Real History: Wild myths about Bronze Age swords

 

Elephant Queens & Tiger Kings - 11: Leaving the City of the Longheads

Recap: I've uncovered a plot to implicate our trading expedition in a theft. There seems to be a struggle between factions within the Longhead city, and we are caught in the middle. Myself and our companions are currently held captive in a room with a secret passage, an idol, a knife and a dead Longhead.

Note: I'm going to incorporate some of the new rules from Ironsworn: Starforged into my game. There isn't an official complete upgrade but I will use Lodestar 2e (the official reference guide, which has some updated moves) as well as the fan made Ironsworn 1.5-ish and Ironforged V1 which I found on the Ironsworn Discord. I will try to show where I deviate from the standard Ironsworn rules but I will be making things up as I go and can't promise consistency in my application of the different rules. I'm also using the Pocketforge web app to play since it includes the moves from all the official games. 

                                                    Ambient music for this episode

I decide that it's best to inform the guards of what has happened and not wait until morning. I start banging on the wooden door of the room and yell to the guards. They start shouting to us in their language, probably telling me to be quiet but I keep making noise until the door bolt is removed. I stand back as several guards storm into the room ready to give us a beating.

Some of the guards are holding up torches and they spot the dead body, the golden idol, about the size of a man's fist and a bloody knife on the floor. I point to the back of the room towards the secret passage and they understand that was how the intruder entered the room. One of the guards rushes over to the body to inspect it. Then he shouts to the others, points to the passage in the back of the room and several of the guards storm through the opening. 

We are unsure of what to do but any decisions are taken out of our hands, more guards come the room and we are marched back to the harbour and our boats in the early dawn light. Our interpreters are informed that we are to leave as soon as our cargo has been loaded. It seems the Longheads are embarrassed that we've been exposed to their internal political struggles and since the idol has been found are happy to send us on our way. As soon as all the goods have been loaded on to the boats we cast off and row down the river back to the City of Pearls.

Since this a return journey along a known route so I will use the move: Follow a Path from Ironsworn Lodestar 2e.

Action Die: 1d6 + Supply: 5+5 = 10

Challenge Dice: 2d10 = 3 and 2 = Strong Hit = Reach Destination and +1 Momentum (6)

The journey back is uneventful and due to rowing downstream we arrive back in our city after 8 days, about half the time it took to travel upstream to the city of the Longheads. When we pull up along the quay we are greeted by a throng of people including workers ready to unload our cargo and priests chanting, banging drums and blowing on pan-pipes as part of welcome ceremony to thank the gods for our safe return. Myself and the other rowers are led away to a holding room where we find tables laden with foods including fresh fruit, nuts, cooked vegetables, fish and meats. There is also a small bath recessed within the floor where we can wash ourselves. It seems that these are our rewards for a successful trading mission.

Once we are clean and well fed, guards come to take us to sleeping quarters, however I am led away separately to another room and find myself once again in the presence of Balzar seated on stone bench on a low platform. Balzar's shoulders are draped in the customary Leopard skin indicating his status. He addresses me: 

"Welcome back... Kiakro is it? I've been informed of your actions during the trade mission to the Longheads. It seems you were crucial to the mission's success and were singled out by the several of the traders and mariners for your contributions. It seems you possess some skills that I have a special use for".

I mark a tick on the progress track for my vow (Extreme) to become a free citizen of the City of Pearls. I will also give myself 3 experience points from which I will spend 2 to upgrade my Waterborn asset. I paid close attention to the workings of larger boats over the past couple of weeks.

Now I will use my Sundaland Sword & Sorcery Adventure Generator to create the next adventure.

Location: 1d12

1. Island Archipelago. Bays, lagoons, coral reefs, sand bars, cliffs, limestone karsts, pirates serpents, leviathans (Initially I rolled Savanna but decided that sea adventure would fit better with all the following results).

Setup1, 2, and 3: 3d20

8. Sea-gypsies

5. Bribe

9. Maps

Hook: 1d6

6. Circumstances force the characters to get involved

Patron, ally, client, help-seeker: 1d6

3. Superiors from your culture (I did not roll for this result since Balzar is giving me the mission)

Tasks: 1d6

3. Find or explore

Reward: 1d6

5. Elephants, water-buffalo, boat or ship with a crew.

Antagonist or adversary: 1d6

5. A sworn enemy

Obstacle: 1d12

6. Strange local customs

Complication 1d6

6 The clock starts ticking because...

Twist: 1d12

9. It's a trap or trick

These results have given me the idea that Balzar wants to find a new source of Areca Nuts to import. The addictive nut is officially banned from the city (Read how we were captured during a failed smuggling operation: Elephant Queens & Tiger Kings - 6: Breaking into the City of Pearls), but Balzar is placing personal profit above that of the health of his fellow citizens.

The results Sea Gypsies, Bribe and Map give me the idea that perhaps Sea Gypsies know where Areca Nuts can be found. According to this map Spice Trade in Sundaland there is a source of Areca Nuts far to the East (not known to my character or anyone else in the City of Pearls). So perhaps Balzar wants me to pay the Sea Gypsies for the location of the Areca Nuts?

I'm not quite sure how or if the other results will come into play but the Antagonist (A sworn enemy), Complication (The clock starts ticking because...) and the Twist (It's a trap or trick) seem to indicate a race against time before a rival faction or culture discovers what I'm doing with the intention of either stopping the import happening or securing the nuts for themselves. I will play to find out.

Balzar dismisses the guards that brought me here and tells them to wait outside. Once they are gone he stands up from the bench, and walks over to within a whispering distance. "I remember you... you were helping Calpo smuggle Areca nuts into the city. Those nuts are banned from the city... but who am I to deny the desires of the people. Many have been thrown to crocodiles for less and you are lucky we are always in need of good rowers. I'm sending out another expedition, something a little more discreet, that you are perfectly suited for. You will be told more soon enough but for now you are to rest in the assigned quarters. Do not speak of this to anyone, however keep in mind anyone who could be a good volunteer for another expedition.

Balzar calls out to the guards and I am led back to the communal hall with the others. I wonder if my quest to become a free citizen of this city will be helped or hindered by working for the corrupt Balzar. In any case, right now I don't have a choice in the matter.

I will rank this expedition as Formidable.

Real History: Deciphering Secrets of Ancient Civilizations

An interesting interview with Assyriologist Irving Finkel which gives some insight into life in the Bronze and Iron Age.

Sundaland 24 Mile Hex Map

A map of Sundaland at the height of the last Ice Age overlaid with a 24 mile hex-grid. The image is 5260 by 4754 pixels and was created with Wonderdraft. Left click to load the full map then right click to download it.

For a while I considered creating a hex map with Worldographer but I wouldn't be able to depict all the small islands, which is half the fun of this map!

The good thing is that Wonderdraft allows you to import this map, match the hex size and then add a second hex overlay at a smaller resolution, for example 6 or 3 mile hexes. So you could use this map for the big picture overview and then create hex maps for smaller areas if you want to have an old-school hex experience.

Since this part of the world is close to the equator the size of the landmass is frequently underestimated. You can use TheTrueSize.com to see how large this sub-continent is by comparing it to a country or state that you are familiar with. Just enter and select a country on the left and then drag it over South-East Asia

This example section of the map is 28 x 18 hexes (504 hexes total) which makes it roughly the size of Switzerland according to How big is your hex map? 

This is how far you can zoom in before the hexes become pixelated.

For more maps depicting biomes, locations of precious metals and spices as well as tools for creating your own Sword & Sorcery Sundaland setting visit the Sundaland Content Overview

If you use any of this please tell me about it in the comments. I always love to hear about how people use this material.

Real History: Nan Madol

 A mysterious structure deep in the Pacific Ocean. Wikipedia: Nan Madol

Real History: Science Daily: Who are the Papua New Guineans? New DNA study reveals stunning origins

 
On remote islands of Papua New Guinea, people carry a story that ties us all back to our deepest roots. Although their striking appearance once puzzled scientists, new genetic evidence shows they share a common ancestry with other Asians, shaped by isolation, adaptation, and even interbreeding with mysterious Denisovans. Yet, their unique history — marked by survival bottlenecks and separation from farming-driven booms — leaves open questions about the earliest migrations out of Africa and whether their lineage holds traces of a forgotten branch of humanity.

Read the full article here: Who are the Papua New Guineans? New DNA study reveals stunning origins 

Real History: The Nuragic Civilisation

A look at a Bronze Age civilisation that many people might not know about. The Nuragic civilisation of the island of Sardinia.

Real History: Lost cities of the Amazon: how science is revealing ancient garden towns hidden in the rainforest

Two great articles about the the remains of cultures that existed in South America. I find this type of culture fascinating and imagine many of the cultures in my Sundaland setting exist.

The first article includes some artist impressions of what the area could have looked like. 

Archaeologists using 3D mapping are uncovering the remains of thousands of green metropolises with composted gardens, fisheries, and forests groomed into orchards

Lost cities of the Amazon: how science is revealing ancient garden towns hidden in the rainforest 

This article prioritized studying the roads and paths that are interconnected to geoglyph-type sites in the Western Brazilian Amazon, not only because of their originality, but also to understand some issues that permeate the universe of geoglyphs, such as how was gave the spatial distribution of these roads in the region, what meaning they had within the sociocultural context of that society.

The pre-Colombian roads of geoglyphs sites in the state of acre: the tequinho site road complex

Real History: Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico

Another day and another lost Mayan city has been discovered: 

“The larger of Valeriana’s two monumental precincts has all the hallmarks of a Classic Maya political capital: multiple enclosed plazas connected by a broad causeway, temple pyramids, a ballcourt, a reservoir formed by damming an arroyo (a seasonal watercourse), and a probable … architectural arrangement that generally indicates a founding date prior to AD150,”

“The ancient world is full of examples of cities that are completely different than the cities we have today,” Auld-Thomas said. “There were cities that were sprawling agricultural patchworks and hyper-dense; there were cities that were highly egalitarian and extremely unequal. Given the environmental and social challenges we’re facing from rapid population growth, it can only help to study ancient cities and expand our view of what urban living can look like.”

You can read the article here:

Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico

Ancient Apocalypse Season 2 is out now on Netflix

 

 

Ancient Apocalypse Season 2 is available to watch on Netflix. I've only watched the first episode and it's very light on details, but then I've read a bunch of Graham's book and listened to many interviews so I'm quite familiar with his hypotheses. In any case it still provides ample inspiration for my Sword & Sorcery setting.

The first episode includes Graham visiting the Amazon to see large earthworks. The the concept of Garden Urbanism is very interesting to me. The idea that large complex societies could exist in rain-forest or tropical environments.

In recent years researchers have found huge earthen structures, including platforms, mounds and causeways, across the Amazon, from Venezuela to central Brazil. But the infrastructure in Upano, described in a study published on Thursday in Science, “is completely unprecedented in Amazonia and in Andean prehistory,” says archaeologist José Iriarte of the University of Exeter in England, who studies pre-Columbian earth-builder cultures in Brazil and was not involved in the new study. “We don’t see an equivalent to these plazas elsewhere in Amazonia.” The nearest similar urban layout is in Maya territory in Central America.

Scientific American: Ancient Amazon Civilization Developed Unique Form of ‘Garden Urbanism’

Real History: Carboniferous Period Was a Pure Nightmare HORROR

Here's some great inspiration for monstrous animals for any fantasy setting. The channel features many great videos about prehistoric animals.

 

New blog: Timothy Westwind - Making it up as I go along

 

I've started another TTRPG blog which you can check out here: Timothy Westwind - Making it up as I go along

Currently I'm sharing a work-in-progress 6 Mile Hex map for the Baltic Region using Worldographer which I may use for a semi-historical Medieval + Dark Fantasy game. I'm torn between playing in semi-historical world or creating something new.

I'm also occasionally playing a game of The One Ring 2e (Darkening of Mirkwood campaign) which I'll write about.

Real History: World building in the Bronze Age: How did people live?

An interesting video about the Bronze Age, aimed at people who are just learning about the period. The information presupposes a focus on the Bronze Age in Europe and the Middle East (referencing the importance of grain agriculture, bread, beer, wine, wool, flax, linen etc.) but a lot is still relevant to my Sundaland setting. 

Magic in Sundaland

Telaka held up her talisman and started to chant the true name of the huge serpent just as it was was curling up to strike. Over and over she spoke its name, loud and clear as if revealing to the beast that she knew its innermost thoughts and its closest kept secrets. She felt vibrations through the chain around the back of her neck and the tingling of the artefact between her fingers. An onlooker might have noticed a feint glow from the red gemstone placed at the centre of the bronze cast charm. But then, it could have been a mere reflection of the light from the oil candles in the room. It seemed that the fangs would strike now, but the serpent halted, then slowly closed its mouth, seemingly hypnotised by the swaying of the amulet from its chain. It bowed its head, turned around and slinked off into the darkness.

I want the magic in Sundaland to be truly magical and not just a form of technology. If casting a magic fire ball spell is consistent and reliable then what is the actual difference between that and a shotgun or laser-pistol? In my opinion magic must have an air of mystery and unpredictability.

Below I've collected some ideas for different kinds of magic that fit the feel of my "Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity meets Sword & Sorcery" setting. If you want to use magic in your games set in Sundaland I suggest you look towards rules systems tailored to the Sword & Sorcery genre. Systems that lean towards free-form magic and have a chance of failure or unindented consequences will fit the mood. Doing a search for "magic in Sword & Sorcery" will also give you many articles and discussions about this topic. 

Advanced technology: Technological contraptions made from gears, springs, lenses and crystals. Powered by steam, electricity or perhaps magical forces. Were they created by an advanced civilisation or the Star Gods or Elder Beings?

Alchemy: By mixing various ingredients the alchemist can create useful potions. Is it based on real chemistry or can super-natural results be achieved?

Curses: Are curses real or just self-fulfilling prophecies by causing paranoia in their targets?

Divination: One can supposedly gain knowledge and understanding by such things as reading the motions of the stars and planets, investigating the intestines of an animal, by casting stones, bones or shells, watching the movement of the waves or listening to the sounds of birds. Projection and a figment of the imagination or real insight?

Dream Questing: Travel to other realms, dimensions or realities in order to to encounter spirits, gods and demons. Interact with them in order to gain insight, knowledge or power. 

How do you go on a dream quest, through meditation, trance-states, hallucinogens, a spell, incantation or ritual?

Does dream questing affect the material world? Are there consequences for the quester's physical, mental or spiritual health?

Elements: Fire, air, water, earth, spirit. Is the sorcerer in control of the elements or does it just seem as if they are? Why did the fire suddenly increase in intensity? Why did this torrential rain suddenly start? What caused those boulders to suddenly come crashing down the mountainside?

Interacting with nature spirits: Trees, caves, rivers, seas, oceans, hills, mountains, swamps, grasslands and animals all have spirits. Can they communicate with humans? Can they be influences or controlled?

Magic infused items: Amulets, talismans, magical weapons, armour, tools and artefacts. Magic has been put into otherwise mundane objects. Can anyone access these powers or do they require specific knowledge, skill or circumstances?

Potions and Medicines: Potions and medicines made from all kings of ingredients can heal, change behaviour and alter physical, spiritual or psychological states. 

Praying: Can the gods hear our prayers? Can they respond and if so how will they do that? Through obvious explicit intervention or more subtle ways?

Sigils and Glyphs: By inscribing or carving symbols into objects one can infuse them with special powers. This can be done on weapons, doors, walls, boats, statues or any other physical object. Even humans with the practice of tattooing and piercing.

Summoning: With the aid of rituals it may be possible to summon demons, spirits, gods, deceased ancestors or other super-natural beings. The might be able to provide the summoner with knowledge, insight or powers, usually in exchange for something. In some cases the summoner can bring these beings into our world through a portal.

True Names: Knowing the True Name of a thing, being or person allows you to exert some form of control over it. 

What does this do to the controller? Do they take on some of the nature of what they are attempting to control? What happens do the controlled? Do they have any free nature or will left at all? Are they altered in some temporary of permanent way by this process? Are True Names known to their bearers? How can you discover True Names?

Ultra sensory perception of other times and places: Some people claim they have the ability to sense, see or hear other places and times. They either have this ability innately or can access them by taking particular substances or using particular tools and technology.

Risks of engaging with magic

Attempting to harness supernatural powers may not be without risk. Nothing in this world, or other worlds, comes for free.

1. Corruption of body

The signs: Showing a sickly or ill appearance. Taking on animal characteristics such as a forked tongue, yellow or red eyes, scaled skin, webbed fingers and toes, slimy skin,  unusual amounts of hair, developing claws, growing sharper teeth.

2. Corruption of mind

The signs: Seeing figures and creatures in shadows and fires. Hearing strange voices from unknown sources. Paranoia or experiencing a constant feeling of unsettlement.

3. Corruption of spirit

The signs: Body fading out of the physical world and entering the another realm. Lack of empathy and detachment from mortal concerns. 

Real History: Valley of lost cities that flourished 2,000 years ago found in Amazon

Archaeologists have uncovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers about 2,000 years ago.

A series of earthen mounds and buried roads in Ecuador was first noticed more than two decades ago by archaeologist Stéphen Rostain. But at the time, “I wasn’t sure how it all fit together,” said Rostain, one of the researchers who reported on the finding in the journal Science on Thursday. 

Read the whole article here: Valley of lost cities that flourished 2,000 years ago found in Amazon

Real History: Lost ancient colony off coast of Australia that hundreds of thousands once called home discovered

This is a sensationalist article that vaguely implies the discovery of some kind of Atlantis but the reality is that this part of the world was indeed dry land until the floods started and there is now more evidence of people living in these now submerged areas. Hopefully these kinds of discoveries will lead to more archaeology in these kinds of locations and the acceptance that a lot of human history happened along coastlines that are now under the sea.

Lost ancient colony off coast of Australia that hundreds of thousands once called home discovered

Various artifacts and signs of human life were discovered on the northwest shelf of Sahul, located off the coast of the northern region of Kimberley on a landmass that connects to New Guinea, according to a study in Quaternary Science Reviews.

The full research article: Sea level rise drowned a vast habitable area of north-western Australia driving long-term cultural change

Conclusion from the article:

It is clear that the temptation to ignore the continental shelf margins of Late Pleistocene Sahul in debates of early peopling and expansion carries the risk of both oversimplifying and misunderstanding important elements of this period of history. Our analysis indicates the Northwest Shelf was a large habitable landscape that connected the now-separated ancient archaeological landscapes of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land. Reconstructing the palaeoecology of these landscapes in sophisticated ways remains an important goal for future research to understand the potential lifeways of the First Australians. The appearance of new and distinctive rock art styles in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land coincides with major shelf-drowning events and a noticeable increase in stone artefact discard across both regions. We interpret this as the retreat of human populations from the Northwest Shelf as sea levels rose. Now submerged continental margins clearly played an important role in early human expansions across the world. The rise in undersea archaeology in Australia will contribute to a growing worldwide picture of early human migration and the impact of climate change on Late Pleistocene human populations.

Real History: New Guinea - lessons from a cradle of agriculture and languages

An interesting video about the linguistic history of New Guinea and what it reveals about the past of the people of the island.

The first inhabitants Indigenous people of New Guinea, from whom the Papuan people are probably descended, adapted to the range of ecologies and, in time, developed one of the earliest known agricultures. Remains of this agricultural system, in the form of ancient irrigation systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, are being studied by archaeologists. Research indicates that the highlands were an early and independent center of agriculture, with evidence of irrigation going back at least 10,000 years.^[38] Sugarcane was cultivated in New Guinea around 6000 BCE.^[39]

The gardens of the New Guinea Highlands are ancient, intensive permacultures, adapted to high population densities, very high rainfalls (as high as 10,000 mm per year (400 in/yr)), earthquakes, hilly land, and occasional frost. Complex mulches, crop rotations and tillages are used in rotation on terraces with complex irrigation systems. Western agronomists still do not understand all of the practices, and it has been noted that native gardeners are as, or even more, successful than most scientific farmers in raising certain crops.^[40] There is evidence that New Guinea gardeners invented crop rotation well before western Europeans.^[41] A unique feature of New Guinea permaculture is the silviculture of Casuarina oligodon, a tall, sturdy native ironwood tree, suited to use for timber and fuel, with root nodules that fix nitrogen. Pollen studies show that it was adopted during an ancient period of extreme deforestation.

In more recent millennia, another wave of people arrived on the shores of New Guinea. These were the Austronesian people, who had spread down from Taiwan, through the South-east Asian archipelago, colonising many of the islands on the way. The Austronesian people had technology and skills extremely well adapted to ocean voyaging and Austronesian language speaking people are present along much of the coastal areas and islands of New Guinea. They also introduced pigs and dogs. These Austronesian migrants are considered the ancestors of most people in insular Southeast Asia, from Sumatra and Java to Borneo and Sulawesi, as well as coastal new Guinea.^[42]

Real History: The First Sundaland People - The Negrito People of Southeast Asia

A look at some of the first people that came to live in Southeast Asia. 

Elephant Queens & Tiger Kings - 10: Conspiracy of the Idol

    Some ambient music for this episode. 

(Click map to zoom)

Recap: I've been recruited into a diplomatic and trade mission from the City of Pearls to Nanbeg Gakwha, the city of the Longheads a fearsome war-like people that are known for their practice of skull-binding. After two weeks our boats reached their city where we unloaded our mysterious cargo.

During our stay we discovered that an idol has gone missing and that our group has been accused of stealing it. The ambassadors (3 from each boat) were held captive as well as 4 mariners (including myself). There is no evidence of us being involved and it seems that we are being used as pawns in political game between rival factions within the city of the Longheads. After being searched and questioned we are taken back to a holding cell, unsure of our fate.

Read the other episodes here: Game Diary: Elephant Queens & Tiger Kings

We are held in our cell all day with no explanation and eventually all go to sleep, not sure what the future holds. Together our group consists of 9 ambassadors and 4 mariners (including myself).

Will we get more clarity in the morning about our fate? Ask the Oracle.

Action: Investigate

Theme: Ruin

Major Plot Twist: A trap is sprung

I wake up in the middle of the night, there is only the faint moon light from small windows high up in the room. I notice a figure skulking nearby, moving to the centre of the room. There is something gleaming in his hands. I think it's the idol. A small golden statue.

I decide to get up quietly and see if I can manoeuvre to a position that will give me and advantage to pounce on him.

Real History: How an advanced civilisation vanished 2,500 years ago – BBC News

A look at a Bronze Age civilization in Southern Spain. This site was deliberately buried so the architecture is well preserved and you get a great sense of what it must have been like to walk through the building thousands of years ago.

Learn more about this civilisation here: Wikipedia: Tartessos