Foreign powers

Introduction

Foreigners are nations or powers that the empire is not formally at war with. There are two types of foreigner in Empire; local foreigners are those that share a continent with the Empire, while distant foreigners lie overseas, the nearest are at least two weeks travel by sea. Foreigners are fully protected by Imperial law, so in theory they can attend a meeting at Anvil as safely as an Imperial citizen.

Communication

Long distance communication with foreign powers should take time - players should not be able to have a back-and-forth communication with a foreign NPC over the course of an event unless that NPC is at Anvil. The civil service do not have any mechanism for delivering letters for players, if they want to send a communication to an NPC then they must make the appropriate

The Autumn ritual Call Winged Messenger has been specifically designed to allow the players to send correspondence to a known NPC. To use this ritual, the PCs need to know the name of the character they are communicating with. The names of some known foreign agents are available on the plot wiki pages for the foreign nations.

Local Foreigners

Local foreigners speak the same native tongue as the Empire. This means that local foreigners may engage in diplomacy either by sending letters or by sending dignitaries to visit Anvil at events.

It is possible that the Empire may declare war on a local foreign nation. The costs involved in producing significant numbers of NPCs for a battle with a foreign nation are significant (more than ten thousand pounds), so any plot that it is likely to provoke this should have a long time-scale and be clearly discussed with Kol Ford and Matt Pennington.

Axos

The nation of Axos is a dark mirror of Urizen, ruled by powerful magicians. The Axou often appear sinister - their politics are brutal and their religion (such as it is) is obsessed with death. The Axou are the most obviously exotic of the nearby foreign powers, but they share some concerns in common with their Imperial neighbours. At the very least, they are threatened by the same barbarian forces that threaten the Empire - the Druj tribe and the tribes of the Broken Shore make raids into Axos.

Axos is rich in crystal mana, but it also has a great demand for liao which it uses in it's spiritual ceremonies and rituals. It is especially keen to purchase mithril from the Empire, which it uses to upgrade it's mana sites and maintain it's military. All mithril in Axos is ruthlessly controlled by the sorceror kings who use their economic control of this vital material to maintain their dominance over the people.

Plots involving Axos are likely to involve magical themes, but could also deal with their need for raw materials and their strange religious beliefs; their conflicts with the barbarians; and their secretive foreign trade. Espionage themes are also a good fit for Axos - they are a paranoid and slightly xenophobic people who are convinced their neighbours are plotting to destroy them. Any Axou plot is likely to be enriched by themes of treachery and paranoia - this doesn't mean that the NPCs need to be lying to the players or planning to betray them - the theme can be brought out just as effectively by including two groups of Axou from rival families or citadels who are planning to betray each other.

Distant Foreigners

Distant foreigners do not speak the same native tongue as the Empire. Their native tongue is phys-repped using one or more European languages. This conceit allows for the incorporation of European languages within the setting and allows players who do not speak English as their native tongue to play characters who are Imperial citizens or foreigners accordingly. Each distant foreign nation has one or more European languages associated with it - the rule is that no player can portray a native of that land unless they speak one of the languages associated with that nation fluently. This means that distant foreigners may engage in diplomacy by sending letters but may not send dignitaries to visit Anvil at events unless the people playing them are fluent speakers.

It is possible that the Empire may declare war on a distant foreign nation (and vice versa), but the distances involved mean that neither side can currently prosecute such a war using armies. Because of this, it is perfectly possible to run plot that brings distant foreign nations into a state of open conflict with the Empire. This has a small effect on the trade derived by players from that foreign nation - but may allow for interesting plot developments in terms of the foreign nation providing support or assistance to other barbarian forces the Empire is at war with. Any way between the Empire and distant foreigners must -in effect - be fought through proxies.

Ports and Trade

Players can already engage in trade with (or piracy against) Distant Foreigners using their fleet personal resource. Trade with a fleet allows the character to get resources they can use or sell on the field, and offers versatility and the ability to react to markets that is not found with mines or forests. Piracy is a more lucrative option, in terms of the wealth it produces, but foreign nations are likely to be angered by prolonged campaigns of piracy.

There are a limited number of foreign ports available to Imperial characters. Where a foreign nation has more than one port, it represents a powerful political bloc within that nation. All foreign nations have access to all the crafting materials, but only the Empire has them all in roughly equal proportions. The goods available through trade with foreign ports give an idea of the kinds of goods those foreigners have in abundance. For example, a plot involving Nemoria in the Asavean Archipelago might offer the opportunity for the Empire to create a ministry that lets them purchase large amounts of Cerulean Mazzarine, Orichalcum, Iridescent Gloaming or Tempest Jade but is unlikely to involve buying Weltsilver or True Vervain. In the same way, a character from that nation might offer payment for services in these materials rather than money.

Foreigners also have their own sources of ilium, mithril, white granite and weirwood. However, they are rarely interested in seeing them go outside their borders. Rather, they may be interested in acquiring surplus bulk goods from the Empire. In the Sumaah Republic, the Commonwealth and the Principalities of Jarm it is a serious crime to trade these valuable resources to foreigners; in the Asavean Archipelago and the Sarcophan Delves it is not a crime, but social and economic pressures mean that it is very rare for anyone to try and sell any quantity of bulk materials outside their borders. This is not to say you can't run a plot that involves bulk materials, but doing so would require discussion with the campaign team.

A new port is a significant addition to the game, but is certainly possible. For example, an ongoing campaign plot involves a group of Jarmish NPCs from Eastern Jarm seeking to establish their own trading connection with the Empire, and the efforts of the North and South Jarmite power blocs to prevent them doing so. A plot involving a flotilla of mercantile merrow could end up adding a new port to those available to the Empire. In the same way, a plot that resulted in the death or humiliation of an important official might temporarily or permanently close a foreign port to Imperial ships.