In quiet conversations after one two many ales, the maps come out. Petty soldiers and sargents fighting phantom wars against very real foes. Or perhaps it is nobles and knights around the solar table, Captains and crews around the ship’s wheel, or hunters and priests around the campfire. The Concord is an empire of war, driven together by these threats, moulded by it and given life through it. It should come as no surprise that its people are warlike, if not warloved.
It has taken three years, but decades of defeat have been forestalled. The long retreat, the collapse of the baronies, the defeat of the legions, the scouring of the east, all have been driven to a halt. The Concord hasn’t just slowed these deaths, but has stopped them.
Aside from the predations of the Boars Head Clan in the east, no single enemy army moves against The Concord this season. While the enemy moves and shifts, grows and heals, they do not thrust themselves upon you.
While there are many that call for this as a time to rest and do healing of our own, there are great many, from taverns to the War Chamber, that continue to beat the drums of war. While it is by no means essential and may not even be recommended, it is important to know how The Concord could begin to reach beyond its borders.
You always knew the right thing to do, the hard part is doing it - Opportunities in the West
In the west, among the beaches, dunes and waves, The Concord has three glittering jewels, each with its own cracks and razor edges.
In the south is Calandri, an ancient place. Barely claimed by the old Andashi empires and lightly travelled by the Artebazzani of New Cordisia, it is a prodigious region of wide grasslands, wooded hills replete with barbs and beasts and the deep valleys of the La Calidez mountains. It is the truest wilderness of the south. After a failed invasion by The Warjackal of Corvarrias, Luis, the land is controlled by the Illsevir. The sunken and drowned dominate the region from their fortress in the east, the ruined and lost city of Vidania. Calandri is a place of conflict that offers The Concord a chance to strike at the Western Illsevir, to spread their control in the west and to put their mark in an area of Esterra barely sullied by ambitious hands. Both Andash through their control of the West and Lerona Mere through their old Artebazzani heritage could lay a cultural claim to the region that would be bigger than any other In the Concord.
In the north is Corvarrias, land of ruins. Home to the lost port cities of old Andash that once again live, an industrious form of imperial necromancy. The greatest being the metropolis Aprivano, where Trade Prince Majiid rules his new nation and dreams of a Western Empire that controls the land from The Basilisk Gate to the Cape of Vidania. Majiid is ascendant, with great industry, wealth and now, great armies under his banner. Any Concordian effort to take this from him would be bloody and at great cost. But there is a reason why thieves steal from the rich.
Most strange among these options is The Guardian. Ceded to The Golden Fleet when it still flew the banner of the Twinblade back in 221, the long island west of Mukarrem is home to the corsair port Banathea. However, the region is currently undefended. The dual fleets of Ophelia Diablos, the Stormqueen, are out to the east, making travel upon The Explorers Sea a great danger.Her brutal right hand Ottandios Bulsker rules there in her stead. But Concordian armies, aided by Concordian fleets could break treaties and return it to the fold, ruinous loot and all, if The Concord had no fear of the vengeance of a storm cometh.
Game Information
Concordian attacks against Calandri and Corvarrias would have no special concerns from a strategic level. A war in Corvarrias would likely be very difficult at this time due to the forces of the Trade Principality present. A war in Calandri would be less so, but Illsevir troops in the region are largely undamaged, if few in number.
Any assault on The Guardian would have unique requirements. Each Concordian army attacking The Guardian would need to be supported by a fleet taking the ‘Transport’ action in the Southern Great Trade Sea, reflecting that fleet transporting troops and material across the strait from Mukarrem. Given the lack of Golden Fleet troops present, The Concord could reclaim The Guardian with two strong armies (and two fleets supporting) in a season, excluding the city of Banathea, which will take some additional cracking, but could fly Concordian colours within the year, Arcadian permitting.
There will be an opportunity to engage the forces of the Trade Principality of Aprivano in a strategic conflux at the coming Summit. This would require a declaration of war by The Senate, lest nearly a hundred Concordian heroes be guilty of a strange share of crimes.
The Concord currently maintains an embassy to the Trade Principality of Aprivano, but relations are certainly strained. Although the visit of the Trade Prince's own daughter to the Summer Summit last year may have resulted in a change to this status quo.
Who Knows What Words you have Spoken into the darkness? - Opportunities in the North
Across the Northern crescent of The Concord from Obregon to Eisen, The Concord stares down old foes. These foes have felt the bite of our blades once before. They have felt defeat. They have lost their lands from Concordian might before. But still they cling to what strength and corruption they hold. They are the Zekartaal Wartribes.
North of Resinderholz lies Verlorenherz, once the wealthiest and most populous barony. Verlorenherz was known for white cities under pines, skilled artisans and the heart of Wealder culture with the Woodsong Academy for Tales and Treatise and the carving of Niccolo in the mountains of the North East on the beaches of the Stillmere Sea. But now it flies a ruinous banner. The Zekartaal control this once great land and return it to the wild. Now beasts and blood run free. Two armies rest here, one well known and one not. Brother Ash, the Shaman of the Broken Moon works strange magicks in the Weald although it is unclear if he is binding it to his efforts or releasing it to madness. Alongside him is a name unknown; Sister Alder. A new cohort of raiders and even stranger stranger has marched from the North adding a new family member to this menagerie of hate.
In the West thunderoak armour crackles in the autumn rains. Sister Oak, a new army to her name and her fist firmly curled around her greatclub ‘Ruination’ ensures that Zekartaal claims to Villacres are still known. The rumoured armistice with The Concord has passed, and no army crossed that line in the sand. But the Zekartaal are not ones to trust. Oak watches south, be that against treachery or in preparation for the great sacking of Obregon, we will only know in time. Andash has great claim to Villacres, from its deep deserts to its verdant northern glades, it was part of the heartland of the old empire. But it would not be so alien to see a new Barony under the sun, a Duchy in the Sand or even an ambitious settlement of revolution.
Game Information
Both Villacres and Verlorenherz are claimed by The Zekartaal Wartribes, with both regions defended by military forces of varying sizes. Any Concordian conflict in these lands would have no special requirements.
Any rumour of an armistice between The Concord and the Zekartaal is just rumour. The Throne and The Senate are the only arms councils declaring peace and there is no ambassador to the Zekartaal capable of drawing up a treaty. Regardless, a year has passed.
The Third Casualty in the War of Gods - Opportunities in the South
The South of The Concord has been the most consistent warfront over the last three years. There has not been a single season where an army or fleet was not marshalling from Lerona Mere or Bolsterlee, and oftentimes both. This is the front that the Illsevir has been punished upon. Despite mountain crossings, subversive cults and Concordian indifference, the line has never broken.
Crossing the Fiorenza River or perhaps the perfect glass of Lake Isabella will bring you to Mancante Terra, the hidden valley of New Cordisia. In times when Lerona Mere was Posta Lerona and when Vidania was but a shack with a sick old man in it, Mancante Terra was a holy place. In its verdant wooded valleys, Artebazzani priests came to carve temples and pray. A dedication not to the Spheres, but heathen gods; a place of privacy to seek divine power. As the strength of these strange gods waned and the Spheres grew ascendant, some say the last of their priests fled here, to the land of hidden temples. Now these temples are home to little aside from ghosts and the drowned. The Illsevir of The Shark have held Mancante Terra and still do, But The Shark is wounded, its army depleted. Between season upon season of war, the unknowable tactics of the Illsevir and even stranger rumours, the Shark shivers in the cold. Is it time for The Concord to bring Mancante Terra back into the fold? Is it time to drown the Shark in its own blood to see if that will kill the beast for good?
In the East across the bay rests the second Baile. Baile Fealtoiri has always been a warfront. It is here that the Valley brought the Axemans War. It is here that New Cordisia brought The Second Mercenaries War. It is here that the Bailites brought their own hatred. To spill blood here would be no new thing. And it is a place of weakness. The Illsevir of the East have fled, sailing south and east around the Cape of the Bailes, leaving league upon league of land empty. But The Concord is not the only nation with avarice eyes. Bailite forces move up from the south, with settlers in their shadow. If The Concord wishes to claim a lion's share of Baile Fealtoiri they will have to do so well armed and with haste.
Game Information
Fighting in Mancante Terra would have no special strategic requirements. The Shark holds there and it is unclear what their tactics are. The Shark has taken damage over this past season. The reasons for this are unknown.
Fighting in Baile Fealtoiri has some special concerns. The vast majority of the region is uncontrolled following the major Illsevir retreat. That being said, there are still many groups of feral Illsevir which will be a not insignificant barrier. This is all complicated by the Bailites claiming territory from the South. If a single Concordian army moved into the region it could claim one third of the region over the next season, clearing out feral Illsevir are making the area safe enough for settlers to follow. They would likely draw up against the Bailites in the following season. Two armies could claim two thirds of the territory, boxing in the Bailites while controlling a majority of the regions. Fleets could not be used to complete this action. Although they could use the ‘Coastal Order’ action to attack the Bailites. Although this would be a warlike action.
There will be an opportunity to engage the Illsevir in a strategic conflux this coming Summit.
If Heroism be Confined to Brutal and Ferocious Valour - Opportunities in the East
In the East The Concord knows fear. It has just finished fighting a war there, has it not? The enemy is vanquished? The day is won? Please? Can we just go home? Why can’t we just go home?
In the North is the plague barony of waters and wounds; Vassertal. Great many Greenwealder refugees call this vast land of moor, willow and bile their homeland. They dream of a time when the bells of the Cathedral of the Iron Star sang out through the trees, of when river traders poled down the Eisen river and its tributaries, of a time before sickness. But now Vassertal is ruled by the dead and blasphemous. Danakka Rimortis, the Wraith of Port Gargant has held the Barony for a year and while the spies of the Tyrants Curse watch him closely, it remains unclear if The Concord will want to pull this ghostly scab free, revealing the festering wound underneath, or if The Concord can afford to leave such an abhorrent apparition to control one of the greatest weapons of the age.
In the far east is Royal Bordevar, the regal heartland of a once-great Kingdom. The Duchies of Draemoor, Garlandglade, Vanthem and Tais’avane were some of the most favoured, granted to the King's closest allies. All of this is lost, and has been for years. Since the battle of Tristan's Field when the blood of Bordevar’s great, good and young fed the fields of Vanthem, there have been no true attempts to reclaim it. There are a great many towns here, including the lost capitol. All that remains here is the dead and their dreams of adding you to their cause. The Concord won a battle here in the east, but they have not even begun to dream of the end of the war.
Hidden amongst all of this is a high place above all others. As snow begins to fall, the raiders of the Boars Head Clan reach their grasping hands about the throats and coin purses of Windholme and Weiland. But wish as The Concord might, they cannot chase these raiders this season. The snow and ice in the high passes of the Steinvaults only reveal their secrets to those that have been moulded by them, not outsiders.
Game information
War in Vassertal is always a thing of difficulty. Between harsh terrain, vast size and the ever present threat of Blasserstreit or its horrible local adaptations, any conflict there will incur additional risks. While it can be difficult to say for sure until standing in the War Chamber, it is likely that any Concordian army will risk additional losses unless they were defended by the support of Concordian heroes and their resources. Such dangers are likely present for their enemies, but to a lesser amount.
Fighting in Royal Bordevar will be difficult but mundane. It is important to note that the new fortresses built along the border between Weiland and Royal Bordevar do not provide benefits when on the attack into Royal Bordevar. While The Concord had victory in Weiland, no enemy armies were defeated and many of them remained in Royal Bordevar tending to their nonliving wounds.
It is not possible for Concordian armies to move into the Steinvault Pass during the Winter campaigning season. However the forces of the Boars Head Clan may still act.
There will be an opportunity for Concordian forces to engage the Onyx Aristocracy in a strategic conflux this coming Summit.
If Men Built it, then it is no Refuge - Opportunities at Baelags Holdfast
The gentle clink of shackles making tiny movements. The scratch of a quill on parchment. The clack of wooden tokens. The whispers of onlookers.
“What is he doing?” asked one of the young aides, a Bordevarian boy barely a year out of The Academy, his civil service tabard sat too wide on his thin shoulders.
“Shut up lad, I’m trying to hear what he’s mutterin’.” An older man, also Bordevarian, but bearded and a little too deep in the gut for his tabard. “I ain’t seen him like this since before Bolsterlee and we all know how that went for him.”
“It put him in chains.”
The pair scrambled to their feet, the dirt of the ground outside the War Chamber tent clinging to their knees and hands. The boy snapped to a childish attention while the older man simply looked shameful as he looked down on the younger man with the Symposiarch’s patch on his back.
“If I know anything about Khasim al’ja’Anni it is that he is one of the strangest minds in The Concord. The wheels and gears that make up his mental factory twist in ways no artisan would deign to imagine.” Spoke the Wealder, almost to himself as the two Civil Service workers stood awkwardly.
“Let him cook, and let him do it in peace.”
There is one jewel robbed from The Concord, although perhaps it is a cursed prize. High in the East lies the greatest fortress in Southern Esterra. Forged by Mountain Kings generation after generation. It is the sight of imperial fall and a people's rise. It is both of the mountains and above the mountains. It carries the name of a line of conquerors who came before and the legends of those who would come long after.
Baelag’s Holdfast.
For the Valleyfolk, the great old fortress not only bars their easy return to Brotherslee and the Eastern parts of the Valley. But it is also for many the martial and historic heart of the Valley. Without taking it, there can be no future that is not taken from the Bailites or given in charity in a far away land. And while there are Valleyfolk who imagine a new expansion of the ‘Low Valley’ in Calandri or Zatiri Zan, for many there is no choice but Baelags.
One of those is not a Valleyfolk, but an Andashi. The Commandant of the War Chamber Khasiim al’ja’Anni, the traitor of Bolsterlee, has begun to pen a madman's plan to retake the fortress. It draws from the damage done so far, the strangeness from the Illsevir, the cottage-industry of siegecraft that has grown in Windholme and even more peculiar elements.
But there are also those who have no time for the madness of a traitor. Baelags is, at the end of the day, a military hurdle that can be broken in a martial manner. With the appropriate application of force and a sacrifice in blood, The Concord could be pushing the Eel east and looking to retake the homelands years past, not a broken stone fortress with that carries the name of a traitorous king.
Game information
The Concord has three choices when it comes to Baelags Holdfast.
It could tackle the fortress with a standard campaign. With the appropriate application of force, the fortress could be cracked within a season or two. This would be costly but direct and painful for the Illsevir. Details for this assault will be available in the War Chamber but use very few special rules. This would likely result in a Baelag’s Holdfast that is smote upon the mountain, a ruin unusable for anything but mourning, but it would be the swiftest path east.
There will be an opportunity for a different application of force. The Commandant of the War Chamber has devised a plan. With two Concordian armies and great support from Concordian heroes both on the field of battle and with their investments. It would take time, certainly more than a year. But it would result in a fortress preserved; its history and its hearth held strong against the ravages of time. This will be a campaign like any other, with many losses and battles to be had. But it may be the only way to save Baelags as The Valley knows it.
The Concord could also do nothing. Leave the fortress to be held and possibly dismantled by the Illsevir over time.