The Lord of LowTide

[RogetThesaurii]

Stewardship of the city's newest District

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

Taking the District has layers. Thabo will need to negotiate a treaty of some sort with the Duergar of Klanned Fomoria, destroy or defeat, or at the very least unseat the Zanathar Guild from Skullrock, their castle-fortress. In addition, the illithid faction, the goblin tribes and Arven Dehra will need some form of negotiation to keep them in line.

The Zanithar: Break them into pieces; they are a group of bosses allied for mutual benefit.

• Cher, kappa drug queenpin, largest money-maker in the guild
• Boris 'the Mad Cow' Shatterjaw, ruler of Skullrock, a 1/2 minotaur 1/2 ogre
• J'iNguyen Sh'ah, best and largest smuggler in LowTide; a drow
• Fl'Hur'h, illithid slave master of LowTide; he runs the largest slaving operation in the region
• Sanjeet Formoria, duergar black sheep of the Klanned Formoria; Boris' right hand and assassin
• Kostkoh, a suspected doppelganger (actually now a lich doppelganger) sorcerer (he's a wizard, w/ bard levels) who runs 'procurement and Intelligence' for the Guild

Klanned Formoria: secure a dominant position in the City and present an orderly transition. They value stability; they are the de facto bureaucracy that run things

Arven Dehra: The Drow will want a concession to leave things alone and let Thabo take over. They will want autonomy, their own version of the Elven Enclave, where Drow of any class can openly walk and live. This is likely to require seizing someone else's region, be it monster or other faction.

The Illithid: The illithid will want autonomy to conduct their affairs; they have two distinct factions within their community, and two leader-types to deal with. There are approximately 120 illithid in the community, as well as many of their strange creations and minions, such as umber hulks and ropers. They currently control several businesses and they have an enclave on the edges of LowTide's environs, in a small and isolated cave, called, derogatorily, Squidville.

The Goblin tribes: A solid show of power and carnage, like breaking the Zanathar and sacking Skullrock, will cow them to new authority.

Edited May 5 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

Sticking Points in LowTide
 

1. Slavery
2. Autonomy of relatively evil races
3. Conflicting criminal factions (Zheng, Zanathars, Arven Dehra, Canyon Consortium)
4. Major independent powers (P'ou Loth, for example)
5. Taxes
6. Enforcement and operations by a new power
7. Ducal Authority

Slavery is a major piece of the economy in LowTide. The Zanathars run the slave market and the illithid are the primary buyers, though other factions also dabble. There are other duergar clans, and Underdark factions beyond LowTide, that are major buyers. If one wants to get prime surface stock, one ventures to LowTide for the plethora of surface folk available, from a variety of races and skillsets, offered by most vendors. Eliminating slavery from the economy would be EXPENSIVE, as well as anger most factions.

Autonomy of relatively evil races is non-negotiable to some extent. The illithid are powerful, the goblins are the bulk of the population, the duergar RUN the city's bureaucracy and 'social services'. Factions like merchants representing other Underdark communities, highwaymen between these same communities, and certain powerful monsters such as beholders would require a certain 'hands-off' level of approach and in dealing with them.
The major factions to court would be the illithid, the duergar, and the foreign merchants. The merchants are almost like diplomats from their home cities, and Thabo has an opportunity to practice 'statecraft' with them. The goblins can be cowed into compliance but keeping them relatively mollified (such as allowing 'immigration' between the surface and the caverns) helps Thabo with city management. If the mob is on his side, it makes it hard for other factions to push him around without risking 'public backlash'

The various criminal factions are always going to struggle. The Zanathars and the Zheng are just not gonna be friendly. The Zheng keep moving in on Zanathar turf, picking a fight and then scrapping real hard, which hurts the Zanathars, mortally, even if they win against the Zheng (as they were doing before the 6-Fingered Hand intervened). The Canyon Consortium is a new faction that has risen to control several areas beyond LowTide, sending bandits out to raid caravans they know have passed through nearby tunnels. This has hurt trade to some extent. Also, this new group has been moving slaves in a competing market, outside LowTide itself.
Arven Dehra are their own problem. They will refuse to 'bend the knee' to any outside authority. They act as an Underdark espionage consortium (think ninja clan of Japan, working for any daimyo or warlord with the coin to hire them but replace Japan with Underdark and daimyo with monsters or other Underdark denizens) and need the independence from a sovereign to maintain their reputation. They compete against the Zheng in that they are consummate intelligence gatherers and they sell that info to the highest bidder. So rivals will always have intel on what the Zheng can do.

Certain major powers, such as P'ou Loth (bronze dragon from the bay that supplies PPE with raw product and Underdark liquors and contraband for Thabo's various alcohol-related businesses) are capable of working within the community, as long as they are respected. Thabo will have to spend some time discovering who those folks happen to be (P'ou Loth can help by supplying one name/identity; Arven Dehra can supply another, and the Zanathars, when overthrown, can identify a third (for a total of four known by Thabo when he takes up residence. He can deal with the illithid to gain a fifth). The number present is a mystery, but LowTide boasts a population in excess of 10,000 'citizens' so even 1/2 of 1% would be 50 of these folks. Assuming one tenth of one percent is a good sample, but likely missing some.

The Duke will want to collect taxes from his new district, and unless Thabo intends to foot the bill for tens of thousands (for now; its likely to rise to 100's of thousands quickly) of silver pieces every month out of his own pocket, he's gonna need to levy taxes. The Underdark folks won't be happy about taxes. They've never experienced this. Enforcing it will be bloody, but its a necessity to draw them in line with other districts.

Thabo will need to flex pretty hard after he defeats the Zanathars and runs them out of Skullrock. He will need to immediately occupy the castle with Zheng forces, and it will take the bulk of their street muscle to fill this out. A lot of 'associates' are gonna move up to full Zheng pretty quickly because its gonna be bloody, above and below. Snake Eyes is willing to commit the forces, but he needs assurances that Thabo will be funneling some serious coin back into their coffers for this. And once Thabo gets established, Manoush is gonna want to establish rackets here, too. Slavery he is opposed to, for whatever reason, and he forbids it among his faction of the Zheng, but its allowed within other Zheng factions. Narcotics is still competitive. Weapons smuggling might become more lucrative here. Monster-snatching would see a sharp rise with easier access to the Underdark. All this will take a lot of manpower, and Thabo needs to be able to recruit. And not just surface dwellers. He needs to establish his own troops, outside the Zheng, from among the races available (primarily this is goblinoids, fyi).

The Duke will be sending troops (Army troops, not City Watch) to occupy LowTide at first. He wants to make sure that LowTide knows they are now part of Cordoba the city. He's gonna seize some property and fortify it and make himself a little fortress. Then he'll keep a garrison there until LowTide normalizes. Shouldn't take more than a couple decades... Thabo will need to keep the factions carefully balanced on this, especially at first. Until the troops have a fortification they trust and can occupy, they are going to be nervous and prone to kill first and avoid questions entirely if they feel threatened. That's a recipe for disaster...

 

Known Major Players: - and who provided the info

• P'ou Loth, a drow innkeep (bronze dragon Zelifarn)
• Vanden Kulligan, duergar mercenary-for-hire; a merchant caravan security specialist w/ a team of men (sapphire dragon Seyshellax) - P'ou Loth
• Huch-shu, the Great Mushroom in the Fungus Forest near LowTide (a myconid elder, more like an ancient treant than a true myconid, and several sizes larger than most myconids) - Arven Dehra
• ??? (xx) - Zanathar
• ??? (xx) - illithid
• ??? ?? - ?

Edited May 5 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

Zanathar Guild Plays:

Shatterjaw won't give up what he has without a fight. He can't really be reasoned with and he only rose to power as a serious tough guy. Most of Skullrock follows his lead, mainly bc he's such a scary opponent. He rules through fear, not talent or skill.
Sanjeet is his loyal#2, and not likely to surrender either. His death is less of a sticking point with Klanned Formoria than might be expected; he's a black sheep

Kostkoh is a doppelganger, true, and he is loyal to Shatterjaw, but only to a point. Shatterjaw was the most powerful captain in the wake of the Zanathar Guild getting smashed by the 6-Fingered Hand. It is not public knowledge that he is a lich; its not even private knowledge. Yet. His spies are aware of Thabo and the Zheng in LowTide, but he hasn't tried to retaliate or anything. Yet. He could potentially be bought off/allied.

Cher is the easiest to recruit over. She makes the most coin for the Guild, which is where her power comes from, but she has only goblins, really, for troops/customers. She could easily ramp up her distribution across the Underdark.. with the right backer. Someone who could help her go independent... Buy her off or give her a reward... she will keep her troops out of any conflict.

Ji'Nguyen Sh'ah is similar to Cher in that he could be bought off or allied. He would like to be independent but he has always had to struggle against forces in LowTide AND Cordoba, so he has been limited. He has a large submersible at his disposal, which would make transport for Thabo's goods between the surface and LowTide much easier; he can carry way more than Thabo could in the Apparatus of Kwalish.

Fl'Hur'h is an enigma. He is difficult to read, alien in his mindset and he may or may not be that loyal to the Zanathars. As an illithid, he makes a lot of money in slavery, and is the primary broker for his people. Whether or not he can be made an ally requires interaction.

Edited April 14 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

Potential Sources of Troops for Thabo (outside the Zheng, outside the Duke's army forces)

1. Goblinoids - these make up the bulk of available troops, remnants and rejects of the Zanithars; elite recruits would come from hobgoblins and bugbears with the bulk of forces being goblins
2. Kobolds - similar circumstances to goblins, kobolds would be the easiest to recruit (after goblins). However, they suffer many of the same problems goblins do, w/o the bonus of elite troops like hobgoblins and bugbears. Kobolds are more disciplined and devious in their defenses though. MUCH better trap-smiths.
3. Duergar - Klanned Fomoria isn't the only duergar clan in LowTide, just the biggest and most powerful. Other, smaller groups exist, as well as independent operators. They would be dwarven heavy troops for all intents and purposes. They would be expensive, though. They would come with their own equipment, but would require being armed and armored anyway; they would want Skullrock to occupy and they would NOT work with goblins, maybe w/ Kobolds (big maybe).
4. Mercenaries - between LowTide and Cordoba Above there are plenty of mercenaries to draw a small following for Thabo. He's pretty famous among some big, tough dudes, too. Teamsters (Bonus: recruiting from the Teamsters undermines the BLM.). They would be untrained but relatively loyal, and real mercs could be put in charge of them to train them up. However, heavy merc army means expensive, and questionable loyalty.
5. Call in a favor with the WitchQueen - there are so many perils to this its just not funny. No one would fuck with Thabo lightly, though. There would be no 'testing his limits' but it would be dark fey troops, suited to the Underdark, and they would answer to her, not Thabo. It would be a flash way to take over while he recruits his own troops naturally. Gives him like a year or two to build his army, not a month. Little cash cost, too.
6. Xashi - Thabo could propose a new venture, bring a whole bunch of folks over from the Mother continent and give them a new enclave to populate besides the current one inside the Embassy District. A true Xashi 'colony'.
7. Hire out a faction - Pick a major faction, like Klanned Fomoria, the illithid, etc. I'll set a price/month and Thabo can buy a faction's service with their troops.

Thabo needs at least 300 men to occupy Skullrock, 750 would be best, and anything in between is helpful. Around 550 gives Thabo full occupational security. He has enough men to fully man all positions in non-daily shifts of 8 hours each. There's 4 shifts, with 7 days out of 10 working. 750 provides increased reserve forces and specialty positions (smith and smith's apprentice vs 'just' a smith for the keep, for example). Thabo is going to have about a month to recruit. He can simultaneously give me a Bonus Recruitment Roll AND a Bonus Recruitment Roll for achieving 20th level.

DC is 14 for 1d6; 17 for 2d6; 20-25 is 3d6+Cha mod, 26-30 is 3d6+2xCha mod, etc
d20+Character Level+Cha for Thabo; he gets to roll 2x.

1d20+1/2 level+2x Cha (+6) for Davil Starsong - Davil pulls in Associate level thugs, like O-Mai: unofficial Zheng trying to earn a place there. Thabo recruits full Zheng, serious customers with real credentials. Davil keeps the new recruits coming in while Thabo makes the big recruitment drives in mass rally-type situations.

Bumble recruits specialists. He does it accidentally mostly. People like Broady were brought in to help and Bumble tends to attract that type of person, so most of his recruits are Thabo's 'specialists', rogue and spellcaster types, and others like that, to fill out the ranks of warriors. Bumble has Coinz, so he helps in more ways than one.
Bumble rolls (w/ Advantage)1d20+Level(at this time let's assume he is 9th)+3xCha; Bumble rolls vs DC 15/18/20 (1d4,2d4,3d4)+2xCha; at 21+ he gets 3d4+1d6(reroll 6s and add new total running; e.g. first roll is a 6 on the d6, next roll is a 3 for a total 'roll' of 9, successive 6's continue to be rerolled and added)+3xCha; he recruits rogues (70%),Arcane Casters (20%), Divine Casters (15%) and 'specialists (this includes people like the lawyers as well as people like a minotaur Underground Gladiator to be the new doorman at a rival's club, working undercover bc his levels are in bard, not fighter, who is feeding Thabo intel, or someone like Dempsey, 5%).

Feel free to make your own rolls.

Edited May 5 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

How much $ does Thabo have? He needs to recruit an army, and he will make a recruitment roll every week instead of every month to recruit one, but its just Thabo recruiting, not Bumble and Davil. He can add to his rolls with certain bonuses. Money is a big one, and an easy one. 'Land' or property/pension upon serving a term is also a quick motivator. The promise of good equipment, good food, etc, is always available, too.

+10-+100gp/mo=+1/10gp/mo offered, up to a +10

+100-+250=+2/10gp/mo offered, up to a +30

+250-+500=+5/50gp/mo offered, up to +25

+500-+1,000=+20/100gp/month offered, up to 100

*These numbers are locked for a week once chosen, and must be resolved across each week. The highest total is what will be owed, overriding lower previous offers

Land/Property is another easy sell, but it requires Thabo to conquer or purchase swathes of underdark territory that would appeal to soldiers and mercenaries wanting to settle after retiring. The usual term for this is 20 years, but ten year terms for a business, or a sum of gold to purchase one at end of service, also exist.

Pensions can be treated the same way Property is.

10 year term (at least 500 gp value) - +25

20 year Term (at least 1,500 gp value) - +50

Other bonuses can be accrued for other offers and incentives Thabo offers. If you have an idea, let me know and I will work up something.

Edited April 15 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[The Elder Snail]

Thabo Bonus Recruitment roll roll

Advantage   roll

Thabo 20th level bonus recruitment roll

advantage   roll 

[The Elder Snail]

Thabo has 102,107 GP worth of coin and gems on hand. This does not include the armory from Lord Specter's will, nor several weapons he might sell. He goes to Twine Street to discover what's in the deposit box from Lord Specter.

Edited May 5 by RogetThesaurii (see edit history)

[RogetThesaurii]

 

[The Elder Snail]

ENDENTURED CITIZENs: 

Much like me, Thabo despises slavery in all concepts and forms, and dreams of its utter and eternal destruction. Much like Thabo, I know I cannot do that alone, or ever, without a paradigm shift in the entirety of our existence. The sorrow is deep upon the probability. As Thabo has endeavored to do in most of his life, he seeks to do what he can with what power he has, with the goal of never intentionally endangering the lifes of innocent civilians, biosheres and wonders of the world, be it creatures, places, or things. To attempt to crush the slave trade, he requires far greater numbers and influence than possible to gather in a short span of years, especially if he hopes to avoid the least amount of death among the said population he seeks to relieve.  

Taking and controlling Lowtide is the first step on that long road. As the Zheng philosophy has proven, integrating into an existing social structure can be far more effective in gaining power with less loss of resources. This does not remove the truth that in many scenarios, an amount of brute force is required to gain access to a new situation. 

 

---Though a extremely effective method of eliminating the entirety of 

Lowtides command structure, collapsing Skull Rock is out. Too much collateral damage. 

Improving the status quo is our goal, not chaos and destruction. 

 

---Taxes are big ask but showing what taxes are best used for (improving society’s civic structure in the broadest manner) will make them sting much less. Better slave conditions mean better prices for sellers. The massive jail dump the Duke plans can be turned to advantage as well. Taking cue from our own vile prison system, the Duke and Thabo can use work gangs to both compete with the slave trade for a market share in the physical labor sector and as a initial tribute offering to Illithid faction for use in their ceremorphosis.

They can get a first pick kind of deal. Improved specimens through a better regulated slave trade is Thabo’s biggest angle with the Illithid. And that he and the Duke won’t destroy them. The City of Cordoba is expanding, no matter what Lowtide can do to try and stop it. The Deity grows and Thabo attempts to offer the least painful transition. By taking the chance at joining the new power structure instead of fighting it, their chances of longevity increase.  

 

---New construction: HIRE GOBLINS, KOBOLDS, Get organized labor operatives    involved eventually.   

 

---Recruit a Zheng goblinoid squad. 

 

---Thabo thinks he’ll go challenge the Lizard dude that Hardlock fought and submit him to get him to join or acknowledge Thabo’s dominance.

 

More to follow

[RogetThesaurii]

What the Duke is Committing:

650 soldiers, almost all sappers and rangers w/tunnel experience (Cordoba is very mountainous, so lots of caves)

25 Knights, and their personal cohorts totaling another 300 or so men, about half of which are fighting men and the other half are specialists/personal servants

Command Team of about 3 dozen officers, led by a Colonel, the 3rd in Command of the army itself and his foremost field officer, Nigel of Lothgraeham (Fretania)

1,000,000 sp annually and 10 months to three years of occupation. A small fortress will be erected as a permanent bastion of the Duke's power and a seat of his own forces, should he need to marshal troops there. A permanent garrison of approximately 250 is planned. Smaller than Thabo's fortress, but a firm position.

 

What the Zanithars field:

approximately 900-1,200 goblins, equivalent to levies and the least trained troops (most of these are more loyal to Cher than Boris)

a company (150) of hardened hobgoblin soldiers (most, but not all, are loyal to Boris and Sanjeet; 1 in 5 are more loyal to Cher)

2 platoons (60) of bugbear scout-rangers (these guys mostly follow Sanjeet; about a dozen total follow Cher and another 1/2 dozen are closer to Boris specifically)

a coterie of 2 dozen doppelganger spies/assassins (under Kostkoh's leadership; outwardly there are only about a half dozen, but most are masquerading as hobgoblins or bugbears, spying on these factions and both Boris and Sanjeet)

5 beast handlers and their beasts (amphiptere x3, these are mini-wyverns; 1 bukavac, giant horned frog w/thunder-croak/gore/bite/claws/sticky-tongue; carrion beetlex2; dogmole juggernaut x2; 1 gbahali, huge 'chameleon' crocodile variant adapted to the Underdark; serpopard x2, serpent-leopards) (beast handlers are loyal to their beasts first, themselves second and then the Zanithars)

 

That slave trade angle with the Illithid might work. That makes sense to them. Enforcing taxes might be hard, but if Thabo concedes some things to the illithid, he might be able to use them as an 'example' of how to take in taxation. They pay without a fuss, and help others accept this is a new norm, and Thabo gives them something like the first pick of slaves idea, or better still, give them the entire prison dump for their own feeding/sale. It's a solid lever to use to get Fl'Hur'h on board and to separate from Boris and the Zanithars. He could also use them against Fl'Hur'h: give them to his rivals within the illithid community to bolster them against Fl'Hur'h, endangering his mastery over the slave trade.

Cher can help with a goblin labor recruitment. It's also a good lever to use to push her away from the Zanithars. Contracts with Thabo to use her goblin labor effectively pays her. Giving Cher access to Zheng drugs to push, Zheng guards to take her drugs to other Underdark communities, and Zheng coin to keep her goblins employed and kicking up to her is an easy recruitment for Thabo or Bumble. And, built-in labor leader...
Cher can also help with getting a Zheng (hob)goblin squad. She can turn him on to the addicts who are reliant on her or who work for her already, as well as who is easiest to turn among those at Skullrock. Same with bugbears. She knows a few he could pull in, and a few who already work for her/are addicts relying on her.

Challenging and beating down that lizardman guy is a definite way to make a name for Thabo as a fierce warrior in his own right. Thabo is like 13 levels higher than him, so it's an easy beat down. If he chooses to make it public, like all him out in the gladiator pit, well, that's just free advertising. He can't stay in LowTide and ignore the public challenge, either. If Thabo is magnanimous in a public victory, there's another recruitment opportunity for him to establish some leadership in LowTide beholden to him.