House Colemann

Head of House: Who, ICly, is the leader of the house and makes the prime decisions.

Lord Gunther Colemann holds the nominal inheritance title while Lady Elsamina makes all the household and estate decisions. Both have equal (but different) power in the home.

How did the family rise to nobility? Give a bit of a summary here as to how the family rose above the rest to be deemed nobility? Did an ancestor sacrifice himself for the ruler of the time and this was the reward for the surviving family? Forged documents from ages ago that prove some sort of claim? Detail this as much as possible.

House Colemann is made up of two noble houses merged via marriage.

House Colemann (Gunther's side of the family) was originally a mining company (hence "coal man", with coal being one of their many resources) during the earlier days of the Arathor Empire. As the Troll Wars were raging, the family turned to smithing and eventually gained recognition through the creation of weaponry of different kinds wielded by the best of Arathor's soldiers. It wasn't until one of the Colemann sons took up arcane when he decided to break away from family tradition and study in the budding Dalaran. When he returned, he showcased magic to the family by enchanting their ores and stones. The Colemanns decided to use this opportunity to build a trade empire based off of enchantments on weapons, armor, fashion, and jewelry. Eventually, the Colemanns gained formal nobility by marrying their sons off to noble daughters, and by the time the First War would have begun, the Colemann family has been long established as nobles with family branches in foreign lands spread out to other parts of the Eastern Kingdoms.

House Crews (Elsamina's side of the family) was also one of the first families of the Arathor Empire, being established as a prestigious clan of soldiers who acquired wealth from the Troll Wars. When the Empire was formed, they served who would eventually become the ruling families of Stormwind when the city-state is established some time after the end of the Wars. For their generations of service, they would be granted land and prestige west of the City, where they would develop their own towns and hamlets up that would eventually be nearly wiped out by the time of the First War. The land is seized back after the Second, but much of their wealth was lost and in need of funding for recovery.

The Crews then merged with the Colemanns mostly due to necessity as well as solidifying an alliance: they get the Colemann’s wealth while the Colemanns gain more prestige and power. For this reason, Crews tend to be the rulers of the House while the Colemanns are the financers. Most of the wealth is obtained through foreign trade, though some resources have been recovered in Crews land in Elwynn.

How does the family sustain its wealth? How does the family not fall to ruins with over-spending, what is their source of income?

On the main Colemann’s side, most of the trade relationships in other lands have been maintained, particularly those in Kul Tiras, Ironforge, Theramore, and especially within Dalaran itself. On the Crews’ side, subjects living on the hamlets’ lands would pay taxes and bring forth portions of their work to their lords. Currently, though, the Estate is still recovering from Deathwing’s scorching of the lands, so the House has been living comparatively frugally until the lands recover fully and new citizens would be moving in to contribute to the fields.

What sort of assets does the family have? How big are the lands? What sort of structures are on said land? Do they have a guard force? Personal army? Fleet of ships? If an asset is not listed, it cannot be claimed, however a PD can be posted later asking if a new asset can be added.

The original Colemann family in Dalaran should be noted in that it has been killed in the Third War; thus, all monetary wealth has been inherited then transferred to the Stormwind Kingdom. When the Shattering occurred, Deathwing destroyed much of the Colemann lands and forced many to homelessness which the House was forced to move to Westfall until repairs (and reparations) are complete. The following remaining assets are:

The main Colemann Estate: Mansion—three story building which includes quarters for personal vassals and other members of the family. Gardens Stables Homes for vassals and staff Barracks for guards

Town of Cobalton Industry is focused on mining, smithing, and refinery of ores and gems, which will be ported out for enchantment in Dalaran for trade. Two mines, one in the east and one in the north of the town. The eastern mine has been caved in and needs to be reopened. Blacksmith Barracks Small village, originally with a population of 400 but a majority was killed by Deathwing. Less than 20 remain. Most homes have been destroyed.

Town of Vinehall Industry was focused farming, winemaking, tailoring, lumber, and carpentry, but Deathwing’s destroyed almost all the farmland and woods. Currently the survivors are replanting. Roughly 500 acres of recovering farmland. Various stores and factories for textiles, carpentry, and winemaking, but most have been destroyed. A handful enough remain to keep the town from going bankrupt. Chapel for both citizens of Cobalton and Vinehall. Barracks Small village, originally with a population of 500 but a majority was killed by Deathwing. Less than 20 remain. Most homes have been destroyed.

Town of Shorecrest Currently a ghost town. Originally a fishery and aquaculture at Crest Lake, but this town suffered the most damage. No survivors, almost all homes have been demolished, and the lake is tainted. The deeds to the land are still viable, however, and both Gunther and Elsamina plan to repair it for a new town. However, they are currently focused on finalizing the repairs for Cobalton and Vinehall before they can make efforts in fixing Shorecrest.

Treasury Sizable amounts of gold have been saved up from trading profits in foreign lands, though much of its spending is focused on repairing damage in the towns. Because the original Colemann family died in the Third War and the other branches has long since severed, the Elwynn-based Colemanns are spending domestic resources on repairs faster than they are making new income. Inheritance from killed relatives in Dalaran has been preventing the Elwynn Colemanns from becoming bankrupt. Beyond the spending on repairs and reparations, it is enough to keep the core family to keep on living comfortably.

Military Dwindling standing army. Its small numbers factor into poor defense, which would ultimately result in the success of the Defias’ kidnapping of Gunther. The Colemanns hope to hire more in the near future.

Other Trading posts in other lands described above Four ships in the Stormwind Harbor A vacation home in Kul Tiras

What is the family known for? Is the family a group of cruel tax collectors that works their servants like dogs? Are they a military family the produces fine soldiers who rise in rank quickly? Magic users? What makes them known?

The original Colemanns are known for their ruthless grabs for power and wealth as merchants and enchanters. The original Crews, prior to their merging though with a lingering reputation, are known for governing their towns with iron fists; subjects had suspicions of corruption in the past generation. However, the Dalaran Colemanns were otherwise wise and studious, and the Crews were strong and otherwise loyal to the Stormwind crown.

Elsamina and Gunther’s reputations are different in that not only are they survivors of recurring disaster, but particularly in that they are deviations from the families’ image. Gunther is an ineffectual noble who only knows how to be a priest, and Elsamina tends to be absent as she spends most of her time in Stormwind City as an SI:7 agent. Slowly, but surely, they are both trying to fix these aloof reputations by becoming more involved in fixing the land and governing them properly.

How old is the family? How long has the family been nobility?

The families were both founded during the Arathor Empire but did not become proper nobility until the city-states were formed.

What can be obtained by creating a new family over joining one already in existence? Simply put, what does this family bring that isn't provided by others? Activity is not an acceptable response. Note: Noble Families already approved do not need to answer this question.

House Colemann hopes to stand out in that RP will focus on two previously ineffectual nobles trying to make efforts in fixing their lands by allowing players (whether they are peasants and serfs or volunteers/militia/whatever) not only repair the lands, but also build their homes IC and live in them. Basically, I would be building towns from the ground up, starting by having events/storylines fixing Cobalton and Vinehall before beginning Shorecrest. Actual RP locations will be world towns understood to be the Colemann lands IC if not a custom RP area.

Is the family open for members to join? If so, let them know how to contact you here as well as what you're looking for.

I am primarily looking for vassals, guards, workers, and subjects, but if players want to roll family, the higher priority family members are parents/siblings/relatives from the Crews’ side of the family (RP storylines have been established that Gunther is the only surviving Colemann in Elwynn, so retconning this would be tricky).

If players really want to play children, that would involve massive toying with the established canon--Elsa and Gunther will be having their first surviving children despite both being 50 years of age. If so, they'd either be children from Derrick and Elsa (making them older siblings of Kogan and Kitson) or Gunther having a tryst with a Lordaeron woman before being taken away to Dalaran after the First War; this child(ren) would then have to be legitimized as Colemann nobles. I am unwilling to have a surviving Elsa/Gunther child unless it's some crazy cooked up story that a previous child did survive birth but was stolen or something, but I hope to otherwise avoid that.

While initial contact can be done on PM, I generally prefer Skype or ingame whispers so discussion can be done on real time.