The People
Romantic and noble, even the lowest people of Bordevar believe in concepts of truth and justice to some extent. It is unclear how much of this is the power of propaganda and social pressure, or how much it is a unified desire to see good in the world. In all, they are people largely like those you would find elsewhere, if driven to a greater sense of drama and conviction in equal parts.
The common folk of Bordevar are wholesome and dedicated to their lot. Many hold dreams of nobility through their actions, and young Bordevarians can be impossible to keep at task with dreams of sword and sorcery alight in their brains. The Oaken Accords afford the Bordevarian Commonfolk, protections from the worst abuses of Feudalism while also enshrining their representation in the highest councils of the land. They are a deeply religious people (their protection came from the early church) and are also deeply patriotic (more so than many nobles). Their ancestors chose to follow King Artourious and they have tamed this bountiful land.
The nobility have suffered under the misaligned system in a far closer manner for many years. Examining its flaws and doing their best to ignore them. Tradition and the ethos are very important to them, as it is the system that has privileged them with command and wealth within the Realm. But they also have a strong sense of camaraderie, not only because it is up to the nobility to keep the realm safe, but also because they are all constricted by the same system. They tend to be mistrustful of outsiders, though this extends less and less to the other Concordian realms. In fact even if they remain suspicious some Bordevar Champions have been known to go out of their way to prove their trust in the other realms, if only to counteract the rumours that they do not.
The average Bordevarian is noble in dream, common in loves and crestfallen in tone. They feel the pressure of being on the precipice of a new future and not knowing which way to jump. They can see great new ambitions and hopes but also crushing failure. Beyond all they are still driven by the Ethos, as flawed as it may be, for it has been their lives for over two hundred years.
Names
Bordervarian noble names are Arthurian in style and carry a high fantasy tone. A list of names from Arthurian legend, possibly tweaked for ease or style would be perfectly fitting.
Nobles of the Kingdom are unified into their houses, as such they carry a house name in place of a surname. A Game of Thrones House name generator would not go far wrong in producing these. Nobles also carry a noble title such as Lord, Baronness, Marquis or simmilar. As long as it is not a royal title or a Dukal title you're good to use one of those.
Commoners use names of English origin that tend to be simple and plain. Surnames tend to either reflect what you do or where you are from such as ‘Of Carbington’ or ‘Smith’.
Knights are given the title Ser/Sir (whichever is preferable) and also a honourific which is a single word proceeded by 'the'. Examples include 'The Strong' 'The Brave' 'The Dragon' or 'The Eagleheart'.
Place in the World
Situated north-east of Lerona Mere and beyond the northern Mountains of the Iron Valley, the traditional lands of Bordevar stretch from the Greenweald in the West to the Explorers Sea in the East. Originally coming ashore at True Landing, the Kingdom previously held the line in the north along the borders of the Kolkahni Steppes, where the land turns to dry grasses and hard earth. To the south they held an uneasy and poorly defined border against the Iron Valley holdings at Anderslee but where one nation began and the other ended is impossible to say without a sword in your hand.
The capital of Castle Artorius lies at the base of the Wyrmspine Mountains (also known as the False Dragon Mountains, owing to King Bordervars assumption that there would be dragons to slay within them, when there were not.) A tall castle in regal white marble, it was the centre of the Kingdoms governance, wealth and power. While not as large as Lerona Mere, it was mighty in its own, and certainly a greater fortress.
Now the regal black banner of the Onyx Aristocracy flies over Castle Artorius. Undead march the plains of Royal Bordevar, of True Landing and of the Kolkhari steppes. The last remnants of the Kingdom, its nobles, its smallfolk and its hopes are backed into a corner in the region known as Weiland, a vast farming plain sheltered by the Greenweald on the banks of a great lake. A farming township turned capital, a backwater turned homeland.
Economic Concerns
Previously, Bordevar was a nearly insular economy. A closed loop of farms, smithies and campaigns out to retrieve arcane supplies. It was a land of petty landowners, vast noble fiefdoms and travelling merchants. Now they are placed on the economic stage for the first time. Bordevar has vast farms and in the scheme of things, Weiland is in a better state than comparable regions, such as Windholme. It is this base level of economics that Bordevar can rely on.
Looking to the future, the growth of prosperity in Weiland, the reclamation of Royal Bordevar and the possibility of harvesting Thunder Oak from the fringes of the Greenweald would go far to improve the economic standing of the Kingdom.
Lake Ladure Quarry - Arcstone Quarry
The name of the large lake that straddles the border between the Greenweald and Bordevar is something of a debate between locals who fish there and the nobles in the capital, between Bordevar and the Baronies, between person to person. However, one of the smaller lakes north of the main body of water was known as Lake Ladure.
Drained by an accidental dam many years prior, the lakebed revealed vast supplies of Arcstone, a powerful mineral that could be used for construction and enchantment. Nationalised by The Concord as a strategic resource, the Lake Ladure Quarry is now held by the Exchange.
Lake Ladue Quarry is an Arcstone Quarry held by the Concord.
Military Concerns
The Onyx Aristrocracy throws legions of undead Bordevarians at the thin line of defenders. They already control all of the lands the Kingdom once held and seem eager to continue the pressure. However it has been some time since a concerted attack led by the more powerful creatures of that dark-hearted realm have been brought to the front.
Beneath the eaves of the Greenweald, the Zekartaal drive the forest to even greater curses and power. One does not have to travel far within its darkened paths to feel the imminent danger. Although the wartribes have not seen fit to push into the plains of Weiland, if they did so it would be devastating to the remnants of Bordevar.
Bordevarians At War
Bordevarians on the field of battle are a combined arms affair, with massive blocks of Peasant infantry (often armed with polearms or sword and shield) supported by archers and cataclysmic warmages. All of this operates around the armoured fist of the Bordevarian knight, the strength of the nation. Fully-armoured juggernauts of faith, violence and pride.
Bordevarian knights tend to wear at least medium armour, with gleaming plate and heraldic tabards being the archetypal look. Greatswords or sword and shield are common, with bows and polearms being seen as a peasants weapon. The most garish may also have a cape or carry a magnificent banner.
Commonfolk sellswords or infantry are known for their popular use of large groups of ‘bills’, a kind of hooked polearm. But it is also common to see simple wooden shields (in heater, kite or teardrop shapes) and swords, axes or clubs. Peasant hunters with bows or perhaps even Kings Rangers act in support. Some Commonfolk men-at-arms may have some pieces of plate armour (beaten breastplates and helms) but arming jackets and gambesons are the most common piece of armour.
Cultures and Customs
The Ethos of King Bordevar
The original Ethos laid down by King Bordevar is a sprawling document he added to throughout his life. With hundreds of bylaws and guidelines, it can be a difficult document to parse. However the core of the Ethos is rooted in the Church of the Divine Spheres, of which Bordevar was a devout follower. As such, the core six tennents can be seen as branching off from this original inspiration, with all the cascading imperatives falling from these six.
- Prove yourself heroic, your tales and words mean nothing without action. We believe in ourselves as the whole. What one believes we all believe. Shun the non believer.
- Our strength is pushed outwards, ever vigilant against treachery that will come to challenge itself against the goodness of our hearts.
- To grow powerful is the sign of nobility, to be noble is to be powerful. Good deeds and great action will be rewarded to those who act with nobility.
- Trust your companions for they have taken this journey with us. Be wary of those who lack the fortitude to follow us.
- What we know, we protect, for it is a weapon we can use and will not be used against us.
While the relevance of this Ethos grows lesser and lesser as Bordevar is forced to face it's xeonphobic and isolationist past, it is still a pillar of their Realm nonetheless.
Nobility and Knighthood
Nobility and Knighthood are core to the culture of Bordevar. Young children grow up playing with swords eager to become heroic knights, and the psions of noble houses study and learn dutifully in the hope that they may become nobles themselves in the future. In Bordevar, nobility and knighthood is not inherited, it is earned. Through the Trials of Noble Virtue or the Valourous Challenges, an individual may become a Noble or Knight (or perhaps both) regardless of their parentage. Understandably it is easier to achieve these goals with the support of a noble family, but it is by no means impossible without it.
The pursuit of Nobility and Knighthood is so central to the experience of Bordevarian characters that all The Concord Team recommends that new characters begin as commoners so that they may experience the journey there. However, if you simply wish to play a knight or a noble it is important to understand the challenges placed before those who would become one so that you know the expectations that might be upon you. But you are certainly allowed to play a Knight or Noble from character creation.
Information on the pursuit of Knighthood or Nobility can be found on the Bordevarian Knighthood, Nobility and Commonfolk Page.
Religious Beliefs
The worship of the Spheres under the King was grandiose, and this continued after his death. Great, extravagant ceremonies, where deeds were recounted and oaths were sworn to continue the ways of the Ethos. Over these presided beautifully robed priests of Lumos, Cervitas, Panoply and Arcadian. Belief without question, serving to the group, pursuit of advancement and heroism were valued greatly, and their priesthoods held many Nobles. Believers of Stallia were carefully watched, lest their questioning become heresy. As for Anarch, even the King himself would never tempt the Church of the Divine Spheres by banning them, but questioning the way of things was frowned upon. Anarch's priests practiced quietly in the night or in hidden places. There are some amongst the Church who even whisper that it was the imbalance created by this obvious favour that led to the Kingless Kingdom being brought low.
The imbalance was at its worst towards the times just before the Concord. Priests of Lumos far too often became inquisitors and rabble rousers decrying those who would challenge the Kingdom, or who they believed might challenge it in the future. When the Nobles of the Kingless Kingdom marched out against the Onyx Aristocracy the noble priests went with them. Preaching the destined glory of Bordevar and resplendent in jewelled robes and carrying blessed weaponry as they strode to battle. Those same noble priests soon lay dead in the mud next to their shining knights. Inflamed by a particular hatred for the Church of the Spheres the Aristocracy slaughtered the religious leaders of Bordevar. Those not killed fled before such ferocity.
Now it is for Bordevar to desperately try and recover from their loss. Some of those that fled have been rescued and returned. Low ranked or even Smallfolk priests have been promoted. Even still denuded ranks of experienced noble priests remain a prominent reminder of the Kingless Kingdom's failings. A surprising number of Stallian and Anarch believers have stepped out of the shadows bringing a desire to understand the realm's failings, their own previously hidden congregations, and some strange beliefs. While all true believers in the Church of the Divine Spheres, but some express it oddly.
Religious ceremonies of Bordevar tend towards either an attempt at the grandiosity of the past delivered in a sombre tone, or quiet, intense, almost hidden rituals in the dark. A new Priest of Arcadian might exhort their followers to fight anew, to rise up but will never forget to detail the losses this will avenge. A Stallian might set up an elaborate orrery at the brink of dusk, and lead a dozen in silent vigil.
Priests of Anarch in particular tend towards the grandiose. They had hidden their worship too long, and now they wish to ensure all see their work. Some have even taken on a side of the Sphere’s Doctrines that is often forgotten - you are truest self at your most open. They decry hidden emotion and exhort themselves to bear all their pain and pleasures openly. For the vast majority, they show the pain of loss, a self flagellation on behalf of all of the Kingless Kingdom.
Arcane Traditions of the Kingdom of Bordevar
The Kingless Kingdoms arcane traditions are young in comparison to those of the other Realms of The Concord. King Artourious was no mage, with neither the inherent skill or ability to learn of his father. Were it not for his friendship with the warmage Elaith Gravemarked, there would possibly be no magical traditions in this nation at all.
With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that Bordevarian arcane traditions are straightforward and bright. The High Warmages of Bordevar are well regarded as being powerful battlefield spellcasters as well as combatants in their own right. Among the nobility and knightly pursuits of arcane magic, this is the norm. Powerful and dedicated spellcasters who perhaps lack subtlety. While in the past it was a social misstep to study magic, modern times are far enough removed from the King's gaze to make this a fact of the past. Many noble or knightly spellcasters will draw their magic from themselves, their houses or orders or from their causes. They often use banners, jewellery, wands and weapons as arcane implements where they do not take the mantle of battlemage and wield a polearm.
However magic is not unknown among the commonfolk. Hedgemages (as corruption of the term Hedgeknight, referring to a Knight who is not a noble) are often far more varied in their magical skills. These commonfolk spellcasters are often healers, protectors and in many cases, priests. They act as a bolster to local surgeons, militias and artisans, supporting their communities with what skills they have. Since Bordevar lacks much deliberate schooling for magic, almost all are either self taught or apprenticed to another hedgemage. These spellcasters will often draw their magic from their sense of community, from their home or from their own spirit, likely using magical implements such as staves, bundles of herbs, tools or keys.
Bordevarian enchantment and magical items are rare, often coming from noble family treasuries or knightly armouries. Bordevarian mundane weapons and armour are held in high regard, and their magical items are no different. You can tell a Bordevarian magical items for its use of heraldry, rather than patterns you will often see singular images, often of weapons, animals or symbols of a house. These items will often be made of fine steel and gold. Items such as Battleplate, Battlemages Vestments or Dragonhide Plate are common Bordevarian crafts.