Fenugog's Wandering Golems

A gnomish master craftsman named Fenugog Fizzlewire ran a famous workshop in the Mercian city of Atherwell between the years of 585 and 649. Fenugog was also a mage, and his workshop specialized in the construction of golems, specifically stone and iron golems. Fenugog’s creations were very much in demand, and as the decades passed many noble villas, temples and government buildings throughout the region obtained one of his golems as a guardian (or status symbol).    

The golems from the Fizzlewire workshop varied widely in size and appearance, but all had the Fizzlewire symbol of a wavy-lined “F” topped by a star carved into its front, and a number (in dwarven runes) carved into its back. No two golems have ever been known to have the same number carved on them, so it is believed that the numbers are unique to the golems, and carved in the order in which they were created.

In the spring of the year 649, Fenugog died suddenly, presumably of old age. His three adult sons immediately closed up the workshop and headed southwest toward the Inland Sea lands. It is not known where they ended up, as they were not heard from again.

Shortly after the sons moved away, Fenugog’s golems began acting erratically and of their own volition. Their masters were no longer able to reliably control them. A few of them became violent, and needed to be dealt with, but for the most part they just began to wander seemingly at random, stopping wherever they felt like, and remaining motionless for weeks, months or years at a time. These periods of stasis would be broken by bursts of activity. A golem might wander into the middle of a temple, into a shop or house, into a farmer’s field, or simply wander off into the wilderness before deciding to just stop for an indeterminate (and unpredictable) period of time.

For the past 58+ years, the movement of Fenugog’s golems has continued. In Mercia and nearby lands, where the people have become used to this behavior, it has become known simply as "The Wandering".

Fenugog’s workshop was in business for 64 years, and it is believed that they made over 300 golems in that time. At least several dozen of them have been destroyed. At least a hundred are believed to still be in Mercia or the immediately surrounding lands. That leaves a great many unaccounted for, and presumably at large in the land. Occasional sightings have been made as far away as the elven lands of Kyrell, the High Plateau, and the Kalembar Federation. An unconfirmed rumor says that an adventuring company recently destroyed number 237 in the Silverflow Valley north of Varlune.

Iron Spire Mountains

The Iron Spires are a tall and rugged chain of snow-capped mountains stretching from the valley of the River Greve in the south well into the wilderlands to the north, where they transition into the even more rugged range known as the Craghorn Peaks far to the northwest. In the Elder days, these mountains were home to many prosperous dwarf holds of varying sizes. Today, very few of these exist, although the fallen dwarf holds draw adventurers in seek of lost magic and treasures. Dragons, giants, and a wide variety of goblinoid tribes call the Iron Spires home.

Iron Spires - main area (Hexographer, 6 mile scale)

In current days, the Iron Spires serve to form the boundary between the civilized lands of Rimini, Alsberg and the River Greve valley and the wilderness beyond.

Iron Spires, SW end (Hexographer, 6 mile scale)

In the Elder days, Onoria was northwest of the mountains, and Nanerith was to the northeast of them. Today, these lands are wilderness, filled with ruins and overrun with monsters and other creatures.

Greenreach Woods

The Greenreach Woods is a large vibrant forest located in the western end of the upper Greve River valley, north of the High Plateau region, and just south of the lands claimed by Onoria and Ithilkar in the Elder days. The forest is a dense and wild place, but does not have an evil reputation.

Settlements around the edges of the Wood harvest timber and other resources, but there are no known roads or trails through the forest, and no settlements within its boundaries.

Greenreach Woods (Hexographer, 6 mile scale)

It is fairly well known within the neighboring settlements that there are powerful druidic circles operating in the Woods. A circle under the leadership of Nalisander watches over the northern and northwestern sections of the Woods, and another under Isellina Mournsong watches over the eastern portion. The southern and western parts of the forest are less tame.

Deep in the center of the forest is said to be a large lake of exceptional beauty, which is fed by mountain streams coming down off the High Plateau and out of the northern Tellarn Mountains.

There are only a few known ruins within the forest, as it is believed that the men of the Elder realms also did not settle far beyond the borders of the forest.

[Note: the white star in the southwestern part of the woods shows the approximate location, though many miles underground, of the city of Traniska and the Tombs of the Alberneth (Campaign Journals 26-38)]

Hills of Horeb

The Hills of Horeb, located between the Kalber Marshes and the Silver Hills, are a region of blighted hills, covered by warped and desolate woods. It is an unhealthy expanse of ash wastes, blasted remains of forests, petrified trees, and other unnatural wilderness. Something powerful and lasting happened here during the Elder Wars, and the land has never recovered. Patches of normal forest are growing back around the edges of the Hills, but the Hills themselves remain barren.

The headwaters of the mighty Swiftflow River, one of the great rivers of the Tempest Coast, are found in the southern Hills. The river flows southwest into the Kalber Marshes, which encroach on the Hills from that direction.

The Elder realm of Ithilkar owned this land in the olden days, and it was part of the Ilthilkar heartland, including the capital city of Prasinia and the influential wizard's town of Mirron.

Today, the Hills are a dangerous place, said to be populated with all manner of foul creatures, and haunted by the restless spirits of the dead of Ithilkar who fell in the final battles defending that land.

Hills of Horeb (Hexographer, 6 mile scale)

Prasinia
Located in the northwestern part of the Hills, the capital of the Elder realm of Ithilkar was one of the great cities of the North and a place of great beauty, known for its many pools and fountains. Today, little remains of the city other than large expanses of crumbled stone buildings, monuments and other landmarks. Despite the danger, the ruins of Prasinia attract many adventurers in search of treasure, and many of these never return. In addition to the many monstrous creatures who have taken up residence in the ruins in recent years, there are many traps and guardians that have survived from the Elder days. Survivors returning from the place say that something powerful and evil seems to hold sway over the ruins, and that lycanthropes are common.

Mirron
The Alberneth were an influential family in the Elder Days, essentially ruling the town of Mirron (in the realm of Ithilkar) in the southeastern Hills of Horeb. There were many powerful spell casters in the extended family, and they were the patrons of a famous (and somewhat notorious) wizards' school specializing in conjuration magic, the Tower of the Shadowed Veil. As the Elder Wars raged, there were concerns within the ruling circles of Ithilkar regarding the increasing use of dark magic by the Alberneth and their students, especially necromantic magic and the summoning of powerful fiends.

As the Wars raged on and things turned against Ithilkar, most of the population of the town of Mirron, including virtually all of the staff and students of the Tower, simply vanished overnight one night. Investigation by the authorities revealed that this was a planned evacuation, and that the missing people seemed to have gone down into the Underdark via old caverns and tunnels under the town.

Little was heard directly of the Alberneth thereafter, but occasional tales and rumors said that they had carved out a realm for themselves deep in the Underdark, where they devoted themselves completely to the pursuit of dark magic and demon worship. These tales said that even the drow avoided the territory claimed by the Alberneth.

Hacking 5e D&D - Travel Distances

I am admittedly an aging desk jockey, so my view of how much walking in a day is reasonable should be taken with a grain of salt, but I think I have done enough hiking (and perhaps more importantly reading about hiking) to know that the travel distances, with regards to foot travel, as spelled out in 5th edition D&D are flat out silly.

Fast travel paces laid out in the book would be attainable for more than a day or two at a time by only the most experienced and physically fit modern ultralight hiker. And I'm talking a guy/gal in excellent cardio shape carrying a water bottle, a couple of pounds of food, maybe a change of clothing (maybe not) and a few other things. I'm thinking Appalachian Trail distance hikers carrying maybe 20-25 pounds of gear, tops. No weapons and armor. No adventuring gear. Just "as little as I can carry and feed myself and stay alive." No threat of monsters attacking. No fantasy world complications; the only concern being go as far and as fast as possible. A head-down grind-it-out no-perception-check-required half sprinting.

Traveling in a fantasy world full of potential threats is different. What I use takes into account the following assumptions:

• The party will have a range of Constitution scores, meaning a variety of levels of physical fitness and endurance. A group can only travel as fast as the slowest person can travel. I assume that there will be some average fitness levels in the group. Improbably high minimum CON in the group or a catastrophically low CON would change things, for better or worse.
• The party is traveling at a normal pace. Not taking it easy but not pushing it.
• The party is taking normal precautions with regards to situational awareness. Not blindly rushing ahead but not being very cautious and stealthy.
• The party is taking advantage of normal opportunities to forage for food.

I tend to adjudicate foot travel under the above base assumptions as:

• 15 miles (2.5 hexes) is the baseline movement rate for normal (not overly difficult) terrain, everyone with at least normal fitness levels, nobody overly encumbered, and paying normal heed to scouting and foraging. [More often than not, this is the rate we use for our particular adventuring party]
• Add 3 miles each for:
• Fast travel - Not scouting (and therefore also no foraging allowed). Downside is less chance to notice anything out of the ordinary.
• Exceptionally easy terrain.
• Pushing ahead to the point of risking an exhaustion level.
• Absolutely minimally encumbered. [very difficult to claim]
• Subtract 3 miles each for:
• Moving with stealth and caution.
• Moving through difficult terrain.
• Moving through rugged terrain (additive to the penalty for difficult terrain).
• Encumbered.
• Traveling in bad weather.
• Factors that can affect actual mileage traveled, map point to point, as opposed to pure movement rates, include:
• Adhering to the path of least resistance through difficult terrain can maintain travel rate, but affect the absolute distance traveled (such as winding through lowlands around mountains, picking your way through swamps, etc...).

Cart and wagon travel is a much more steady 15 mile (2.5 hex) movement rate.

Mounted (horse) travel is roughly double the normal foot rate, at ~30 miles (5 hexes) per day. This can be increased by easy or difficult terrain, as well as the availability of swapping out fresh remounts during the trip. "Pony express" type routes where a new horse can be acquired at rest stops throughout the day can dramatically increase distance covered, but this capability would be rare.

I have given less thought to boat travel (since it hasn't been a consideration in our game yet), but based on some historical research and a review of RPG-related posts of various kinds:

• Cogs and other typical merchant sailing ships can travel 40-80 miles per day (a 60 mile day being average), affected by weather, quality of ship and load carried.
• Fast ships can travel an additional ~20 miles.
• Slow ships can travel ~20 miles less.

I will give more thought to this when and if required.

Anyway, this is not intended to be a definitive study of the subject, but is merely a codification of what I use in our current campaign.

A Minor Dilemma

Riding the wave of one of those periodic surges of "I need to write stuff", I find myself going back through all the material I have posted on this blog regarding the Myaran Realms through the lens of where things stand now. And by that I mean how far my current vision/version of the world has drifted from what I posted here at a certain point in time, which is as now as much as almost 4 years ago.

Any fantasy world is a living breathing thing, and develops as the players interact with it. And I will be the first to admit that I am a very different GM (and world builder) now than I was 4 years ago. Or at least I think I am.  And hope I am. And thus my view of things is informed by a very different base of game experience than it was at the start of our campaign. This 3.5 year campaign with consistent players and characters far exceeds anything we played in the distant haze of our youth.

So the question at hand is whether to go back and review all old posts, updating them as needed to fall in line with my current vision of the world, or to just forge ahead, leaving the past as is, and update bits that need updating as I get to it.

In favor of reviewing and updating old posts is:

• Anyone looking at posts (ok, this is pretty much only me...) would never find a post that was now "wrong". Readers would be able to look at any given post and be relatively certain that what they were reading was correct.
• Printing this material somewhere down the road via Blog2print or a similar service would result in a book that could be leafed through and read at face value. Again, a reader would not need to figure out what parts might have been superseded at some future point by a subsequent post.

In favor of simply forging ahead and correcting on the fly is:

• It's easier. Reviewing and correcting old posts will be a lot of work.

So the trade-off ultimately is amount of work versus end result. Which I guess makes it a no brainer. I will do the work, and readers down the road (i.e. me) will be able to click a tag or find a bit of info and be able to know that it is correct. Or pretty close to correct.

In some cases this will require rewriting chunks of text. In others it will require going into Hexographer and capturing pieces of maps that have changed over time. I find it hard not to continually tinker with areas of the world map that the characters have not been to yet. This ongoing state of flux makes posting map captures problematic...but should be easy enough to fix.

Languages in the Game

I've been given some thought to languages in the game, and more specifically, languages in my world. Originally (and you can find the post by selecting the "Languages" tag), I had envisioned a semi-realistic array of languages and related language families that would create a believable world. That seemed reasonable at the time, and if anything, I sketched out the languages of what I then called the "Northlands" at a level of detail that was not really necessary, including predecessor languages that branched and developed into the current languages. And this was just one corner of what would soon sprawl out into a much larger world.

If you look at historical medieval Europe as the de facto stand-in for what a D&D fantasy world tends to typically look like, even the "overblown" language structure I sketched out would be very simplistic compared to the real world. Several languages in the British Isles, a few more in use in Spain, a few more in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, Italy, etc... Complicated. Putting that area in square miles into my world would have the Northlands alone with a dozen languages or more.

The disconnect between the truly realistic and the limit to what might be fun in game terms was first highlighted in the last few sessions of our campaign (#45-47+), where the party traveled through a magical gate to a tropical land and are able to speak to nobody. There is magic for this of course, but it creates a complication.

There are a few ways to approach this issue. At one end of the spectrum, you could say that realism should drive things; go ahead with a complex language structure, and let the chips fall where they may. The opposite end of the spectrum is what the Forgotten Realms (official D&D world) does; there are many different languages scattered all across the world, but there is also a universal trade language simply called "common". Far-traveling characters may not be able to talk to everyone in any particular place they find themselves, but they can generally count on being able to find somebody (and more likely many somebodies) who speaks "common".

So what's my point?

I plan to go back to the language design I have done in the past and try to find a happy middle ground between truly realistic (i.e. too many languages), and what I would consider to be a bit of a cop-out ("common").

My basic parameters and design goals going into this effort would be:

• Regional, but generally not national, differences in language. Enough variation, but not too much.
• Maintain the historical aspect of predecessor languages developing into current languages (yes, I know that nobody cares about this but me, but I find this sort of exercise in world building to be a fun hobby for me entirely on its own merit).
• Racial languages (i.e. dwarven, elven, etc) that have their own variations, but have less variation than human languages, and can serve to be a partial bridge between geographies that might otherwise have no other language connection.
• Lastly, when thinking about the bending of Skills and Abilities that I have already been doing, determine how I might be able to include a "Language Adept" skill/trait that would allow a character to begin to pick up a basic understanding of a spoken foreign language more easily than would be typical.