Reserved.
The Duchy of Aravier is part of the Kingdom of Alesia on the Luna (NA-E) server. We are a balanced duchy offering players a wide array of opportunities in a stable and well governed environment. Aravier welcomes players with a variety of playstyles and aspirations including roleplayers, PvPers, adventurers, architects, blacksmiths, bankers, etc, and even those odd-balls who just want to play Farming Simulator 1077AD. We want a varied and robust gaming environment for our players as we strive to be the most prosperous and stable duchy in Alesia.
Aravier is looking to bring players into our community from across all professions; particularly those looking to establish businesses and settlements. We do not have a "duchy focus" as many other duchies advertise. We believe a variety of interests and a genuine motivation by players for different industries and playstyles, will make Aravier stronger and more resilient to the game world and its events.
Located in the north-western reaches of Alesia, the Duchy of Aravier is home to the lush forests and rolling hills of the mixed-leaf forests of Elyria. Bordering the Kingdom of Vornair, Aravier guards the entryway to the inner-realms of the Kingdom of Alesia and safeguards vital trade routes to the Western portion of Vornair.
With a predominantly Neran population, Aravier also enjoys a tribal diversity that contributes to its sense of innovation and varied cultures, resulting in a duchy where just about anyone can find a home or settlement that welcomes them with open arms.
As a result of it being a melting pot, the dominant religion and culture varies from settlement to settlement. Food sources include wild game and fish, or fruits, vegetables, and grains from farming or gathering. With the abundance of food resources and open terrain afforded by the mixed-leaf biome, settlement populations can grow to above average, providing opportunities for large towns to flourish.
We are aiming for a varied and robust gaming environment for our players as we strive to be the most prosperous and stable duchy within the Kingdom of Alesia. We have adopted a set of principles for the culture, tone, and approach to our community. We want to create:
Our approach to governing within Chronicles of Elyria acknowledges that the game is specifically designed for a medieval style feudal hierarchy, and many of the elements of our real-world society that we take for granted are not necessarily going to be mirrored within a feudal game.
We are offering a gaming environment that is governed by the Duke and his Counts and Countesses through a legal framework that expands upon the principle Kingdom laws, and is designed to ensure players have a safe and stable environment to develop their businesses and pursue their interests. However, the nobility and aristocracy are afforded significant powers and authority as befits the setting of the game; this isn’t a duchy that is run democratically.
Aravier is always looking to welcome intelligent and diligent players who mesh well with our community environment and approach to the game. With a mixed-leaf biome, we have many opportunities for industry and professions. We encourage players that are interested to reach out to us and discuss openings in:
We also have a number of openings for Counts, with 3 vacancies currently existing. If you are interested in settling within Aravier as a Count, then please contact Duke Seele either through forum private message, or on our Discord server.
Aravier has plenty of opportunities for Aristocrats looking for a County to settle within. With ample industry to focus on and the biome capacity to support larger than average settlements, Aravier is a rewarding prospect for those with established small or moderate-sized communities. If you are interested in settling within Aravier as an aristocrat, then please join our discord and make your interests known to our Counts.
Please feel free to ask any questions, and we will endeavor to answer them ASAP!
The Duchy of Aravier will be located within a mixed-leaf biome, and the population breakdown (based on current information from SbS) indicates the duchy will be predominantly Neran, with Kypiq and Waerd making up a good chunk of the population and some small numbers of Brudvir and Hrothi.
The Kingdom of Alesia has a bit of a different situation in terms of its Ducal picks for land than other kingdoms, and this is a result of the Free Kingdom competition which resulted in Alesia. When server maps were first released, the Dukes of Alesia negotiated and agreed to which duchies we would pick during D&SS. Reinforcing that, all Alesian Dukes are known and there is no possibility for a random Duke to settle within the kingdom, which gives us a fair amount of certainty for D&SS at the Duchy level.
Yes. We currently have 2 Count vacancies for the duchy. If you are interested in settling within Aravier as a Count, then please contact Duke Seele either through forum private message, or on our Discord server.
Other than general PvP skills for the counties bordering other kingdoms, none in particular. I have a somewhat different view of Counties than many people in this game have, and I am not betting on particular industries or focuses. What I am looking for are the personal qualities of the Counts themselves: leadership, intelligence, professionalism, critical thought, flexibility, a strategic mindset, and change resilience.
I view these qualities as being those most likely to see a County flourish under a variety of circumstances. With so many unknowns about CoE at this stage, I cannot make promises about what the duchy has to offer in terms of specific industries or focuses most people are interested in. What I can do is try to recruit leaders with the right qualities who will be able to adapt to the environment and mechanics we find ourselves in, and will find ways to utilise whatever we have available to us to advantage their county and the duchy.
The simple answer to this is “I don’t know”, and still won’t know after maps are released. I understand there is a lot of interest in this with D&SS coming up, but with the way D&SS will work I cannot accurately predict whether any randoms will join the duchy, and if they do, where they’ll pick or what their IP will be. The current community of Counts has wargamed what we think the potential Counties will be, and the following is likely to apply to those looking to join Aravier at D&SS:
No. We will welcome all new arrivals and bring them into the fold of Aravier. We will encourage their prosperity and not just our own, and we will treat them as appropriate for their status as a Count, Mayor, or Citizen of Aravier. We will show them no jealousy, and I will not allow any hostility towards these arrivals unless their actions and behaviour demonstrate they are not interested in being a productive part of the duchy.
I am certain that there will be Mayors and Counts that join us during Domain Selection who have not participated in Aravier prior. These people are likely to have more IP than Free Kingdom accounts, and may be entirely oblivious to the social norms and expectations we have within the Duchy at this point. They may choose to settle in spots we might have wanted, or pursue agendas we feel that we somehow have ownership of because we were working on it first, but this is not ‘stealing’ anything. SbS has set up world creation and domain selection in a particular way, and that reality does not entitle us to particular ideas or land.
I expect every Count, Mayor, and citizen of Aravier to deal with these disruptions with maturity and dignity. They will happen, and we have no great entitlement to prevent them, or to tell another player they’ve taken what we feel is “ours”.
IMPORTANT: Anyone who settles in Aravier is expected to be a productive and loyal member of the community. People who do not want to participate in Aravier or who are not dedicated to the community in which they chose to settle, will be dealt with in an escalating fashion. Plenty of advice and warnings will be given, but those without the intent or personal capacity to play nice with the rest of the duchy could face a range of responses, including in extreme cases, outright removal from their titles or lands.
I've been gaming for basically all my life, and ran a few guilds/gaming groups over the years, so have quite a bit of online gaming experience in sandbox style games. I was dragged into this game during Kickstarter by some friends from another game where I have spent about 15 years in key leadership positions. I was originally just a Mayor/Baron, but they felt I’d be great at more senior leadership in the game, so they encouraged me to enter the Free Kingdom competition, and so here I am.
As a personal goal within CoE, I would like to still be a Duke by the time the game draws to an end. Caspian has stated that he believes every starting noble will lose their title by the end of the game, and I'd like to prove him wrong by maintaining my perch governing a successful duchy for the whole run. This doesn’t mean I’m going to desperately hold on to my Dukedom at the expense of all else, but it just means if I run the duchy well, then I stand a good chance of still being there by the end.
To do that, I want Aravier to be a model duchy. I understand that’s a bit of banal thing to say, since I don't think there are any Dukes who want their duchies to not be stable, safe for its citizens, and wealthy.
What I want to do is ensure Aravier has a stable government which applies a good framework of government around the game's mechanics so that we can all function effectively, efficiently, and manage everyone’s expectations. By having an environment which makes it somewhat clear scope of expected behaviours and activities, and an effective and professional means of enforcing those expectations throughout the duchy, I believe we can give players the confidence to invest in Aravier and to depend on us to provide an enriching experience.
I view being a Duke as being an incubator of sorts. I'm not going to personally lead the duchy to brilliance and prestige in all of its affairs; that has to come from a large array of people, perspectives, and talent. What I need to get right is the duchy’s settings and laws, which will in turn foster the stability and opportunities necessary for players to pursue their own ambitions and interests. When people are having fun and are dedicated to what they’re doing, then the duchy as a whole benefits from their ingenuity, passion, and output.
As a Duke, I obviously need to step in when things go wrong, or when people defy expectations in a way that negatively impacts on the Duchy. But equally important is for me to know that a large part of my job is to keep out of people’s way so that they can leverage their creativity, differing perspectives, and their variety of skills to drive progress in the duchy’s scientific, economic, and social evolution.
Please ask here in this topic, or join our Discord and ask us there!
Below is a map of the Duchy as it currently stands, with counties shaded according to the following rules:
I have asked all of my Counts to select a number of Counties in preference order. I am careful about the language here, and use preference to indicate this is not something which is settled in stone for anyone.
A First Preference is the County which will be picked by a Count within Aravier, should the County be available. We are in the final stages of de-conflicting first preferences with the current Counts in the duchy.
Please contact Duke Seele either through forum private message, or on our Discord server.
I request that any potential Count interested in settling within Aravier does not choose a county which is already indicated as being a first preference for a current Count. This will avoid any sticky situations and bad feelings between Counts, and I'd like to see anybody new to the Duchy starting off on the right foot and respecting the community we have already, and the negotiations we have been through to date.
If you are interested in settling in Aravier as a Count, then please contact me to discuss your preferences. The above map is an indicator, and I am happy to discuss and negotiate for Counties which are already a first preference for a current Count of Aravier. In terms of game-mechanics, IP still trumps all, but a discussion can get us much farther and without drama or conflict.
No. Aravier has a mix of high-IP Counts, and low-IP Counts from the Free Kingdom event. Prospective Counts need to try and navigate decisions and discussion on that front without the advantage of knowledge about IP. I want people to take a more conciliatory and mature mode of engaging with us about County picks, not just trying to strong-arm with IP.