Principality of Laroy
Laroy is an agricultural principality,
abutting the mountains, it boasts one city but numerous villages surrounded by
farms, the
population is almost entirely human and is separated into four social tiers.
Nobility: The prince of Laroy rules his country with
an iron hand. His
advisors and court
are all family members, all of whom make sure that the
nation serves the
Royal Family, rather than the other way around.
There is often in-fighting between the different family
factions, but
the prince rules them all with an iron hand.
Chivalry: The
land away from the
city is governed by the Chivalry.
Rural villages
are overseen by knights of the realm, who oversee farms in their area,
manage
the resources and control the peasant population.
Many knights keep a few armed retainers in
their manor houses to help control the local population and to chase
outlaws
away. Sheriffs are
regional ‘over-seers’,
who look after the Prince’s interests in an area.
They have a military detachment which they
use to hunt down outlaws, collect taxes, escort payments and
deliveries, and to
keep the local knights in check. Most
Sheriffs
are related to the prince somehow, or have otherwise shown themselves
as loyal
supporters. This
group is practically immune,
under the law, from legal cases bought by those lower down the
hierarchy.
The Chivalry of Laroy are fascinated by field sports such as falconry,
hare
coursing and other similar sports, and the animal trainers of Laroy are
famous throughout
The Alliance for their hunting birds, hunting dogs and guard dogs.
Intercessors: This
‘class’
consists of the two groups that support and enforce the law: The
Military and
the Church. Both of
these groups get
special dispensation under the law,
while they do not have all the privileges of The Chivalry,
they have many more
rights and privileges than
the peasants.
While Laroy supports The Temples of the Shrines, the temples are
generally run
by clerics of St Cuthbert, which gives the temples a very Lawful aspect.
As the population is almost exclusively human, there are no
shrines to the various racial gods in the Temples in Laroy, however,
you may well find Shrines to Pelor, Ehlonna and Wee Jas along side the
main shrine to St Cuthbert. The temples are seen as
one of the societal
pillars that support the Prince in his absolute rule, and you will
find a
cleric of St Cuthbert at every judicial execution or maiming.
Laroy is one of the few nations that has a standing army of
professionally trained
soldiers at its disposal. Joining
the
military is one of the few ways to escape from the land and the rigors
of being
a peasant in this state. Candidates
present
themselves at the Academy (in the capital city, Frisney) where they are
tested
and trained. Trained
troops are ‘posted’
to different sheriff’s castle to act as garrison and wardens for the
area, where
they flush out bandits, apprehend outlaws and escort taxes, local
nobles etc.
Peasantry: The
lowest social
caste the peasants have very few rights or privileges – instead they
are often
tied to the land by a combination of legal responsibilities and
tradition. Just
about the only right that peasants have
is to demand that ‘their’ knight finds them work to do and provides
them with basic
sustenance. Because of this, most peasants work on the farms around
knights’
manor houses, eating little more than a subsistence diet of porridge
with small
amounts of meat and vegetable.
The law of the land is harsh, The Chivalry can make many demands of
their
peasants, and peasants are expected to obey.
Those found in breach of the law suffer harsh penalties,
with exile,
mutilation, beatings and execution as standard punishment. Partly because of this, a
number of 'outlaw
bands' roam the nation's periphery, they steal from the farms, take
game they
should not and occasionally rob the wealthy -
just to make ends meet.
In some
areas there is almost a ‘Robin Hood’
feel where outlaws ‘look after’ the locals, who (in turn)
quietly
support the outlaw bands
The villages in Laroy are surrounded by fields, many of which grow
oats, corn
and barley, much of which is exported either as grain or ale, and Laroy
is
known for producing some of the best ale within The Alliance. The heath land around the
villages is
generally grazed by small, mixed, herds of cattle – bullocks provide
transport [1]
and meat while cows provide milk – until they too are slaughtered for
their
meat. Peasants are
‘paid’ in the
cheapest grains, scrappy vegetables, meat off cuts and the occasional pot of milk. The
peasant diet is often
supplemented by wild fruit and vegetables that they collect. The
Intercessors, on the other hand, eat well - However, the diet is fairly
monotonous but it is both healthy and filling. The Chivalry eat
well from a wide range of foods while the Nobility have the best that
Laroy produces as well as an almost unlimited choice of imported
delicacies.
Main Exports: Grain,
Ale and, to a lesser extent, Trained
Animals
Capital City: Frisney
Shires (each
managed by a Sheriff) and
some of their villages
Frisney
Frisney
City
Conchery
Lawton
Marley |
High Reaches
Hawk’s
Nest
High
Harum
Upper
Galham |
Ension
Lower
Galham
Cruxley
Tishan |
Tersep
Tereton
Great
Kinden
Little
Kinden
Rookham |
Yadis
Sminton
Over
Hadden
Lake
Lenton |
Basary
Garip
Croke on Flinder
Hartleburn |