The League

File:LeagueCarta3.jpg

"Nothing great without cost."

The people of the League are city-folk through and through. They earn their fine lifestyles, through hard work and hard dealing. Nobody is given a free ride in the League. Competition for every luxury and every triumph is fierce - you might fall behind not beacuse you have stumbled but simply because someone else is faster. You must seize every opportunity if you wish to become the prince.

This is the League. The rivers that run down to the Bay of Catazar are the veins of this fierce nation, carrying the lifeblood of trade. The four great cities are its beating's heart, pumping steel throughout the Empire. In the south are Sarvos, elegant and sophisticated, cultured and refined and Tessato, diplomatic, Machiavellian, persuasive and charming. In the north are Temeschwar, ruthless, relentless, cold and hard and Holberg, pragmatic, inventive, enlightened and learned. Together as the League they are stronger than their parts, four strands inexorably woven to produce an unbreakable bond. All of them are a driven people, who tolerate neither weakness nor lawlessness, and who earn their fine lifestyles through hard work and hard dealing. Competition is everything, and from the wealthiest moneylender to the loudest street bravo, they are quick-witted and sharp as steel.

It is said that the cities of the League never sleep. By night the street balladeers perform on every corner and rival theatre-houses fight duels where wits matter more than swordplay. The long con is as much an art form here as the politics of high office, and in the coffee-houses that never close the cant covers both. By day, the powerful guilds clash over business interests and the League's mercenary Free Companies seek to find work on the Empire's borders. The Church of the Little Mother feeds and shelters the orphans of those border conflicts - any of whom might become one of the Merchant Princes of tomorrow.

Five things to know about the League

• Life is competition, and someone is always keeping score. Citizens of the League love to compete – in commerce, in entertainment, even in love.
• The rules of the game are not to be broken. The League is not just ruthless with lawbreakers, their society has complex rules and woe betide those who break them.
• Keep your loyalties close, like the rings on your fingers. League loyalties are fiercely held and hard to break.
• Coin counts, and everything costs. In the League wealth is status - this is the land of conspicuous consumption.
• Everything is on show, like a mask on your face. Performance runs through the heart of the nation.

What the citizens of the League are not

• Popinjays. While appearance and social standing are important, looking good and making witty comments is no substitute for actual deeds. Scratch the surface of the League and beneath you find a Nation of ruthless, ambitious people absolutely committed to their goals.
• DaVincian Inventors. Citizens of the League are creative, and they love trinkets and gew-gaws, but Empire is not a game that supports the invention of new technologies. League characters are audacious, rather than inventive.
• Organised Criminals. The League is not home to Mafia families, and they have a deeply ingrained cultural respect for the law because it helps create a shared understanding of the "rules of engagement".
• Italian. While the cities of the Italian Renaissance are part of the inspiration for the League, they are not the only inspiration. The cities of the Hanseatic League, Rennaisance Prague and the County of Flanders are all part of the flavour of the League.

A street map? You need much more than a map of the streets to navigate this city, my friend. There are rules to this city; break them, and the Carta will break you.

The Steel Throne, Act II, scene iv

The Nation

Core Brief

• The People
• Culture and Customs
• Look and Feel

Further Reading

• History
• Leadership
• Economic Interests
• Military Concerns
• Religious Beliefs
• Magical Traditions
• Hearth Magic
• Lineage and Species Attitudes
• Territories
• Children
• Music
• Costumes

This selection of articles can be downloaded as a PDF book (or as html only)