Setting

It occurred to me while preparing for the Brigstein event that I had never really posted any setting information for the game publicly. Oberholt is a territory in the Great Kingdom of Aerdi in the Greyhawk D&D setting. It's set during the time period when the capital Rauxes is collapsing from truly terrifying corruption and the whole kingdom is falling apart. What follows was the original setting information that players and patrons were given way back whenever we started this thing.

Oberholt, Barony of

His Lordship, Heinrik, Baron of Oberholt, the Bloodletter

Seat: Bellport 

CY 576

The Barony of Oberholt is a recent addition to the titles held by Aerdi nobility, granted by His Radiant Grace Grenell, the Herzog of the North Province to Sir Heinrik of Donward in CY 566. After the humanoid invasion of CY 563 captured the Aerdi-held Bone March, Sir Heinrik rallied the scattered remnants of the routed army into a line of defense along the Bellport Hills and Teesar Torrent, eventually halting the humanoid advance and preventing a strike into the ancestral lands of the Aerdi. His tactics during the defense earned him the name Bloodletter and a reputation of savagery that gained the attention of the High Nobility of the Kingdom.

Oberholt's seat is at Bellport, a port and mining city along the southern coast of the Grendep Bay. Wartime taxes, brooding religious tension, and the constant threat of barbarian, bandit, and humanoid raids weighs heavily on the local populace.

With the collapse of the High Court at Rauxes in the winter of CY 575, the Great Kingdom of Aerdi has devolved into civil war, the High Seats of the primary provinces vying for the throne while the smaller baronies and duchies take the opportunity to settle old grievances. The expansive territories once held by the country’s nobility are now shrinking closer towards their strongholds, leaving the countryside in between vulnerable to monsters and bandits.

Despite the political upheaval elsewhere in the realm, Bellport's court manages to remain mostly businesslike due to His Lordship's military discipline in the face of the ever-present humanoid problem on the opposite side of the Torrent. Regular skirmishes with the many threats of the region keep the ruthless principal members of the court engaged against beastmen rather than each other. 

The climate in and around Oberholt is temperate, with rocky terrain suited more for grazing than raising crops. Its primary industries are fishing, textiles, and mining, with rich veins of electrum and numerous limestone quarries representing the most profitable. The Duke's Rangers, under the command of Sir Hallas Wheatley, patrol these lucrative wilderness territories, protecting the workers and merchants from the many and varied threats to the common man. As a result, they are one of the only government-funded groups to have gained genuine respect and appreciation from the people. Sir Wheatley, pre-dating Baron Heinrik's rise, is careful to keep the Rangers out of any of the numerous religious, economical, and political struggles that tend to crop up, at least publically.

Oberholt, like much of the Great Kingdom, claims Heironeous as the state religion, but recent disillusionment with the corruption rampant in the country's churches and proximity to an ever-growing population of humanoids have attributed to a rise in followers of Hextor and Gruumsh, a trend alarmingly common in the more corrupt parts of the Kingdom.

Dante Relos, the Bishop of Bellport and high priest of Heironeous, holds official office. His energy recently has been spent combating the spread of Hextor among the territory's young male populace, but he is seen mostly as a hypocrite and opportunist. The paladin Eros Tyring is the charismatic face of Hextor to the disgruntled youths, eschewing the stereotypical bloodthirsty and tyrannical dogma of The Lord of Ruin's faithful for a more moderate and vague "might makes right" mentality. He appears to be single handedly fanning the flames of religious rebellion.

Competition among local criminals to profit off of the uncertainty of war is fierce, with little to no concern given by the Baron unless provoked. One such incident was the Unholy Godsday of 571 where the gang of thieves responsible for stealing the payroll of Sir Ulm Kyte's men was systematically hunted down, butchered, and burned in the central plaza of Bellport's mercantile district. His Lordship led the raid personally, and afterward had Sir Kyte's left eye removed "since he couldn't watch his fucking money!" This erratic stance on crime encourages scoundrels to keep their heads down and those in power to swiftly dispense "justice" to avoid the Baron's ire.

The once noble and proud Knights of the Great Kingdom still retain a charter in Bellport, but losses to war, greed, and treachery have reduced their strength to insignificance. The local Knight Commander is Sir Vulstad the Red, an aging warrior said to be past his prime physically and nearly mad. He is owed allegiance by five Knights Valiant, but their loyalty and reliability is unknown.

A small tower on a cliff overlooking Bellport is home to an infamous wizard named Jolus the Laughing Skull, rumored to have been involved in every disaster of war, famine, and nature for the past 250 years. He is allegedly an ageless human man that bears an unchanging rictus snarl as a result of losing a staring contest with Pholtus of the Blinding Light. The common people are terrified of the tower and avoid it at all costs, but have reported a mule-driven cart going to and from the tower once a week laden with supplies. The simpleton that accompanies the mule and purchases the supplies smiles happily, but offers no commentary on the business of his nefarious master.