Metal of Arkad - World Building
Welcome everyone to the start of a new campaign. I’m doing things a bit different this time. I’ll be creating a whole entire world from scratch using the Pendulum World Building by Tales of the Manticore. With this game, you can create a city from nothing and give it a rich history.
Check out the Pendulum World Building Assistant here!
This post is a bit longer than normal, so strap in, grab a tea, and enjoy. Next week we will get stuck into an Assassins Creed style game using Order of the Falcon by Eric Dill.
Pendulum works by offering a prompt and having you flip a coin, heads or tails change the development of the city and region.
Phase One: Beginnings
Year 1: We took this land from those who could not defend it. Chief Nakuru led our people over the mountains and into this valley. Copper is what we were after. The valuable metal allowed us to create weapons stronger than stone and wood. Those who lived here had no knowledge of how to work the metal, but Chief Nakuru knew, and we fell upon them.
Chief Nakuru - Age 25
Year 4: Our settlement grows and prospers. We all contribute to building the town. The copper is pulled from the ground, and our buildings rise to the sky. We name the city Arkad after our most beloved god.
Chief Nakuru - Age 28
Year 15: The world is dangerous. We cannot trust our war bands alone. Chief Nakuru decides that we build a wall, but he grows bored with the work quickly. All that is built is a weak wooden palisade.
Chief Nakuru - Age 39
Year 24: The copper mines around Arkad are depleted, but more copper is found in the foothills and mountains. Chief Nakuru commands mines be established there and roads be built. The town prospers and grows.
Now at Village stage - 200 people
Chief Nakuru - Age 46
Year 31: Chief Nakuru has gone to the gods. Our healers do not know how he died. It is and will be a mystery. Some say it is due to the bad airs he breathed in. Some say bad magics infected him. Some say he was cursed. We may never know. His many children squabble over who is to rule.
Mystery - How did Chief Nakuru die?
Year 32: It does not take long for Chief Nakuru’s many children to resort to violence. Copper daggers flash in the night. Houses are burnt, and people are strangled. One stands on top of the corpses to take control of the town of Arkad. Her name is Saba.
Chief Saba - Age 25
Year 52: Chief Saba has led the village of Arkad in a great prosperous expansion. Under her rule, our smiths discovered that by combining tin with copper, a stronger metal named bronze is created. Arkad dominates the trade of bronze, bringing new people to the town.
Now at Township stage - 1,000 people
Chief Saba - Age 45
Year 64: A neighboring settlement named Dur-Kurigal has become an important ally. The settlement is located down valley and hugs the great sea. Tin enters Dur-Kurigal, and we use their port to ship bronze to all parts of the world.
Chief Saba - Age 57
Year 66: Mountain tribes who have distrusted Arkad for years start to push back against mine expansion. Despite her advanced age, Chief Saba leads a war band in glittering armor into the mountain and crushes the tribes. They pay tribute to Arkad.
Chief Saba - Age 59
Year 72: In a deep copper mine, we have found jewels! They are rare, but the few that are found are worth a ton of copper ore. Chief Saba orders expansions of the mines where the jewels are found.
Chief Saba - Age 65
Year 79: Great prosperity for Arkad! Crops from the surrounding lands, trade goods, and people moving to the town have led to an increase in prosperity and population.
Now at Small Town stage - 3,000 people
Chief Saba - Age 72
Year 80: Chief Saba is dying. She has reached an unusually old age, and people begin to believe she is part god. But she gathers the elders and tells them she will not be long for this world. She has no children, so she picks who she feels is the best candidate and a major reason for the prosperity of the town, the Leader of Mines, Nezzi.
Chief Saba - Age 73
Leader Nezzi - Age 35
Year 95: Leader Nezzi learns from Chief Saba for years, but she eventually dies of old age. Nezzi becomes Chief and begins a project of improving the defenses of the town. He brings rocks down from the mines and builds an impressive wall around the city.
Chief Nezzi - 50
Year 113: A town in a neighboring valley named Nippur has sent envoys to Arkad to establish relationships. They propose building a road over the mountains to help establish trade between them. Chief Nezzi agrees, feeling new trade partners will benefit the city.
Chief Nezzi - 68
Year 115: Chief Nezzi knows his time in the world is short, and he will soon go to the gods. Recognizing the importance of bronze to Arkad, he orders the construction of a massive forge at the center of Arkad. It is a wonder to all who visit and will be a benefit to all of Arkad. The city grows and prospers. Chief Nezzi informs people his daughter Ninli is his successor.
Chief Nezzi - 70
Now a Town - 6,000 people
Year 222: Chief Nezzi goes to the gods, and his daughter Ninli becomes Chief. This year a foreigner from a far-off city comes to Arkad and brings a new metal called Iron. Chief Ninli immediately understands the importance of this new metal and orders research into where it can be found and what it can be used for.
Chief Ninli - Age 30
Year 226: Chief Ninli spends years researching and discovering the secrets of Iron. She hears rumors that there are large iron deposits high into the mountains. An expedition is formed, and Chief Ninli leads it. It disappears, never to be heard of again.
Mystery - Where did Chief Ninli’s expedition go, and why did they not return?
End of Beginning
Arkad Resources: Copper, Gems
Known Communities: Port of Dur Kurigal, Nippur, Mountain Tribes.
Locations of Interest: Mountain Copper and Gem Mines, Great Northern Mountains, Great Forge, Old Copper Mines
Phase Two: The Middle Ages
Year 229: Members of Chief Nezzi’s extended family jostle for control. It eventually leads to internal strife and riots in the streets. Parts of the city are severely damaged in a massive arson attack. In order to stop the chaos, several powerful noble families band together and choose Chief Nezzi’s nephew, Arar, to lead the city. He does not take the title of Chief but instead a new title of King.
King Arar - Age 35
Year 245: King Arar leads Arkad in a time of expansion, at least for the noble families and merchants. The King taxes the population heavily to invest in a new network of roads into the mountains and regions that mine iron. Not all are happy with the direction the city is taking. Cults and sects are created, praying the god of Bronze Marduk.
Secret: A new cult to the God of Bronze Marduk begins in the city.
King Arar - Age 51
Now at Large Town stage - 12,000 people
Year 262: King Arar formally renounces the God of Bronze Marduk and instead declares the city, which he now calls his kingdom, will worship the God of Iron, Ashur. He constructs a great shrine to Ashur on top of the Great Forge. Behind the King always is a mysterious person from the far-off lands where Iron is mined, guiding him.
Secret: Who is this person guiding the king, and where do they come from?
King Arar - Age 68
Year 263: King Arar announces the discovery of a great new resource. A crumbly rock often discarded by miners, the tradespeople of Arkad have discovered this rock can be burnt for extraordinary amounts of heat. Also, when used in the process of forging Iron, it makes the metal much stronger. Arkad has discovered coal in the mountains.
King Arar - Age 69.
Year 270: King Arar has died. His daughter announces herself as Queen as soon as the king dies. In fact, some say she hurried along the old King. Queen Erere is a devout follower of Ashur and orders the construction of many shrines and temples to the god in her first year. Worship of other gods is outlawed, and those who follow the sect of Marduk are persecuted.
Secret: The king, while old, was healthy until a few days before his death. Was he helped to exit this world?
Queen Erere - Age 31
Year 290 - Queen Erere expands sets her eyes on the heart of the city, the Great Forge, with Ashur on top and decides to make it a bigger expression to the god. She spends much coin on expanding the Forge and the statue on Ashur at its top.
Queen Erere - Age 51
Year 302 - Queen Erere demands a town be constructed into the side of the valley to better control the mining of coal, which has surpassed copper in value and activity. The town of Kadu is established.
Population size now Small City - 25,000 people
Queen Erere - Age 63
Year 313 - Queen Erere is assassinated in her sleep by a cabal of iron and coal merchants that were tired of her restrictive taxes and religious laws. The people of Arkad are not upset, understanding the Queen was soon to be with her god and was becoming increasingly erratic. The merchants install a distant cousin of the Queen to take control. King Abuk is still a boy and easily manipulated.
King Abuk - Age 12
Year 332 - Under King Abuk, the merchants are given control of most of the city's affairs. Great strides are made in the creation of weaponry. With Arkad making the best blades in all of the known world.
King Abuk - Age 31
Year 336 - War! From the Great Northern mountains pour countless warriors from frozen tribes calling themselves the Ursang. Arkad soldiers are mobilized and meet this horde.
King Abuk - Age 35
Year 338 - Great battles are fought near the mining town of Kadur. King Abuk himself leads a charge into the horde's lines, throwing them back. The victory is only temporary, and the tribes come back next summer.
King Abuk - Age 37
Year 340 - The war rages, and the merchants demand the king end it. A peace is created with the mountain tribes. The city of Arkad pays out immense riches to keep the Ursang at bay. The coffers are drained.
King Abuk - Age 39
Year 343 - King Abuk hears word of the mountain tribes uniting under the banner of the Ursang. They have used the coin from Arkad’s tribute to convince other tribes to join. They aim to destroy anyone who desecrates the God of the Mountain as the Arkad do with mining.
King Abuk - Age 42
Year 359 - King Abuk is disposed of by a council of Merchants. They have been unhappy with his conduct during the war. In his place, a new leader is established. Not calling herself king, Councillor Llith leads the city into a new age of prosperity.
Councillor Llith - Age 40
Population size now City - 45,000 people
Year 364 - While the city of Arkad has plans for new fantastic buildings, the war put the city into severe debt. No construction can start.
Councillor Llith - Age 45
Year 374 - Councillor Llith has passed to the God Ashur after a long and disastrous illness. The Council of Merchants is unable to decide on a new lead Councillor, leading to chaos and political backstabbing. The city is aimless.
Year 383 - After nine years of trying to run the city as a council, a great merchant steps forward to take on the title of First Councillor. First Councillor Namzabi has traveled the world and made many riches. He uses his money and connections to smooth the transition. The people love him and his tax relief.
First Councillor Namzabi - Age 35
Year 390 - First Councillor Namzabi leads Arkad into a period of great prosperity. Borders expand, harvests increase, and trade doubles.
Population size now Large City - 65,000 people
First Councillor Namzabi - Age 42
Year 407 - First Councillor Namzabi marries the daughter of another merchant counselor, creating a merchant clan that controls half the trade in the city, including the lucrative coal trade.
First Councillor Mamzabi - Age 59
Year 414 - A priest of Ashur declares a disaster will occur. The Ursang tribe from the north will return. And this time, the city will be unable to stop them.
First Councillor Mamzabi - Age 66
End of Medieval Age
Arkad Resources: Copper, Gems, Coal, Weapons
Known Communities: Port of Dur Kurigal, Nippur, Mountain Tribes. Town of Kadu (colony recently rebelled)
Locations of Interest: Mountain Copper and Gem Mines, Coal Mines, Great Northern Mountains, Great Forge, Old Copper Mines
Enemies - Ursang Tribe, Pirates
Factions in Arkad - Merchant Families, Cult of Marduk, Church of Ashur.
Modern Age
Year 416 - The Church of Ashur has started speaking out against the great wealth of the Merchant families. The population is starting to listen.
First Councillor Mamzabi - Age 68
Year 423 - First Councillor Mamzabi, in one of his last acts before his death, orders another wall to be built around the city. Securing it from fresh invasions.
First Councillor Mamzabi - Age 75
Year 428 - First Councillor Mamzabi dies peacefully in his sleep. He is succeeded by his daughter, now First Councillor Ninli. The Church of Ashur continues preaching against the merchant families. The population seeks a simpler time and starts to resent the wealth of the merchants.
First Councillor Ninli - Age 32
Year 431 - The city of Arkad celebrates! First Councillor marries Prince Bila of Dur Kurigal. The two cities are united in alliance, in order to protect and strengthen both.
First Councillor Ninli - Age 35
Year 435 - The Church of Ashar create a secret society called the Way of Iron. Society will work behind the scene to bring Arkad back to the way of Ashar. The Cult of Marduk still operates in shadows.
First Councillor Ninli - Age 39
Year 449 - The colony town of Kadu revolts against Arkad. While Arkad has seen great wealth, Kadu remained a forgotten mining town. The people despised being controlled by Arkad and attempt to break free.
First Councillor Ninli - Age 55
Year 458 - The Way of Iron strikes and takes over control of Arkad. First Councillor Ninli is imprisoned and then executed. The city is now ruled by High Priest Samila. The population are restless under this new leader and resists. The Way of Iron instils traditional values on the city.
High Priest Samila - Age 51
Year 474 - After years of rule from the Year of Iron, the people rebel and set fire to the temple district. The main temple of Ashar is burnt and with it High Priest Samila. A new FIrst Councillor is appointed.
First Councillor Lila - Age 43
Year 475 - First Councillor Lila declares a yearly event that commemorates Arkad’s deliverance from the Way of Iron. It is a huge celebration that the whole population loves. It is called the Arkadfest.
First Councillor Lila - Age 44
Year 472 - A member of the Ursang Tribe is captured, a huge brute of a man named Namur. Under duress, he speaks of the Ursang and their tactics. Arkad’s military will be prepared when they meet them next.
First Councillor Lila - Age 46
Year 473 - An explorer named Isal sets off into the Great North, looking for Chief Ninli’s expedition. After a year she returns with stores and an artefact from the expedition. Isal says it was found in a deep underground cavern.
First Councillor Lila - Age 47
Year 476 - Dur Kurigal goes to war against pirates on the ocean. As Dur Kurigal is allied by blood and an important trade partner, Arkad sends aid and purchases mercenary contracts to help.
First Councillor Lila - Age 50
Year 478 - Dur Kurigal cannot hunt down the pirates and after two years they call off the war. The pirates return to harass shipping, damaging Dur Kurigal and Arkad’s economies.
First Council Lila - Age 52
Year 482 - The Cult of Marduk reestablishes itself in the city publicly. It performs a spell (or a trick) to turn the massive statue of Ashar from Iron to Bronze.
First Councillor Lila - Age 56
Year 485 - The Cult of Marduk conduct extensive archaeological digs in the city, looking for its past. They said to have uncovered the sword of Chief Nakuru himself.
First Councillor Lila - Age 59
End of Modern Age
Arkad Resources: Copper, Gems, Coal, Weapons, Trade
Known Communities: Port of Dur Kurigal, Nippur, Mountain Tribes. Town of Kadu (colony recently rebelled)
Locations of Interest: Mountain Copper and Gem Mines, Coal Mines, Great Northern Mountains, Great Forge, Old Copper Mines, Archaeological sites under the city, Deep Dungeon in the Mountain, Great temple (burnt)
Enemies - Ursang Tribe, Pirates
Factions in Arkad - Merchant Families, Cult of Marduk, Church of Ashur.
People of interest - First Councillor Lila, Explorer Isal, High Priest Irkal of the Way of Iron, Chief Adherent Galuni of the Cult of Marduk
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Well, that is it! We have three factions to pick from, a few people of interest, and a lot of locations to explore. Be sure to tune in next week when I’ll do character creation and start the story!
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Check out Queenless today - Bee the hero you always were meant to be.
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