself, down a seldom used road, lies the minor orthodox shrine known as the Mimir Vaults. The three story tall structure overlooks a great slope leading the plains that holds the remains of Fort Monteret. The Orthodoxy minimally staffs the Shrine with seldom more than a deacon or mendicant caretaker and seasonal mendicant laymen.
Mimir is said to have been a Pre-Reflective Islamic philosopher/scholar who was present, as a member of Horace’s band, at the “Conversion of Horace.” He is said to have left with an object of some significance from the event (some say Zebulon’s Club and others Horaces Journals) and to have spent the next forty years obsessing over it. He built the Vaults as his last place of retreat. Palamedes, hearing the story in the aftermath of the re-conquest of Aylon came to Mimir and convinced him to lock away the long beloved object of his obsession in exchange for the study of the Omega Gospels. The site has since been known as a required pilgrimage for those seeking to offload an obsession in favor of a religious life.

History: Mimir’s Vaults are the oldest remaining remnants of the human settlement in the area, however evidence suggests that the region has been inhabited for even longer. The last years of Diaspora saw the region part of the Parilment of Ninthan. Republican heresy and orthodoxy have held a firm grasp of the area since the time of the churches conquest over the Ukari.
The area remained sparsely populated until a republican military post was established in 3822 just to the south of Mimir’s Vaults. The post brought in thousands of new inhabitants from other more heavily Republican worlds. As the Republic fell two centuries later Fort Monteret became one of the strongholds that held out against the noble takeover of the world. For over a century the Fort held against numerous offenses as neighboring Republican outposts were overrun. When the revolutionary writer Vince Kolle-Aire published his infamous Denunciation of the Neo-Fuedalism the forts fate was sealed. The fort and the surrounding city was sacked and leveled in 4109 by Prince Kodran Torenson; the entire region (less the Mimir Vaults) was forcibly depopulated.
Resettled by al-Malik after Duke Asim seized the world; the fief has been a part of the West Mari County since 4612. The early Counts built the great country house here originally as a rural retreat from the Green Death. In the aftermath of the Husk Crusade the Counts appointed the first Game Wardens to a former peasant crusader.

Assets: Factoring in maintenance and annual expenses of the Great Lodge; Monteret’s Gap operates at a deficit. The local farms and cottage industries are prosperous but too small to maintain the expenditures of the house and its papered guests. Instead the Count operates the lodge from the income of his other fiefs.
As an appointed head of the fief Othan is not directly entitled to the income of the fief he manages, instead he is awarded an annual stipend by the count.

Men-at-Arms: Monteret’s Gap maintains a minimal military force that is, not surprisingly for Alyon, well armed.
Two Sherriff operate out of the village of Baad Rogree. The Sherriff’s patrol the entire gap, one the north-south corridor thru the gap itself and the other the east-west road. Outfitted with ornamental rifles, a hand stunners, and a small caliber revolver they take care of the inhabitants of the fief. They operate road crews and levies of the local population in emergency’s clearing roads and tracking down fugitives.
The ten footman and five huntsmen of the house act as guards for the Counts estate in times of need but are more often focused on attending to the needs of the Counts guests. They are regularly armed with well crafted ceremonial swords and hunting rifles.
A dozen local militia officers live in the villages on the main east west road; these local chiefs could raise a force of fifty militia or a lynch mob armed with weapons from their homes. In a pinch a hundred guests and staff of the lodge could be armed to protect the fief from the arms lockers of the Lodge.

Personas:
Othan II Anazeh al Malik: A young al Malik Knight and sole heir to the Anazeh family who were expelled from significant holdings on Cadavus during the Decados Invasion. He is currently serving as the Game Warden of Monteret’s Gap in the service of Count Seron al Malik. He is an expert marksman, a fine tracker, and a competent administrator. His main interests lately have been in reviving his family’s legacy, lands, and honor.
Brother Asahel Batey: The Orthodox deacon who acts as caretaker of the Mimir Vaults and as deacon to most of the inhabitants of the Gap. Due to an incident in Sunval decades ago he is suspected of Preceptor sympathy’s.

[Aurin]

Another terrific fief. The only thing we were missing - what are the crazy animals known worlds are traveling to aylon to hunt?

[Angelman]

Very good and very useful.

[Amlost]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad you're enjoying the write-ups.

Unfortunately I am not a chronicler of Stellar Bestiary (a failing to be sure) and the only copy of Lord Erbian's work available to me is sadly short on descriptions of the prize beasts of equatorial Aylon. I'll amend it should I come up with something(s).

Question; What Fief's hinted at or partially described in cannon, old town criers reports, or on the board would people be interested in seeing written up? For example Sir Soueif al Malik's fief of Susa on Rampart has alway's intrigued me. (Unfortunately events surrounding the fief limit what someone can writeup without risk of affecting the great deities of cannon, further confusing cannon vs. home-brew.

[Angelman]

[Angelman]

My current dream is to see a multi-fief write-up of a spaceport, with different sections run by each of the major guilds, as well as the odd parish or noble realm as well. In other words, a spaceport-arcology-sandbox

[Bertjammin]

I have an embryonic idea that if my players end up in space (which seems to be where things are heading) I was thinking of having a "Casablanca-in-space" space station to use as their home base/frequent port of call. That might work as the basis of the sort of thing you meant....