The Heir of Thorgar

Act I: The road to the Throne

The party meets Giron. Rescues Sartor from Woodcres, the first defence of the village. Ends with Sartor being crowned and that the baron is coming.

Act II: The Gathering.

The sandbox part where the players will travel the kingdom and gather various allies.

Act III: The Restitution.

The return to Marin, the Siege of the Capital, and the final confrontation with Baron Daren von Sulheim.

The history and Set up

The Kingdom of Thorgar has been for hundreds of years a powerful and influential entity within the empire. They can trace their ancestry to the first men that have landed on the continent from the north. Amrin the capital was founded on the landing site and its original name (Landdrus) even means land fall.

King Nicolas Thorgar, the father of Sartor, was a strong and beloved king in a long line of successful rulers. But during a hunt, under suspicious circumstances he was injured and died. In the chaos the Baron of Sulheim tried to claim the throne. Loyalists of Nicolas did not concede and a battle took place in Marin, where the Baron was killed and the city was burned.

Now Baron Daren von Sulheim has come of age and is carving a bloody path to make sure he secured the throne. But his ambition has led him to great cruelty, any whom he sees as a threat he disposes of.

Act I: The road to the Throne

The emperor will present the party with a letter from an old friend of his who is in the broken kingdom of Thorgar. The letter lets the emperor know that the heir to the throne of Thorgar has been discovered, living as a lumberman in a small village near Fornacil.

To my Most August and Surprisingly Patient Emperor,

I trust the capital is as grey and dull as ever? You really must visit Fornacil. The vintage this year is bold, and the daughters of the local silk merchants are even bolder. I met a delightful woman named Beatrice recently—eyes like sapphires and a laugh that makes one forget all about the laws. Truly, a masterpiece of the gods.

But, alas, my pursuit of her heart has been rudely interrupted by something far more tedious: Destiny.

I’ve found him.

You remember that little "inheritance" problem we discussed? The one involving the house of Thorgar? The "lost branch" has been located. He’s currently masquerading as a lumberjack in a backwater called Wodcres. He’s a mountain of a man—blunt as a hammer and about as charming as a dog—but there is no mistaking the bloodline. He has the look.

Things are turning sour here. The Red Baron is sniffing around the borders. He’s smart, he’s cruel, and if he finds the boy before I can secure him, Thorgar will be lost to a tyrant's iron grip forever.

Send people. Not your stiff-necked generals—send the ones who don't mind getting blood on their boots and a few secrets in their pockets. Tell them to meet me at the Bloody Baron Inn.

Don’t take too long. The winds are changing.

Yours in mostly-accidental service,

Ghiron Mervin Grand Wizard

The party must travel to Fornacil to meet with the emperor's friend Ghiron, a powerful wizard. He will be found in an Inn of course, called the Bloody Baron. The inn is run by an old army sergeant who is fiercely loyal to the Red Baron that rules the Barony of Shilia.

Fornacil is a small town, but well off. The Bloody Baron inn is found in its main square. There Ghiron is found in a velvet-draped booth, flanked by local socialites and clutching a half-empty bottle of expensive vintage. After shooing away his companions with a flick of his fingers, his playful demeanor vanishes. He explains the gravity of the situation:

He makes the case for both candidates, Sartor is a good man, he is the rightful heir but has no experience in rulership and is naive. Daren is a talented ruler and a gifted military man, but is cruel, impatient and tyrannical. He urges the party to go meet both men and make a decision.

In the inn they can overhear some rumors, the word is out that the baron's men are to raid a village just west of the ‘border’, an insight roll of 11 will let the party know that it is the same village that the prince lives in. The party will arrive within 1d6 days ahead of the reading party.

The Baron's Request

As the party prepares to leave Fornacil Captain Dumas de Cran blocks the road with his cavalry. He is an imposing figure in polished plate armor, his dark green tabard bearing the three hounds of Shilia. Unlike the common thugs often found on the road, Dumas carries himself with the rigid honor of a career soldier. He doesn't draw his sword; he simply raises a gauntleted hand. He wishes to escort the party to the Baron to hear his side of the story.

“Estimed agents...He requests your presence. It would be... unprofessional... to refuse.”

The party is brought to a fortified mansion on the outskirts of Fornacil. The inside seems to have been curated to impress the party with pristine looking knights at attention as the party makes its way to the main hall. The hallways are lined with "The Hounds," a hand-picked guard of the tallest, broadest men in Shilia. Their armor is not merely clean; it is pristine, reflecting the flickering torchlight with a sterile, silver glow. They stand like statues, faces hidden behind barred visors, creating a gauntlet of silence.

The party is not brought to a throne room, but to the Baron’s private solar. The door is opened to reveal a room that looks like the heart of a functioning empire. He wears a simple, high-collared doublet of dark wool—neat, unadorned, and tailored to his athletic frame. He is sitting at a massive trestle table that is a masterpiece of curated chaos. Scores of maps are weighted down by iron daggers; ledgers are stacked with mathematical precision; scrolls of census data and grain tax are unfurled alongside open books of ancient Thorgarian law.

Daron will make his case passionately:

"The Academy taught you that a King is chosen by Solaire and confirmed by a bloodline. A comfortable theory for a distant capital. But look at these ledgers. I have mapped every ruined well, every broken bridge, and every hungry mouth in Shilia. I have worked until my eyes bled to pull this land out of the mud. I have earned the right to rule because I am the only one actually doing the work of a ruler."

Woodcres and the True Heir

The road to Woodcres takes 2 days, on the road the party will witness the cruelty of the Baron. They encounter Shilian men at arms “taxing” a hamlet.

They find Sartor working, swinging a heavy axe splitting wood striped to the waist. Sartor is tall, calloused hands and wide man, soft spoken but his humble upbringing is betrayed by his mannerism and bluntness.

He is deeply suspicious of the party. To him, "Emperors" and "Barons" are just different names for people who take his wood and give nothing back. If the party is in their imperial armor, then he comments on it, how imperial authority has been far away.

He is reluctant to speak with the party until they prove themselves as good men and protectors of the people. They see Sartor's authenticity, he helps an elderly neighbour by bringing fire wood. They see the village children treat him like a giant, gentle uncle. Despite his mistrust he lets the party lodge with him and shares his food.

The inciting incident is the sighting of a scout. By the evening a whole troupe is spotted on a nearby hill making camp. The party has another day to make their decision.

Act II: The Gathering.

The Grand Game mechanics.

At this point the party should have made a decision on whom to suport. The kingdom is fractured and has no more centrilised authority. The party will have to work towards legitimising their candidate by convincing the various powerfull actors in the kingdom.

The party will have to travel to various locations and convince the local rulers to join their side. The Baron will also make moves, attaking or negotiating with the neutral powers. Each time the party attempts to sway a rulers so will the Baron.

For every major neutral power in Thorgar create a visual tracker using a Tug-of-War Clock.

The clock will sit on 0 for the neutral factions and through various actions of the party. Each time the party dose a play, the Baron will also roll to sway the clock. The Baron gets diplomat tokens on the map, and they have to travel to the neutral factions in order to roll on for the clock. The Baron also gets army tokens, if present in a title the party will have an encounter there.

The clock positions area ass follows:

• 0: The faction is neutral.
• +6: The faction has pleged thei loaylty to the parties candidate.
• -6: The faction has pleged theyr loyalty to the oposite faction.

The inflaunce phase is a multi step proces of persuading the faction to join. The following is a guide line on what the party might do and how ti follow.

• Step 1: Discovery. The party will investigate the area, talk to people, meet the leaders and learn the history and motivations of the faction.
• Step 2: The Pitch. Incourage the party to make a pitch this is manly for the DM to be able to plan better encounter for the future.
• Step 3: The Influance. To gain points action must be taken. A minor action will gain 1 or 2 points. A major action will gain 3 or 4.

For the Baron the DM rolls a d20 at the end of every in-game week or after every major quest the party completes.

• 1-5 (Setback): The Baron's cruelty backfires. A faction is alienated. Move one clock 1 point toward the Party.
• 6-10 (Political Pressure): The Baron sends diplomats, bribes, or makes empty promises. Move one clock 1 point toward the Baron.
• 11-15 (Military Intimidation): The Baron moves troops to the border of a neutral territory. Move one clock 2 points toward the Baron.
• 16-19 (Decisive Action): The Baron successfully completes a major objective or executes a brilliant political maneuver. Move one clock 3 points toward the Baron.
• 20 (Devastating Strike): The Baron assassinates a key neutral figure, burns a vital resource, or blackmails a ruler. A faction immediately shifts 4 points toward the Baron.

These descriptions are a guide line and the DM should role play the Baron and the actions he takes.

The Baron could also decide to Attak a faction in order to take over. If this happens the party will have to defend the faction phisicaly.

Once the clock reaches -6 or +6 the faction is locked in and has officialy declared for one or the other faction.

The Factions.

The Capital: Marin

Marin and the lands around it are mostly desolate, years of civil war have left the crown lands devastated, brigands and raiding parties roam freely hunting for any peasant or merchant brave or foolish enough to venture through this no man's land. The Company of the Broken Spear can be found here, a regiment of mercenaries that are willing to fight for the party for 1000 gold. A bandit camp is present in the area and if destroyed will reduce the bandit activity. The camp of the leader of the brigands can also be found here, and if the party meets brigands they will offer to meet him.

Legend has it that the kingdom was the first part of the empire to be settled by Ecrarians migrating from the north. An old kingdom from the north organized an expedition to secure new lands south, close to the remaining sun. The king sent his son with his crown on the expedition but he did not make it, perishing on an island just off the coast. The explorer of the expedition took charge and continued south, landing at the sight of Marin, where the first ever imperial city was founded. Later the explorer, Marin Moraru, was appointed governor of what is now known as the kingdom of Thorgar acting as a base of operation for many new migrants to land.

Maybe we can expand Marin more, famous streets, places of intrest, the sort of thing that a tourist would be interested in.

The Barony of Shillia

The Barony of Shilia is ruled by Baron Daren Von Sulheim is the closest thing that the kingdom has to a central authority currently. The baron is a dark haired tall man and athletic, he is part of the Sulheim dynasty which was very close to the Thorgar family, but this changed when the uncle of Daren secretly assassinated king Nicolas while on a hunt. The Barony is ruled with an iron fist and the baron has a reputation of being quick to anger and quicker to punish any insubordination gaining him the nickname of the Red Baron.

He has no wife currently and no heir, but he is currently in negotiation with several parties to marry and get a political alliance. The most likely candidate is the sister of the Vandal “High King”. The barony is self-sufficient, something Daren is very proud of and can trade through its port in the north. The baron is currently subjugating the Duchy of Wusaclad in the west, sieging its capital.

Denton the cousin of Daren, duke of a small holding in the east. A very compassionate man also a very capable ranger that holds his oath to his cousin above anything else. Despite this he is not anything like his cousin, regarding violence as the last possible option and values all life.

How to bring them to the side of the party. The baron and his people see themselves as the true ruling power in Thorgar and will not help the party unless the party helps them. As such they cannot be brought on with the party.