Aldenwych

Government Structure: Technocratic Oligarchy acting as a shadow cabinet behind a puppet Monarchy

Population: 394,477

Synopsis: This primarily human nation outwardly projects an ordered and controlled demeanor by maintaining a strictly enforced career placement system. However in the shadows, the entire system is rigged to benefit the wealthy and well connected.

9,678 BR: Gronndal Stonebeard led the earliest settlers to this idyllic river valley after growing disagreements in the direction of their previous homeland, Drakenden.

7,370 BR BR: With a growing population came the need for more structure to settle disputes, manage land and control the trade of resources. The scattered tribes united under a single banner of Hereward Ironhand who was crowned the first Dalsrik of the fledgling nation of Dalsgaard, a name that meant Valley Kingdom.

2,168 BR: Over time the descendants of the Ironhand bloodline became lazy and incompetent resulting in constant internal power struggles, often as a result of the changing moods of the Dalsrik. Tired of poor leadership, a group of noble families overthrew the last Dalsrik in a silent takeover known today as The Silvering of the Crown. They would establish The Council of Nine Spires and form a new nation called Adelwick, meaning Noble Village.

574 AR: The grass was no greener under nobility control however, as the constant political maneuvering continued. The wealthy grew more powerful and the common folk were at their mercy. The house of cards collapsed under the weight of widespread famine after several years of bad harvests. The Council of Nine Spires was too busy trying to protect their own interests as those who could, fled to neighboring nations and those who couldn’t, died in large numbers.

575 AR: It wasn’t long before the leadership was ousted and the new government of Aldaric was born under the rule of a single monarch, overseen by an elected council. They would go on to create a specialized emergency unit called The Auria, with far-reaching control to bring order to the chaos. One of their most successful orders was the Decree of Designation, where they would fill critical positions using a mandatory career assessment.

3,211 AR: As is so often the case, power corrupts, and The Auria was no exception. They would begin to slowly and methodically usurp governmental authority until they were the real power hidden behind the mask of the monarch and his council. The Auria completed its long and silent coup, officially changing the nation’s name to Aldenwych. The Decree of Designation was expanded to all and is now fully cemented as part of everyday life.

• Recalibration Hour: Every hour, in settlements all across Aldenwych an administrator climbs a central tower and strikes a resonance tube with a hammer, emitting a high-pitched hum that echos across the landscape. All citizens must stop whatever task they are doing and perform a function check to confirm whatever task they are working on has been and is being done as precisely as possible. Once they have validated their work and made any necessary adjustments they must continue the work.

• The Slackened Latch: After so many years of constant oversight, citizens have developed a subtle code for when they desire a private or off the books social interaction with another. By intentionally loosening a toolbelt, unbuckling a strap or bracer, or allowing an article of clothing to hang loose while making pointed eye contact, one can invite another to meet at their local Blue Shutter Tavern. The city guard are aware of this practice of course but the plausible deniability of the act and determining the difference between a genuine wardrobe malfunction and a signal is just not worth the effort.

• The Astramentis Secret: The Auria discovered a rare plant that when properly brewed will sharpen the mind to almost inhuman levels. They’ve taken to cultivating this herb at a highly secret facility called the Noesis Grove and have been using it to influence the outcomes of the career placement assessments for their friends, families and allies.

• Population Control: After the famine and the resulting establishment of the career placement assessments, The Auria learned the value of controlling the populace through their favored social engineering tool, The Decree of Designation. They have exploited every lever available to them to make sure dissent is crushed and their favored are elevated to desirable positions.

• Shadow Cabinet: While the nation presents themselves as a monarchy with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding that, the real power lies with The Auria. They carved away any power the king had long ago and he functions more as a puppet on a string than an actual leader.

• Economy: As a regional agrarian power situated in a particularly fertile river valley, they export many crops and food products. Their largest advantage is through the forced manipulation of the nations workforce using the Decree of Designation assessments.

• Military: They maintain a moderately sized standing army whose focus is in internal security. The military and the civil guard are tightly controlled and managed by Auria-placed personnel to continue their grip on power and to quell any resistance.

• Political: After receiving his Decree of Designation as a Waste Management Technician, a student with a keen mind for invention and engineering claims his assessment was tampered with as a result of his father being a known critic of The Auria’s efficiency protocols. He hires the party to break into the Ministry of Designation to investigate his records. During the heist, the party discovers that the original testing document showed he received high marks but the test results he received were dramatically different.

• Exploration: An eccentric historian tells the party he’s recently seen strange activity around the entrance of an ancient vault. He believes someone from the government may be up to something nefarious since this vault dates back to before The Silvering of the Crown and was understood to be empty. As the party descends into the depths of the vault they realize a team of agents of The Auria are hunting them.

• Intrigue: A rogue member of The Auria has approached the party with a request for assistance but he’s being very evasive regarding any details when questioned. He only explains that there is a large government secured greenhouse to the north of Pewenford called the Noesis Grove, near Mirror of the Sky lake, and the crops have been overrun by a mysterious blight. He asks the party to help by meeting a world renowned mycologist and then smuggle him into the facility to try to learn how to heal the damage or there could be a real risk of civil war.