Gundarakite Rebel Faction

[crallbri]

Moved.

[crallbri]

The following information will hopefully be helpful for other players interested in joining Ardonk Szerieza’s rebels.  I’d also like to welcome any role players to become involved.  The way I see it, the Gundarakite Rebel faction offers the following elements; strong character motivation, political intrigue, covert operations, and organized and meaningful role playing and pvp.  Please feel free to post any questions, ideas, or feedback.  Have to say though, that it is a challenging project being that our characters would not likely be closely associating with the outlander faction.    

(The following is taken from various sources)

--Native Barovians speaks Balok.
--740 B.C. The Great Upheaval—Strahd XI annexed neighboring Gundarak
--Gundarakites are an oppressed people who mostly stay in the vestiges of their old homeland in western Barovia.  
--They refuse to intermarry…preserving their ethnic identity
--Gundarakites are often poor peasants and serfs
--Some may be small farmers, fisherman, and herdsmen.
--Typically boys marry at 16; girls at 13, however, there are no fixed marriages…no divorce…and widows do not remarry.
--Farm families tend to be very large.  
--No formal schooling…usually only the wealthy can read.

The Barovian people, despite their varying ethnic backgrounds, all share at least one thing in common: a dislike of strangers, almost to the point of xenophobia. Their harsh glares and lack of hospitality are due to the years of living under the stern rule of Count Strahd.   Barovians care little for the ways of others and prefer to mind their own business—and usually their own business consists of day-to-day survival

All Barovians have an almost crippling fear of the supernatural. Their daily rituals involve locking every door and window at sunset. They regard magic with equal superstition. Arcane magic, in particular, is believed to be the gift of demons, and the foolhardy spellcaster in Barovia will likely find himself facing an angry mob

--Strahdt is increasingly becoming despotic.

In 593, the western border revealed the nation of Gundarak, believed by many Barovians to be inhabited by the descendants of the Neureni.

This geographical arrangement was forever changed in 740 BC, during a powerful supernatural event called the Great Upheaval.

Strahd XI seized this opportunity by conquering much of Gundarak and annexing it into Barovia. After a brutal nine-month siege, half of Gundarak was annexed and brought under the rigid control of Barovia. The rest of Gundarak was seized by the nation of Invidia to the west.

The Gundarakites are an oppressed people. Openly resented by the Barovians, their spite has brewed over the last decade and a half into a full-blown rebellion. The rebellion’s leader, Ardonk Szerieza, believes in a vision of Gundarak that never truly was, often ignoring or revising history to fit his patriotic ideals. Ardonk moves back in forth between Barovia and Invidia, leading the rebellion in both nations.

1. Those Gundarakites involved in the rebellion are zealots who dream of a Gundarak that never was. Before Strahd annexed half of Gundarak, Duke Gundar was a far worse, far bloodier tyrant than Strahd ever was. When Duke Gundar was assassinated in 735 or so (for reference, the current year is 760), few Gundarakites shed a tear for him. While the Barovians treat the Gundarakites as second-class citizens at best, they actually have it better in some ways than they did under Gundar.  However, Ardonk and his dreams of a Gundarak that never was has ignited the spirits of the younger generation of Gundarakites who might not fully remember the true horrors of Gundar's reign. While Ardonk is able to whip the younger generation into hero-worship of their former ruler, the older generation remembers all too well the hardships they faced under Gundar.

2. Under Duke Gundar's reign, the state religion of Gundarak was worship of the god Nerull, a god of death and murder imported from the World of Greyhawk. Most Gundarakites participated in the religion out of fear more than a devout belief in him...and most abandoned the religion when Gundar was assassinated. A small part of the Gundarakite rebellion in Barovia has rediscovered the religion, though Ardonk and the larger part of the rebellion find their violence and lust for death to be too extreme.

3. This is just strictly for reference: The two major cities in Gundarak were Zeidenburg and Teufeldorf, which are now part of Barovia. Duke Gundar's castle, Hunadora, lies in the part of Gundarak that was annexed by the nation of Invidia. The majority of the Gundarakite rebels are in the two occupied cities, though a few have struck out into the heart of Barovia (a.k.a. the lands represented by our server).


In the far west of Barovia on the Crimson Road lies a large town, called Zeidenburg which is the largest and most prosperous town in Barovia.  The outskirts of town possesses criminal elements and the rebels.  Ardonk Szerieza bases operations here, founded since 748B.C.

--Breadbasket area…full of cereal crops.  

--Invidia is to the west of Zeidenburg


I'll add more as I find it.  At the moment, there is just myself and one other player about to submit his character proposal to the Bluebomber.  




peace,
crallbri

[crallbri]

This is easy enough to find, but I may as well put our resource information together in one place.  

Gundarakite Male Names: Baltasar, Csepan, Demetrius, Elfric, Fredek, Gusztav, Istvan, Lazlo, Miklos, Paszkal, Rognvald, Stefano, Ubul, Varady, Zeteny

Gundarakite Female Names: Antonia, Boriska, Dominika, Ethelhild, Hortenzia, Ingrid, Jusztina, Mariska, Orzebet, Piroska, Serafin, Szabina, Tzigane, Vilhelmina, Zsofika

Gundarakite Surnames: Ajkler, Aladár, Andras, Artali, Balassa, Baltar, Cizinski, Corvinus, Csapek, Csurgo, Czako, Daroczy, Divos, Doczi, Dohnanyi, Dvorzsak, Egerszegi, Eötvös, Farkas, Födes, Foldenyi, Gabor, Gaspar, Goencz, Götz, Groditje, Gyorffy, Hlady, Horansky, Hrutka, Jaszi, Joska, Lajtha, Lerch, Liptak, Lugosi, Mandula, Mindszenty, Nagy, Nejedly, Nemeth, Noszaly, Palagyi, Petrahn, Pokolytsch, Pongratz, Rdzavolgygi, Rubik, Sandor, Sebok, Sjsiengel, Solti, Szabo, Szeman, Szokefagy, Temesvari, Tokody, Varga, Verboczy, Wajda, Zsivozky, Zsoldos

[Nefensis]

At the moment these might be some of our tasks (player driven):
*Learn to read and write (if not already)

snif.. i feel so used... Rodika, i tough you were my frieeennd!!    

[crallbri]

*points at self and whispers "procrastinating from doing work"*

Anyhow, a good question has come up recently.

What classes are appropriate for Gundarakite Rebels?

The most standard classes would be:  Fighter, Ranger, Rogue.  

Its possible for Gundarakites to come from either a rural area or a city area.  Some classes, based on their culture, are easy to make sense of.  But there are a few classes that are debateable.

Barbarian? :I'm not sure about this class.  I can stretch my imagination and picture a Gundarakite Barbarian, but I just don't know if its too far of a stretch.  Are Barbarians supposed to be particular to only Barbarian communities?  If so, then i'd say 'no' to a rebel Barbarian.  Not sure how a Barbarian would feel about 'nationalism,' ideology, and propaganda as well.  Seems not to be their cup of tea, or cup of joe, or what ever it is they drink...mead.  

Mage: A big NO.

Sorcerer: Because a character does not choose to become a sorcerer, I say yes.  But I think it would make sense that the Gundarakite not realize they have an innate magic ability until later in life.  In other words they'd have to multiclass as a second or thrid class.  And if the other Gundarakite found out about their "witchery," they'd either burn them on the spot, or try to "cure" them some how.  Has some fun rp potential though

Cleric:  This class was asked about recently.  I know for sure, that some Gundarakite are being attracted to the cult of the Morninglord.  Others, are getting involved with the Cult of Nerul (I get that right?).  The cult of Nerul is the cult that Duke Gundar belonged to and some have revived it.  However, Ardonk and most Rebels view the cult negatively.  I beleive in POTM, that the cult of Nerul has its own faction too.  But regarding clerics of the Morninglord and the Gundarakite Rebels, I'm not sure.  Perhaps the Bluebomber can shed some light.  

Paladin: Unlikely.

Druid:  Unlikely.

We can deal with prestige classes at a later date.

[Bluebomber4evr]

You got the religions mostly correct. The reason why so many Gundarakites flock to the Cult of the Morninglord (and the reason the cult is unpopular amongst the rulers of Barovia) is because of the cult's message of undying hope. The Cult's promotion of optimism in the face of adversity has strong appeal to the Gundarakites.

Nerull was the state religion of Gundarak when Gundar ruled. After his assassination twenty years ago, the religion was quickly abandoned. It was only recently that the cult of Nerull has resurfaced among some of the Gundarakite rebels. The Gundarakites who have turned to Nerull are all too young to remember Gundar's bloody reign, and believe that the worship of Nerull is just one more part of Gundarakite culture being oppressed by the Barovians. While the cult of Nerull wishes to be included amongst the greater Gundarakite Resistance, most Gundarakites find the cult's rituals and attitudes far too violent and vicious, thus they keep their distance from the Cult of Nerull.

[shadymerchant]

Just a reminder: April 10, 2006

No one in character, in game, has knowledge of who the Gundarakite Rebels are. In fact, no one knows there are even rebels in the city. You see, the Gundarakite revolution has been raging for 20 years, but its gains have not exactly been significant. To outsiders and outlanders, the movement would not be common knowledge. It's local politics, and Vallaki is without the turmoil to make it a talked about issue. The rebellions that have occured throughout the city have nothing to do with the Gundarakite Rebels. Rebels involved in that have no connection to the Gundarakite Rebellion. So if you have picked up information through the grapevine, please take it with a grain of salt. We have gone through tremendous effort to keep beneath the radar and as far as can tell IC and OOC, we have been 100% successful.

[Motley]

It's the business of some people to be informed of local politics.
Some people "do" know of the rebel's existance, but they wouldn't have a damn clue who the PC's involved in it are on account of only ever dealing with NPC's.

[shadymerchant]

You are right. In fact, there's books on the entire thing floating around all over the place, so it's hardly impossible that people have heard about it. That some players have, in the back of their minds, certain tidbits regarding the rebellion I have no doubt. Perhaps there is even PC's out there that have a personal stake in looking for us. Just maybe , IC, some players do think the late rebellion was the work of actual Rebels. Anything is possible really. But be weary where you get your information from. Once its crossed a few channels there's really no telling its origin. Many players crave information more than gold, so its hard to let go of some things or to look too closely when you receive it.. It wasn't meant as an admonishment, but merely a heads up.

[Motley]

Oh, of course, I know it wasn't an admonishment. Like you I was just stating what I believed to be fact, thats all. I also understand the concern and also ask that players try and find out where the sources of their information come from to make sure it's not metagaming.
It's one of those things that can really put a damper on a player who's RP is based around secrecy, despite the other player's wish to cause no harm to the experience of the other.
Please be courteous and follow up on your information just to be sure the knowledge is sound.

[EO]

Yeah, I'll third that. Too often have I heard information from a second or third party that originally was metagamed in by someone accidentally. After a while, what was initially just metagamed information becomes fact and IC and that's just not cool.

[Somnium]

It's for that reason that my monk / assassin character (who I gave up after a while) used the Alias Twilight and never actually said her true name. Despite this, people still began to know her by her true name... Odd.

[shadymerchant]

Well, you have to be lenient about names, because the truth it's an easy mistake to make. No one does it to one up you, or to get on your nerves. I use an alias myself and people have called me by my playername more than once. Let them know what to say in the future, maybe suggest writing it in the journal if they can't remember on the fly. Crallbi pointed out once that it would have made much more sense to make our playernames our aliases and our real names made up, but alas.. too late.

[crallbri]

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to just make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1)   A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2)   Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.  

3)   The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity.  There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.  

4)   Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1)   Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.  

2)   After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.  

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.

Edit: As the Bluebomber says below, the faction is open to outlanders.  However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time.  

Peace out,
Ferf

[Bluebomber4evr]

Also, you are not required to play a Gundarakite PC in order to join. From the beginning, it was intended to be led by Gundarakites but have others involved as well--people drawn to their plight and perhaps even those who wish to topple "The Devil Strahd."  

The process of joining is easier IC if your PC is a Gundarakite, but it was intended to be open to all by design.  

[EO]

Yes, I would also incite anyone who wants to see the server from a totally different angle to join the faction.

[JipK]

[Bluebomber4evr]

LOL Gyru...

It's not Uncle Sam, it's Uncle Gundar!

[crallbri]

(Weekly bump)

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1) A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2) Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.

3) The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity. There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.

4) Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1) Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.

Note:  The faction is open to outlanders.  However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time and rp-development.

2) After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.

 

Peace out,
Ferf

[crallbri]

(Weekly bump)

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1) A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2) Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.

3) The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity. There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.

4) Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1) Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.

Note: The faction is open to outlanders. However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time and rp-development.

2) After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.



Peace,
Ferf

[crallbri]

(Weekly bump)

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1) A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2) Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.

3) The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity. There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.

4) Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1) Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.

Note: The faction is open to outlanders. However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time and rp-development.

2) After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.



Peace,
Ferf

[crallbri]

(Weekly bump:  I've held off a bit on ooc promotion of this faction due to the fact that the current server infrastructure is not native character friendly.  Hopefully decisions will be made that will improve the gothic atmosphere, Barovian culture, and faction dynamics.  With that being said, we're still not giving up.  Dms have recently begun generating creative input towards this faction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1) A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2) Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.

3) The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity. There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.

4) Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1) Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.

Note: The faction is open to outlanders. However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time and rp-development.

2) After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.



Peace,
Ferf

[Irish Soldier Laddie]

An interesting idea to preserve secrecy would be to organize  Gundarakite PCs into cells (Or Active Service Units) of 2 or 3 PCs maximum. That way if someone's caught they can only grass on no more than 2 comrades.

Of course there would have to be a few liason officers or quartermasters to act as go betweens and of course the obligatory 'nutting squad' to deal with touts.

This is how the Provisional IRA operated and why they were so difficult to infiltrate.

[falrick]

Go Sinn Fein!

[crallbri]

(Weekly bump)

This is a promotional message on behalf of the Gundarakite Rebel faction in light of the recent influx of new players to –Potm-.

We’d like to make sure new players are aware and feel welcomed to participate in an alternative faction to the outlander faction.

What the Gundarakite Rebel faction has to offer:

1) A collaboration between creative players who have vision and the patience to see the rebellion steadily progress through stages that will one day climax grandiose.

2) Characters that are part of the richly developed Ravenloft setting with historical and political ties to both the land and its human institutions.

3) The faction involves in-depth character development where we all feed off one another’s creativity. There is political intrigue, -rp- integrity, and –pvm- and –pvp- strictly within a rich story context.

4) Faction members have access to the Gundarakite Rebel forum where ideas are discussed, visions shaped, and everything good under the sun takes place.


If you are interested here is the process.

1) Read up a bit on the Gundarakite and Barovian history either in this thread or the “about the world” section in the forum.

Note: The faction is open to outlanders. However, outlanders are typically not trusted and not placed in full confidence unless if the story unfolds otherwise over time and rp-development.

2) After developing a character concept, write it up and submit the proposed character to the Bluebomber.

(We’ve all had to do the same…its easy and the feedback you get on your character concepts helps)

If you have any questions, post here or send a -pm-.



Peace,
Ferf