West Marches Campaign

Settlement: Ostenwall

Ostenwall is a quasi-independant city-state within the Myrellian Concordance and is ruled by Duke Rowan Stonehearth II, but is primarily run by a council of nobles. The city sits in the western part of the Concordance in the middle of a wide valley among the Venval mountain range with a small patch of forest to the north and great planes the west.

The city of Ostenwall, while not as politically powerful as Rhunethiel or as vast as Aerlond, was an important factor for the Concordance during the Ashen War as an important strategic staging position and providing a large number of well trained soldiers and quality arms. Ostenwall, sometimes referred to as the “Anvil of the Osten” to the more poetic retellings of the Ashen Wars was known for the exemplary martial skill of its knights and citizen soldiers. In truth, Ostenwall's real strength is in its civic works and abundance of grain it makes from the various provinces, primary of which was from the Goldenvale Planes. Which not only put out an immense amount of grane for the people of Ostenwall, but also produces great quantities of beer. There is an old saying about Ostenwall beer, "If you cant get a Dwarven Ale, an Ostenwall Stout is just as good”. Various scholars have a theorized that Ostenwall was once a very volcanically active area making the soil particularly rich in nutrients.

During the last 100 years since the Ashen Wars, Ostenwall has become mostly forgotten by the other Concordance peoples except for the long lived races such as the elves who were still alive during the war. Still, even though there has been about a 100 years of peace for most of the Concordance, Ostenwall is never really at peace. Whether it be the machinations of the noble houses vying for more power, the stray monster from the West Marches, or the rise of a group of hobgoblins coming to attack Ostenwall through Black Rock pass.

Ostenwall is made up of various noble houses led by the Duke of Ostenwall. The Duke is mostly a hereditary position, and is the final say in most political and military decisions but is primarily run by a council of nobles. The Council will often present the Duke with issues facing Ostenwall and its various provinces, but smaller issues are often dealt with by individual nobles, or with just the council. The council is a hotbed of espionage, backstabbing, and power grabs by the nobles and though the Duke holds the final say, he is often put into positions where he must concede to the whims of the council. It is often said that the council holds the real power within the city. The people of the Council are guild leaders, business owners, rich merchants, and feudal lords.

Even though the nobles hold great power over military forces there is a distinct citizen solider initiate that helps serve as the backbone of the Ostenwall military. In Ostenwall, every man or woman of able body and mind must serve a minimum two years in the standing army of Ostenwall. Either as direct combat roles, or as support staff. These citizen soldiers are know colloquially as the “Ostguard”. The Ostguard are subservient only to the Duke and the Ducal House but will on occasion be deployed to reinforce Noble assets depending on the circumstances.

Notable Persons

Duke Rowan Stonehearth II inherited his position from his father 34 years ago. Though he has final say, the Duke allows the city of Ostenwall to be ran by a council of nobles.

Eris Ravenfall is the aggressively self appointed leader of many of the merchant guilds in Ostenwall and a member of the council. Eris is tall, slender, lightly skinned elf with jet black hair tied into two long braids. A nice enough woman when you are not in her way, but a shrewd businesswoman and does not shy away from having someone murdered, hence Cassius' former employment.

Cassius is the former assassin/bodyguard to Eris Ravenfall. He eventually had a change of heart and retired to Thorngate. Has been living in Thorngate for about 5 years. Has a small residence which he rents Player character; Played by Jesse.

Baron Gabriel Archeon: The Now head of the Archeon House and member of the Ostenwall council. Baron Gabriel Archeon is a tall, and well built man, with dark skin and black hair. Winning the favor of lady Eve during his time as a tournament Jouster. He has proven to be a competent military leader, and without his on the fly thinking, would have made the disaster at the battle of Blackrock Pass a total a irrecoverable disaster. While he is a competent, if not great military leader his statecraft is much to be desired, leading him to be seen in the courts as a stiff individual.