The Known World: The Skandaharians part 2

 Continuing from the last post post, we explore the second Skandaharian branch the Antalians as they  became a hardened warrior people in the cold north. The sight of their longships has for generations been a cause of fear on the high seas  and among the rich coastal lands of the south.

The Antalians

Following the Great Rain of Fire, the Antalians(equivalent to the Ancient Norse) traveled north avoiding the frozen glaciers and mountains further inland until they reached the Great Bay where they took refuge from the harsh northern seas. Over the next few centuries the Antalians spread out covering the entirety of the Northern Lowlands, around where the modern Great Bay is now, and along the coast all the way down to modern Landfall. Many Antalian kingdoms rose and fell and warred with each other and the Giant and Dragon kingdoms in the mountains. 

After many centuries of Antalian preeminence in the region the great Orc horde of Loark shattered the southern kingdoms and leaving few survivors who fled to join their northern brethren in the Northern Lowlands. The remaining Antalians in the north took centuries to rebuild and they became a more united people of common culture known as the Norsenians(equivalent to the Old Norse). At this point there were no kings or great lords, only small scattered tribes and homesteads trying to scrape out a living from the dark northern seas, and interdependence among the people became essential to their survival. 

During this period many Norsenians seeking a new life settled an island far to the north, which they named Kat-har after a stowaway cat on a longship. For nearly two thousand years the Kattes(as they called themselves) were isolated in the cold north with minimal contact between them and their cousins on the mainland, developing their own unique though parallel language and customs(equivalent to Old Gutnish). And then the conquering Alphatians arrived. The Alphatians viewed Kat-har as a backwards island not worth the resources required to subjugate the people there, but also would not deign to consider the small island capable of governing itself. A compromise was reached with the King of the island to avoid bloodshed, resulting in the King swearing allegiance to Alphatia and agreeing to send yearly tributes to the Empire. Over the centuries, the island has been a backward province of the Empire and been mostly left to itself. Due to Alphatian influence the culture and language of the island has evolved, and the island is now known as Quedhar and the people as the Quedish(equivalent to Faro Gutnish).

The Alfish

After half a millennium of Norsenian growth and recolonization of the southern Coasts disaster struck. The sea gods poured out their wrath on the north as glaciers melted and great tidal waves washed away many settlements. The land bridge between the continent and the isle of dawn sunk beneath the waves, the shoreline of Norwold retreated creating many fjords at the edges of the mountains, the Northern Lowlands became flooded as the sea rushed in and created the Great Bay. This great flood separated the surviving Norsenians in the north around the Great Bay from those in the south along the deteriorated coastline. Those in the north became known as the Alfish tribes(equivalent to the Old East Norse) while those in the south along the coast came to be called the Norwold tribes(equivalent to the Old West Norse) by their southern neighbors. 

In the north the Alfish people gathered on the peninsula of Alfmark(i.e. Alpha to modern Thyatians) and the surrounding lands to the south and west, forming many petty kingdoms over the centuries. In AC 12 a group of refugees from the Thang empire came to the land of Alfmark, and with many Alfish outcasts and lowlifes built the city of Alfa which quickly became the preeminent trade hub in the region. Virtually any Thang influence has died out as all the Thang refugees comingled with the natives and became assimilated to the Alfish culture. Nearly half a millennia after the founding of Alfa the Alphatian Empire invaded the Great Bay. After many years of warfare against incredible odds Alfish tribes defeated the Alphatians. The City of Alfa played a key part in this war, and afterwards many of the tribes of the Great Bay pledged fealty to the new King of Alfmark who made his capitol the City of Alfa. 

After the Great Flood many Alfish tribes migrated to the west instead of remaining near Alfmark. Over the next few centuries they warred with the orc tribes in the western mountains until most of the orcs were driven out of the valleys, which were in turned settled by the Alfish. In the year BC 300 a legion from the Thang empire was cut off from home in the far north; a small Alfish tribe saved them from the depths of a cold winter. The legion and the small tribe together began to broker alliances with other Alfish tribes, or where resistance was met, conquered them. This new empire, the Kingdom of Alinor, among the western mountains experienced a meteoric rise and came to dominate the region. As the soldiers of the legion grew old they settled down with Alfish women and passed on the reigns of power Alfish comrades. From this point the Alfish people became culturally divided between the east and west: the Alinish of the west(equivalent to Early Old Swedish) and the Alfish of the east(equivalent to Early Middle Danish). The kingdom of Alinor was destroyed only a generation later during a series of devastating earthquakes, yet the cultural memory of the kingdom remains with the Alinish people to this day. Over the centuries many Alinish traders and warriors went north among the barbarians north of the Great Bay. There a great kingdom was established which still exists in the form of the northern Empire of Cezavy, yet the Alfish conquerors quickly assimilated into the local culture, so that story belongs to another people. 

The Norwolders

In the south the Norwoldic people scattered among the fjords, hills, and isles of the eastern coast. They continued to live as their ancestors, being simple farmers and fishermen, while some few traded journeyed on long voyages to the south for trade or sometimes plunder. In the middle of the second century BC many Norwold tribesmen were overrun by Gothic invaders from the south who in turn were fleeing from a horde of Goblinoids. After this event a traditional boundary was formed at the Saffir river between the Norwoldic people of the north and Nordurlanders of the south. 

In the year AC 250 many raiders, or "Vikings" of Norwold began voyaging to and plundering the rich lands of the south including the Isle of Dawn, the green isles of Ostland, the lowlands of Vestland, and even as far south as the rich cities of Thyatis. These raiders set up temporary camps on the northern isles of dawn and these camps eventually transformed into a stronghold called Helskir(equivalent to Dublin). Over the centuries this settlement has expanded and conquered much of the island becoming the modern day Kingdom of Helskir, and the Norwold descended people speak their own dialect of Helska(equivalent to Old Faroese). 

The Kingdom of Helskir was not to be the only conquest of the Norwoldic people. In AC 400 Cnute the Bold led the greatest army ever gathered among the Norwoldic people to invade the rich green isles of Ostland to the south. For centuries the Southern lands had been ripe picking for the raiders, or "Vikings" of Norwold, but never before had so ambitious a plan been set in motion, and in a few short months Cnute had set himself up as the new King of Ostland. After his death the sons of Cnute also conquered the Kingdoms of Vestland, excluding Ghyr. For many years the two lands of Ostland and Vestland were ruled by one king, heir to the realm of Cnute, but eventually the tyranny of the king could not be tolerated by his unruly vassals and the Jarls of Vestland revolted. After a long and bloody war a king of Vestland was crowned and a peace established between Ostland and Vestland. The kingdom of Ostland became more isolated and insular over the years so much so that the Norwoldic people there have altered their speech and speak their own specific dialect, Nutish(equivalent to Norn), distinct from the Norwoldic spoken in Vestland and Norwold.

The latest chapter in the legends of the Norwoldic people occurred only 300 years ago. A great leader and shipbuilder, named Heldann, had a vision of a new land where he and his friends could be free from the tyranny of petty kings. He built a fleet of ships and gathered many to his cause. They sailed forth and made landfall in Kamminer Bay south of the Skaufskogr hills. They were almost immediately beset by goblins, but were able to drive them off. Over the next few years many outcasts and Vikings joined with Heldann in driving the goblins from this new land. Since that time the region has come to be known as Heldland and is populated by many freeholds of Norwoldic descent. They suffer no king to rule over them and settle any major disputes at the traditional Althing. The people of Heldland have come to call themselves Heldannic in honor of their national hero and speak their own dialect of Norwoldic(equivalent to Old Icelandic).

The Known World: The Skandaharians part 1

Continuing from the last post, here is the Skandaharian language tree as it developed after the GRoF. The Skandaharians are the equivalent of the Proto-Germans. The Great Rain of Fire decimated the population of the Skandaharians due to their proximity to ancient Blackmoor. Most of the tribes had become subject to the superior civilization of Blackmoor and were destroyed along with it. The few who survived were more primitive hill tribes who occupied the southern hills of modern Heldann. Three major tribes, the Goths, the Antalians, and the Vanitar, formed out of the surviving Skandaharians and expanded into the northern territories as the long winter caused by the GRoF began to subside. 

The Low Goths

As the various Skandaharian tribes scattered among the frozen territories of the north, the Goths remained behind and settled the lowlands of the modern Heldann region. Over time some of the Goth tribes migrated to the fertile mountain valleys of the north, but a portion always remained in Heldann. The different Gothic groups began to separate and evolve over time and those in the lowlands became known as the Low Goths(equivalent to the Ingvaeonic Germans.) while those in the high mountain valleys became known as the High Goths. The Low Goths had some contact with the Dunharians on the Isle of Dawn and the remnants of the Thonian tribes to the south and their culture began to be influenced by both groups over time. They came to call their land Gotland and themselves Gotlanders.  

Over the course of the centuries empires rose in the south, first the Nithians, and then the Thang. Each of these in succession made attempts at incorporating Gotland into their domains but ultimately proved unsuccessful; the wild hills of Gotland proved to be too harsh for the armies of the south. Truth be told, the greatest threat to Gotland was the Mengul goblinoids from the mountains to the west; the goblinoids repeatedly conducted raids on the lowlands, pillaging and destroying homes and fields. A cycle of destruction and rebuilding became the norm among the Gotlanders.

This all changed in BC 160 when a massive horde of Goblinoids came pouring out of the mountains. Many Gotlanders were killed, but many others fled, some north and some south. Those who went north fled to the elves of the Rhien Forest who offered humanitarian aid. With the combined efforts of the elves and the Gotlanders the Goblinoid horde was defeated in a great battle in the Skaufskogr hills. The Goblinoids took possession of all the lands between the Gotland and Skaufskogr hills, while the Gotlanders spread into the lands north of the Skaufskogr hills and Rhien Forest. These Low Goths assimilated the few Antalian tribes living in this southern coastal region and called their new land Nordurland. This remnant of the Gotlanders have become known as the Nordur(the equivalent of the Old Saxons) after the name of the land the land they come from.

The majority of the Gotlanders who fled from the invading goblins turned to the rich lands of the south. The great Gotlander horde defeated the armies of the Gwynish Kingdom led by King Atruaghin, who was slain in battle. The native Gwynish who were not enslaved or killed by the Gotlanders fled into the mountains of Rockhome. The Gotlander horde dispersed as it settled this new land, some settled the eastern isles and some settled the coastal fjords and plains. The isles became known as Ostland and their inhabitants the Ostish(equivalent to the Old Frisians), while the mainland became known as Vestland and the inhabitants the Vestish(equivalent to the Old English). Shortly after the fall of the Thang Empire, missionaries came to the land of Vestland, and the King converted to the the faith of the one true Church. Through his influence many Vestlanders came to see the light and The Church grew in power and influence throughout the kingdom. 

This period of peace was not to last however. Lured by the wealth of the unprotected monasteries of the Church of Vestland, raiders from the northern regions of Norwold began plundering the rich land of Vestland. After a century and a half of constant raiding many of the raiders stopped simply raiding and began to settle in the lands of Vestland and Ostland. This was followed by the invasion of a great heathen army led by King Cnute the Bold who conquered the Kingdom of Ostland. After Cnute's death, his sons invaded Vestland. As a consequence of these invasions the Vestish and Ostish have been for the most part assimilated or oppressed by their northern overlords, and many have returned to the old ways and worship the old gods in imitation of their overlords, though a few maintain faith in the one true Church despite the persecution they receive for their beliefs. 

A single Vestland kingdom has been able to withstand the armies of the north time and again, this is the Kingdom of Ghyr(equivalent to Wessex). Ghyr maintains the true faith and the kings of Ghyr hold out hope of reuniting Vestland under a faithful Vestish King. Just 30 years ago the King of Ghyr entered into an alliance with the King of Ylaruam to the south, and with his aid was able to defeat many of the northern jarls and expand the domain of Ghyr.

The High Goths

While some of the Gothic tribes descended into the lowlands, many ascended into the nearby hills and mountains of the Mengul, Final, and Wyrmsteeth ranges, mostly settling in the high mountain valleys between the ranges. The goths in these upper valleys became known as the High Goths in contrast to their Low Gothic cousins to the east, and the dialect they spoke became known as High Gothic(equivalent to Irminonic German). The High Goths lived a mostly pastoral and tribal way of life adhering closely to the traditions of their ancestors. Over the centuries they have expanded into the harsh wilderness of the north while keeping a single identity as a people with a common heritage. Each valley tucked away in the mountains may have some quirks in language and tradition that make it unique, yet the valleys are never isolated from each other; there is a network of communication and traditions that connect the tribes of the various valleys across great distances and the centuries of history. On occasion a single tribe has risen to prominence crowning its chief as "king" in a sign of unity among the tribes when defending against some foreign power, but these "kingdoms" have only lasted as long as the life of the king, and then the tribes have returned to governing themselves. 

The centuries have wrought changes upon the language and culture of the tribes, but of all the gothic peoples they still adhere closest to the ways of their ancestors. The modern gothic language is still called High Gothic (equivalent to Old High German) despite these changes, reflecting a direct continuum of ancestry, while the tongue of the ancestors is referred to as Traditional High Gothic. In recent history many of the tribes have once again been united, not under the rulership of a king, or under the oppression of a foreign conqueror but as equal partners in the Federation of Denagoth.

The Denagoths

Not long after the Goths entered the mountains to the west of modern Heldann, many continued west until they reached a forested highland valley guarded on all sides by high mountains. There they found a group of Demi-Humans calling themselves the Deng. The Goths simply called them Brutemen and warred with them for many centuries, eventually driving them out of the valley and into the mountains. As the Goths became the dominant people in the valley they cleared much of the forests to make way for farmland until elves from the south were encountered and with their help toppled the last Kingdom of the Deng. Two centuries of peace followed between the elves and humans. However, this peace could not last and due to population strain the Goths, now calling themselves Denagoths(equivalent to the Istvaeonic Germans) from the name of the original inhabitants of the valley, began to expand into the southern forest, clearing trees to make way for their farms. What followed was two centuries of expansion into the southern forest of the elves until a dark magic mastered by the elves decimated the population of the Denagoths. What followed were many centuries of cycles of peace and violence between the Denagoth people and the elves of the of the forest.

When the Thang Empire marched its legions north, many Denagoth tribes united with the elves in establishing peaceful relations with the newcomers, while others remained wary and sometimes openly hostile. The empire made use of Denagoth mercenaries frequently in their northern campaigns. During the decline of the empire, a new goddess appeared to the Denagoth tribes around the Blackridge Mountains. A Denagoth chief who had served as a former mercenary general among the Thang legions gathered the Denagoth tribes together under his banner and attacked the elves on either side of the Blackridge mountains, who still maintained a loyalty to the Thang empire. The Denagoth chief was crowned the first king of the Kingdom of Denagoth which ruled all of the valley of Denagoth and the old elven kingdom of Forenath. This precipitated a series of wars with the elves to the south, and in the process of these wars Hobgoblin mercenaries were at first simply used as shock troops against the elves, but later became an essential part of the military of the Kingdom of Denagoth. The kingdom eventually fell to infighting among rival heirs, some of whom had converted to the new faith of the one true Church, until the Denagoth were driven out of Forenath and back into the valley by the elves. The Hobgoblins who had formerly assimilated into the armies of Denagoth retreated into the mountains, and formed the Den Horde by subjugating all the other goblinoids in the mountains; the Den Horde periodically raided the Humans of the valleys below.

Amongst the chaos left by the crumbing Denagoth kingdoms rose a great chief, Nebunar(a parallel of Charlemagne), among the southern Denagoth who made peace with the elves and established the Kingdom of Essuria. Nebunar expanded his kingdom to reign over all the Denagoth people in the valley. The peace he established was short lived however, as upon his death the kingdom was split between his two sons Arus, who remained the King of Essuria in the east, and Gereth, who established the Second Kingdom of Denagoth in the west. It was at this point that the Denagoth became divided as a people. The Essurians(equivalent to Old West Low Franconian) in the east, and the Avien plainsmen(equivalent to Old East Low Franconian) in the west. 

Over the course of a century the royal family of the Second Kingdom of Denagoth fell into degeneracy and the king murdered the entire royal court before committing suicide. Following this Essuria rose to its golden age, reestablishing dominion over the entire valley and even expanding beyond it to the north. At its height Essuria ruled over the valley of Denagoth, the Llancevale and Clearwater valleys and also over the people of the Hill and Dale region. This golden age came to an end however when the King of Essuria, Gallathon, granted the provinces more autonomy in both rule and religion; the cult of Idris once again gained followers among the Denagoth people. This led directly to the catastrophe which ended the rule of the Essurian kings abruptly. The last Essurian king, Landryn Teriak, came to power after a sudden illness slew his brother Vespen. Landryn Teriak established the cult of Idris as the official religion of the kingdom and began performing dark rites. The northern provinces, still following the faith of the one true Church, united under the leadership of one Henadin and made an alliance with the elves of the south and together they marched towards Drax Tallen, the capital of Essuria, where a great battle took place and Landryn was presumed dead. 

This great campaign cost the lives of many elves and humans, leaving the valley of Denagoth virtually uninhabited. This opened the way for the Den Horde to pour into the valley from the Blackridge Mountains to the west and the Mengul mountains to the south. Over the next hundred years the Hobgoblins of the Den horde drove the humans to the far north of the valley and killed every last elf. The forests quickly regrew and overtook most of the previous farmland of the valley. There remained only a handful of human Essurian settlements in the south and a single city in the north on the edge of the swamp of the beast to which the Avien people fled. All that remained of the Kingdom of Essuria was the former province in the Clearwater Valley. 

About a decade after the last elf was seen in the valley of Denagoth,  a pair of adventurers, Ryan and Johnny, were captured by a tribe of Denag Hobgoblins and almost sacrificed to their dark mistress, Idris, yet were miraculously able to win their freedom and the loyalty of the tribe. Over the course of the next few months Ryan and Johnny united the Denag tribes and established trade relations with the few Avien and Essurian humans of the valley. Through an unprecedented era of cooperation of diplomacy, the Denag Hobgoblins of the Denagoth valley, the Blackridge mountains, and the Avien and Essurian humans of the Denagoth valley, and the High Gothic tribes of the mountain valleys to the east united in the mighty Federation of Denagoth. Ryan the Hermit established a shrine in the Denagoth forest and began spreading the word of the one true God to the Denag Hobgoblins. The Federation has been challenged by The Guild of Alphatia from across the sea to the east, and the Holy Empire from the south. The Federation also narrowly avoided war with the united elven and human kingdom of Wendar to the South. A tenuous peace has been established between the two powers after a joint expedition went to the ancient ruins of Soreth to investigate a dark power that had been growing for many years, and there the Dark Lord, Landryn Teriak, was destroyed forever.

Dave Arneson Game Day 2024

In honor of Dave Arneson day, October 1st, I ran a session with ties to blackmoor. This is what I shared this to the Piazza forums:

Reporting on my blackmoor related session I ran on the 25th. I might follow it up with something this Thursday, the 3rd.

The players were hanging out in the shady dragon inn in threshold enjoying their morning coffee when a meteor came streaking out of the sky and crashed into wind rush lake causing a huge wave.

The adventurers went to investigate and found a large object was floating in the middle of the lake. They borrowed a small boat from one of the fishermen that ply the lake. When they got closer they found the object was some sort of metallic vessel of a saucer shape. After investigating for a few minutes a hatch opened and a cyborg humanoid stepped out. They asked for help, but the adventurers told them to wait. The adventurers went back to shore and talked to the patriarch who told them to be cautious and they can negotiate in his name. So they went back and brought the cyborg to shore.

After further interaction the cyborg makes a request for several barrels of alcohol in order to repair their ship. The adventurers decide to be friendly and start arranging for the alcohol to be prepared to ferry across the lake to the cyborgs ship. One of the adventurers is given tour of the ship, learns there are 3 cyborgs in total and given a pretty bauble as payment. Meanwhile another adventurer is talking to the cyborg on shore and learns they are from a distant world but their ancestors once hailed from this world.

After all the adventurers are reunited on shore and the alcohol is ready to shipped over, they decide to ask more questions following up on a mention from the cyborgs of a "protection device." They learn that the cyborgs assumed all the people had personal protection devices that would protect them when the ship launches. They discover the launch of the ship would cause the entire valley, where threshold is, to be obliterated in an explosion and the cyborgs don't really care that this will happen as regular humans are "lower life forms." So a couple of the a adventures ferry over to the cyborg ship and confront the cyborgs there. They manage to toss one of the cyborgs into the lake where he is disabled and sinks to the bottom. They also toss some burning oil inside the hatchway of the ship which melts and disabled some of the control, the ship tilts to one side, water pours in through the open hat h and the ship also sinks to the bottom of the lake. When they return to to shore they discover the 3rd cyborg has disappeared without a trace and none of the local fisherman know where he went.

DM notes: the cyborgs are a modified version of the ooard from CM6. They are the descendants of a colony blackmoor established before the great rain of fire on the planet "Damocles" (the planet that eventually breaks up into the asteroid belt), which they call Aelos. The blackmoor colony isolated itself and focused on perfecting the technology of blackmoor over the last 4 millennia, to the point that they evolved to a point where the entire population are all clones and cybernetically enhanced

Fantastic Fortress: Attacks from Below

Continuing the discussion I started here and here lets discuss the possible dangers from below a fortress in a typical fantasy setting might face. As outlined in the previous post the two major threats from below are 1) enemies digging tunnels to mine the walls or enter the city covertly, and 2) more natural threats which might threaten the foundation of the entire region such as nonintelligent tunneling worms(purple worms and their relatives) creatures that can cause earthquakes or other effects such as spells that turn rock to mud or move earth, etc.

1. Mining

For the first problem we can stick to historical solutions, as historical siege warfare regularly involved tunneling in both attack and defense. Essentially this involves counter-mining by the defenders, this can be done in one of two ways, digging a tunnel to intersect with the attackers tunnel and trying to overcome their miners in a "battle for the tunnels" with the goal of preventing them from finishing their mine, or digging a tunnel underneath the attackers tunnel, ie "undermining" them, and then collapsing the the tunnel below in the hopes that the attackers tunnel will collapse in turn.

These solutions sound simple enough but their are a number of factors that make them difficult. the first of which is detecting where exactly the enemy tunnel is. This is an even bigger problem in a fantasy world when there are entire groups of people who live underground and may already be beneath the fortress. 

In standard siege warfare it is almost always possible to recognize when mining is taking place due to the excavated earth that must be dug out. Mining costs a great deal in manpower and so is usually begun relatively close to the fortress walls allowing the defenders to realize that mining has begun even if the exact location of the mine below is not obvious. Luckily the sounds of mining can be quite loud underground and can sometimes be detected by sentries posted in cellars near the castle walls. Detecting the vibrations of enemy shafts can also be accomplished by setting out a bowl of water and observing the vibrations tin the bowl. Of course detection of mining can be made much easier by the use of magic in a fantasy setting.

Other options for detecting enemy mines involve digging test shafts under the wall in the hopes of intersecting the enemy mines, but this can often be a noisy affair underground warning the enemy that their mine is in danger and is not guaranteed to succeed. Another defense would be to dig defensive mines intended to intersect any probably places where an enemy might try to mine the walls. with these prepared mines, warriors can already be placed for defense. however this defense assumes the attackers wont undermine the defenders mines, and also that the defenders can hold the mines. if the defenders fail in the mines, that leaves a way open for the attackers to bypass the walls of the fortress altogether.

If the enemy is in the early stages of mining, the defenders might attempt to increase the width or depth of their moat, provided the fortress has one. Other defensive options once a mine is found involve introducing dangers to the miners themselves: such as flooding the mine, introducing bees into the mine, or other wild animals such as bears or wolves or attack dogs, this could include more dangerous monsters in a fantasy setting. The defenders could also release smoke or other poisons into the air to kill or drive away the attackers.

Another possible defense against mining is simply to simply construct the fortress on ground that it is impractical to tunnel in. This can vary from extremely hard stone to building over an area of sandy ground or wetland where the soil will not support a tunnel. Building near a wetland or body of water may prevent mining as the intended mine may be flooded by the high water table below ground. This isn't a guaranteed defense though as there are methods of draining or pumping the water out of these mines.

In conjunction with the above, the best defense against mining is really the construction of the fortress itself. By building the fortress with circular designs, ie round towers instead of square, the walls become harder to collapse; often the corners of fortress walls are the most vulnerable to collapse from mining. another method of defense via construction is to increase the sheer size of the walls. The larger or wider the walls are the less threat there is of a collapse. This is what happened historically with fortresses as cannons made stone walls obsolete; fortresses were built with large earthen ramparts that would not collapse in the same way as thinner stone walls.

In the case of miners from below such as goblins or dark elves many of the above defenses can be employed with modification. These attacker presumably would not have the goal of collapsing the walls of the fortress but tunneling directly inside it. Of course other methods to stop mining from below include building near water or on extremely hard rock, etc. the same would deter mining in a siege scenario. IN cases where this is not possible, defenses such as countermining, and detection of enemy mines would apply here as well. This is the case where a pre-dug series of mine galleries beneath the fortress may prove most beneficial. If tunnels are made by the defenders to stop enemies from tunneling from directly below so that they must encounter the mine galleries of the fortress first, that can slow them down or even stop them from reaching the fortress. These galleries can be constructed with chokepoints and appropriate defenses, such as caged beasts or monsters ready to be released when needed, sections of tunnel designed to be collapsed, etc. Creating these galleries in a mazelike fashion so that a someone unfamiliar with them would get lost, with secret passages for a more direct route of retreat could prove to be a common defense. Essentially we have invented the classic fantasy dungeon again but as a method of protection. 

2. Foundations

The second threat, that to the foundation of the fortress more generally is a bit harder to solve. some of it has been touched on above, building the walls to be wider so that they don't collapse as easily, but this only addresses the wall of the fortress and not the entre structure. Looking at methods of defending against earthquakes seems to be the most logical avenue of approach to this problem. 

The building materials of a fortress need to have some degree of flex to withstand the lateral forces of an earthquake or shifting ground. Unreinforced masonry(brick) and stone is the least stable and can crack or totally collapse when shear forces are applied; while wood(if properly anchored) and reinforced concrete allow the building to to flex when the ground beneath shifts. 

Another way to withstand the forces applied to a building during a quake is to isolate the base of the structure from the foundation. In modern buildings this done through the use of concrete columns reinforced with steel, or other methods such as the use of rubber pads. In a fantasy setting we can assume that steel reinforced concrete is out of the question, as is rubber. Instead we might assume magic could be used to accomplish the same goal; levitating the entire structure a few inches or feet off the ground. This could also be a method of deterring mining attacks. However, in this series I am looking to propose solutions that don't resort to the fantastical and could be made to work by a less technologically advanced society. As a result I don't see base isolation as a feasible solution.

Other factors can contribute to the stability of a structure. Avoiding load bearing columns on the ground floor, as well as decreasing the number of windows and doors that might weaken load bearing walls on the ground floor can make a structure more stable. Also using shear walls, ie walls that extend from the foundation to the roof, can reinforce the integrity of a structure; this precludes the stereotypical quasi-medieval building with haphazard floors in a jumble of patterns and designs that have been added over the years. Also the use of triangles in building design may prove to be more prevalent in a fantasy setting for the same reasons and triangles(and pyramidal) can withstand greater forces than other shapes under pressure. Another thing that might be counterintuitive is that taller building are more flexible than shorter ones; this is because tall buildings, if constructed of the right materials, can sway back and forth to relieve the forces applied at the base.

Another thing to keep in mind is that harder bedrock is more stable than softer or sandy soil. This may seem common sense, but with creatures that eat through rock, people may look to build on bedrock that is less prone to collapse. When the soil does collapse and the foundation of a building shifts, it might be prudent to have drains already built in to the structure in order to drain off any excess water or sewage from below ground wells, sewer systems, or septic tanks.

Domain Events Generator

I programmed an Excel workbook to create random events for a calendar year. I based it off the natural and unnatural events in the Companion set and the calendar from B10 Knights Dark Terror. It generates up to 4 events each year, and only 1 for each season. I have it connected to the calendar by copy/pasting the results into another tab organized by a list of domains. I intend to add all the domains in The Known World of Dracopolis and then fill out the calendar with more dates. This way I can know what's happening in each place the PCs visit, and also use it to develop rumours amongst the adventuring guild. I may edit it to have events tailored to the seasons, and I'll probably remove the weather related phenomena because that's covered by my weather generator. This is just a first draft really; I'm excited to start using it. 

domain generator excel file

Delvers and Denizens: Experience Adjustments

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

It occurred to me the other day that I've written up and been using rules that I haven't talked about here. My ideas around these posts is to catalog my thought process and the context behind my rules, as I'm writing the rules strictly as a technical or reference manual with the assumption that anyone using them already know how to play the game. I've been thinking of eventually collecting these posts in a sort of designer's notes sort of document or book to go along with the actual rule books.

On to today's topic, I have modified how the adjustment applied to a PCs experience is calculated. the idea behind it was spurred on by this post by JB. Essentially instead of lowering the values of one ability score to raise the score a PC prime requisite as outline in BX, use those other scores to give a bonus to the XP gained based based ont eh prime requisite.

I've cleaned it up into a chart in my rules, each class has a 1st(prime) requisite, a 2nd(secondary) requisite, and a 3rd(tertiary) requisite, and they each give a different bonus or penalty as follows:

Ability Score |	Prime Adjustment |	Secondary Adjustment |	Tertiary Adjustment
3-5	-20%	-10%	-5%
6-8	-10%	-5%	-3%
9-12	+0%	+0%	+0%
13-15	+5%	+3%	+1%
16-18	+10%	+5%	+3%

the percentages are based on the original number in BX/BECMI, just extrapolated out to all 3 values. For the original 3 classes, followed by the thief in greyhawk, each requisite and its ranking was laid out inthe text, and for other classes such as elves and gnomes I base it on the prime req and required ability scoresin BX, and what if feel fits for the class. Below are the vaious reqs for each class as they are in their class descriptions:

Class |	Prime Ability |	Secondary Ability |	Tertiary Ability
Fighter	Strength	Intelligence	Wisdom
Magic-User	Intelligence	Wisdom	Dexterity
Ceric	Wisdom	Intelligence	Strength
Rogue	Dexterity	Wisdom	Intelligence
Sylvan Elf	Intelligence	Strength	Wisdom
Water Elf	Strength	Intelligence	Wisdom
Mountain Gnome	Strength	Dexterity	Wisdom
Garden Gnome	Dexterity	Strength	Wisdom
Forest Gnome	Dexterity	Intelligence	Wisdom

Using this means that each PC will have a customized xp adjustment and that more than one stat is important for each class. A fighter without a high stregth can make up for it with a high intelligence. It's not a huge change to the game, but I like how it shows the benefit of a well rounded character. This also takes away the choice of fiddling with your ability rolls; you just get what you roll and that's that.

Delvers and Denizens: Index

So I realized I've written up more rules that I haven't posted here. Also it's a bit hard to keep track of what I have and haven't posted about, so I'm going to use this to index everything and provide a link in each post back to here. You can think of these post as my design development/commentary. The ideas I post about on the blog are often tweaked and refined though playtesting over the years.

Core Rules and Ideas

Design Goals

The Little People

Training

Languages

Movement

Fatigue

Rolling for Abilities

Alignment

Experience Adjustments

Basic Classes

Gnomes

Elves

Rogues

Fighters

Merchant

Expert Classes

Crusader

Hermit

Hero

Prophet

Magic

Vancian Magic

Vancian Magic-User chart 

Cleric Magic

Cleric magic using the Turn Undead table

Fae spell lists

Monsters

Dust Bunny

Equipment

Armour List

Weapon vs Armour adjustments