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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Sep 2011 : 02:39:05
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So, my campaign is taking place in 1351 and while I try to backtrack any 1E, 2E, 3E, and even 4E info to flesh things out for myself ~ I realize that in my attempt to run canon campaigns, I'm going to have to fill in "some" homebrew here and there. The movers and shakers of piracy in 1357 are not likely the pirates of consequence in 1351. I've created on pirate fleet made up mostly of humanoids, of which the party has dealt with one of their damaged vessels. By this, I mean, the PCs attacked, killed many of them and hung the captured ones along the shoreline.
This pirate fleet, which will return, is meant to be a smaller power player in their area. One of the more dangerous, but more amicable, pirate fleets will be led by a Shou pirate captain, Nakana. I'm basing her on a historical figure from a stuff you missed in history podcast. I'm slogging my way through the Kara-tur supplement, but while I was hoping for a standard Realms timeline to work off of, the history is a little dense and vague in the supplement.
So, I'm looking for a reason for her to be in the Moonsea, of all places, and remaining there with her ship. I've come up with either some sort of portal accident, leaving her and her crew stranded, or her flagship being a damaged spelljamming vessel. She'll be putting her fleet to shore for the winter near Hulburg. Hopefully, I'll be able to put her together well enough that she can fend off the PCs if they push it to a fight. She's very much a "I'll leave off your keep, if you leave off my fleet" mindset.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2011 : 03:49:27
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It's a bit of a stretch, but maybe Nakana is now a "private trading entrepreneur..." after her falling out with the Kuang family of Shou Lung.
The Yellow Silk novel describes the Kuang as traders, selling the silks of Keelung to all of Shou Lung. Recently [as of the novel's time-setting], the heads of all the silk families in Keelung made a decision that the time was right to expand their market beyond Shou Lung. They formed a trading society for that purpose which would assemble expeditions that would take Keelung's goods west to Faerūn.
Perhaps Nakana was part of that new trading society, though, eventually she either grew disenchanted with the families, or just simply became tired of seeing all her profits heading east. So, she thus entered "private enterprise" by instead raiding Kuang silk caravans travelling west, and selling them to support herself and growing crew of like-minded "privateers." And, given the major trading venues on the Moonsea [and, by extension, the entirety of the Inner Sea], it seems like the perfect place to "ply her unique brand of trade."
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8027 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2011 : 16:48:21
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Your captain could be a privateer, essentially still a pirate but officially sanctioned by a particular nation (essentially having an agreement to gain access to safe harbour and assistance through an alliance with one nation, in exchange for payment of some "taxes" and free license to prey upon shipping from other nations).
She could be exploring or maintaining lucrative trade routes to distant regions, making much profit from shipping exotic goods along multiple stops en route. The most successful merchants were also explorers, they would not only brave the most distant (and dangerous) routes but were often also able to build something of a monopoly by being the first to establish contact and contract with like-minded trading partners from faraway lands.
She could be obsessed with obtaining a rich bounty, stubbornly pursuing a particular target halfway across the world. Just as likely, she could be on the run, having fled beyond the reach of another captain seeking such bounty. The bounty might be a pile of loot (even the pile of loot carried by her enemy), or it might be something vague such as prestige and reputation, imperial favour, the promise of a new ship, a personal vendetta to revenge the death of a lost love (or to seek justice and impress a new one). |
[/Ayrik] |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2011 : 17:05:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Rhewtani
So, my campaign is taking place in 1351 and while I try to backtrack any 1E, 2E, 3E, and even 4E info to flesh things out for myself ~ I realize that in my attempt to run canon campaigns, I'm going to have to fill in "some" homebrew here and there. The movers and shakers of piracy in 1357 are not likely the pirates of consequence in 1351. I've created on pirate fleet made up mostly of humanoids, of which the party has dealt with one of their damaged vessels. By this, I mean, the PCs attacked, killed many of them and hung the captured ones along the shoreline.
This pirate fleet, which will return, is meant to be a smaller power player in their area. One of the more dangerous, but more amicable, pirate fleets will be led by a Shou pirate captain, Nakana. I'm basing her on a historical figure from a stuff you missed in history podcast. I'm slogging my way through the Kara-tur supplement, but while I was hoping for a standard Realms timeline to work off of, the history is a little dense and vague in the supplement.
So, I'm looking for a reason for her to be in the Moonsea, of all places, and remaining there with her ship. I've come up with either some sort of portal accident, leaving her and her crew stranded, or her flagship being a damaged spelljamming vessel. She'll be putting her fleet to shore for the winter near Hulburg. Hopefully, I'll be able to put her together well enough that she can fend off the PCs if they push it to a fight. She's very much a "I'll leave off your keep, if you leave off my fleet" mindset.
Leave out the Somalia pirates and your campaign should be fine  |
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2011 : 19:00:18
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| And it suddenly occurs to me that she could be in the Moonsea for multiple reasons. i.e. seeking out a lost spelljammer helm, protecting a sea-bound, ship-sized portal and furthering the aims of the Shou. What else could I throw in there for her and her crew, though? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 21 Sep 2011 : 16:53:13
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| Searching for ancient Imaskari artifacts, dating from the time of Anok-Imaskar, would work as well. Anok-Imaskar was the precursor to the Shou Empire, and many Imaskari artifacts traveled West with the fleeing Mulan after the fall of that Empire. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2011 : 17:11:19
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| That's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for! Can you give more detail? Where can I read up on this? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2011 : 22:01:29
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LOL - at one time I could have provided a decent list, but no longer.
I would start with Lost Empires - that would probably be your best bet, and then the GHotR by Brian James. Then Old Empires, although that wouldn't have anything about Imaskar, but would provide you with a lot of information about the empires their fleeing slaves (the Mulan) built.
The only other Imaskar lore I can think of off-hand is in Underdark regarding Deep Imaskar, which doesn't have much bearing on what you need here. The other source that comes to mind is Darkvison (a novel), which may give you some ideas about the kind of magi-tech the Imakari had. At the risk of 'stirring the pot', one might say it leaned toward the... Cthulhuesque... side of things. In D&D terms, that means they seemed to have trafficked with the Far Realms to some degree, at least near the end of their reign.
Before that, they specialized first in translocational magic, and then in Golemology (the building of self-driven arcane contraptions/automatons). The fallen Empire of Raumathar was a survivor-state of Imaskar, and seemed to have run with that part of their tech (creating massive 'jugernaughts' of destruction). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Sep 2011 22:08:49 |
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Shou Pirates in the Moonsea
