Krakovar

(KRAH-ko-var)

This is a homebrewed version of the Province of Krakovar in the Midgard setting, which is (c) Kobold Press.

Things are very different now in the former Electoral Kingdom of Krakova. The surviving members of the royal family are in exile in the Naledi Empire, reaver dwarves from Wolfheim have seized the peninsula to the northwest of Krakova and the city of Jozht, and the rest of the country is under vampire rule.
Princess Hristina, Grand Marshall of the Ghost Knights, rules the newly formed Province of Krakovar as its Protector from its capital Krakova, the City of the Mermaid. The Slahta, the thousands of landholding nobles who used to elect the king and make the laws of the land, have been forced to tow the Protector’s line following a series of bloody executions of those who proved recalcitrant. They still administer much of the government of the province, but their power has been hobbled.
Princess Hristina abolished the annual Gathering of Envoys where new laws were promulgated and had the most senior members of the Slahta—the High Posol and the Magnates—killed for treason against the crown. Throughout the land, Wotan's temples were razed and the priestesses of the Red Goddess established new shrines to Marena in the cities and towns, while Perun's places of worship were rededicated as temples to his contemporary Mavros. New commanderies of the Ghost Knights have been established at Heiderbirg and at Tannenbirg, rebuilt following its destruction in the conquest.
Despite all this, the vampires’ hold on Krakovar is tenuous. The undead were able to conquer the kingdom by launching an aggressive blitzkrieg spearheaded by the Ghost Knights and fearsome darakhul troops. Now, they find themselves in day-to-day control of a province with a population more than seven times that of the Principalities. For the time being the nobles live in fear of their new masters, but resistance is growing among the peasantry, and the eastern coast and border is still at risk from attacks by Northlanders, trolls, and Khazzaki raiders. It will prove difficult for the vampires to hold on to their territory if the reaver dwarves ally with the exiled royal family and launch a counterattack. And if Queen Urzula can win the support of Grandmother Baba Yaga, Morgau’s situation will be even worse.

Infrastructure

Krakova, City of the Mermaid

The provincial capital Krakova remains the largest trading hub of the Orclund Straits, even after falling into vampire hands. The city’s docks are among the finest in the region, with excellent shelter and quays for cargos. Krakova drives trade to Bjornshafen, Courlandia, Tanserhall, and as far west as Bemmea. In the past, the city’s size and power worked for it: attempts by dwarves or the guilds of Vidim to dominate shipping in the Straits were met with fierce reprisals and open piracy. Princess Hristina is determined to keep trade flowing and has put General at Arms (now Admiral) Ungur, the highest-ranking living officer in the Ghost Knights, in charge of the navy. The province’s merchant fleet must remain ever vigilant against attack from the reaver dwarves based at Skogarholm and Jozht.
The city is built on dozens of harbor islands connected by bridges. The largest of them is Mermaid’s Island, more than a mile long, where the first kings and queens of Krakova were crowned and where the Slahta used to meet to elect new kings. Mermaid’s Island and its Golden Fields, where the nobility would gather during the envoy season, are now off-limits by order of the Protector. The impressive Assembly Hall of the Magnates has begun to fall into disrepair, but the council chamber is being used as a secret meeting place by supporters of the queen-in-exile who lead the resistance to vampire rule. Princess Hristina recently reinstated Krakova’s Winter Ball to be held at the royal Breesek Palace. Many of the nobles of the Slahta are considering their invitations to the revel with a great deal of trepidation.

Varshava, City of Horses

Home to horse breeders and famous for its races, Varshava was the base of the kingdom’s royal cavalry before the conquest. When the Ghost Knights approached the city after taking Yarosbirg, Prince Hardrad Walerska, heir apparent and commander of the First Hussars, gravely underestimated the enemy he faced. Instead of waiting behind the city’s robust defenses and forcing the undead to attack the walls, the arrogant prince rode out at the head of the royal cavalry regiments, intending to attack at first light. Grand Marshall Hristina did not wait that long—the Ghost Knights and warrior-priests of Mavros smashed through the column of hussars over and over again in the darkness, panicking the Krakovan horses and sending the army into disarray. Some made it back into the city. Most, including the hapless prince, were slaughtered. Varshava surrendered the next day.
Following the city’s capture, Varshava’s celebrated World Tree Temple to Wotan was razed to the ground by the darakhul. In its flames, many saw visions of Ragnarok. The smoke hung heavy over the city for a month, and the smoldering ashes are said to have been imbued with great magical power, stirring the ley lines and sparking magical gifts in some of those who breathed its vapors. The priestesses of the Red Goddess have begun construction of a huge Blood Cathedral to Marena on the site, which will dwarf even the Temple of Aprostala.

Gybick, City of Scribes

Gybick thrives on its book trade and its excellence in accountancy. Before the invasion, the city was also the center of the Krakovan “mice,” the covert spy network of priests of Loki and Wotan who maintained careful watch over the kingdom, looking for signs of diabolism or vampirism and carrying out secret instructions on behalf of the king. Its libraries and its counting houses have both been looted, but the undead took mainly lavish, ostentatious volumes as plunder; the mice kept their most valuable information in plain calfskin folios.
When the city fell, the chief spymaster, Velda Lupei, burned the organization’s records to prevent them falling into vampire hands. However, she hid a few precious volumes in an extradimensional space, detailing information about the most senior spies, especially those who might lead a rebellion. Whether Velda has the stomach or ability to use those hidden agents against Morgau remains to be seen. Secretly, she plans to run to Naledi or Jozht as soon as the roads seem safer.

Lodezig, City of Amber

Wealthy and somewhat isolated from the rest of the kingdom, Lodezig controls the inland waterway of the River Runnel leading up to the Cloudwall Mountains, and its citizens fear the dragons, rocs, and ogres living in that wild range of peaks. The city is built on an island in the river mouth, with a silty and dangerous harbor. Lodezig has grown in importance now that trade with the gnomes of Niemheim is on the increase.

Wallenbirg, City of Pines

Known for its carved and colorful wooden toys, the skill of its archers, and the dangers of its forests, Wallenbirg is Krakova’s nearest city to the Tomierran forest. Timber and charcoal make up much of its trade, but it is also the seat of the former royal hunting lodge and the jumping-off point for expeditions to the ruins of Thorn. Wallenbirg’s walls fell to a deadly assault by the darakhul during the undead invasion—the ghouls poured over the battlements in great numbers to slaughter the city’s defenders.
The shroud-eaters always enjoy hunting and Count Warin, the vampire lord who now rules the city, makes good use of the woodlands, hunting human peasants and fey alike. The creatures of the woods don’t take too kindly to this: the count’s men disappear and the city is sometimes subject to fey revenges, leading to citywide distress when children vanish or swarms of mice strip the granaries bare.

Heiderbirg Castle

This formidable castle built of bricks at the mouth of the Yoshtula River defends the entire river system against northern reavers, who come primarily in longships and sometimes carracks, both capable of navigating 50 miles or more up the river if unopposed. Previously the Krakovan headquarters of the Order of the Storm, Heiderbirg is now a commandery for the Order of the Knights Incorporeal under the authority of Commander Ciobanu, newly promoted by Grand Marshall Hristina for his valor and tactical nous on the battlefield.
Some of the more bloodthirsty knights of the Order of the Storm returned to the castle after swearing allegiance to Mavros and Blood Priestess Sonye of the Spear—the fledgling Order of the Bloody Blade also falls under Ciobanu’s command. Survivors who remained loyal to Perun fled northwest to join the reaver dwarves at Jozht.

Tannenbirg Castle

The great forest castle of Tannenbirg fell to the darakhul army on the first night of the invasion. The ghouls entered the castle through a hidden tunnel known to the undead through the double agents they had placed within Krakova’s spy network. A night of terrible slaughter followed, ending with the castle being burned to the ground. Since the conquest, Princess Hristina had the fortress rebuilt to ensure that the province’s northern border with the Naledi Empire is properly defended.

Yarosbirg Castle

Now in ruins, Yarosbirg was the third great castle of Krakova, home to both the Order of the Spear (devoted to Sif) and a monastery dedicated to light, faith, and the destruction of the undead. Yarosbirg was taken by the Ghost Knights and the warrior-priests of Mavros on the same night Tannenbirg fell to the darakhul. The paladins and clerics of Sif fought bravely against the undead, who appeared in their midst by phasing through the walls on their fell mounts.
As the vampires and ghouls began slaughtering the defenders, Sister Adelind, a shield maiden of Sif, strode forward and stabbed the notorious vampire lord Otmar the Sallow through the heart with her radiant spear, incinerating him. A pack of ghouls surrounded her, but Adelind continued to fight furiously until she was finally pulled to the ground and devoured. Her death inspired the other paladins to fight until they too were overpowered. Those who escaped the carnage told the story of Sister Adelind wherever they went. When her tale reached the ears of Queen Urzula, she proclaimed Sister Adelind a martyr and the shield maiden has since become a symbol of hope and defiance to those who stand against the vampires. After the battle, Grand Marshall Hristina ordered Yarosbirg razed to the ground to serve as a memorial and eternal tomb for her cousin Otmar. Some of those who visit the memorial, though, leave tiny wooden spears and white flowers as offerings to Saint Adelind.

Type

Geopolitical, Province

Demonym

Krakovarian

Head of State

Lucan Zarovich

Government System

Oligarchy

Power Structure

Client state / puppet state

Economic System

Traditional

Major Exports

Necromantic goods (ritual materials, corpses, etc), amber, horses, wool, apples, honey.

Parent Organization

Morgau

Location

Darklands

Neighboring Nations

• Nine Cities of Niemheim