Jörðgarð Map of the Week #53 - Underhill

[Mark Oliva]

underhill_3000.jpg

Our 53rd Jörðgarð (TM) Map of the Week comes from our forthcoming publication "The Northwest."

This week we take a look at Underhill, the seat of the undead red draug Marchioness Dagrún in the Dreadlands.

Key to the Map of Underhill:

1. Margeier's Bakery. The town's only bakery is owned and operated by Master Baker Margeier, a human male artisan. He employs two journeyman bakers, human male and female artisans; two apprentice bakers, human male and female commoners, and two sales persons, human male and female commoners

2. Granary. This complex is under the control of þorgeir, the male human warrior who serves the marchioness as town steward. It consists of three buildings: A large, square granary to the northwest, a rectangular warehouse to the southeast and a small office complex to the southwest. The day-to-day operations are in the hands of the granary manager, Runólfur, a human male merchant. He employs four laborers, all human male and female commoners.

3. Dagrún's Tower. The marchioness spends most of her time here. She shares her necromancer's tower with no one except the personal guard on the ground floor. The second story begins 60 feet/18m above the ground. There is no stairway, but there is a wood elevator on the second story. Dagrún uses it to bring firewood to the upper stories. As a red draug, she has no personal need for heat, but on those infrequent winter days when there is frost in Underhill, she wants to protect sensitive spell components. The tower, which is 100 feet/30 m high, has been mapped separately.

4. Castle Complex Stable.

5. Castle Tower. The almost windowless tower is 80 feet/24 m high with a dungeon and eight above-ground stories. All of the stories have ceilings 10 feet/3m high. The tower serves many purposes. The cellar dungeon is where prisoners are kept who are intended for local magical experiments. The ground floor has quarters and guard stations for part of the personal guard of the marchioness. The second story is a conference area used by the marchioness, her red draug Yrsa, her dark rider draug warrior Ævar and the intermediate draug spellcasters who serve Dagrún. Ævar has his quarters on the third story. Yrsa's library is on the fourth story. Magical laboratories are on the fifth and sixth stories. Yrsa's quarters are on the seventh story. The eighth story, the only level with windows, is a watch outpost for Dagrún's personal guard. The tower has been mapped separately.

6. Administration and Garrison Complex. The large rear part of the complex is the administration building for the government of the march. þorgeir, the male human warrior who serves as steward of Underhill, heads this operation. In his service are two deputy stewards, human male and female merchants; six clerks, human male and female merchants, and four laborers, all human male and female commoners. The third and smallest garrison in Underhill is here in the castle complex. It serves 30 human male and female warrior soldiers stationed in the city, and it also serve the 20 soldiers, all human male and female warriors, who comprise the personal guard of the marchioness. The left or southwest wing is the garrison headquarters and administration building. The right or northeast wing is the barracks. Rotating officers have the command, changing on a day-to-day basis. The cellar or dungeon level has cells where prisoners are held temporarily until their fates are determined. Most end up in Duke þráinn's dungeon or the dungeon of the Castle Tower (Location No. 5).

7. Erla's Weapon Works. Master Weaponsmith Erla, a human female artisan, makes all of the weapons and armor for the military units of the duchy and march and she also repairs most military weapons and armaments. Garrisons elsewhere in the duchy always have a solid reserve of substitute standard weapons and armor for common soldiers. When a weapon or armament in a distant garrison needs work, it usually is sent to Erla's forge in Underhill. She employs master weaponsmiths Lilja, a human female artisan, and Páll, a human male artisan; four journeyman weaponsmiths, all human male and female artisans; six apprentice weaponsmiths, all human male and female commoners, and three laborers, all human male and female commoners.

8. Darkflood River. This small tributary of the Nyt River flows westward out of Myrkwood.

9. Floodside Inn. Ingveldur, a female human merchant, owns and operates the rundown inn on the Darkflood, the only hostelry in Underhill. Her public room does decent regular business serving public officials, soldiers and merchants, but the kitchen does only modest business. The inn has few overnight guests and these only infrequently. Those guests who do spend the night usually are in Underhill either on official business or as members of merchant caravans. Meals, of relatively low quality by the general standards in the jörð, run between three bronze pieces to more than a silver piece. The only drink on sale is the house ale, brewed by Ingeveldur's alewife, Hildur, a female human artisan, who also is a spy for the Northern Circle. Her ale costs 3 copper pieces per pint/half-liter tankard. The six single rooms cost a silver piece per night. The inn complex includes Hildur's brewhouse, a rickety stable for guests' horses and a large woodshed.

10. Oddi the Butcher. Master Butcher Oddi, human male artisan, has the only slaughtering and meat packing operation in Underhill. He employs a journeyman butcher, human female artisan; an apprentice butcher, human male commoner, and three laborers, all human male and female commoners.

11. Clay Quarry. The quarry provides baking clay for the kiln (Nr. 12).

12. Underhill Kiln. The kiln is the largest manufacturer of roof tiles, clay bricks and pottery in the march. It is owned and operated by Master Firer Nönnu, a human female artisan, owns and operates the kiln. She employs four journeyman firers, human male and female artisans; three apprentice firers, human male and female commoners, and three laborers, also human male and female commoners.

13. Millstream.

14. Waterside Tavern. Gunngeir, a male human merchant and spy for the Northern Circle, owns and operates this popular tavern alongside the millstream. His wife, Láru, a human female artisan, is the brewwife. She makes the house lager beer in the brewhouse across the street from the tavern. The artisans, common laborers and low-ranking human soldiers who work in Underhill frequent the Waterside. The house has neither a food menu nor waiters or waitresses. The only item offered is Láru's house brew at 3 copper pieces per pint/half-liter tankard. Customers need to go to the tap to order a first tankard or later refills. Gunngeir does not work together with the circle's other spy in Underhill, Hildur in the Floodside Inn. The two are not even aware that they both spy for the circle. Between them, however, the Æsir druids are able to obtain considerable information from all levels of humans in the town.

15. Underhill Mill. Master Miller Bjargjar, a human female artisan, owns and operates the only grain and vegetable oil mill within 10 miles/15 km of Underhill. She employs a journeyman miller, human female artisan; an apprentice miller, human male commoner, and a laborer, human male commoner.

16. Darkflood Lumber. Master Sawyer Bergþor, a human male artisan, gets his raw timber from woodsmen's camps on the western edge of Myrkwood. With two waterwheels, his workers have two saws available to cut lumber simultaneously. Bergþor employs two journeyman sawyers, both human male and female artisans: two apprentices, male and female commoners, and a laborer, human male commoner.

17. Einar's Smithy. Master Blacksmith Einar, a human male artisan, does all of the day-to-day metal work in Underhill as well as shoeing horses. He refers those who see work with weapons or armor to Erla's Weapon Works (No. 7). However, that happens only seldom. Outside of the military, there are few in the march who are armed. Einar employs a journeyman blacksmith, a human female artisan, and an apprentice, a human male commoner.

18. Valdis' Wagons. Master Wainwright Valdis, a human female artisan, makes the wagons, carts, etc., that are used in the Underhill area. She employs three journeyman wainwrights, human male and female artisans; two apprentices, human male and female commoners, and two laborers, also male and female human commoners.

19. Millpond.

20. Ruins of Anger Fortress. The dark rider draug Margrave of the New Homeland March, Soltinn, ruled from the fortress before the Great Wars ended. Soltinn went to war in an avatar form. His true draug body remained in stasis in a hidden vault beneath the fortress. When the High Draug Martröð was destroyed in the wars' final battle, all of those who served him on the battlefield met their destruction too. For Soltinn, that destruction did not end with his avatar body. The wave of evil magic that emanated from the vanquished Martröð reached into the Anger Fortress in Underhill as well, destroying much of the fortress before reaching down into Soltinn's vault and destroying his draug body as well. The magical blast disturbed the magical balance in and within 100 feet/30 m of the ruins, a situation that continues today. Magic simply unleashes itself, chaotically and seemingly randomly, here, there and there within the ruins, several times daily.

The graphic above is reduced in size. You can get the full-sized map of Underhill in two versions:

1. The Fractal Mapper (TM) 8 map in FMP format, fully editable, from our Jörðgarð web page (22 MB).

2. As a JPG flat map of 3000 x 2250 Pixels (4.6 MB), available above.

Both versions are released for personal and commercial use under the Open Game License Version 1.0a, which you can read on the Jörðgarð web site.

The Jörðgarð web site:

http://www.vintyri.org/joerdhgardh/joerdhgardh.htm

Next: The Dreadlands: Ruins of the Anger Fortress.

[Bogie]

Cool Map, thanks for posting!

[Lukc]

All of your maps are so detailed and full of backstory, it makes me quite envious

[Schwarzkreuz]

I am realy impressed bye your materials. Its great what you guys have build up, really impressive.

[Mark Oliva]

All of your maps are so detailed and full of backstory,

That's probably because they're part of a large campaign setting that we'll be releasing in the next few months rather than just being stops along the way in a specific campaign.