The Kingdom of Oster

The Kingdom of Two Crowns

Oster is a large, but landlocked northerly kingdom, bordered to the south by the Heartlands, to the west by the Dales, and to the east by Ironwall. To the north, appropriately, is the North. The capital city is Falkryst.

Lay of the Land

• Windswept and Barren: Oster is nestled in a sort-of valley; hills are common on the outskirts of the Kingdom, as one gets closer to the Dales or Ironwall. Meanwhile, central Oster is made up of fertile plains. The plains whip with cold winds, and camping is unpleasant to say the least. The country-folk here are tough and pragmatic.

• Lands of the Empire: Following the fall of Alphos, the generals and warriors of the plains now-called Oster built their kingdom on the backs of serfs. The Kingdom is organized into dozens of feudal Duchies, and their Dukes answer to the Archduke. The current ruler is Galfrey, wife of the former Archduke, who died under mysterious circumstances...

• Military Might: Oster is defined by its hawkish military, the largest in the Free Kingdoms. They are quite territorial, and many of the lords of the Heartlands with realms that border Oster are fairly worried of invasion. The only thing keeping the peace is that both the Heartlands and the Kingdom have a mutual alliance with the Red Banner.

Dangers to Dare

• Political Turmoil: The assassination of Archduke Franz Armand was but a year ago, and the culprit has yet to be found. Some suspect the wife, especially considering she's holed up in the Royal Palace ever since his death, too afraid to leave. But the Royal Family is massive and sprawling -- it could be any one of them, or it could be a high-ranking military-man, considering the Royal Army has essentially seized executive power in Galfrey's absence. Not to mention any one of the revolutionaries that wish to end the feudal system. Either way, the Archduke's murder has sent the Kingdom into chaos. Friends of one noble house have become the enemies of the other, and the political web is incomprehensible. It is easy to become caught in the tangle of allies and enemies.

• Knights of the Seventh Realm: Let not their name fool you -- these men are thuggish mercenaries, nothing more. Their stated goal is to maintain law and order at any cost, and they are hired out by nobles to break insurrection and keep the common folk back in line. They are named for the bottom level of the Lower Planes, and bear demonic iconography proudly.

• The Outlands: The small east-west stretch in between the Dales and the Forest of Veils serves as the fastest way to connect Oster to the Heartlands to lands farther south. Still, it is crawling with bandits and villains who smell the weakness in Oster's politics. The Outlands are covered in border-forts and military patrols, which only adds to the wariness in relations between Oster and the assorted polities of the Heartlands.

• The Black Wolves: Oster's wolf population is quite large, and proves dangerous to rural farmers. However, a special variety exists, with the capacity for language and the cunning of men. The worgs, as they're called, lead packs of wolves with malevolent intelligence and a desire to hunt for sport.

Folk & Friendship

• The Dwarfs of Thunder Keep: Centuries ago, these dwarfs left the Dwarfholds to pursue a life of freedom and fun. A few generations of Stout Folk have maintained this small city, and all are welcome in their great drinking-halls.

• The Academy of Warcraft: The Kingdom of Oster sports the most famed and prestigious military academy in the Free Kingdoms. The rich and powerful send children from all over the Free Kingdoms here to study any number of topics, ranging from battle tactics to diplomacy to the construction and maintenance of siege-weapons. It is located on the outskirts of Falkryst, the Kingdom's capital city.

• The Monstrous Regiment: Oster's mighty military is mostly made up of men, but they bolster their forces with mercenaries of many stripes: the Red Banner, the aforementioned Knights of the Seventh Realm, dwarfs from Thunder Keep, orcs from the Dales -- even regiments made up of goblins, ogres, or even the odd-giant.

Details to Discover

• A village near the Outlands, sacked by marauders, with bodies lain out in a symmetrical line, as if to serve as some macabre calling-card.

• A wagon, laden with trade goods, but stuck in the spring mud.

• A nobleman swings by the neck from a tree, dressed in the colors of the House of Ungar.

• A stack of bodies -- unwashed bandits, by the looks of it -- on the roadside. Stuck in the ground nearby is a banner bearing the visage of a sneering demon's face.

Alternative Name(s)

Osterland

Type

Plain

Included Locations

• Falkryst
• Thunder Keep

Included Organizations

• The Order of the Eye

Owner/Ruler

Queen Galfrey

Related Ethnicities

• Heartlanders

Legends & Lore: Blood of the Thunderer: The beer-drinking, axe-swinging, adventurous sorts commonly associated with the dwarven race are actually quite rare. Most dwarfs are the stoic inhabitants of the Giantshield Mountains; they are just seen far more rarely than those who hail from Thunder Keep. It’s said that these tempestuous dwarfs have in their veins the blood of the Thunderer – the brother to the Ironbender, a trickster god who brings storms to the mountains and guides wandering dwarfs who leave their homes.