Recent History

Little Avoning's recent history has been dominated by five families. They are, in general, no wealthier or larger than the other families of Little Avoning, but they have been, each for their own reasons, more involved in civic life than average over the last century. Almost all of these characters are available to be played as PCs, although a number of them may appear as NPCs if not chosen by a player. GMs may provide you with some extra backstory information if you choose to play a member of these families.

The Stuarts have a reputation around town as a particularly proud family, with a long tradition of military service. While they are not necessarily the easiest people to get along with, most in the town at least respect their unshakable commitment to civic life.

Relationships:

• The Stuarts have feuded with the Smiths for as long as anyone can remember, and the reasons for why vary wildly both between and within families.
• The Stuarts have long held the Beauforts in high regard and have supported them in their mayoral candidacies, and correspondingly the Beauforts have long been friendly them.
• The Stuarts and Mackenzies meanwhile see themselves as rivals for being the most “respectable” family in town - although most of the other townsfolk do not necessarily see them that way.
• The Stuarts find the Fishers to be confusing and frequently unsociable, however respectable enough.

The Smiths are best known for their enthusiastic support for The Smithy, and are considered the local core of the support for the investment. The foundry's nickname is at least in part from how many of the Smith's children have signed up to work there.

Relationships:

• The Smiths have feuded with the Stuarts for as long as anyone can remember, and the reasons for why vary wildly both between and within families.
• The Smiths hold the Beauforts in high regard and have supported them in their mayoral candidacies, and correspondingly the Beauforts have long been friendly with them.
• The Smiths and Mackenzies are broadly on good terms, although there is clearly some kind of grudge between Mark and Bridget.
• The Smiths tend to avoid the Fishers - not out of any ill will, simply because the Fishers seem to be avoiding them.

Everyone knows the Beauforts are a family that has fallen on harder times recently, although you wouldn't know it to look at them. The House Patriarch is the elderly Bartholomew Beaufort. He was once mayor, apparently, although these days he mostly lives in seclusion. There is a common understanding he is no longer welcome at the town festival, although it has been so long few remember why. Despite Bartholomew's reputation, the Beauforts are still a generally well liked family, and in particular the young Monica Beaufort has a reputation for making the best mead in town.

Relationships:

• Despite their mutual enmity, both Smiths and Stuarts hold the Beauforts in high regard and have supported them in their mayoral candidacies, and correspondingly the Beauforts have long been friendly with both families.
• The Mackenzies and Beauforts on the other hand have a history of political rivalry, although the younger scions of the house have largely forgotten it.
• The younger generations of Fishers and Beauforts despise each other, despite good relationships between the family elders.

The Mackenzies are a gregarious family, friendly and broadly popular with the townsfolk, and the mayoralty has usually been held by a Mackenzie ever since Bartholomew's left it decades ago. The Mackenzies own a boating company and are among the families to have profited most from The Smithy.

Relationships:

• The Stuarts and Mackenzies meanwhile see themselves as rivals for being the most “respectable” family in town - although most of the other townsfolk do not necessarily see them that way.
• The Smiths and Mackenzies are broadly on good terms, although there is clearly some kind of grudge between Mark and Bridget.
• The Mackenzies and Beauforts on the other hand have a history of political rivalry, although the younger scions of the house have largely forgotten it.
• The Mackenzies and Fishers have long intermarried, although as their fortunes have separated over the last few generations so have their bloodlines, with mixed feelings in both families.

The Fishers were once a very prosperous family, as is plain to see from their stately family home just outside the town. Now however the family is split between those who remain on the town's periphery and those who have moved into the center. The family in town is largely leaderless, while the head of the estate household is Issac Fisher.

Relationships:

• The Fishers are known to avoid both the Stuarts and Smiths, although neither of those families seems to hold any ill will for the Fishers.
• The younger generations of Fishers and Beauforts despise each other, despite good relationships between the family elders.
• The Mackenzies and Fishers have long intermarried, although as their fortunes have separated over the last few generations so have their bloodlines, with mixed feelings in both families.