Uigmuir, Barony of
by Michael BerryArea:
392 square miles
Population:
AC 1000 - 840
AC 1014 - 756
Villages: (population values are given for AC 1000 and AC 1014)
Kirkwell (168/150): is the central village in the Barony located close to the residence of the Baron.
Lochpond (116/100): owes its name to several mountain lakes dotting Uigmuir valley.
Glen Dhubh (102/90): is a sheepherding village in the southern hills of the Barony.
Ethnic groups:
Kaelic 50%, Hattian 20%, Flaem 15%, Lupins 10%, Alphatians 2%, Thyatin 2%, Other 1%
Languages:
Kaelic, Thyatin (Hattian dialect), Flaemish, Lupin
Ruler:
AC 1000 Lady Myra McDuff (born 946, M10, AL -Neutral)
AC 1015 - Sir Angus McClintock (born 970, M27, AL -Lawful)
House:
Crownguard
Military:
The Noble Guard of McDuff was once a quite efficient military unit. Under the Baroness McDuff however most of the veteran guards left their employment, as their salaries hadn’t been updated in the past 30 years, nor had the Baroness made any efforts to keep her guards at check. The guards often left their posts, harassed the villagers, and were often found drunk from the local whisky. The only things that kept thieves at bay, was the rumor that a ghost of some kind haunted the tower. Since Angus McClintock took over from his mother, he has made plans to reestablish the Noble Guard.
The reestablished Noble Guard is to consist, as they once did, of 25 veteran fighters (F3 plate mail, claymore and dagger), 10 experienced crossbowmen (F2, leather armor, heavy crossbows, broadswords), 6 mages (M4, staff), 2 Lieutenants (1 F4, plate mail +1, Battle Axe +1 and 1 M5; dagger +1 and wand of Fireballs), and 1 Captain of the Guard (F7, plate mail +2, Claymore +2). The Noble Guard is the only force in the Barony as The Grand Army does not keep regular patrols in Uigmuir.
Food:
Self-Sufficient
Trails:
A single fair trail leads through the heart of the Barony from north to south. It starts in Lochpond, passes through the village of Uigmuir at the head of the southern valley, and passes through Glen Dhubh on its way south out of the Barony to the Barony of Adlerturm. A single poor trail leads east out of Glen Dhubh to the Barony of Doveland. There are no established trails leading north out of Uigmuir but there are numerous valleys and game trails for travelers to follow north and west. The Aalban River is unnavigable to river traffic in Uigmuir.
Economics:
Uigmuir’s main resources are fishing and goatherds. Most of the resources go to feeding the local population but the Barony does generate a small surplus exported to the Barony of Adlerturm, or to isolated communities in the Wendarian and Black Mountains.
Uigmuir Monthly Financial Ledger (figures from AC1000)
Main resources: 2 Animal
4 hexes: mountains; borderland; pop. 224; tax 11.2 dc
2 hexes: mountains, river; borderland; pop. 168; tax 8.4 dc
1 hex: hills; rural; pop. 280; tax 28 dc
Uigmuir: rural; pop. 168; tax 16.8 dc
Total population: 448 village/rural, 392 borderland
Tax Income: 64.4 dc
Resource Income: 257.6 dc
Standard Income: 515.2 dc
Council Tax: 167.4 dc
Net Cash: 154.6 dc
Overhead (35%): 54.1 dc
Available Cash: 100.5 dc
With 3864 XP/year, in 10 years the Baron would gain 38,640 XP.
Alternate: 773 XP/year.
History:
Barons of Uigmuir:
Malcolm McAllister 829-849
Christos Capostria 849-878
Wenzel Capostria 878-880
Ossian McAllister 880-922
Edward McAllister 922-933
Charles McAllister 933-949
Gabriel Bon 949-956
Salomon Wurt 956-963
Hieron Grimoard 963-967
Myra McDuff 967-1015
Angus McClintock 1015-
During the last years of the Forty-Years Wars Percival McDougall and Malcolm McAllister (both fighters) each lead a band of Kaelics to fight against Halzunthram. After the Council denied them the right to become a Council member, it granted them the right to seat at the House of Lords. The Council was eager to assign titles to everyone who actively helped during the war, even creating new dominions to cover the vast territory. The two fiefs were chosen near Glantrian borders, to be sure the Council valued their strategic position, Percival led his people over Glantrian Mountains to Glenargyll and gets a County there, while Malcolm goes north and establishes the Barony of Uigmuir.
The area went some upheaval as the lands of Uigmuir had been previously settled by Flaem and most moved out into Flaem controlled areas as the McAllister clan moved into the new area with Malcolm, their clan head, as the new Baron. Malcolm ruled the peaceful sleepy dominion for nearly 20 years until, in one of Glantri’s greatest unsolved mysteries, he and his whole family were found dead. Uigmuir was ruled for several decades by the Capostria family until 880 when they moved on to an open Viscounty and the McAllisters came back into the noble ranks when Ossian McAllister won the Awards Festival and won the Barony which his clan created, ruled and were still living in. The McAllisters ruled Uigmuir until 949 when Charles McAllister became the Viscount of Bergen. Uigmuir then went through a series of different Barons as Glantri experienced 4 Award Festivals in less than 20 years bringing new noble Barons who barely had time to establish themselves before moving on.
Since the formation of the Principalities Uigmuir has been a relatively sleepy, peaceful dominion with one major incident of note in the last 100 years. Even the Great War hardly bothered the people and lands of Uigmuir. Alphatian interests were most likely drawn to richer and more populous areas to the south so Uigmuir had relatively few instances of attacking monsters summoned by the Alphatians. Those that were found in Uigmuir were swiftly dealt with by the people of Uigmuir. However in 970 a band of Orc Tribes led by the notorious Thar of Orcus Rex made a daring and brilliantly executed surprise raid on northern Glantri using subterranean passages connecting the Broken Lands to the Wendarian Ranges. During his assault he overran much of Uigmuir and caused extensive loss in properties and lives before being driven off by forces from Fort Nordling. However before the arrival of Glantrian forces the Baroness Myra McDuff was captured by Thar and held for nearly a year before escaping and returning to her tower in what must have been a terrible ordeal. She was never seen again in public after returning to Uigmuir.
In 1015, the long serving and reclusive McDuff, was announced to have passed away and her previously unannounced heir and son, Angus McClintock (McDuff), a professor at the Great School of Magic who was known for his facial deformities more than he was for being a great wizard became the new Baron of Uigmuir. Most expect that Angus will remain at the Great School and continue to teach at the Great School but Sir Angus has not yet announced his plans yet.
Notable sites:
Lochpond owes its name to several mountain lakes dotting Uigmuir valley, near the source of Aalban River. The village in reality encompasses quite the whole valley and consists of several small communities, relying on each other for help and trade. Mountain pastures are the joy of the livestock, mainly goats, which provides the community with the main source of food. The area is quite picturesque as gets a lot of tourists and people who vacation in the summer.
Another great source of food in Uigmuir comes from the lakes that abound of fishes. A trail leads up to Ossian Tower. The residence of the Baron, it derives its name from the Ossian McAllister who built it some 120 years ago. The small village of Uigmuir sits around the tower, it holds a small Temple of Rad, and is home to few craftsmen and artisans who provide few services to the Baroness and the people of the Valley. Another trail leads downward to the village of Glen Dhubh mainly composed by Kaelics sheepherders who trade wool with the surrounding communities, then to the Barony of Adlerturm (and the village of Nahendorf). During winter, the valley is generally covered with snow.
Villa Capostria, a Thyatian-style villa built by Christos Capostria beside one of the lakes, currently serves as lodging place for important visitors. Capostria tried at first to live in McAllister’s Mansion, but the superstitious Caurenzan didn’t like the fact the previous Baron, Malcolm McAllister, and his hold household had been found dead without any indication for culprit. The Mansion has been uninhabited for c. 150 years now and, Malcolm and his friends happily haunt it searching for someone to uncover the old secret around their deaths.
Coat of Arms:
Useful links:
The Economy of Uigmuir by Aleksei Andrievski
Glantrian Heraldry by Chimpman
The Barony of Uigmuir by Thibault Sarlat, Giovanni Porpora, Agathokles
Noble Families by Harri Mäki
Myra McDuff and Angus McClintock McDuff by Michael Berry