Angermanland
12-10-2008, 07:10
Significantly more to come as it becomes relevant.
Writen for this RP here: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=567673
The Principality of Angermanland is ruled by a hereditary monarchy.
The entire system is run on a bizarre combination of feudalism and representative democracy, at every layer balanced and counter balanced by a myriad of guilds, unions, schools, churches, counties, and other such organisations.
The only thing that can really be nailed down about who does what and when, at the end of the day, is that the Prince's word is law. Which isn't to say there isn't a system in place to balance even that, there is even legal allowance for removing a Prince who has lost sight of the Way.
The Way, such an all-encompassing concept is difficult to explain to those who do not live with it, and even those who do. For a prince, it means doing what is best for the nation and the people as a whole. Not just short term, and not by one's ideology, but for the long run, and by what Is.
For a warrior, it is to follow orders on the battlefield, and to fight and win and live, and if living is not possible, die well. For a warrior to flee without the order to retreat is to go against the Way. The Way is somewhat all pervasive.
Heraldry plays a large part in Angermanland. From the time they can walk, a child will bear their family's symbol, graduating from various schools earns them more, as does joining guilds, gaining rank, earning favour, mastering arts and disciplines, joining temples, swearing oaths, and winning battles. One bears the marks of who one is on one's sleave (and the rest of one's clothing) quite literally.
Anyone who officially grants you the right to wear a symbol can also strip you of that right.
Often a mix of heraldic and magical symbols will be mixed together, simultaneously defining and empowering an object. anyone can, in theory, use magic of the sort available used amongst the people of Angermanland. For it to be used safely and effectively, however, much training is required. This is similar to the knowledge and skill required to be a blacksmith, alchemist, herbalist, or soldier. The magical schools tend to focus on teaching control and law.
A basic description of Angerman magic and a list of spell components follows.
Spells draw power from the caster.
Using correct diagrams, the caster may cause them to draw power stored in artefacts use of elemental spell components and sympathetic gods and inevitables may allow for external power to be drawn from those sources.
Spells containing less than five components are less focused, less controlled, and Will draw enough power to take effect, even if the caster cannot sustain supplying the energy required. This can lead to death.
The more elements contained in a spell, the more energy required.
The greater the effect, the more energy required.
The more the spell works contrary to 'normal reality', the more energy required.
Spells cease having their effect if they lose their source of energy.
Non-autonomous spells will fizzle if they lose their caster Or their energy source [often the same thing]
The energy used for spells is just another form of natural energy, like electrical or chemical energy, and is produced in the natural course of events by humans in day to day life. It is never used up casting a spell, merely converted into other forms or transferred to a new location. When losing control of a spell kills the caster, it is typically caused by one of two things. Either too much energy is being drawn through them, causing damage, or because the spell is drawing off so much of their magical energy so quickly that their body begins converting the various other sorts of energy used by the body, in order to compensate. Energy the body needs to function normally.
gods:
Chaos chaotic, destructive, creative.
Order organized, safe, unchanging.
Inevitables:
Fates judgment, past/present/future sight, destiny, forgiveness, technology, life
death judgment, the afterlife, spirits,
time gravity, light, time, automation.
Elements:
fire
earth
water
air
electricity
dark
light
emotions:
happiness
excitement
frustration
apathy
anger
love
sadness
colours:
white
blue
black
purple
red
green
gold
animals:
dolphin intelligence, curiosity.
parrot repeat
fish sense/flow
rabbit move/multiply
bear defend
hawk seek
tiger attack
constellations:
compass direction
balance harmony
crown control/responsibility
fortress solidness/defence
hunter seek/find/trap
servant obedience, messenger, act as desired without external instruction
lion courage, strength, standing.
Professions:
Healer
adviser
trader
fighter
ruler
labourer
bureaucrat
Affinities:
Moon gravitational, links to time
Nexus connections, links to chaos.
Tomb isolation, links to death
Giant larger/more powerful
Lighthouse guidance
Garden growth, healing, links to order.
Temple Judgment, links to fate.
It is worth noting that, using this system, it is far easier to allow handgonnes[sp] to fire with the accuracy and range of a rifle, than it is to throw a fireball.
Far easier to call a rainstorm than to cast lightning at someone.
A lack of readily available soft metals means that Angermanland never had a bronze age of it’s own. Even now metal working of any sort is a prized skill, and rare. Most metal tools and weapons are bought and imported. Recently, however, deposits of iron have been found. The Prince is actively encouraging the immigration of skilled smiths and miners. Naturally there are dwarfs amongst these immigrants.
The population of Angermanland is made up primarily of humans, though representatives of almost any race to ever put to sea, [not always voluntarily, it must be admitted] can be found if one looks in the right places. While there are the inevitable bigots amongst the population, any sentient capable of taking an oath is considered a person. Any who is not only capable of taking an oath but also actually does take the relevant ones is a citizen. Note that this means that minors are generally Not citizens. They are, however, part of their families and schools and whatever other organisations will take them, which in practice amounts to the same thing.
It should be noted that citizen, criminal, and slave are not mutually exclusive states. Slavery is [legally] entered into voluntarily, usually to repay a debt, or as a criminal punishment, under set terms. The slave does not cease to be a person or lose their status as a citizen, they do however give up some rights and privileges (but also many responsibilities)
List of guilds, unions, and other entities (to be expanded as needed):
Engineer’s Union: these are the labourers and specialists involved in construction, excepting those with their own guilds.
Prince's Royal Guards: only standing army in Angermanland, and quite small at only 1000 men.
Trade Guild: runs various markets and merchant harbours as well as most caravans. Most merchants you meet will belong to this guild, as well as many craftsmen not otherwise affiliated.
Sea Captains Guild: exists mostly to balance the influence of the trade guild in harbours, but the more wealthy merchant captains often belong to that guild as well. Also runs/regulates the ocean fishing industry and the navy (when one is called for, and under the command of the military commander). Strong ties with the Guild of Shipwrights and Carpenters
Guild of Shipwrights and Carpenters: ... shipwrights... and carpenters... yeah, fairly self-explanatory. Moderately influential.
Banking Clans: a lose conglomeration of wealthy families who engage in the business of banking and investment. Only the oldest and most stable organisations and the Prince himself (for governmental purposes) are ever granted loans, as it is viewed as an irresponsible use of their clients’ money, and thus goes against their way. Any clan member convicted of fraud or embezzlement or anything else of the like is doubly punished. Not only is their position in the clan lost, and thus their income, so is their right to bear the clan symbol in their heraldry. The reason this is a double punishment, is that the clan symbols are also their family symbols, usually the last and hardest thing to get revoked, and the core symbol that even the lowliest peasant or criminal-slave wears. Such a punishment is of similar effect to exile, in the minds of most, or worse. It is also as close as a sentient can come to being declared a ‘non-person’ within the principality.
Union of Heralds: in charge of heraldry and messenger services. Runs the ‘post office’ such as it is, as well as keeping records of all the myriad of symbols to be found in Angerman heraldry, and their meaning.
Mages Academy: centre of learning for the magical arts, and the official body in charge of controlling magical effects within the principality. Rare and dangerous is the skilled mage who does not belong to this body.
geography:
Kant : Largest island in Angermanland, homeland of the current prince, "bread basket" of the nation. Contains one of the nations two major ports. a fertile volcanic island, though the large volcano at the north west end has been dormant for as long as records have been kept, and the smaller one in the south east is fairly quiet. Main products: barley and sheep related items. Main administrative center: Shepford
Shepkost: main administrative center of Kant, it is built near the center of the north east coast. the old city is mostly of stone construction, often built into the surrounding hills and cliffs. however, the port facilities have become so extensive and the city has grown so much that many of the citizens live in wooden houses built on the piers, which now serve as streets as much as docks.
Deepharour: another port city, built in the shelter of the islands on the south west coast, Stone in a common building material. named for the fact that the harbour is very deep, the sea floor shelving steeply away from the coast. the city it's self is not so large, and the harbour caters primarily, though not exclusively, to military ships.
Angerwraith: capital city of Angermanland. Situated on the larger island directly south east of Kant. this island is also volcanic. the city isn't actually very large, all things considered. like most Angerman cities, it is built of stone where possible, and wood where not.
Kainor: a small town in the far north of Kant. It grew up around a watchtower, and the fact that the crossing to the Witching Isle was neither difficult nor long, while the lands there were lawless. Used until recently mostly as a dumping ground for those for whom no better position was open. Well-known for its [illegal] brothels and low quality bars, the only reason it hasn't been cleaned up yet is because successive princes have had bigger worries.
Southsea: a large town on the southern most island of the principality, it serves as a point of departure to eventually anywhere in the middle sea. Also much involved in fishing, the only reason it hasn't grown Much larger is the limited amount of land available there and the fact that most of it's inhabitants at any one time are transients.
Alpini: mid sized town on an island roughly in the center of Angerman territory, on the rout from Shepkost to Southsea. Exists mostly as a resting place for travelers, and a center of learning. several different universities are to be found here.
Angerman soldiers, weapons and equipment:
Hawk troops:
these elite troops fill a rather dangerous role, taking to the air in gliders launched from powerful ballistia. almost exclusively drawn from skilled mages, as while one Could fly a Hawk glider without magic, the risks are so high as to render it near suicidal, especially once weapons are involved.
useually carry five bombs [useually little more than small, fused, kegs of gunpowder] and an eel blade, with little armour. a few units wear full armour and carry taiaha, acting as shock troops, but their range is short and the odds of them returning to anywhere near their launchers are low. instead, they land as well as they can and start fighting, useually in order to open the gates of besieged cities from the inside, or strike an enemy's commanders or supplies.
Wheel troops:
armed with a taiaha and wearing light leather armour so as to maintain maneuverability, these warriors [it would be a stretch to call them soldiers] are named for the constantly spinning nature of their fighting style, designed to conserve momentum as much as possible. devastatingly effective shock troops against most enemies, however, they suffer from many of the same weaknesses as melee cavalry in terms of certain formations being resistant to their attacks.
Rock troops:
armed with tower shield and a short sword with a single continuous blade and no point [these were made of a particularly solid type of jade. now often made of worked metal], and wearing heavy armour, the Rock Troop's lot is to disrupt enemy offensive maneuvers by the simple expedient of not giving way when attacked. this then allows other troop types to maneuver more advantageously.
they will also use their shields to cover an advance by other troop types.
Eel troops: armed with two short swords, similar to those wielded by the rock troops, but with a deadly spike on the opposite end of the grip [designed for puncturing armour striking vital organs]. lightly armoured, with a fighting style emphasizing agility. eel troops also carry grenades and are expert at dismantling densely packed enemy troop formations [such as tericos, tortoises, and the like]
Moa troops: mounted on Moa and armed primarily with javelins and javelin-sling. lightly armoured ranged 'cavalry' and scouts.
'artillery' and seige weapons run to the launchers for Hawk troops, and 'boom tube launchers', originoally designed for ships. both types of launcher are essentially the same, the only difference being the spells used to enhance them, so they can be interchanged in an emergency.
a 'boom tube' is basically a wooden tube packed with gun powder and incendiaries, with a grapple and spear point at the head. designed to tangle in rigging or punch into the deck of a ship so that it cannot be removed easily, then explode, spreading fire and shrapnel everywhere. compared to most seige weapons, it's range is somewhat limited, and it's ability to punch through stone walls is a little low, especially as it is fired indirectly. however, the shear amount of devastation that it can cause with a single shot useually more than makes up for this.
Ships:
Master: a long, narrow ship with a single, very tall mast balanced by a large, partially retractable, centreboard with a specially shaped stone weight replacing it's tip. Two large sails are rigged along the ship's length, with a spinnaker being rigged forward of these for added speed downwind.
Waka: a large, flat-bottomed, ocean going canoe. War waka will seat 50 men, 48 of them paddling, 1 steering, and one keeping rhythm. Its bow is reinforced for ramming. Other variants include the high-sided merchant waka, which has had thirty of the paddler's places removed in favor of cargo space, and has no rhythm keeper and two steersmen. Its bow is not reinforced.
T'l-kargo: precursor to the master, it has two 'centerboards', though neither is as large and they cannot be raised, and 2 masts, one on each side of the ship. Each mast is rigged the same as a master, however the spinnaker is replaced with a mostly square 'pull sail', the base of which is held in front of the ship by a pair of spinnaker poles, and the top is attached by long sheets (navel rope) to the mast heads. It is only run up when there is a strong enough wind to hold it off the forward sails. This design stems from the need for a large cargo hold, which all but eliminated the possibility of placing masts along the center of the ship. A t'l-Kargo is steered with a large rudder, operated by a correspondingly large tiller, though later hulls use a wheel instead, like the masters. At the stern is a raised deck, from which the steersman (sometimes called the helmsman, and properly called such on a ship with a wheel rather than a tiller) can see what is going on and call orders to the 5 men (up to 15 in truly bad weather) manning the tiller it's self. Bellow the tiller deck are generally a few cabins (including the captain’s) and a galley, and in the bow, below the slightly raised forward deck, are crew quarters, 4 'cabin's full of hammocks and foot lockers.
(actual warships to come. 'fore and aft firing catamarans with boomtube launchers, and some schooner rigged rammy ships :) )
Writen for this RP here: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=567673
The Principality of Angermanland is ruled by a hereditary monarchy.
The entire system is run on a bizarre combination of feudalism and representative democracy, at every layer balanced and counter balanced by a myriad of guilds, unions, schools, churches, counties, and other such organisations.
The only thing that can really be nailed down about who does what and when, at the end of the day, is that the Prince's word is law. Which isn't to say there isn't a system in place to balance even that, there is even legal allowance for removing a Prince who has lost sight of the Way.
The Way, such an all-encompassing concept is difficult to explain to those who do not live with it, and even those who do. For a prince, it means doing what is best for the nation and the people as a whole. Not just short term, and not by one's ideology, but for the long run, and by what Is.
For a warrior, it is to follow orders on the battlefield, and to fight and win and live, and if living is not possible, die well. For a warrior to flee without the order to retreat is to go against the Way. The Way is somewhat all pervasive.
Heraldry plays a large part in Angermanland. From the time they can walk, a child will bear their family's symbol, graduating from various schools earns them more, as does joining guilds, gaining rank, earning favour, mastering arts and disciplines, joining temples, swearing oaths, and winning battles. One bears the marks of who one is on one's sleave (and the rest of one's clothing) quite literally.
Anyone who officially grants you the right to wear a symbol can also strip you of that right.
Often a mix of heraldic and magical symbols will be mixed together, simultaneously defining and empowering an object. anyone can, in theory, use magic of the sort available used amongst the people of Angermanland. For it to be used safely and effectively, however, much training is required. This is similar to the knowledge and skill required to be a blacksmith, alchemist, herbalist, or soldier. The magical schools tend to focus on teaching control and law.
A basic description of Angerman magic and a list of spell components follows.
Spells draw power from the caster.
Using correct diagrams, the caster may cause them to draw power stored in artefacts use of elemental spell components and sympathetic gods and inevitables may allow for external power to be drawn from those sources.
Spells containing less than five components are less focused, less controlled, and Will draw enough power to take effect, even if the caster cannot sustain supplying the energy required. This can lead to death.
The more elements contained in a spell, the more energy required.
The greater the effect, the more energy required.
The more the spell works contrary to 'normal reality', the more energy required.
Spells cease having their effect if they lose their source of energy.
Non-autonomous spells will fizzle if they lose their caster Or their energy source [often the same thing]
The energy used for spells is just another form of natural energy, like electrical or chemical energy, and is produced in the natural course of events by humans in day to day life. It is never used up casting a spell, merely converted into other forms or transferred to a new location. When losing control of a spell kills the caster, it is typically caused by one of two things. Either too much energy is being drawn through them, causing damage, or because the spell is drawing off so much of their magical energy so quickly that their body begins converting the various other sorts of energy used by the body, in order to compensate. Energy the body needs to function normally.
gods:
Chaos chaotic, destructive, creative.
Order organized, safe, unchanging.
Inevitables:
Fates judgment, past/present/future sight, destiny, forgiveness, technology, life
death judgment, the afterlife, spirits,
time gravity, light, time, automation.
Elements:
fire
earth
water
air
electricity
dark
light
emotions:
happiness
excitement
frustration
apathy
anger
love
sadness
colours:
white
blue
black
purple
red
green
gold
animals:
dolphin intelligence, curiosity.
parrot repeat
fish sense/flow
rabbit move/multiply
bear defend
hawk seek
tiger attack
constellations:
compass direction
balance harmony
crown control/responsibility
fortress solidness/defence
hunter seek/find/trap
servant obedience, messenger, act as desired without external instruction
lion courage, strength, standing.
Professions:
Healer
adviser
trader
fighter
ruler
labourer
bureaucrat
Affinities:
Moon gravitational, links to time
Nexus connections, links to chaos.
Tomb isolation, links to death
Giant larger/more powerful
Lighthouse guidance
Garden growth, healing, links to order.
Temple Judgment, links to fate.
It is worth noting that, using this system, it is far easier to allow handgonnes[sp] to fire with the accuracy and range of a rifle, than it is to throw a fireball.
Far easier to call a rainstorm than to cast lightning at someone.
A lack of readily available soft metals means that Angermanland never had a bronze age of it’s own. Even now metal working of any sort is a prized skill, and rare. Most metal tools and weapons are bought and imported. Recently, however, deposits of iron have been found. The Prince is actively encouraging the immigration of skilled smiths and miners. Naturally there are dwarfs amongst these immigrants.
The population of Angermanland is made up primarily of humans, though representatives of almost any race to ever put to sea, [not always voluntarily, it must be admitted] can be found if one looks in the right places. While there are the inevitable bigots amongst the population, any sentient capable of taking an oath is considered a person. Any who is not only capable of taking an oath but also actually does take the relevant ones is a citizen. Note that this means that minors are generally Not citizens. They are, however, part of their families and schools and whatever other organisations will take them, which in practice amounts to the same thing.
It should be noted that citizen, criminal, and slave are not mutually exclusive states. Slavery is [legally] entered into voluntarily, usually to repay a debt, or as a criminal punishment, under set terms. The slave does not cease to be a person or lose their status as a citizen, they do however give up some rights and privileges (but also many responsibilities)
List of guilds, unions, and other entities (to be expanded as needed):
Engineer’s Union: these are the labourers and specialists involved in construction, excepting those with their own guilds.
Prince's Royal Guards: only standing army in Angermanland, and quite small at only 1000 men.
Trade Guild: runs various markets and merchant harbours as well as most caravans. Most merchants you meet will belong to this guild, as well as many craftsmen not otherwise affiliated.
Sea Captains Guild: exists mostly to balance the influence of the trade guild in harbours, but the more wealthy merchant captains often belong to that guild as well. Also runs/regulates the ocean fishing industry and the navy (when one is called for, and under the command of the military commander). Strong ties with the Guild of Shipwrights and Carpenters
Guild of Shipwrights and Carpenters: ... shipwrights... and carpenters... yeah, fairly self-explanatory. Moderately influential.
Banking Clans: a lose conglomeration of wealthy families who engage in the business of banking and investment. Only the oldest and most stable organisations and the Prince himself (for governmental purposes) are ever granted loans, as it is viewed as an irresponsible use of their clients’ money, and thus goes against their way. Any clan member convicted of fraud or embezzlement or anything else of the like is doubly punished. Not only is their position in the clan lost, and thus their income, so is their right to bear the clan symbol in their heraldry. The reason this is a double punishment, is that the clan symbols are also their family symbols, usually the last and hardest thing to get revoked, and the core symbol that even the lowliest peasant or criminal-slave wears. Such a punishment is of similar effect to exile, in the minds of most, or worse. It is also as close as a sentient can come to being declared a ‘non-person’ within the principality.
Union of Heralds: in charge of heraldry and messenger services. Runs the ‘post office’ such as it is, as well as keeping records of all the myriad of symbols to be found in Angerman heraldry, and their meaning.
Mages Academy: centre of learning for the magical arts, and the official body in charge of controlling magical effects within the principality. Rare and dangerous is the skilled mage who does not belong to this body.
geography:
Kant : Largest island in Angermanland, homeland of the current prince, "bread basket" of the nation. Contains one of the nations two major ports. a fertile volcanic island, though the large volcano at the north west end has been dormant for as long as records have been kept, and the smaller one in the south east is fairly quiet. Main products: barley and sheep related items. Main administrative center: Shepford
Shepkost: main administrative center of Kant, it is built near the center of the north east coast. the old city is mostly of stone construction, often built into the surrounding hills and cliffs. however, the port facilities have become so extensive and the city has grown so much that many of the citizens live in wooden houses built on the piers, which now serve as streets as much as docks.
Deepharour: another port city, built in the shelter of the islands on the south west coast, Stone in a common building material. named for the fact that the harbour is very deep, the sea floor shelving steeply away from the coast. the city it's self is not so large, and the harbour caters primarily, though not exclusively, to military ships.
Angerwraith: capital city of Angermanland. Situated on the larger island directly south east of Kant. this island is also volcanic. the city isn't actually very large, all things considered. like most Angerman cities, it is built of stone where possible, and wood where not.
Kainor: a small town in the far north of Kant. It grew up around a watchtower, and the fact that the crossing to the Witching Isle was neither difficult nor long, while the lands there were lawless. Used until recently mostly as a dumping ground for those for whom no better position was open. Well-known for its [illegal] brothels and low quality bars, the only reason it hasn't been cleaned up yet is because successive princes have had bigger worries.
Southsea: a large town on the southern most island of the principality, it serves as a point of departure to eventually anywhere in the middle sea. Also much involved in fishing, the only reason it hasn't grown Much larger is the limited amount of land available there and the fact that most of it's inhabitants at any one time are transients.
Alpini: mid sized town on an island roughly in the center of Angerman territory, on the rout from Shepkost to Southsea. Exists mostly as a resting place for travelers, and a center of learning. several different universities are to be found here.
Angerman soldiers, weapons and equipment:
Hawk troops:
these elite troops fill a rather dangerous role, taking to the air in gliders launched from powerful ballistia. almost exclusively drawn from skilled mages, as while one Could fly a Hawk glider without magic, the risks are so high as to render it near suicidal, especially once weapons are involved.
useually carry five bombs [useually little more than small, fused, kegs of gunpowder] and an eel blade, with little armour. a few units wear full armour and carry taiaha, acting as shock troops, but their range is short and the odds of them returning to anywhere near their launchers are low. instead, they land as well as they can and start fighting, useually in order to open the gates of besieged cities from the inside, or strike an enemy's commanders or supplies.
Wheel troops:
armed with a taiaha and wearing light leather armour so as to maintain maneuverability, these warriors [it would be a stretch to call them soldiers] are named for the constantly spinning nature of their fighting style, designed to conserve momentum as much as possible. devastatingly effective shock troops against most enemies, however, they suffer from many of the same weaknesses as melee cavalry in terms of certain formations being resistant to their attacks.
Rock troops:
armed with tower shield and a short sword with a single continuous blade and no point [these were made of a particularly solid type of jade. now often made of worked metal], and wearing heavy armour, the Rock Troop's lot is to disrupt enemy offensive maneuvers by the simple expedient of not giving way when attacked. this then allows other troop types to maneuver more advantageously.
they will also use their shields to cover an advance by other troop types.
Eel troops: armed with two short swords, similar to those wielded by the rock troops, but with a deadly spike on the opposite end of the grip [designed for puncturing armour striking vital organs]. lightly armoured, with a fighting style emphasizing agility. eel troops also carry grenades and are expert at dismantling densely packed enemy troop formations [such as tericos, tortoises, and the like]
Moa troops: mounted on Moa and armed primarily with javelins and javelin-sling. lightly armoured ranged 'cavalry' and scouts.
'artillery' and seige weapons run to the launchers for Hawk troops, and 'boom tube launchers', originoally designed for ships. both types of launcher are essentially the same, the only difference being the spells used to enhance them, so they can be interchanged in an emergency.
a 'boom tube' is basically a wooden tube packed with gun powder and incendiaries, with a grapple and spear point at the head. designed to tangle in rigging or punch into the deck of a ship so that it cannot be removed easily, then explode, spreading fire and shrapnel everywhere. compared to most seige weapons, it's range is somewhat limited, and it's ability to punch through stone walls is a little low, especially as it is fired indirectly. however, the shear amount of devastation that it can cause with a single shot useually more than makes up for this.
Ships:
Master: a long, narrow ship with a single, very tall mast balanced by a large, partially retractable, centreboard with a specially shaped stone weight replacing it's tip. Two large sails are rigged along the ship's length, with a spinnaker being rigged forward of these for added speed downwind.
Waka: a large, flat-bottomed, ocean going canoe. War waka will seat 50 men, 48 of them paddling, 1 steering, and one keeping rhythm. Its bow is reinforced for ramming. Other variants include the high-sided merchant waka, which has had thirty of the paddler's places removed in favor of cargo space, and has no rhythm keeper and two steersmen. Its bow is not reinforced.
T'l-kargo: precursor to the master, it has two 'centerboards', though neither is as large and they cannot be raised, and 2 masts, one on each side of the ship. Each mast is rigged the same as a master, however the spinnaker is replaced with a mostly square 'pull sail', the base of which is held in front of the ship by a pair of spinnaker poles, and the top is attached by long sheets (navel rope) to the mast heads. It is only run up when there is a strong enough wind to hold it off the forward sails. This design stems from the need for a large cargo hold, which all but eliminated the possibility of placing masts along the center of the ship. A t'l-Kargo is steered with a large rudder, operated by a correspondingly large tiller, though later hulls use a wheel instead, like the masters. At the stern is a raised deck, from which the steersman (sometimes called the helmsman, and properly called such on a ship with a wheel rather than a tiller) can see what is going on and call orders to the 5 men (up to 15 in truly bad weather) manning the tiller it's self. Bellow the tiller deck are generally a few cabins (including the captain’s) and a galley, and in the bow, below the slightly raised forward deck, are crew quarters, 4 'cabin's full of hammocks and foot lockers.
(actual warships to come. 'fore and aft firing catamarans with boomtube launchers, and some schooner rigged rammy ships :) )