TonyC/GreaterThorn

This is a PC's dominion in JesseLowe/PirateMonkey game.

The dominion is composed of Thorn, Iridia, parts of the Marukan ranges, remnants of House Nellens, and the Solar Wind Fleet plus the usual minor mortal factions too small to account. The PCs and their army, the Solar Wind Fleet, defeated Mask of Winters and took over the area he occupied, imposing some sort of stability in the region. It is not a happy dominion, as without the military might of the fleet and the charisma of the Solars binding it, it would break into its component factions.

Mandate of Heaven stats:

Greater Thorn (Magnitude 4)

Attributes:
Military: O O O O |
Culture: O |
Government: O O |

Abilities:
Awareness: O O o
Bureaucracy: O o
Craft: O
Integrity: O O
Investigation: O o
Occult: O O (The Dead)
Performance: O O o (Rousing Rhetoric, Charismatic Diplomacy)
Presence: O O (Martial Reputation)
Stealth: O O
War: O O O O (Naval Action +2, Superior Maneouvering)
(small o indicates dots bought with bonus points)

Virtues:
Compassion: O O
Conviction: O O O
Temperance: O O
Valor: O O O O

Virtue Flaw: Valor
Current Limit: X X X O O O O O O O
Willpower: O O O O O O O |
Bonus Points: 20
External Bonus Points: 4

Notes:
Greater Thorn's Legitimate Sorcerer is undoubtedly the solar exalt Taiyo Kaizoku. Other sorcerers are Monkey (Kaizoku's second-in-command), the Kamsa leader Eino Selin, and the exiled Nellens leaders. Queen Lilia of Thorn is seen as the figurehead that she is, but given the respect the citizen of Thorns still accords her, she's undoubtedly a savant. She's recently engaged to Eino Selin, but whether this will give her actual power remains to be seen. The displaced Marukans will have a leader of their own too, likely an outcaste or god-blood. There are enough dragon-blooded in the Solar Wind Fleet too and some of them may have enough political power to qualify as savants.

If there is anything that all factions of Greater Thorn have in common, it is the years they spent struggling against various enemies. From the displaced Kamsa settling in Iridia to the aging Thorn bureaucrat still remembering the days of the Autocrat, each of them have fought against enemies far stronger than themselves and perservered and ultimately, won. Their Virtue Flaw represents this willingness to fight. In Limit Break, while they might attempt to avoid a confrontation, once engaged, they would rather die than give up.

Greater Thorn's bonus points are tied in various specialties and an extra dot each in Awareness, Bureaucracy, and Investigation, representing the military rule of the Solar Wind Fleet. It has a trading accord with Lookshy, selling scavenged jade and artifacts in exchange for food (the external bonus points are spent in Performance) and is aggressively pursuing treaties with other powers.

Greater Thorn's relations with other powers are strained. It is technically at war with The Realm, given that the Solar Wind Fleet has always been at war with the Realm. Both sides had been too busy with other concerns to actually fight it out. With Mask finally defeated and the Realm Civil War ending, this may change soon. It wants to join the Confederation of Rivers, but political machinations from the Guild, Walker in Darkness, and even Lookshy have prevented official admission, although it does have an observer in the Confederation's meetings. The Guild is considering trade sanctions due to the Solar Wind Fleet's insistence on freeing slaves on any ship they run across, including Guild trading ships, which the Guild considers outright piracy (The Solar Wind Fleet does not care, given that they started as pirates in the first place). Even Lookshy is hesitant in accepting any binding treaty, as the High Command sees the Anathema-led Greater Thorn as just as dangerous as Mask of Winter's dominion. While the Purists wants to destroy Greater Thorn while it's still weak, most believes than the best and safest path is to play Greater Thorn against the Realm.