Greenwater

Not quite as academic as the (intentionally butchered Latin) name might suggest; at least not anymore. Very result-oriented and technocratic, the Convocation is made up of inventors and engineers, and is responsible for many of the things that make life possible in the city. They operate the Skytowers that keep the air breathable, as well as the Purifactories that make the water drinkable. They oversee the waste Drudges that handle garbage disposal, as well as the railways that allow fast transport within and beyond the city. The Convocation’s power lies in how its activities are essential to everyday life, as the population rely on the Academis in order to eat, drink and breathe.

The ‘heart’ of the Convocation Academis is the city’s oldest and grandest institute of higher learning, known simply as The University. The Academis also effectively control the Corps Necis within the Greenwater army. While the Necis, headquartered in the Fortress Necis just outside Greenwater, are a part of the army, formally under the Convocation Militant, the experimental and high-tech nature of the Corps ensures that the majority of its members are Academis. While the Academis strive to constantly improve things, the status quo tends to itself, and over time the only tangible result is the creation (and eventual destruction) of a variety of Legacy Machines.

Realizing that the five Convocations that make up the Guild don’t have any overviews posted, I figured I’d write up something brief about each of them. Longer descriptions will come, but for now I want the overviews to be ‘out there’. The word “Convocation” is defined as (among a few other meanings):

1. a group of people gathered in answer to a summons; assembly.
2. a formal assembly at a college or university, esp. for a graduation ceremony.

In the Greenwater setting, the Convocations can be thought of as something of a cross between the “ministries” of the Guild and being sub-Guilds themselves. They constantly struggle against each other for power, but unite against any outside threat against the interests of the Guild as a whole.

The Convocation Academis
The inventor Convocation. Technocratic engineers and inventors. Mad scientists and gadgeteers. Steam-powered top hats. Polished brass wrenches. Colleagues and students at The University. Filigreed clockwork. Functionality and results. Experiments and ciphered research notes. Meticulously maintained old Legacy Machines. The robot making tinkerers of the Disciplina Automatis, the Skytower and Purifactory-maintaining engineers of the Disciplina Expurgis, and the mad battlefield researchers of the Disciplina Necis.

The Convocation Militant
The military Convocation. The officers of the military families toast to victory and promotion while the common soldiery die in the trenches. Honor and tradition. Uniforms, grandiose parades and polished medals. Conservative high society among the old military families of the Highcourt district. Idealized heroism and patriotic propaganda. Endless conflict. Duels. The law-enforcing Public Officers of the Corps Juridis, the endless ranks of riflemen of the Corps Peditat and Corps Reconnaissance, the glorious skyships of the Corps Aerora, and the pyromaniacs and steam tanks of the Corps Necis.

The Convocation Mentalis
The secretive Convocation. Conspiring spies and reality-bending Paramentalists. Plotting and scheming. Mystery and ritual. Strange lightning storms over the Academy. Secrets sold to the highest bidder on the Truth Market. Reverence of Machine Spirits. Telepathic interrogators. People disappearing. Cryptic and insane techno-oracles. The secretive machine-monks of the Machiner Collegium, the plague-hunting Exquisitors of the Corps Morbid, and the covert agents of the Oculus.

The Convocation Excuratis
The benevolent Convocation. Doctors and idealist researchers. Roads paved with good intentions. Schools and hospitals. Outplayed in the political power game. Orphanages. Strange medical experiments. Old pre-Guild religion. Playing god. Hope and mercy.

Having replaced the original Convocation Scientifis, the Excuratis isn’t entirely fleshed out yet.

The Convocation Servis
The workers Convocation. Factory and dock workers. Lower class. Gambling. Fight clubs.

While there are ideas for the Convocation Servis, it’s a part of the setting that is still largely undeveloped. Ideas include borrowing inspiration from Soviet or 1800s-style industrial barons and “new money”.

Some scattered wiki updates recently. The Corps Morbid article in particular is worthy of mention.

With Greenwater being a port town, there’s bound to be a lot of ships going in and out. With ships comes trade, with trade comes money, and with money comes people trying to steal it for themselves. In other words: pirates. Ship and airship ones alike, though the former is bound to be a lot more common.

With this comes not only steampunk pirates, but also the city’s pirate hunters. I picture three or four very special ships with even more special captains. One of these is an ironclad-turned-airship: a naval warship with a nice big armored balloon on top. One-of-a-kind and in defiance of the laws of physics, of course, as with all good Greenwater machines. The Convocation Militant needs more crazy individuals like this, and piracy offers plenty of opportunities for adventures.

The urban legend about the “resurrection disease” Wights is just asking to be expanded. It gives me the idea of distinct Viral Wights; dead reanimated by a specific resurrection disease. The virus would be the Legacy creation of some long-dead Augmenter/Necrobiologist. He’ll get a name and story eventually, but the important part is that these Viral Wights are confirmed to have existed at one point, and may well still lurk in the dark corners (is there any other kind?) of the Netherstadt.

The large variety found among Ghouls also prompts me to divide them into “true” Ghouls and not-quite-fully-turned Demighouls. Essentially, if you can still talk to it then it’s a Demighoul. Still dangerous, but I think adding a bit more detail to the “fall” of these individuals could make them much more interesting enemies. Those details still aren’t very fleshed out, but at least the idea is there now.