Manirian Politics & The Future of the Trader Princes

From: Nicholas P <nick.the.nevermet_at_tPDWB15tFwdN6DGv713bOs-wfmBKAX-ifMaf8dUibSVo17BUCHurBtt40H>
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:29:09 -0000


Jeff:
> Bastis is far and away the best-off of the surviving Houses. They
> are really the only ones that are conducting 'business as usual'
> but based on the literature, they have also begun to see themselves
> as feudal overlords in addition to (or instead of) their
> obligations. Case in point is that the head of the House
> styles himself "Count Bastis".

You make it sound like Bastis may eventually try to convert to a more conventional Malkioni Church as they lose the peculiarities of Trader Prince culture. The heir of Bastis getting cosey with Rokari missionaries or something. If it's just a feudal city-state, the Asharan Church would be a bit less compatible with its situation.

> This was probably the case. I think it may be the case now too. But
> the Trader Princes's Safelesterian origins are only a pretense
> these days, shown in antique fashion and the badly accented \
> Safelestran dialect most of them still speak... somewhat.

I always loved that feature of Trader Prince Culture: neither Wenelia nor Safelster would claim it as its own.

> Niccollo is a boogyman. A collection of folk tales and parables
> about how to do things the "wrong" way. He isn't real. Though I
> suppose he may have taken on a mythic life of his own.

The Ends justify the (chaotic) Means?

> The important thing to remember is that the Trader Princes do
> not exist in a vaccuum - and that sort of thinking is what is
> slowly destroying them. They are dependent on the surrounding
> peoples and their kin in the other Houses. However, the whole chain
> falls appart if there's no reason for them to exist which,
> originally, was trade.

And they're going to have a devil of a time trying to find a reason to exist to replace trade, if it comes to that. Graymane is ruining their ability to continue as arbiters among the Wenelians, and trying to get involved in the Esrolian war would require an insane amount of diplomatic luck & skill to be a beneficial thing.

> And a Church must fill a need. I am not sure if the Ashara Church
> would suffice or something else would fill that void. Such as the
> Rokari or the Aeoleans who have a more robust mythology and purpose.

I agree that the Asharan Church is not in a good position, and a lot of this thread is a mental exercise for me trying to imagine ways it could survive. I mean, the way things are written, the good money is on the Trader Princes dying off leaving the only big question whether or not Graymane or someone like him manages to establish a long-standing unity between clans & tribes.

Julian:
> I had a Manirian RQ campaign, *much* further inland & nowhere near
> the coast, and yeh, played it that way myself.

That campaign sounds very, very fun.
One idea I had for a northern campaign involved the search for the pass through Mislari Mountains used by Sir Ethilrist. In the version of the story that got to Maniria / Wenelia, it sounded like a pass that went straight into Dragon Pass, skipping Esrolia & the Holy Country all together. As one would imagine, hillarity would ensue.            

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