Colaboración con organismos públicos y otras Defensorías

Trained Guerillas * 5 power

routine (9) Discipline

Athletics 2, Marksmanship 3, Stealth 4

BANDIT RABBLE

Trained Criminals * 4 power

forMidaBle (12) Discipline

of when to lay low and when to strike so as to get no one faction angry enough to actually wipe his forces out.

Wealth and security are Du- gan’s public goals, but secretly he also wants respect. He has no fam- ily to speak of and raising one living in the woods as criminals is not a life he wants for them. He hopes to find or manufacture a situation where

his aid is so needed that the nobles will be forced to overlook his past deeds and grant him the respect he feels he deserves.

T

HaLia

P

EMM

Once a camp follower in the War of the Usurper, Thalia ended up in Durain’s Forest after stabbing a knight who tried to rape her. Fearful of pun- ishment she fled to Durain’s Forest and joined the bandits there, rising to a position of leadership due to her ruth- lessness and cunning. She is Dugan the Red’s major rival, but while he organizes and plans, she leads through terror and force. The two work together

openly but despise each other in private; eventually, there will be a reckoning between them. Such a battle will be bloody since a large number of bandits are more loyal to Thalia than Dugan due to her promises of striking and killing nobles and other rich targets Dugan thinks are best avoided. Whatever house controls Durain’s Forest could use this schism to frac- ture the bandits.

of twenty years. A fearsome combatant and a skilled leader of men, it is widely rumored that he served one of the great houses or was a hedge knight before taking up banditry. He speaks little of his past before becoming an outlaw, but rope burns around his neck and three missing fingers indicate it was not a pleasant life.

Dugan now leads scores of men, keeping them fed, clothed, and busy out stealing for their greater good. He works to make sure everyone gets a share both of booty and food, spending as much time keeping peace among his own people as raiding. He harbors a deep-seated hatred of nobles and attacks them whenever possible, but does not kill them exclusively, since that would attract too much attention. Dugan has a good idea

DUGAN THE RED

mIDDLE-AGED fIGHTER

aBilitieS Agility 3 Athletics 3 Awareness 3 Notice 1B Cunning 3 Endurance 3 Fighting 4 Marksmanship 4 Bows 2B Persuasion 3 Intimidation 1B Stealth 4 Sneak 1B Survival 4 Orientation 2B, Track 2B Warfare 3 Tactics 1B Will 3 attriButeS coMBat defenSe 8 intriGue defenSe 8 HealtH 9 coMPoSure 9 deStiny PointS 0

BenefitS: Charismatic, Night Eyes, Sinister drawBacKS: Flaw (Agility)

arMS & arMor rinG Mail: AR 4, AP -1, Bulk 1

Longbow 4+1B 5 Damage Piercing 1, Two-Long Range, Handed, Unwieldy Mace 4 3 Damage

Dagger 4 1 Damage Defensive +1, _{Off-Hand +1}

THALIA PEmm

TERTIARy CHARACTER

Awareness 3 Cunning 3

Fighting 2 Short Blades 1b Persuasion 3 Convince 2b, Incite 2b, _{Intimidate 2b}

Warfare 3 Command 1b, Strategy 1b Will 3 Coordinate 1b

intriGue

riVErTHOrN

For decades Riverthorn was well known in the Trident for being a verdant fief ruled by the wealthy House Orell, but an outbreak of plague in the closing days of the War of the Usurper has ravaged this pastoral territory. Now the villages of Riverthorn are empty places haunted by a few plague-scarred individuals and House Orell’s hall is completely empty after the death of the entire house. Normally such desirable ungov- erned territory would be the target of a great many houses, but the specter of plague keeps such intrigues to a minimum. Whoever ends up ruling Riverthorn is going to have years of rebuilding and must conquer the specter of plague to attract smallfolk to work their fields, but the results of such work can be great indeed.

HiSTOry

Riverthorn was a productive farming territory since the First Men settled the Trident in the Age of Heroes. From the ear- liest settlements in Riverthorn, the region was well known for the vibrant wild rose bushes scattered across the region, for which the territory was named by the Andals. The fertile soil and ready water supply from the Trident made farming in

Riverthorn exceptionally productive, though the region had little else in the way of resources. The First Men and later the Andals both farmed Riverthorn extensively and began the tradition of growing and pruning the native rose bushes into hedgerows and decorations, a tradition that was continued by the last inhabitants of Riverthorn.

With the coming of the Targaryens, Riverthorn was given to House Orell once the region was wrested from the Andals. Wanting complete control over such a major source of food in the region, the Targaryens elevated Mager Orell, one of the valets to Aegon Targaryen, and his family to rule Riverthorn. Having seen Aegon’s ruthlessness first hand during his years of service, the new Lord Orell did his best to stay on his lord’s good side. In short order he had his hall under construction, roads laid out, and stores of grain flowing into his lord’s hold- ings. Efficiency was ever a trait of House Orell, but so was ostentation.

Enjoying pleasant weather, few nearby enemies, and little crime, Lord Orell soon turned his eye towards other ways to improve his territory. At the advice of his wife Sulla, a southern noble who had married Mager at Aegon’s direction, Lord Orell set about taming the wild roses that were scat- tered across Riverthorn. With the help of a veritable army of

smallfolk forced into service, the rose bushes of Riverthorn were uprooted and trimmed to line major roads and form a number of gardens around the hall, which became known as Rose Hall after the work was complete.

Riverthorn managed to weather the Blackfyre Rebellion and the War of the Ninepenny Kings without being drawn into the conflict. This was largely due to the fact that House Orell burned its fields and any food stocks on hand when any enemy force drew near. This removed the primary strategic value of Riverthorn, though at extensive economic cost. The cunning management of House Orell’s finances and farms allowed it to quickly recover and return to prosperity in the wake of both wars. House Orell was not above war profiteer- ing when it came to selling its crops.

Despite using the same tactics during the War of the Usurper, House Orell did not fare well. Riverthorn was a major supply center for the Targaryen troops in the Trident, forcing it to the forefront of the war. Unfortunately for the people of Riverthorn, they would not live to see the armies of Robert Baratheon conquer their lands. In the days leading up to the Battle of Ruby Ford a sickness broke out in Rose Hall. The plague is thought to have been brought to the area by a group of Braavosi mercenaries in service to House Tar- garyen. Within a few weeks the entirety of House Orell was stricken with plague, as were many of the smallfolk. Worried that his men might become infected, Aerys II ordered the land burned and quarantined, a decision that cost the lives of hundreds of soldiers and smallfolk. The outer villages of Ri- verthorn were razed, but the area around Rose Hall remained standing since no one dared go near it. In the end the plague was halted, but at the cost of the very life of Riverthorn.

After Robert’s victory, little attention was paid to River- thorn and Rose Hall for a several years. This allowed it to become a haven for plague survivors, scavengers, miscreants and criminals. Five years after the end of the war talk began in King’s Landing of resettling Riverthorn, but few houses were interested in claiming what they feared was still a plague ridden area. Riverthorn could be a valuable prize if it could be restored, but few are interested in taking on that challenge.

CHrONiCLE uSE

Riverthorn works best for a young house, especially one just elevated due to its deeds in the War of the Usurper. River- thorn may not be much of a prize to one of the great houses, but it represents a great opportunity for the birth of a new house. Such a house will have its work cut out for it attract- ing smallfolk to work the fields, restoring the buildings, and

living down the reputation of their new home, but the po- tential is there. While many of the normal concerns of noble houses, such as bandits or intrigues, will still be present, any house that rules Riverthorn will also have to deal with more mundane and more unpleasant matters, such as working ex- tra hard to keep their smallfolk happy and arranging mass graves to clear out the remains of plague victims who remain unburied.

To use Riverthorn as the long-time home of an older house, assume that the plague that wiped out House Orell came at an earlier time, such as during the War of the Ninepenny Kings or the Blackfyre Rebellion. In either case the immedi- ate after effects of the plague are likely to have been dealt with, but the lingering specter of death will still hang over Riverthorn. Such a land will still be seen as cursed even if the immediate threat has passed.

Another option is to remove House Orell from the history. Instead the house who currently calls Riverthorn home has been there since the Targaryen conquest or longer. In such cases the house barely survived the plague, or maybe the cur- rent house is made up of house members who were wards, fosterlings, or students elsewhere when the plague struck. In such cases the survivors may suddenly be catapulted to lead- ership of the house after the death of everyone above them in the chain of succession. This may make the plague even more menacing as now it enabled the new leaders’ rise to power, but only over the corpses of their family.

A Narrator might even start his chronicle at Riverthorn during Robert’s Rebellion, allowing the players to run through the events of the war itself as well as the terror of the plague and subsequent rebuilding.

D

EFENSE

: 20

OrMOrE

, i

NVESTED

: 20 (r

OSE

H

aLL

)

The abandoned buildings of Sulla, the hamlet founded by Mager Orell and named after his wife, stand at the center of the Riverthorn holding. Rose Hall stands in the middle of Sulla. The hall was built more with aesthetics in mind than defenses; it is surrounded by once-magnificent statues and numerous now-cracked gargoyles line its roof. The interior was once a masterpiece of tapestries, wood panels, and Myr- ish carpets, but those that have not been stolen are all rotted and stained after years of neglect. Now Rose Hall is a testa- ment to the power of neglect.

Rose Hall contains a main hall, a kitchen, a small barracks, a sitting room, four bedrooms for visitors, and a massive master bedroom for the lord. House Orell was well known for its hospitality and would never think to let a visitor sleep

on anything less than a down mattress, but its soldiers of- ten were forced to sleep in the main hall due to the small size of their barracks. While it may not be well maintained, the core defensive value of Rose Hall remains. Its walls are made of solid stone quarried from the Mountains of the Moon and it is very well built with stout, iron bound doors, cleverly concealed arrow slits, and a number of secret pas- sages. These passages allow one to move unnoticed through the major rooms of the hall or escape into the nearby rose gardens.

Like most of Sulla, Rose Hall is surrounded by rose bush- es. Once these were orderly and well kept, organized in rows along paths and to create beautiful gardens around the Hall. Now they have all gone wild with many of the paths they once lined completely overgrown. The years of neglect seem to have helped the roses thrive such that they are said to be the reddest in all of Westeros. Many of the remaining small- folk believe that the roses are fed on the blood of those who died in the plague.

i

NFLuENCE

: a

Ny

Due to its questionable history, Riverthorn is not necessarily an attractive territory to one of the great houses, but to those with sufficient foresight its value is unmistakable. Riverthorn could either be foisted off on a house of little influence in order to gain an ally of that house, or it could be claimed by a more powerful house with an eye towards its long-term develop- ment. Either case allows for houses of all Influence levels to claim Riverthorn, though any that do are likely to be treated as if they too had the plague until the past is forgotten.

Any house that gains Riverthorn would be well suited to invest Influence in an heir as soon as possible. In a region known for plague, nothing creates a feeling of security in the continuance of government like knowing an heir is ready should the head of the house not survive. If the heir is abroad, so much the better.

L

aNDS

: 38

OrMOrE

, i

NVESTED

: 38

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PLaiNSwiTHgraSSLaND

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rOaD

,

aNDriVEr

(

x

2) 28, S

uLLa

(

HaMLET

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Riverthorn has a sizable plot of well-developed land, most of which has easy access to water. Due to the Forks of the Tri- dent, Riverthorn has easy transportation and irrigation, but House Orell was not content to rely on the rivers for transit. Mager Orell began an aggressive road building campaign that lasted the entirety of House Orell’s reign and has linked all the major regions of Riverthorn with well-maintained roads.

These have suffered only slightly in recent years, even with a lack of upkeep.

The land of Riverthorn itself is very fertile and very flat. While farms occupy the majority of the land, most have lain fallow since the plague; many still bear the burn marks of the fires used by the Targaryens to cleanse the region. There are no forests in the territory and only one hill—called Pyre Hill due to the many bodies that were burned there during the plague. Smallfolk say that Pyre Hill is haunted by the ghosts of those who were burned there, and one can find the remains of bones scattered all across the hill.

The hamlet of Sulla is the only settlement of note in Ri- verthorn, and it is little more than a score of buildings that existed primarily to support the household of Rose Hall. Its houses are remarkably well built for smallfolk homes due House Orell wanting to project an image of wealth on any who visited, but much like Rose Hall these buildings are a shadow of their former selves. These structures are primarily wood with stone foundations and include an inn, two taverns, a tradehouse, a smithy, and a sept. Only a few smallfolk re- main in Sulla and those that do are extremely suspicious of visitors. The smallfolk mostly work the fields around Sulla and live at a subsistence level. These farmers bear the scars of the pox that claimed their hamlet.

L

aw

: 30

OrLESS

While there are few inhabitants in Riverthorn to cause trou- ble, there has been no law and order to speak of in the area since the plague. The specter of the plague has kept most scavengers and bandits away, but not all. Most of the high value items have already been removed from Riverthorn so the scavengers are few these days, but a number of bandit gangs have taken to hiding in the outskirts of Riverthorn since many outsiders are unwilling to chase them there.

Luckily due to the sparse nature of its population, restoring order should be relatively easy if the new house has sufficient troops. Guarding Sulla and the main farms will be far easier than securing the borders of Riverthorn from those who would use its reputation as a shield from pursuit.

P

OPuLaTiON

: 15

OrLESS

Unsurprisingly there are few people in Riverthorn in the wake of the plague. Those that remain are mostly pox-scarred sur- vivors or more recent arrivals risking disease for the chance at taking on one of the abandoned farms in the region. In either case the inhabitants are a fearful, suspicious bunch that are des- perate for someone to lead them out of their miserable lives but also fear the plague’s return if the excesses of House Orell re- turn. The locals have become very superstitious since the plague, blaming all manner of ill omens or acts by House Orell for their misfortune. The smallfolk continue to see such portents all around them and many believe that the plague will return to finish the job it started. This fatalistic streak is an impediment to restoring the region to its previous glory, since the smallfolk all believe whatever they rebuild will be torn down again.

P

OwEr

: a

Ny

Soldiers are not the key to restoring Riverthorn, so the house that claims it need not have any specific level of martial pow- er. Soldiers will be useful in keeping order and making sure the smallfolk stay in line, but a heavy hand will only get the lord so far in Riverthorn. The locals are already completely demoralized and have lost their families and friends, so it will take more than force to motivate them. Military force will be useful in bringing law to the region, particularly in hunt- ing down those scavengers or bandits that may be using the reputation of the region to hide.

While Riverthorn has several rivers within its territory they are not deep enough for ships of any great size. Infantry, cav- alry, and archers are the most useful troops in Riverthorn, par- ticularly cavalry due to the roads allowing them great mobility

and the flat terrain making them useful in most any battle. Due to the lack of population it is unlikely the ruling house will be able to count on smallfolk levies for emergencies.

w

EaLTH

: a

Ny

While Riverthorn has a great deal of money invested in its infrastructure, including a market, a smithy, and a sept, none of these facilities have the personnel required to operate. Also these structures have suffered years of neglect so getting them operational again is going to be about as expensive as build- ing them from scratch. While Riverthorn has the capacity to generate great wealth once its farms return to productivity, the owning House will need years of effort to get it to that

In document PUBLICACIONES DEL DEFENSOR DEL MENOR DE ANDALUCÍA Y DEL DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO ANDALUZ RELACIONADAS CON MENORES (página 190-195)