Hardbuckler was a fortified village, later a small town, populated almost exclusively by rock gnomes, located in the Western Heartlands, between the towns of Triel and Hill's Edge, favored travel stop along the Dusk Road in the mid–14th century DR.[1][2][3]
Description[]
Behind Hardbuckler's walls hid a village known for its happiness, cleanliness, and prosperity. Most buildings were small stone cottages with slated roofs, built in a seemingly chaotic manner. Each cottage had its own humble fenced garden and a sizable cellar, and its streets were roamed by livestock. The cellars were multi-leveled and big enough to house a junk room, a larder, a mushroom-growing cave, a warehouse space, and a hand-cranked elevator of gnomish design between them. The only notable streets in Hardbuckler were a ring-shaped road that ran along the inner side of the town walls and two wide avenues that split the town in two.[1]
Geography[]
A 15th century DR map showing Hardbuckler.
It laid on the Dusk Road, south of Northdark Wood and the Trielta Hills, and just north of the Reaching Woods.[1]
Hardbuckler was among the gnome settlements linked through the magical transportation network known as the Trail of Mists.[5]
Trade[]
It was a favorite location for traders along the Dusk Road, owing to the gnomes' industriousness. The town charged a single gold coin per person per day to stay or pass through and a single silver coin per beast of burden. This coin granted the visitors access to free food and water.[1]
The major industry was secure, private storage for any type of goods. The storage facilities were made secure through the work of a wizard named Aldiber Inchtawurn, who created powerful wards protecting the walls and storage facilities of Hardbuckler from moisture, mold, and spoilage.[1] By the late 15th century DR, Daelia Inchtawurn was conjuring protections – the latest among the mages who had been performing these magics for generations.[2] Hardbuckler was also an origin for many of the gnome artificers in the Realms.[6]
Additionally, the gnomes exported elaborate locks (small mechanisms, large quadruple locks, and delicate gold-plated locket jewelry locks), sturdy wooden crates (copper-reinforced, coffers, large boxes, rope handles, and removable lids), and a distinctive green seam-sealing wax sold in cloth rolls, as well as an improved recipe that made it reusable, and it changed color to green if it was tampered with by mundane or magical means.[1]
Another notable product in Hardbuckler was fungi grown in every household. fried lichen from Hardbuckler were considered to be a delicious delicacy, first boiled to soften, then fried and drowned in gravy and served with local radishes. Other local food staples included ale, wine, spiced potatoes, onion bread, and strong-flavored cheeses.[1]
Hardbuckler had no inns or taverns proper; instead, each family ran their own guest house, offering food, drink, and lodgings to the visitors. Some of the more prominent families who hosted guests in Hardbuckler were Althryn, Boldnose, Bundifeather, Eyindul, Felndar, Felold, Gornsh, Isynd, Khobbar, and Wyndass.[1]
Government[]
The town of roughly two thousand souls was governed by a council made up of gnome elders who followed the advice and guidance of the Hidden, who was believed to be a group name for a group of gnomish priests of nearby temples. Two known members were Hammas Isynd and Orival Bundifeather. The village needed little law enforcement as, apart from an occasional thief visitor, Hardbuckler had no crime.[1]
Defenses[]
Some visitors who fell in love with the small community took to spending their winters in Hardbuckler, helping the village defend itself from roving wolves, orcs, bugbears, trolls, hobgoblins, and other monsters. Unlike other gnomish towns, the only mechanisms found in Hardbuckler were twenty-six wheel-cranked triple ballistae that were placed atop the town walls to greet unwanted guests. Each of the twenty-six ballistas was manned by a cranking crew of six gnomes.[1]
Aldiber Inchtawurn's wards offered magical protections that sounded alarms and summoned crawling claws and other guardian beasts.[1]
History[]
It was named for a dwarf adventurer, who won a battle against a bugbear host on the site alongside his axe-throwing band – Hardbuckler's Hurlers. Later, the adventurer settled on the site that would become the town of Hardbuckler. The dwarf was long-dead by the 14th century DR.[1]
Sometime circa the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, Hardbuckler was to be visited by the "gnome king," as well as the Openers, a clandestine organization that sought to map ancient magical gates under the town, tied to the "wealth of Netheril." During the same period of time, a number of rental cottages west of Hardbuckler were taken by aspiring adventuring noble youths from the cities of Amn, Waterdeep, and the Sword Coast who were looking to partake in a yet-to-be-revealed adventure.[1]
Notable Locations[]
- The Pipe and Ivories, a gambling pavilion that provided gaming and served alcohol in the 14th century DR.[1]
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Moritz the Mole, an illusionist who, sometime before the late 14th century DR betrayed Hardbuckler and his family, allying himself with Sememmon's Zhentarim agents who secretly worked on overtaking the town.[7]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
Son of Thunder
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Ed Greenwood (1994). Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast. (TSR, Inc), pp. 182–185. ISBN 1-5607-6940-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roger E. Moore (January 1999). Demihumans of the Realms. (TSR, Inc.), p. 9. ISBN 0-7869-1316-9.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 156. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (2001-08-29). Mintiper's Chapbook Part 6: Trail of Mists. Mintiper's Chapbook. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved on 2010-08-03.
- ↑ Roger E. Moore (January 1999). Demihumans of the Realms. (TSR, Inc.), p. 19. ISBN 0-7869-1316-9.
- ↑ Murray J.D. Leeder (January 2006). Son of Thunder. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 3. ISBN 0-7869-3960-5.