I wonder if I may seek a bit of advice about the climate, geography, etc of the stonelands. If our game continues to progress in current fashion one of our number shall be Baron of the SLs. Likely our only non-clergy ranger. Is there already a good fortress, or if / Not where might be the likeliest places to construct one for the seat of such a barony to live & preside?
My expertise in such matters lies with Rome who weren’t always sensible about such matters … i mean they dealt with the Scotts by building a BIG ditch & wall across Britain— 🌈Jaye🦄Em🌹Edgecliff🏳️🌈 (@jayeedgecliff) December 29, 2019
1)
Heh, here we go (again*).
[* = this has come up a lot, over the years, as various campaigns approach “a PC is on the brink of becoming Baron of the Stonelands”]
The reason the Stonelands is wild, ungoverned country, and Cormyr 2)
…has that standing “police this for us and we’ll make you Baron of the Stonelands” offer, is that the terrain of the Stonelands makes moving armies through it well-nigh impossible, and governing/policing it very difficult.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 30, 2019
3)
The climate is harsh northern (think pre-global warming winter northernmost Michigan, Minnesota, or Ontario, so: ice storms and heavy snowfalls, with howling cold winds). If you’re familiar with Canadian Shield country 4)
…(that is, exposed bedrock), the Stonelands is like that: thin soil with scrub forests, wherever there isn’t exposed rock.
And the topography consists almost entirely of east-west rock ridges, with “breakneck” (steep-sided)…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 30, 2019
5)
…ravines between them; i.e. deep gullies with rainwater ponds at the bottom of them, or springs (there’s lots of water) trickling out of their sides to collect at the bottom and then drain away into the Underdark 6)
There are lots of prowling monsters, and the Zhentarim have an interest in keeping the area ‘wild’ so no one bothers their east-west trade routes north of (from Cormyr’s POV, “behind”) the Stonelands. There are many…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 30, 2019
7)
…caverns/clefts in the rock, some of them caused by water seepage/winter freeze ice expansion that pushes rocks apart, over the centuries, and these offer many monster lairs. 8)
And there are no good fortresses and no good sites to build any.
So, good luck! ;}#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) December 30, 2019