Setting Critique

>>54967050
4; The Tower of Dolphins. The God Poseidon charged the first Wanax with both the right to rule, and with the burden of leadership. "You must be as a dolphin to your people, guiding them through stormy waters." The Tower holds many secrets, even from the current Wanax, and only few of which have been penetrated. It also holds two prisons, one underground, another among the top floors of the tower.

5; The Barracks, for the troops of the city and Wanax. This is mainly for training and recruits. The Wanax's levies are composed mainly of light infantry, with a core of heavy shock infantry that are composed of the elite and nobleborn. It is a rare commoner or burgher who makes it into their ranks.

6; Archery Range. A recent construction, the current Wanax's father ordered the creation of a core of archers to assist the infantry with ranged support.

7; The Great Market. The original marketplace of the city, it is mandated by law to have no permanent structures, and no merchant may stay in the same place for more than a week. The Great Market is constantly shifting and changing.

8 Military Stables. There is no real cavalry under the Wanax, but there are always needs for mounted scouts and messengers. There has been talk of perhaps mounting infantry units to bring them to battles faster.

9 Port/Shipyard. The Port goes into Hippocampus Bay, and can construct new ships. It is the second largest shipyard known to the city, and more than fits the needs. The port itself is fairly busy with ships coming and going daily.

10 Naval Warehouses. This isn't just storage of goods, but also the workshops, taverns, alehouses, and other businesses that cater specifically to the port.

11, the Old Fort, Teumession. An older fort meant to help protect the mouth of the bay. It is currently abandoned with only a light patrol ever so often to keep it clear of bandits and wild animals. It was named after the fox that would not be caught.

>>54967057
12, the new Fort, Laelops. A new fort with better command of the mouth of the bay, and is kept fully garrisoned. It is named after the hound that could catch anything.

13. The Temple of Poissidon, and if not the largest, then one of the largest to the Sea God. As this is a city on the coast and with the history of the Wanax, it is the center of the city's religious life. It is here that a new Wanax is anointed with the waters of life upon assuming the throne.

14. Crafter's Quarter. The heart of what industry in the city. Generally poorer workers are here, cheaper goods that are not quite mass produced, but close to it.

15, the Manufactorium. Seeing a great need for cloth for sails and other uses, foreigners from Reme settled in the city and built a waterwheel and magical looms powered from the water flowing through the river.

16, The Granaries. The bulk of the food stored for long periods is kept here, as well as preperation. Those employed by the city come to the Granaries for their daily allotment of bread, which is part of their pay, a concept imported long ago got from the lands of the Long River. In times of war, the armies of the Wanax are supplied from the stores in the granary, rather than depending on foraging in their own lands.

17. The Lower Quarter (It needs a better name) is were the majority of the population lives. There are a few minor markets, but otherwise it is a densely populated area.

18. The Upper Quarter (It needs a better name) is where the townhouses and minor palaces of the nobles reside. Some of the larger estates may have the servants live on-site.

19. New Trade Quarter. This is where the permanent shops and markets take place. Artisans who cater to fine crafted goods, doctors, alchemists, and other 'rich' professions make their base here.

>>54967066
20. River Docks. The River Docks handle all the legal traffic along the river, of which there is quite a bit. However, the river traffic must debark at the river docks, then continue either on foot or wagon to the sea docks.

21) The Traveler's Quarter. This is where those visiting the city, or simply making a waypoint on a longer destination, would spend their time. This is where you would find the better sort of inns and taverns. This is where the majority of foreigners would be found, you also find the larger shrines and temples to other gods.

22) The Garden of Victory. The Garden of Victory is allowed access to all of the city. In it are small steles and tablets that commemorate the city's victories or major accomplishments. The latest was erected a generation ago, a small tablet in the Small Garden, describing the city's troops victorious in defense of an ally, true to their word in treaty sworn by the gods.

What do they eat?

>>54967353
The fields around the city grows primarily wheat. Meatwise, there sheep and goat herders in the hills upriver, but the primary protein source of the city is fish from the Bay and the wider Sea beyond it.

There are some cattle ranches, as well as several vineyards and the occasional olive orchard, however the output of these usually goes to the nobility or the occasional rich merchant.

The trade roads and port also bring in a large array of more exotic foodstuffs and spices, and in a time of famine a large fleet of big grain vessels came from the fertile Long River. At ruinous expense.

The city and the lands the Wanax controls isn't a big exporter of foodstuffs aside the occasional wine or bottle of olive oil, but it does have a food surplus.

Who are they at war with currently?

>>54967494
Nobody. There's skirmishes and raids across the various lands between the Wanax and the lesser kings constantly, but those never do more than hit small villages, and rarely that. The last big fight was a generation ago, and the city was not a main participant in that war, but an ally to the defender.

Across the Sea [Aegean] there are various other city-states that the Wanax lays claim to, and beyond them is a warlord who calls himself King of Kings who is conquering the famed Land of a Thousand Cities.

The other big players are the Levantine Kingdoms, the Kingdom of the Long River, and the rising power of Reme far to the west. However, due to the distance involved its usually the colonies that fight each other, not the parent nations directly.

Currently there's no warfare worth mentioning, but the situation in the lands of Not!Mycenae is fairly fluid, and the Wanax has ties of treaties to many other city states in it. This is also set before the Invasion of the Sea Peoples, so the initial moves of the Bronze Age Collapse could be playing out off-map, so to speak.

File: IMG_5685.png (573KB, 640x1136px) Image search: [Google]

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Looks like an embryo

>>54967591
>Currently there's no warfare worth mentioning
Why not? What's stopping it?

>>54967612
No real reason to fight. Harvests have been good in Not!Mycenae, and after the last war a generation ago there's been no attempts to do more than raid and skirmish, which isn't considered a breach of the peace unless sworn to forgo it.

When I say no warfare worth mentioning, I should state "Within the area of regular interaction with the city". The King of Kings is currently conquering the Land of a Thousand Cities (Mesopotamia), and they're the power in Anatolia aside the not!Greek colonies and various Levantine Kingdoms that have expanded up that way.

The Kingdom of the Long River (Not!Egypt) is very powerful and has conquered the Levantines - and lost them - multiple times. I don't suppose there couldn't be a reason why Long River couldn't attempt another conquest, but as of right now they're not.

Then there's also Reme's expansion in not!Italia, a patchwork of conquests and diplomacy. Certainly fighting out that way.

This is just a calm period of history at the moment, but nothing preventing that from changing.

What do they export

>>54967807
Vauge refined goods, bronze workings, armaments, and lately cloth. The shipyard is the second largest known (the main port of the Long River is the biggest), so many ships are also built here.

The city is rich from trade flowing through the port and the two trade roads, taking a tax on all goods going through the gates.

Then the pilgrims from the Temple of Poseidon.

Beyond that the most notable 'good' are alliances. The Wanax does command the largest standing army, their infantry is well trained and there is no other archery yard like what the city has. There hasn't been a recorded instance of a Wanax disregarding a treaty and not coming to tue assistance of its allies.

>>54967050
>Instead of getting pissed about bait threads, I figured I'd post some OC of mine
I can dig it, but don't have time for a full read right now, so bumpa.

Seems like a nicely developed location.
The potential plothooks are less obvious than I personally prefer, but overall I like it.