 HeroQuest
 Copyright © 2005 |
House
Ganzak
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| Note! This is a fan contribution. The information may be contradicted by official material. |
House Ganzak dates back to the old Carmanian empire,
when it held the lands around what is now Ikarvos from the Carmanian
Shah. Much time has passed, and the original line of holders of
the barony died out, their cousins took, and their cousins after
them. But the name and some of the traditions, of the house
survive. Today, it holds much of the land around Ikarvos from the
Satrap of Doblian
| Common
Names |
Lords of Ikarvos | ||||||||||
| Form: | Carmanian style
noble house, much modified by adoption of Naverian and Lunar
traditions. |
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| Typical Homeland: | Almost everyone in this house lives in or near Ikarvos, on the frontier with the trolls of the Yolp mountains | ||||||||||
| Ideology: | "We take care of our own, here" | ||||||||||
| Look and Feel: | Feudal border
lordship, with private armed forces to defend its holdings from
marauding trolls, and its own, mostly traditional Naverian, legal
system. |
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| Purpose: |
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| Headquarters: | The house
headquarters is the seat of the House, located on a hill above Ikarvos. |
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| Reactions: | Most people
outside the House are pretty much indifferent. It’s just another
local noble house in Doblian, to most people. Most people within the house are reasonably happy with it. Taxes could be lighter, of course; sometimes Lord Tiyanag makes a mistake, and there are more people and less to go around than there used to be, it looks like. But most of them cannot imagine life without the House; those that could shudder at the prospect of not having an organization to resist troll attack. Members of the Seekers of the Goddess Within tend to despise it, since it focuses on purely secular concerns and is openly indifferent to most aspects of the Lunar way. They fear that if they accept the claim of House Ganzak to the lands they are occupying, that they will be taxed, their attention diverted from seeking enlightenment to increasing the power of this insignificant local house, and their children eventually reduced to the status of peasants. The Sultan of Doblian pretty much ignores House Ganzak. They are far off, not strong enough to cause trouble, and not rich enough to be a useful source of money when the kingdom has a financial crisis. The Imperial administration also considers House Ganzak to be insignificant. The Anti-Troll League looks on the House as a potential ally in the war they want to start against the trolls. The Yolp trolls have a wary respect for the fighting abilities of House Ganzak in opposing small scale raids; but think it would be no obstacle to doing real damage to the Empire in a serious war. |
Resources
| Leader: | Lord Tiyanag, the
second son of his father Lord Yanistar, was a career lunar army officer
and member of the Yanafal cult, when his elder brother and intended
successor died in a skirmish facing marauding trolls. He is of
medium height, with red hair and blue eyes; dresses well but not
outstandingly so for the lord of a house. His view of life is
much influenced by his lunar army and cult background. He tends
to leave justice to his Lawspeaker, and business affairs to his General
Secretary. He has embarked on a modest military buildup, and
thinks a conflict with the trolls is probably inevitable. He
supports the Anti-Troll League, since he thinks it is the best hope to
get the heartland to wake up and prepare for the war he thinks is
inevitable. |
| Renowned Members: | Zetes
the Lawspeaker, adviser to Lord Tiyanag on legal, judicial and in the
rare cases it is relevant, scholarly, matters. He is old, short
and walks with limp, but is an expert on Naverian culture, tradition,
and customary law; he also knows a fair amount about Carmanian culture
and tradition. Finally, he is widely read in the teachings of the
Goddess, though of relatively low rank in Lunar religion. Gylippos is the leader of the Ganzak Lightbearers, a small group of fighters worshipping Yelmalio. Gylippos has mastered the javelin, spear and shield fighting, and axe and shield fighting for close in work; he has also mastered riding, cavalry combat, and tracking. Gylippos has iron armor, an iron axe, a gold tipped long spear, and an exotic magical crystal from far off Dragon Pass. Personally, he is tall, slim, with dark brown hair, and looks very intense. He is not only the leader of the Lightbearers, but also the Champion of House Ganzak, entitled and obligated to represent the house in single combat. He not only looks intense, he is intense; he devotes most of his time and energy to preparing and training for what he sees as the imminent and inevitable war with the trolls. He is ambivalent about Lunar religion, he admires its idealism and some of its teachings; but he thinks it is unrealistic to expect that the trolls will become "Us". He also thinks the Empire he is guarding is going to hell, and rather too quickly for his liking; but doesn’t see anything he can do about it. Zalanus is the house "Man of the City", responsible for business and financial affairs, including the war chest. He is half Carmanian and half Naverian, short, clever and cynical, a member of both KetTuros and Etyries. Devoted to the house, he is incorruptible, but a little too inclined to evaluate the welfare of the house by the size of its money hoard. He is fairly widely traveled, having been to Glamour, Carantes, and Doblian city. For reasons none one really understands, he is strongly against the Carmanians, because they keep Pelandans as slaves; he has even contributed to a charity to buy Pelandans out of slavery. Vologesia is the house sorceress. She is a follower of the path of Jakaleel the Spindle Hag, and has several apprentices. She is also intensely Lunar, and has a higher rank, and more knowledge of the Lunar way, than you would expect a House sorceress to have. She is a fairly old woman, still decent looking but she has had three kids, and much prefers her quarters in the castle to field investigation. As a sorceress she is of middling ability, good enough to be on her own, but not good enough to be widely known in the sorcery community. With her apprentices to help, she can do a lot to increase the combat power of the house, but she does not have much magic relevant in investigation. Alzak "the Admin Guy" is the House specialist in dealing with the lunar bureaucracy. When paperwork finds its way to the House, he is responsible for insuring that it is dealt with in a way that doesn’t get anyone else in trouble and doesn’t bring a ton of additional paperwork in its wake. He is an old, crafty man with considerable skill at intrigue; but he likes a quiet life, while he grew up in the area he had a fairly long career in the bureaucracy and is familiar with Glamour. Godan the Godly is actually not a member of the group. He came here about a year ago and has been living in the castle as a "guest" of Tiyanag. He is known for his piety, and worships both solar and lunar deities. He is fluent in both Dara Happan and New Pelorian, and has a small library, most of which he will not let outsiders touch. He has had a number of long private conversations with Tiyanag, lasting late into the night. Locals fear, envy and resent his apparent influence. Lady Akatsiya is Lord Tiyanag’s chief wife, having married him back when he was a struggling junior army officer with modest prospects. She is quite good looking, knows it, and is willing to flirt a little with outsiders. On the other hand, she dresses very conservatively, and never goes very far with her flirtation She is middle aged with three children, and a fairly committed Deezolan. A shrewd observer, she doubt the view that war with the trolls is inevitable, because she thinks the trolls are not strong enough to win and therefore probably will not attack; this leaves the decision between peace and war up to the Empire. Lady Akatsiya has the Deezola initiate keyword at 7W, and has a beautiful silver tiara that adds +5 to her persuasion skills skills; it also adds 2 to her Attractive keyword.. Vahunam is a Carmanian hazar in the service of the house, son of a Carmanian hazar in the service of the house, who in turn was the son of a Carmanian commoner promoted to hazar status by the then head of the house for killing two trolls single handedly. He leads the Ganzak hazari, and looks the part, a big man on a big horse with very military bearing. He is middle aged, and has mastered lance, sword and shield, and cavalry combat. He has served against the Pentans, and is unusual among Carmanian hazari in that his patron deity is Kastok and he is a mounted archer in addition to being a lancer. He doesn’t like trolls much, but has no opinion on the inevitability of war with the trolls. He likes to dance, and sing; though many wish his enthusiasm for singing were matched by some skill as well. A nice guy when he is not fighting, he doesn’t like to think too much, and leaves decision making to Lord Tiyanag. |
| Membership: | There
are several different categories of members. "Slaves" are people, mostly convicted criminals or the destitute who have sold themselves into slavery. There are about three hundred actual slaves belonging to members of the house, ranging from Hypatius the Scholar, who is a tutor bought by Lord Tiyanag to educate his children, to a number of quarry workers. They are legally chattel, and most have little influence. "Serfs", peasants traditionally attached to the house. These are mostly Pelandans, who used to be slaves but are now free under the empire. In practice, there has not been much change; they are still mostly farmers, they still pay about forty percent of their crop in taxes, paid mostly in kind; they are still entitled to protection, mostly from the trolls which they usually get; and they are judged under traditional Naverian law. There are about 4000 serfs, mostly of Naverian ancestry, including about 3200 farmers, 400 farmers, and 500 shepherds. Serfs have a very modest level of military training and armament, and are called on to fight only in dire emergency. "Citizens" include residents of Ikarvos and some of the richer peasants who have converted to the Lunar way. They have a claim to judgment by imperial justice, some other legal privileges, and generally higher status. On the other hand, they are obliged to swear allegiance to the emperor, own armor and weapons, to appear at militia training so armed, and to pay taxes in cash, not kind. There are about 1000 citizens, most of whom live in Ikarvos. Most merchants are citizens. "Hazari" are the professional fighters. They are obliged to own armor and weapons as required when this status was granted, to train to a fairly high level of competence with those weapons, to swear allegiance to both the Emperor and the head of House Ganzak as the representative of the Emperor, and to show up ready to fight, and fight when so commanded by the head of the house. They are forbidden to engage in trade in competition with citizens. On the other hand, they are immune from taxation, a very valuable privilege. For most legal purposes, they are treated as if they were citizens. There are about 150 hazari. "Viziri" are the scholarly and priestly class. Any priest, a number of clerks, etc, are classed as viziri. They are treated as citizens, except that they are usually exempt from taxation. There are about 30-35 of them. "Carmanoi" or nobles, lead the House, and make pretty much all of the actual decisions. At one time, all of them were ethnic Carmanians belonging to this hereditary class. Now, anyone recognized by Lord Tiyanag as a "Carmanoi" in a formal public audience is a Carmanos in the eyes of the locals. "Slaves" are people, mostly convicted criminals or the destitute who have sold themselves into slavery. There are about three hundred actual slaves belonging to members of the house, ranging from Hypatius the Scholar, who is a tutor bought by Lord Tiyanag to educate his children, to a number of quarry workers. They are legally chattel, and most have little influence. |
| Other Contacts: | The
house has standing alliances with a number of houses
behind it, which depend on it to protect them from the trolls.
They usually have about a twenty or so "gentlemen adventurers" from
these houses, receiving military training and serving on patrols
against the trolls; they also receive a modest tribute which allows
them to maintain a larger military force than they otherwise might. Membership in the Sons of Doblian Association gives it some ability to call on other noble houses in Doblian for help, access to a trading syndicate for purposes of investing funds, and contacts in the capital. Membership in the Anti-Troll League gives it the ability to obtain information, and misinformation about the trolls, some contacts in Glamour, and coordinate with other groups on the Doblian - Yolp border which are not members of the Sons of Doblian. Lord Tiyanag once served with a senior officer in the Bloodspillers, Jar-Eel’s regiment. He is rumored to have some connection with Jar-Eel and her group of lunar heroes. How real this connection is has not yet been tested; but Lord Tiyanag has been careful to make sure that the troll Argan Argar cult has learned about it. The house has made a habit of sending younger sons, and some daughters, to serve in the lunar army; they have fairly extensive connections in the army. The house is thought to have a firm alliance with the Anti-Troll League, anti-troll league representatives are often in Ikarvos, and some widely publicized "troll atrocities" have been committed on their lands. The Anti-Troll league is rumored to have hired some mercenaries to engage in reprisal raids, based on their lands. Alzak knows a number of senior lunar bureaucrats; he is surprisingly well informed about events in the capital for someone living on the border; and may still have some influence if he has the right case to make. Vologesia knows a number of Jakaleel the Spindle Hag, and they frequently interact with her. How much they would be willing to do for her is unknown, possibly even to them. |
| Military Power: |
The
core of the House’s military power is in its Hazari. These are divided
into three groups: heavy cavalry, peltasts, and archers. The heavy cavalry is organized Carmanian style, into squads of 12. They have five squads of twelve, which normally fight in two ranks. In three of the squads, the front rank has armored Carmanian chargers; in the others they just have regular horses. The heavy cavalry is led by Vahuham above. Their primary role is to deter troll raids into the lowland, by ambushing returning troll raiding parties, preferably in the daylight, and cutting them to pieces. The peltasts, known as the Lightbearers, fight in the hills, defend the castle, etc. Equipped with long spear, 2 javelins, shield, and medium armor, they can serve as spearmen or as skirmishers. They also have swords or axes for close in work. There are 8 squads of them, 4 with eight members and composed of Daxdarius worshippers, and 4 with seven members each who worship Seven Mothers. Each peltast must have some light magic, since one of their major roles is to provide light if the trolls force a night battle on House Ganzak. There are also 4 squads of 8 archers each. They worship Kenstrata, and have archery magic. They are led by a master of the Bow, Mirzan. For military magic they have a group of seven lunar mages, trained by the Heartland Corps, which is mostly composed of locals who went to the Imperial University. Officially, they are part of the lunar army, have sworn allegiance to the Emperor, and are citizens, not house Hazari, but their leader, Prusius, will obey Tiyanag or any of the military leaders of the house forces. The exact capabilities of this group are a military secret, but they are rumored to fairly capable. They have a guiding spirit of their own. There are about a dozen "gentleman adventurers", who are mostly the sons of Carmanoi and hazari from houses with adjacent lands that do not happen to border the trolls, getting a little military experience. They also include three or four adventurer types, wandering fighters with skills that might be valuable, good enough to train house troops, or whatever, who live as guests at the castle. Some of them are thought to be agents of the Anti-Troll league. A couple of dozen of the hunters and shepherds are good at tracking, with missile weapons, etc and might volunteer for an expedition against the trolls. The rest can fight with missile weapons in an emergency, but are not normally expected to fight militarily. In an emergency the citizens are trained as lunar spearmen, and can fight. Since they mostly practice on an occasional holiday, are not disciplined as soldiers, etc; they are really useful only for holding the town and castle walls against the trolls. Some of the young hotheads do train regularly, might want to become adventurers, and might be persuaded with the right arguments and inducements to join an expedition against the trolls. The House has several militarily significant major magic items: Ganzak’s Sword: the sword of the founder, Ganzak himself, this allows wielder to inflict "True Death", which resists resurrection magic, and adds a +4 to the wielder's sword or sword and shield combat skills. It also has Humakht magical abilities which it can use as if it were a separate character with the Humakht initiate keyword, seeing through the eyes of the wielder. Currently, Vahunam is the wielder, because Lord Tiyanag is a Yanafali and the sword loses its powers in his hands. Lord Tiyanag has a silver Yanafali scimitar, given to him by the Empire for distinguished service. It adds a +2 to the wielder's Yanafal scimitar and shield, and military tactics related skills, and has a spirit within it that has the Adoration keyword.. This is his personally, but since he wields it on behalf of the house, it counts as house magic. The Spear of Saborius is traditionally wielded by the commander of the Lightbearers; and currently wielded by Gylippos. It is gold tipped and burns the enemy as if it were a 3 yard salamander (Anaxial's Roster p.201). It also adds +3 to the wielder’s Spear and Shield Combat skill, and +3 to the wielder's Daxdarius cult magic skills, if and only if the wielder is a Daxdarius initiate. Lord Tiyanag has a Scry Block ring; it blocks attempts to sense him, his utterances, etc by magic with a skill of 5W3. Vologesia has a wand that adds 2 to all Jakaleel the |
| Other Resources: |
The
house has a fortified Carmanian style castle, with round towers,
overlooking Ikarvos. Ikarvos itself has walls to protect it
against the trolls, and is friendly to the house. The house has
land enough, mostly in concentrated holding around Ikarvos, to feed its
people, with a small surplus. The house and its members have
about 5000 head of cattle and sheep, pasture for same; and own a number
of buildings, mostly in Ikarvos but also in Seksos and Oarz. The
house owns a brick town house in Doblian for those of its members who
are staying in the capital, and a similar town house in Glamour. The house sells furs, hides, beef and mutton to traders who take these goods to the cities. It also has two unusual economic assets. Euphamidas the Bold, about four generations back, went on a heroquest and stole the secret of beekeeping from Gorakiki Bee for himself and his descendants. These are now thriving, and there are now about 50 bee keeper citizens in the House, most of their product is exported and sells well in the cities. Also, Propertius, one of the Lightbearers fifty years back or so, went on a heroquest, thought to be a trickster quest from the results, though he would never discuss it. He came back with a magic barrel, that in the middle of Dark season, if filled with water melted from ice, turns that water into very, very, good beer. This beer sells at a high premium in Ulfilas and Doblian. The house has a war chest, in coin, gold and jewels, worth about 25, 000 lunars; mostly stored in the castle.It has about the same amount invested in various trading ventures, mostly with the Sons of Doblian Association. The house has a library, of about one hundred scrolls, which it keeps in the castle. It will let outsiders read these scrolls, if they have earned a favor from the house. The house has the right to call on a number of temples in Ikarvos for divination support; these include a Humakht temple, a Daxdarius temple, a Natha temple, and a Deezola temple. |
Organization
This is a fairly typical feudal house. People usually obey the head of their house; it is his obligation to obey the head of House Ganzak, Lord Tiyanag. Warriors and soldiers have to obey their commander as described above. Vahunam outranks Gylippos. Taxes are collected by the Man of the City and his clerks.Disputes are usually arbitrated and criminal cases tried, by a group of citizens (2, 4, or 6), plus the Lawspeaker, who decide guilt or innocence and then punishment by majority vote. Punishment is usually first proposed by the Lawspeaker, in accordance with the traditions of the community; if his first proposal is rejected, he makes another, etc. If someone is dissatisfied by the result, he or she can appeal the result to Lord Tiyanag, but Lord Tiyanag is known to dislike reversing verdicts endorsed by his lawspeaker and members of the community.
It is in effect a dictatorship, where what Lord Tiyanag says, goes, but it is a pretty easygoing dictatorship, where the dictator listens to a variety of people and is confident enough in his authority that he does not think he needs to be seen to be exercising it all of the time.
Membership Keyword
| Membership Requirements: | Descendants of
existing members are accepted as members, in the status of their
fathers (or rarely, mothers), upon reaching the age of fifteen; unless
they have done something that would lead someone to object. Outsiders may be adopted into the house, at the discretion of Lord Tiyanag. This is pretty much automatic when an outsider marries a member and comes to live on House land; it has been known to happen in other cases where the outsider had a skill valuable to the house and/or was liked by prominent members. Outsiders must be at least fifteen years of age to become members. Promotion from one status to another is uncommon, and at the discretion of Lord Tiyanag. The most common reason for status change is that a serf has become rich and decided to follow the Path of the Goddess. In this case, promotion to citizen status is almost automatic, if the new citizen is willing to swear allegiance to the Emperor and accept the obligations of his new status. Serfs, and citizens, who are strong, quick and would make good warriors, have almost been known to be promoted to hazar status, though this is much less common. |
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| Skills taught: |
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| Typical Personality Traits: | Fear trolls, easygoing, talkative | ||||||||||
| Magic: | Common
Magic: light, run fast, find lost sheep, help crops grow, sword sharp,
sure foot, etc. Theistic magic of appropriate Navarian, Carmanian or Lunar deity; for fighters most often Carmanian Humakht, Daxdarius War Bear, Seven Mothers or Yanafal May gain magic from House Founder Hero Ganzak |
Ganzak (Guardian)
Ganzak, the founder of the house, was a minor hero of Humakht who went on a heroquest, met Sorander himself, and was charged with guarding the border with the troll. He can also be summoned into a standard; any member of the house who has the appropriate magic to pray effectively to Carmanos, Ganzak, Humakht. Daxdarius War Bear, Seven Mothers or Yanafal, can cast his magic spells as if mentally linked to him
| Method: | Materialization |
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| Form: | Magical Black
Banner, when he materializes a drawing of a silver bear appears; since
he swore allegiance to the Lunar Emperor the outline of a red crescent
moon appears also in the upper right hand corner. In an audience,
he appears as a ghostly silvery bear spirit. |
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| Communication: | Fluent old Carmanian, old Pelandan, old Naverian, or New Pelorian, in the mind of the hearer, if and only if he or she prays to one of the deities above and wants to hear Ganzak | ||||||
| Guardian Requirements: | Twelve members of
the house, in an audience chamber, have to pray to him or one of the
associated deities above; for him to materialize and speak to them. On the battlefield, if at least sixty hazari of the house are present, and pray to him or one of the associated deities above, he can come into the standard and lend magic |
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| Functions: |
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