Sherpburg
Overview
The province of Sherpburg lies in the wilderness on the Eastern edge of the Nation of Grouce. Its dense forests and swamplands are interspersed with wide, well maintained roads filled with traders, travelers, and pilgrims from across the nation. Few stop at the hovels, hamlets, and forts which occupy the interior for more than a night, instead opting to continue their journey eastwards towards the edge of the nation: Sherpburg’s capital of Oosterhof.
The main city Oosterhof lies near the Eastern border which separates Grouce from the elven Forest of Rhofan. Oosterhof became the region's capital in 1227 BU, marking peace between the four warring tribes of the area. The tribal mindset has continued to flourish in Sherpburg as the guilds of the province remain a driving force of the cultural identity of its inhabitants. These tribes all had an interest in maintaining the good will of the elves of the Great Forest and, after the Treaty of the First Hunt, have been the only province in Grouce to maintain a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship with them. This granted the province a unique boon of being the only supplier of exports and imports to the elven clans. During the War of Unification, Oosterhof joined the side of Amersham after the resolution of the Three Moons Council; a series of agreements between the heads of the Ooster guilds and the generals of the Amersham military to get the province to take Amersham's side in the war.
Oosterhof serves as a hub for the largest hunting guilds in Grouce as well as multiple churches of The Servants of Heiliger, The Followers of the Ode, and Providence . The city and the province as a whole is run by The Council of the Final Hunt, which consists of a selected representative of each of the guilds. As such, each of the nine major guilds control an aspect of the city and province and fulfill a set of duties to the province.
Due to its unique governmental body and way of life, Oosterhof prides itself as being a refuge for the outcasts of society. With its many unique and bountiful opportunities, the city is the most diverse in the country in regards to both race and magic types. Unlike most other provinces in Grouce where mages are held in higher esteem, magical ability is held often on the same level as martial ability for those in the province’s guilds. The emphasis the guilds put on individual value leads to the most mobile, yet most dangerous, social ladders in the entire Nation.
History
Prehistory
The land that would eventually be known as Sherpburg was originally a dense forest inhabited by several nomadic tribes. As the tribes migrated and moved around the region they occasionally came into conflict with one another and skirmishes were a frequent sight in the region. As new settlers continued to migrate into the region the tribes grew, split, and reformed. Eventually four major tribes took form and from these tribes four settlements took root in the wilderness.
These settlements became the seeds of the current settlements in Sherpburg. The largest of the settlements Oosterhof was towards the east of the province and bordered the dense Rhofan forest, named for the chief of the tribe that settled it Grein Ooster. In the west of the province a large stone monolith which became known as The Pillar of the Gods was discovered and became a point of study and fascination for the people around it, eventually coalescing into a town called Gottstein. The wealthiest of the tribes built a large castle in the center of the region and took firm control of the surrounding area dubbing the town Eisenfel. The final settlement that formed was situated in the north of the region, a small city called Hutte.
The Treaty of the Grand Feast
Eventually, in 1227 BU, a descendant of Grein Ooster, Kain Ooster, set out to settle the disparate tribes that made up the region. He saw the tribes as ineffectual apart and believed that by unifying the tribes as one force they would be an even greater nation. He especially believed that the reclusive elves may take the tribes more seriously if they were unified. Kain did not want a war between the tribes so he set out to use alliances and threats of force to unify the tribes as gently as possible. Kain's Conquest took several years, but when it was completed at the Treaty of the Grand Feast it led to the beginnings of economic and social prosperity that stayed with the region for millennia since. With the new unified region came the new name of Sherpburg, named in honor of the friend that helped Kain to fulfill his goal.
After the tribes were politically unified, Kain spent the rest of his life working toward cultural unification. Instead of tribes being determined by geographical location, new guilds would be created to fill the various jobs that would need to be done. Each guild would support the whole region and members would be encouraged to join guilds based on skill sets not just familial lines. Unfortunately, Kain never saw the people of Sherpburg accept his vision as fully as he would have liked. It was not until 150 years later that the guilds took the form they have today and became ingrained in Sherpburg.
The Treaty of the First Hunt
By 1096 BU Sherpburg had solidified into the area it is today. After the clans of the region unified into one group, they set out to fulfill Kain Oosters original goal and grow their relationship and strength. The largest step in this was completed under the supervision of Leati Reigns, the leader of the Morbach Guild. Leati believed that if Sherpburg wanted to gain enough strength to dissuade invation, the best way to do so was to work with the elves of the Rhofan forest. While there was occasional contact between the two peoples almost nothing was known about the elven people. Leati worked with the other Guild Masters to create a new guild whose purpose would be establishing and maintaining relationships with the elves.
With the support of several other Guild Masters, Leati created a new guild named Rhonin and set out to study and understand the elves. After several years of hard work the project seemed as though it would be a failure. The group had yet to make contact with any elven traders and were beginning to give up hope of ever forming a relationship with them. Eventaully Leati sent the rest of guild back to Oosterhof, planning to head back in the following days himself, after one final attempt at establishing contact. As he got ready to make his way back home he was surrounded by a group of elves. The elves informed him that they had been watching him for some time and the leader of their clan wished to talk with him. Leati was taken to the leader of the elven tribe who explained that the elves had been watching his group and wanted them to leave their lands and did not wish to establish contact with Sherpburg. Leati asked to stay with the elves for one year to prove the worth of his people. If in one year the elves still did not want to form an alliance, he would leave the elves and ensure they were never bothered again. The elven chief agreed to the terms and Leati was allowed to stay.
The year was incredibly difficult for Leati. He did not speak the language of the elves and so over the year had to learn how to communicate with the people. As he gained trust with the elves more of them became willing to communicate with him and the language that they began to form became known as Druidic. Even after learning to communicate, Leati still struggled to gain favor with the elves. His persistence, however, proved worthwhile. During his stay, a long forgotten pact that the elves had made with the fey came due and the son of the elven chief was to be offered as its payment. Leati, having become close friends with the chief's son, offered himself in his place. His willingness to sacrifice himself for friendship rather than his initial purpose showed the elves his worth. The pact turned out to have been a test created by the Fey Lord Clarion designed to see if the most recent inhabitant of the woods was entertaining. When Leati presented himself as payment, Clarion, delighted, granted his blessing to the alliance between the guilds of Sherpberg and elves.
The Treaty of the First Hunt detailed how the relationship between the two peoples would work, including trade practices, borders, and diplomatic practices. After the treaty was ratified on the border of Sherpburg and the forest of Rhofan, Leati did not return home with the other Guild Masters who had come to the signing. Instead he stayed in the forest to help the elves establish their new city and to stay with a woman with whom he had fallen in love, Jordah Reigns. Eventually the two would marry and their children would take over as heads of the Rhonin guild, starting a tradition of Reigns guildmasters.
Over the next two generations, the guilds became a major part of life for the people of Sherpburg. This eventually lead to the The Council of the Final Hunt becoming fully recognized as the governing body of the country, abolishing of the chiefdom that Kain had originally set up.
The War of Unification
Amersham did not involve Sherpburg at the beginning of the War of Unification . Amersham deemed that open conflict with Sherpburg would not be worth the battle unless they were sure they could win, but because of the harshness of the forest and the regions emphasis on personal strength and community, Amersham doubted how easily the fight would go. After defeating Sherpmel, Amersham turned their attention to Sherpburg. While Amersham wanted to bring Sherpburg into their united kingdom, they knew that if they acted to brashly it had the potential to turn violent and even held the possibility of leading to a conflict with the elves and by extension the Feywild.
Instead of attacking Sherpburg, Amersham used the newly conquered Romborn as a stepping stone to open diplomatic talks. Since Sherpburg had some trade relations with the agricultural region, Amersham used those ties to open negotiations for a peaceful resolution with the Sherpburg. The following talks came to be known as the Three Moons Council. After the negations were finalized, Sherpburg assisted Amersham to finish the last of the battles in the closing of the war with the Dwarven tribes of Vinmur. Some scholars believe that it was only with Sherpburgs help, particularly the help of Hamelin the tunneling guild, that Amersham was able to finally get the Dwarves to submit.
Post War
Since the end of the War of Unification, life has generally improved for the people of Sherpburg. The influx of magic and new technologies from the other regions of Grouce helped Sherpburg's techological advancement leap forward hundreds of years. Some people in Sherpburg saw the increase in the quality of life as a detriment, believing it would lead to people becoming more loyal to Amersham and other outside forces than Sherpburg and the guilds. The prolific use of clerics paid for by the government was cited as a major reason for the worry, as many of the more traditional mindset believed it would lead to a devaluation of the safety of people and an over reliance on the clerics. Many traditionalists also believed that guilds have stopped caring about common people and are now more concerned with gaining outside status and favor at the detriment of thier members. Many who were more contemporary in their mindset argued that the increase in healing as only helped to protect others, that this was simply the next step in the unification of the tribes that Kain Ooster led, and that people should embrace the change and work with the whole country that they were now a part of.
Geography
Sherpburg sits in the Southeast of Grouce along the border of the Forest of Rhofan. The dense woods of the Rhofan forest give way to marsh and swamps of Cijera along the Southern border. Only a handful of roads are properly maintained, mostly leading towards cities in the other provinces. Sherpburg’s only major city is the hunting capital of Oosterhof. While the city is responsible for almost all of the province's trade, only a small portion of the population lives in the city full time. Most of the province's inhabitants live in isolated compounds that are scattered throughout the province. Many of these settlements are owned and operated by the various guilds of the province, and they are often repurposed from forts or outposts that were no longer in use.
Adjacent Provinces and Countries
- Romborn : Northwest and North
- Forest of Rhofan: Northeast, East, and Southeast
- Cijera : South and Southwest
- Granhan: West
Climate
The climate is warm with long wet summers and brief winters. The mild winters and hospitable climate have afforded the province relatively little issue. The Western border of the province is prone to occasional flooding caused by the tropical storms that travel up the country's coast.
Major Cities
Sherpburg has only one major city, its capital of Oosterhof. The only other populated areas in the province are Gottestein and Eisenfel. Having the second lowest population density of any province behind Romborn, the dense forest is dotted with occasional outpost or small village tucked into a hollow but is widely left uninhabited. Many of the guilds of Sherpburg maintain a variety of small compounds and fortresses that can be used by thir members as temporary bases or as camps for travelers. If someone is not a member of one of the guilds and lacks a letter vouching for them, many of these fortified locations will not allow them to stay.
Oosterhof is the largest city in the province, located near the Eastern border close to the Rhofan forest. The city not only holds the majority of the guilds' main halls, but also the main hall where the Council of the Final Hunt meet. The city acts as the starting point for all excursions to the elven lands and is the largest trade hub in the province. The city itself is home to the Siren's Hall and is the major cultural hub of the eastern majority of Grouce. In addition to the Guild hall of the Lorelei, Oosterhof is also home to the guild halls for the Bergen, Morbach, Rupercht, Karte, and Rhonin guilds.
Gottestein is the smallest of the major population centers in Sherpburg. It is also the smallest settlement denoted on most major maps of Grouce. Located in the western part of the province near the border to Granhan, the only major feature of the area is the Gods Pillar. After Kain Oosters conquest the pillar became the guild hall for the Teufelsstien Guild. Once the pillar was opened and the guild established its base, their the location became less of a religious location more more a location of academic interest. Amersham's interest in the location is the only reason the town has any significant population outside of Teufelsstein.
Eisenfel is located in north central Sherpburg. Belap has come to use the location as a central location since Kain Ooster helped Bram Richtor to defeat the former baron of the castle and free the region from his vampiric cabal. The large stone castle overlooks the town below and serves as the launching point for many of the guilds quests. The town has continued to keep a steady population due to it's convient location along the Road of Gold.
There a several other small towns that draw particular interest:
- The Roost is located a days ride east of Eisenfel and is where Bergen train their flying mounts.
- Jhaal is half a day from Oosterhof and is where Karte keep a large portion of their warehousing along with a large zoo housing a variety of rare captured animals.
- Chanslat, a monastery made by The Followers of the Ode, is located in the north of the province near the border with Romborn.
Demographics
Of those who reside in Sherpburg approximately 85% were born in the province. Sherpburg has the most varied demographics of any province in Grouce, being the only province where one race does not account for the majority of the population. Given this, the humans that do live here often have a small amount of another race in their blood as it is culturally common for family units to have parents of different races. Sherpburg has by far the highest population of half-races and would be one the only places one could regularly expect to see peoples such as Tieflings, Catfolk, and Tengu.
Guilds
Governance
The hunting guilds of Oosterhof act as the governing body of the province and handle the majority of the work that keeps the province running. There are nine guilds in Sherpburg, each specializing in a particular job. Each guild has its own methods for selecting a representative that sits on the Council of the Final Hunt. The three major churches also have a representative on the council who act as spiritual guides and offer additional insight. The church positions however are solely representative and they do not get a vote in matters, but as most citizens are deeply religious the opinions of the churches are held in high regard. This council is the governing body of the province and handles interacting with the rest of Grouce’s political structure.
The council was created after Kain Ooster's conquest and was originally one of the two ruling bodies of Sherpburg. After the Treaty of the First Hunt the guilds became the sole ruling body of the province. The council meets in Oosterhof at a minimum of once every year to discuss issues impacting the province. The meetings are usually fairly short and focus on the issues at hand. The guilds cooperate with one another but are largely self-sufficient taking care of their own specializations and members. After the Unification, Amersham reconfirmed the council as the governing body of the area also placing one Amer representative as a non-voting member of the council. Each year a representative from the council is selected and sent to Amersham to represent the province to the king. This high honor is one of the only times the guild representatives actively compete to decide who is sent.
Each guild's aspect of the province is run how the guild sees fit, and they all share the responsibility of keeping the province running. Most guilds are fairly lax in their control and prefer to allow members to govern themselves. Most citizens live within the area controlled by their guild and guilds are quick to handle internal disputes between members when they arise. Guilds also take their reputation very seriously and often are quick to punish members if they create issues with other guilds. Serious crimes are often punished with the elven ritual of Nuru, where the offender is marked and exiled from the province.
Guilds are also responsible for paying both a certain amount of money made by the guild, as well as a flat fee for each member, as tax each year. Because of the tax on each member, guilds often require a fee each month or year, and will usually remove inactive members from their roster.
Almost everyone in Sherpburg is a member of one of the guilds, a subsidiary guild, or one of the religions found in the province. A guild membership is expected in Oosterhof, so people do what they must to stay in good standing with their guild. The membership allows for free or reduced prices on many necessities such as healing, education, and housing in the province. Those without memberships face difficulties that they would not find in other provinces.
The churches in the area are given part of the collected taxes to be used as stipends for helping those in need. However, the services provided by the stipend are not available for those who are in poor standing with or do not belong to a guild. The guilds also provide education and training to their members. Many guilds will sponsor equipment or training for recruits to help them become better suited for the type of work the guild does. Guilds often also own large amounts of the land and buildings near their guild hall. With membership comes access to the various guild housing and other resources at a guilds disposal.
The guilds provide more than a monetary incentive for joining. They create a social atmosphere that informs much of the life in Sherpburg. People are not judged by their race or gender but instead by their guild and their rank within it. The culture of the guilds vary from one to another, but they all tend to value similar traits; cunning, strength, and skill tend to be chief among them. Even magical talent is not prized above all in the town. Instead skill with a sword is seen as equally valuable to skill with a spell and a competent warrior is worth more than a novice mage.
Class in Sherpburg is not earned based on money, but instead by status in the guild. The rank you hold and your standing in the guild matter more to most than any other factor. It is common for wealth to mean that someone has more training and thus is better prepared and valued, but wealth itself is not. It is not uncommon for prominent members in guilds to adopt wards or new recruits to mentor. In fact, blood relations tend not to be valued in the province much at all.
This has led to some disputes when parents have left valuables and fortunes to guilds or their members instead of their children. The common defense the guild heads use is that a bond of blood relation does not outshine a bond of camraderie formed from time. As such, inheritance disputes rarely overturn wills.
This is not to say that family does not matter in the province. Guilds tend to be full of families as it is common for parents to have their children join the same guild they did. Beside children joining their parents' guild, it is common for guild members to marry and for guilds to become more akin to dwarven clans than the trade guilds of Veircourt.
The nine guilds of Sherpburg are each focused on solving a particular type of problem. While most guilds are suited for a variety of challenges, there is usually one guild best suited for any given task. When people first arrive in Oosterhof they they may participate in a series of tests to find their strengths. Guilds then recruit based on how the arrivals did in those tests and their staffing needs. While rare, guilds will occasionally recruit new members from the other guilds or provinces. Guilds will also offer membership to people that don’t fit the guilds standard practices to gain diversity in skill sets in case there is an issue they need help to solve.
Guild Overviews
Lorelei
The Lorelei is a bard guild with a focus in recording the history of the region. The bards of the guild are known throughout Grouce for their music and are often sought after as storytellers, especially by the people of the Emerald Coast. The Lorelei don’t have much influence outside of Oosterhof but instead often act as envoys and diplomats to the surrounding regions.
Hamelin
Hamelin is the guild that focuses on clearing infestations and large groups of small creatures. Their presence in Oosterhof is kept mostly to minimum and is usually focused on clearing out places such as the sewers or abandoned buildings in the city. Outside the city they clear out infestations in natural dens or in the abandoned forts in the province.
Bergen
Bergen is considered one of the more prestigious guilds. They specialize in fighting dragons and both mounted and aerial combat, and are sought after as private knights and royal guards in the other provinces. The guild patrols the skies in the region and keeps watch over the mountains in the northern section of the country.
Morbach
The largest guild is Morbach. Diverse generalists, most of their jobs are monster fighting. Unlike the other guilds they tend to patrol the entire province to some degree and are the most open to help other guilds when needed.
Teufelsstien
Teufelsstein is often considered the most focussed guild. Teufelsstein deals exclusively in extraplanar entities. The guild tracks planar portals and creatures that come from them, both good and evil. Even though the guild is open to most people it is one of the smallest due to its highly specialized nature and high mortality rate.
Rupercht
Rupercht focuses on civil works, exploration, and mapping the province. Although the province has been inhabited for some time, due to the shifting nature and challenges that the terrain brings, frequent re-surveys are necessary to maintain accurate maps. The guild tries to keep an accurate status on where people live and what amenities they have available. They are also the guild responsible for maintaining the roads in the region.
Karte
Karte spends time cataloging the various animals and plants in the region and how they can be used. The guild publishes a yearly book of the various creatures in the region and where they can be found. They also handle most of the trade leaving the region.
Rhonin
Rhonin is the guild that maintains the closest relationships with the elves. The guild splits its members between Grouce and the surrounding elven nations. Any envoy that wants to deal with the elves goes through Rhonin and they maintain the elven embassy in Oosterhof.
Belap
Belap deals with curses, witchcraft, and supernatural events. Specializing in occult and obscure magic the guild is one of the few that regularly works with Teufelsstien. They are also the guild with the strongest ties to both the Mage Registry and the various religions in the country.
Economic Capability
While many outsiders believe that the guilds solely provide combat and wilderness skills, the guilds also take care of most business in the province. Guilds and their members own most private businesses and use them to support guild activity. This input in all parts of life not only deepens the guild's importance and connection to its members, but also accounts for how the province gains the majority of its economic might. Due to this, there are very few independent merchants in the city as new businesses are heavily encouraged to join with the relevant guild.
Sherpburg’s guilds are solely responsible for paying the requisite taxes to Amersham annually. The amount each guild pays is calculated by evaluating how many members a specific guild has as well as the amount of money those members have brought into the guild. Most of this money comes from the membership fees, quest rewards, and business cuts that the guild receives. This taxation style has led the guilds to make sure they always have an incredibly active base of members so that their coffers remain flush. The multitude of churches that reside in the province however, face no taxation. They are instead funded by the state and expected to provide their divine magics at a discount to all paying guild members.
Adventurers in guilds often get jobs from boards posted in guild halls or common areas. These job postings are maintained by the guilds that they pertain to, and primarily come from two sources. Jobs that the guilds take as civil duty and service that are needed to keep the province running are often lower paying, but most guilds require their members to fulfill a certain amount per year. The other job type is contract work. Contracts can come from any person or organization, so long as they follow the guild council's guidelines. The outside contracts will vary in cost based on which guild is requested, the difficulty, availability, and various other factors. The guilds often receive a large cut of any reward, some guilds even requiring up to fifty percent of the payout.
Sherpburg provides the rest of Grouce with unique pelts, furs, food, and other exotic materials from their citizens' unique occupations. Hunting and monster killing opens the adventurers of Sherpburg and their patron guilds to different pieces of these mythical creatures. Unless specified in the contract, guilds typically will take any valuables found or recovered from the mission. These material gains often go directly to adventures without the guilds taking a cut as a bonus for a job well done.
Their trade with the elves, a constant influx of new people coming to join the guilds, construction materials, and other esoteric/niche goods also contribute to Sherpburg’s economic strength. The guilds of Sherpburg are the only groups in the entirety of Grouce that have an open trade route with the elven community that lies to the east of the country. This relationship goes all the way back to 650 BU with the signing of The Treaty of the First Hunt shortly after the initial formation of the guilds. Due to this, the guilds will often take a cut of the profits of any outside goods that are sold using Sherpburg’s connections to the elves. The Forest of Rhofan and the elves that inhabit it are also responsible for a majority of the base components used in magic item creation. Sherpburg's control over the flow of this valuable resource was one of the primary factors for Amersham avoiding conflict with Sherpburg during unification, so to not risk them cutting off trade with the elves or bringing their supply of magic items to battle.
Economic status in Sherpburg is acquired from either becoming either a successful guild merchant or guild adventurer. With the near universal guild membership amongst its citizens and the social programs operated by those guilds, even the poorest in Sherpburg are often better off than their counterparts in any other province. Due to the nature and availability of jobs that are involved in supporting guild activities, the province has the highest chance of economic mobility of all of Grouce, leading to a high level of immigration from the less fortunate and otherwise outcast of society.
Culture
Every aspect of the citizens of Sherpburgs lives are based around their guild and working to push themselves or that guide to higher fame and glory. This common ground based on skill means that while there is a strict hierarchy in society based on guild status, it is open to individuals rising to reach above their station. The focus on self improvement and a person's skill has prevented many cultural hang ups such as gender and sexuality, which exist in other provinces. The focus has, however, also led to those who are unable to keep up being left behind. Though the guilds will often try to help such unfortunates find a job they can excel in, some still fall out of society.
Literature
Literature in Sherpburg is not as emphasized as much as in other provinces. While there are libraries inside of the Oosterhof, most guilds are more focused on keeping guild records over writing down stories. Instead, legends of the past are passed down through oral tradition and bardic music.
Food
Farming is not possible outside of small scale gardens in Sherpburg, so most of the produce is imported into the province from Romborn. The traditional dishes of the area are all very hearty and made with what could be hunted or gathered from the wilderness around the province. Meats, berries, tubers, herbs, and nuts dominate the stew and soup filled cuisine of the area. You also will rarely fine plain mead in taverns, as that is nearly always imported. Instead, hard liquors, shot straight or mixed are served. These liquors are widely known for their unique recipes and are often just as strong as they are bitter.
Music and Visual Art
There are two vastly different camps of music that come from the province. The average citizen would likely only know a few group oriented drinking songs and bard melodies. However, the bards of Lorelei tend to have a similar approach to music that Veircourt does: long, multi-faceted performances that are always performed for an audience rather than out of comradery. However, both types of music are tied with the same basic thread: they tell about the trials and tribulations of the guilds and their adventurers.
Sports
There are no sports in a classical sense in Sherpburg. Instead of organized ball-based matches of skill, the most common form of entertainment for the citizens here are split into to camps: trophy hunting and sparing/wrestling matches (similar to those of the Grouce Gladiatorial Combat.
While most hunting that takes place in the province is done for either meat or to cull dangerous beasts, some adventurers occasionally will hold matches amongst each other for who can hunt the largest of a beast or who can take down the most dangerous type of beast. Typically, these friendly wagers are kept to the small groups that started them, during the festival of Hain, an immense cross-guild hunt occurs in which they compete with each other both for prize money and to fuel the feast held after the hunt.
Religion
Religious organizations are prosperous across Sherpburg. Between the stipend from Amersham, the donations from the various adventuring guilds, and the plentiful need for their services, all three of the major religions have presence inside this province. Most guilds will have a dedicated priest or collection of priests that service its guild members for heavily discounted rates.
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