How to fortify a Dwarven Mine? (Elfblood Wanderers players, don't read this!)

[Kid Charlemagne]

If my Geas works, you'll come back after finding those links...

Found the links, sadly they are no longer active. I have some pictures, but they are too big to attach, and too hard to see when reduced in size or detail.

Interesting Mining Facts that I picked up while searching for mine info for an adventure:

The Medieval Silver mine of Rammelsberg ran up until 1988. It had opened in 938, 1,050 years earlier.

The biggest problem for Medieval Mining was water in the lower levels - by 1450 almost all the silver mines in Europe were played out for this reason, after a century of decline. Shortly thereafter, a method of pumping out the water was devised which allowed most of the big mines to reopen.

Medieval miners knew of only 12 or so metals (as compared to the dozens that inhabit our periodic tables). I forget them all at the moment. Interestingly, platinum was discovered in the 16th century - not because it's difficult to locate or immensely rare (like most other unknown metals) but because the only place it was found in was the New World.

A good link for this sort of thing: Medieval Technology Pages

 

[mmadsen]

Found the links, sadly they are no longer active. I have some pictures, but they are too big to attach, and too hard to see when reduced in size or detail.

Aarrggghh!

The biggest problem for Medieval Mining was water in the lower levels...

That comes as no surprise. That is, after all, what drove the creation of the steam engine.

Interestingly, platinum was discovered in the 16th century - not because it's difficult to locate or immensely rare (like most other unknown metals) but because the only place it was found in was the New World.

Very interesting! Also, the gems of the time weren't cut like modern stones; they weren't nearly as brilliant.

 

[mmadsen]

A good link for this sort of thing: Medieval Technology Pages

Very cool site. It's surprising to realize that the wheelbarrow, of all things, didn't exist in Europe until the Middle Ages.

 

[Rahkan]

In terms of poisonous gas

Well there has been alot of talk of poisonous gas and how useless it is for underground complexes since it would poison the people living inside. Well I'm just thinking, couldn't you have a passage like so

________________________________
/Poison - Poison - Poison -Poison -Poison\
| Oxygen - Oxygen - Oxygen - Oxygen |

In this case the poison gas is less dense than air and so it rises to the top of the chamber and is capped. The dwarves don't have a problem since they are short enough to just breath the oxygen. But the poison does some damage to the human adventurers before they fall to the ground and recover. Its just a thought. Or you could have it the opposite way. You could have poison gas that is more dense than air (much more common I think) and the dwarves could live on raised platforms inside the large natural cavern. Anyone who didn't take the right passages would be poisoned down there.

 

[mmadsen]

Re: In terms of poisonous gas

Well there has been alot of talk of poisonous gas and how useless it is for underground complexes since it would poison the people living inside. Well I'm just thinking, couldn't you have a passage like so...

Would you honestly poison your own house, saying "I'll be fine; the poison's all above (or below) me"?

 

[mmadsen]

To get back to the original question of fortifying a mine, I think we should fall back on the obvious solutions offered up in the How would you defend your subterranean kingdom? thread. We already have narrow, winding passages. If we put in a gatehouse of sorts -- a gate or portcullis, with murder holes and arrow slits surrounding the area in front of it -- just in from each entrance -- around a corner, so they can't bring in a battering ram -- we can easily defend the area against a larger force.

That alone might be enough.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Good idea - I'll put a pair of these gates at the entrance to the mine...

Another thing I have is "tunnel fighters"- dwarven fighter rogues who work in pairs, flanking one target (sneak attack every round? nasty).

They hide in small alcoves, cubbies, and holes where metal has been gouged out of the walls of the mine.

Then, when foolish invaders walk by, they pop out, flank one, sneak attack, then disappear back into their claustrophobic bolt-holes before the invaders can react.

Naturally, they have rigged sections of the tunnel to collapse, and other "U-Bend" sections to flood. In the lower, uninhabited levels, poison gas is a real problem.

Also in the lower sections, some form of incorporeal undead probably patrol the tunnels, the ghost of miners and champions that fell to the dragon there.

Vertical shafts must be descended while arrows fly out of murder holes in the wall and/or burning oil descends from above.

I'm still open to more ideas though...

 

[Rahkan]

Re: Re: In terms of poisonous gas

Would you honestly poison your own house, saying "I'll be fine; the poison's all above (or below) me"?

Thats true, but then I wouldn't bury all my magical items with me while my offspring fight for their lives against various goblinoid nasties. And I wouldn't live in a tower if I knew a rival wizard could knock it down with a few fireballs at the base. And I wouldn't put wierd animals in my moat, or lair. And I wouldn't bury my body (as opposed to cremation) if I knew some crazy necromancer could raise me and command me to do his bidding. And I was at all intelligent (above 14 or 15 intelligence) I would never study swordplay before magic. And I definately wouldn't live underground. And if I knew there was a heaven I probably would commit suicide after the first rough patch and at the very least I wouldn't take life so seriously. I'd definately hit the temple every day. I would never summon demons and devils. So I guess sometimes a little bit of self-consistency dissappears with the fantasy genre.

I think this one has about as much risk as to the owner as the average trap. There's no wind underground after all, so the poison gas isn't really going anywhere. And its hardly going to get less dense. And it might be an interesting encounter if done right.