Flashpoints of the Archipelago are a new part of the Noble System designed to encourage random events in the Archipelago for the Nobles to be screwed by, or to make a profit and opportunity out of. Flashpoints are still relatively new, so there is this OOC explanation of what they mean, and how the Nobles should look at them. When we advance further into the system, the OOC explanations will cease, and it will just present the IC information. This is not the same as government flashpoints, which will be generated seperately, or the outcome of noble/wis orders, which are also reported separately. Flashpoints for the archipelago are randomly assigned each week, with a random chance out of 100 different events, both good and bad. Some events can occur in the same region, and some events are worse or better than others. Each week, there is a consistent running 10 flashpoints, so each time one is solved, another one is generated the week thereafter. Some flashpoints only last a single week, while some may last for weeks on end depending on how far the nobles will try to drive it (or how much they ignore it) It is important to remember before reading the prompts, that each nation is a sovereign entity. While civillian personel can move freely between the archipelago nations, some nations are more closed than others with identity checks, and generally speaking moving armed persons into another nation unless on clandestine missions is sure to cause a diplomatic feud. Fully armed soldiers are generally denied access to other nations, and seen as a declaration of war. The following groups can reply to these events: The Noble Families The WIS Groups The Synod Other players are encouraged to have roleplay input and seek out nobles if they want to get involved or have advise or their opinion and angle to give. In Adlerberg, the Archduchy of Calemberg, local scholars have conducted an anatomical theatre in front of a board of medics and military personel. Normally, this is not very unusual within the medical field, though it is unusual for military personel to be present. What is noteworthy about this particular dissection however, was that it was performed on an Allar, while the source of the body was glanced over. This caused an outrage among the Allar populations who heard of this event, citing that they could not accept such gross desecration of one of their dead by an Ailor anatomical theatre, without any clear evidence that the body was even acquired through legal means. It raised the further question that Allar don't have citizenship rights in the Archduchy of Calemberg, and the tongue-in-cheek accusation that the Calembergers just murdered any random Allar merchant on the street and used them for anatomical research. This particular flashpoint obviously concerns House Typhonus, and if they want to, the Digmaan Yaotl to respond to. There are several variables here: The Military showed up, maybe they learned something interesting? What is the actual status of Allar in Calemberg? Was the body the victim of a murder or an Allar who willingly gave their corpse to science? Is this a sign of an underlying racist agenda in Calemberg? Even families who are not the ones mentioned above could try to strike a profit out of this, either by stoking the dissent among the Allar, or by trying to calm it, or perhaps there is an angle not clearly defined in this hint. Pont Ouronne, owned by the Pays-Sud Viscounts as well as Tarinarra owned by the Vultarin Hegemony both suffer from a bout of influenza, killing many of the local citizens. Both these regions are heavy on trade, given that Latinarra supplies the western side of the Archipelago with coal, and that Pont Ouronne is the loading point for wine exports to Anglia and the Veer. Local medical personel are unable to handle the outbreak efficiently, and have been unable to source the disease or really establish a patient zero. This particular flashpoint is one that could fade away by itself, or become much, much worse. Additionally, noble families could try to outsmart the spread of the disease both by spreading it intentionally elsewhere, or taking up the momentous task of curing it. Or maybe there is more to the source, or maybe the disease should be let be to crash the local economy of these regions. So many options. Etho-Sirva, one of the provinces of the Duchy of Thessaly, is experiencing a sudden bout of anti-cleralism. Likely fueled by the local aspiring statesmen, the local populace has gone about denouncing the Etosian Reverends in the area, and started dismantling their political power in the Etosian parishes. This indirectly risks the stability of the region, but also the tithe income and militia granted by the Parishes to the Synod. This particular flashpoint has some more complex layers in that it concerns a Unionist denomination of Etosian Unionism, and represents a local struggle between Clerics and the Secular caste. There are so many options again here that it would be a crime to reveal some of them, but generally speaking, this is not only something the Synod can reply to, after all, when the Etosian faith wanes, there is place for it to be replaced, and when anti-cleralism starts, it can spread, or be crushed utterly. In the city state of Rakkai, one of the cities in the Hellatian City State Union, the local despot has fallen ill and transferred much of their power to the oligarchs of the region. This would normally not be unusual, were it not for the fact that these Oligarchs are trying to seize more power to themselves in the vacuum of the despot being absent. When infighting ensues among the nobles of such a City State, much profit is to be gained, either in finances or influence. Is there money to be made? Local support? What would happen if a noble family endorsed a specific candidate? Could a relative of a noble family try to seize power? Could the church try to expand its influence in the wake of the nobility causing chaos? So many options again. The province of Irvelle in the Principality of Basta under House Delmotte suffers a severe bout of after-summer storms, causing immense damage to the local port and dropping the Economic Stability from 70% to 65%. With much of the port sides of Irvelle wiped out, locals risk being cut off from coastal trade and luxury good supplies. Furthermore, much of the goods lost in port were blown out into the sea, while some ships sank, leading to shipwrecks with valuables inside. In Zuiderpoort, part of the Veer Autarky under House Tyrannian, a local captain has captured a number of skilled Privateers who were pirating off the coast of the Veer and Rivellia. Pirates are practically universally reviled among the local populations, but the military cannot deny their sailing expertise. Inversely, perhaps other nobles could find use of these men, though for the time being, they remain imprisoned in one of the bailiwicks in Zuiderpoort, awaiting judgement from the Duke. In Asti, part of the Vultarin Hegemony, the locals whisper of a dark artifact that has been found, or rather resurfaced, the reports are unclear. The Vultarins are not known to be superstitious, though the Iron Duke Lampero has shown little interest in chasing myth and rumor, and chosen to ignore it. Lampeporta, the capital of the Vultarin Hegemony, is seeing a major conflict in the officer corps of the Iron Duke's legions. While the standard in the rest of the Empire is to appoint lesser nobles to officer positions, the Iron Duke has increasingly been stacking the offer corps with commoner Half-Orcs and Orcs purely because of their proven skill. It is undeniable that these officers are talented, but the old gard of Dressolini lesser nobles are still violently against the idea of having their well paying and prestigious military ranks they were born into taken over by non-Human brutes. The Duke has again chosen to largely let the story play out between the sides, and ignore it, preferring to focus on the Kathar war while the officer corps engages in discussions and debates that get quite heated back in the academy of Lampeporta. In Nearhearth, the local barons under House du Briërust have been greatly pleased by the stewardship of the family. As such, the local barons came together and donated up to a total of 5,000 Regals directly into the Briërust treasury This is one of those flashpoints that only lasts a single week, there is very little to be gained from this (though there actually are some options in terms of how to respond to this, since the only limitation to the capability of the progression orders is one's imagination). If nothing happens with this flashpoint, it essentially concludes next week, and a new one will be generated.
