Inhabitants of the world. Any need for illustrations?

[12rounds]

Yup. Not a pike. A partisan. A ranseur could fit the bill too, but I was going more towards partisan.

Nevertheless the partisan my paladin is holding is more of a ceremonial gadget rather than a real combat-effective weapon. Partisans were used succesfully against cavalry and against non-polearm wielding troops as disarming and distancing weapons. My paladin is not the most bloodthirsty killer in existence and perhaps is better in disarming and succumbing his opponents than outright slaying them.

But the criticism is welcome and justified - I must say I wasn't at all sure about the choise of the wepon myself either.

[Steel General]

Great job 12Rounds! I think I have just the place for him in the village I'm working on for this month's map challenge.

FYI... Paladins of Valan tend to favor the bastard sword as their preferred weapon.

[Gandwarf]

But the criticism is welcome and justified - I must say I wasn't at all sure about the choise of the wepon myself either.

The weapon is fitting, I was just expecting a sharper point. This looks more ceremonial, like you said.

Thanks for the link Waldronate, never knew there are so many different types of polearms. In the future I will probably still call these weapons pikes or halberds however

[12rounds]

FYI... Paladins of Valan tend to favor the bastard sword as their preferred weapon.

That's precisely why I chose *not* to give him a bastard sword! The guy doesn't appreciate the secular movements within his religion that force it's members to some pre-defined mold.

[Steel General]

That's precisely why I chose *not* to give him a bastard sword! The guy doesn't appreciate the secular movements within his religion that force it's members to some pre-defined mold.

Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that he's different.

[Ascension]

Love this guy...course I love most paladins, especially ones named Augustus.

[12rounds]

Name: King Faegor Udgersson
Race: Human
Location: Vilgian, North Skolvendun

A long-time king, Faegor has managed to stay in power not only due to his strategic insight, but also due to respect. He is respected by his peers and underlings equally and eventhough a few attempts at his life have been encountered, Faegor has managed to maintain a relatively stable atmosphere in his kingdom. This stability has allowed the kingdom to prosper thru many means, but one of the most important ones is the trade routes that have been established during Faegor's reign. His father, Udger Olafsson, was the king before him and that period is remembered mainly by oppression, persecution and bloodshed.

Faegor is over 60 years of age, but the recent years have not treated him kindly. His health has taken several nose-dives and memory is no longer operating without faults. Faegor has been mentally pretty stable for his whole life, but recently he has become impatient, prone to fits of anger and has grown a sense of paranoia. These changes have appeared within a long period of time and only persons who have been dealing with Faegor for years are in a position to notice anything. And yes - some have noticed the changes - and are rightfully concerned about the future of the kingdom and their own personal future.

Several layers of trusted men stand between Faegor and a regular citizen of North Skolvendun. He has established a court in Faegor Castle 10 miles outside Vilgian. The castle maintains an alertness level slightly higher than should be on times of peace and the king is no longer as easily reached as he was a decade earlier. He has not secluded himself into the castle, but his journeys around the country in state-business have been growing slightly further apart with each year.

North Skolvendun is still a peacefull kingdom. Faegor has trusted allies throughout the country and has direct control over the standing troops of the kingdom. But as years have passed, some power has been permanently shifting to trusted men that surround him in his court and some of the country's nobility are alarmed by the weakening of the king's true authority over the affairs of the kingdom.

Personal issues have haunted Faegor for years and the matter involving his eldest son, Birger, has made a haunting impact on his personality. His wife, Helga, passed away only 10 months ago ruined by a long period of debilitating infections. His wife was a balancing force for Faegor for 30 odd years and her death brought to surface a much dimmer and savage world view in Faegor.


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[Valarian]

Oh, I love that one. Unfortunately, I still can't rep or that would've gained some more.

[12rounds]

Name: Lord Roberto Romano
Location: Raedis, Akron
Race: human


Roberto Romano is the elected leader of Raedis. The Raedis system relies on the so called "Piumia" which is essentially 12 citizens that openly support one leader candidate and that is elected into power by the citizens for a period of 5 years. Members of the Piumia have no political power whatsoever - except for the fact that they choose the new leader every 5 years. The system has not been working without a clitch, though, and Roberto Romano is currently on his 3rd term and he has only been officially elected once. Romano is an advocate of the system, but many of his close associates are not and their pressure against the Piumia members resulted in a "no votes were cast" situation the last two times there should have been an election.

Lord Romano has a high profile political agenda - he is trying to form a senate of lords that would replace the current structure of independent city-states by a unified power structure. This is all prompted by the political divergence of Akronian city-states under the threat of invasion from north. Lord Romano sees that the only way that Akron can withstand a military takeover by it's northern neighbours, is by unification of resources that is backed up all the city-states and their citizens. The country's lords are badly divided on the issue - some are just happy to see the city-state of Akron fall thereby resulting in more power to their respective locales. Again many lords take the danger of destruction under the hordes of northmen seriously and like Lord Romano they see that if the city-state of Akron falls, the rest of the city-states go next.

Roberto Romano is a shrewd and intelligent man and masters well the intrigue-games played in the halls of power. Roberto has surrounded him with the influential families and individuals of Raedis and truly tries to maintain good relations to them. His position is strong among the wealthiest of families, but the underdogs are severely unhappy about the distribution of influence and power in Raedis. Due to Lord Romano's high-profile nation-wide political endeavors he travels a lot around Akron. He maintains as much presence in Raedis as possible, but in reality he can only manage local affairs for 4-5 months a year. Lord Romano is not a combatant per se, but he can manage himself in most situations. The roads of Akron are not as safe one would think and Roberto knows this. Thus it's common to see him dressed up in a chainmail armour. He travels along protected merchant convoys and only rarely moves about by himself. He is accompanied by at least three experienced combatants from the small standing military force of Raedis.

### PIC ###

[Gandwarf]

Darn, I am at work again and can't see the image