Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. Today we infiltrate the enemy stronghold at Conqueror’s Foothold.
Conqueror’s Foothold
Conqueror’s Foothold was where the Conqueror’s Galleon, a ship of gigantic proportions capable of carrying thousands of troops, first set ashore. The plan originally hadn’t been to set the ship aground, but a storm blew up out of nowhere and forced the captain to beach the ship. Due to its sheer size, the impact on the cliffs could be heard from miles around. Since then, almost a hundred years have passed, and the conflict that the troops had with the natives when they first arrived has mostly simmered down to simple simmering resentment rather than open conflict. In another hundred years, they might even truly get along.
Lay of the Land
Conqueror’s Foothold is now a large fortress, but at the heart of the fortress, the old Galleon still sits, though the fort that’s grown up around it is now so large that no sunlight or rainwater penetrates this deep. Only the crow’s nest still sticks out of the fortress, now serving as the highest lookout point for the local guards. The leader of Conqueror’s Foothold is still referred to as “The Admiral,” though that tradition may change once the Conqueror’s Foothold’s fleet starts to grow in size beyond just a dozen ships. For the army, that is less of an issue, both because the army is much bigger (numbering nearly 1,000 strong as a standing guard, though in times of conflict another 10,000 well-trained conscripts can be added), but also because they use different titles.
Conqueror’s Foothold still sits on the cliff where the Galleon originally crashed, though it has grown considerably in size and power, with outer walls made of stone carved directly from the cliff itself, and with the tunnels now inhabited by the locals, who spend their days deep in these tunnels. Only those involved in fishing or in farming (aside from patrols of soldiers) regularly emerge from the Foothold and into the sunlight, leading many of the locals to suffer from sunlight deprivation in the past. In modern times, the Admirals have tried to combat this in many ways, by ensuring that there is active plant life inside the Foothold and by creating beautiful vistas, such as an artificial waterfall deep in the tunnels. Most importantly though was an innovation of the Admirals called the Deep Mirrors. Gigantic and highly polished mirrors have been set up at the top of Conqueror’s Foothold, directing sunlight deep into the tunnels through the use of these mirrors. Recently, the current Admiral has started updating these mirrors to be more effective, and instead of using redirected sunlight, he has had local mages create a type of portal that only allows the view through the portals so that the locals can see both sun and rain and other weather through these now-magical mirrors.
Dangers
Conqueror’s Foothold is, for the most part, safe. But it is still a city mired in the nautical history of its ancestors, so there are many sailors’ traditions that have been carried forward to modern times, including barroom brawls and the like. Sea Shanties are heard everywhere, and there are plenty of conmen trying to swindle people out of their money with “games of chanc.”. But for all that, the militia is well-trained (though a bit heavy-handed) and the army is strong. No monster has ever made it past the outermost defenses of Conqueror’s Foothold, and even the natives in the surrounding areas are reluctant to even entertain the thought of attacking the high walls.
But an undiscovered danger IS approaching Conqueror’s Foothold, as a local warlord has decided that the Foothold would serve as an excellent base of operations, especially if they believe that he is one of them. So, with the help of a clandestine network of black mages, he has gone undercover and replaced the First Mate (the title of the Admiral’s right-hand man) and is now planning on replacing him as soon as he can reasonably do so. Once he does, the days are numbered for the natives, as the First Mate wants to increase the size of his domain.
Hope to see you back next time. 😊
Kim Frandsen
I’ve dipped my hands into all sorts of games, but my current “go-to” games are Pathfinder 2, Dungeon Crawl Classics and SLA Industries. Unfortunately, while wargaming used to be a big hobby, with wife, dog and daughter came less time.
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