Tridoroc
Tridoroc is a country full of ambition to prove itself to the rest of the continent. It's cold climate and rocky surface make it hard to perform agriculture on large scale as well as making it hard to construct larger trade routes. The country is includes two islands which are just as cold and unforgiving. This does not deter the hard working citizens of the country that love it dearly.
The country is ruled by Nosgant Zemmohr who has taken over from the previous ruler, Aukaneck Ulva after a bloody, if short fought, civil war. Citizens of Tridoroc backed the new ruler an masse, hoping he'd manage to expand Tridoroc borders and increase it's wealth. This hasn't happened as it's overseas advances were met by the Dwarven Kingdom of Ustril and quickly pushed back.
Not soon after the lost battles with the Dwarven Kingdom of Ustril, the king learned that part of his country was voluntarily joining a new power that had arisen in it's backyard, namely the Reaper lands. Determined to not let his country splinter, the king send a large army to deal with the tiny cite state, only to be defeated miserably again. The continuous poor choices of the newly appointed king have once again stirred the population of Tridoroc. With resentment among the populace growing once again, the current ruler is struggling to find ways to improve his country's overall posture.
Structure
Tridoroc is ruled by king Nosgant Zemmohr who wields supreme power over all inhabitants in Tridoroc. He has taken over the old kings palace in Whitvein where he hold a small court of advisors and other influential people in Tridoroc.
The rest of the country is separated in various regions, based on natural geographic boundaries. Each region is ruled by a representative chosen by the people of the region. This representative is chosen by popular vote and stays in function until either the representative dies or is removed from function by the king. Of course the king has every right to overrule the popular vote if he/she so pleases. The representative is free to rule the region however they see fit as long as the can adhere to the law are rules of the king and country.
Culture
Tridoroc's (recent) history is filled with struggle, civil war and disease. It's people are filled with resentment towards their brethren, the harsh nature and even the gods. This has created a culture of individuality and mistrust almost everywhere. Of course people rely on one another In towns and cities but that is more out of necessity. Views that are prevalent throughout the country can be surmised as follows:
- Hard work is honorable work
- Only the sun works for free
- The less you know, the less trouble you can get involved in
- Trust is earned, not given freely
Public Agenda
King Nosgant Zemmohr has a clear public agenda, increase the wealth and knowledge within Tridoroc. He strongly believes that his people should be rewarded for all their hard work and wants to break away from his predecessor's stigma, that rulers only take the wealth from the populace.
At first the country aggressively wanted to take territory to get access to more valuable natural resources, though after being defeated in battle, the king has focused his attention inside his own borders. He replaced an old nobility based ruling system, with a more or less democratic system. Furthermore, the king is also improving the quality and security of the trade routes within the country, creating more jobs for the populace.
Although Tridoroc has suffered from the extraplanar invasions, the king hasn't dedicated any additional resources into defending against them. He has publicly stated that monsters have always roamed the lands of Elium and that they will always find a way. Tridoroc will battle them like all the other hardships that they have battle already.
Assets
Tridoroc doesn't have much left in their country but swathes of cold nature and people. Financially the country is struggling, especially on a continental scale. The harsh climate and nature makes cultivating large amount of land difficult, frequently leading to food shortages throughout the country. Trade networks within the country serve primarily to get food and daily necessities from one city to another.
The population living in the country isn't doing well either. Most regular folks had a lot of their monetary wealth drained from them by the incompetent nobility, installed by the late king. Most of this money was spend fighting the civil war, whether you were backing the rebels or the loyalists, all money went to food, equipment and manpower. The soldiers who fought in the war a lived to tell the tale spend most of the money acquiring property to hopefully live a better peaceful life.
One of the biggest issues of Tridoroc is that it has almost to quality goods to export. Artisans throughout the country are alright, but only very few actual master craftsmen remain in the country. Tridoroc has no public universities or higher places of learning and thus the education level of the general populace isn't high. The hash nature and recent (bloody) history has also made it especially difficult to draw international talent towards the country.
The low education level, combined with a drained treasury creates a chicken and egg problem. Because there is nothing "interesting" within the country, to talent comes towards it. Because there is no money, no "interesting" public projects or research projects can be funded. This leaves the only available resource for the king the manpower of the population.
History
The country borders of Tridoroc was formed very naturally, when it became to cold and barren for the Alliance of Hurora to want the land it became part of Tridoroc. The sea between the Dwarven Kingdom of Ustril was also a clear barrier. Because no large nation seemed to want the land, the people of the region had to find out for themselves who would rule the land.
Tridoroc got it's name after a diplomatic alliance was formed between the local rulers of all mainland territory. At the time there were three influential clans that ruled the mainland, realizing they could achieve more if they worked together they formed an alliance, a "Tridoroc" in their local dialect of the time. This was about a thousand years ago. Not long after the pact, the two island also joined the alliance because of diplomatic pressure and slight threat from the mainland.
Aukaneck's reign
The country had never been especially wealthy and the main focus had always been to fight through the hardy climate together. A strong sense of comradery and assistance from local rulers ensured that this system worked. However about 60 years ago when Aukaneck Ulva inherited the throne from his father the country went into steep decline. Replacing old honorable ruling families with close friends of himself, and centering more money and power around those ruling the population, ensured that the already poor population had even less. Aukaneck Ulva incentivized inhabitants to come forth with any information of disloyal community members, stating that everybody had to contribute to keeping the country free from those that would sow unrest.
The real killing blow came when a plague swept through Tridoroc 20 years ago killing most of the crops and infecting those that ate the infected crops. The unrest caused by the famine finally caused most alliances to collapse and cause many friendly communities to turn on each other because they had nothing left. Meanwhile the nobility holed up in their properties, paying extra to the ruthless guards that kept the angry hungry population away from them.
Nosgant's reign
The period of tyranny continued until 15 years ago, when the current king Nosgant Zemmohr managed to start a full fledged civil war because of his contacts and influence within the countries military ranks. By appealing to the honor of loyalty of high ranked generals, he convinced them that Tridoroc had to return to their old ways, comradery and honor had to be placed back in the lives of the poor population. Nosgant was the perfect figurehead for the old generals that still believed in these values, because he was not associated with the higher ranks that had let the country fall to ruin.
Within a year Nosgant Zemmohr and his generals had conquered the forces loyal to Aukaneck Ulva and thus his reign began. Nosgant Zemmohr immediately began to enact chances by removing the noble families from their position and those that lived through the war were executed for treason against the population. Because war was the only thing Nosgant Zemmohr knew he formulated a plan to increase the wealth of his country on a short term. He would take his loyal army and invade the Dwarven Kingdom of Ustril and claim a part of their mountains filled with all kinds of valuable materials.
Nosgant Zemmohr heavily underestimated the forces of the Dwarven Kingdom of Ustril and was forced back after losing two battles. When he returned to the palace in Whitvein, he was informed that a city state had sprung up in his backyard, namely the Reaper lands. Determined to increase his soldiers morale, he sent a sizable part of his army to crush the Reaper lands only to be met by crushing defeat.
Sending 10000 man to beseige one city should have been more than enough, however the forces of the Reaper lands instead chose to meet the army outside of the city on nearby plains. Hellfire and divine light burst forth from the heavens destroying the Tridoroc forces within minutes. After receiving this news, Nosgant Zemmohr declared that he would allow the Reaper lands to exist as long as they would not continue to take territory from his country.
Military
Although Tridoroc has lost a large part of it's military over the recent years, they still have a sizable force remaining. The most notable facts about the Tridoroc military apart from it's sheer size and number are it's dedicated "air support" and "line breaker" regiments. It should also be noted that the towns and cities of Tridoroc have guards stationed that are not part of the Tridoroc military. The military is sometimes used to assist city guards if a particularly dangerous monster shows up near a city, but otherwise it's used as a means of external threat to other nations.
The air support regiments consist mostly of Aarakocra that hail from the high mountains of Tridoroc. They are born and trained in the high mountains where flying is especially difficult. Once they they come down from the mountains they possess far superior flying skill to most other "civilized" humanoids that are part of most armies. The air support regiments are considered elite forces throughout the military and their assistance is most welcomed.
The line breaker regiments from Tridoroc consist mostly of Goliaths and (Half-)orcs hailing from the same high mountain regions as the air support Aarakocra. Born and bred in the toughest conditions, following strict training regiments, the line breakers are some of the toughest warriors in the army. The line breakers strongly believe that their task is amongst the most honorable as their resolve controls the outcome of the battle.
Religion
Throughout Tridoroc it is believe that Gavis, Wrath of Nature has a particular hatred for the region. Stories are told that the "wrath of nature" has once lost something very important to him in the mountains and now he has cursed the whole region to be almost uninhabitable to keep those that want his treasure away. There are some though, that believe Gavis, Wrath of Nature has constructed the perfect region to breed to most hardy and dedicated people. These groups see the harsh living conditions as a challenge and a means to get close to the god.
During the civil war, a large increase in the followers of Olkiced, Hero of War came to be. Both the rebels and loyalists occasionally claimed to be fighting with the blessings of the war hero on their side as to hopefully increase the morale of their troops. In fact, both parties had clerics dedicated to the service of Olkiced, Hero of War fighting on their sides sharing blessings with their troops.
Due to the current circumstances and culture that has come to be in Tridoroc, Nearlious, The Jester and Timeriul, The Betrayer have both gained numerous followers within the country. Cults, sects and sometimes temples are devoted to figuring out "creative" ways to make ends meet.
Economic strength: Low
Military might: Medium