Welcome to James Kemp's Wiki

This is a collaborative web platform that allows people to edit1) the web pages to provide additional content for some of the stories I have written and the roleplaying games that I am involved in, whether as a player or GM.

There are several namespaces operating slightly different wiki subjects. These are, in no particular order:

  • Skyss - Story Background - a fantasy novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2016.
  • Perfects - background for the near future story and some police roleplaying that I ran in that universe
  • Theocracy of Daprav - A D&D campaign that I ran with Glasgow University Games Society around 2002-3.
  • Jim Wallman's Universe - a roleplaying by e-mail campaign that I play in, this is an unofficial wiki and none of it is canon unless Jim says it is.
    • Interstellar Freelance Unlimited - subset of the Universe pages covering the activities of a mercenary company that we are currently roleplaying every Full Moon.
    • Earth Imperium pages. These cover the activities of the Government of the Solar republic (aka Earth Empire) in Jim's Humanity Will Prevail campaign, including the Earth Imperium News Items.
    • Free Worlds Alliance - covering the activities of another emerging polity in the Humanity Will Prevail campaign. Mostly contributed by Eric Moroney.
    • Universe Background - page collecting the various bits of background info that have come up in various e-mail discussions for the campaigns set in Jim Wallman's Universe.

Comments and complaints to me at webmaster@full-moon.info please.

James Kemp

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The Alpins

The Alpins are Earls of Ardmor

The ancestral home is Caer Alpin which is in the north of the mainland of Dael Riata. It lies on a rocky outcrop on the coast where the river Ard meets the inner sea.

Titles

The current (7th) Earl is Sean Alpin.

He is 72 years old (born 702), and is currently a widower. He was married to Ealasaid Riata, his cousin and the sister of the 19th Duke of Glasholm, for thirty-nine years before she died when the old Queen was captured at the start of the civil war (in 754). He has four surviving children and a number of grandchildren.

  1. Bhaltair (43, born 731) Heir. He has one surviving child of his own, and was married to Raonaid Murchadh, the third sister of the fifth Earl. She died in childbirth giving birth to his daughter Raonaid (15, born 759). She is not yet betrothed.
  2. Iain (39, born 735) third son, distinguished himself in battle. Currently commander of the King's Lifeguard. Currently disowned by his father for having changed sides.
  3. Eilidh (35, born 739), married to Bhaltair Gilranald while the Earl was the regent in the immediate aftermath of the civil war.
  4. Earsaid (32, born 741). Earsaid wasn't suited to warfare, and preferred his books. When he left for university in 757 he never returned to the north. Currently Earsaid Alpin is the reader of naval engineering and the favourite candidate for the Chair to be established at the university if the Estates approve the Charter.

Sean Alpin became the Earl at the age of 2, and was raised in Dalcot and then Dalreoch as a ward of his maternal uncle the 18th Duke of Glasholm. He was well tutored, and his bannermen ran the Earldom until he was married in 716. His marriage to Ealasaid was a love match, and despite the 18th Duke heavily discouraging the union it bore fruit, although tragedy struck within a month of his first son Uilleam being born. At the time many feared that the Alpin's were cursed, the Earl's father and his four elder brothers all having being lost at sea when their new flagship failed to return, despite there being no reported storms or wreckage found. It was rumoured at the time that a gilruary squadron had sunk the Alpin's ship. Although this was strenously denied, and the Earl of Duffjord fought several duels about it.

Size & Wealth

Caer Alpin is unusual in the seats of the great nobles in that it isn't in the main town/city of their realm. The main town is the port Nordhaven, sited on the north coast of the mainland of Dael Riata. It has a population of about 6,000 and is a ready stopover and resting place for those venturing from the inner sea round the cape to the open ocean to the East of Dael Riata.

There are silver and gold deposits in the mountains, lots of sheep on the hills and a steady income from farming the land, and passing trade from the East. By far the bulk of the population are involved in rural activities, there are villages every couple of miles over most of the coastal areas and up the river Ard until the mountains proper. Overall there are about 50,000 people in Ardmor.

Type Value
Ships 11
Infantry 11
Cavalry 12)
Wealth income3) 439
treasury4) 136

Recent History

The Earl is the oldest of the great nobles. He remembers the reign of Alasdair IV (specifically the turmoil in the regency and its immediate aftermath that spanned the first twelve years of his life, and the old King's death at the hands of nobles of Bernicia when he attempted to march south to claim that throne on the death of his brother in law Harold VIII of Bernicia. The Earl was with the army and was lucky to have been in the rear when the ambush was sprung. Many of the great nobles fell that day, as well as the smaller folk that made up the army.

Queen Caoimhe was nine when her father died, and as one of the few surviving great nobles the Earl was part of the council of regents. There was discussion then about the succession, and securing the throne with the Queen's marriage to one of the great nobles, but none could agree who it should be. The Earl aligned with the fourth Earl of Uisdean and the 7th Earl of Beatham to maintain stability. His wife acted as Matron and looked after the Queen's welfare. This worked until the Queen grew old enough to assert her own authority and became enamoured by a suspicious Skyssian merchant. Shortly after she gave birth to the young King Caoimhe confided in Ealasaid that she wanted to marry the Skyssian and make him prince consort.

It was with great regret that the Earl acted, but it was necessary to ensure the integrity of the kingdom. In the years that followed the Earl spent most of it either as regent, or as an adviser to the regent. He has made a number of unpopular decisions, but each for the good of the kingdom. He knows that he was unpopular, but that is a price he has been happy to pay, because the young King is all the stronger for it, and has been well tuaght, and well advised. He won't make the mistakes his mother or his grandfather made.

Still, it would be nice if he showed some appreciation for the sacrifices that the Earl made on the young King's behalf.

Allies, Friends & Lords
  • Bhaltair Gilranald - the Earl is your son-in-law, and you worked closely together when he was regent to carry on your good work. You taught him well (his father was killed fighting alongside the old King).
  • riata your wife was the 10th Earl's Aunt, and she kept in close touch. The new
Enemies & Feuds
8 Mar 2022 20:14 · james

The Nobles of Dael Riata

There are fourteen families that are Dukes or Earls of Dael Riata. Some of these are older than others, and you can usually tell the off-shoot families by their red stripes on the main colour shields from their older lines.

Ranald, Grand Dukes of Reoch & Kings of Dael Riata Gilranald, Earls of Norpen Ahearn, Earls of Suddal Giluilleam, Earls of Dalry
fretty vert or below a stag's head proper a tower triple towered celestial azure shown smaller vert bend sanguine a seagull argent volant in chief a tower triple towered celestial azure in base point Maily tenne and argent a horse rampant sable hooved sanguine annuletty azure and argent a chevron sanguine a boar's head proper dexter
Gilcinead, Earls of Craigmuir Aonghus, Earls of Beatham Riata, Dukes of Glasholm Gilriata, Earls of Dalcot
per saltire or and gules below one martlett orange volante shown smaller a tree proper Per-pale double arched estoilly purpure and argent and estoilly argent and purpure a saltire parted and fretty murrey three torques or. Per-saltire celestial azure purpure. a claymore inverted proper in fess a ducal crown proper in base point Per-saltire sanguine celestial azure a claymore inverted proper in fess
Sithech, Earls of Aifric Suibhne, Earls of Douglas Sioltach, Earls of Duff Gilruary, Earls of Dalmuir
Paly carnation and vert per saltire counterchanged a wolf tenne langued gules. Papelony sable argent, in chief throughout five apples Or. Fesse azure a galley sanguine Per bend sinister indented Vert and Lozengy Or and Gules,  a unicorn statant argent. Azure seme de ships proper sails bisque fimbriated argent an anchor sanguine
Murchadh, Earls of Uisdean Alpins, Earls of Ardmor
Maily or and sable a ship sable sails bisque pily argent and vert. below a cloud argent A mountain proper shown larger

All the shields above have been drawn using https://drawshield.net/random/ which as well as having useful reference material on creating blazons using proper heraldic terms, also draws them.

Bhaltair Gilranald

Bhaltair Gilranald is the Earl of Norpen, and for some time regent of Dael Riata during the minority of his cousin Alasdair V, King of Dael Riata. He is also the Marquess of Righ, and swears fealty twice to the King. Bhaltair is the second cousin of Alasdair V, King of Dael Riata, descended from the second son of King Alasdair III.

The ancestral home is Caer Righ, a castle guarding a strategic crossing of the river Righ in the Grand Duchy of Dalreoch. However the present Earl's father was translated to the Earldom of Norpen, on the northernmost of the Easter Isles. This was an overtly political move by the old Queen early in her reign as an effort to clip the wings of the The Murchadhs who had been causing trouble for generations.

The seat of the Earl is the walled city of Norpen, a very densely populated stone built haven from the Northern seas and the storms that rip across the open ocean to the North and West of the Easter Isles. There are about 10,000 people in the city, and a similar number farming across the collection of isles.

Titles

The current Earl is Bhaltair Gilranald.

They are is 36 years old, and is currently married to Eilidh Alpin. They have five surviving children

  1. Tormoid (16), is the eldest & heir.
  2. Ealasaid (14), is second and currently betrothed to the elder son of the Earl of Suddal
  3. Ranald (10)
  4. Aonghas (8)
  5. Oighrig (4)
Size & Wealth

Although new to the islands the Gilranalds have worked hard to establish the sea focus of the other island Earls. When the Earls of Uisdean were disestablished on Norpen many of the more skilled seafaring folk left with them, and the tradition takes time to establish. Some 25 years on there are signs of it returning, but it will continued effort to develop local shipbuilding skills and attract more veteran seafarers to pass their skills along to the new generations.

There's an active stone quarry that exports local stone for building. There are also lots of fishing vessels, seaweed collection, and some iron ore deposits. There's a lot of trading both with the Kingdom and more widely across the world.

The Earl has a letter of justice from the King enabling his ships to intercept raiders and keep the prizes. This has been a very good source of income over the last decade.

In addition to the lands in the Easter Isles the Earl of Norpen still holds lands as the Marquess of Righ within the Grand Duchy of Dalreoch. These are mostly feudal villages engaged in agriculture. These account for about a quarter of his income, and the second town (Caer Righ).

Type Value
Ships 17
Infantry 14
Cavalry 1
Wealth income5) 15
treasury6) 14

Recent History

Bhaltair spent four years as the regent, from 765-9. Initially he was chosen for his close relation to the King and that the Earls of Duffjord and Suddal both thought that they'd be able to steer him effectively. It turned out that Bhaltair was more adept than they'd expected, and while both Suddal and Gilranald came out of the arrangement ahead, Duffjord took offence when neither of them supported his attempt to move his northern border from the river Muir so that he could work both sides of the forest for ship-building timber.

In his time as regent Bhaltair engaged the King in decisions, and made sure he was well lead. This early introduction to the murky world of politics allowed the King to assert his right to rule in his mid-teens. It's also shown up in how the King has ruled, and the methods that he's used to enforce strong central control on Dael Riata. The country has not been this unified in living memory. Bhaltair Gilranald remains unswervingly loyal to his cousin, the King.

Allies, Friends & Lords
Enemies & Feuds

Grand Duchy of Dael Riata

Dael Riata is a poor land sandwiched between mountains to its North and East, and the Sea on the West. To the south sits the related but way more prosperous Kingdom of Bernicia. Riven by centuries of internecine warfare between tribes with a culture of raiding and blood feuds the Daels are impoverished. Many of their towns (all of the successful ones) are fortified, and fortlets and castles abound between the hills and lakes. The capital is Dalreoch.

A seafaring people loosely linked to the Skyssians based on a collection of Islands and the nearby coastal lands to the East of Skyss. Unlike Skyss they're riven by factions and internecine warfare, which is why they haven't banded together to be a greater power in the world. Many Daels leave the area and seek their fortune elsewhere, and it is common to find little groups of Daels onboard a Skyssian ship, or in an enclave somewhere in a civilised town in another country.

Geography

The primary industries of Dael Riata are inshore fisheries, there are substantial islands off the west coast, paradoxically called the Easter Isles. This name harks back to the days when there was no difference between the Daels and the Skyss, and both nations sailed where they pleased. Skyss and it's isles are the Western Isles. As well as fisheries lots of oats and barley are grown, along with sheep and shaggy brown cattle with wide horns.

As well as exporting people as skilled sailors and mercenaries there is a small shipbuilding industry from the two major ports Dalreoch and dalmuir on the west coast. Large forests dominate the hills and mountains, and they provide good quality timber for ship-building. The Daels are reknowned ship-builders, possibly more accomplished than the Skyssians. Dael ships are fast, sleek, and have strong hulls able to withstand the ice often found in the waters off their Northern Cape.

People

Dael Riata is ruled by a hereditary monarch, which has been in the hands of the Ranald family for almost three hundred years, before that there was a two decade inter-regnum filled by a very bloody civil war and an intervention by the King of Bernicia which united the Dael Riatan's against the Bernicians. Originally the Riata dynasty founded the Kingdom, but the crown passed out of their hands to the Ruary dynasty, which died out (although one of their cadet branches, the Gilruary, still exist).

The current monarch is Alasdair V, Grand Duke of Reoch. He succeeded to the throne as a baby when his mother, Queen Caoimhe, was forced to abdicate by a coalition of nobles. The main nobles of Dael Riata are:

  • The Ranald, Grand Dukes of Reoch & Kings of Dael Riata
  • The Ahearn, Earls of Suddal, known colloquially as the Horse Lords.
  • The Giluilleam, Earls of Dalry, and relative newcomers to Dal Riata.
  • The Gilcinead, Earls of Craigmuir
  • The Aonghus, Earls of Beatham.
  • The Riata, Dukes of Glasholm, the founders of the Kingdom of Dael Riata.
  • The Gilriata, Earls of Dalcot, a cadet branch of Riata that now surpasses them.
  • The Sithech, Earls of Aifric, the Old Wolves.
  • The Suibhne, Earls of Douglas, famed for their hospitality and generosity.
  • The Sioltach, Earls of Duff, host to the Unicorn Troop.
  • The Gilruary, Earls of Dalmuir, the second port of Dael Riata.
  • The Murchadh, Earls of Uisdean, notorious raiders and self-proclaimed Sea Kings.
  • The Gilranald, Earls of Norpen. A cadet branch of Ranald installed on the Northern most islands as a foil to the Muchardhs.
  • The Alpins, Earls of Ardmor. Guardians of the great forest in the North.

.

19 Feb 2021 14:50 · james

Aodh MacAodh

Aodh is the proprietor of the water_gate in Dalreoch. As well as purveying fine wines, ales of the best, and delicacies from across the known world, he is also reputed to be a spy, assassin and smuggler. Born in 739 in Dalreoch, the son of Earsaid MacAodh.

Stories

They are in the story

  • First appears - in Arrivals, a short story in the 'Heirs' outline.
  • Function: a point of view character to show some of the background of what is going on in the city around the events involving the nobility.

Description

Aodh is a flame haired man with a pale complexion, he's solid but not fat and a little taller than average. In the right clothes he can pass as a noble. Equally he blends in well in a range of circumstances, and is able to speak several languages and pitch both low-born and noble and everywhere in between.

Relationships

People

Notable people

  • gilruary - The Gilruary clan often use The Water Gate when they stay in Dalreoch, and the MacAodh are a client sept of the Gilruary.
Places
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2)
currently controlled by Iain Alpin, based in Dalreoch
3) , 5)
a measure of how much their lands and trade generates annually
4) , 6)
how much money do they have right now
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