This post is the next in a new series, where I describe the adventures created for a 5th Edition D&D campaign I ran a little while ago, and some of the crazy things that happened during it.
This is the third of the posts outlining the setting, the Principality of Tarak.
It's fair to warn you that there's quite a lot of setting-related material, because this was a semi-sandbox campaign where I created the environment and all the things that were going on in it. The players then chose which leads they would follow up and what they'd do next, although I was generous with hints if they were looking at doing something that wasn't yet within their abilities !
Image by Jollymama from Pixabay
Religion
Tarak operates a nominal policy of religious freedom, but it is accompanied by licensing requirements that means only a few key deities are enabled to have actual temples in the Principality. Worshippers of other deities are expected to carry out ceremonies at home or in un-altered natural locations.
The deities recognised as being worthy of owning formal temples or places of worship are Andraste, Epona, Rigisamus, and Taranis. Local shrines are quite widespread for Souconna and other river deities. Smetrios is not formally licensed or recognised, but the Cult of Smetrios is powerful enough that it’s mages do not face interference in their worship, and they maintain Gardens of Healing throughout the Principality.
The portfolios of the deities of Tarak include;
- Andraste – war goddess of victory. A symbol of strong womanhood.
- Epona – goddess of horses, cavalrymen and mounted warfare
- Rigisamus – god of war. Very much a symbol of masculinity and royalty.
- Taranis – Thunder god, with strong connections to the natural world and the rain which brings forth bountiful crops. Naturally, he is also a god of war.
- Smetrios – a war god, with secondary spheres including spring, healing and plenty (both crops and wealth more generally). Consort to the water goddess Ancamma.
- Souconna – goddess of the river of that name. Protector and provider, and not so much of a war goddess.
It became a bit of an in-joke with our players that any deity from Tarak would be a god of "something or other... and war !"
Foreign Policy
Tarak’s foreign policy is mainly devoted to ensuring the security of the Principality. This primarily means finding ways to secure the borders against incursions of orcs and other monsters, as well as occasional raids by the Sidhiarans. In addition, preserving the security and inflow of fee-paying foreign students (and thus the revenue they bring) is a key priority.
Filrath and Enrieme are considered allies, although contacts with them are not that frequent and generally limited to trade rather than military assistance.
Although relatively isolated, Tarak hosts embassies from most of the Northern powers, including those as far afield as Varenia, Magoran and Danislav. They are mainly present to provide consular services to any of their students who might get into trouble, but their presence enables the Regency Council to keep abreast of events across the rest of the world.
Armed Forces
The majority of threats Tarak faces tend to be swift raiding parties and lone marauding monsters. The armies of the Principality have evolved to meet this threat rather than needing the serried ranks of disciplined close-order infantry used by other states.
A significant portion of Tarak’s fighting strength is in the form of bonded warrior brotherhoods led by traditional local leaders. This is a reflection of the tribal origins of the state.
Each village and town has some kind of leader, with a variety of titles; Lord, Chieftain, Mayor, etc. Each of these will have a small body of personal retainers, oath-sworn to fight as brothers in the service of their leader. In a small village, this band may be as small as the chief and his immediate sons and brothers; in a town, it may be a couple of hundred strong and double as the local constabulary. These warrior brotherhoods are generally armed and equipped with high quality weapons as medium-heavy infantry, mailed, helmeted and armed with spear, sword and shield.
In times of trouble, the warrior brotherhoods form the core of a wider levy of able-bodied men and women. This isn’t a levy in the low-quality sense used in other nations; the local citizenry regularly gather to train and are generally quite well equipped. The nature of the levy will depend on the area. Town levies are usually mailed medium infantry, those of the forests will be archers and light infantry, while shepherds and farmers are staff-slingers with a reputation for deadly accuracy.
Tarak City itself has these levies, but its main strength consists of the private armies of the various temples, no one of them individually numerous, but combining to make a strong and effective force. The wealth of the temples means they are very well armed and equipped. These are the troops that in peacetime double up as the various watch and constabulary forces. To be fair to them, without the inter-force squabbles over jurisdiction, they make very good troops. Probably better soldiers than policemen !
Although Tarak has a strong mythology around cavalry, the truth is that they are a long way from their roots as a tribe of horse nomads and can field very few cavalry. Those they do have are good quality and are provided by the levies of the border areas. These border horse are usually armed with bow, shield and short spear, and act as light cavalry rather than heavy knights, but they are ferocious in combat and highly disciplined.
In addition to these local forces, Tarak also hires a number of mercenaries, usually for specific roles. These include;
- The Blue Falcons; a band of 300 warhawk riders, divided into small squadrons to fly aerial patrols in the the borders and mountains.
- The Swords of Maladorn; 500 heavy swordsmen named after their former leader, who was slain in battle against Ingrim Orcs.
- The Axe-Holes; a regiment of 800 Niandi dwarven warriors (600 axes and 200 crossbows) led by Fergus “The Mad” Borsson. Their role is to protect the Tarakian mines in the Vildar Mountains.
Important People
Below are just a few of the important people of Tarak. They are the kind of NPC that the characters are likely to hear quite a lot about, but not meet until they are fairly high level themselves.
- High Lady Brigidda Farhar – High Priestess of Andraste. A tall blonde in her early thirties. Regarded as highly ambitious, there are questions over how she became High Priestess at such a young age, but no question over her desire to stabilise and expand the Principality.
- Lady Drusilla – High Priestess of Epona
- Lord Geraint LLormat – High Priest of Rigisamus
- Prenvis, Tarandalor, Galbarix – the three druids leading the Taranis worshippers.
- Daliban Magus – Head of the Conclave of the Cult of Smetrios.
- Fulgar Tambusson – Chancellor of Tarak University
To be continued... next time I'll start on the adventure itself.
Previous posts in this series;
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Setting Part 1
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Setting Part 2