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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AnonymousOne" data-source="post: 3732546" data-attributes="member: 50316">    Wistron“In no other country will you find an inn like mine:  Skarl tobacco, Garic beer, wine from Areen, and cuisine from every corner of the Reaches.” – Wilem Flinn, proprietor of the Twelve Crossings InnPolitics    In the Northern Reach, Wistron is a country which exists only because of the political and military skill of its leaders.  Without the guidance of the three ruling families in Wistron the country would have most certainly been gobbled up, most likely by a forceful Lumen invasion.  As things stand now, the country is prospering, if on edge.  The lives of the people go on even though the threat of war seems to be always on the horizon.  The governance of Wistron is a bit of an oddity in that the city is ruled by three separate families each of which holds equal power in the city.  They meet in secret to guide the country, though on the whole leave the people be to make their own decisions and in this manner they mirror much of the Garic model of the state.      No one has met the three heads of the families, or perhaps those that have met with them have the discretion to not breathe a word of whom or what they are.  They are never seen in public and all of their speeches are given by seconds who speak for the Families.  There is much speculation in Wistron as to whom or what the leaders are.  While there are a wealth of rumors and theories there are three which are most commonly held.  •    The Leaders are in fact each a representative of the three alignments:  Good, Evil, and Neutral.  The thought of having a Celestial, an Archfiend, and an Elemental ruling the city doesn’t seem to bother most of the people.  Or perhaps they are in fact gods.  Pelor, Hextor, and Olidamara might be the three rulers who simply wish to sit and see which parts of society will follow which deity.•    The Leaders are wizards, sorcerers, or clerics of such vast power that they subtly guide the public while protecting vast stores of arcane, divine, and general knowledge.  They exist to preserve knowledge and power and in doing so preserve the state of Wistron.  These powerful magic users might have fled from or be sent by the Isle of Manse to oversee Wistron, though this is complete speculation.•    The leaders are the longest lived of the elves in the Northern Reach.  Having augmented their long lives with magic they have become nearly immortal and as such use the wisdom built up over millennia to lead their people into a better age.Though there is no solid evidence if any of these is true, there is still talk about how the small country survives.    There is no political lobbying, no special interest groups to woo lawmakers; there are only the families and those who serve them.  The Justice system is one that is both straightforward and harsh.  Those who break the laws which exist to protect people, their property, and the existence of Wistron, may not get another chance to break them again if the offense is severe enough and as a result crime stays low and things are rather clearly defined.    While they are not yet at war with Lumen, people from Lumen are not treated with much hospitality.  This comes after several encounters between Lumen citizens and members of other races.  Several brawls, riots and fights have broken out because of the actions of Lumen citizens in their treatment of non-humans.  This has led to several parts of town in which Lumen citizens reside when they are in Wistron.  They keep to themselves and on the whole are not openly interactive with society, though their spies exist in the city and are constantly relaying information to the more Lumen-concentrated parts of Wistron. ---------------------------------------------Characters following Lumen philosophy and political theory that speak out in Wistron receive a -4 to all social interaction roles and may not use the Diplomacy skill with Wistron citizens.---------------------------------------------    The entire city is a hotbed of espionage and intrigue, though murders and assassinations are not common, they do happen and there is much talk in the streets about whether or not the country can take much more of the tension, though the families have not spoken as to whether the country will go to war or not.        Trade is not restricted by the government in any meaningful way save for the casting of extremely powerful spells.  Resurrections and the like are very rare, but can be had at one of the Wistron’s many temples or churches, for the proper contribution to the church’s coffers.  The such the tax code is simple but efficient, people are free to live as they wish in a state where success is expected and quite often achieved.Social Structure    The structure of Wistron society is a bit of a hodgepodge of various cultures, views, peoples, races, and professions.  Because of its location it has both the benefits and costs of drawing from many different cultures.  The ideals of the Garic City States are quite prevalent in the economic world of Wistron and as such businesses can either succeed and thrive or fail, and life simply goes on for the people.  They find new outlets for their work and creativity.  The military ideals of Skarl do carry a good deal of weight and the small but ruthlessly efficient military of Wistron receives more applicants than it could possibly accept every year.  ---------------------------------------------Characters from Wistron receive a +2 to all social interaction roles when interacting with individuals of Skarl or Garic origin.---------------------------------------------    The military, though not a staple of the economy per se, has its respected place in society and warriors are in general given a degree of respect, owing much to the influence of Skarl values and the fact that the military and its high level of refinement and training have kept the small state alive for so long.---------------------------------------------Characters of Wistron origin are assumed to have served a stint in the mandatory military training and are considered proficient with Light and Heavy Crossbows and Martial and Simple Polearms.  Characters that were once active military personnel receive a +1 to hit with Light and Heavy Crossbows and Martial and Simple Polearms.---------------------------------------------It is not uncommon for a military officer to receive perks from businesses who hope to attract the patronage of an officer and/or his soldiers.    There are rich and poor, but like in the Garic cities the poor may rise as easily as the rich fall.  There is very little in the way of social or economic restriction to keep people of one class within that class.  There are those who sympathize with Lumen’s view of an equal society, but they are few, yet often very vocal about their beliefs.  This has led to some instability which, while it remains under the surface, has from time to time reared its head among the citizenry.  This has never led to open revolt, but occasionally there are clashes between different citizens of Wistron who hold differing beliefs.    As Wistron is small in size and is able to receive many of its goods and services through trade with the likes of Skarl and the Garic City States, they do not have to dedicate all of their excess land to farming.  Instead a thriving metropolis below The City of Wistron itself has emerged and the lower levels of the city are much like the city which sits above it.  The wealthy are not limited to the surface and the poor are not stuck in the deepest parts of the Underground or Lower Wistron as it is sometimes called.  There have been rumors of problems in the deepest parts of the city with certain undesirable creatures, but these are usually swiftly dealt with by either the military, representatives of the families, or hired mercenaries.    People in Wistron tend to be rather accepting of the differing cultures of the other countries in the Northern Reach and has opened its doors up to any that wish to live within their borders provided they are of sound mind.  Because of this it is not uncommon to find an inn which caters to people of Skarl origin and a pub which serves mostly those from Areen.  And while most anyone is welcome in any establishment, prudence might be in order when speaking about the evils of monarchy in front of the Goliath from Skarl sitting across from you.  In general the city hums along at its own pace and the people keep on living and building and creating as they have since the founding of the city. PopulationHuman: 52%Elves:  28%Goliath: 8%Halfling:  6%Gnome:  6%</blockquote>

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