Crothani Ideas

Traditions
+1 Diplomats
+20% Foreign Spy Detection

A new Crotháni FleetCrothán joined the Fourth Lilac War after heavy insistence from the republic of Damescrown, providing our Rose party allies from the Eastern Dameshead with money to pay their troops and ships to open them a way into the Damesear. The Crotháni made a promise and the Crotháni paid their debts, as always, but this price was heavier than we could have imagined. Our combined Rose Fleet beat the Damerian one at the Damesteeth, yet half of our own galleys sunk into the depths of the Dameshead, with some of our mercenary crews leaving the battle outright and stealing our warships on the way. \n\nIt wasn't until the year 1467 when Borian síl Ainémar was chosen by the Assembly to rebuild the fleet. The half-elf, a veteran from the Third and Fourth Lilac Wars, declared that only true citizens of Crothán would be accepted into his new force: Elves, half-elves, humans and halflings alike, and he began training them immediately, using them as both recruits and a workforce to build their new galleys. Almost ten years later, the Free City found itself in possession of an elite force, small yet deadly and fully loyal to their own. \n\n"Loyal to the bitter depths of the sea" Borian síl Ainémar, when asked for the new fleet's motto.
+15% Galley Combat Ability

An Old Free CityEver since our unlikely independence from Damescrown during the foundation of Anbennar, Crothán has been an Imperial Free City, owing loyalty to the Emperor alone and parading this privilege with pride. This tradition, that of the first free cities of the Empire, is now threatened by the myriad of lordlings and city councils released after the war, all seeking our free city status with their greedy hands.\n\nThis takeover must not happen: we will remind the lords of Anbennar of what it takes to be a true city of the Emperor at every diet, every vote, every single meeting... lest they forget.
+0.5 Yearly Prestige
+0.15 Yearly Republican Tradition

First and Last Men of the Damescrown"It isn't uncommon for the uneducated to assume that Crothán was born as a byproduct of the city of Damescrown: they couldn't be more wrong. My personal investigations on ancient texts on the Rohibonic peoples and the remains of native pottery near the Sailmarket suggest that the city itself was one of the first Arami settlements in the Damescrown, possibly predating the famed merchant republic by a few hundred years. Still, the meagre town built around a market of sails didn't become the Law City of Crothán until a sizeable Crodamic population from the Golden Plains fled to take refuge with their city-dwelling brethren during the chaos and destruction brought by the Day of Ashen Skies and the subsequent War of the Falling Stars. \n\nIt was in Crothán where the Crodamics found their most welcoming hosts, with some of the tribesmen going as far as to stay in the city after the war ended in what was a unique case among the early Crownsman settlements: a city populated by the first and last human waves into the area. \n\nSome say that the Crotháni themselves and their acceptance of foreign councillors and reformers began here, while other experts (and most of the native Crotháni) argue that it was this acceptance what made the integration of the Crodamics possible in the first place. Anyhow, when most of the Crodamics joined the Morbani in their migration during the Dragonwake, they had already given Crothán its name and a distinct identity among the rest of the Crownsmen, possibly including the inheritance of nomadic food recipes like..."\n\n Taken from "The Peoples of Anbennar: a comprehensive study. Volume VII (1883)", by Artiros síl na Chéiri.
-10% Advisor Cost

Born from the Fine PrintCrothán was born out of a technicality, a missing signature during the surrender of the Republic of Damescrown to Black Castanorian forces in 982 A.A.. The missing ink meant nothing for Castanorians and Crownsmen alike while meaning the world for us, even if we didn't know it yet.\n\nOur city of law remained a part of Damescrown for two whole centuries, when our most expert lawyers managed to inspect the treaty and found a golden opportunity for our independence. It took 10 years to prepare the case, and so it was in the year 1223 (with the Empire of Anbennar still formalising its internal divisions) when our brightest lawyer, Saulion "Goodelf" Saerossúir, brought our case to the Imperial Diet and Crothán became one of the first Free Cities of Anbennar under the protection of the Emperor. All by law and contract and without bloodshed, in the true Crownsman way... to the chagrin of our former overlords. \n\nNowadays the administrative folly that is the Empire is filled to the brim with these conflicting treaties. Entire new opportunities await in drawers to be found by someone who could draw upon their true potential. What are we doing with our city of law where merchants fight over loot and widows demand their husbands' fortunes? Once we reveal to the world what these documents have to offer, the fate of entire fiefdoms will be decided under the golden scales of our Hall.
-10% Aggressive Expansion Impact

The Hall of Golden ScalesThe city council may gather at the Assembly, yet it is in the Hall of Golden Scales where the heart of Crothán lies. It is in this architectural wonder where the Crownsman famed contracts reach their peak: the main institute of law in the Damescrown. \nThe building itself is ancient: some say the foundations date back to the years before the Ash, while its gold and alabaster walls change between Castanorian, Esmarian, Damerian and Elven influences: Stout walls and dragon engravings mix with the arms of Anbennar, ornate Elven motifs decorate windows of Varainéy glass... all dedicated to Nerat and the sacred Rule of Law.\n\nThis mixed building tradition grew into its own Crotháni style, centered around practicality and beauty, but it was during the rebuilding after the Corinite Wars when the Crotháni style truly shone, finally taking the center stage as entire patrician neighbourhoods were rebuilt following the trend born in the Hall of Golden Scales.
-15% Construction Cost

The SailmarketDespite what some may say, Crothán wasn't built around its Ruby Hall. The city-state was once a small port with an artisan guild at its center, famed across the Dameshead for the quality of the sails they made. Growing with the years as the city turned into its modern law-centered self, the original Sailmarket turned from sails to various types of cloth, founding its own pole of attraction under the colossal shadow of Damescrown. With the centuries, the Sailmarket fair became a known meeting place for Esmarian fashion designers hoping to find revolutionary materials before their competitors, some going as far as equipping their party barges with sails made from Crotháni cloths to the horror and amazement of their fellow Esmarians. \n\nSailmarket cloth used for sails? Outrageous!
+10% Production Efficiency

The Cannorian NetThe fame of the Crotháni lawyers, judges and prosecutors extends all the way to Pearlsedge and Verne while they are now being hired in both Escann and Lorent, and perhaps even further away. Our legal experts are hired when the powerful want the best defenders, and they rarely leave anything but a pleased customer on their leave: so much so that their legal advice is followed to the last detail. \n\nWith such a complex net of envoys travelling around Cannor, it is no wonder that some words slip by, a letter is dropped at a convenient location and bags of money find the right pockets. \n\nIt is all in the best interest of our clients, after all. Even if they do not know it yet.
+1 Diplomatic Reputation

Ambition
-10% Development Cost