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Kingdoms - Bistal
Climate: Average Seasons
Known As: Bistalian
Primary Lang: Common, Bistalian
Capitol City: Bykin
Population: Roughly 500,000 people
Ruler: King VonMoon
People:
Bistalians are overall a good people. They try to avoid conflict as much as possible but live on the borders of the Ogre kingdom and kindoms without morales has made avoiding conflict very hard for Bistal. Generally the Bistalians in the northern Baronies are farmers and herders, while southern Bistalians are more industrial and military.
Brief History:
Bistal has always been a small kingdom but always a becon of the forces of Good. Bistal was actaully founded by artists and craftsmen. It seems that not only are the fields of Bistal exceptionally good for grazing sheep for their wool, plants and berries also grow exceptionally well. There also seems to be a stain of plant who's root provides wonderful colors for dyes, but the plant is food for a strange animal that seems to be a distan cousin to the silk worm. The "threading" that the creature spins is amazing and rather expensive. Kingdoms and rich families have requested numbers items to be made out of this material and the dyes over the centuries. During one point in history the little kingdom of Bistal was surrounded by kingdoms that had nothing on their mind but the destruction of any Good or Lawful society, to show that Bistal was afraid of no one, they created The Temple of Divine Light. The temple is dedicated to all the gods fo Good. Within the temple smaller temples to each God of Good can be found. Small delegation from each faith can be found keeping their temples and the main temple grounds. However, the problem once the temple was built was that no one would travel through the troubled lands surrounding Bistal, so the king struck a deal with an order of monks to make roadways from all directions safe. The monks have created safe roads, even a road through Svykur, the Ogre kindomg.
Culture:
Bistalians are simple people. They are hard workers, believing that the day is for working and the night is for lesiure. They don't believe in over indulgence and just about all of the northern Bistalians believe that war is needed only when their freedom is threatened.
Ruling Structure:
Bistal is a small country and there is a Royal Family that rules over them. The Monarcy system is very male driven, since women can never take the throne. When the king passes the crown on, it is to go to his eldest son. If his eldest son dies, the it goes to his next eldest. If the king has no sons or only his only son is unable to take the crown then the crown will be passed to his oldest nephew of his oldest brother and follow that same structure as if it was his own children. If the King and all his brothers are childless, then the crown will get passed to the oldest brother of the king.
Economy:
Bistal's economy is one of the strongest in the world. Their fabrics, dyes, clothing are sought after by anyone who can afford it. Many Bistalians are asked to work for rich families or royalty in other kingdoms. Don't let the look of the villages and towns fool you, even though they may look poor they have a ample supply of money, but their never overdoing it philosophy keeps them humble and they build what they need without getting very elaborate.
Sub Structure:
Bistal is broken up into six baronies, three in the north and three in the south. In the center of the Kingdom is Bykin, the capital. While Bykin is mainly just a large walled city that spans about 20 miles around from the center. In the walled city there are many farms that produce and grow the special plant, known as the Bykin (named after it's founder, as the city was named after the plant) plus a few sheep herders on the outside of the walls. In the Northern Baronies, they are mostly sheep heeders, and farmers. This is where 95% of the materials needed to make their fabrics are grown or raised. The people of the Northern Baronies are peaceful and well educated. The southern baronies are a bit different. Sharing a border with Svykur have made them more tough and ready for war. They are mostly warriors and the majority of the armies training happens here.
There is a small portion of hills and land in the southern portion of the Grifin Barony known as the Thrall Hills. Within those hills the Keep of Korith stands. Over 20 generations ago the King of Bistal gave that land to a family of half-breeds as a reward for helping battle the Ogre tribes that threatened Bistal, the land become known as Korithia. The Korithia Barony only recognizes the King of Bistal as their immediate ruler, sending taxes to the King directly. While Baron Grifin claims that Korithia are in the borders of his Barony and owe him taxes, the Korithians don't recognize Grifin's boundaries and swears no loyalty to him. Over the years Korithia has been one of the first defenses from the Ogres and now with the civil war starting they have been one of the only forces proving to be a problem for the treasonous southern baronies.
Technology:
Bistal is not very high on the technology scale, but they are somewhere just below the mid range. Most of Bisals technology is used in the extraction of the Bykin plant for it's oils, berries and roots for the making of their materials and dyes. They also use some technology based items in the working with the silk like material that comes from the Bykin worm. Outside of that they have very use for technology. Almost no technology is used for the armies and guards of Bistal.
Arts:
Bistalians love art. Outside of being the finest in fashion, Bistal has been known to have some very famous painters come from their lands. Bistal paint is some of the finest paint known in the world, and Bistalian art is collected in numerous kingdoms.
Fashion:
Bistalians are the icon of fashion in the world of Aredel. Their designs and quailty of product put ever other fashion designer/maker to shame. While they may not be as outragous in design as the Votutians (most of the world view Votutian fashion as gaudy anyways), their designs are pratcial and sensible.
Politics:
Politics for Bistal are dealt with by the Royal Family, that's why the people have trusted them for all these years. Those not of royal blood rarely involve themselves with the politics of the world or of the country.
Orders & Groups:
Outside of the settlements in the Thrall hills there are almost no orders or inner groups in Bistal. People don't believe in seperating themselves from their fellow Bistalians.
Religion:
Religion is very important to Bistalians since their kingdom is the home for the Temple of Light. All Gods of Good are worshipped freely and openly in Bistal.
Current Status:
Over the last year the southern baronies have been moving to take power of Bistal. Barons Selcor, Grifin, and Farkwan have been plotting together to take the throne. Rumors have it that they've even made deals with some of the ogre tribes along the border of Bistal. During the Amazon attackes, King VonMoon was murdered and his son Prince Gremoore has gone missing. With no one to take the throne in VonMoon's place the kingdom has gone into chaos. Currently, Captian Tilmoran and Advisor Jakyn who are loyal to the Throne have been trying to restore order and search for Prince Gremoore while fighting off the southern baronies.
Outlook on other Countries:
Bistal has always been on good terms with most of the kingdoms around Aredel. While not agreeing with the beliefs of some of them, they have kept an open trade policy with everyone. The only kingdoms they have real feelings about are Svykur due to the Ogre attacks, Minneva for their slave trading, and Perreth for their constant destruction of their kingdoms natural resources.
Playing an Ambroetian Character:
Common Roles:
Bistalians can be found all over the world. Many are fabric makers, painters, and tailors. Those from the southern baronis can be found taking on the roles as scouts, rogues and fighters. Although with the current civil war, there are many southern Bistalians who don't agree with their Baron's attempts to take the throne. Recently, "rebels" in the south have started to show their face, one of the most famous rebels at the moment is Cutter Tubal and the Tubal family.
Adventuring Archtypes:
Peasant Hero: From the book
Outlaw: Basics from the book, however these outlaws are of good alignment. They are only outlaws because their Baron is an evil ruler trying to take over the kingdom.
Roleplaying Hints:
Fighting isn't really the first thing on a Bistalians mind. When it comes to conflict they will try to resolve the conflict in a non-violent matter as much as they can. Violence and fighting come only as a last resort and unprovoked violence is just appualing to a Bistalian.
Outlook on other Countries:
Bistal has always been on good terms with most of the kingdoms around Aredel. While not agreeing with the beliefs of some of them, they have kept an open trade policy with everyone. The only kingdoms they have real feelings about are Svykur due to the Ogre attacks, Minneva for their slave trading, and Perreth for their constant destruction of their kingdoms natural resources.
Creating an Bistalian Character:
Naming Conventions:
In the north of Bistal names are generally just a single two syllable name with the last syllable be the family name. In the south they tend to seperate the family name from the rest, sometimes not using it at all.
Ability Scores:
All Bistalians must have atleast a 15 in their Intelligence score. In the north Bistalians are big on fighting, and since most of the heavy work is done by machines and various devices of technology all northern Bistalians gain a +1 to their Intelligence score, but suffer a -1 to their Strength score. In the south it's just the opposite, they are triained more to fight and deal with heavy work that doesn't require a lot of intelligence to do, so southern Bistalians gain a +1 to their Strength score, while suffering a -1 to their Intelligence score.
Racial Abilities:
Bistalians follow the basic starting height, weight and age as in the Players Handbook.
All Bistalians gain Skill Focus at 1st level
Northern Bistalians gain Skill Focus at 3rd level
Southern Bistalians gain Expertise at 3rd level
Skill Bonuses : (Considered trained in skils listed)
- +2 to Agriculture Skills checks
- 2 Ranks to Knowledge: Herbalism (Northern Baronies)
- 4 Ranks to Alchemy (+4 for Priest/Wizards/Sorcerers) (All Baronies)
- 2 Ranks to Knowledge: Royalty and Nobility (All Baronies)
- 3 Ranks to Knowledge: Ogres (Southern Baronies)
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