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Old 01-06-2021, 03:12 PM   #31
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I'll get back to this soon, but I'm busy now. Still, working on the city name Eska ath Tel'lateu'ivae is Fortress of the Rainbow in a recently made up "Elvish" language. Ost-o i eilianu is Fortress of the Rainbow in Tolkien's Sindren.

How do these work?
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Old 01-07-2021, 02:06 AM   #32
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I'll get back to this soon (...) Ost-o i eilianu is Fortress of the Rainbow in Tolkien's Sindren.

How do these work?
If you are virtually making a tribute to Flash Gordon, I guess you should involve Tolkien as well.
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Old 01-13-2021, 05:39 PM   #33
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Some notes on Daingean an Tuar Ceatha (Fortress of the Rainbow).

The city of the Hawkfolk isn't just one floating structure, It's a swarm of more than a couple of hundred floating buildings. Most of the population lives in flying buildings much like the palazzos of Venice. There is a "ground level" (the term is a relic of the past) in the Palazzos. It is generally used for shops and workshops. Warehouses are also common. The next two or three levels up are private apartments. Above these levels are the homes of the rich and powerful. These buildings have alchemical means of extracting water from the air. The higher the humidity, the more water is produced. These palazzos have large cisterns and cesspools. Alchemical means are used to turn the nightsoil in these cesspools into safe fertilizer. Side note: In time of war, these palazzos often fly over enemy camps, forts, towns, etc, and dump out their cesspools on the heads of their foes.

There are reasons people hate the Hawkfolk.

Daingean an Tuar Ceatha also has many specialized buildings. Granaries, Armories, Treasuries, Government Buildings, Temples, and the Universities (Medicine, Magic & Alchemy, Engineering and Military Science, Liberal Arts & Art). The Palace, by far the largest building has multiple functions.

More later,
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Old 01-13-2021, 07:13 PM   #34
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Are there differences in speed or maneuverability, or is any floating platform just as swift and agile as any other, regardless of size or load?

Do granary platforms descend to ground level to load up, or are they supplied by sky galleons or by individually laden Hawkfolk? If the latter choices, why?

Can the Hawkfolk construct new platforms, or is it a limited supply of existing units from a bygone age? If the latter, how intricate are the struggles over real estate and development?

Do the platforms grow any crops / livestock on site? Fish? Herb gardens?
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Old 01-14-2021, 08:26 AM   #35
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These palazzos have large cisterns and cesspools. Alchemical means are used to turn the nightsoil in these cesspools into safe fertilizer. Side note: In time of war, these palazzos often fly over enemy camps, forts, towns, etc, and dump out their cesspools on the heads of their foes.

There are reasons people hate the Hawkfolk.
I'm reminded of the "How Birds See the World" Far Side cartoon...
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Old 01-14-2021, 11:28 AM   #36
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They aren't transforming the locals into Hawkfolks, they're changing other people who've been brought to Yrth by the revived Banestorm.
Why not transform locals? Unless they are all incredibly shrewd politically, how would they know who is or isn’t a local?
And why stick to involuntary transformations? If they know how to find adventurers, there may be a number of adventurers who would willingly pay for the transformation!
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Old 01-14-2021, 04:05 PM   #37
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Are there differences in speed or maneuverability, or is any floating platform just as swift and agile as any other, regardless of size or load?
Yes, they are differences in speed, each building was individually built. Many have special tricks, most of which are flashy and useless, but most fit one of two broad patterns. First, most buildings, including almost all Palazzos, can travel at the speed of about five miles an hour in any chosen direction. This means the Hawkfolk capital is a war fleet that can cover 840 miles in a week over any terrain and the army shows up with all supplies fully rested. Second, a much smaller group can go at about forty miles an hour. As the force of the wind load on a building is no joke, they only do this when it's seen as important.

The wind is a major issue for Daingean an Tuar Ceatha . If the winds are strong enough, the city will simply go high enough to avoid collisions and drift with the wind. Weather Control spells are used to protect the city as well, but there are limits in that too. The Hawkfolk always take practical precausions in mountains, they don't like going too high, they don't have any more presure support than other humans.

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Do granary platforms descend to ground level to load up, or are they supplied by sky galleons or by individually laden Hawkfolk? If the latter choices, why?
They normally lower the granaries to about ten feet above the ground to pick up produce. But they can take loads from sky ships, or load out to them, as well. Security conditions often make ship loading preferable.

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Can the Hawkfolk construct new platforms, or is it a limited supply of existing units from a bygone age? If the latter, how intricate are the struggles over real estate and development?
The skill of constructing the sky platforms has only gotten better. However, building these platforms is a major under taking. Read up on the history of Venice, Hawkfolk families are just as sneaky and agressive in real estate dealings as the Venitions.

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Do the platforms grow any crops / livestock on-site? Fish? Herb gardens?
Most palazzos have hen houses. There are gardens, pleasure gardens for the elites, that produce fruit and edible flowers. Many families grow commom culninary herbs in flower pots. The Hawkfolk have tomatoes, Zuchinni, and a veriety of melons and peppers in these pots too, like the Naples. There are some fish ponds, but mainly at the pallace. They haven caught on yet. Much like early modern Europeans and Americans, although dairy herds are elsewhere, wealthy families keep milking animals. The rich keep cows and large (400lb.) mountain sheep, the middle classes keep goats. Some usually keeps bees, but city honey isn't popular. But the wax sells well to alchemists.
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Old 01-14-2021, 04:09 PM   #38
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Why not transform locals? Unless they are all incredibly shrewd politically, how would they know who is or isn’t a local?
And why stick to involuntary transformations? If they know how to find adventurers, there may be a number of adventurers who would willingly pay for the transformation!
The alchemist/physicians that perform the work of changing people use magic to figure it out. It is assumed that locals might be missed. On the other hand, other folk lost in the banestorms won't be missed on Yrth. Also, the Hawkfolk see themselves as doing lost people, who they assume would be enslaved, a favor.

Yes, they are chauvinistic.
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Old 01-18-2021, 04:47 PM   #39
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Some notes on how the Hawkfolk fight wars.

The first thing is the question of motives. Most groups in history have been proud to go to war for profit and prestige, the idea that war is evil is both recent and rarer than most folks think. The Hawkfolk come from a world where war for conquest was seen as a positive virtue. Most communities on their former world fought like the Mongols or the Ottomans, they destroyed the communities they attacked, took booty and slaves, and killed anyone that defied them. The Hawkfolk, while neither gentle nor just, are far more like pirates than Mongols. They prefer extortion to murder or slave taking. Communities burned to the ground can't pay regular tribute. Not that the Hawkfolk haven't burned a city or two, they just prefer the money to the work of wanton destruction.

The second important thing to remember is that the Hawkfolk are keenly aware of the advantage of flight in warfare. One of their most common weapons is a simple dart made of pottery, generally smeared with animal dung. The Hawkfolk drop these cheap missiles from well beyond bow range onto enemy troops. Mere momentum gives them considerable force. Given Hawkfolk's skill at alchemy, drugged insects present no problems to the Hawkfolk. Dropping wasp and hornet hives into fires is easy and the madded insects spread the love all around the enemy camps. Drugged ants, the nasty stinging types, are often dumped on enemy camps at night to provide an early and painful wake-up call. If you can drop it from a great height and cause misery and pain to those below, the Hawkfolk have refined dropping it,

Alchemy means that stink bombs and fireworks are also weapons. The Hawkfolk routinely drop baskets, treated to burn quickly, into enemy campfires. Alchemically designed stink bombs can drive the most hardened warriors out of their camps in misery. The baskets are also routinely filled with large brutal versions of a firework called "Jumpping-Jacks." These fly around the enemy camp spreading fire and chaos. The Hawkfolk are masters at making sure their foes can't rest or eat.


Mind you, given the Hawkfolk, have an excellent supply of flying ships, or had an excellent supply of flying ships on their homeworld, so they can simply grab stuff and drop it on their foes. Once they stole the cattle heard of a king that had tortured several Hawkfolk, and then they dropped the cattle on to the king's palace to make their feelings clear.


The Hawkfolk do train for closer quarters combat. They are skilled with bows, swords, bolas, daggers, and thrown nets. A type of halberd called a "dagger-ax" is basically a cheap sharp knife on a long pole, is a common weapon too. The Hawkfolk wear leather boots reinforced with steel into combat. Given that most Hawkfolk are long-limbed and sinewy, it makes it easy for a quick flying Hawkman to kick his foe in the face.

The third point is Hawkfolk fight to get their foes to give up and offer bribes. But they will destroy anyone who proves too stubborn or dangerous.
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Old 01-18-2021, 05:36 PM   #40
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Finally, we've found something Caithness, Megalos, and al-Wazif will all agree on: Temporary truce until we get rid of those bird guys.
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