Kess

A dwindling shadow of a nation, Kess occupies a strip of land between the eastern mountains and the Great Chasm. It enjoys cloudy but pleasant weather aside from rather cold winters. Sadly, the otherwise enjoyable climate does little to cheer the nation’s absolutely impoverished denizens.

After multiple revolutions scoured the once-forested nation, Palorva the Claw rose to power. As a Vampire and practitioner of occult magic, her oppressed citizenry have no hope of her eventually dying. While she has grand designs on conquering the entire region around the Great Chasm, her nation’s crumbling economy has thus far prevented her from expanding.

Academic.

Palorva ensures that the serfs that work her fields are too overworked and underfed to spend any energy on academic ventures. She has burned hundreds of books and replaced them with her own alternate history books, so those among the merchant caste who are able to read are told a very different historical account praising Palorva as a saintly hero.

Aristocratic and Political.

Any person or family with a claim to aristocracy was impaled while still living and then slowly drained of blood. Those who are still alive and think they might have a claim to nobility make absolutely no such proclamations. Palorva’s word is law.

Mercantile and Trade.

The merchant caste of Kess is forced to keep set prices for their wares. No market competition is allowed under the watchful eye of Palorva. In order to bring more raw goods into Kess, Palorva is pursuing aggressive diplomatic negotiations with Forsten and Constel.

Militant.

Palorva is vigorously training her military so that she can wage war on nearby nations. As of yet, her soldiers are poorly equipped and regardless of their discipline they would be overpowered on the battlefield.

Religious.

No religious practice is allowed under Palorva’s regime, and all houses of worship have long since been burned to the ground. In private, many common folk entreat Tovare, Rasheen, and the whole Celestial Council for deliverance.

Social.

Kess is a strictly communist society, with Palorva and her secret police ensuring that wealth and resources are distributed with absolute, unyielding equality, household by household based on the number of residents living therein. This leads to untold suffering, and when possible, serfs and merchants will quietly offer one another the goods and services that they need to subsist. If the secret police find out, punishment is swiftly forthcoming.

Underworld.

What passes as crime in Kess might pass as common decency in any other nation. In addition to secretly offering one another extra food and clothing as able, some among the serf and merchant caste are also planning a rebellion against Palorva.

Lorvan

The capital city of Kess is nestled in the craggy foothills of the East Range. The streets of Lorvan are often shrouded in thick fog, which helps Palorva navigate the daylight without fear of retribution.

The capital has nothing in the way of entertainment. Aside from some lodgings, some inns and taverns with regulated prices, and a few shops that are equally regulated, Lorvan has nothing to offer except heartache.

Points of Interest

The Great Chasm. Lorvan forces her serfs to constantly work the fields to produce food and mine the Chasm to produce resources that she can trade with other nations. For more information about the Chasm, see Bridgemoor.

Quest Ideas

• Serfs from Kess get word out about their dire situation and request that the heroes help them overthrow Palorva.

• Palorva hires the heroes to infiltrate Forsten or Constel and assess how she can most easily overthrow them.