Game Background

Setting

The game takes place in the town of Lawton in the rural Barony of Bloom on Rampart. The population is under 10k. There is some guild representation and more than one temple but less than 100 nobles, less than 200 guild or church, about less than 3500 freemen. The barony is seated in the foothills of the Ceremanique Mountains stretching into the Ombre forest until the Law River. Lawton is about 35 miles inland from the city of Carllion with at least some representation of the major factions. It is a processing and agricultural hub for the Barony. Most people who can grow up and move to the city.

The region makes its fortune from botanicals grown in Bloom's lush volcanic soil some of the plants have controversial alchemical properties that the Church opposes and they have finally taken a hard line that the practice of growing herbs and fungi for non-merciful-technal use will have to stop. The Archbisop of Carllion has drafted the Proclamation of Ethical Botany and Husbandry, outlawing cultivation of immoral crops and changed livestock. The entire industry of the region is dedicated to specialized medicinal farming and returning to crop farming will be very hard. Many people are upset especially Freemen that were skimming product at a high profit. A rebellion against the Church's decision is quickly forming among those disenfranchised.

There are minority economies in Lawton. It has a tired lumber industry that struggles against increased attacks from those that hide in the Ombre Forrest. It has several struggling copper and zinc mines. It produces enough millirice to feed it's peasants and has larger commercial orchards but overall still must import a large amount of it's food from Carllion. Lawton has a few small electronics factories because of the very inexpensive cost of copper and other rare earth materials. Perhaps most successfully it has a decent trade in tourism from people who are looking for a taste of wilderness in her mountains and forests. Every year hundreds of tourists travel out to Lawton to escape a planet choked with technology.

Persons of Interest

Baron Ikeda Naganaka Li-Halan – Baron Ikeda is an elderly man haunted by mistakes in his past. His wife is estranged to him living in a monastery in Rio Azul. His eldest Son vanished in the Emperor Wars and is presumed dead. The Baron struggles to make a worthwhile heir out of his daughter but if he cannot he faces the possibility that his lands will be forfeit to another noble despite his excellent management.

Lady Sakura Naganaka Li-Halan – The Baron’s daughter and intended heir. Sakura is well remembered for her manners and grace but in her late teens she took a rebellious turn. She returned from school after her father and mother’s separation and began a campaign of misbehavior. She drinks to excess. She duels in the street. She threatens those that disrespect her father. Her behavior is alarming to the conservative population of the fief but she has won man admirers from those that feel that her father’s complacency has allowed problems in the fief to worsen.

Lord Hansu Naganaka Li-Halan – The Baron’s surviving son teenage son is rarely seen in the fief outside of school vacations. He is soft-spoken and even tempered and most say he strongly resembles his father as a boy. Hansu has recently expressed interest in knighthood and is often seen wearing a sword.

Lord Akihiro Okemo Li-Halan – Young Lesser Lord consumed with security. Lord Akihiro rules over Lambert Crest. He sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Sheriff of Bloom. He directly oversees the training of militia soldiers. Akihiro is outspoken about his displeasure with the Baron’s lax security and keeps a retinue of Muster to protect his lands and peasants.

Lord An Drung D’rogue Glace – A lamentably lazy lesser noble who enjoys his wealth in isolation with his wife and concubines. Lord An Drung rules over Copper Hills. He sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Lord Chancellor, organizing events and entertaining important guests in the fief. His family members are socialites whose connections in the city could make them more powerful than the Baron. Lord An Drung is recently alarmed by the Church’s Proclamation as his fief leans heavily on the profitable botanical drugs that are to be eradicated. He is actively petitioning the Baron to push back against the Church, growing more desperate.

Lady Wei Shon Fung-Ma Li-Halan– Lady Wei Shon is an elderly ultra-conservative with Kungjin Caste family connections. Lady Wei Shon rules over Harmony Ridge. She sits at the Baron’s Counsel as the Trade Minister, overseeing Guild contracts and negotiations. Her husband died in the wars along with her elder son and she is very protective of her younger son and heir Dasto, insulating him from much of the world until he’s ready to rule. Her mothering demeanor has earned her the moniker “Mother Crane” behind her back. Many gossip that if Baron Naganaka cannot manage the current crisis with the Church that the Fung-Ma heir will sit on his throne.

Reeves Manager Hanse Haggen – Hanse is an attentive well spoken young man who serves the Baron as his Chancellor of Finance, managing tax collection and budget for the Barony. For his diligence and secrecy he is rewarded far beyond what a man of his experience would normally be. The coming uncertainty of the Church Proclamation threatens to throw off every projection he has made for the next decade and throw the Barony's finances into disarray and Hanse is desperate for any solution to avoid it.

Muster Sergeant Law Feng – The Sergeant is the long-term contract manager of a massive copper mining concern along the Ceremanique mountain range. The work isn’t very profitable but it is just enough to get him a seat on the Baron’s Council. Feng is an egotistical braggart who claims ancestry to the founder of Lawton. He views the Proclamation as a boon to his contract and increases his value to the Barony.

Scraver Boss Lula Blue – Blue Tours is a remote tour hopper company that attracts an unusual clientele from Carllion of young adventurous tourists. They travel to pristine natural locations for skiing or hiking adventures in the remote natural fringes of Rampart. It is rumored that Blue Tours is just a front for drug smugglers and immoral bacchanals but from all appearances Boss Blue is an ethical and conservative and curiously profitable business. Her Genin on the other hand are ruthless and heavy-handed throwing their weight around to the point of threats of violence and kidnappings. Boss Blue is always shocked at their outrageous behavior.

Orthodox Bishop Zhao Li Chun – Bishop Zhao is the young handsome replacement for the former Bushop. He is an acolyte of the Archbishop’s social circle appointed specifically in preparation for this hard-line push in Bloom. Despite this path being laid out for him Zhao is struggling sectarian conflict and priests resistant to change. Bishop Zhao is impatient and frustrated with the Baron’s push-backs on the Proclamation and the Archbishop pressures him for progress in the foothills.

Lord Marshall Jae-Bok Saeng – Marshall Jae is not eldest or the strongest of the Knight of Yara in town, so the fact that she is a Marshall of the order should make you think. Jae is a cocksure do-gooder who loves teaching children the fighting arts and seems to seek out chances to say “Why don’t you pick on someone my size”. The fact that so few take up her offer and that she doesn’t compete in tournaments or festivals only adds to the rumors of her supernatural fighting skills.

Engineer Chief Jin Bak – Chief Jin manages the packing house for the fief under the guidance of Lady Wei Shon Fung-Ma Li-Halan, Jin is a natural born worrier facing major cut-backs in his operation and the stress is making him exceptionally uptight.

Engineer Apprentice Dennis Hume – Apprentice Hume performs maintenance for the fief's shuttle and miscellaneous tasks around the fief. He is a strong believer in the adage that the nail that sticks out gets hammered first. He keeps his head down and does his job without complaint or comment, but that leaves a lot of Hume's life that nobody accounts for.
The Dog father - A mysterious figure who rules over the Hounds that live in and around the ruins of the D9 plant deep in Hombre woods. He seems to have a peculiar arrangement with the Baron that has gone on for years.
Genin Fox - Fox is a resourceful contract boss. What she doesn't know about her enterprise she works hard to learn. More unusual she's loyal to her team and looks out for them, a trait uncommon in Boss Blue's halls. She's friendly and despite her scars very attractive, but she's ever-aware of the strength of her position and not afraid to remind employers of why they contracted her if things become uncertain.
Captain Fantastic - Capt Fan is a resistance leader with Diakang Yungdong. He's accustomed to tactics for demoralizing the Li-Halan but doesn't enjoy harming people or inflicting casualties. He believes strongly that it is the duty of leaders to do what's best for people and he feels the Li-Halan are failing dangerously in that aim so he and his people have allied themselves with other rebellion groups in the mountains, protecting them from Li-Halan interference.

Factions

Order of Yara Knights – The Samaratan Knights of the Amalthean faith have long served as a force for order in the Barony, stepping in to back up the Baron's forces when there were threats to Bloom. They are a cross between the philanthropy and goodwill of the boyscouts and the discipline and fanaticism of the Shaolin monks. There are less than a dozen of the knights in the foothills, residing in a The Temple of Soft Lessons at the edge of town.

The Pilgrims of the Unquenchable fire – Avesti extremists who have long chafed with the knowledge that the church is protecting “drug pedlars” in the neighboring Baronies while addicts die in the streets in the city. They are angry and now that the Church has stepped in the area vindicated in a hate they were once shamed for. Without Church sanction of Bloom they are emboldened and have begun attacking farms or farm workers. Nobody is sure where they're operating out of.

Dikang Yungdong - A subversive resistance group that hinders Li-Halan rule. They gather intelligence and organize protests and riots among the disaffected populations. When they do act directly it is with calculated operations that inflict public shame on members of the noble family. Dikang Youngdong is closely aligned with many Republicanism groups on the planet and tends to work in conjunction with them.

The Children of Yue – Tribes of Animalized Changed found in the Ombre Forrest, descendants of when Carllion City was a massive biochem campus. Despite the prejudice against them, many children are allied with the Li-Halan military serving as scouts in the deep woodlands. Others are less welcoming of humans in their woods.

The Red Dragon Brigade – Count Gijan Li-Halan’s Royal Guard are barracked in Lawton to protect it from the threat of Dikang Youngdong. The Red Dragon are elite soldiers sworn unto death in service of the Count and the Crown. Many believe their superior conditioning and stamina are the product of genetic tampering. The Red Dragons, despite their fierce reputation, mostly take casual patrols into the forest and mountains and drink with the militia soldiers in town. But on the few occasions where the Red Dragons intercede in law enforcement their reputation is chillingly established.

Non-Ui – Less of a faction and more of a fandom. Non-Ui is a popular band of handsome young singer/performers on Rampart that makes its home in Lawton. These seven men play traditional Li-Halan popular music about poetically graceful noble ladies and the value of virtue. They perform at festivals and tournaments, you can hear them live on radio stations around the planet, they sell out concert halls. Most of Rampart views their recordings of populist propaganda garbage but that still means thousands of young fans come to meet them in Lawton each year.

Places

The Temple of St. Jun – St. Jun’s is the seat of the Orthodox Parrish and the center for Church activity and the tallest building in Lawton. It faces the city central square with grounds and offices that take up much of the center or town including the Bishop’s stately residence.

Market Square – Lawton’s market district is reminiscent of the older street markets of Icon and Kish, narrow streets crowded with street vendors and chaotic shopfronts with long overhangs. Every corner has carts serving cheap aromatic foods, everyone is shouting, every sign glares with lights, fighting for attention. The Square is the center of Lawton’s market district, a block of the town’s most prestigious shops and businesses rising into a three story market. Town militia not only provide security to the business owners but enforce a sort of polite decorum through strict warnings and often arrests of poor behavior.

Leng Po Tea Market – Leng Po’s is the undisputed tea importer in Lawton featuring blends and strains from as far away as Malignitus. Their shop is small but the rear of the building features an undisclosed number of private tea rooms where noteworthy patrons can be served private tea. Nobles and powerful members of the Church often call meetings here as a neutral territory.

The Waterhorse – The waterhorse is a public drinking house near the town’s barracks named after a mythical beast from the time Rampart was ruled over by the League. The waterhorse is likely the best bar in Lawton with a full menu similar to the bars in the city and a good selection of hard alcohols. It is also one of a very few businesses that rent rooms to visitors. It is owned by a member of the Brewers Guild named Boyd Tanner. Many have suggested that the Waterhorse has some connection to Republican Groups despite the bar being a popular hangout for house soldiers.

Book Temple – This former Eschatonic shrine at the edge of the market district has been remade into a book store complete with all of the temple fittings and library touches. It is one of the most well-stocked book stores on the planet and the owner, Emily Wise Torenson, aggressively buys books that line the shop’s endless shelves. The church doesn’t care for her business but can’t do much to drive her out.The inquisition often searches the store for remnants of forbidden Eschatonic knowledge, which only promotes the business.

The Temple of Soft Lessons – Despite sounding like a brothel, the Temple is a sought-after fighting school run by the Amalthean order. The mission of the temple is to give free men the tools to defend themselves. For a crest any free person can receive training in basic fighting arts from lower techniques of Shidan to BAMBC. Classes are taught by Knights of the Order of Yara who reside in the cloister there. Any given weekend you can see other melee fighting teachers who are encouraged by the temple to hold classes.

Calsais Pools – High in the hills over Harmony Ridge is a forested area with cascading pools fed from a hot spring. Each pool has been fenced in for privacy and wrapped in beautiful gardens that surpass even the Baron’s private gardens in vibrant beauty. The pools are maintained by an enclave of Ur Obun that serve the Crane Mother loyally. The Pools at Calsais are an attraction that brings tourists from across the planet into the rural Bloom Barony.

The Hall at Lambert Crest – One of the privileges of serving as the Baron's Sheriff is discerning who may and may not hunt in his preserves. Upon his appointment to the position Lord Akihiro built a majestic hunting lodge deep in the wood to invite his friends and allies to partake in the exotic joy of hunting the rich game in the area. However Akihiro's popularity grew too quickly and soon the Lodge became a destination for party crashers as more and more wealthy patrons expected the hunting experience. At the advice of his gamekeepers Akihiro limited the number of hunters each year but visitors didn't care. They lounged about the hunting hall drinking and telling stories. The Hall became a refuge for powerful men from the demands of the world and soon it forbade women even in the serving staff. There are rumors of the strange debaucheries that happen at the Hall, stories of crowds of hunters going into the woods without bows and coming back drunk and wild, stories about strange injuries. Lord Akihiro is quick to scour down anyone who speaks ill of his guests but nobody imagines a petty noble is commanding the behavior of visiting Barons or Deans so much as covering it up.

Ho Peng Laiu's Amazing Journey – Ho Peng Laiu's is one part diner, one part theater, one part technosophy. The restaurant was a local eatery when the league ruled Rampart and could even be as old as the Second Republic. The restaurant was redecorated with an opulent Chinese aesthetic when the Li-Halan claimed the planet, hoping to draw in nobles, but the Li-Halen nobility despised the place and what it represented. The restaurant was bought and sold many times, each time losing more of it's elegant decor and replacing it with cheap red paint and gold foil. In the end Ho Peng Laiu's was bought by a Carnivalier who adopted the name Ho Peng Laiu. He leaned into the cheesy nature of the legendary flop, serving much cheaper food and bringing in freemen and struggling guilders and priests to eat with their families. Ho Peng Laiu's serves dinners in private rooms with a server that narrates the animated ride of earnest noble son, Ho Peng Laiu, as he strikes out seeking his great adventure. The performance is timed so that narration occurs when the server returns with each course, and has different endings depending on what the guests order. Hating Ho Peng Laiu's is a local pastime, especially among the Li-Halan. Anyone who expresses an unrealistic ambition or who talks about leaving the town for something better is quick to be called “Ho Peng”. However, almost every critic of the restaurant mysteriously knows the Ho Peng Laiu story by heart.

The Junk Garden – Near the edge of Copper Hills Fief is a patch of torn up dirt littered with garbage that is continually stacked, sorted and buried. This is the primary way the Barony disposes of non-compostable waste. The facility is run by a pair of elderly Scravers nobodies named Bin and Leon who have burnt out every option for advancement and ended up on a junk pile. They strip old technology and melt down scrap and brew some of the roughest moonshine in the region. Lord An Drong isn't happy to host the Barony dump. Most of the serfs assigned to The Junk Garden are troublemakers or simpletons. On off-duty nights The Junk Garden is often a hangout for poor guilders to socialize and drink and a source of most of the hot gossip in the Barony.