The Shogunate

Shinsei Sanctum, the spiritual heart of the Shogunate.

**The Shogunate**, also known as the **Ido Shogunate** and the **Shogunate of Blood**, is a geopolitical organization in eastern Vantion.

The Blood Shogunate has dominated eastern Vantion since the Third Age. Though dismantled during the Tyranny of Dragons, the Shogunate has resurfaced into the geopolitical arena under the leadership of the inspired, though corrupt, leadership of the Okashino clan.

Nominally, the Shogunate is the hegemon of Eastern Vantion, but a dense webwork of laws and crippling internal division prevent it from effectively projecting its great power.

## Description

Although nominally a single polity, the Daimyo of the Shogunate possess independent power, and do not necessarily have to follow the instructions of the Shogun. An elective succession system means that all princes select a Shogun that rules on a term limited by the rise and fall of the Crimson Moon.

The Shogunate is openly ruled by Vampires. However, their society emphasizes care for those not initiated into the blood in much the same way as a shepherd tends to his flock. At the same time, the cultural norms of the Shogunate are strictly entrenched in honor; dishonorable conduct, such as bloodlust, is punished and reprimanded severely.

As such, ordinary Mortals live in peace and prosperity comparable, if not better, than in many other places within the world.

## Culture

The hardiness of the crimson lands formed a culture in which order, discipline, and honor are the greatest of virtues. Combined with the stoic nature of vampiric culture, there is no place on Vosel in which such virtues are better kept.

The social fabric of the Shogunate is a reflection of its staunchly-entrenched feudal system. Vampires and vampiric thralls lead the military and nobility, while the ordinary populace leads trade and commercial endeavors. Of the 7.2 million inhabitants of the Shogunate, only some 100,000 are vampires. Of these, some 57,000 are thralls, 42,200 are vampires, and 813 are biological vampires.

## Diplomacy

The Shogunate has a long history of conflict with its neighbors. In more recent times, the Shogunate has fought against the Tadovari Empire and the Xin Dynasty. Victory has proven elusive for the forces of the Shogunate, with unfavorable peace terms being conceded. The peace with Tadovar is soon to expire after 10 years of peace; the truce with the Xin concludes in 337 6E, after 18 years of peace.

## Economy

Though prosperous, the Shogunate's wealth cannot hope to match that of the Xin lords or Tadovari aristocracy. Nevertheless, wealth is distributed more evenly in the Shogunate than in most other powers of Vantion, and few citizens of the Shogunate live in abject poverty.

The economy of the Shogunate is driven by the industry of its people and the toil of their labor, rather than any rare spice, mineral, or substance. As such, the Shogunate exports refined and processed goods, importing rare and raw materials.

## History

### Matsushiro Shogunate

Lord Atsuhide the Great, of Matsushiro clan, crowned himself Shogun during the Godfall. None now live who witnessed his rise to power, but his actions remain controversial. His defenders argue that he rose at a time of great need, saving vampires from Divine domination. His detractors argue that he was a dreadful tyrant who unlawfully declared himself Shogun.

Atsuhide led the Shogunate to many great victories against the Divine armies. However, his closest friend betrayed him, and the Shogun chose seppuku over capture. His heirs proved to be less able than He, and the war was lost: A defeat that shattered the prestige of the Matsushiro family. At the next Crimson Moon, the Matsushiro clan lost the title. They would never recover it.

### Middle Shogunate

During the Fourth Age, many clans were able to secure the title of Shogun. As such, the military court moved from province to province for thousands of years. During this time, the Shogunate began to expand its power and influence over the world, particularly in the latter days of the age, once it became clear that Divine power had waned in the material plane. When the Draconic war began, the Shogunate was at its greatest territorial extent, governing great swaths of territory controlled today by Tadovar and the Xin Dynasty.

### The Usurpation

During the Usurpation, the Draconic tyrants took special care to dismantle the Shogunate. Capitalizing upon inner rivalries, Noldorant was able to depose Lord Hiroyasu of the Three Bloodlines, issuing the Restitutory Proclamation (today known as the "False Proclamation").

During the War of Liberation, the vampire lords joined forces with their old rivals in the Divine Concord, leading to a series of important battles that toppled Draconic control over Vantion. The sanguine armies were led by Lord Hideyori Okashino, later known as Lord Hideyori the Restitutor, a man from Ido province, who would become the first Shogun of the Second Shogunate.

### Ido Shogunate

With the Imperium gone, the Second Shogunate once again reigns in Eastern Vantion. However, the nascent mortal empires may prove to be as much of a threat to the Second Shogunate as the vanquished Dragons were to the First.

It is vital for the Second Shogunate to check the rising might of the Shin Dynasty and the Tadovari Lords if it wishes to maintain its position in eastern Vantion. However, Shogun Atsuhide the Promised faces an impossible task: Despite fielding the greatest warriors to ever take the field, his realm is fractured by internal conflicts, population pressures, and economic stressors.

## Military

In total, the Shogun and the Daimyo wield a standing army of 300,000 soldiers, of which 30,000 are vampires.

Vampire soldiers, usually known as *samurai* ("warrior"), serve as the professional core of the sanguine military. As members of the lower nobility, they swear fealty to a Great House.

Ordinary soldiers are known as *ashigaru* ("light [troops]"). They are usually conscripts or temporary soldiers. Ashigaru can fight with polearms, holding enemy lines in place while shock troops take the center and flanks. They can also harry the enemy as skirmishers, fighting from a distance with either musket or bow.

Because of the highly rough and irregular terrain of the Shogunate, crimson armies rarely deploy cavalry in significant numbers.

## Politics

The Shogunate is not a unitary country. It is fractured into a collection of numerous Daimyo, semi-independent lords, each with a private territory and army. Although the Daimyo are, technically, his vassals, a dense webwork of laws impede the Shogun from exercising much power outside of his own demesne.

Shoguns are elected by vote of the daimyo in a series of elections held each Crimson Moon, which typically happens every 50 to 100 years. Shoguns can be re-elected, but they rarely are, as most Shoguns retire after one term. The Okashino clan has been an exception to this rule.

Shoguns can gain total power by declaring a State of Calamity. However, this is rare and highly resented by the daimyo. Strict laws govern when a shogun can and cannot declare such a state.

The ruling class of the Shogunate is the caste of true vampires, of which there are about 800.

## Appendix

 Elven Wilds
 Human Countries
 Orc Tribes
 Serpent Coast
 Undead Realms