Fleshing out a mining town.

[Inchoroi]

So, I'm building a mining town as the starting location of the adventure, and the one thing I can't decide on--and can't really find any specifics about from existing sources--is whether or not I should have the iron mine be within the city limits, as it were, outside them but nearby, or farther away (.5 mile or farther).

I've not been able to find references to something like that existing save in Skyrim, but not sure if that's logical or not (yes, fantasy, but I like consistency in the stuff I create; it makes it easier for the group of players to understand everything in a general sense).

[Nifft]

Is the mine near a river?

Is the mine near the coast?

Is the mine near a road between two major cities?

Is the mine near an agricultural community?

Is the mine near a place where the tribal herdsmen set up camp every year?

Is the mine near a fortified military stronghold?

Is the mine near a foreign border, where a trade-post might be set up?

- - -

Often times a mining town is in a place where a town could reasonably be, and within some walking distance of the mine itself. So the town will be near the mine, but not directly over it, and the town will develop a secondary characteristic due to the inherent need for trade that mining entails (since most people can't eat the sorts of things that come from mines).

[Ninja_Prawn]

Generally, I would assume that mines are not in convenient places to build towns, since you can't choose where the ore is. In particular, you use the word "city". Cities need very specific conditions to grow and are unlikely to be near good mines. So, usually, a small village forms near the mine specifically to exploit it. It might even be a seasonal ghost town if the mine is inaccessible in winter or something.

Even then, if the village has been founded because of the mine, there will be some distance between them. People need clean water to drink, and mining activities create pollution. Or, you could make this a plot point - the village has expanded and now some people are drawing water from tainted supplies.

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert, just applying what I think is common sense.

[Blackhawk748]

Im going to reference Dragonriders of Pern here. On Pern they have Mine Holds which are small mining villages and from what i recall they are usually pretty close, in some cases the village is at the base of the hill/mountain and the mine is up a path out the "back". Think Bilegulch mine from Skyrim and you get the general idea. This is generally how i've always done mining communities.

[Inchoroi]

The town is in the northern territories, as it were, and was founded because prospectors discovered a large vein of iron beneath a mountain. The mountain (which I haven't named yet) looms over the town, with the mine in its side, and down the road a bit is the town. They also diverted several streams to power mining machinery, and these streams eventually lead to a larger river that leads to the sea, and the nearest shipping port, just under 200 miles away.

I think I'm going to go with that. My wife looked at me after reading the post I made and went, "You moron. They're dwarves with magic. Does it really matter that much?"

[Nifft]

The town is in the northern territories, as it were, and was founded because prospectors discovered a large vein of iron beneath a mountain. The mountain (which I haven't named yet) looms over the town, with the mine in its side, and down the road a bit is the town. They also diverted several streams to power mining machinery, and these streams eventually lead to a larger river that leads to the sea, and the nearest shipping port, just under 200 miles away. If they're on a river, then obviously they trade with people on the river.

The traders take a heavy boat down-river to the nearest big town, and then a much lighter boat up-river, buying trade goods from the agricultural communities along the river as they back north. The trip south is much faster than the trip north, of course, both because of the direction of the river's flow, and because the boatsmen might dally along the way back -- since they have money on the way back.

Depending on how ecologically destructive the machinery is -- probably not very if it's just a water-wheel -- the mining town probably enjoys river-fish and some game, as animals will go to the river to drink.

Background plot events:
- An agriculturalist or herbalist wants to farm one side of the mountain, which has the perfect light for some specific crop or other.
- A gnome wizard is trying to breed giant beavers and wants to test his creation's dam-building prowess.
- The dwarves dug too deep! A flaming blackness confronts them! It's -- coal? Yep, the coal dust is a hazard, but coal itself could be a major boon.


I think I'm going to go with that. My wife looked at me after reading the post I made and went, "You moron. They're dwarves with magic. Does it really matter that much?" Accuracy in elfgaming is a matter of utmost importance.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Accuracy in elfgaming is a matter of utmost importance.

Exactly. It's easy to believe in magic elves, enchanted dwarves and sorcerous gnomes, but if I find a diamond in a vein of sedimentary rock, it will absolutely ruin the mood of the game. :smallmad:

[Mechalich]

Since the town is on a river, and because iron is very heavy - especially if its being pulled out as ore and not smelted on site - it's probably exported by barge. So your town may have docks for barge traffic, stables for animals to pull barges back upriver (unless they float blind downstream), and a crafting community that produces and repairs barges.

If you are smelting on-site, which would be logical if the mountain is forested, you still may export via barge, but there are more options when working with ingots.

Depending on how 'natural craftsman' your setting's dwarves are, they might move into turning ingots directly into crafted products on site - especially if there's some condition that prevents the mine from being useable year-round (heavy spring rains that produce landslide risk, rampaging orc hordes, etc.). That would be a growth condition for the town.

[dragonfuit88]

I was literally just reading mine source material in the Dnd second edition Dwarves Handbook. Nothing is coming to mind that directly applies, but perhaps, if you have the ability to read it yourself you will find it helpful.

[sktarq]

Well I'd recommend coming at this from two directions.

What does the story need?

are you planning to make this the basis of a single adventure? A quick arc of adventures? the a campaign?

The longer your players are there the more stuff ythey need to be able to dig into in settlement.

are any figures needed for your adventure?

-if it is in disputed or remote territory it will need guards?

will it matter if the settlement disappears to your story?

what functions do you want this place to fill in the story - a home base between excursions? a rest stop? a place to work with sponsors /mentors, etc?

-------------------------------------

Second direction.
Ask yourself questions -

Who buys the ore?

Is it smelted locally? (if so with what fuel and who gets it)?

How do these people get food?

What are the local threats and how are they met (wildlife, water weather being your starting three).

Also ask where does the workforce come from (lots of second sons from farms? press gangs of the local duke in the city? convicts? street kinds?),

also who owns the mines-is it each person digging small claims, a single large organized pits under a local owner/a distant one? several medium sized pits each under various single owners? medium sized pits run by collectives?

How does the iron leave town (in either ore or ingot form)? by a single player or are there multiple outside connections?

Is the destination of the iron the main end user or just the main distribution point?

How important is this iron source to the local, regional, national, and international players (churches, governments, and major guilds would all have interests some in favor some against)

do things change over time? both across an adventure but also seasonally, or with the price of iron in town or with the level of war in the nearby river kingdoms-orc numbers or other variables

How good is communication with the outside world here - are their daily carriages for mail and small goods? weekly wagon trains? seasonal barge deliveries/massive wagon trains with full guard ?

EDIT: more questions: What/who was there before the mine? Include monsters etc (and what happened to them) also include those who only use the area periodically (travelers, seasonal shepherds, migrating monsters, etc)

[halcyonforever]

Mines could very well be in-town or out of town. Cases for both exist.

There are mines that are directly in towns, with the towns springing up around the mine, then being fortified to defend the mine itself. There are many more mines that are located at a distance from towns.

Here in the modern US we have towns that sprung up on top of mines. It normally ended disastrously (Pitcher, OK Centralia, PA). Although something similar in a fantasy setting could have some great inspiration.

Coal seam catches fire. Dungeon with hot spots, poison gas, cave ins, weak floor.

[Corneel]

I checked a few mining towns in my native province and most of them have their center at about a kilometer from the mine itself.

There's a good reason that mining towns might be close but not on top of the mine: the owners would want the workers living nearby enough to no spend too much time for coming to work, but also keep control of access to the mine and thus control a well defined perimeter around the entrances which can be closed off with a few guards and thugs if the rabble gets restless.

Of course if the mining operation is more communal, that might change and then there is a case to be made for the town to be actually on top of the mine (though problems of pollution as mentioned before might preclude that).

[lunaticfringe]

BAM (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Schemnitz_in_Danubius_Pannonico-Mysicus_1726_by_Marsigli.jpg)! From my understanding medieval miners and metallurgists tended to live in small communities very near or on top of a mine.