Fort Vanguard

Fort Vanguard guards the largest bridge across the Nordgrenze controlling the northern border of Nornhil. The fort sits atop a hill overlooking the small town of Vanguard that has sprung up around the bridge. A once mighty fortress, it has seen better days and is a shadow of it's former glory.
Built by King Einar himself early in his reign to stop the incursions from the northern barbarians, it has always been plagued by a lack of funding and supplies. As the Nordgrenze is not accessible by sea it is difficult to resupply and this limits the effectiveness of the fort.
Designed to hold two thousand troops, it can barely muster a quarter of that. The fort was designed to be the center of military operations in the north, with scouting and patrols to give the norther commander the ability to quickly shutdown any border incursions before they become a threat. The lack of soldiers means that most of this is carried out by adventurers and mercenaries, the later being quite expensive.
In recent Fort Vanguard has forced into a precarious position and has made a fragile peace with the neighboring Orcish tribes to the North. They provide much information about their more dangerous goblin and hobgoblin kin. Trade relations have opened up helping to bolster the coffers of the Fort. Such actions would be frowned upon and the commanding officer sacked were military officials to find out. It has been some years since the last inspection, and since supply trains are few and far between the leadership of the Fort has found itself to have no other choice of action.

Demographics

The primary demographic of Fort Vanguard are human soldiers, supplemented by Elven scouts and Dwarven engineers.

Government

As a military installation the fort is led by a commanding officer of rank Captain. This ranking officer exerts control over the fort and surrounding village as outlined in the articles of military law.

Defences

The Fort itself is built of large heavy stone walls. These walls enclose the main road as it heads south.

Infrastructure

The remote location, and harshness of the landscape means that supplies lines are often not reliable. In response Fort Vanguard has mush of the infrastructure required to be self contained. This includes, but is not limited too:

• Dwarven forge
• Pottery Kiln
• Fletcher
• Carpenters workshop
• Farrier
• Leathersmith & workshop

History

The construction of Fort Vanguard was one of the first orders given by King Einar when he took the throne. For many years there had been raids from the north, pillaging cities and carrying of villagers never to be seen again. The fort was the first step in an ambitious plan to secure the northern border.
After its construction it was indeed instrumental in bringing peace to the region.

Architecture

In recent years a small villiage has sprung up south of the fort. From here the locals trade with the Orcs from the north. Due to the coldness of the region and the biting wind the architecture is of heavy wood and very utilitarian designs.
The buildings within the fort as shielded from the wind by the walls. They have had more ornamental design, often of dragon motifs.

Natural Resources

The Fort sits aside the fast flowing Nordgrenze. The river supports abundant aquatic life, however as it is not accessible via the ocean there are only a handful of larger species of fish. Fishing can supplement the supplies of the fort, but cannot sustain them.
Like much of Nornhil the region is surrounded by heavy thick forests. The abundance of lumber makes it the primary choice for both construction and heating.

Type

Military, Base

Population

500