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Brymstone
http://forum.libraryofhiabuor.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=169		 Page 3 of 10
Author:  Myles Kenihan [ Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Quote:
Has anyone ever used population in their games? Other than as background, it's never really impacted the game unless the PCs embark on wholesale slaughter, but even then there're probably more than enough folks flocking in from the countryside. For example, even when the black death was killing people in London at a rate of about 200 per day, the population barely quivered because there were always people migrating to the city to replace them (yes, even in times of plague, the mad crazy fools...).


Not pedantically, but it does help to an extent with the realism of the environment. To use Norwich as an example, as the county town of Norfolk, its size would be governed to an extent by how much trade was being done in the city, but also how much agricultural surplus was being produced in the county itself. I wouldn't know the figures, but for a city of 6000, you'd need a lot of productive manors within a few days walk to keep the city fed.

This wouldn't be so much an issue for Clyster, which would have an eastward and northward trade of surplus food and other goods. But for Brymstone, I think you would have to start thinking more about the kind of society exists in that part of Thuland. It's described in canon materials as an early form of feudal society. Certainly some form of manorialism would have to exist and you would need to have villages, hamlets and freeholders in pretty large numbers to support a town of more than a few thousand.
Author:  Cobwebbed Dragon [ Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Myles Kenihan wrote:
But for Brymstone, I think you would have to start thinking more about the kind of society exists in that part of Thuland. It's described in canon materials as an early form of feudal society. Certainly some form of manorialism would have to exist and you would need to have villages, hamlets and freeholders in pretty large numbers to support a town of more than a few thousand.

Beltayne, Brymstone and Katorheim are the only three settlements on the canon map of Thuland, from which I've inferred their economic importance to Thuland. As the most southerly of the three, Brymstone is probably an important trade centre for goods to/from Clyster, Meore, Breylak, and Ongus (and farther). A permanent population of about 6,000 could perhaps relatively easily be supported by farming and fishing from the farmsteads that have claimed the fertile soils along eastern Ellesland and the fecund schools of fish in the Mergeld Sea, but the high transitive population of sailors, merchants, pilgrims, etc., makes this infrastructure creak - the PCs may find that they are subject to an undercurrent of discrimination by the locals, who resent the impact of these itinerants on their town. They may find prices higher, portions smaller, sleeping quarters more cramped, and so on. They may even find that local law enforcement overlook petty crimes against them, but come down harshly on crimes (or perceived crimes) they commit, etc.

Returning to real-world parallels, both England and Scotland exported wool, which could easily be mirrored between Albion and Thuland - there could be a lot of competition for the wool markets of mainland Legend, and a lot of piracy in the Mergeld Sea as each side attempts to sabotage each other's shipments. Possibly an adventure idea for a wider Thuland sourcebook than a Brymstone one (ships are being sunk - Albion and Thuland blame each other and tensions are rising, but actually the ships are being sunk by a sea monster: can the PCs figure out what's going on, find a way to placate the God of the Sea who's sending the serpent, and prevent war?)
Author:  Myles Kenihan [ Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Quote:
Possibly an adventure idea for a wider Thuland sourcebook than a Brymstone one (ships are being sunk - Albion and Thuland blame each other and tensions are rising, but actually the ships are being sunk by a sea monster: can the PCs figure out what's going on, find a way to placate the God of the Sea who's sending the serpent, and prevent war?)


Or possibly two sourcebooks? I imagine Thulish society to be somewhat different across the Mergelt sea - less influence of the True Faith, or possibly a state of conflict between a rising demographic amongst the commoners and a largely pagan warrior aristocracy.

I like the sea-monster idea. There are a number of ways you could cook it. Quite possibly a creature from seas to the north looking for food, or something summoned there by an NPC wizard nemesis ( or one soon to be.) Would make for a good saga.
Author:  Damian May [ Fri Sep 04, 2015 3:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Oops....taking a lot longer than I thought to get things into order. I'll shift everything into a google doc including the stuff from the Thuland thread for easy perusal. :)
Author:  Dreadnought [ Fri Sep 04, 2015 6:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Question - is there any indication in the original material as to why 'Brymstone' is called 'Brymstone'? I've been making some assumptions as to that in drawing the map, and while it wouldn't matter, I'm just curious.
Author:  Cobwebbed Dragon [ Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Dreadnought wrote:
Question - is there any indication in the original material as to why 'Brymstone' is called 'Brymstone'? I've been making some assumptions as to that in drawing the map, and while it wouldn't matter, I'm just curious.

The town was originally called 'Sneyp', but renamed to Brymstone as Robert developed the material for it. No reason is given for why the place is called as it is, though, so if you have a theory as to how the name might have come about, it'll probably be as good as any :).
Author:  Dreadnought [ Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Cobwebbed Dragon wrote:
Dreadnought wrote:
Question - is there any indication in the original material as to why 'Brymstone' is called 'Brymstone'? I've been making some assumptions as to that in drawing the map, and while it wouldn't matter, I'm just curious.

The town was originally called 'Sneyp', but renamed to Brymstone as Robert developed the material for it. No reason is given for why the place is called as it is, though, so if you have a theory as to how the name might have come about, it'll probably be as good as any :).


Excellent.

In essence, I am assuming the city is mostly of brick, which was manufactured from clay pits that were relatively high in sulfur. (We are told that clay is plentiful in the area). This gives them a yellowish colour, but also when bricks of sulfurous clay are fired, there's a smell of brimstone released, so the air may well have that flavour at times - less so now that the city is largely built but at one point it may have been very noticeable.
Author:  Damian May [ Fri Sep 04, 2015 10:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Dreadnought wrote:
Cobwebbed Dragon wrote:
Dreadnought wrote:
Question - is there any indication in the original material as to why 'Brymstone' is called 'Brymstone'? I've been making some assumptions as to that in drawing the map, and while it wouldn't matter, I'm just curious.

The town was originally called 'Sneyp', but renamed to Brymstone as Robert developed the material for it. No reason is given for why the place is called as it is, though, so if you have a theory as to how the name might have come about, it'll probably be as good as any :).


Excellent.

In essence, I am assuming the city is mostly of brick, which was manufactured from clay pits that were relatively high in sulfur. (We are told that clay is plentiful in the area). This gives them a yellowish colour, but also when bricks of sulfurous clay are fired, there's a smell of brimstone released, so the air may well have that flavour at times - less so now that the city is largely built but at one point it may have been very noticeable.


See this kind of thing is why I nominated you in #rpgaday. :-p

It's Noice, It's Different, It's Unusual. :-D
Author:  Damian May [ Sat Sep 05, 2015 12:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Ok. Link is here: *redacted*

I'm probably about 5% of the way through but I have a system now so it should go faster now

If things proceed at the current rate of notes to pages I should.....in a few weeks at this rate....have about 40+ pages or so of material for you to use if you want. :)
Author:  Dreadnought [ Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Brymstone
Any objection to the idea that the Knight's Capellar might have a presence in Brymstone?

In the few decades since their formation, the Capellars have grown from a small band of poor knights to an extensive and very wealthy organization. They recognize no sovereign and are answerable only to the Pontiff. They loan and exchange money and
have numerous business interests throughout the civilized lands. ([b]Players Guide[/b/]).

It seems reasonable to me that such an organisation might well have some sort of presence in Brymstone (perhaps their foothold into Thuland). The main reason I am asking though is that in doing the map, there's one building on the original map that seems to me to fit as a Capellar chapel.
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