Player’s Knowledge #
Description & Ambiance: Moorsmost is a forest of masts and stone. Travelers are greeted by the smell of salt, expensive spices, and wet timber. The city is a marvel of warehouses, piers and marketplaces. You hear the constant ringing of bells signaling the arrival of new cargo and the rhythmic shouting of dockworkers in a dozen different languages.
Government & Public Law: If it isn’t written down in a contract and notarized, it doesn’t exist. Crimes are rarely punished with jail; instead, offenders are hit with massive fines, confiscated goods or siezed ships.
Exports & Reputation: The League is the world’s primary source of exotic imports, refined iron, and shipbuilding expertise. They are famous for their Nautilion Galleons, the fastest and most heavily armed merchant vessels in existence.
Rumors & Folklore (Unverified):
“They say the League doesn’t use gold anymore; they trade in debts signed in blood.”
“The harbor at Moorsmost is so deep because they use a kraken to pull the heavy ships into the docks.”
“Despite everything, the members of the League still spit on the ground whenever the name ‘Brynnmor’ is mentioned.”
DM’s Lore #
Formal Name: Nautilion League
Type & Rank: Corporate Hegemony, Maritime Superpower
Population: 434,287
Language/Name influences: Nautical, Dutch, Low German, Merchant-Cant
Synopsis: A global trade monopoly masquerading as a nation, driven by a centuries-old grudge and the desire to control all sea-based trade.
True History & Key Dates:
4127 BR: A collective of merchant captains, fed up with the heavy taxes of old kingdoms, found the independent settlement of Moorsmost. They chose the southern coast of Monsherba for its natural harbor, intending to create a haven where they can trade and do business on their own terms.
4130 BR: The neighboring nation of Brynnmor forcibly seized the guild’s vital inland tar and pitch mines, crippling their ability to build and maintain ships independently. Lacking a land army to fight back, the guild was forced into a predatory trade agreement that haunted their ledgers for centuries.
919 AR: The original spirit of the cooperative dissolved as wealth concentrated into the hands of a few elite families, who rebranded the guild as Monsherba Mercantile. This era marked a transition toward aggressive naval expansion and the birth of an oligarchic rule that prioritized profit over the welfare of the individual sailor.
2567 AR: Having achieved total mastery over the world’s trade routes, the corporation officially declared itself a sovereign maritime nation under the name of the Nautilion League. This formalized their right to impose global blockades and sanctions when trade negotiations failed and it solidified Moorsmost as the world’s undisputed capital of commerce.
Internal Conflicts & Secrets:
The Paper Fleet: While the navy is vast, the League is currently over-leveraged. Several ghost fleets exist only in conversation and on paper to keep stock prices high and rivals intimidated.
The Land-War Phobia: The ruling Board is terrified of a land invasion. They intentionally keep their mercenary army disorganized to prevent a military coup, leaving the capital’s landward side dangerously vulnerable.
Key NPCs & Power Structure:
Coming soon.
Economy & Military Might:
Economy: Total monopoly on sea-lane transit fees and deep-sea salvage. They secretly fix global prices on pitch and tar through backroom deals to retaliate against Brynnmor and to compensate for their own lack of natural mines.
Military: The League maintains a peerless naval force that dominates the open seas, yet their land-based military remains a disorganized hodgepodge of unmotivated mercenaries who possess zero loyalty to the corporate state.
Adventure Hooks:
Political: A Brynnmor defector claims to possess the original 4,130 BR charter, an ancient parchment long thought lost to time. This document allegedly contains a catastrophic legal loophole that could dissolve the League’s corporate sovereignity and bankrupt their treasuries if the public learns the truth.
Exploration: The League commissions the party to map a secret inland passage to Brynnmor’s tar and pitch extraction fields, providing a way to bypass their fortified defenses and seize the facility by surprise. By securing this route, the party would finally allow the League to claim the long sought after resources and break their centuries-long reliance on outside suppliers.
Intrigue: To ensure the League’s stock prices don’t plummet, the party is hired to orchestrate a massive deception before an inspection by representatives of the Bank of Cania. The bank is conducting a high-stakes audit to verify the League’s collateral, and if they discover the ghost fleet is a fabrication, they will freeze the League’s funds, triggering a financial collapse and destroying their reputation.
