Well I hope you all had a lovely restful winter because it is apparently time for the Winds of War to start coming out again!
If you are unaware of what I am speaking, basically there is a LARP in the UK called Empire. Before each event they post updates on how the military side of the game is going. This side of the game is partly changed by player actions at the last weekend (how well they did in the big battles for example, or if there were enough successes at the smaller skirmishes) but mostly it is affected by the different ways people use their off field resources. You might send your naval fleet to attack someone, or decide to go pirating for example. If enough people pick one over the other then that will change the events going into the next Empire event.
And by the looks of things people really, really used their resources to the max.
I’m going to do this in the order that the posts were, well, posted. So don’t get on at me about favouritism! It’s Profound Decisions’ fault that the one you wanted to read about first didn’t come out when you wanted it to.
So first up.
Wind of War name – No Peace
Enemies – The Jotun
Where is this being fought? – All over the damn place on the Western side of the Empire
Semersuaq- Still in Imperial hands thanks to all the battles and deal making that happened last event.
Kahraman – The Jotun have been pushed out, but all the roads and bridges are royally fucked up. The text says that it will take a great work to fix it, it is unclear if they are being literal and referring to the “Great Work” thing the Senate can do or if they are just saying that it will be a whole big bunch of elbow grease.
Bregasland – Matilda Fisher is still nominally in charge, but lots of people are pointing out that she is basically just a puppet of the Jotun. The Strong Reed army is in place causing trouble and House Greywater has gone full guerilla and are pouncing on any Jotun that stir out of bounds. Apparently, there are some households that are willing to give in to the Jotun in order to live a quiet life. Tragically there is no update about Pip O’ the Yeth or his friends.
Liathhaven – Interesting news out of this corner of the continent. Apparently, the Jotun decided to invade this Imperial, Feni and Vallorn held region and swept all before them. The Feni that escaped being killed have retreated to the regios and dimensional pockets held by their various Eternal patrons. Meanwhile, any Imperials have been forced out entirely. There appear to be few Imperial casualties, but no one is getting the choice (join us or die) they’re just getting killed. The Vallornspawn in this area have been under a magical curse (Wither the Seed) so have been a bit quiet, this might have encouraged the Jotun. There is also the worrying problem that the last time the Jotun invaded Liathhaven they then went on to invade the Mourn.
Wind of War Name – Fire on Fire
Enemies – Druj
Where – Zenith
Details – Zenith is back under the control of the Imperials! Yay! Unfortunately the Druj made a right mess of things as they fled and also abandoned a whole bunch of undead tormented spirits. The armies decided to concentrate on projecting the land rather than slaughtering the retreating Druj so there is a lot more hope than there might otherwise be for making Zenith properly habitable again. They have also destroyed most of the tormented souls, enough that they won’t be an army sized problem in the future. So a problem for the odd skirmish or player event instead.
There are a bunch of miasma pillars still around, so they will need to be sorted out, and understandably the refugees who fled will want assurances that Zenith will stay safe, so that still leaves some work for Imperials in the future. But. BUT, the majority of the threats to imperial control in Zenith have been dealt with and it is fully Imperial once more.
Wind of War Name – In the Lonely Hour
Enemies – Druj
Where – The Barrens
Details – There has been little change in who controls the Barrens. Due to various Synod judgements to pull in support from the tribes subjugated by the Druj, many of the armies have been working at a disadvantage. But there were enough there to keep the Druj from smashing up the Steel Causeway and making the Empire lose land so that is still pretty good. Basically there isn’t much change in land ownership, but a lot of flavour has happened. There are giant wolves from Sorin fighting alongside the armies, so you can roleplay that you saw them. Any Draughir who got to see them will apparently have their pack mentality increased, making them more possessive of their friends and family while being more untrusting of those outside their circle. Anyone who plays into this will get an extra 1 hero point for the duration. It will most likely fade by the end of the winter solstice.
Also the Rivers Run Red curse was placed on The Barrens and with it all players who have been there have the option to have a lingering traumatic wound. You don’t have to roleplay that but there will be info you can use about it in the player packs if you choose to.
The Barrens are described as rotting, which is just lovely. And a previously marsh area (called Saltmarsh, appropriately) is now officially Coastal until Summer, so the empire cannot use the Twisted Echos of the Fen ritual to get a fortress there.
Wind of War Name – Burning
Enemies – Slavers
Where – Rachensgrab/The Tears of the Moon Archipelago
Details – So this is a massive multinational team up to go beat the crap out of some slavers. Good old fashioned fun for the whole family!
There are ships in the armada from all the nations of the Liberty Pact and they are using lanterns and the Heliopticon Cypher to communicate, so basically magical lantern morse code. That might cause some security issues for the Heliopticon in the future since now loads of people know the codes, but that’s a problem for future Urizen.
So what happened? The slave trade is absolutely smashed, with lots of loot plus many, many freed slaves. Every player who went along will be getting 4 crowns in their player pack, plus they will be in a lottery for lots of other things like wains of building materials and magical items and all sorts of interesting things. The raid admiral will also get a bunch of ships to give out plus some new rituals that they can try and get codified.
Anyone who went will also get a spontaneous aura in their player pack which they can choose to roleplay with. PD have asked people to only use it if they were truly sincere about wanting to help, and weren’t just going along for the loot.
At the Temple of Chains the herald pretending to be a god is killed, Pharam Vex was a herald of Ephisis and there will almost certainly be repercussions over this. Especially since the Liberty Armada looted the heck out of the temple on their way out, taking some ritual texts with them.
Most of the slavers were caught, but some ships did get away. It’s just not possible to be 100% effective. However, without the power of the slave ring behind them they are unlikely to have much power or be welcomed by their usual safe havens. So there might be a rise in piracy as these ships and their sailors look for new employment. Also one of the named bad guys jumped off a tower, but their body wasn’t found so 50/50 chance of them reappearing in the future to cause trouble like in a soap opera.
And that is it currently. According to the Empire LARP Facebook page there is one still one Wind of War left to go. That should be the one about fighting the Vallorn, I know a lot of people are really interested in this one since it will include the first exploration of a heart in living memory. Fingers crossed that one will come out soon!