Shepherd of the Southern Herd
Overview
The Shepherd of the Southern Herd is an Imperial title awarded to a citizen of the Imperial Orcs. The title was created by the Imperial Senate at the Winter Solstice 386YE. The Shepherd of the Southern Herd is responsible for a sinecure that grants them a seasonal income of coin. More information on the opportunity that led to the creation of the title can be found in the Million miles of water wind of fortune.
Responsibilities
The Shepherd of the Southern Herd is responsible for looking after the southern herd, protecting it from the wild drakes around Rathmonna, and helping it grow to rival the size of the Great Herd of Skarsind. If the safety of the herd, or its workers, were threatened, then it would be the responsibility of the Shepherd to deal with those threats.
A total of five Imperial Orcs provided cattle bonds towards the formation of the southern herd. Bloodcrow Pip and Gralka each provided two cattle bonds; Ashborn Trosk provided twenty-eight cattle bonds; and Sandviper IDRA and Bloodcrow Rasp each provided one hundred and twenty cattle bonds. Sixteen different military unit captains helped drove the herd to Mareave, as detailed in Southern Herd Drive and Home is Where the Herd Is.
Powers
Substantial Income
The Shepherd of the Southern Herd gains custodianship of a sinecure. They receive 33 crowns a season from the ongoing cattle trade in Nadir.
Appointment
This title is appointed during the Winter Solstice. The Shepherd is appointed by Imperial Orcs who control military unit personal resources who supported an army during the previous year. The larger the military unit an individual has, and the more often they supported the Imperial armies, the more votes they can allocate in support to a candidate. The voting is handled by the civil servants in the Bourse.
Only an Imperial Orc may hold this title. They do not receive a seat on the Bourse. As an Imperial title appointed through the Bourse, they cannot be revoked by the Synod.
Recent Elections
The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
The Title in Play
The role does not provide additional information about events in the Empire, nor allow the player holding it to request special reports or downtime actions. These details are assumed to be below the abstraction layer. The title holder is encouraged to create their own stories about their activities within reasonable limits and to get involved in events appropriate to their title during the game, but they do not have any powers beyond those explicitly listed in the section on powers.
These details exist partly to provide context and character to the role - and partly to allow our writers to use the title as a plot hook. Plot that involves the position will be rare - but all the campaign positions in Empire have these details to create the potential for it to happen.