Maelstrom Campaign - Major Nations: Flambard

Flambard is an ancient kingdom in the Northern seas. Much respected by all of its neighbours, it has long been a bastion of civilisation and good practice. The Flembic kings show the kind of wisdom that only results from an ancient and wise tradition in leadership. The king seldom interferes directly in the affairs of his people, rather responsibility resides with a plethora of powerful noble men and women who either hold high offices or else run monopolies for the Crown. They in turn appoint their own staff of professional and well-educated advisors and servants to conduct their day to day affairs leaving the nobility and the gentry free to pursue their own interests.

In theory, the borders of Flambard extend to cover great swathes of farmland across the north of the continent of Sentoris. Although the farmlands are profitable and important in their own way, they are entirely unremarkable and of little interest to a gentleman or gentlewoman. The mountainous island of Ter, home to Terino, the largest city in the Known World, is what most people imagine when they think of Flambard. And so they should, for this astonishing island is the birthplace of elegance and nobility. To live on Terino is to live a life inspired by the very idea of style. Here the gentlemen and ladies effortlessly embody every well-bred man's desire to dress, act and speak with eloquence and sophistication. To some tastes they go too far, the latest fashion for great swathes of lace in shirt cuffs and necks for ladies as well as gentlemen may seem dandified to some, but fashion always begins in Flambard and it never stops there long.

Sadly, great wealth always seems to attract envious and greedy individuals. The slums of Terino, known as the Lower City in polite society, are home to the incurably recidivist and are entirely without redeeming features.

First Meeting
It is uncivil in the extreme to be seen conducting mercantile business in public, so visiting merchants are advised to make the acquaintance of a local notable and seek an invitation to one of the gentles’ clubs or wits’ salons. Between them, the gentles’ clubs offer every conceivable kind of entertainment and indulgence for a man or woman of sophisticated and complex tastes. Membership of one's club is part and parcel of nobility, and one's choice of club (and a club's choice in one) is as much a testament to social standing as any other could be. Noted clubs such as Langars and Bites are old, even ancient, and their dark oak-panelled walls have seen many matters of great import discussed and fortunes made or destroyed in a single night.

The wits’ salons, most notably di Racines, are more cultured, offering a place of social discourse, literary discussion, and philosophical debate. These are places where the intellect is glorified, where wit and repartee are the weapons of choice. Due to the nature of some of the combatants, the wits’ salons are more often a far more dangerous choice for an evening out than the gentles’ clubs.

Fashion
In Flambard it is almost as important to follow fashion as it is not to be seen to be following fashion. Whilst the majority of the population from the Lower City cannot afford the heights of fashion and wear simple tunics and trousers, amongst the wealthy elite a cavalcade of powdered wigs, elegantly embroidered doublets and corsetry is the norm. It is common for both gentlemen and gentlewomen to powder their faces and apply 'beauty spots'. Current fashion is with the embroidered frock coat, although an impressive military uniform is still a popular choice amongst the rakish. Anything that embodies good taste whilst demanding the eye's attention will be well received in Flembic society.

Religion
Katerine di Capell, a notorious Flembic wit, once claimed that dressing well was the only genuinely held devotion in Flambard. Apparently it might not get you into heaven but it will get you an invitation to the king's chambers which is almost as good and a lot more immediate. This irreverence not withstanding, the nobility of Flambard hold the faith of both the Teacher and the Smith in good esteem. There are several massive churches in Terino, some so tall they rival the Teacher’s cathedral in neighbouring Yugorsk.

Worship of the Merchant is encouraged amongst those for whom hard work is important. Priests of the Huntress and the Weaver have little to offer the sophisticated people of Flambard, and as the lower classes have better things to occupy their minds with, devotees of these faiths are advised to keep their opinions to themselves when in polite society.

Trade
There are more serfs than farmland in Flambard so there is little market here for working slaves. However an unusual Gnoll domestic or a Tritoni gladiatrix is very saleable as an oddity. Grain and wool are the most likely cargoes to buy from Flambard as they are produced in massive quantities from the fertile farmland and brought to Terino by ship. A fine rapier or a accurate pistol, not some squalid Gnoll item, but one suitable for a lady or gentlemen to use in a duel, will always find a ready buyer here.

Fashion is the trade of Flambard. Stataines is the oldest established tailor in Terino and in recent years their frock coats have demanded a king's ransom. Lace is very popular at the moment but the well dressed Flembic lady or gentleman is always looking to the future. Fine fabrics, expensive dyes, scents and perfumes, rare jewellery are all bought and sold in the well-to-do streets of Flambard.

And so it began......

Dawn breaks, war looms, the evil Lord is gathering his armies to wage a campaign of destruction upon the free peoples of the world. It is up to I, Sir Maximilan Pegasus to stop him, with my trusted band of adventurers we must gather the enchanted sword of Tek, the Shield of Way-Lem and the amulet of Subsidence and together we shall slay this abomination! “TIME FREEZE” And bam, the fantasy world fades away, the enchanted sword of Tek in my hand is a rubber sword smothered in coloured ribbons with a laminated card cable tied to the hilt, I look down and I’m wearing plastic armour and unflattering heropants, and the magical world of my imagination washes away to reveal a field in Wigan, but you know what? It’s larp and I’m a larper, it’s what I do.
I started larping when I was 17, I’d never role-played before, I’d never played D&D or Warhammer, never played WoW or any form of online game, I’d never even read Lord of the Rings, I feel somewhat privileged that I hadn’t done any of those things, I think it gave me an untainted attitude towards what larp could be, I had no preconceptions about saving the maiden fair, slaying the dragon or smiting the liche, to me it was just a new thing to try.
It was cold, really cold, 10am on a September morning, the rain was battering down and I’d been given a faux fur tunic, a mouldy old sword and been pointed towards a man and told, “You’re monstering, there’s the ref he’ll tell you what to do.” I obeyed, I played wave after wave of zombies, orcs and various line monsters and to be honest, was cold, bored and hungry. That is, until lunchtime, the teams switched sides, I got into the kit I’d scrounged up, as with most first timers, a black trenchcoat. I took the mouldy old sword, stood with my fellow adventurers and it hit me, I’m a god damn hero!
Pow, there it was, a new larper was born.