I've been dusting off me old world builder's hat recently in preparation for some work around here (Ankhur) and a game I'm running here in China with a few of the other teachers. (I was stunned to find enough players, believe me.)
Right now, I'm getting ready to build a few Dwarven cities, and I'd appreciate any brain juice you can spare on this subject:
So you're building a Dwarven city set in the mountain. What are some unique features that you've utilized in past cities you've made (or can imagine now)? What are some important considerations/ requirements that should be considered when setting the city up?
I am, after all, a details man. I also haven't considered city planning in years, and all my old game notes are back home in the states. My brain is struggling to get itself back in world building gear after nearly three years of no DnD, so any help/inspirational ideas to get the old juices flowing would be appreciated.
The Halls of Amon Var
Moderator: Stik
One word: Infrastructure.
I am a civil engineer, so whenever I design anything, my thoughts turn to infrastructure. How does the settlement/town/city/castle function?
Where does the drinking/process water come from? For a dwarven settlement in the mountains, the answer is easy enough, since water flows downhill, and can come from snowmelt from the higher peaks. Seeing as the water is coming from above, rather than below, there would be no wells. Instead, water would be directed into, and drawn from, cisterns. But that's kind of boring. It is more interesting to have large open pools that people can visit to draw their water. And considering that there is plenty of head provided by gravity, which can be converted into water pressure by the simple expedient of directing the water into pipes, then why not have big fancy fountains in the pools. And by the way, the fountains also serve the purpose of aerating the pools which means fresher water that can support fish.
The flip side of drinking/process water is wastewater. Where does the water go when the dwarves are finished with it? In other words, what do they do with the sewage? And for that matter, what do they do with their trash?
Where does the food come from? Not a whole lot grows underground, so the dwarves must rely on trading partners for food, or must have their own farms in the lowlands. The next step in this progression is that there must be roads and some means of transport for the food, either wagons or pack animals.
There must be a depot for the food wagons to unload. If the dwarves are trading for food, then this would likely turn into a caravan square, where other commodities are traded as well. And if they are trading with humans, then there would likely be a few full-time human residents in this area, either representatives of the trading partners, or businessmen/merchants/shopkeepers who cater to the human visitors.
Although it is odd to think of something so basic as a resource, another one to consider is light. How is the dwarven stronghold lit? In one of my games years ago, I had a city built inside a giant cavern, and at the center of the cavern was an enormous icicle, which was attached to the base of a glacier above. Sunlight passed through the glacier and into the icicle, causing it to glow (not unlike the bottles used in the "Liters of Light Project"). I am completely unsure of the science behind the icicle thing (and I do acknowledge that there would have had to be crews keeping the top of the glacier free of snow so light would pass through) but the "Rule of Cool" comes into play here.
Your solution for lighting does not have to be so exotic, but it is something to consider.
For some more insights into dwarven society, you might want to read "The Fifth Elephant" by Terry Pratchett. While the book is not about dwarves per se, parts of it do take place in a dwarven city, and there is a lot of good material in there.
I am a civil engineer, so whenever I design anything, my thoughts turn to infrastructure. How does the settlement/town/city/castle function?
Where does the drinking/process water come from? For a dwarven settlement in the mountains, the answer is easy enough, since water flows downhill, and can come from snowmelt from the higher peaks. Seeing as the water is coming from above, rather than below, there would be no wells. Instead, water would be directed into, and drawn from, cisterns. But that's kind of boring. It is more interesting to have large open pools that people can visit to draw their water. And considering that there is plenty of head provided by gravity, which can be converted into water pressure by the simple expedient of directing the water into pipes, then why not have big fancy fountains in the pools. And by the way, the fountains also serve the purpose of aerating the pools which means fresher water that can support fish.
The flip side of drinking/process water is wastewater. Where does the water go when the dwarves are finished with it? In other words, what do they do with the sewage? And for that matter, what do they do with their trash?
Where does the food come from? Not a whole lot grows underground, so the dwarves must rely on trading partners for food, or must have their own farms in the lowlands. The next step in this progression is that there must be roads and some means of transport for the food, either wagons or pack animals.
There must be a depot for the food wagons to unload. If the dwarves are trading for food, then this would likely turn into a caravan square, where other commodities are traded as well. And if they are trading with humans, then there would likely be a few full-time human residents in this area, either representatives of the trading partners, or businessmen/merchants/shopkeepers who cater to the human visitors.
Although it is odd to think of something so basic as a resource, another one to consider is light. How is the dwarven stronghold lit? In one of my games years ago, I had a city built inside a giant cavern, and at the center of the cavern was an enormous icicle, which was attached to the base of a glacier above. Sunlight passed through the glacier and into the icicle, causing it to glow (not unlike the bottles used in the "Liters of Light Project"). I am completely unsure of the science behind the icicle thing (and I do acknowledge that there would have had to be crews keeping the top of the glacier free of snow so light would pass through) but the "Rule of Cool" comes into play here.
Your solution for lighting does not have to be so exotic, but it is something to consider.
For some more insights into dwarven society, you might want to read "The Fifth Elephant" by Terry Pratchett. While the book is not about dwarves per se, parts of it do take place in a dwarven city, and there is a lot of good material in there.
"No matter where you go, there you are."
Interesting.... some good thoughts there Stik 
For Ankhur, since it's going to be -40 to -80 degrees in that area, I seen it as the Dwarves rarely went outside the mountain and thus wouldn't be able to trade with anyone... it's just a miserable place and nobody wants to go outside for any extended period of time.
So for the food supply, I'd go with growing of farms etc all underground .... but then your growing mushrooms etc unless you have a natural source of light like Stik's icicle theory. (that's neat btw)
As for moving the food, these cavers would have to be MASSIVE if your going to use wagons and stuff within to transport stuff... mining carts could be used for this purpose and are much more Dwarven in thought and practical for them as they would already use them for mining. The tracks are already in place and they are much more efficient then wagons
Yeah, garbage is interesting... WTF do they do with it? It can be as easy as disposing of it into a massive lava pool. Instant incineration
great topic, love the brain storming
For Ankhur, since it's going to be -40 to -80 degrees in that area, I seen it as the Dwarves rarely went outside the mountain and thus wouldn't be able to trade with anyone... it's just a miserable place and nobody wants to go outside for any extended period of time.
So for the food supply, I'd go with growing of farms etc all underground .... but then your growing mushrooms etc unless you have a natural source of light like Stik's icicle theory. (that's neat btw)
As for moving the food, these cavers would have to be MASSIVE if your going to use wagons and stuff within to transport stuff... mining carts could be used for this purpose and are much more Dwarven in thought and practical for them as they would already use them for mining. The tracks are already in place and they are much more efficient then wagons
Yeah, garbage is interesting... WTF do they do with it? It can be as easy as disposing of it into a massive lava pool. Instant incineration
great topic, love the brain storming
The Borg of Dungeons & Dragons
You can't sustain an ecosystem/food pyramid on mushrooms.
Green plants photosynthesize, using solar energy to catalyze carbon dioxide and oxygen into into chemical energy.
Mushrooms are like the undead of the plant world. They don't photosynthesize. They consume decaying matter to grow, thus they don't produce anything. So, ultimately a food pyramid based on mushrooms will collapse.
Human civilizations can survive in some truly inhospitable cold places, like the arctic, by hunting and gathering in the warm months and hunting in the cold. These dwarves will have to do something similar if they do not have a source of food available.
While arctic areas have horrible winters, they do have comparatively warm summers. Not hot, mind you, but warm enough to grow crops. And the summer days are long, which helps to offset the shortness of the growing season.
On the plus side, however, if you have large mushroom farms, you have a good place to dispose of your sewage.
Oh, and one other thing: I had this idea about mine carts. If you use mine carts to transport ore from a mine in the mountains down to a town in the valley, you then need a way to get the carts back uphill, like towing them uphill with a pack animal. But suppose you built two parallel tracks, with a big loop at the top and bottom (imagine the shape of a lollipop, but with a disk at each end) and had a continuous chain of carts, one after another for the entire length of the track. You load the carts up with ore at the top, and they roll down the hill, continuously pulling the empty carts back up. Then the weight of the full carts going downhill provides the motive force to pull the empty ones back up - gravity does all the work. Biggest challenge would be building brakes strong enough to keep an entire full load from moving when you don't want it to move. but perhaps that could be solved by having the loops at top and bottom on flat ground. The rest of the chain would be in equilibrium.
Green plants photosynthesize, using solar energy to catalyze carbon dioxide and oxygen into into chemical energy.
Mushrooms are like the undead of the plant world. They don't photosynthesize. They consume decaying matter to grow, thus they don't produce anything. So, ultimately a food pyramid based on mushrooms will collapse.
Human civilizations can survive in some truly inhospitable cold places, like the arctic, by hunting and gathering in the warm months and hunting in the cold. These dwarves will have to do something similar if they do not have a source of food available.
While arctic areas have horrible winters, they do have comparatively warm summers. Not hot, mind you, but warm enough to grow crops. And the summer days are long, which helps to offset the shortness of the growing season.
On the plus side, however, if you have large mushroom farms, you have a good place to dispose of your sewage.
Oh, and one other thing: I had this idea about mine carts. If you use mine carts to transport ore from a mine in the mountains down to a town in the valley, you then need a way to get the carts back uphill, like towing them uphill with a pack animal. But suppose you built two parallel tracks, with a big loop at the top and bottom (imagine the shape of a lollipop, but with a disk at each end) and had a continuous chain of carts, one after another for the entire length of the track. You load the carts up with ore at the top, and they roll down the hill, continuously pulling the empty carts back up. Then the weight of the full carts going downhill provides the motive force to pull the empty ones back up - gravity does all the work. Biggest challenge would be building brakes strong enough to keep an entire full load from moving when you don't want it to move. but perhaps that could be solved by having the loops at top and bottom on flat ground. The rest of the chain would be in equilibrium.
"No matter where you go, there you are."
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Breila
- Peasant
- Posts: 24
- Favorite D&D Edition: 2nd Edition
- Location: Swabia (area of SW Germany)
- Contact:
There probably would be areas in the mountains not easily accessible to the outside world where grazing and farming could be done, at least on some level.
I'm thinking of a meadowland I saw during my "quest" that was so rich that people from a nearby valley cut a "road" of several miles (it takes 2 hours for a rested person to negotiate it with a pack animal) into the sheer cliffs of a gorge in the 17th century to gain access to it.
As for the mining cart loop Stik describes, the main problem I see is that of sabotage, if it's the main way supplies are carted into the dwarven settlement, if it's taken or destroyed by enemies, the city would be in jeopardy.
I'm thinking of a meadowland I saw during my "quest" that was so rich that people from a nearby valley cut a "road" of several miles (it takes 2 hours for a rested person to negotiate it with a pack animal) into the sheer cliffs of a gorge in the 17th century to gain access to it.
As for the mining cart loop Stik describes, the main problem I see is that of sabotage, if it's the main way supplies are carted into the dwarven settlement, if it's taken or destroyed by enemies, the city would be in jeopardy.
La felicità porta fortuna
Breila - you just gave me an idea. I wasn't thinking about the ore cart thing in terms of trade, but rather as a way to get the ore from the mine to the processing area, but it could work for trade as well.
After all, ore is heavier than food. Ore goes down the hill in the carts and food/supplies come back up. Gravity still does all the work, it just does it more slowly.
And yes, it's vulnerable to sabotage. But that's an adventure hook just waiting to happen, isn't it?
After all, ore is heavier than food. Ore goes down the hill in the carts and food/supplies come back up. Gravity still does all the work, it just does it more slowly.
And yes, it's vulnerable to sabotage. But that's an adventure hook just waiting to happen, isn't it?
"No matter where you go, there you are."
I'm going to go away from exactly what you are looking for, but hopefully there is something you can use.
My cities, especially the demi-human cities, have focused on what makes the group famous and the encounters the party is likely to have there. The dwarves are known for war, smithing, and booze. I believe the success of your encounter and player excitement about your campaign and for exploring your city will or will not occur based on your initial description as the characters approach and enter the city. I would focus on the senses.
Sound: The marching of heavy boots, the clanging of the guard's armor, the creaking of the iconic gate that blocks the entrance of the city, the cheers coming from the beer halls, the banging on tens of anvils in the smithies.
Sight: The massive military structure, the craftmanship of the weapons and armor. The dwarves see well without light and often live underground, so focusing on vast stone areas poorly lit by torch could be effective.
Smell: Any race famous for offensive attitudes and bearded women has to have some interesting smells about, especially around the beer halls. Especially if there is a female character in the group, the BO in an enclosed space, and when so many of the dwarves wear heavy armor...
Touch: I would be all too technical if I pretended like much could be done with this. That sort of experience occurs later as the character really delves into the area. That said, the dwarves I know have heavy handshakes and most everything would be hard and made of iron or steel.
Likewise, taste will become more of a factor as the party experiences the city and its food and drink.
I think the technical approach to cities by a true professional earlier is advanced and impressive. I would, however, keep in mind the image of the people who live in the city. I know dwarves have a caloric and protein requirement like anyone else, but I challenge you to imagine a dwarf eating vegies and grains not in liquid form. Some options to deal with this are the Mudders Milk of Firefly (an alcohol that serves as a meal), heavy dependence on trade for meat and grain, or some sort of cave-dwelling or underdark food source.
The areas I would want to give the most detail to long term deal with major areas in which the characters could become involved. These include trade, politics and religion. What do the dwarves do or produce? The party is very likely to meet citizens who buy and sell things, so the merchant district or dwarven substitute deserves a lot of attention. Is there a dwarven king or a council and where does he, she or they live? Families and lineage always seemed big among dwarves, so attention must be paid to heraldry. What part do war leaders have? Does the king run the military, are the generals prominent leaders when the city is not at war, or do they become smiths or travelling merchants in peaceful times? Are they old men who are no longer the best fighters but tell great stories over beers? What are the major gods and what do the temples look like? Are humans welcome? Are the temples themselves fortresses or are they otherwise protected? Are they near the keep (denoting a central importance or that everyone worships the same deity) or scattered about the city? I have always embraced how different dwarven priests would be from others. Elves, an old race known for merriment and patience, would remind me of having the sorts of qualities that real-life religious leaders have. But dwarves are so different, their religious leaders either would also be different or would come across as acting completely differently from the rest of their people. Do religious leaders have the ear of the king or a seat on the council? I would like to see some dwarven priests who curse like sailors. And what if a prayer before a meal and a toast were one in the same?
My cities, especially the demi-human cities, have focused on what makes the group famous and the encounters the party is likely to have there. The dwarves are known for war, smithing, and booze. I believe the success of your encounter and player excitement about your campaign and for exploring your city will or will not occur based on your initial description as the characters approach and enter the city. I would focus on the senses.
Sound: The marching of heavy boots, the clanging of the guard's armor, the creaking of the iconic gate that blocks the entrance of the city, the cheers coming from the beer halls, the banging on tens of anvils in the smithies.
Sight: The massive military structure, the craftmanship of the weapons and armor. The dwarves see well without light and often live underground, so focusing on vast stone areas poorly lit by torch could be effective.
Smell: Any race famous for offensive attitudes and bearded women has to have some interesting smells about, especially around the beer halls. Especially if there is a female character in the group, the BO in an enclosed space, and when so many of the dwarves wear heavy armor...
Touch: I would be all too technical if I pretended like much could be done with this. That sort of experience occurs later as the character really delves into the area. That said, the dwarves I know have heavy handshakes and most everything would be hard and made of iron or steel.
Likewise, taste will become more of a factor as the party experiences the city and its food and drink.
I think the technical approach to cities by a true professional earlier is advanced and impressive. I would, however, keep in mind the image of the people who live in the city. I know dwarves have a caloric and protein requirement like anyone else, but I challenge you to imagine a dwarf eating vegies and grains not in liquid form. Some options to deal with this are the Mudders Milk of Firefly (an alcohol that serves as a meal), heavy dependence on trade for meat and grain, or some sort of cave-dwelling or underdark food source.
The areas I would want to give the most detail to long term deal with major areas in which the characters could become involved. These include trade, politics and religion. What do the dwarves do or produce? The party is very likely to meet citizens who buy and sell things, so the merchant district or dwarven substitute deserves a lot of attention. Is there a dwarven king or a council and where does he, she or they live? Families and lineage always seemed big among dwarves, so attention must be paid to heraldry. What part do war leaders have? Does the king run the military, are the generals prominent leaders when the city is not at war, or do they become smiths or travelling merchants in peaceful times? Are they old men who are no longer the best fighters but tell great stories over beers? What are the major gods and what do the temples look like? Are humans welcome? Are the temples themselves fortresses or are they otherwise protected? Are they near the keep (denoting a central importance or that everyone worships the same deity) or scattered about the city? I have always embraced how different dwarven priests would be from others. Elves, an old race known for merriment and patience, would remind me of having the sorts of qualities that real-life religious leaders have. But dwarves are so different, their religious leaders either would also be different or would come across as acting completely differently from the rest of their people. Do religious leaders have the ear of the king or a seat on the council? I would like to see some dwarven priests who curse like sailors. And what if a prayer before a meal and a toast were one in the same?
"These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days."