JohnB's Games

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====== Porter's Bar ======

Porter's Bar is an [[http://baileymail.net/j-bailey/RolePlay/Portersbar/index.htm|old development]] that was never used.  It has too many good ideas (many of which were developed in collaboration with people at PBW and RPoL) to go to waste. 


===== Overview =====

Porter’s Bar is a small city-state on the southern tip of Telida.  The town, it is barely big enough to be called a city, sits on the edge of the swamp and cultivates the land between itself and the ring of forested mountains. Farms and small settlements dot the area, growing rice, cereals and beans as the staple crops.  Small apple orchards and berry fields complete the agricultural patchwork.  In such a compact area there is little livestock  - poultry and a few draft animals – protein in the diet comes from fish and game taken from the swamp margins.

Local trade is with the Lizard Folk of the wetlands, the Dwarves of Baraduum and the Tribal Wen who still inhabit the forests.

==== Religion ====

Porters Bar has its own set of religious beliefs, based around [[consolidated:hann_empire:porter_s_bar:porter_s_bar#the_pantheon|Ancestor Worship, Local and imported deities.]]

===== Founding =====

A group of Outlaws, Bandits and Smugglers were[[.ForcedToFlee| forced to flee]]their homeland, under the leadership of Han and Lei Lung.  After an eventful journey they finished up on this islan, where  Han and Lei claimed the sea bar for themselves, and encouraged the ships' captains to take their crews further inland and build settlements. Almost as soon as they were settled the lizard men  (who ruled the swamplands) attacked - but years of fighting had toughened Han's men to a point where they drove  the attackers off easily. A few forays out into the swamps, with Han in his draconic form soon convinced the Lizard men that it was wise to concede this small piece of ground on the edge of their swamp. Before long, the security of this new-found establishment became known locally, and people from local tribes and villages drifted in to join them. Using their last remaining ship they explored the coast line, but perhaps the biggest bonus was discovering the Old Scragg Dwarves and establishing trade with them. Porter's Bar was born.  Han, Lei, and the three captains Wang, Hong and Ding are remembered as the founding fathers of Porter's Bar.

===== Modern Porter's Bar =====

{{:new_setting:towns:porter_s_bar:pb-emblem.gif?100 |}}{{ :new_setting:towns:porter_s_bar:citymapbase.gif?200|}}Porter’s Bar is a self-contained little city state, which has survived and grown under the guidance of Princess Portia Shay, head of the Royal Family.  A section of the harbour set aside for visiting trade vessels, although Porter’s Bar does not have a trade fleet of its own.  The rest of the harbour is given over to fishing boats that work the local bay and swamps.

There is a small commercial section and market in the middle of town with a couple of taverns and a decent inn.  Travellers might also stay at the (much) more basic Way House down by the docks.

Porter’s Bar primarily imports iron, steel and fine clothes.  They have limited amounts of Copper (from Banaduum) and locally produced wine to export.  That is supplemented by rice, and preserved foods.

[[PortersBarDetail]]
++++ Porter's Bar Notes|

  * The  wine for export has an  'exotic' flavour for those back home.  It is actually made with a mix of Vini-Berries and Rice starch  (Boil the living daylights out of rice and then use the water for the vini-berry fermentation)
  * Preserved foods include a fermented fish sauce and jam!  The small apples grown here are full of pectin and  can set just about any fruit into a preserve / jam.

++++


==== The Hinterlands ====

Mainly Farmlands growing Rice  (brought by the orientals)  Marsh Beans and Teff  (indigenous plants used by the natives)  as staples.  

Three villages, each originally developed by one of the Ship's Captains - and now ruled by their descendants.  Each has a specialisation
  * Wine - brewed from Vini-Berries and rice starch  (think of a cross between Saki and rose wine!)
  * Cloth - basic skills learned from the natives and refined -  Marsh Bean fibre is really versatile, it can be used for clothing or making ropes/string.  Closest to the swamp.
  * Wood based stuff - closest to the forests they deal with the tribal Wen and harvest trees for wood, nuts and berries etc.

++++ Agriculture Notes|

  * Alishan elm
  * Salix kusanoi ( a type of Willow) 
  * Quercus longinux –  A type of beech tree.  Beech Masts
  * Pinus morrisonicola – Pine tree
  * Gleditsia rolfei – a type of bean tree?  Do we need this?
  * Prunus transarisanensis = Prunus = Plum  (brought fromm the oriwnt as plum stones?)
  * Berberis – Barberry -  edible but sharp fruit
  * Cornus kousa – dogwood.  Edible berries.
  * 
  * Use a wild grape variant for vini-berries.

Need some sort of base root for winter storage.
Water chestnut - local swamp plant, primarily collected by the lizard-folk and traded through Kandar.

++++
===== Banaduum =====

{{:new_setting:towns:porter_s_bar:banaduumemblem.gif?100 |}}Ruled by Dwak III, a descendant of the original Dwak, Banaduum sits in the side of Old Scragg nearest to Porter's Bar.  It is a small community, based around an old mine.  Many had left before the settlers came to Porter’s Bar, but now there is renewed hope – even though the best seams have been mined out.  They mine copper, lead and tin on a regular basis and occasionally finding Azurite of a high enough quality to polish, in amongst the copper.  The copper and tin are worked together to make bronze for every day use, while lead and tin are used to make pewter.   They can make a very fine bronze (lots of tin) that is very good for mirrors, while they have another (harder) bronze alloy they use to make  their own weapons and armour.

They export copper, bronze, pewter and azurite to Porter’s Bar and also have a minor trade in Keep-all and a black mineral dye.  In return they get cloth, ale and cereals.  They trade normal bronze spearheads and daggers with both the Lizardmen and the Tribal Wen in return for meat and leather.

++++ Banaduum Notes|
  * I know that lead copper and tin are not generally found in the same place -  but these are fantasy Dwarves working an old mine where all the good metals have been mined out.    There are miles of tunnels under Old Scragg that go down below the water line  and (rumour tells) a tunnel that leads all the way across to the mainland under the sea!  The various deposits they mine are miles apart in different directions - so the Dwarves work hard for the alloys that they have to sell.
  * If the Dwarves do go to war - the melee troops wear  breastplates and carry a light metal shield and hand axe - all masterwork bronze (which does not suffer from the fragile quality).  They are well supported by units of heavy crossbowmen (crossbow bolts heads are made from normal Bronze -  who cares if the break on a one?).  The Dwarven  Armour comes in many different styles and designs - after all they are masterwork quality and that a long time to make.  They are handed down from generation to generation and are finished to the design favoured by the smiths  when they were made.  They do not  sell masterwork quality arms  to the tribals -  and even Porter's Bar has to come up with a good reason.
  * Somewhere underground, near the surface, there are fungus and lichen caverns -  a small amount of light filters in, and there is probably a colony of bats nesting high above (guano is used as a fertiliser) - along with the ubiquitous Cave Cricket this can provide a subsistence diet for the Dwarves, if required.
  * Trade with the 'tribals' is heavily controlled.  They need to bring in 10 medium sized animal carcasses for a Bronze spearhead,  20 for a dagger.  The dwarves use all of the carcass - meat as food, skin as leather, even making glue from the bones and horns.  The Wen also trade smaller animals for Keep All and use it to help preserve food for the winter.
  * Dwarven Specialities.  Keep All is a a mineral that can be added to food to help preserve it - although it gives the food a slightly metallic taste.  Dwarven Sausage,  is a sausage (any meat) preserved with Keep All.  Nube Paste is made from Cave crickets but tastes a bit like a mild peanut butter.  Dwarven Stout incorporates mushroom spores and Keep All -  leading to a dark, tangy brew.
   
  
  
++++

===== Kandar =====

{{:new_setting:towns:porter_s_bar:kandaremblem.gif?100 |}}Kandar, was originally a pirate settlement just inside the margins of the swamp, inhabited by those who could not settle in Porter’s Bar.   However, that brought punitive and the pirate activity was brought under control.  Instead the Kandarians became experts in Lizard-folk lore and turned Kandar into as trading post.  Now it is populated by a combination of humans and advanced Lizard-folk – it is still a fairly unsavoury place, but it serves  its purpose in the trade chains.  A mix of Lizardfolk mud domes and human  huts, with residents who spend as lot of their time in the swamps,  makes for a very simple life and means that Kandar is more like a semi-permantent camp, rather than a properly established village.

There is no tavern or restaurant in Kandar, so you should make sure that you are properly equipped and have enough food if you intend to stay overnight.  Lizard Folks are primarily carnivorous and eat a lot of fish and meat. Humans, and other similar humanoids, supplement their diet with edible water-weed and water-nuts - as well as food that they import from Porter's Bar.

Kandar buys giant ++Insect Parts|(//primarily wings and carapace sections)//++, ++Animal Skins|(//I need to consider what lives in the swamps//)++ and ++Water-Nuts|(//Think Water Chestnuts, collected singly so there aren't all that many of them make their way to Porter's Bar//)++ from the Lizard-folk deep inside the swamp and trades them to Porters Bar for the basic things in life -  weapons, ale, bread etc.  However, both Porter's Bar and Baraduum restricts weapons trading anything other than arrowheads, spear heads or daggers to the Kandarians.
  * 
++Kandar Notes | None Yet++
  
===== Tribal Wen =====









++++ Some example Chinese family names|

  * Lord Hong, master of the Floods, who owns the village where bean fibre is retted out and fishing boats.
  * Lord Wang, master of the Sea, who owns the village closest to the forest (controls the flow of timber) and the boat yards.
  * Lord Ding, The gardener, His village oversees the production of Vini-Berries and makes the wine.
  * 
  * Princess Alicia Lung -  ruler of Porter's Bar. 
  * 
  * Flood =  Hong 
  * Sea (also can be) Wang
  * Gardener = Ding
  * Dragon =  Leng, Long, Lung – Royal Family?  
  * 
  * Others  *  
  * Forest =  Lord Lin (Lin = Forest) 
  * Farm=  Lord Tian
  * Land = Luk
  * River = Kang
  * Merchant = Kia
  * Seafood merchant =   Qiu, Khu, Kau
  * Long Robe = Wang / Yuan, Yuen
  * Water in which rice has been rinsed  = Pan
  * Men who don’t yield to power = Shen – One who left and is a thorn in the side of man?

++++