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The Vespiary, an order dedicated to The Unquenchable Fire.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, elves and followers of Calistria (characters core alignment CG or CN).

Purpose: Intrigue, sex, espionage, assassination.

Play-Style: Role-Play or PvP.

Description: The Vespiary is an order of Calistria followers nesting in a brothel near Blackwood Glade but freely roaming around the Echo Wood. Most are elves, but many are also denizens of the River Kingdom simply enjoying the service of the Lady in the Room or her priestess. Aside the few Priestess, the order is mostly attracting bards and rogues. Although the Lady in the Room is known - if not revered - in most human cities, the presence of her followers in such a crude place like Echo Wood would be unusual without so many elves nearby. Contrarily to their more isolationists brethren of Blackwood Glade, the elves of The Vespiary are mingling freely with all the denizens of Echo Wood, frequently seen in all inns offering their services to anyone with a grudge, an interesting story, carnal desires or a need for some mundane potions to attract love or get rid of its results. Less seen are the Black Hornets, followers of the order lurking in the dark to learn secrets never spoken in a tavern or an alcove, they usually only show themselves to deliver the lethal poisons covering their blades against those who attracted the ire of the Savored Sting and her followers.

Goals: The Vespiary will hold an Inn and will be sponsored by Blackwood Glade, however its players will be encouraged to visit as much as possible all the settlements to be seen everywhere; including those locations forbidding prostitution or whatever illicit activities supported by Calistria by using a cover. Black Hornets will on their side be encouraged to be seen nowhere but intrude in dangerous places or spy on military operations of third parties, taking opportunities to hit whenever they see a target worth of the Savored Sting. The long term purpose of the Vespiary is to know as much as possible of the Echo Woods events to gain power and eventually report critical information to the temple of Calistria in Iadara. Although The Vespiary would always defend it's sponsoring settlement, it has no second thoughts about alliance with questionable parties (even evil ones) as long as it fits its agenda. The Vespiary intend to be an information broker and intermediate for whoever has a dirty or cover job to be done, or whoever is looking for such a job.

Role-Play, the Velvet Wing: This branch of the order is for players interested in role-play and more specifically cleric/ bard / entertainers characters. The Vespiary offer a very good opportunity to interact in meaningful ways with all the different parties of the game while having an agenda driving it's interactions and role-play style. A good knowledge of the cult of Calistria is a must, but knowing her portfolio is already enough opportunities for any good RPer. Although not it's sole focus, The Vespiary is a company promoting sexual RP (Callistria priestess are known for their BDSM practices) and for this reason will require that players interested in it be adults to avoid any shenanigans with the game conditions of use (unknown at the time of this writing).

PvP, the Black Hornets: The cover ops branch of the Vespiary is for players more interested in solo PvP, this branch is mostly reserved for Rogues/Assassin or eventually mage/rogues profiles. Black Hornets will assist the Deathwatch company when they are on a same bounty, but most of the time will play solo and track designated targets provided by the Velvet Wing. If you like the thrill of spying on others unseen or of flagging a target for assassination in a heavily fortified encampment, this is a role that The Vespiary will support. The Black Hornets players will have to thread very carefully with their reputation given that targets could be designated by RP activities (and leadership approval) and those may cause loss of reputation, although the company resources will be used to allow assassination missions within the PvP rules established by the game.

Organisation/Leadership: In-Game the Vespiary is lead by a Priestess of Calistria, the players assuming the leadership roles will have to use a female elven priest alt to act IC if their main is not one. The company will be led by two players elected among their peers. These players will also be the representatives of The Vespiary at the Blackwood Council. Members of The Vespiary are acting as free agents but will meet regularly (likely IC for the Velvet Wing) to share their information and maximize the money or power they could gain from the information they gathered.

Joining: Due to game mechanics constraints, character core alignment cannot be CE (the company will be aligned CG although practically it will act as CN) allowed core alignments are thus NG, CG and CN. The company is also complying with The Blackwood Glade charter and thus need to have half of its members being elves, as long as this ratio is maintained any race can join the Vespiary providing the characters are dedicated to Calistria. Roles outside of Cleric, Bard and Rogue are of course welcome especially to support the company. Contact the Vespiary via it's settlement: Blackwood Glade

P.S. For Nihimon, The Vespiary is the re-looking and adaptation of The Order of the Unquenchable Fire

You spot a conversation in Thornkeep's Inn...
- "Where is Blackwood ? I though this area was the Echo Woods ?"
- "Don't be fooled. Thornkeep is not that deep in the Forest, the Echo Woods are extending dozen of miles North and East from this place. With such a vast forest it's no surprise that we have named each part of it more specifically than 'Echo Woods'."
- "OK, That makes sense, still where is this Blackwood, and why the name ?"
- "Hey do I look like a cartographer or a ranger to you ? Still, bring me another pint and I'll tell you what I know."

Knowledge(Local) DC 12: "Blackwood is somewhat in the middle of Southwood, that's far South from Thornkeep on the other side of the Marshes and West of the Monastery. To go there from Thornkeep, safest route is to take Dagger Road to the South till you see the trail turning right to Brighthaven, then follow through the Keeper's Pass. Although it's known for its rare plants and fancy birds, place is named Blackwood cause it's also cursed and dangerous. Some hunters or gatherers have the balls to go there but some never come back, I heard of intelligent animals avoiding traps and attacking armed men. Only keepers of the Green Faith are crazy enough to stay in the place, recently joined by some elves. Their lot is not more talkative or amiable than feral animals anyway. Wretched place and people I'm telling you !"

Knowledge(Geography) DC 20: The South-Western tip of Echo Woods - named Southwood by the locals - were known to host modicum of highly valuable blackwood trees. It is very likely that the place would be located here and of course named after those trees. To reach Southwood from Fort Inevitable, one would take the Juliver Road in direction of Sezgin, then after a few miles leave it to the East and reach the southernmost limit of the Forest when it is receding to the plains.

Knowledge(Local) DC 25 (Elves +10 or Druids +15): Druids call this place the Blackwood Glade for some of the most ancients blackwood trees of the forest, old enough to have survived the Starfall. It was one of the minor shrines of the faith, used for ceremonies every ten years or so. A few centuries ago a lumber mill started operation nearby, decided to take advantage of the blackwood trees. When the Druids discovered the extent of the depredations committed in a few years, their anger was such that the lumbermill plagued by deaths and accidents stopped operations in less than a year. The druids have since maintained a presence in the area and scared anyone approaching their sanctuary. Recently, some elves came to the place asking to settle and agreed with the druids that as long as they would be there the place would be safe against anyone who would threaten the venerable trees.

Knowledge(History) DC 27 (Elves +10, Language(Elvish) +2): Before the Starfall, the River Kingdoms were just a primeval forest known as Telvurin by the elves and only used as a hunting ground by the elven court. The elves had in this area a hunting lodge named Bâr-Morivatar, which in Taldane could be translated as "the blackwood house".

blackwoodglade.com

So I have found that Taur-im-Duinath is not the only settlement with a pledge to protect nature but is in line on the matter with two other companies: The Viridian Circle and The Vigilant. Maybe others have the same aim, companies or individuals, do not hesitate to manifest yourself here and provide your input.

This thread is specifically for you if your aim is not just to be the "defenders of nature" because you love frolicking in the forest RP-style but want to weight in on the evolution of the game as intended by GW. To quote a certain Goblin: Nature defilers will be our content and we will be their content.

What I mean here is that we, "Defender of Nature" will actively Feud against those who "Defile Nature": We will attempt to raze their outposts or PoI, it's that simple.

However, Nature PvP-ing need to be meaningful and understood by the community, it is not an excuse to raid the outposts with the best risk/benefit ratio like any bandit would. Companies need to know that they have nothing to fear from the Druids and their allies as long as they are not defiling nature, and conversely prepare for the worst if they are.

The problem with "Defiling Nature" is that there are no explicit mechanisms implemented in the game like "Evil" or "Criminal", etc. There are no PvP flags related to "Nature Defiling", although this concept is central to the Ethos of Druids, Rangers and Elves (and probably some Gnomes an Hobbits latter-on).

In this thread I would like to start working on some Rules of Engagement triggering the "Nature Defiler" meta-game flag and hopefully obtain an agreement among all the groups motivated in "Defense of Nature PvP" to follow these rules (and very likely join their efforts to eradicate said target).

This will be a work in progress until the start of the EE, given that the more feedback we have from GW, the more we will be able to adjust these rules to have meaning. Outpost types and outpost upgrades are very likely huge variables here.

Here are some of the rules I envision
1) Alignment do not matter: "Nature Defilers" good or evil, chaotic or lawful will be subject to the same wrath of the protectors of Nature.
2) Size matter: A more developed Outpost/PoI flagged "Defiler" is more likely to be targetted than a small, underdeveloped one.
3) Mining in Forests: All Mines outposts in Forest Hexes are flagged "Defiler"
4) Abusive Hunting: More than one Gaming Operations Outpost per Hex is flagged "Defiler"
5) Abusive Timbering: More than one Timber Mill per Hex is flagged "Defiler".

Any other ideas ? I think we could also discuss the potential organization of the Defenders of Nature, I like the concept of the Viridian Circle that would be an umbrella for all the operations.

I initially made a thread about this topic on Taur-im-Duinath's forum to discuss it among guildmates. The purpose was to have a consistent background among Elves (consistent background do not mean consistent individual behavior, Dwarves may be predictable, Elves less so).

However given that I saw what I think is a misconception about Dwarven/Elven relations in severals threads on this forum, I think it's worth raising the point here and see your opinion on the matter.

For those having a superficial understanding of Elves, they would think they are so different to Dwarves that conflict should arise naturally among them.

But that would be like saying a cloud is in conflict with a boulder: Elves and Dwarves don't have bad relations, they have no relations, not only they very rarely meet, they have no reasons to do so. Absence of interaction is also absence of war and conflict. Both are isolationists, dislike outside interference in their internal affairs as much as they lack interest in meddling with other races and civilizations. Where Elves commune with the verdoyant forests, Dwarves revel in the deep caves. When Elves master the seas with their swift ships, Dwarves carve the mountains with massive fortresses.

Not only Elves and Dwarves do not compete for territories or resources, they are both defensive rather than expansionists. When in conflict with other races it is never against each other but rather to reclaim lost territories to common foes: Goblinoids and Orcs. If an Elf and a Dwarf start having an argument, just put an Orc in the middle, you'll see how they can be friendly and cooperative.

This lack of cultural antagonism should lead to individual encounters that are most likely ignorance of each other and more rarely honest curiosity. Of course, providing enough interaction, prejudice and misunderstanding can lead to insult and maybe conflict, but Elves and Dwarves are no more likely to fight each others when their path crosses than two humans with radically different personalities, be it on a market or in a tavern (plus Dwarves would need far more alcohol than humans to lost their temper anyway).

For these reasons, I think that it's funny and classic to have Elves and Dwarves laugh or mock each other IC and OOC, but no one should expect strong antagonism among the two races, and even less so full-on war because of these differences and radical cultural gaps.