Dumnonia
Cultural Level: 3 (Iron Age)
Landscape: cold mountains, coast, and waters
Dumnonia is a rocky peninsula held by powerful merrows. The merrows mine tin with kobold slaves and trade it to the Empire for weapons and amenities, forging the fiercest land armies on the Tin Isles. They profited from trade with the Empire enough to grant it the Weald, a tiny eastern corner of the Tin Isles dotted with ports, including the great port city Lowonidas at the mouth of the Tamessa, marking the Weald north border.
Dumnonia is a rocky, jagged stretch of coastal mountains, hunting grounds for the great merrows with waters held by the semi nomadic merrow tribes loyal to their land bound kin. Despite the merrow clans, great sea beasts congregate in these waters, posing additional hazards to sea travel.
Dumnonia has an aristocratic class of mine-owning warlords whose small, efficient forces unite into large, disciplined armies when the king needs it. It is a matter of pride for the merrows they have never failed to answer the First Dragon’s call unless attacking him.
The region is rife with kobolds, scattered bands and even entire tribes that migrate from mine to mine at night. Merrow law holds kobolds as vermin even as individual ogres employ them as slave labor and livestock. Merrows tend to place all races save giant class creatures in the same category, but Dumnonia has a treaty with the Empire that stretches back to the Divine Ivlivs guaranteeing the rights of Imperial citizens, and local pride sees this treaty upheld. It served as the basis for Dumnonia’s relationship with the Heptarchy once the High King swore allegiance to Idris.
The mines draw out tin and coal traded for good Imperial gold, and the kingdom is stable. The mine owners thus compete with powerful clans, the heads of which elect kings to maintain order under ancient traditions held by the twin hierarchies that span and unite the Tin Isles. The king with the most support from within the kingdom may declare himself High King provided the First Dragon approves the coronation, giving the First Dragon major influence if not dominion in Dumnonian politics, at least during an interregnum.
Dumnonia depends on hunting and fishing more than agriculture for food. Raiding neighbors is also part of the economy, but the high king keeps Powys, Mercia, and the Weald exempt from being raided by stationing his armies at the border, especially when clan hostilities grow hot in a region.
Dumnonian forces will repel armed non citizens even if they previously protected them from opposed citizen forces. The armies of Dumnonia only march beyond its borders for the First Dragon, but some high kings have gone to war for matters of honor, something so rare as to be almost unthinkable today. Dumnonia is known for immediate address of it's issues and attempting diplomacy first, but once it's armies march, it destroys it's enemy before returning home.
Dumnonia has mostly infantry units in its military, but all-merrow units swim the coast and the waters of the Channel as well. The Dumnonians do not have a navy as much of their shore is rough water with poor ports at best, though merrow tribes often field marine troops easily capable of overtaking ships.
Government
Individuals dominate a hunting range, as much territory as they can cover, building a centrally located structure to claim the land. Mobs directed by such a dominant cover greater territory which the dominant doles out for service, declaring himself king when his personal warband numbers 100. The kings control different territories and contest for a leader, the High King.
Private property rights are the basis of Dumnonian governance, and the Coronation Oath hinges the crown on the monarch's ability to protect them, and a monarch's stature depends on the size of his warband, personal troops the monarch must maintain from his own pocket who are allowed to accompany him whoever he goes. Tradition limits this band to 100 men, but the High King maintains complete warbands for every member of his warband as well. Maintaining warbands is an individual right, and many monarchs permit members of their warband to maintain their own but do not assist in such a warband's maintenance and outfitting.
Rather strict traditions give kings low justice and the ultimate authority within their territory, with the High King first among equals.
Industry & Trade
Industry is small and local save for mining, generally consisting of smiths and their apprentices, though craftsmen of all stripe abound at this same level. Fishing and mining dominate trade as local consumption claims most other products.
Infrastructure
Aside from a community well, none. Roads are either privately built or worn by traffic, and streams and rivers are common and clean.
Guilds and Factions
Many mercenary orders exist, training troops and dispatching them across the Mare Nostrum and the Jotunzee.
History
Dumnonia gave the Tin Isles it's name, being a stable barbarian kingdom by the time the Divine Ivlivs contracted with Ur. The first inhabitants were stunted dwarves who eked out a meager living preying on seabirds and hid in caves from predators, their origin lost in time. They enticed the great merrow of the salt waters ashore and traded their possessions for protection from predators, and merrow mothers began birthing in the caves offshore and raising their young on land. Soon, the land merrow staked out hunting ranges and expanded them to dominion of the southern coast. The western peninsula was rich in minerals the merrow learned to work and the dwarf folk began mining for them. What the smiths did not use, they traded to ships from the Old Southern Sea past the Channel, and powerful landholders enriched themselves greatly from permitting mining colonies on their hunting range.
Architecture
Dumnonia carves caves then modifies them for living, augmenting the entrances with outbuildings and stone walls.
Geography
Dumnonia is a peninsula of low mountains with jagged tops. The northern coast is a great bay across which the south coast of Powys is visible. The south coast opens to the ocean.
Natural Resources
Rich mineral reserves produce coal and tin and game species fill the mountains, mainly goats and fowl.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments