Psych! Different kind of PC than you’re thinking. If I establish the Demon Queen of Sorcery, when there’s a Father of Miracles, am I just furthering the work of the patriarchy? I mean, necromancers and hags have to get their inspiration from somewhere. Note: As previously mentioned, Wizards and Witches are not inherently of Chaos, but magic is. And likewise necromancers and hags. Although some … Continue reading PC Needs
At the simplest level, the stronghold costs in Labyrinth Lord for a common stone house 30 feet on a side are 4,000 gold, while the same common wooden house (30 feet on a side) is 2,500. So, however much mined stone is worth, raw timber is worth 62.5% of that. Except, not really. Because those are finished goods. So, add tools, time, and skill to … Continue reading Mining and Logging
No luck in Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Adventurer Conqueror King System. Basic Fantasy Role Playing Game (core rules) neither, but their “Equipment Emporium” does. But I’m a sufficient veteran of the primitive economics wars that I go straight to the listings for metal, and see, per pound: Copper, 9 pennies. Tin, 20 pennies. Bronze, 7 pennies. Get the hell out of here with that … Continue reading Looking for Trade Goods
So if there’s an unwalled area of, say, six square miles (which is about the size of the open grasslands on the map before you run into forest), that’s 750 people, with surplus food for 360 people. 750 rural people plus 350 (relatively) urban people gets you a town of 1100 souls, on the northern border of Brycheiniog, on the highway to Powys. Continue reading Settlement Population Demographics
The Imperial Calendar is based on the Neo-Babylonian calendar (which was actually a thing). It’s “Lunisolar”, which is to say the months are based on lunar cycles (the first night of every month is the young crescent moon after the new moon, and the last is the night of the new moon), but the years are based on solar cycles (the first day of every … Continue reading Imperial Calendar
In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology (and Mesopotamian mythology in general) Hanbi or Hanpa (more commonly known in western text) was the god of evil, god of all evil forces and the father of Pazuzu and Humbaba. Aside from his relationship with Pazuzu, very little is known of this figure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbi Moderately mockable name (although certainly less so than Humbaba), the opportunity here is for a … Continue reading Hanbi
The iconography of the apotropaic severed head of Humbaba, with staring eyes, flowing beard and wild hair, is well documented from the First Babylonian dynasty, continuing into Neo-Assyrian art and dying away during the Achaemenid rule. The severed head of the monstrous Humbaba found a Greek parallel in the myth of Perseus[10] and the similarly employed head of Medusa, which Perseus placed in his leather sack.[11] Archaic Greek depictions of the gorgoneion render it bearded, an anomaly in … Continue reading Humbaba the Terrible
The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in parts of western Europe, Russia, Iran and Turkey. Under the open-field system, each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acres each, which were divided into many narrow strips of land. The strips or selions were cultivated by individuals or peasant families, often called tenants or serfs. The holdings of a manor also included … Continue reading The Open Field System
The Anunnaki (also transcribed as Anunaki, Anunna, Ananaki, and other variations) are a group of deities that appear in the mythological traditions of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians.[4] Descriptions of how many Anunnaki there were and what role they fulfilled are inconsistent and often contradictory. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which come from the Post-Akkadian period, the Anunnaki are the most … Continue reading The Anunnaki
Brycheiniog is the kingdom in Lyonesse most directly threatened by the hordes of chaos to the north in Powys. Lacking the strong imperial presence of the kingdoms to the south (Gwent and Glywysing), Brycheiniogn is a multicultral realm of free men, former imperial citizens, fair folk, and more than a few hobgoblins (the kingdom needs all the help it can get).
The survival of the kingdom depends on political alliance in the long term, but in the short term, heroes must rise to hold back the encroaching darkness long enough for that to happen. Needless to say, most of my default campaigns will be set in Brycheiniog. Now if I can just learn to pronounce it properly. Continue reading The Kingdom of Brycheiniog
Perilous Paths 