Varushka groups

Overview

There are many important vales, cabals, and warden fellowships in Varushka. Despite the number, only a comparative handful are involved in the affairs of the Empire (that is, attend the seasonal summits at Anvil). Their influence can wax and wane, and involvement in Imperial affairs is not always a reflection of their prominence within the nation itself. This page presents in-character information about the groups that attend, or have attended, Anvil — the kind of thing that someone who asked about them might uncover from talking to their peers. In each case, the information is provided by the players and edited before being put on the wiki.

The majority of groups listed here are made up of player-characters. You should not create a character who is part of a group, or has personal history with one, without first clearing it with the appropriate players. You should also check before including other players' groups in your background. The background team are unlikely to approve a background that significantly impacts or involves another player character group without their permission. There are also a handful of prominent NPC groups included for completeness, but they are not intended for use by player characters.

Vales

Vales of Volodmartz

Vaslyuk

Vaslyuk

• Location: Opascari
• Colours: Red, gold, and white
• Boyar: Ostrik Vulpe

Between the pines in the foothills of the Opascari mountains sits the vale of Vaslyuk. It sits in an artificial clearing, beneath a great maw in the mountain which the inhabitants mine for its rich reserves of weltsilver.

The town built beneath this mine has the peculiar quirk of seemingly being overrun by foxes: each building is built slightly above ground to allow fox burrows underneath. The inhabitants appear to keep the beasts; not as pets but as revered family members; not barring their entry from anywhere and dropping food from their tables to feed the animals. They seem more docile than their wild counterparts partially due to slight domestication. A pre-Imperial story of why the inhabitants keep foxes is commonly told here - titled ‘The Fox Oath’ - though some doubt its accuracy. According to this story a Vulpe must be Boyar of the vale or some undescribed calamity will occur; this tradition has not been broken in recorded history.

Just as the fox is the virtue animal of Ambition, so too do the members of the Fox Fangs of Vaslyuk (the vale’s delegation at Anvil) value Ambition striving to further project their vale’s power outward to Anvil and beyond. To this end, there are training grounds suitable to house and train fierce schlacta. There is a visually distincttive split between the pre-Imperial architecture and newly built homes, evidence that the vale had been isolated for some time before a very recent increase in population.

Contributing

Any player character group in Varushka can submit an entry for this page. The entry should come from the out-of-character group leader and be emailed to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk.

It should contain the following information:

• Group archetype (vale, cabal, or warden fellowship). If your group doesn't have one of these archetypes, it will be listed in the "other" section.
• Territory and region where the groups lands are physically located. Vales are based around vales, but both warden fellowships and cabals will be tied to a physical location that serves as their base of operations.
• If your group has specific colours, you can mention them here.
• The name of your boyar if you are a vale. If there is someone in your warden fellowship or cabal that serves as the in-character leader of the group, you can mention them and their title here

You should also include up to 250 words of description, detailing the kind of things that other characters might know about your group. Have a look at the description for a vale, or at the archetype pages for cabalists and wardens for ideas on the kind of information that is useful. You must also include a few sentences of history, especially around the circumstances of the vale's formation or origin.

Some other questions to consider include:

• Are there one or more particular archetypes the group is particularly associated with? Obviously warden fellowships will contain wardens, and cabals are expected to have cabalists among their number, but is there a noteworthy archetype that might be unexpected or has a special role?
• Does your group have a particular ambition which helps unify your members?
• Is there anything notable about the lands you claim, or about the physical buildings that serve as your home?

Things to avoid include:

• Too much worldbuilding detail — this represents information other characters may know about your house. It's not a place to define elements of the game world
• Lists of character names — this isn't a place for getting your name on the wiki
• Too much emphasis on the past — while it's useful to have a few lines of history, what matters in Empire is what your house does on the field at events

It's possible to update the information on this page over time (for example if your boyar changes) with an e-mail to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk.