Master of the Koboldi

Among other things, the Master of the Koboldi serves as a representative of the Empire to the court of King Adamant, and vice versa.

Overview

The Master of the Koboldi is an Imperial Title appointed by Declaration of Candidacy in the Conclave. The position was created to oversee the College of Engineering in Temeschwar, created in conjunction with the eternal Adamant. The college took a little over a year to build, being completed shortly before the Winter Solstice 383YE. Part of the delay was due to the need to amend the powers of the Master to bring them into line with Adamant's initial proposal. At its completion, control of the structure was ceded to the eternal, who dispatched some of his servants to help staff the college.

During the Autumn Equinox 384YE, an administrative motion was raised by the Civil Service to determine if the Senate wished the Master of the Koboldi to be able upgrade/improve, and repair existing structures as well as commissioning new one. The senators confirmed that this was indeed their intention.

The Senate further amended the powers during Summer 387YE to include the ability to commission wayhouses and edifices. It was further amended during the Winter Solstice 387YE to have the power to announce the construction of any commission that creates a structure.

Responsibilities

The Master of the Koboldi is Adamant's representative to the Empire, and vice versa. They do not oversee the College of Engineering as such - the building was ceded to the control of the eternal after all - but they have the ability to call on Adamant's servants to undertake construction work anywhere in the Empire. If the College were threatened, however, they would be responsible for dealing with those threats.

Powers

Commission stone construction

Once per summit, the Master of the Koboldi can commission a single college of magic, edifice, embassy, fane, fortification, great work, ministry, runeforge, sinecure, shipyard, smugglers cove, or spy network, or wayhouse anywhere in the Empire. The commission must use at least 30 wains of white granite as part of its costs. This project does not count against the limited number of commissions the Senate can begin each season - all the work of planning and construction is undertaken by the koboldi. The commission follows all the normal rules, although in this case the labour cost of the building represents gifts of treasure for the heralds and their master rather than wages.

As well as commissioning a new structure, the Master of the Koboldi may also upgrade, improve, and repair existing structures (provided they are of a type the Master is allowed to create).

To use this power, the Master must make a Senate announcement, ideally containing all the necessary details of the commission. These should include the nature of the commission, the territory and region where it will be built, and the method of appointment of any associated title.

While a standard commission will proceed without any problems, using this power in conjunction with an opportunity may lead to unexpected complications depending on its nature. The Civil Service may be able to provide guidance where this is the case. (OOC Note: For opportunities presented in Winds of Fortune, an e-mail to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk should be able to confirm if there will be any problems with the Master using the koboldi to fulfil it.)

Regalia

Adamant has pledged to provide two magic items as regalia for the Master of the Koboldi: a wreath of gold and a bracelet of gemstones. Adamant has pledged to re-empower the foci every year during the Winter Solstice, as long as he enjoys the amity of the Conclave. The powers of the foci have not been made public knowledge.

Official Residence

The Master of the Koboldi has a suite of rooms at the College of Architecture in Temeschwar, and while in residence, all their needs are taken care of by the koboldi. They are welcome to roleplay that they dine on the finest food and drink that the League has to offer.

Dima Vasilyevna Novosad, Master of the Koboldi

Appointment

The appointment, replacement, or removal of the Master is made by the declaration of candidacy as part of a Conclave session. Any Imperial citizen may hold the title. They serve until they are replaced by another magician using the Declaration of Candidacy. As a title in the Conclave, they cannot be revoked.

Summit	Nation	Elected
Summer Solstice 385YE	Varushka	Dima Vasilyevna Novosad
Winter Solstice 383YE	The Brass Coast	Sagua i'Ezmara

Recent Elections

This title is currently held by Dima Vasilyevna Novosad; it can be reelected at any summit by a declaration of candidacy. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.

College of Engineering

Built in the foothills of Locul in Temeschwar, not far from the great mine of Descent, the College of Engineering is unsurprisingly an impressive stone structure. The buildings themselves are a curious fusion of League architecture and the influence of the Summer realm. The buildings tower to great height, but are designed to harmonise with each other and the surrounding terrain, decorated with subtle and refined traceries. The interior houses many realistic sculptures in a variety of styles honouring both famous Imperial architects - such as Lorenzo “La Volpe” Macelliao von Temeschwar, and the commissioning Senator Cesare Sanguineo Rezia Di Tassato - and inhabitants of Adamant's subterranean realm. Visitors often find it incongruous to encounter a statue of the exemplar Atuman on one side of a hall, mirrored by an equally beautiful statue of a great lizard-headed robed figure, both of them equipped with scrolls and mason's tools.

Large stained glass windows fill the interiors with natural light. The most impressive of which is probably found in the great hall where a massive circular window of multicoloured glass depicting seven dragons encircling a great flame with the words "With Ambition, we Build" beneath. At night, the halls are illuminated with Lightstones from Urizen and Wintermark, and shimmering crystals quarried in the Summer realm. The main library is particularly imposing, with two great towers that echo those of Diora University in Sarvos - itself home to a renowned school of architecture - but decorated with sculptures depicting a number of great wingless lizards with many legs - creatures of the Summer realm known as deepwyrms.

The first Master of the Koboldi, Sagua i'Ezmara.

Nobody visiting the College is left in any doubt that it is built, at least in part, to the glory of the King Beneath The Peak - indeed the road that wends down the hills toward the city proper is flanked by two massive dragon statues of white stone, depicting at least one of the images of the eternal themselves. Even if one were to ignore the extensive dragon and mountain imagery, two-thirds of the staff at the College are creatures of the Summer realm - specifically the underground demesne of the Throne of Adamant. Labour and menial tasks are undertaken by the short-and-stocky koboldi but there are several heralds of Adamant in residence who are both larger and more unique in their appearance. They include the architect Lemanan, whose brutish, ogrish physique belies a keen wit and intense enthusiasm for excavation and mining; the sinuous Be'hei'ar, a serpentine sculptress beyond compare; and the grey-stone-skinned Drageer who teaches draftsmanship and geometric principles to the students here.

Security likewise is a split between the mundane and the magical - a small company of mercenary soldiers of the League, well paid in gems and precious metals on the one hand; and two livings stone statues of dragon-headed warriors that spend most of their time standing motionless in the forecourt before the library ready to spring into life should anything threaten the College or its inhabitants.

Beacon in Ossium

Dima's Light of Ossium

Commission Type: Edifice

Location: Bittershore, Ossium

Cost: 20 white granite, 5 mithril, and 75 crowns in labour

Time: Three months

Effect: Creates a massive work of art on the shores of the Semmerlak

Availability: Available until either Kostjyas Respite is destroyed, or amity is removed from Adamant

Expanded Version

Commission Type: Edifice

Location: Bittershore, Ossium

Cost: 40 white granite, 10 mithril, 5 ilium, and 150 crowns in labour

Time: Six months

Effect: Warns of threats against Kostjyas Respite Establishes a beacon in Bittershore, increasing investment of fleets in Ossium by one Any fleet in Ossium undertaking a trading action does so with a bonus rank

Availability: Available until either Kostjyas Respite is destroyed, amity is removed from Adamant, or a great work that increases investment of fleets in Ossium is commissioned

• Adamant has prepared a set of plans for the Master of the Koboldi
• These plans can only be used by the Master of the Koboldi
• They create either a fine edifice that would provide warning of any incipient attack
• The plans could be expanded to make them also boost the level of investment in fleets in Ossium

One of the koboldi turns up at College of Engineering in Temeschwar with a comprehensive set of blueprints for the attention of Dima Vasilyevna Novosad. The little herald is endearingly exited about the structure they refer to variously as Dima's Light of Ossium and the Drakonas Beacon. It takes the form of an ostentatious stone lighthouse, standing proud and unmoving along the Semmerlak in Bittershore. Curled around and atop the lighthouse sits a fire-breathing store dragon, maw open wide and facing the open water. The dragons eyes are glinting gemstones, imbued with the essence of Summer. It is a grand undertaking, and it seems that there are not one but two plans for the structure.

The first is an imposing edifice, a massive work of art, that glowers threateningly out across the lake. This would require 20 wains of white granite, 5 wains of mithril, cost 75 crowns in labour and treasure, and take three months to complete. It would also explicitly be buildable by the Master of the Koboldi despite its modest scale.

Alternatively, there is a much grander set of blueprints that are significantly more expensive. A full-sized structure built within sight of Kostjyas Respite and towering over the town and its walls. The plans require 40 wains of white granite, 10 wains of mithril, and the addition of 5 rings of ilium. Treasure (and labour) costs amount to 150 crowns, and the structure would take six month to complete. Once it was built, the effects of the tower would be twofold.

First, if any threat came against Kostjya's Respite - be that pirate raiders, Druj, or the monstrous children of Dho'uala, the dragon would roar and breathe gouts of fire to warn the folk of the town of the incoming threat. It wouldn't actually do much to protect the town, but the advance warning would likely be enough to ensure the defenders would not be taken by surprise by such an assault.

Secondly, it would become a powerful beacon in the minds and memories of those who set sail from the shores of Ossium out into the wider world. No matter where they went in the world, Varushkan sailors departing from Kostjya's Respite would know where they were in relation to the tower. Even in the most dire circumstances, they would be able to look toward the tower and see a vision of a road stretching from their boat back toward Ossium. They would even dream of the beacon from time to time, and of their homes, especially if they were feeling homesick or despairing. When they returned to the docks, the sight of the tower and its draconic mascot would invigorate them physically and spiritually.

This would increase the level of investment in fleets in Ossium by one. This would mean that any fleet based in Ossium that undertakes a trading action would do so with a bonus rank.

Further Reading

• Commission details all the rules and requirements for beginning a construction project.
• Senate announcement explains how the Master of the Koboldi uses their ability to commission stone structures.
• Mean what you say is the Summer 382YE Wind of Fortune where the college was first proposed
• Construct College of Engineering and Architecture is the Senate motion that set the project in motion
• Stone and stone is the Winter 383YE wind of fortune that includes a number of opportunities for the Master to commission unique construction