Blackrock's Bandits



Blackrock's Bandits are a band of bandits and mercenaries that have formed together to ransack villages, pillage farms and rob unsuspecting enemies. At the top of the Bandit food chain stands Blackrock herself. But not all is sunshine and flowers within the Bandit Queendom of Blackrock. To the east, there is a new Communist power emerging in Griffon Liberation Army, soon to threaten the Bandits, surely. To the southwest, Wingbardy is gathering power and could strike towards Blackrock at a moment's notice. And if the Griffonian Empire to the north ever manages to re-emerge as the great power it once was, then this might be the early death of the Blackrock Bandits.

Lore
Much like the Sunstriker Clan in the north, the Blackrock Bandits are a band of bandits and mercenaries that have formed together to ransack villages, pillage farms and rob unsuspecting enemies.

The County of Blackhollow
However things were not always like this and the territory ruled by the bandits was once known as the Blackrock Bandits. The County of Blackhollow was ruled by the Bluecrest family who would faithfully serve the Kings of the Kingdom of Griffonstone for centuries.

One of the most noticeable events in the history of Blackhollow occurred over two centuries ago when Grover I crossed the Creeper Mountains in the south of Blackhollow with his vast army to attack the east. The eastern principalities had expected him to attack from the north or the south and they were completely taken by surprise as Grover invaded from the west and occupied their towns and cities.

However, as time passed the Griffonian Empire declined and grew weak. In the chaos of the 978 ALB Republican Revolution, the County of Blackhollow broke free from the Empire's rule alongside their masters in Griffonstone. The next year, Count Gabriel Bluecrest aided his overlords in Griffonstone against revolutionaries. Like the vassals of the Griffonian Empire, he too demanded increased autonomy as a reward, but Griffonstone's Regency Council refused to grant it to him. Outraged by this, he declared independence in 985, only to die in 990. His heir Caelan Bluecrest refused Griffonstone's demand to bend the knee and stood firm against them when they invaded Blackhollow.

But his victory did not last long. Sensing her opportunity Blackrock, a notorious bandit from Banditplace gathered a loyal band of thieves, outlaws and marauders there and started a revolt, aided by deserters from both the County and Griffonstone. This guerilla war lasted for a decade until Count Caelan met his demise at the end of Blackrock's rifle. Since then, she has ruled the former County's land as a bandit overlord.

The Bandit Queendom
Today Blackrock and her bandits still maintain their rule over Blackhollow and the surrounding area. Their rampant banditry, however, has led to a number of issues. There is virtually no industry to speak of with all possession being stolen from other nations. Furthermore, the place is a nightmare for anyone who isn't one of Blackrock's griffons. This has caused uprisings to be regular occurrences and made Blackrock's hold over the territory tenuous at best.

While none of the individual uprisings have any chance to overthrow Blackrock and her bandits, there remain two factions which could, if they are able to gather enough support.

First is the old nobility. Following their defeat by the bandits, many of them escaped to hiding in the mountains and have been planning to restore the County of Blackhollow ever since. Many of them have now united themselves behind Countess Cyrille Bluecrest, the daughter of Count Caelan Bruecrest, as their leader.

The other faction is the Communists led by the maniacal revolutionary Reeve Blyeddin. Reeve has recently returned from his foreign travels and is rallying the peasants into action. He has taken inspiration from Our Town and wishes to implement his vision of a perfect society where everygriff is equal.

Even if Blackrock were to stay in power there still remains the issue of the rising Communist power in Griffon Liberation Army...

Starting Situation
The Blackrock Bandits start in a weak position with a very small number of factories and low core population. It is further disadvantaged by the Lawless Land and Economic Wasteland national spirits. However, its mountainous terrain can make any attack difficult.

The Blackrock Bandits start with a military of 7 fully trained infantry divisions totaling 39K deployed griffonpower.

Threats and Opportunities
 Griffon Liberation Army - The most immediate threat to the Blackrock Bandits. They will often attack shortly after winning their civil war.

Sometimes the Kingdom of Brodfeld will ask Blackrock for help if the Supremacy path is taken and Brodfeld is losing the civil war. If the GLA wins the civil war, Blackrock will get a event asking them if they want to declare war on the GLA. Blackrock can accept in the hopes the counter-revolt in Prywhen is successful.

If Blackhollow is Communist then the GLA will not attack Blackhollow. They will propose you to join them in an union. Accepting will lead to them puppeting you. There is no consequences in declining.

 Kingdom of Griffonstone - Will generally be a target for expansion. They are one of the weakest neighbors and have a cultural Griffonian state, allowing the Blackrock Bandits to upgrade their science base to a substantial science base. A non-aligned Blackhollow will get cores on Griffonstone.

 Wingbardy - A Supremacist Wingbardy will get a war goal on the owner of Griffonstone. The Kingdom of Griffonstone usually being a target for the Blackrock Bandits, this can easily lead to Wingbardy going to war against the Blackrock Bandits.

 Griffonian Empire - Will eventually come after the Blackrock Bandits.

 Principality of Lushi - They have a focus to declare war on the Blackrock Bandits should the GLA be at war with the Blackrock Bandits.

Blackrock - The Bandit Queen
If Blackrock remains in power then the first choice will be how to deal with the Civil War in Prywhen. Choosing to get involved will give war goals on both civil war nations. Once both civil war nations are defeated the bandits will loot and burn Prywhen, after which cores will be given on all of Prywhen.

Choosing not to get involved will lead to the bandits preparing for the expected attack from the winner of the Prywhen Civil War. To prepare for the attack this path gives a line of fortifications in the mountains, 6 veteran divisions with 3 infantry battalions, and 10% division defense on core territory.

Next the left branch will allow the Blackrock Bandits to interfere with its southwestern neighbors. Plunder Griffonstone will give 6 piles of loot and 60 political power. The other 3 focuses will expand the drug trade into neighboring Falcor Principality,  Sicameon, and  County of Cyanolisia. Giving Blackrock boosts to stability, political power gain and industry while the effected neighbors will receive penalties to their stability, political power gain, and industry. Note if the territory of the neighboring countries are annexed then the new owner will receive the penalties instead when the focuses are done unless the owner are the Blackrock Bandits.

The right branch will focus on turning the territory ruled by Blackrock into a civilized nation leading to the Lawless Land and Economic Wasteland national spirits being removed. Once civilized, Blackrock can declare the territory a Queendom.

Unique to the Supremacy path are the decisions. These decisions are based around the usage of loot. Loot can be gained from focuses, events, and the raiding decisions. Loot is used to hire mercenaries and for purchases on the Black Market. The raiding decisions allow Blackrock to start border wars with its neighbors. Victory will give 2-6 loot, depending on the target's industrial amount.

The mercenary decisions allow Blackrock to use loot to spawn divisions. These divisions will stay until their contract expires, at which point the hired divisions will be removed and can be hired again. These are unlocked by the Soldiers of Fortune focus. The next set of decisions are the Black Market decisions. These are unlocked by the Black Market Deals and Black Market Expansion focuses. The next set of decisions allow Blackrock to demand its neighbors to be its tributary state by spending 100PP. A rejection will lead to Blackrock losing a further 20PP. The outcome depends on the strength of the nation receiving the event. If the nation has more then 75% of Blackrock's strength then the demand will be rejected. Otherwise the demand will be accepted and the nation will become a tributary of Blackrock.

Nations that have become a tributary of Blackrock can be sent demands for tribute which will give Blackrock bonus to construction, consumer goods and stability for 120 days in addition to the 2 loot received if accepted.

Blackhollow Civil War
Should either the non-aligned or Communist path be selected then the new leader will come to power via a civil war. This civil war is not an ordinary civil war. Instead all 5 states will be demilitarized and a set of decisions will have to be completed to gain control over the states. Only one battle can occur at a time, and whilst a battle is occurring, Blackhollow will have a temporary malus of -0.50PP per day and -10% Stability. Each state won will cost griffonpower and will give PP.

Cyrille Bluecrest - The Young Countess
If the Old Nobility gather enough support then they can finally start their plans to restore the County of Blackrock. They can look to Lushi for aid. The other option is to overthrow Blackrock by themselves. Either way once the County has been restored, Cyrille Bluecrest will press the family's claim on  Griffonstone and work towards rebuilding Blackhollow.

The Mountain Holds focus will unlock decisions to search for bandit caches. It will take 40 days to find a bandit cache and another 10 days to open a cache. There will be a cost of -0.50PP per day while this is happening. Each cache can be sold to gain 100PP or kept to gain 1K infantry equipment. A total of 4 caches can be found.

The main benefits of this path are the cores on Griffonstone, reduction in consumer goods, high number of research bonuses, and resources gained.

Reeve Blyeddin - The Extreme Revolutionary
If Reeve gathers enough support then he will start a rebellion against the bandits. Once the Bandits are defeated Reeve will proclaim the creation of Our Blackhollow and start implementing his vision of a perfect society. This will be done by making everyone equal in all aspects of society such as education and conscription. Notably the focus Equal Factories will set every state to have 1 military and civilian factory.

Unfortunately dreams of creating an utopia doesn't work as well in reality and this path will have several consequences. The most notable being the loss of a research slot and the large loss in population. The main benefits is the large recruitable population, strong early boost to industry from Equal Factories, and being able to switch to the All Adults Serve conscription law without being at war.

The comparison table below takes into account the Blackrock Civil War in the non-aligned and Communists paths. In the Supremacy path it does not take into account the random events beyond the first one which is guaranteed to give a civilian factory. Bonuses from the army and industry paths are included.

Staff and Designers
Political Advisors

Tank Designer

Ship Designer

Aircraft Designer

Materiel Designer

Industrial Concern

Theorist

Chief of Army

Chief of Navy

Chief of Airforce

Military High Command