Gwyfned Flashpoints

Set History into Motion!

Leadership and continuity in Aorlis come from Gwyfned, the capital. As Gwyfned goes, so goes the empire. When an effective monarch helms the ship of state, the empire flourishes. When an ineffective monarch rules, the winds of anarchy pick up.

• Bingum II has not been efficient as king and emperor, and his skills would have been better suited for a career as a master mason and royal builder. Continually in debt because of building or upgrading cathedrals, palaces, and castles, the royal coffers are almost empty, and the Bingum II has taken out multiple mortgages to finance his holdings.
• In early 2021, Bingum’s brother Oliver, the Playboy Prince, was taken prisoner by the Ashen Twilight, and a staggering ransom was demanded for his release. When Bingum announced a new poll tax to collect the needed ransom, his nobles rebelled. Called the Lords Ordainers, three of nobles forced a three man “advisory” council on the king, to rule the empire in exchange for Oliver’s ransom. There it stands, with the royal prerogative in the hands of others, and the king’s power hobbled.
• There is a secret sect in the Gwyfned Church called the Underchurch. Composed of some (but not all) of Gwyfned City’s clerics, the Underchurch is a beneficent but necromantic cult of the dead. This group, along with its many non-clerical adherents, collects in the extensive burial catacombs beneath Gwyfned city. There is even said to be a copycat cathedral that operates beneath the standard surface cathedral.
• Gwyfned City has a vampire problem. As with most large cities, it always has had undead, but the details vary here. The Gwyfnedi vampire leader is Lord Dust, and he has invested considerable money in local industry and property, and he is a close advisor to the Mayor of Gwyfned.
• Political ambition of Eldton (see Eldris)