Factional Remaster ot the Roder faction

[DreamWeaver]

The Roder Family – Remastered:

Roder #4 – The Roder Family

THE RODER FAMILY:

The Roder Family is in the last stages of a transition which began soon after the Imperial Armies swept out of the north. Previously organized with a complex structure of royalty and based upon hereditary succession rules, the Roder family suffered a grievous blow early in the war. Most of the royalty was killed. The remaining Roder leaders took this disaster as an opportunity to create a more modern organization. The resulting Hierarchy reflects both the traditional
and the modern influences. The influence of the Imperial organization can be seen in the more nationalistic view of the Roder organization in Midgard.

The Roder family traditionally bases its fortune on agriculture and herding.
They measure wealth by the amount of land held and the size of a man’s herd. The Roder are constantly seeking to increase their lands (often at the expense of their neighbors), through conquest and by clearing and settling land that is unused.Roder leaders receive a percentage of the profits from the villages and farms under their control. They, in turn, supply these same villages and farms in lean times and protect them against outside threats.

The principal land holdings of the Roder in Midgard are in the southern part of
the Province of Southkeep and in the Provinces of Korlant and Battlemarch.
These lands form the “breadbasket” for the Roder.

The Roder family forces were swept aside as were the forces of all who first
opposed the Imperial Armies. Damage to the forces controlled by the family
was slowly overcome until the Great Harvest Uprising. Attacked by the legendary Imperial General Lavan Kae in the Battle of the Great Plains, the Roder forces fled the field in panic. This disaster led to the final phase of re-organization which was to bring about the centralized form of control over the army now headed by the newly created Minister of War.

The Roder Family Upper Chamber has outlined its goals below. Overall, the Roder seek to avoid combat unless it is to protect their holdings or to expand into regions with rich lands. One exception is the Roder relationship with the religion of the Banner. After the defeat of Roder forces in the Battle of the Great Plains, Banner Ecclesiastical Armies attacked Roder holdings in the southern provinces. While the Banner forces won only a few victories, they vary in significance in terms of impact on Roder projects in the South of Midgard. Worse, after each victory the survivors were killed. The Roder family and the Banner Religion are mortal enemies. The Roder Member of
the Upper Chamber has instructed his underlings to recover Roder holdings lost to the Banner using all and every means at their disposal.

Roder Bonuses:

1 Roder Clans buy Grains, Fruit, Fish, Livestock, and horses at a 20% discount
from any city market.
2 Roder Clans can use the Obtain Command, if they are in a Cultivated, Orchard, Village, or Ranch sector. The amount obtained will be based on the Influence Level of the Clan, as well as its renown and several other factors.
3 Roder Clans act as a Roder Agricultural Station when Constructing any Land Project.

Roder Hierarchy:

0 The Grand High Board of Advisors (umpire/computer)
1 Member of the Upper Chamber
2 Member of the Lower Chamber
3 Minister of Economics
4 Minister of War
5 Minister of Diplomacy
6 Minister of the Lands
7 Ministers without Portfolio
8 Secretary-General
9 Secretary of the North-east
10 Secretary of the North-west
11 Secretary of the Center-west
12 Secretary of the Center-east
13 Secretary of the South-west
14 Secretary of the South-east
15 Provincial Governor
16 Field General
17 Guardian-General
18 Regional Guardian
19 Principal
20 Sentinal

Roder Goals:

1 Control every city in Korlant, Battlemearh, and Hilant.
2 Control any city with 5 or more sectors of agriculture.
3 Act in any manner to the detriment of the Banner Religion.
4 Establish increased holdings in the South of Midgard.
5 Act to keep prices stable in Southkeep, Korlant, Battlemarch, and Hilant.
6 Eliminate Barbarians and Bandits in Roder lands.

Factional Roder Office:

The Roder AG Station office increases the amount of food stuff on the cities market by +2% per office, and adds War Horses to the cities market. Now with 30 offices, there was talks of adding something else to the cities markets as well…Zan E. of Midgard USA had talked about an Exotic product of “Spice” and “Herbs”. Both items would aid a cities in happiness. Spice would aid in making a clan Happiness and Loyalty increase while taking it, and Herbs was for Medical benefits.

Roleplaying Notes on Roder:
The Roder could be a awesome faction to play, being Knights in shinning Armor MHI (Mounted HI on War Horses), with MMI and MMM troops. I think of the Roder like the Rohirrim of the Lord of the Rings, or the Horse-Lords Warriors. Their speed and ability mounted is 2nd to none, and they Roder in time of trouble could call on their people to stand up Mounted LI and Mounted LM in the defense of their cities. Their cities could call upon these citizens for a cities defense core, it is something like 100 Citizen per Roder Ag Station level reserve warriors core. Usually 1/2 MLI and 12 MLM to form up in two regiments for use in defense of a city. These were some of the items that were talking about and some were future possible changes if the Boda were to drop the Horse part and the Roder were to take it up. I believe it would be an awesome change that would make the Roder a very fun faction to play within.

Now in my conversations with the GM of Midgard USA – Zan E., he stated that if the Boda were to be redesigned as Land based Foot soldiers(thus dropping the horse based part) then the Roder could take up the Horse based side. The Roder in the redesign added a War Horse to the markets and these mounts increased mounted troops effectiveness. The Roder could become the skilled mounted warriors of Midgard. They could be the Calvary of Midgard, and have MHI, MMI, MMM, as well as MLI or MLM.

Think of the Roder like the Rohirrim of the Lord of the Rings, or the Horse-Lords Warriors

• This topic was modified 3 years ago by DreamWeaver.

[DreamWeaver]

Skills base would be:
CMD- Command
CST – Calvary Strategy
CTA- Calvary Tactics
AGR- Agriculture
BRD-Breeding
HOR- Horesmanship
PCB- Personal Combat

Roder standard setup clan:
LDR: CMD-1, CST-1, PCB-2
F1: CTA-1, AGR-1
F2: CTA-1, BRD-1
F3: CTA-1, HOR-1

[wordsmith]

I have a lot to say about the Roder remaster including an entire write-up I did for the Medieval Inspirations (UK) Midgard a decade ago. Happy to post it. There are some errors in the perception above and I have some back up (conversations with the model as GM Zan).

The Roder troops consisted of 10% Regular A MHI (the nobility/gentry and the leadership of the armies) and 90% Regular C MM (unmounted) representing skilled bowmen of the commonfolk. The strength was in their ability to mobilize instantly in places of heavy Roder Family influence or of special interest to the Roder Family. So not quite like the horse-based culture of the LoTR Rohirrim and more like medieval manors of old, protecting the fields, granaries, and various food storage, etc.

I can post the entire remaster (including ranks, skills, etc.) based on the work I did in MidgardUSA and also Medieval Inspirations or just send it directly to the GM.

[wordsmith]

Dang apparently I can’t edit. I made a mistake above. It should be 10% Regular A MHI and 90% Regular C HM not MM (i.e. long bowmen)

[DreamWeaver]

Realize this is a “Proposed” remaster Brenda, not a fact of what it is. The intent is to get people talking about it, no proposed ideas will be suppressed here. Lets talk about it is all the point of this is for.

[wordsmith]

No worries. It’s a place to start the conversation. I get it 🙂

[wordsmith]

Note: this is the info I submitted to Medieval Inspirations based a lot on the work that was done on the Roder Family for Midgard USA with some additional ideas

Who are the Roder?
Members of the Roder Family are the stewards, managers, and caretakers of the land on every level, from simplest plowman, to land Baron, to Royalty. The clan leaders form the landed gentry and nobility of Midgard and are referred to as Peers. The clan followers, citizens, NPCs, are the many unseen faces, unheard voices, that make the food you eat, the raw materials from which your food, clothes and weapons are made, even the ale and wine you enjoy!

Abilities special to Roder Clans
–A Roder clan receives free Grains, Fruits, Fish, Livestock or Horses when moving through any respective Cultivated, Orchard, Village, or Ranch sector of land, gaining food for his stockpile for free as a “gift” to them from the peasants.
–Roder Clans buy Grains, Fruit, Fish, Livestock and Horses at a 20% discount from any city market.
–Roder clans are the only ones in the game allowed to use the front page BREED command, allowing a clan to increase the amount of livestock, horses and warhorses [see below] in his stockpile.
–When constructing a land project, a Roder clan has the same effect as 4 agricultural stations, thereby reducing the number of mancycles required to sixty percent of what is normally required.
–The Roder have significant subtle military advantages, possessing some of the best cavalry and defense in Midgard with the Roder Warhorses (see description below).

Structure of the Roder Family :
The Roder Family is in the last stages of a transition which began soon after the Imperial Armies swept out of the north. It is organized with a complex structure of royalty and based upon hereditary succession partnered with leaders from a more modern organization. The resulting Hierarchy reflects both the traditional and the modern influences.

The Senior #1 is the Sovereign of the Roder Family and the #0 is the Prime Minister of the Roder family. The Roder seniors make policy, but only upon approval of the Prime Minister.

The Roder political stance is based upon their self-appointed status of keepers and guardians of the land. The Family provide food and raw materials for all of Midgard, and from that gain their own personal wealth. The Roder are very serious about their role as protectors of the land, as some, who have tried to ravage cultivated sectors outside of cities have found out–the hard way!

Wealth and Goals of the Roder Family :
The Roder family traditionally measures its wealth by the amount of land held and the size of a man’s herd. The Roder strive to increase their lands and wealth by building, reinvesting and showing able stewardship. The principal land holdings of the Roder in Midgard are in the southern part of the Province of Southkeep and in the Provinces of Korlant and Battlemarch. These lands form the “breadbasket” for the Roder.

The Roder Family Upper Chamber has outlined its goals below. Overall, the Roder seek to avoid combat unless it is to protect their holdings or to peacefully expand their holdings into regions with rich lands. One exception is the Roder relationship with the religion of the Banner. After the defeat of Roder forces in the Battle of the Great Plains, Banner Ecclesiastical Armies attacked Roder holdings in the southern provinces. While the Banner forces won only a few victories, they vary in significance in terms of impact on Roder projects in the South of Midgard. Worse, after each victory the survivors were killed. The Roder family and the Banner Religion are mortal enemies. The Roder Prime Minister has instructed his underlings to recover Roder holdings lost to the Banner using all and every means at their disposal.

Goals of the Roder Family
1 – Control every city in Korlant, Battlemarch, and Hilant.
2 – Control any city with 5 or more sectors of Agriculture.
3 – Act in any manner to the detriment of the Banner Religion.
4 – Establish increased holdings in the South of Midgard.
5 – Act to keep prices stable in Southkeep, Korlant, Battlemarch, and Hilant.
6 – Eliminate Barbarians and Bandits in Roder lands.

The Roder Destrier
The knight’s warhorse is the crème de la crème of mounts, also known as a Courser. The Roder Destrier is a powerful breed of horse capable of great strength, good speed and maneuverability. The warhorse is an extremely valuable commodity for the Roder Family.

These strong animals form the basis of the renowned Roder Super Elite Cavalry. It is hoped that they will soon be available in a few Roder cities and ONLY available to Roder clans for purchase. With a few horses and the BREED (BRE) skill and command, a Roder Clan Leader can purchase a few for his stock and then breed his own.

The requirements for a city to have warhorses on the market is: Five Roder Ag Stations in a Roder city and Five Ranches surrounding the city. More Ag stations and ranches, of course, increase the number available on the market and may even help the price

Ranks of Peerage for Roder Clans:
0 = Prime Minister of the Upper Chamber
1 = Sovereign of the Roder Family
2 = Lord/Lady High Chamberlain (Finance)
3 = Lord/Lady High Constable (Military)
4 = Lord/Lady High Seneschal (Public Affairs)
5 = Archduke / Archduchess
6 = Grand Duke / Grand Duchess
7 = Duke / Duchess
8 = Marquess / Marchioness
9 = Count / Contessa
10 = Earl / Countess
11 = Viscount / Viscountess
12 = Baron / Baroness
13 = Baronet / Dame
14 = Lord / Lady
15 = Chevalier
16 = Knight
17 = Gentleman / Gentlewoman
18 = Esquire
19 = Yeoman
20 = Steward

Orders of Knighthood, as bestowed by the Sovereign of the Roder Family to non-Roder
Honorary Order of the Giver
Honorary Order of the Protector

Orders of Knighthood, as bestowed by the Sovereign of the Roder Family to Roder Family clans
Noble Order of the Star of Zelant
Noble Order of the Fleur of Hilant
Noble Order of the Sceptre of Korlant
Noble Order of the Signet of Southkeep
Noble Order of the Crown of Battlemarch

The Roder Agricultural Station
(Note: I’d like to propose a more “on brand” name for this factional office. Some possibilities include: Roder Manor, Roder Grange Hall or Roder Husbandry Academy)

A key area of interest to the Roder Family is agriculture. They have developed an empirical agricultural science and conduct experiments to determine the best strains of animals and plants for the local conditions. Thus the presence of stations improves farm output, which is reflected by increasing stock amounts at the time construction is completed. The stations in a city will also reduce the number of mancycles necessary to create another land project (cultivated fields, orchards, ranches and fishing villages). The mancycle reduction is 10% per station, up to a maximum of 50%. Cities with 11 Ag Stations and 11 Ranches will have honey added to their market, and cities with 6 Ag Stations and 6 Cultivated Sectors will gain spices. A Roder Factional office also allows you to affect the price or production of grains, fruit, livestock and horses.

Requirements for Building an Agricultural Station in any City
Mancycles = 1,000
Stone = 250
Lumber = 150
Metals = 50
Manufactured Goods = 50

Some additional Ideas:
–More Roder offices make a city more resistant to famines and long-term siege.
–More cultivated sectors help increase population pressure in a city (due to benefits of an increased food supply).
–Roder offices are the ONLY office that give bonus to foodstuffs on the market (i.e. removes the power of the GTO to increase foodstuffs and livestock on the market and thus only Roder offices provide that benefit while GTO affects everything else on the market)
–Certain combos of land sectors/factional offices will yield “special” items on the market (i.e. spices, honey, etc.) which will improve a city’s crisis index (CI)
–Clothing items (wool, silk, cotton) provided on the market via special actions through the Roder office on the city turn. These could provide health and morale benefits.
–Other special action features can be provided through the Roder office on the city turn (such as the creation of parks, etc.)

[DreamWeaver]

Very nicely written and makes the Roder a more rounded roleplaying option. I would love to see a new structure like “Castles” come into play with or by the Roder.

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by DreamWeaver.

[wordsmith]

Thanks! And I like the castle idea. How would that look in game? Special fortifications and defenses to Roder cities? Special watchtowers that can see out further and have better warning of siege/attack?

[Galan]

In Knightguild, we have the ability to add any item to the game – even war horses, draft horses, mules, etc. So adding the war horses is not an issue. Adding a castle or keep within a city would not be an issue. I will take a look into this.

[wordsmith]

Do you need me to list starting skills for Roder clans? I have those. I also have tons of CVRs for Roder and other cities (and stats on Roder cities from Senior turns).

I’m not sure how/when turns will start. Are we supposed to email them to you and if so, what is that email? Thanks.

[Galan]

If you have the CVRs / maps for any city, I will try and update them to that as time permits. Send them to midgard2-usa@gmail.com.
If you have maps, I can also update the database from them.

[Parmenion]

Jon.

Re: Roder Family goals
3. Act in any manner to the detriment of the Banner Relgion.
I do note that you have omitted in the Roder Family factional write-up within the rulebook the reasoning behind this goal being as it is. Is this to water down the long term enmity the two factions have for each other?

7. Eliminate Barbarians and Bandits in Roder lands.
Will this goal be amended to reflect the non-active status of the Barbarians?

cheers, Brian

[Galan]

Somehow this seems to have gotten lost in the translation. Barbarians under Time Space Simulations (when I bought the game) were a twice a year phenomena where some player was selected and ran the Barbarian invasion. They were later turned into a Faction. I have gotten rid of “Faction” aspect of it, but anyone can play a Barbarian – they are defined in the rule book under Factions as Groups. It does allow the system to create NPC Barbarians.

[Parmenion]

Jon/GMs.

How do you see the more feudal concept proposed by wordsmith (the Roder #1 in the old MidgardUSA game) for the Roder Family being incorporated into this rebirth? I note that the current rulebook (as of 27th March) has not taken up any of the proposed ideas notated above. Cheers.

[wordsmith]

I just had a look at the newest rulebook and I haven’t seen any changes made to the Roder Family. Just to be clear (because I’m basing my choice of faction on this), there is no interest by the GMs to consider the above proposal I submitted? Because I don’t anticipate there will be much interest in playing the Roder as described in the rulebook. This was a problem in previous versions of the game.

So will there be changes to the Roder Family goals, description, ranks, etc.? Or will it be continuing as is? Just looking for clarification. Thanks.

[Parmenion]

Hear, hear. The above changes to the Roder Family I believe makes them a much more playable and interesting Family. The Roder has never attracted the player numbers that the Boda, Imperials, Banner etc have in any of the three Midgards versions I have played in. In the medium to long term, this has been detrimental to the Family, as the player numbers have not been there to assign city leaders, which means that Roder cities are generally weaker and more open to assault.
I would urge that the above submission by wordsmith be reviewed and hopefully adopted to ensure this Family remains a viable entity from the start. Thanks.

[Author]

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