isnt that very close to vanila BR? ...I belive I recall something like that, some usurper story and then onwards
Yeah, Osoerde always ends up replacing Ghoere as a bad guy great power. I have no idea why.
Because you're located next to Osoerde, so it's more of a concern as a 'bad guy' to you than people far away? I imagine the (former) Countess of Ilien would have different opinions about Ghieste than you, for instance. Don't take personal viewpoints as universal moral truths.
It's more about the number of his peers Archduke of Osoerde, former and current, has invaded or intimidated into submission rather than the proximity to my domain, which forms the general opinion. Most of Anuire did unite to stop Raenech. It seems to be happening again, but it isn't over yet, and it might turn out to be a "Partition of Poland" as I already mentioned.
Also, my observation of Osoerde/Ghoere phenomenon is based on other games and Raenech's Osoerde in this one. Ghoere is long gone in the time of Osoer's Osoerde.
Well, in vanilla BR, Raenech is a vicious tyrant who's actively selling his own subjects out to the Beliniks. He's the winner of "Most Villainous", as opposed to Ghoere's "Most Dangerous," which makes him very appealing to DMs.
My point about proximity is that Aerenwe's got every reason to have massive issues with Osoerde over the years, but a lot of the examples Linde is trotting out don't actually apply when you dig into them - but Aerenwe again has every reason to see them through the light of its own experiences with Osoerde. There were reasons - pretty good ones, on BOTH sides, due to some remarkable confusion on the players' parts - for the Elinie war, and when they got resolved through Diplomacy, the war ended. Coeranys and the Chimaeron are Osoerde's ALLIES, so I'm not sure why they're even in the list. Now Osoer is off fighting a Crusade against an Awnshegh (which, given how the last one turned out last game, seems a poor choice. Maybe history IS going to repeat itself in that area?). But what matters to the ETN and Aerenwe is A) what's happening in Aerenwe now, B) the basic fact that there was a war with Elinie, Aerenwe's friend, without regard for reasons, and C) Aerenwe's history with Osoerde. Local perspective - Osoerde is an expansionistic, war-mongering villain. Larger perspective - a lot more complicated.