Fort Sera
Overview
There is a large, dilapidated and overgrown fort in a secluded fringe of the Outer Marston Swamps. It currently houses a small, independent mercenary company, who have started the considerable task of restoring the fort. They have named the fort after the Major in charge of the force, and who is leading operations there.
Once the MC's Influence reaches 4,000+, the fort's commander Major Sera Valkess sends him a letter, inviting him to the fort. This initiates a chain of events that can ultimately result in the MC taking over the command of the fort and its mercenaries.
Major Valkess keeps her troops happy with a dozen or more young, tribalist sex slaves, as is standard practice with armed forces in Ikaanos. Once the MC starts working with her, she makes these slaves freely available for him and his Followers to use daily, should he wish.
Day to day operations of the fort are the responsibility of Sergeant Marcus Williams, a veteran of the Border Wars. Sgt. Williams will answer to the MC if he takes over the fort.
Fort Sera Initially
- Soldiers: 15
- Power Value: 25
- Treasury: $600
- Focus: Mercenary
- Leader: Major Valkess (initially), The MC (later)
Donations
Once the MC has been invited to do business with the fort, he can donate to it to strengthen its faction Power Value. These donations raise the MC's Standing with the Fort Sera faction also. There is no immediate benefit to the MC from doing this, but if he takes over the faction its PV will add to his Power Value, which will also bring in money and influence, so his donations will then benefit himself.
- $1,000
- $10,000
- $100,000
- 20 Swords
- 25 Automatic Rifles
- 1 Captive* (+1 to Power Value per captive if the Fort's PV is less than 100, and +1 with no cap if the captive is a Raider Lord/Chief, Highwayman, Raider King, Space Marine, Black Guard, or Red Guard.
* Unprocessed captives can be donated to Sera from the "Inspect Captured Slaves" screen anywhere in Marston Swamps, or via the "Faction Overview" screen in the Fort Sera menu. Alternatively captives can be added to the MC's household from where any slaves or convicts can be donated to Fort Sera at any time from the NPC's "Actions" menu.
Development
If the MC accepts the major's offer of joining forces with the mercenary company, he will first be asked to build up the fort's meagre forces by donating ten captives there. Sgt. Williams and Maj. Valkess will train these bandit reprobates into disciplined & skilled mercenaries. Sera informs the MC that taking bandits who live as criminals with prices on their heads, and turning them into legitimately employed mercenaries, will eventually lead to grateful and loyal troops, even if their initial recruitment was via "impressment" (forcible conscription against their will).
In order to build the mercenary company up enough that they will hand over their leadership to the MC, he will have to deliver the following to the Fort, and in this order:
- Recruits: 10 (have to be delivered first)
- Swords: 40 (to be delivered after the extra recruits)
- Assault Rifles: 25 (to be delivered after the extra recruits)
- Cash: $150,000 (to be delivered after the recruits, swords and guns)
If he achieves this, the MC will be invited to return in seven days time to attend a ceremony at which leadership of the mercenary company is handed to him. (He can also rename the company to anything he wishes.) At this point, the fort's Power Value will be added to that of the MC's Faction. This will be +55 PV points, or more if the MC has donated more than the minimum to the fort. (Note that a few of the fort's initial mercenaries have been killed by bandits in the interim, reducing its complement, and PV.) The MC will now be a minor warlord in Ikaanos, more powerful than the "Mad Preacher", or a small city district like Raikan.
The MC will continue to be able to donate captives, slaves and convicts to the fort, as well as swords, auto rifles and cash. Raising the fort's PV in this way will raise the MC's own PV on a one-to-one basis, and may be a more efficient way of raising his PV than via building up his own Household. The Fort's activities will also generate a daily supply of cash and Influence:
- Daily income = 2 x Fort Sera's Power Value
- Daily influence = 0.5 x Fort Sera's Power Value (rounded up)
Burakumin Farming Village
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Marston Swamps Watchtower
There is a pre-Severance watchtower dominating a small hill not far from Fort Sera, 20 minutes walk deeper into the Marston Wetlands. It is a Skyguard facility, but only used by them occasionally, and often gets taken over by bandits. If the MC clears the bandits from the watchtower, and if he has taken charge of Fort Sera, and if the fort has a complement of at least 85 troops so that it can spare 15 or more to garrison the watchtower, and if the fort also has at least $250,000 in its treasury so that it can afford to refurbish the watchtower, the MC can arrange with the Skyguard for his Fort Sera mercenary company take over the watchtower to use as a secondary base. He can then use this base to enforce order in the bandit-ridden swamps, and thus increase Control in Ikaanos city, if he wants to. He will have to pay a $100/day "freebooters holding" as rent to the Skyguard, as it is their facility, but they will be grateful to have it looked after and kept free of bandits. This is a dangerous assignment for the MC's troops, and he will likely lose some occasionally, so he will have to keep an ye on the watchtower garrison and reinforce it occasionally.