Tuesday, April 16, 2024

History's Greatest Hits

I've posted a fair amount on this blog about the Dragon Quest series, and in particular Dragon Quest III, a game that I grew up with and which influenced my approach to DMing. I've always been intending to go back to the game and see how well it holds up from when I was a kid, and I've finally gotten around to doing it. It's definitely made me more interested in pursuing the rest of the series, both out of personal interest and to mine it for gameable ideas, but for now, I'm starting with the one I remember. In doing so, I noticed one thing interesting about the game and its world, and something that I've seen in quite a bit of fantasy worldbuilding.

See, the world of DQ3 is recognizably a malformed, rotated version of our Earth. The continents are largely recognizable, and there are areas based on real-world regions located where you'd expect them to be. However, while the geography matches up, the history not so much. The game plays it fast and loose in respect to historical accuracy, and it's not afraid to mix and match different eras in its inspiration. The first town you go to after leaving your homeland is noticeably based on imperial Rome, complete with colosseum. But across the sea is a region that recalls ancient Egypt, where you delve into an ancient pyramid (of course) to retrieve a magic key that allows you to access a town that corresponds to Portugal during the Age of Sail, and from there you get a ship you can take to areas reminescent of feudal Japan, medieval Scotland, and a town of settlers on the continent equivalent to North America. It's all there in the same world, at the same time, and nobody questions it - it just is.

It's an approach to worldbuilding I've dubbed a History's Greatest Hits setting, and DQ3 is far from the first time I've seen it. There are plenty of settings out there that flippantly and shamelessly crib from real-world history, mashing together the fun parts of different eras into a single world. Probably the most famous literary example is Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age, which grew out of him wanting to write historical swashbuckling adventure, but not wanting to tie himself down to accurately depicting any one era - it's a setting where Conan can fight knights in one story and Egyptians in the next without anyone batting an eye. The Known World of Mystara has also often been described this way, with its Byzantines, Mongols, Vikings, and Arabs all a stone's throw from one another, although it's perhaps not quite as drastic with how it's willing to stretch the limits of contemporaneity. Warhammer Fantasy, although its baseline is somewhere around the 1500s, still has a Renaissance-era Holy Roman Empire with a (French-speaking) Arthurian England to its west and marauding Norsemen to the north. And, yes, my own Lunar Lands is no stranger to this phenonmenon either, with regions based on Dark Ages Scotland, colonial Mexico, Renaissance Italy, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Abbasid Caliphate all coexisting, to name a few.

Deadliest Warrior
It's easy for me to see why a setting like this might come to be. While a History's Greatest Hits setting might risk questioning by historians on how plausibly the different cultures and technologies of these far-flung eras can coexist, and perhaps that stretches the boundaries of versimilitude, they're usually designed with a more utiltarian purpose - versimilitude comes second to providing a theater where exciting adventures in different settings can happen with the same characters in the same world.

They're also helping in providing touch points to players and readers to understand the setting - not everyone is willing to sift through an eighty-page history of the Great War between the Zornaphian Satrapies and the Oligarchs of Runos, but if you pitch it as "it's basically ancient Greece," say, people will instantly have a good idea of what things look like, how people act, and what they can do. They're easy to handle on the writer/DM side of things too, since a lot of the worldbuilding is already filled in for you; the most you might have to do is throw in a few points of divergence to make things interesting ("It's like the Aztec Empire, but with the dueling culture of 18th century Prussia!") or to see how things can fit together ("Why would there be Landsknechts on the border with Mongols anyway?"). Plus, there's just some people who recognize that seeing a samurai and a musketeer team up to fight cavemen is just inherently kind of neat. I don't think it's any surprise that so many fantasy writers fall back on settings like these, and there's almost certainly many examples out there that I missed.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Friday Encounter: Stampede!

This encounter may be used while the PCs are traveling through a rural environment or on a road or trail. It will perhaps work best in an environment with established traditions of driving livestock over long distances, such as with the vaqueros of Valossa or the herdsmen of Ukiah.

While the PCs are traveling, up ahead, they can see a large herd of livestock being driven down the path, goaded by herders on horseback. Depending on the setting, these might be cattle, horses, reindeer, or any sort of large domestic beast common in the area. Suddenly, the herdsmen lose control, and the animals begin to speed away from them - and straight toward the party! They can hear a great thundering of hooves approaching, and clouds of dust rise over the horizon as the herd grows closer and closer. They'll have to act fast - a stampede is coming!

The idea behind this encounter is to give the party an exciting and dangerous scenario that demands quick action without involving combat, forcing players to think in creative ways as to how to apply their characters' abilities. At the start of the encounter, enter Action Time. In addition to the PCs' initiative, the DM rolls 1d20 to determine initiative for the herd.

The stampede starts 100 feet away from the party. On each PC's turn, they may make an action. Most commonly, this will be to try and get as far away from the stampede as possible, such as by using a Dash action. On the stampede's turn, it moves 50 feet in the direction of the party. At the beginning of each round, roll 1d20 to determine if any complications come up that round:

1. Poor visibility (such as dust clouds or wind). All PCs must make a DC 10 Perception check or have their speed halved for the round.

2. Obstacles block the path (such as logs, trees, or large rocks). All PCs must make a DC 13 Acrobatics or Athletics check to bypass the obstacle or have their speed halved for the round.

3. The ground becomes rocky and uneven, acting as difficult terrain. PCs must move at half speed for the round unless they have some way of circumventing the terrain.

4. One PC determined at random must make a DC 13 Acrobatics check or trip and fall prone for the round.

5.  The path is straight ahead, and could easily be traversed in a sprint. Each PC may move two times their normal movement speed this round (four times if using a dash action!), but must make a DC 12 Constitution save if doing so or take one level of exhaustion.

6. One PC determined at random must make a DC 13 Acrobatics check or get their foot stuck in a hole. They are restrained until they can make a DC 13 Acrobatics or Athletics check.

7. The path takes a steep slope upward. All PCs must make a DC 13 Athletics check or have disadvantage on all actions for this turn. Alternatively, they may take one level of exhaustion to bypass this effect.

8. A barrier blocks the path forward (such as a fallen tree, stone wall, or fence). All PCs must make a DC 12 Acrobatics or Athletics check to jump over the barrier or lose a turn as they waste time climbing over it.

9. A hazard of some sort (like falling rocks or brambles) is in the party's path. All PCs must make a saving throw appropriate to the actions they are taking to avoid it; on a 1-9, they take Dangerous damage; on a 10-14, they take Setback damage, and on a 15-20, they take no damage.

10-19. No complications arise this round.

20. The PCs are unusually lucky. Each PC may take an extra action this turn.

If any PC starts their turn behind the stampede, they take 2d10 bludgeoning damage as they are trampled underfoot. If three rounds of this pass, the stampede passes by and the affected PC takes no further damage. A PC may use the Help action to pull an ally out of danger.

Once ten rounds elapse, the animals skid to a stop and the herders manage to get them under control.

PCs may wish to make attacks or spells against the stampede, if they think it will do anything to stop it or slow it down. Use the stats of an Aurochs (see Volo's Guide to Monsters) for the stampede as a whole should they become necessary, with the exception that the stampede has 380 HP. It would be unlikely for the PCs to take it out, but not impossible - although the herdsmen will not be happy with them if they do!

If a PC wishes to calm the herd down, they must make three successful DC 15 Animal Handling checks on consecutive rounds, using an action for each. They have Advantage if they can communicate with the animals somehow, such as a speak with animals spell. If this works, the herd disperses and the stampede ends.

As always, don't be afraid to let your players improvise and come up with their own solutions. They may well surprise you!

Thursday, April 11, 2024

Shamans of Ukiah

In a harsh land like Ukiah, no one can expect to survive on their own. The communal structure of Ukian life, built around family ties, is a testament to that fact. But there are still reasons for Ukians to live alone. One might commit a grave enough crime to warrant exile from their tribe, forcing them into a lonely existence. As the Ukians do not believe in spilling blood against their kin, this is effectively their equivalent of a death sentence, leaving the condemned to the elements - but occasionally, an exile may eke out a life for themselves, sometimes even journeying west and south and finding work among outsiders.

The other reason a Ukian may live alone: if they are a shaman.

Though it isn't uncommon for Ukians to know a few simple spells here - usually those who are naturally talented, as the Ukians are largely illiterate people with no time to study grimoires - it is the shamans who truly carry on the magical traditions of the land, and who are regarded as masters in their craft. They are revered for their abilities to project their spirits from their bodies and into other realms, where they confront, negotiate with, and at times do battle with higher powers. Ukian shamanism displays a syncretism of traits from Pantheonism and the Old Faith, with a hierarchy of revered spirits - the most honored are the gods, who are greater than any other and who are recognized by all the tribes, but each tribe has its own pantheon of domestic spirits of the land and of their ancestors. Khans, generals, and elders of past generations may be called upon by a shaman, whose spirit may take a journey to the Land of the Dead to consult them in matters that ail the tribe.

In Ukiah, shamans are born, not made. No one becomes a shaman who has not been marked for such a fate from birth. Odd physical features, such as birthmarks, extra fingers, or being born with teeth or a caul, are considered signs that a baby will grow up to be a shaman, but other times, it is simply that they carry an aura of power that may be felt by those who know how to attune themselves to it. In the Lunar Lands, some people are simply born with more magical aptitude than others, just like how one can be gifted at a particular craft - in Ukiah, however, this means much more.

When one who is destined to become a shaman comes of age, they are sent away from their yurt to live with another shaman as an apprentice. A shaman may have a number of apprentices at one time, and their duties may include mundane tasks such as gathering firewood and looking after the herds so that the shaman may devote their time toward more spiritual pursuits, but these apprentices also undergo training in the arts of magic, mastering the same spells and rituals that their mentors did. Once the master has taught their apprentice all there is to know, the apprentice goes off into the wilderness to establish a yurt or hut of their own as a shaman.

Ukian shamans do not belong to a clan or tribe. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that their tribe is that of all shamans, and their clan is that of the spirits of the land and of the dead. A shaman may inhabit the same lands as a tribe, and in some cases they may even travel along with a clan, but they are not considered part of the clan, nor are their spouses or children, and their livestock and property is not considered to be owned by the rest of the clan (woe betide the fool who borrowed a shaman's tools or slaughtered one of their goats without permission). Shamans are allowed to marry and have children, and indeed some Ukian clans claim descent from shamans, though many choose not to in order to focus on their arts, living in the wilderness as hermits along with their apprentices.

Shamans enjoy a place of honor in Ukian society; Jahken Khan, the first to unite the tribes of Ukiah, was himself a shaman, and his magic proved a great asset in his wars of unification. Because shamans have great powers beyond the ken of most Ukians, they are often sought out to lend their aid in matters such as telling the future, healing the sick, finding lost items, or dealing with magical threats (or sometimes becoming magical threats to one's enemies). They do not perform such services for free, however, not even to their own parents or siblings - after all, they are not part of the same clan; indeed, a member of any clan can seek the aid of any shaman, even if that shaman was born to a rival clan, and it is considered rude for a shaman to refuse services for such reasons. A shaman may demand tribute in the form of animals, trade goods, or tokens of metal, bone, or gemstone used to focus magical energies, the latter of which are often hung from the shaman's drum as a display. Cheating a shaman, or otherwise drawing their offense, is definitely not advisable.

Music plays an important role in Ukian shamanism, and many spells are cast in the form of songs, not unlike traditions of bardic magic. However, not all Ukian songs are magical in nature, and shamans make use of the same motifs and instruments as more mundane songs. This music is characterized by a form of animalistic chanting called joiking and the beating of a reindeer-hide drum. Shamans often work such performances into rituals, in which they work themselves up into a trance, during which they pursue audiences with spirits or allow them to possess their bodies so that they may work their skills.

In fact, a Ukian shaman drum has many uses, and they are not limited to the use of shamans. Every yurt has one, each of them one of a kind and passed down from generation to generation; when a new yurt is built, a new drum is made and consecrated in a special ritual to imbue it with power. These drums are inscribed with runes and diagrams so that when a pointer made of metal or bone is placed on the drum's surface and the drum is tapped with a hammer, the movement of the pointer can be interpreted as an oracle. For instance, if the pointer points to an image of cattle, and then an image of arrows, it may be interpreted as a sign that disease will strike the herds. Ukians use shaman drums in such a fashion to plan journeys, predict the future, and guide them through difficult decisions. Though anyone can use shaman drums in such a fashion, Ukian families are fiercely protective of their drums, and refuse to let them fall into the hands of enemies. Many carry powerful curses that afflict those who would steal them...

Ukian Shaman Drum

Wondrous Item, common

Art by Kati and Teemu Paananen

If a pointer is placed on the surface of this drum and it is hit with a hammer, the motions it takes and the images it point to can be used to tell the future. Once per day, a Ukian shaman drum can be used in a ritual that takes one hour to perform in order to cast Divination. Alternatively, a user who is attuned to the drum can use it as a spell focus or to cast Foresight, Contact Other Plane, or Scrying once per day using a ritual that takes one hour to perform. Only one spell can be cast using the drum per day. Only Ukian shamans can attune to the drum.

Monday, April 8, 2024

The Ukian Way

For the Ukians, the yurt is more than merely a shelter from the elements. It fits that role, yes - a circular lattice of flexible wooden beams draped with felt and animal skins, providing a dwelling that can easily be assembled and disassembled so that its parts can be carried wherever its owner goes. But the yurt is also the core unit of the Ukian people, and their way of life. Each is home to an extended family, typically headed by the patriarch of a clan and including all his sons, their wives, his unwed daughters, and his grandchildren. All of them dwell in the tent, returning there to take meals and to sleep on the floor beneath furs. It is thus a place of meeting where the family comes together after the day's work is done to sing songs, drink mead, and make plans for the next day. It holds all of their belongings, and all of their livestock are kept not far from the tent. The family may change as elders grow old and die, as warriors are slain, and as daughters leave one yurt to marry into another, but the same belongings, the same wealth, and the same yurts all stay in the family and are passed down for as long as they remain viable, communally owned by all members of the family, who decide on what to do with them by mutual agreement (though this is often guided by advice from the patriarch).

Sometimes if a family grows too big to fit within a single yurt, they may split off and build yurts of their own, but they usually still travel with their kindred, unless great offense forces them to separate. So too, after two families are married, it is not uncommon for their yurts and herds to travel together. A group of individual families joined this way makes a clan; a group of clans united by a common ancestor or way of life makes a tribe. The Ukians take their geneology very seriously, and they keep meticulous records of who belongs to what tribe - any Ukian can trace back their ancestry to their clan and tribe, and the leaders of the tribes - the Khans, usually generals appointed by the elders of the clans for their leadership and skill in battle - know the clans under their command.

It is only recently that Ukiah saw its first Great Khan, a leader capable of uniting all the tribes under his banner. But even then, the structure of tribe, clan, and yurt has not been forgotten. As a matter of fact, because these systems of relation and loyalty arose to help promote communal effort and mutual survival in the harsh lands of Ukiah, they also provided the perfect framework for organizing an army. Much like a general commands several lieutenants, who each commands several warriors, a Khan commands the heads of several clans, to whom the elders of each family turn for advice. Indeed, it is not unlike a feudal system, though it is not tied to land. The family goes wherever they go, making long journeys between the grazing lands in the north when they will sustain their herds in the summer and the forests of the south when they must take shelter from the cold winters.


Tall and slender, fair in both hair and skin, and dressing in furs and hides, the Ukians could be mistaken for elves, and it is thought that they may have some elvish blood, far back. They are not a people of great wealth and splendor. They are practical folk - their home is a brutal one, and they must make do with what they have. Without the means or the lifestyle to grow crops or extract ore, they must live off the land; they forage for food and raise animals for meat, milk, and hides, including cattle, sheep, reindeer, horses, and (in the mountains) llamas. While they will trade with the occasional caravan for luxury goods, often dealing in furs and ice from the mountains, they cannot expect this to be a regular occurance, especially in times of war - which have grown more and more common with the pressure of raids and the encroaching occupation of the Vardessians and Kvessians, though some clans maintain trade deals with their settled neighbors. Instead, the Ukians have a robust wealth of knowledge of what plants can be eaten, where to go to find medicinal herbs, how to navigate the trails, and how to survive for long periods in the cold. As the Ukian winters are harsh, cold, and snowy, they have even developed a means of running across deep snow, placing minimal pressure on the ground at each step to avoid sinking.

And of course, they are quite apt on the battlefield. Every Ukian trains in archery and riding, and the arts of wrestling, falconry, and knifeplay are highly valued as well. Not only are they skilled hunters, they are also fierce fighters, and the able-bodied men and women of any yurt will not hesitate to take up arms in its defense. Every Ukian family is a hunting party and a military unit if it needs to be, and when they count orcs among their neighbors, this is a necessity. So much more the better, when their close familiar ties ensure their cooperation.

Predictably, the Ukians most commonly are worshipers of Kerne, god of war and the hunt, and Volos, the god of cattle and herdsmen. Many follow the Old Faith as well, and there is much debate as to which of the powers they invoke are deified ancestor and nature spirits and which are manifestations of the gods - perhaps it is a mix of both. They do not have free-standing temples, and their altars usually take the form of carved wooden poles or stones bearing holes for libations. Ukian worship is often a brief and simple affair, with warriors making personal offerings for good fortune but little in the way of rituals. Unless the shamans are involved, that is...

Background: Ukian Tribesman

Suggested Names: Saami names

Weapon Proficiencies: All simple weapons

Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival

Tool Proficiencies: Artisan's Tools, one musical instrument of your choice.

Languages: Ukian

Equipment: A hunting trap, a set of travelers' clothes, a shortbow, a quiver with 20 arrows, and a pouch containing 10 GP.

Feature: Survivalist. Deep snow does not count as difficult terrain for you. Additionally, you are familiar with any natural features, trails, and resources in territories you have been previously, and can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth. You also can expect your yurt, clan, and tribe to shelter you, assuming you have not done anything to offend them.

Friday, April 5, 2024

Friday Encounter: A Pilgrim's Burdens

This encounter should be used when the PCs are on a road, on a journey from one place to another along the route. It will have the most impact if the system you're using has encumbrance rules and if the players track them.

Dark Souls III

While traveling the road, the party should cross paths with an old man heading the same direction they are. He has a long white beard, and he wears a wide-brimmed hat and a weather-beaten cloak pinned by a seashell; a DC 7 Religion check will indicate that this is the mark of a pilgrim. His back is bent and stooped over with age, and he teeters along on a walking stick. Most notable, however, is the fact that he is carrying a great load of bags on his back, clearly struggling against their weight - his body shudders as he moves, and the bags bulge from the load shifting around inside of them. As he walks, one of the many satchels he carries on his back splits open, and a few gold coins and jewels spill onto the road behind him; he continues on his path, seemingly unaware of this.

The "pilgrim" is, in fact, Meili, the god of roads and travelers. Characters that pass a DC 15 Religion check will know that Meili often walks the roads in disguise to test the virtues of mortals; clerics or paladins of Meili, or characters with the Acolyte background that belonged to an order devoted to him, will know this automatically. As a matter of fact, Meili intends to test them through this encounter.

If the PCs ignore the pilgrim, nothing of note happens - but as soon as he is out of their field of vision, the next time they look in the direction he was, both he and the spilled wealth are nowhere to be seen. Nothing else happens.

If the PCs attempt to help the man carry his burdens, or point out the money he's dropped, he will be grateful for their aid and commend them on the care they are willing to show another traveler. He mentions he is on a pilgrimage to a shrine not far from where the party is headed to, and asks to join them, citing that a weary old man like him is at the mercy of bandits and the elements if he was to make the trip alone. Optionally, you could spin this out into a whole escort mission, introducing other encounters along the way (such as an attack by highwaymen, or a rickety bridge that the man is liable to fall from); at each step along the way, Meili will be judging the PCs for their honesty and their courtesy to their fellow wayfarers, especially those weaker than they are. He will also ask them questions about who they are and where their journeys have brought them - but he may make reference to information about the PCs' pasts or other adventures that they have not shared, indicating he is more than he seems.

Once the PCs are within sight of their destination, when they are out of sight of any onlookers, Meili reveals himself. He tells the party they have passed his test and that they display all the virtues an honorable traveler would. As a reward, he will grant them a blessing - the next time they embark on a journey of similar length, they will find they are able to make it in less time than they anticipated, and arrive at their destination in half the time it would take them otherwise.

If, however, the PCs try to steal the man's treasure, or attack him or otherwise accost him, Meili will be displeased. He suddenly rises to his full height with strength and spryness defying his apparent age, and announces in a booming voice that the PCs are cruel and callous ruffians who would take advantage of an old man, no better than bandits. He will then inflict a curse upon them that they may bear the weight of their sins!

PCs receiving the curse will find that the weight they are carrying is unnaturally heavy and cumbersome. The weight of all the items in their inventory is multiplied by three if they tried to steal the pilgrim's wealth without him noticing, or by five if they attacked him. If using other encumbrance systems, feel free to come up with a suitable effect that carries the same penalty (for instance, for a slot-based encumbrance system, the PCs may lose two-thirds or four-fifths of their slots). Alternatively, PCs traveling under the increased load take a level of Exhaustion each day unless they abandon two-thirds or four-fifths by weight of their inventory. As this is an act of divine intervention, a remove curse spell or similar effect will not alleviate the curse; it will only go away when the PCs reach their destination, hopefully having learned something from the ordeal.

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

The Howling Steppe

There is nothing worthwhile to be found in Ukiah, so the wisdom goes. It is a wild land of rugged mountains, deep dense forests, and endless plateaus, where beasts roam free and men live like orcs. Even the Northmen are more civilized than the Ukians - they at least have towns and villages.

The Ukians, meanwhile, are nomadic pastoralists, living off the land and driving their herds of cattle, horses, sheep, and reindeer from one meadow to the other as the seasons change, their settlements little more than camps of yurts gathered around a communal pasture and likely to be somewhere else in a month. They dress in leathers and furs, they fight with bows, spears, and knives, and they are just as wont to raid their neighbors as trade with them.

Art by Gambargin
In truth, the Ukians' way of life was shaped by circumstance. The northern lands they dwell in have poor soil, and the terrain is foreboding - to say nothing of the brutal winters, where temperatures can drop below freezing even out on the treeless plains. So too, they count among their neighbors the goblins of the Great Wyrm Ridge, the Northmen to the west, the elves of the deep woods, and the Northborn Orcs of the Icy Coast, subject to their predations and caught in the middle of their wars. To survive in such a harsh climate, they were forced to make do with what they had. Forced to fight for their lives, they became ferocious warriors; every Ukian, it is said, trains in the bow from the day they can walk. Forced to forage for food, they became keen trackers and hunters - it is said that every Ukian knows what herbs and roots are edible, how to harvest syrup from trees, and how to pursue tracks through the snow. They are not merely barbaric rabble - their society is surprisingly regimented, with every tribesman knowing their place in the hierarchy of their clan and the role they have to play. They have no other choice; if they weren't so strict, they would surely perish.

The fearsome reputation of the Ukians would soon become known to their more settled neighbors in Kvesland and Vardessy - they made periodic incursions on their frontiers, raiding villages for crops and valuables. For the most part, however, they were of relatively little concern - their attacks were infrequent, the borders were well defended, and the Ukians waged war among one another often enough to keep them too busy to mount any organized threat.

That was, until the unthinkable happened.

In the last forty years, a great warlord rose up among the Ukians, by the name of Jahken Khan. Through a series of conquests, alliances, and political marriages, he managed to unite the various Ukian clans, organizing them into a formidable army. And it was that army that struck Vardessy with incredible force, driving many from their homes and even managing to claim several of the very fortresses built to defend against Ukian incursions.

Scrambling to defend themselves against this threat, the armies of Vardessy and their Kvessian allies were able to reclaim the lost territories and beat back the Ukian hordes. They made considerable incursions into Ukiah, establishing a system of marches and allotting the land to their nobles. This was a task of necessity, and one geared more toward strengthening the border than for any economic value brought by the land, but there were enough would-be settlers to volunteer for such a goal - second sons of noble families in need of their own manors, rootless mercenaries rewarded for military service, and even criminals who fled to the Marches to escape the law. Over time, these settlements were able to keep the hordes at bay, and the attacks have since dwindled.

Of course, the fighting is not over. The Khan's son, Kostten Khan, has since taken over his position, and already he has made great claims toward restoring his family's glory, with some clans hailing him as a prophesized leader who may yet eclipse even his father. The settlers have bred resentment in the Ukians, disrupting their trails and grazing lands, and many disaffected tribes have flocked to the Khan's banner.

Yet, settlement has not ceased either. There are still many reaches of Ukiah that are yet untamed, and many trails that have yet to be charted. Local nobles offer hefty prizes for those who return from such expeditions, and many have felt this is the opportunity they need to win their fortune and to make a name for themselves. But how long will such arrangements be feasible before another war breaks out?