Frozen Over: The Uruk Nation

Structure of the Government

The Uruk nation is the only one of the five to place itself entirely in the hands of democracy. Every government leader from the village Reeves, to the nation’s Governor is elected. The Governor serves as the head of state and government, as well as the nation’s representative on the Belltower council. Also elected is the Deputy Governor who serves as lieutenant to the Governor and is his or her replacement should any ill occur. The Governor presides over the Grand Hall, a legislative house made up of the nation’s Reeves. The Reeves are elected as the leaders of individual villages, as well as town councillors in the larger settlements. Like the Governor, Reeves have a Deputy who serves as their second, and will often take their place during Grand Hall meetings, either in the village, or sitting and casting votes in the Grand Hall.

Each village has three elected Councillors who advise the Reeve on village matters and can overrule a Reeve’s decision by a unanimous vote if the situation demands. Larger settlements are instead led by a Mayor, who serves in the same capacity as the Reeve of a village. Each town is divided into three districts that function just like a village, with a Reeve and three Councillors, while the Reeves in turn serve as councillors to the Mayor and can likewise overrule his or her decisions through a unanimous vote (perhaps complicated by the fact that any of their votes can be overruled by their Councillors). Like the other leadership positions the Mayor has a Deputy, but the Mayor has no legislative duties outside of their town like the Reeves do.

Elections are held every five years for all elected positions. In all, there are twenty-four Reeves (including the Reeve of the destroyed village of Dample), four mayors, and one governor, with deputies for each of those positions. If the people express unhappiness with any person in power, a referendum can be called in the relevant constituency and the person unseated by a simple two-thirds majority; this process of impeachment, however, is rarely invoked. There are no term limits on any position.

Geography

The geography of the Uruk nation is largely defined by landforms that mark its borders. The most significant is the Cliff that forms a horseshoe around much of the nation to the north, west, and south. Depending on the location, the Cliff ranges in height from 100 to nearly 200 feet tall, being tallest in the north. The three rivers in the nation all enter Uruk territory by means of waterfalls plummeting down the cliff-face; the Cliffside River flows directly alongside the Cliff for much of its length between Fracture Falls and the Narsund; the Lipping Rivers enters at Amel Falls and then flows into Scoll Bay; and the Torrent River crashes into Rottel Bay at the gap between the Uruk and Elben Nations. Rottel Bay continues south from Tallfalls, separating the uruks from their elben allies. Finally, in the south, North Circling and the Narsund separate the Uruk nation from Perry Island and the Alfar Nation.

Scoll Bay, which cuts the nation in two, is bounded on the north side by a smaller cliff that rises about 60 feet above the water; the cliff-face is broken by a small inlet at Farthing. The nation falls into two geographical areas north and south of Scoll Bay. The southern region is primarily grassland and prairie, with only the occasional stand of blackwoods or pines. The coast in the south is simple and unfettered by stones or prominences. The north half of the country is different entirely, sedges cling to small patches of the inhospitable rocky terrain and small grove of trees are somewhat more common than in the south. Some grassland can be found nearer the coast before the jagged rocks return in full force at the water’s edge. The north sits on a plateau that rises some 60 or 70 feet higher than the southern grasslands.

Industry

Just as the land is divided into north and south, so is the Uruk nation’s industry. The south is more concerned with food production; farms dot the countryside from Rackholl past Wigby to Hagen. There is also a great deal of herding in this area, primarily reindeer but some horse breeding as well. There is a fair amount of fishing operated out of Rackholl, and Dample was a fishing village before its destruction. Drossen is effectively a part of the larger community of Ambergate, and a great deal of trade moves through the area. One of the elben-uruk alliance’s two military encampments, Eddershot, sits on the Alfar border and is their western command post.

The north, on the other hand, is largely concerned with resources rather than food. Lipton is home to a quarry that supplies a great deal of the Bay’s stone. Mining abounds as well as mines in Broots, Sunders, and Oster supply nearly all of the iron in the Bay. The mine in Carsett is a source of gold, as well as a small amount of silver and electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. Folsham is the industrial heart of the north, housing the metalworks and manufacturing capabilities of the nation, as well as a militia training barracks, while Colvey has shipyards where engineers have been developing heavy cannons for their naval vessels. The only places concerned with food in the north are Galvesdon and Farthing, both practicing farming and fishing, though Galvesdon focuses on the former and Farthing the latter. 

Possible Adventure Hooks

The Cliff, being a significant geographical barrier, might seem to protect the Uruk nation from the varkers that live above, but that is not the whole story. Because it seems to protect them, the uruks might be led to ignore any potential threat from above. A clever varker Ardri might organize the construction of winches or elevators to invade down the Cliff, or previously unknown caves might provide hidden but easy routes down into civilized territory.

Continuing with caves, the mines of the north could lead to stories. Mysterious creatures might come up from below to attack the workers, or even venture further, laying waste to a nearby village. Alternatively, a newly discovered vein of unknown ore might be found and your adventurers hired to transport a sample to Folsham or to the Academy Grounds in Garstang for analysis.

Finally, adventure could occur relating to the nation’s politics. Grand Hall votes might be beset with intrigue and backroom deals; adventurers could be hired as security for a Deputy Reeve who is refusing to bow to pressure and now fears for his life. Elections could also be a source of excitement, and infiltrators from the alfar-hodekin alliance might use the uruk’s tolerance of diversity against them.

Wednesday: Dample

Frozen Over: The Alfar Nation

Structure of the Government

Similarly to the Human and Hodekin nations, the Alfar nation is divided into a number of townships each with their own leader, but one of them is superior to the others. In the Alfar nation, however, the townships are somewhat larger as there are only three. Paradoxically, the townships ruled over by the Alder, who also serves as leader of the nation as a whole, is not the largest, rather he rules Benshaw Township which controls the Alfar territory on the islands, including Usk, Felling, and Gordon. The other townships are led by individuals called Onders. The Onder of Ringwood Township has control over Tantham and Upham, as well as the villages in Willem’s Land and Sulliver. The last township is Nefyn Township, which includes the villages of Ruthin, Pallywick, Castol, and Yonder. All of the smaller villages are led by a Ritter.

The positions of Alder and Onder are similar in many ways, particularly in their method of selection. Each year the currently serving Alder and Onders declare their choice of successor should they die that year; most years this is little more than a formality as the choice will not have changed from the previous year. On occasion, however, the chosen successor might die himself or perhaps earn dishonour to the point that he or she is no longer considered worthy, and this process allows a new selection to be made. The position of Ritter is treated differently, in that it is appointed by the Alder or Onder of the township. A currently sitting Ritter cannot be forced out of his or her position, but ultimately don’t control who succeeds them, though they may be consulted for a recommendation. Though death is the usual mode in which any of these positions become vacant, the individuals holding the positions can also choose to step down.

Geography

The Alfar nation controls four rather distinct areas, largely divided along townships lines. At the core are the islands, which fall into Benshaw Township. The western half of Perry Island is part of this region, as well as Doal, Usk, and Sholner Islands. The bamboo forest covers most of this area, though Doal island is an exception as it is treed with blackwoods. Across the main Bay from Perry Island is Nefyn Township; this region is almost entirely fertile farmland, though it becomes somewhat rocky further north, and a fraction of the Wachoer Forest extends into the territory near Pallywick. At the northern end of Nefyn Township the border with the Elben nation is delineated by the Canal River.

Returning west, Willem’s Land is a long peninsula extending eastward. It is separated from the Human nation by Prewett Sound on the south side, and separated to the north from Perry Island by the waters of South Circling and from the Ringwood by the Solsund. Two rivers mark the edges of the region on land, the Silver River, and the Coney River. Most of the area is grassland and farmland; the Roscoe Forest has a foothold in the south around Sulliver, stretching almost to Darby. On the other side of the Coney River is the Ringwood, a heavily wooded area dominated by conifers such as pines and firs, with blackwoods spattered about liberally. The Fairdon River flows through the forest in the north before it gives way to a large rocky hill riddled with caves called the Mound that splits Tantham Bay from the Narsund. Though the mound is rather geographically distinct, there are no real settlements there, and so it is generally considered to be part of the Ringwood. The Ringwood and Willem’s Land together comprise Ringwood Township.

Industry

Farming is important in the Alfar nation, especially in Nefyn Township, which is part of the same fertile stretch of land as Tideswell Township in the human nation. Ruthin, Nefyn, Pallywick, Castol, and Yonder are all either devoted to farming, or lean heavily in that direction, though Nefyn itself is also a food distribution centre. There is also a fair amount of farming in Willem’s Land, though there it shares equal dominance with herding. Fishing also has a presence in the nation, particularly in Ruthin and Gordon, though also in Castol, Tantham, Darby, Upham, and Benshaw. Hunting parties venture into the uninhabited wilds beyond the Friar’s Wall regularly. The last food industry in the Alfar nation is on Usk Island, where they grow several different species of bamboo, harvesting new shoots before they have really begun to grow.

Reindeer herding provides not only meat, but also leather and fur; some are even kept as pets or pack animals. In the same area, Darby boasts one of the major horse-breeders in the Bay. On Perry Island, the bamboo that grows there is harvested for timber, being the principal industry of Felling and Benshaw. In the Ringwood as well, lumber is the principal industry, occupying many of the people of Ringwood, Upham, and Tantham. And finally, Sulliver, near the border with the Human nation, is the site of the Bay’s only silver mine. Some of that silver is sent to the mint in Mortehoe, but a fair amount of it goes directly to the vaults in Benshaw for potential future use.

Possible Adventure Hooks

The fertility of the Nefyn region is a significant factor in keeping the people of Butter Bay fed each year. Perhaps the boats carrying food from Nefyn are mysteriously disappearing; a hefty reward would likely be offered for anybody able to find the cause and put an end to it. Potential causes could range from particularly aggressive butterbasts, to elben-uruk naval vessels capturing the boats, or even alfar-hodekin vessels trying to frame their enemies for the crime. The land itself could also come under attack; one unscrupulous and malicious arcanist, perhaps even expelled from the Academy, might concoct a spell or ritual to poison the land. If using the second, you could tie this into retrieving tomes from Tolling Keep, the adventurers themselves gave the arcanist what he needed to perpetrate this act.

The caves within the Mound could hold unknown secrets to be discovered, there might also be unknown dangers lurking there. Exploring these caves could be an adventure in itself, or the adventurers could simply end up there in the course of another mission, such as finding a lost child. A scholar of ancient history might present a theory that the Mound holds the tomb of some long forgotten monarch, along with many treasures, or it could contain the lair of a dragon, in a thousand-year hibernation. It might be more interesting to combine more than one of these ideas.

The politics of the alfar are full of potential plots. Rival families trying to discredit one another, assassinations, manipulations, individuals seeking positions of power, or trying to protect the power they already have. The Vo Nayer family should always figure into these plots in some way, as they are the single most powerful alfar family with members serving as Alder, Seer, Arch-Seeker, and two of the three Arch-Druids.

Wednesday: Death

Frozen Over: The Human Nation

Structure of the Government

The government of the Human nation is a rather traditional model; there is a hereditary monarch who rules the land, and he has various lieutenants who rule over specific regions on his behalf. The difference is a matter of scale; instead of a King ruling over a vast area there is a lowly Baron as the monarch, and instead of Dukes and Counts as his lieutenants there are petty Lords and Mayors. Each township in the nation has a Lord or Mayor, Lords being hereditary and Mayors being elected. Armley, Cheslyn, Dunstable, and Mortehoe each have a Lord, while the more distant Ambergate and Tideswell have Mayors instead. The Baron technically also holds the title of Lord of Mondegreen, but Baron Ebraen Coel has delegated those duties to his son, Alliver.

Smaller villages in the nation are led by either Reeves or Ritters, again the difference being that Reeves are elected and Ritters are hereditary. Butterwatch, Denning, Downey, Lothar, Palesdon, and Seidle all have Reeves, while the rest of the villages have Ritters. Other smaller settlements exist that don’t appear on the map; they fall under the leadership of the nearest town or village. All of these settlements and villages fall into one of the townships and answer to the Lord or Mayor of the town. Armley Township includes only Butterwatch, while Ambergate Township includes only Palesdon. Tolsen, Grovel, and Denning are all part of Cheslyn Township, while Sableton, Hoskin, and Bray fall into Mortehoe Township. Between those two is Mondegreen Township, which includes Vander and Illsop. On the north side of the Bay is Tideswell Township, which encompasses Lothar and Downey. Finally, on Perry Island, Dunstable Township controls Seidle, Cobury, and Oundle.

Geography

The Human nation is probably the most geographically fragmented. The bulk of the nation is situated on the south side of the Bay, separated from Willem’s Land by Prewett Sound. This section features the only river in human territory, the Sulliver River, which forms the border with the Alfar nation. The area around Mortehoe and over to the ruins of Southwold are covered by the Roscoe Forest. This forest is largely evergreen pines and spruces, but there are stands of the purple-leaved blackwood trees as well. Further east the wood gives way to open farmland. The terrain eventually becomes rocky in the area of Denning and Grovel and continuing on to the coast, though patches of this terrain are still suitable for farming. The coast of the southern land is fairly tame, much of it featuring quiet beaches, though there is a notable rocky prominence near Cheslyn at the Point, which is the site of a large lighthouse. The coast is, however, extremely rocky at the mouth of the main Bay, the only low points being the nestled locations of Butterwatch and Armley.

On the north side of the Bay, adjacent to the Hodekin nation, is Tideswell Township. This area, as well as the Alfar territory up to Nefyn, is the most fertile farmland in the Bay, producing as much as one-eighth of the Bay’s food each year. In the north, Ambergate Township is also situated in the centre of grassy farmland; and just across North Circling from that region is Perry Island. The entirety of the island is covered with a large Bamboo forest, except for a copse of blackwoods inside the walls of Blackwood Abbey, from which the abbey takes its name. Before the Freeze, the island was forested with blackwoods, but the quicker-growing bamboo has since completely taken over. The coasts of Tideswell and Ambergate Townships are simple strands, but Perry Island is much more rocky, especially in the north around Seidle. This rockiness extends out in the form of the Mardon Islands, which are largely uninhabited, save for one or two lone souls hiding from the rest of society.

Industry

A large part of Human nation’s industry is devoted to food. Farming, fishing, herding, hunting, even a little whaling; all practiced by the humans of the Bay and all putting food on the table. Whaling and butterbast hunting are centred around the mouth of Butter Bay and so are primarily an industry of Butterwatch and Armley. Those two, along with the other coastal settlements, especially Tolsen, Seidle, Palesdon, and Bray, all have robust fishing economies. Tideswell and its neighbours are primarily farming communities, though Tideswell also serves as a waypoint for trade goods crossing the Bay. Ambergate has a similar role as a centre of both farming and trade further north, with Palesdon housing the harbour itself. Farmland dots the countryside from Prewett Sound all the way to Denning, though it becomes spottier in the east due to the rockier ground. During the growing season, everyone not normally involved in food production is expected to pitch in, and there are even laws mandating this, meaning that in the spring people are shipped out of the towns to tenements in the country to work the fields. The Roscoe Forest has a great deal of hunting, and there are even some herders in the area around Mortehoe.

In contrast, non food-related industry is much less rampant. Whaling provides useful oils which are used in lamps and candles, and reindeer and other animals provide hides, leather, and wool. Illsop and the other Roscoe Forest settlements have some logging, reduced in recent years due to the destruction of the lumber mill in Southwold, but are preparing for a resurgence with a new mill now completed in Mortehoe. On Perry Island the bamboo is cut for construction material as well. The only mining operations in the Human nation are the copper mines in Grovel and Denning; there used to also be iron mines in Sableton and Hoskin, but the easily minable veins have all been tapped and run dry. However, because of those mines and the silver mine across the Silver River in the Alfar nation, there are metalworks and even a mint, the only one in the Bay, in Mortehoe. Cheslyn is home to the Human nation’s shipyard, operated by the Morgeth family, and Cobury is well known for its horses, generally agreed to be the finest to be found in the Bay. Unlike the other nations, the humans have no standing military camps, but there is a militia training yard in Mondegreen, and many civilians have basic training there at some point in their youth.

Possible Adventure Hooks

The mint in Mortehoe is a ripe topic for adventure. Despite the sense of community that bind the Bay together, there are always unscrupulous individuals who seek to gain at the expense of others. A group of bandits might attack the mint and make off with sackloads of coins. Perhaps someone important was injured or killed in the attack and there is now a bounty on the heads of the bandits. Shipments of copper from Grovel and Denning, silver from Sulliver, or gold from Carsett are also potential targets.

Dunstable and Mondegreen, being the largest towns in the Bay, both have their share of internal strife. From petty thieves and pickpockets to organized criminals and potential revolutionaries, all of these could lead to adventure. Tracking down a treasured pocket watch that was stolen from a struggling merchant could turn out to be simple, or could lead to a tangled web involving the Blackwood Scions attempting to storm the Silver Keep or assassinate the Baron.

An attempt to get a fishing trawler repaired in Cheslyn could set your adventurers on a long chain of tasks involving bribing clerks, investigating late wood shipments, transporting messages, and retrieving macguffins from the varker-infested ruins of Southwold.

Wednesday: Southwold

Frozen Over: The Elben Nation

Structure of the Government

The government of the Elben nation is a very simple one. Individual villages are each led by an elected Reeve. Once elected to the position, it is for life, unless the Reeve chooses to step down. A village’s Reeve is not an absolute ruler, but rather makes decisions after consultation with the people in village meetings. The town of Garstang actually has two Reeves, one for the west side of town, and one for the east side. The villages marked on the map are joined by many unmarked communities of smaller sizes, especially throughout the Garwood and in the country around Louth.

Leading the nation as a whole is the Graf. The Graf is advised by the various Reeves, as well as by the Headmaster of the Academy, and a few other individuals with specific expertise. Like the Reeves, the tenure in the position is for life unless he or she chooses to step down. Unlike the Reeves, however, the position is not an elected one. To select a new Graf, each Reeve nominates one person to the position; Reeves cannot be nominated unless they step down before the nominations begin. A candidate does not have to accept the nomination if they don’t want the position. Any citizen of the Elben nation who does not currently hold the position of Reeve is a potential candidate.

Once all the nominees have either accepted or rejected their nomination, those who accepted continue on to a series of tests. Each test focuses on a different subject; some are physical, some are mental, some are knowledge based. After each test, those candidates who did not pass are eliminated, and those remaining continue to the next test, until only one is left. If all candidates fail any given test, the results of that test are discarded and they all move on to the next. Once the testing has concluded with one candidate remaining, that person becomes the new Graf; there is no ceremony or fanfare, they simply take up residence at a house called the Grafshall in Garstang.

Geography

The bulk of the territory of the Elben nation rests on the north side of the Rottel Bay. In the far west is the cliff, which marks the border of inhabited territory, and the waterfall on the Torrent River, the Tallfalls, near the village of the same name. A small stretch of rocky terrain gives way to the heavy forest of the Garwood. The coast of Rottel Bay, from Tallfalls to Garstang, is rough and rocky and in many places features low cliffs at the water’s edge. Further east, past the Garwood, the terrain is somewhat rocky, but mostly flat farmland, especially beyond the River Gar. The coast south-east of Garstang retains the rocky nature, but the cliffs drop down and eventually give way to a simple beach-like strand.

A small section of the south shore is also controlled by the Elben nation, comprised almost completely of farmland and pastures for reindeer herds. A few small islands sit in the main Bay, and serve as part of the extended naval base at Haven. The only major river actually in elben territory is the River Gar, which is the largest river in the Bay, both in width and rate of flow. However, the Canal also forms the far eastern border of the nation.

Industry

The nation’s economy is a varied one. The four communities in the Garwood Forest all harvest lumber as a large part of their economy; Vellis and Plevor devote about half of their energy to logging, while Crawdon and Goole give it a heavier emphasis. Garstang has the largest lumber mill in the Bay, with many of the un-milled logs floated down the River Gar from Goole, and others brought by cart and boat from the coastal villages. An impact crater near the village of Tallfalls is mined by the local populace for the valuable skymetal the elben forge their klaeth’s from. Finally, the quarry at Norwick provides the nation with the multi-hued marble that the elben use for constructing nearly all their buildings.

Food production is also a significant portion of the nation’s economy. Vellis and Plevor have significant fishing industries, and Garstang, Tallfalls and Tandry supplement their other industries with fishing as well. Garstang is also a centre for farming and reindeer herding, industries shared with the village of Louth on the north side of Rottel Bay, and Tandry, Elland, and Sellick on the south side.

Haven is now primarily a naval base, but, like Canalside, it used to be a community in its own right. Some military training, primarily naval, is conducted in Haven, but the elben and uruks also do much of their training in isolated camps in the Garwood. Though many of their militias’ weapons are made in the Uruk nation, bladesmiths throughout the Elben nation make klaeths and saeges. 

Possible Adventure Hooks

The first of our suggested adventure hooks for the Elben nation is actually more specifically about the Academy. Given the arcane magic that abounds on the Academy grounds, all manner of potential dangers could arise. One student, having gained his or her powers through a deal with a demon, might be trying to lure other students into some sort of Bishalic cult. Friends or family of victims might seek the help of adventurers to rescue their loved ones, or the Academy’s administration may want the cultists rooted out and dealt with quietly, so as not to give those who revile the arcane arts more ammunition to use against the Academy. Alternatively, it may be a member of the faculty luring students into the cult, even a member of the Academy Board.

The Garwood is one of the nation’s great resources. The forest provides both lumber and rich hunting grounds, and a threat to those supplies could prove disastrous. A disease or infestation could threaten both the flora and fauna, or could even transmogrify them, setting loose an army of mutant beasts and treants upon the innocent citizenry. To go a simpler route, fire is always a threat when it comes to forests, and saving lost or trapped hunters and woodcutters from the advancing flames could prove to be an adventure all on its own.

Finally there is the skymetal mined in Tallfalls. Elben klaeths and even some of their finer saeges are made from this mysterious material. Lightweight but strong, easy to work with but never loses its edge; the skymetal would be quite a prize for the alfar and hodekin if they were able to capture a supply. Your adventurers could even be sent far behind enemy lines to sabotage the mine and steal as much as they can. Doing that would be a blow to both the Elben nation’s militia and their pride and morale.

Wednesday: The Threat of Merrow

Frozen Over: The Hodekin Nation

Structure of the Government

As discussed previously, the Hodekin nation is ruled by the Vidame, who resides in and holds personal lordship over the capitol of Audlem. Although hodekin law never actually establishes the Vidame’s superiority over the other Dames, it is nonetheless accepted as fact. The three other Dames each rule over a township, a subdivision of the nation as a whole. Smaller villages are ruled by a Ritter, who is subordinate to the Dame of her township. All of these positions are hereditary and are held only by females.

The four townships are each named after the home of their Dame. Beginning in the south, Alshap township extends through the bamboo forest including Omstead, and continues on the east bank of the Wellwash past Bristle, almost as far as Halstead. Across Omen Sound, Wisbech township encompasses the Wachoer Forest and Forfar; it extends all the way to Audlem. Audlem township includes very little other than the town itself and a few outlying homes. Finally, Bodmin township covers the section north and to the sides of Audlem, including Halder, Halstead, Torlich, and Walsem. It should be noted that although settlements on the map only range as low as 50 people, there are many smaller hamlets scattered around, most having only a few households. These hamlets generally fall under the jurisdiction of the nearest village or town’s Dame or Ritter.

Geography

Much of the territory of the Hodekin nation is mountainous and somewhat inhospitable. Small shrubs and lonely trees pepper the landscape of these high hills. The southern region around Omen Sound is considerably lower, and much of it is forested. On the west side of the sound is the Wachoer Forest between Wisbech and Forfar, and on the east side of the sound is the relatively young bamboo forest around Omstead. Non-forested areas in the south have largely been taken over by farmland. There is also a narrow strip of farmland further north along the western edge of the territory centred on Walsem.

In the north the Canal River flows down from the Riddelmere. The river is named for its final section, an obsidian-walled canal that runs almost straight south and separates the alfar and elben territories. The other river in the Hodekin nation is the Wellwash River, which flows out from the Great Well in Audlem. No one knows who built the Great Well, or how it was built, but it dredges steaming hot water up from the depths of the earth without fail. The town of Audlem was built around the well.

Industry

In contrast to the other nations, few villages in the Hodekin nation are primarily devoted to food production. While in Wisbech and Alshap there are a fair number of fisherman, the only other areas with strong food industries are Walsem, Halder, and the capitol. Walsem is a farming community like many others in the Bay with a mix of planting and reindeer herding, while Halder is almost completely devoted to farming mushrooms in the area’s many caves. In Audlem, the temperature is higher than elsewhere because of the heated water from the Great Well, and so they specialize in warmer weather luxury crops that won’t grow elsewhere. As a result, much of the Hodekin nation’s food must be imported from elsewhere in the Bay.

Mining is a prominent industry among the hodekin. Bristle is home to an iron mine, and Halstead boasts the only coal mine in the Bay. In the north, the quarry at Bodmin provides stone for building, and mines in Bodmin and Torlich are a source of tin, lead, and other useful minerals. Forfar is an industrial town, housing metalworks and blacksmiths. Forfar’s factories also produce many useful everyday objects that are then exported all over the Bay.

Industry related to the war is also prominent. The village of Canalside, which operates a bridge across the Canal, has been completely taken over by the alfar-hodekin alliance as a military camp since the war’s start. Though it was once a farming village and trading hub at the nexus of two major roads, the inhabitants have largely moved on to other locales. An army training camp operates in Forfar, where many of the weapons used in the war effort are manufactured.

The bamboo around Omstead was planted so that the Hodekin nation would have a ready source of wood that grows relatively quickly. Much of that bamboo is used in the industrial works in Forfar, and much is also used at the shipyard in Wisbech. Bamboo has also become a common building material throughout the nation.

Lastly, the whaling ships that sail out of Alshap hunt both whales and the long-necked butterbasts. While some meat comes from the prey, they are hunted primarily for their blubber, which is used for a number of purposes, including making candles. Butterbasts also sometimes pose a threat to cargo ships and fishing vessels, so the hunt also serves to keep the Bay safer.

Possible Adventure Hooks

The war and its fallout are a ripe topic for potential adventure hooks. In terms of the war’s effect on the Hodekin nation, the other Dames could begin to resent Vidame Morwynn for dragging them into a conflict that they don’t see as their own. In your game this could manifest itself as a simple mission to spy on the Vidame or her agents, or it could be a mission of assassination or revolt.

The Hodekin nation’s dependence on food supplies from other nations could lead to adventure. Food shipments could be lost or captured, or it could be your adventurers’ mission to do the capturing and deprive the hodekin of their supplies. Other war-related adventures are also possible, such as threats to the Omstead bamboo supply or to mineral shipments being transported from the north down to Forfar.

If you want to stay away from the war, the mystery of the Great Well is an option. If the well were to stop functioning your adventurers might be sent in to fix it, or to find a solution elsewhere such as in the Royal Library in the ruined city of Fairdon. A problem with the Great Well might also cause the Skarie River to cease flowing upwards, resulting in the Riddelmere being drained by two rivers, endangering the water supply of the entire nation.

Wednesday: Weapons

Frozen Over Intro: Geography

Physical Geography

The inhabited territory of the Bay consists of several jutting peninsulas separated by narrow fjord-like inlets. One of these peninsulas has been cut off from the mainland and now exists as a large island in the centre of the bay called Perry Island. A few smaller islands surround Perry, including Sholner, Usk, Doal, and the Mardons.

A large peninsula forms the northern flank of the 5 mile wide mouth of the Bay which opens up onto the sea. On this northern peninsula rest a few small mountains which close off the sea coast from the land on the Bay side. Mountains also mark the southern and north-western bounds of inhabited land; the south as gently rising hills, while the northwest is marked by a dramatic cliff face.

Quite a number of rivers flow into the Bay. Three rivers fall over the north-western cliff; the Cliffside, the Lipping, and finally the Torrent, which features a massive waterfall that crashes directly into the waters of the Bay at Tallfalls. In the west the Fairdon and Coney rivers mark the north and south bounds of the Ringwood, a forest around the town of the same name. The Silver River flows out of the southern hills, while the River Gar comes out of the north. The Canal flows to the Bay through an ancient obsidian faced canal from the Riddelmere which is filled by the mysterious Skarie River that flows up to the lake from the sea. Finally, the Wellwash is fed by an ancient pump that calls water from the depths of the earth.

Much of the land in the Bay has long since been converted to farmland, but other terrain also exists. In terms of forests there is the Ringwood in the west, the Roscoe forest in the southern hills, the Garwood in the north, as well as the Wachoer forest near the sea. When the Freeze began, Perry Island was a mix of farmland and scattered woods, but has since been forested with bamboo spawned from a small stand on Usk Island. Another bamboo wood has more recently been planted around Omstead. Some of the mountains near the ocean are simply too rocky to accommodate much plant life, as is some of the land near the cliff , and the sea coast. Finally, the Riddelmere Lake rests on a plateau that slopes into a wooded valley that reaches the coast, but this valley and the plateau are heavily occupied by varkers and so are not counted as part of the Bay.

Social Geography

The territory of the Bay is subdivided into five nations, each inhabited by one of the principal races of the Bay.

In the eastern mountains near the coast, the hodekin make their home. Their capitol is the town of Audlem, where the great pump gives birth to the Wellwash. Their territory extends south through the Omstead bamboo forest and Wachoer woods to Alshap, and north past the Canal to the mine at Torlich.

Elben territory lies primarily on the north shore of the northern fork of the Bay. It begins at the Canal and extends through the Garwood to the cliff and Tallfalls. The elben nation also includes a small section on the south shore of the north fork which is primarily farmland. Their capitol is Garstang.

On the south shore of that same fork is the uruk nation. Their land is bounded by the cliff-face on most sides, leaving them little hope of expansion. The northern half of their land is rocky, while the southern half is made up of farmland, which includes their capitol of Rackholl.

Moving south from the uruks, we reach the alfar nation. The largest part of their territory lies on the western mainland, from the Cliffside River and the uruk nation, through the Ringwood, and down to the Silver River and the humans. The alfar also occupy the western half of Perry Island, all of Usk, Doal, and Sholner Islands, and a section of farmland on the eastern coast of the Bay adjacent to the hodekin. Their capitol is Benshaw on Perry Island.

The human nation is just as fragmented as the alfar. Their largest territory is on the southern mainland, from the Silver River to Butterwatch on the coast, with the town of Mondegreen centred in that stretch. In the north they control a section of the farmland next to the elben and uruk nations, and in the east a small section next to the hodekin and alfar lands. While Mondegreen is their capitol, Dunstable is their most populous town and the most populous in the Bay. Dunstable is located in the human territory that comprises the eastern half of Perry Island.

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