Good afternoon, Survivors! This is Shan comin’ atcha with some sweet deets regarding the story we’re telling this upcoming game. In the interest of transparency, here’s where I’m coming from: a sizable amount of the feedback I’ve gotten includes the sentiment “more opportunity for meaningful roleplay, for more people, please” Which I think is great! Hell yeah! Let’s do that!

So! I’m not asking the STs to cut back on combat, or econ - or any other pillar of play that supports what we do here at DR:TX - so we’ll still have ALL of that. But I’ve asked fourteen very cool homies of ours to play the House Heads of the Tribes Disparate this weekend, and those NPCs are the story scaffold by which our entire weekend’s narrative will unfold.

Bearing that in mind, I wanted to educate you briefly on what we’re doing for Queensgrace - and lightly allude to some events of the weekend that some might consider spoilers. But, I never want to put you guys on the backfoot, so if you’re okay with that, please read on.

— SPOILER WARNING —

A Future Must be Carved Out

Among the Thirteen Houses, and the Oxkillers who were banished from the Tribes Disparate following the events of [The Shining City], there is a reluctant incumbent, three emergent philosophies among the twelve other heirs who potentially could take Holy Mother Queen Jasper’s antlered throne, and one who could seize it by sheer military force.

Those emergent philosophies and the leaders that espouse them are:

The Incumbent

*Reluctant Heir to Holy Mother Queen Jasper*

This crisis at the Summit is created largely because the most obvious heir apparent, Prince Shale, younger brother of Queen Jasper and Majordomo to the Antler Tribe, has decided he will not try to replace his sister. Much to the chagrin of the other Regents, this has created an opportunity to choose a new leader of the Tribes Disparate as there are no clear successor.

Having spent years in power, Jasper’s brother, Prince Shale - cannot decide who to support. He believes his time for ruling has passed, and it must be passed onto the next generation. But, for himself, he cannot decide if he wants to preserve his older sister’s legacy, or destroy it.

Because of Shale’s choice to currently Abstain from voting and his choice not to place himself as a candidate, the other Tribes have split into three camps that each think they have the best claim to Jasper’s throne and either respect or reject her legacy themselves.

The Unionists

*Believers in Structure, Society and Specialization*

These Houses believe the foundation that Jasper has laid to be strong, worthy, and a firmament which could support an empire. They want to continue to be included on the San Saba Board, and in the decisions that shape the face of the San Saba. These Houses primarily build and support infrastructure, and benefit deeply from having a physical and financial base in Essex. They are the members of the Tribes Disparate who most fundamentally believe in what Jasper has been trying to do for years, and that’s build a place and a future for her people.

Mama Rabbit, Regent of the The Rabbit Family
Sky Captain Bliss, Regent of the The Cloudskippers
“Boss” Lucy Frances Debs, Regent of The Local 727
Colonel “Sabbath” Jacinto, Regent of The Jacintos Militia

**If a member of the Unionists is chosen to rule, the Tribes Disparate will maintain their position on the San Saba Board by re-signing the contract that legitimizes their presence on it. This option means the Tribes continue to be a Financial Institution in our setting, they continue to be a contracted faction on our buylists, with some changes to reflect the new ruler, and opens the door for greater collaboration with this faction for the peoples of New Bravado.

The Independents

*Those who want to strike out, and to take the bold new world for themselves - in competition rather than collaboration.*

These Houses almost unilaterally believe that the entire Tribes Disparate would be better off if they were to leave the San Saba Board and strike out on their own as an independent faction. The Tribes Disparate, in terms of membership, is easily the largest faction in the San Saba and represents nearly fifty percent of the Lonestar population between their thirteen clans. Exhausted by years spent as the military arm of first Bravo, then the Board - the Independents want the latitude to perhaps LEAVE the San Saba and strike out for better, less settled lands.

Captain Marina La’sander, Regent of The Longberths
Brother Janus, Regent of The Hermits of Helios
High Architect Lavender, Regent of The Curators
Matriarch Fawn Cervaxi, Regent of The Cervaxi Tribe

**If a member of the Independents is chosen to rule, the Tribe Disparate will leave the San Saba Board and attempt to strike out on their own. Depending on who is elected to rule the Tribes, the Tribes Disparate may continue to be a Financial Institution in our setting, as well as a contractible entity with a buy-list. It is even possible not all 13 Tribes will remain in the faction, as without the support (or threat) of the San Saba Board to keep them in line, it’s likely they will forge a new path alone.

The Disparate

*Those who joined the Tribes Disparate under duress, or when the iron fist that ruled them was absolute.*

Characterized by their unifying feature, these dissenters are dissatisfied with the Tribes Disparate as Queen Jasper has envisioned, then executed it. Many of these tribes became part of the Disparate Whole during the Hiway War as an act of annexation, or seizure, or show of military strength. The Disparatists were never loyal to Jasper’s philosophy, only her strength of arm and military might. Now, in the twilight of her life, these Houses’ resentment bubbles up and manifests as strong political positions against the continuation of the Tribes Disparate. Instead, many of these houses want to join up with the Junkerpunks, who they view as more mobile, more driven and the natural enemy to the San Saba political machine. Others want to form a new and more powerful state in direct competition with the San Saba Board.

The Lightbearer, Regent of The Torchlights
Sedan Fourd’or, Regent of The Sweetwater Clan
Malorous Mab, Regent of The Cali*Co Caravan
King Hogon Clarkson, Regent of the SCAdians

**If a member of the Disparatists is chosen to rule, the Tribes Disparate will ultimately be dissolved, its membership thrown briefly into bloody chaos, and the faction itself will be re-wrought in the image of it’s new ruler. This means they will no longer be a contractible entity, no longer possess a buy-list, and become a non-aligned antagonistic faction in the San Saba Wastes. However, it also means there is an open seat on the San Saba Board. Survivors of this schism may seek membership within the other major factions. Another faction must occupy that seat, be it an extension of existing board power, or a new faction and face entirely.

The Prodigal Son, The Exile

*Lord Hush believes he is the only one fit to rule the peoples of the Disparate Tribes and is willing to do anything it takes to assume the throne himself.*

The last clear and present threat to the Tribes Disparate is the leader of the Oxkiller Clan, Lord Hush. Because he was one of the original signatories of the Tribes, he asserts just as strong of a claim to the antlered throne as any other Regent, save for the fact his clan has been excommunicated by Queen Jasper. But if technicalities don’t work, he has a massive force of armed and capable killers at his beck and call to settle the issue by force.

During the events of the [Shining City], this technophobic warlord lured a massive force of Stormchaser Raiders into attacking the flying city of Waking Prime in a night of thunderous rebellion. In the chaos, Lord Hush infiltrated Waking and attempted to kidnap several leaders of the Tribes Disparate to hold ransom until his demands were met. He was only stopped by timely intervention by visitors from Bravado. His kin are wanted criminals in the San Saba, but laws have never stopped Lord Hush before.

**Lord Hush is a villain. Period. If he is allowed to usurp control of the Tribes Disparate, you can expect to deal with the consequences of this choice for quite some time. Lord Hush represents a complete breakdown in the tenuous alliances of the Tribes Disparate, and a guarantee that they will become an antagonistic faction in the San Saba Wastes, using the vast resources of the former Tribes Disparate to fund their crusade.

Throughout the weekend, Faction Heads from each of the 13 Houses, and the Oxkillers, will be in play.

Two of these Faction Heads are LCs (the Cervaxi and SCAdians), and will be something of a wild card in the Summit as they have more agency than a NPC. The remaining 11 NPCs have been very very thoroughly coached on how to behave in the playspace. They all possess a single vote towards who is ultimately elected as the leader of the Tribes Disparate - and a robust dossier that describes their motivations, debts, agenda and secrets.

I want you to manipulate these NPCs. I want you to do research to figure out damning things about these identities, their scurrilous past and their tenuous futures. I want you to take advantage of those House’s precarious position and the vacuum of power that defines this weekend’s sense of urgency. I want you to appeal to their worst or better natures in pursuit of your OWN agenda.

More than anything, this weekend, I want YOU to tell ME what happens.

Because Above all:

A Leader Must Be Chosen

Every House Head that leads their tribe under Holy Mother Queen Jasper, has a nuanced, unique and consequential take on where the tribes need to go from here. From gentle democracies to arguably facist states and everything in between.

From among them, a leader must be chosen, or the Tribes themselves will dissolve into their constituent parts and the worst among them will make meals of the rest. A leader is required, but it is largely up to the wheeling and dealing enacted by YOU and your peerage, brave Survivors, that defines the future of the Tribes Disparate and - in a very immediate way - of the San Saba Wastes.