The Syndicality of Nymma

Ostensibly led by the Commissioner of the King (though which king is a matter of debate and frequently changes as the tides of the Whatsitabout War shift), the town of Nymma is essentially a syndicalist commune. This has provided the townspeople with great zest and energy, sorely needed on the marcher frontier, but has led to a number of ineffective policies. The local Guild of Thieves and Bankers (aren’t they the same thing?) has taken advantage of this political vacuum in order to create various racketeering and ponzi schemes, though a recent economic downturn means hardship also for the Guild.

Though originating as a feudal town under a noble line in the days of the Dragon Empire, Nymma has come a long way since then. Princess Ruby is the sole remaining heir of that noble line but owns no land and has no legal authority. The actual governing of the town lies in the hands of an ever-changing and eclectic number of cabals, coteries and factions, the most numerous, most powerful and richest of which is the aforementioned Guild of Thieves and Bankers. However, the communo-anarchic nature of politics in Nymma being what they are, this doesn't mean the Guild actually sets the course of things in town. Other power groups are the Collective of Magi (a socialist but deeply divided group of wizards, sorcerers and warlocks), the Union of Independent Contractors (a network of mercenaries, torchbearers and down-and-out adventurers) and the Scarlet Swords (the Nymma town guard). Curiously, the coteries that run the Raad (town council) and the Hof (the courts) wield no serious power at all, being mired in debates about public representation and the subject of dikastocracy.

Nymma’s largest building is its Great Stained Glass-Domed Temple with two towers flanking its entrance, originally dedicated to the ancestral gods of the area. In recent decades, increasingly arcane influences have entered the temple, with spirits, petty godlings (such as the fickle Dice Gods) and nascent demigods in pursuit, including a cult of the Beer God led by that high priest, titled the Magister Carceri et Sub Terra Exsulto. This cult of the Beer God has become increasingly popular for its annual Totem-rites wherein supplicants dress up as various and sundry animals and personages for three days of alcoholic festivities, after which the Beer God will sulk and disappear for forty days.

The syndicality has largely been kept out of the Whatsitabout War, though not for lack of trying from outside sources. Even now, a Luminous Legion of Phaeton the Morninglord besieges the town from their camp on the neighboring hill. But the sheer strangeness of Nymma has so far thwarted any attempt at invasion. From Nymma out, young adventurous types defy the Legion and venture out into the Marches in search of artifacts from folklore and mythic danger.