CONSTRUCTION & SIEGE (MINING) CONSTRUCTION & SIEGE (CONSTRUCTION TIME) HUMANOID RACIAL PREFERENCES TABLE maximum number of miners, by race, per 10’ wide shaft is shown below; Basic Acceptability Of Racial Types increase the number for wider or narrower shafts accordingly, although any Hill miner larger than man-sized needs a 10’ minimum width in which to work. Race Bugbr. Gnoll Gob. Giant Hob. Kob. Ogre Orc Troll Bugbear P T* G T A* A* T A* N Maximum Number Gnoll T P A* T N A* G T* N Race Per 10’ Wide Shaft Goblin G A P N T G H N A dwarf, gnome, goblin, halfling, kobold 16 Hill Giant G G A P A A G N* T hobgoblin, human, orc 12 Hobgoblin T N N* N H** A* A T* H gnoll 8 Kobold A H G A A P H A T ogre 6 Ogre T T* A* G A* A* P T* T giant, any type 4 Orc A N T* A N A* G H** H Troll A N A T H T N A N** Multiple Shifts: There is no reason to limit work to one-third of the day. If there is need, construction can be carried on 24 hours per day, as long as * Indicates that the race will bully and harass such humanoids. there are enough fresh workers every 8 hours to do so. No worker may toil more than 8 hours per day. ** Assumes that the others of this race are of a rival tribe or family group. Natural Area: Where natural passages and cave/cavern space exists, there Notes On The Table: can be no work, or minor work only to straighten, enlarge, or whatever. Computing the amount of rock necessary to be mined for such passages or P: P indicates some preference and compatibility or even possible friendliness spaces is no great matter. The existence of such natural areas is another matter between them with appropriate co-operation. altogether. You can always assume that the basically subterranean races of creatures discover such natural cave areas and select them purposely. For G: G indicates that some goodwill exists, and so no hostility and some co- player characters, you might wish to allow the following chances for finding a operation is possible. natural cave area: T: T indicated the races can tolerate each other, and open hostilities are not Type Of Rock Being Mined Chance for Natural Space likely to be evident. limestone (very soft) 1 in 10 other sedimentary rocks (soft) 1 in 50 N: N indicates neutral negative feelings on the part of these races, and that lava (hard) 1 in 20 there will be no move to aid them if anything ill befalls. other igneous rocks (hard) 1 in 100 A: A indicates antipathy and an active dislike which will break into open The size of such natural areas will typically be small to very large and with hostility if the opportunity presents itself. If leaders or overseers are weak, many passages in the case of limestone only. Igneous rock areas will be short these creatures will desert. passages or small caves only. Lava area spaces will tend to be tubes, often fairly large and long. Other sedimentary areas will be smallish and not H: H indicates hatred, possibly kept in check by fear, which will certainly break extensive. into open hostilities at the first opportunity, or else the hating humanoids will desert at the first chance if near a strong body of such hated creatures. General Note: As a rule, player characters will not be able to get races of creatures such as kobolds, hobgoblins, orcs, gnolls, ogres, and giants to Use the table whenever humanoid troops are fighting or even serving side by side perform mining labor. These creatures would far rather steal, rob, and kill for (within 12” of each other without any intervening troops or screen so that the their income. Fear of enslavement will sometimes prove successful for a time, but other humanoids are visible). Have the troops behave according to the letter key. guarding the unwilling miners, and the hard task of getting them to work at their optimum rate will be difficult problems for the taskmaster. Miners have tools, which make quite efficient weapons, so 1 comparable guard per 4 CONSTRUCTION & SIEGE workers is about the minimum. Slave or unwilling labor is from 50% to 80% as efficient, depending on how many foremen are on hand to watch and drive the UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION laborers. If 1:16, efficiency is 50%, if 1:12 it is 60%, 1:8 means 70%, and 1:4 brings efficiency to 80% normal. Thus, for every 4 unwilling miners there must As Dungeon Master you will be interested in the subject of dungeon building be a guard and a supervisor. Of course, if ogres were doing the work, the for two reasons. Most important is the work which will take place in various guard and the task master would have to be equal to ogres in hit dice/power underground settings you devise for your players. Work will probably be in — 4th level fighters or ogres, or comparable, for example. progress prior to their venturing into the labyrinth, during the course of their adventures therein, and even after they have moved on to some other project or CONSTRUCTION TIME task. Later, high level player characters will build their own strongholds, and they will desire some dungeon mazes thereunder. Although the volume of Earth Excavation: The cost of the ditch 100’ in length, 10’ deep, and 20’ material given herein is by no means that of a text on mining, it should be more wide assumes that a crew of 3-4 men work for six weeks. If soil is heavy clay, than adequate for quick and easy handling of the task in your campaign. time will be doubled. MINING: CUBIC VOLUME OF ROCK PER 8 HOURS LABOR PER MINER Stone Constructions: Fortress-like stone constructions take about one week per 10’ cubic section. Adding 50% to the expenditure will double the rate of Type of Rock Being Mined construction, but to triple the rate of construction, expenditure must be increased Race Of Miner Working Very Soft Soft Hard to 250% of the base cost — the maximum increase in construction rate. Normal gnoll, halfling, human 75’ 50’ 25’ stone buildings as shown on the cost list, require four months to construct, gnome, kobold 80’ 60’ 30’ including interior work. All times assume building materials are on hand. goblin, orc 85’ 65’ 30’ Quarry work and transportation, if any, are additional cost and time factors. dwarf, hobgoblin 90’ 70’ 35’ Architect costs are also additional. ogre 150’ 100’ 50’ hill giant 250’ 150’ 75’ Wood Constructions: Wooden buildings take approximately one-half the fire giant, frost giant 300’ 200’ 100’ time it takes to construct similar buildings with stone. Wooden hoardings, for stone giant 500’ 350’ 175’ example, can be built at the rate of a 10’ section per day. Multiple Workers: For game purposes, assume that each extra miner will There are so many variable factors involved that the times given for completion cause an appropriate additional volume of rock to be mined, providing that of any given construction must be vague. If you do not wish to spend undue there is room in the shaft. Assuming that a typical shaft will be 10’ wide, and amounts of time calculating, it is suggested that you use the following rough arched to a 16’ (or so) peak, including scaffolding, where appropriate, the estimates for construction time: 106 CONSTRUCTION & SIEGE (CONSTRUCTIONS) CONSTRUCTION & SIEGE (CONSTRUCTIONS) Moat house, shell keep, small castle 1 year + 2-8 months Battlement: These are the parapet (or sill), embrasures, and merlons set atop Small castle with outer and inner walls, medium a wall to provide cover for bowmen. If the surface is not broad, a catwalk (q.v.) castle 2 years + 1-6 months must also be constructed. A 14’ section of battlement will typically have two 4’ Medium castle with outer and inner walls, wide merlons and two embrasures 3’ wide. large castle 3 years + 2-8 months Large concentric castle, walling average town 5 years + 1-12 months Building, stone: This is a single course (1’ thick) of dressed or field stone with 120’ of outside walls 20’ high, with two wooden floors (second and attic), Times assume that an architect has prepared plans in advance, and that normal two flights of stairs, a peaked roof, and one wooden door. Cellar excavation, costs are expended in construction. If additional monies are spent, time is ground flooring, windows, interior walls, and additional doors are extra. The reduced as noted for stone constructions. With respect to walling urban areas, cost to increase wall thickness is 10% of initial cost per course of stone (1’ citizens who willingly labor to speed construction will reduce time by 50%. thickness). Thus, the building upgraded to 10’ thick walls (and appropriate outer dimensions) would cost 500 G.P. plus 90%, or a total of 950 gold pieces. The CONSTRUCTIONS cost of a stone building can be used for computing interior dungeon walls. Construction Cost in G.P. Building, wood: This is the same as stone building above, but walls are Arrow slit 3 framed with planks, total thickness ½’. Arrow slit, crossletted 5 Barbican 4,000 Buttress, stone: This is a wall support generally used for reinforcing the Bartizan, 10’ d., 20’ h. 300 outside surface of a curtain wall, tower, etc. To buttress a wall up to 20’ height, Batter, plinth or splay 50 the equivalent of three buttress sections is needed.