Barony of Babosas
by Patrick SullivanI've been thinking about the Barony of Babosas, largely because one of the characters in my current Vilaverdan campaign descends from a Babosan family. I haven't been able to find much info out there, so I'm thinking about working to flesh it out some more myself, and I'd like input. Here are some fairly random thoughts....
Here, Wilhelm posits that Babosas included Babriz, Boyâzka, and Karakoy, and was simply a new ruler for an established Traladaran city-state. I agree that Boyâzka should be an old city-state; the "boyar" root is pretty clear, and ties well to city-state culture. But just saying that this was ruled by a Verdan for 20 years seems to kind of jettison a potentially interesting tidbit, and kind of contradicts the SC boxed set that says it was "founded" in 951.
To make Babosas a plausible barony between Boyâzka and Vilaverde, I think it needs to include the land around both Yenigaz and Babriz. I'm gonna run with this assumption. I like it, in part because it means that Hule didn't have any seaports before the conquests of Babosas, Boyarski, and Gonica, helping to explain why these were such attractive targets for Hulean aggression.
"Babriz" seems like a reasonably close Huleanization of "Babosas," so I think it's a prime candidate for the old capital. "Yenigaz," on the other hand, is a portmanteu of the Turkish words for "New" and "Gas." Not sure just what that means, but it sounds more Hulean than Guardiano or Traladaran. So maybe Yenigaz is a newer settlement, or was just flat-out renamed.
I'd like the old Babosas, in the 11th century, to still be culturally distinct from Hule, but I don't want just another Verdan settlement, either. Thinking about different ways to blend the Hulean, Thyatian, Yavdlom, and Traladaran influences is challenging. Looking for a good way to give it that Bozdogan-following tint makes it moreso. My tentative solution is to make Babosas into some sort of Brechtian capitalist dystopia. Bringing Thyatian settlers from Hattias, rather than Karendas, can explain a little "German-ness," and it also provides a handy explanation for how the Master initially made contact with his Heldannic Knight allies. The twenty years of Babosas would then, in some ways, be a parallel to the Weimar Republic, ending with Hosadus's takeover (facilitated, no doubt, by treasonous Babosans). Babosas was a combination of brilliant culture and shady business dealings, and Babriz was famous throughout the region for its magnificent cabarets.
If Babriz is the old capital, then what of Yenigaz? In my still-hazy picture, it's the City of Mahagonny: established by riffraff to fleece those returning from the Savage Coast with gold or cinnabryl. It also serves as a tourist trap, luring those who can afford it to leave Azurun or the other big cities to come enjoy the sunshine, the sea breeze, and all the fish you can pull from the river.