Re: Ehlonna and Sheldomar (still long)

Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 22:53:26 +1200
From: Craig & Julie
Subject: Re: Ehlonna and Sheldomar (still long)

>
>Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 13:12:55 GMT
>From: Paul Looby
>Subject: Re: Ehlonna and Sheldomar (still long)
>
>>So, you're postulating a seasonal "let's all go to the hills" for the
>>entire Sheldomar valley? :-)
>
>Yeah why not - load up granny and the kids on a cart and hit the road! :=
P
>
>No seriously - if you want to put seasonal floods in - then meltwater f=
rom
>the Lortmils in spring is the way to do it. I don't have the map in fron=
t of
>me - but IIRC the Sheldomar has a lot of tributaries sourced in the
>mountains which will catch meltwater runoff in spring.
>
>The magnitude of the effect downstream is another question. The topology=
of
>the river valley and the soil types there would be big factors I think (=
not
>being a geographer). It might not be an all out head for the hills - but
>there probably would be some seasonal flooding.
>That's my take on it - anyone want to add to, subtract from or just plai=
n
>napalm this?
>
>
>> What's the average height of the Lortmils? They are geologically old a=
nd
>> weathered so I'd say not so high (maybe 1000 metres with the odd high=
er
>> peak) so with the exception of a few months (at most over winter) pro=
bably
>> don't get snow very often, so probably not too much run off in spring.
>>
>Pat E wrote:=20
>The Appalacians are old as well, but the presidentials, and green mounta=
ins
>(NH, and VT) get a TON of snow, and contribute to spring flooding along =
local
>rivers (such as the Saco river, east of Mt. Washington).
While Paul Wrote:=20
>Still if you look at places like the mountains of central Spain and sout=
hern
>Italy - they get snow in winter. Not a whole lot, but enough to cause fl=
oods
>occasionally.

Both these examples are in the 40-45 latitudes (approximately the same as the lands of Iuz, while the Lortmils are closer to 30 degrees lat (Shanghai, Israel, Libya). I'm not saying that these lats. don't get snow, they do but in my interpretation of the Lortmils they don't get a lot of snow, not enough anyway to cause spring melt problems in the Sheldomar basin. I have them as similar to my local hills, they get the odd dump of snow over the winter but it seldom lasts more than a day or so, sometimes a week and it doesn't cause too many problems, there is some flooding but
that's mainly due to the rain at lower altitudes than snow. I don't see winter melt as being too much of a problem in the Lortmils. The rivers would flood occasionally but this is probably more due to rainfall than snow melt.

I have the snow line ending further north, maybe somewhere in Furyondy with falls infrequent further South.

>>The Sheldomar starts in Rushmoor and again I don't see this as a major
>>cause of spring run off, it lacks a big Mt catchment to really get a lo=
t of
>>spring melt. The Javan on the other hand probably floods a lot with tho=
se
>>Mt tributaries flowing down from the Crystalmists!
>
>Agreed on the Javan. Doesn't the Sheldomar have three or four tributarie=
s
>sourced in the Lortmils though?=20

Yep, but the Lortmils are a lot lower than the Crystalmists. I'd equate the Javan more in line with the Ganges as its headwaters are in the Flanaesses equivelant of the Himalayas, so I'd see seasonal flooding as being quite a problem in that valley, not so much in the Sheldomar one- well at least not caused by snows. I'd have spring rains causing floods more than snow melt in the Sheldomar Basin, but that's just me.

>
>That's how I see them as well. Wide dry grasslands - rain perhaps in spr=
ing
>and winter (?).
>
>>The Uleks, which I've never really developed, I'd say would again be
>>something similar - perhaps like parts of Victoria or South Australia, =
good
>>for wheat & vineyards. Intensive farming along the river valleys, pator=
al
>>sheep farming in the drier uplands.
>
>I'd go with that - but I also see occasional floods in springtime. The
>rivers might not overflow every year - but every so often they will,
>especially with a particularly wet spring after a hard winter.

Agreed. actually I've just checked my notes on Keoland & found that I've put a reasonable amount of emphasis on spring floods, so may have to reverse my argument :)Oops.

>Paul
>

Probably better you didn't:)
My geography degree has only been good for writing up countries for my AD&D campaigns!

BTW here in my take on the climate of the region, based on my incomplete write up of Keoland.

Climate
Keoland enjoys a temperate, Mediterranean style climate. Summers tend to be long, hot, dry and dusty with the temperatures often reaching into the mid to high thirties (Celsius). Winters tend to be mild with the temperature seldom dipping below freezing, except in the northern provinces.

The climate is driest in the central and western regions; areas close to the two main river valleys, the Sheldomar and the Javan, use irrigation and canals to bring water to the crops during the driest months. Gradsul and the southern coast has the highest annual rainfall. In most areas precipitation occurs mainly during the spring months when the moisture heavy south-easterly winds sweep in from the Azure Sea bringing the rains which replenishes and nourishes the soil. Summer is dry often bringing droughts especially to the inland regions. In both spring and autumn the plains are swept by fierce thunderstorms. Cumuli-nimbus clouds tower up into the stratosphere, bringing heavy rains and sometimes even tornados.

Keoland's climate is due both to its geographic location and the prevailing long term synoptic weather patterns in Greyhawk. In the winter months the prevailing winds in the Flanaess come from the north-east, sweeping down across the central kingdoms into Keoland, bringing snow to many of the more northerly kingdoms but having spent most of their force by the time they reach the Lortmils they bring little more than cold dry winds, with little or no rain to Keoland. However they do deposit some snow on the higher peaks of the Lortmil Mountains and bring frosts and cold temperatures to the northern provinces of the kingdom.

In spring the south east trade winds arrive, blowing in from the Solnor Ocean and Azure Sea and pushing the winter winds back northward. The south easterlies are warm and moisture laiden and as they meet the cold dry northerly winds they bring rain to the lands. These spring fronts bring heavy rains to Keoland and the other nations of the Sheldomar Valley for about a month during Planting but as quickly as they arrive the rains depart and the long hot summer begins.

As well as having heavier rainfall the coastal regions are also more humid than the central and northern provinces, due to the influence of the Azure Sea. Another feature of the climate of Keoland is the hot, dry Fohn wind, called the Dragon's Breathe by locals, that blows in from the Sea of Dust beyond the Crystalmist Mountains. This super-dry wind dries the land, sucking the last of the moisture out of the air as it blows down from the high mountain valleys. The Dragon's Breathe (Note: I have to come up with a better name than that one day:) brings high winds, dust clouds and scorching temperatures to Keoland during summer.

Keoland's climate has a definite north-south and east to west gradient. The central and northern regions tend to be both hottest and driest during the summer months and the coolest during winter as they are furthest from the moderating influences of the Azure Sea and so have the greatest extremes in temperature. Summers tend to be coolest in the Good Hills where the higher elevation brings cooler temperatures. During winter these hills sometimes get a sprinkling of snow but it seldom remains for more than a day or two

Geography
Keoland is a large kingdom in the South West portion of the Flanaess. The
Rushmoors form the nominal western boundary of the kingdom while in Azure Sea, some 600 miles south of these marshes form the southern boundary. To the east the mighty Sheldomar River is the kingdoms eastern border while the Javan River bounds it to the west. In the far north western corner of the kingdom the most recent acquisition to the lands, the County of Javan lies on the western shore of the Javan and this province stretches as far west as the Stark Mounds.

Most of the kingdom lies within the Sheldomar River Basin and consists of a huge plain that stretches from Gradsul in the South to the Thornwood, the capital of Bissel far to the north, a distance of some 1,000 miles.

The country generally slopes from west to east slowly rising in elevation the further west one travels. The vast plains of Keoland barely rise more than 300' in height from the Sheldomar River to the foot hills of the Good Hills, some 250 miles further west. These highlands are the only hills of any note in Keoland, and reach a peak of some 1500 feet above sea level. They are named the Good Hills for they are both fertile and have a favourable climate for growing crops and for orchards as well. Apples, pears, apricots, peaches, olives and even some citrus fruits are all grown in the valleys and slopes of the Good Hills. Beyond the hills the land falls away sharply as the hills drop down the Javan River Valley.

The most fertile soils are found closest to the Javan and Sheldomar River's where the annual floods deposits alluvial material that supplies the sustenance for the regions cops. The further north and west one travels from the Sheldomar the drier and stonier the soils get and the less suitable they become for arable farming. Instead the northern and central areas tend to rely more upon the raising of livestock, especially sheep and goats, for their livelihood.

Because the richest soils tend to be located nearest the Sheldomar Valley it isn't surprising to find that the majority of the kingdom's population live near this vital waterway, in fact more than 60% of the population live within 100 miles of the Sheldomar river, in the three main provinces of Gradsul, Sheldomar and Middlemarch. Population density is lessens in the central and western areas of the these provinces. The least populated provinces are in the far northern borderland provinces of (Javan, Rushmoor and Northmarch as well as the Southern Marches which lie between Dreadwood and the Azure Sea. The cooler, more temperate climate of the Good Hills, with its fertile soils, is also a favourable place to live so this region tends to be quite densely settled as well.

Cheers

Craig Courtis

Re: Sander's comments on the Duchy of Ulek

Date: Fri, 12 Nov 99 03:13AM PST
From: sander Add To Address Book Add To Junk Mail
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Sander's comments on the Duchy of Ulek

> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 15:53:56 PST
> From: Immaculate Image
> Subject: Sander's comments on the Duchy of Ulek

> S: And the rest of the writeup continues to totally ignore both foodstuffs and cloth, even though these are listed as resources and should thus be important.
>
> II: Good point. I should address the role of those resources in the Culture section. Anybody want in on that?

ME! ME! ME!

I have a lot of info (mostly hardcopy paper form) on Uleks & foodstuffs. I'll start posting it.

> S:Is there an offical view of Grenowen or even a write-up?
>
> II: None that I know of. That was written by Steve, and our Triad will have to develop him. Perhaps I have painted him as an idyllic ruler, as that's my impression of him, but I'm sure we'll come up with some
> character quirks to make him unique.
>
> "The opening of neighboring Celene proved prosperous...."
>
> S: Now that the GHW are over and Celene is not so open, what about the trade? As such a trade would also bring additional wealth into not only the Duchy of Ulek but also Celene, the merchants and anybody
> connected to them are going to be grumbling if it has stopped entirely, and would probably create a fair bit of smuggling. If it continues but is limited by say requiring a special royal permit or somesuch, it would create some smuggling and quite a bit of intrigue.
>
> Which are IMHO excellent story leads.
>
> II: Good point. I think the relations between the Duchy and Celene are still very good, though straining. Trade between the two is limited I think, and although smuggling might exist, anybody doing such things in Yolande's turf is taking their life into their hands. This also depends
> on how easy and navigable the Lortmils are. I know it's not the Crystalmists and humanoids are few relative to the Pomarj, but it's not a trip to the store. Taras' point about Celene Pass also complicates
> this trade issue.

Oh, definately. I never implied it would be easy. The smugglers could easily have their own routes (some smuggling may have been going on for centuries, even when Celene was closed), the smugglers can make use of magic and use subterran passages, etc.

[snip]

> "..dwarven clan leaders are said to be as rich as princes, and are approached by emissaries from Furyondy and even Nyrond for aid.
> Dwarves are not, however, susceptible to such overtures."
>
> S: Hmm... Not listed above in resources.
>
> II: that's because the dwarves have the gold, not the Duchy :)

The unallied dwarves should be discussed separately. Under a big entry of Lortmils or somesuch. Similar forany others that live in there or nearby (gnomes of Kron Hills, inhabitants of the Lorridges, etc.)

There is bound to be quite a lot of 'vagabonds'.

> "Two ancient woodlands..."
>
> S: Somebody should work on those.
>
> II: In what regard? Like developing similar to the level of detail of the Gnarley Forest present in the Campaign Guide in FtA? More importantly, ARE YOU VOLUNTEERING?

I rather meant the fairy creatures than the whole forests.

> S: [snip - roads, got to check it out on a map]
>
> II: Don't bother because they're not there. Maybe some day they'll be canon. Until then, you'll just have to look at the Darlene Map and envision them.

That's what I meant.

[snip]

>"Although the Duchy is a relatively safe land, there are the odd encounters with dangerous life-forms...."
>
> S:Way too many humanoids imho, especially considering the population toll of none. Sounds a lot more like 'small numbers of just about any small humanoid race can be occasionally be found'.
>
> II: Those little races are like roaches. They just look for some nook and cranny. When it says no humanoids I think of the bigger and more organized races considering the context of the reference. Things like orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, trolls, ogres and giants.

Hmm... could well be. But such enclaves would have to be quite a bit more oriented towards hunting, gathering and agriculture than usually. Possibly also tending a bit more towards neutral.

> S: Brown bears are omnivores. Cougars would probably live in the lortmils (but seeing as bears and lions live in mountainous areas as well - consider their former populations in italy, greece and spain) I'm not sure if there would be a niche for cougars. And I would definately leave
> coyottes out.
>
> II: You don't see a role for Coyotes? I was hesitant in thinking whether the wildlife of the Duchy would be more like Africa. I mean Lions must be somewhere in the Sheldomar, given Keoland's (and Sterich's)coat of arms.

Consider the coat of arms of various european countries. Take for example the British lion and unicorn 8-)

Coyottes afaik also don't live in so warm climates (do they live in Florida?) and afaik usually not where there are wolves.

I would still propose medierannean rather than africa for most of the duchy.

> S: This all leaves out the various neutral and good dragons. Considering the whole galore of those that exist...
>
> II: Give me an example of any which might live in the Duchy. I took those (Metallic and Gem)into consideration, and with the exception of Golds perhaps, the terrain just isn't suitable.

Let's see - Amethyst and Mist are almost certain, there may be could dragons up there in the Lortmils (esp. as there already are the Avariel), the mercury dragons are also a possibility.

We know that there is a lot of rain (mostly) and possibly also snowfall in these parts of the Lortmils. We know because there are the Lort and Kewl Rivers. There would also be lots of small streams that eventually merge with these (or don't). In the highlands (and maybe also the Lortmils) there are bound to be many small lakes at the bottom of valleys from which barely all water that gets into it in the rainier seasons manages to escape. Consider that canyons are mentioned in the Lortmils and these come to be due to running water. There could easily also be plenty of waterfalls.

[snip]

> Crocodiles, weather and Florida.

The rivers and tributaries coming from the mountains would be somewhat cooler, also cold air would come from the mountains. And AFAIK there are alligators not crocodiles in Florida. The Duchy is not near the sea, so warm sea-air doesn't come into it.

[snip]

> S: Well, this is a clear case of size-chauvinism.
>
> II: Is that sarcasm? :)

Partially. Invariantly, teh big races find the little ones to be a nuissance, if not worse.

> S: Here is a contradiction. Shouldn't the elven be droped from in front of the nobility? Otherwise Waybury and the gnomes and halflings and humans would have no political influence.

> II: Ahh, but they really don't. Using Steve's writeup, one must be an elf or half elf to be a noble. This does not conflict with saying that Grenowen isn't wise enough to realize that there are valuable people of
> other races. It's a balancing act. Cater to the nobles' self-importance, but keep the "little people" happy. Waybury is a seat of human power because the elves don't have the same grip on it IMO, as they do in
> Tringlee.
>
> S: As here is just nobility, not specificly elven nobility the previous paragraphs should be corrected.
>
> II: In the context of the Duchy, nobility and elven nobility are interchangeable.

I din't notice it being explicitly decleared that being noble meant being elven. So I would really like to contest that part:
a) the gnomes would have their own nobles.
b) the human settlers would have their own nobles. The human tribes that settled there are very unlikely to have done so if they were forced to submit to the power of the elves upon doing so. The leaders would just have gone elsewhere.

There may not be all that many of them compared to the elven ones, but they would exist.

Yet again - if the representatives of the towns and non-elven nobles are not called they have no political influence - or very little of it.

> S: How is the succession of the Duke handled?
>
> II: oohhh..it's a great mystery, since it's never happened!

But it is bound to be agreed on.

> S:The Duchy has quite a lot of gnomes in it's lands. Why not expand and (peacefully) get the dwarves to join in? Indeed, how much are the dwarves concerned who considers the surface area their own?
>
> II: You think you can get those rich and greedy dwarves to submit to an elven Duke? Not likely. Since the surface area is mostly mountainous, it's not likely anybody's gonna build a city on the surface of the
> Lortmils any time soon. It's a matter of respecting each others boundaries, and mutual hate for the bozos to the SE.

It's not clear how much anybody in the Duchy is really submitting to the Duke. The dwarves would rather be invited to take part in the gatherings of the nobles 8-)

> S:Also a good reason to prod the Lortmils dwarves to join the Duchy.
> Especially as the Duchy is providing help to other dwarves and is clearly friendly to various races.
>
> II: The political structure of the Dwarves is a different matter. I'm still trying to get a hold of Sobhrach to use his Lortmils article, which I'd like to do some modifications to. The dwarves of the Lortmils
> most likely feel closest to Prince Corond of Ulek anyway.

But the Prince is relatively far away. Also, the Prince is bound to be a lot more greedy (see above for dwarves and greed) and have a lot more clearer view of what could be found in the coffers of the Dwarves.

[snip]

> S: So the immigrants are mostly settling in and around Waybury? And there are significant amounts of them? Why isn't immigration documented anywhere?
>
> II: Well the elven nobility would be damned if all those vagabonds settle in Tringlee. There are no where near the amounts that have
There is the possibility of having them petition the lords on whose local land they want to settle as farmers, etc. A lot of the refugees would be more suited to country life that city life, wouldn't they? There would be lots of problems if they all settled in Waybury.

> immigrated to Keoland and the Gran March, but there's quite a few IMO.
> And documented where? A canon resource?

In whatever writeup is finally produced?

> S:Python???
>
> II: AHAH! I have flushed you out! Phyton's a suel power of natural beauty...something the Duchy has a lot of (unlike our garbage infested swamp dwellers to the east.. a growing joke between me and the SE1 Triad.)

You got me there. I was thinking of another god.

Sander

There is no love, no good, no happiness and no future - these are all just illusions.

Re: Taras' reply to the Duchy of Ulek

Date: Thu, 11 Nov 99 17:12PM PST
From: Taras Cranden-Guarhoth Add To Address Book Add To
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Taras' reply to the Duchy of Ulek

> II: Well Taras, that is mostly unchanged from Steve's article. And at this time, I have no good defense against your point (as I usually saty out of the history arguments). Perhaps Steve does. It is definitely clear though that there is a mix of Suel and Oeridian that dominates the Sheldomar, and
> this mix is in varying proportions depending upon whta country we're talking
> about.

Eh, it's not my area of the world, so I'm a tad behind on quotes for it.
Now, if we were talking Aerdy, I might be able to recite page numbers off the top of my head. But, we're not, and I'm feeling particularily unambitious (hey, I already had to go play with hexes, trying to get those map coords for you, what more do you want?), so I'll hunt for them some other day. :)

> II: Hehe. I brought this up with Steve as well. If such a forest did exist,
> then what happened to it? He said that perhaps Vecna had a hand in such wholesale destruction. If it was due to immigrating humans, then IMO the native elves wouldn't have had such good relations with the people of the Ulek states.

Nah, it was the Plains Elves. Then the other elves invited the Suel, Flan, and Oerids in to kick the plains elves out. The humans went so far as to drive them underground, where they eventually became the drow. That's where your forest went. :P

Actually, given some quotes about Vecna that I've been reading lately, he is the best choice for a deforester...he did sack Fleeth, and cut off everyone's head as a kinda sick joke on the people who were pleading with him to allow them to surrender. Oh, and he devestated Mara when their chieftan refused to pay the tribute of heads (why was Vecna collecting heads?) one year. Nice guy.

> T: Errr...wouldn't that leave them especially open to, say, bribery?
>
> II: But when rulers have all the power and money, who's bribing them?

Well, you don't exactly bribe the guy with no power, now do you? That'd be kinda pointless... :) As for the money, well, since only elves can be nobles, according to your write-up, do only the elves have money? Somehow, I think there are some weathy human, gnomish, whatever species merchants kicking around the place who have no titles to their name. They'd be the ones bribing the officials.

> II: What page is that info on? That seems awfully north to me (looking at the Darlene Map) and way too close to Courwood. I can't believe that the elves in Celene would allow orcs to claim that vast swathe of the Suss.
Also we (the Triad) do have some liberties with the difference between that
> reference (585 CY) and the current campaign time (591)

It's on the inside cover of the Atlas of the Flanaess from the FtA boxed set. It's got lots of political borders on that map. And, well, why the Pomarj got all that land, and what happened to Courwood was the source of at least one debate...check the archives...you might find a good answer there, one that might give you some ideas for adventures in the area. :) As for the pass, providing I did these hex number things correctly, it seems to wind through the Lortmils from hex S4-105 to R4-101. Not a huge border with the Duchy, but it does exist. Right on the only real path to Celene.

> II: Again I find it hard to believe that Turrosh Mak effectively holds land
> that north. If it is so I agree.

Who says he holds them effectively? They're humanoids...they can hold the mountains better than elves, and there are plenty of holds for them to have worked their way into...of both pre- and post-Hateful Wars construction. I find it quite concievable that they could hold the Lortmils...it did take the concentrated efforts of just about every nation surrounding that chain to drive the little buggers out in the first place, after all.

> II: Yup. I just didn't know whether to include that or not, as WG8 is "non-canon" (though I'd love to "steal" Jurnre, but it doesn't fit as a substitute for Waybury or Tringlee)

You know, that's scary. I just guessed that Rhola would be a Unicorn...I'd completely forgotten about the Jurnre entry in FoI... :)

> II: Yeah, it was. I used Steve's stuff wherever possible. And I admit I'm no
> expert on elven culture or politics, and certainly any of you "dandelion-eaters" out there are more than welcome to comment and give suggestions.I know about the trees. That was taken from the '83 box set,
and in addition considering the importance of roanwood and ipp trees, the
> descriptions from that set need to be added as well. I would like to see that 83 info on a common website so every Triad doesn't have to type the same stuff. Thanks again.

Well, hopefully, if more triads follow your lead, and post some material here, y'all can start to get an idea of how the other triads are doing the culture in the area...so you can get more info on it...it wouldn't seem right to have someone go ahead and do something resembling medieval France...and then across the river, it looks more like the Aztecs...and I'm sure players would notice that, too... :)

==
Taras Guarhoth, Sage of House Cranden
http://www.bestweb.net/~guarhoth/

Get paid to surf the web:
http://www.alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=FMU289

The Duchy of Ulek "source document"

Date: Tue, 09 Nov 99 21:32PM PST
From: Taras Cranden-Guarhoth Add To Address Book Add To
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] The Duchy of Ulek "source document"

> plains and forests between Hellfurnaces and the Lortmils. Unlike the Aerdy
> to the north and east, the Keogh tribe mixed with the Suel, and founded the
> kingdom of Keoland, and the descendants of the Uleki were given a large province on the eastern boundary of Keoland to rule. This area was

Eh, don't ask me why, or from where, but I was always under the impression that somehow, the Suel managed to remain in power over the peoples of the Sheldomar.

> Historically, the demihumans of these mountains have fought long and hard to
> drive out the humanoids and monsters, culminating in the Hateful Wars which
> led to the creation of the Pomarj, from whence many red glowing eyes look back to their "birthright" and seek to regain it. The hill dwarves, mountain

Just a note, but the Pomarj was already there...just before the humanoids waltzed in, it was a collection of petty squabbling humans (gee, not much change, other than adding an -oid to the end of the species of the rulers).

> Two ancient woodlands grow within the borders of Ulek, the remnants of the once great forest that spanned the length of the Sheldomar Valley from the Dim Forest hundreds of miles to the north, and the Dreadwood which lies hundreds of miles to the south. The Axewood is a small forest that straddles

Why does it seem like there's an effort to cover just about every bit of plains with forests in the past? Couldn't some of it have been, well, always plains? After all, the much beloved (yeah, right) plains elves had to originate somewhere.

> ruler deems necessary to deal with the issues facing the country. Cabinet members must be selected from the Elven nobility, and their upkeep is provided by their family (national taxes in Ulek are only for keeping up ambassadors and a standing army, all other taxes are set by and paid to
> local nobility). At present the Duke's Cabinet includes The Lord of War,

Errr...wouldn't that leave them espically open to, say, bribery?

> MILITARY: The military of the Duchy is small but effective, and is noted for its many high elven fighter/mages. The most common activity performed by
> the army is patrolling the plains of the Duchy, and at most times some 25% of the total force is out on patrol. At any given time, the size of the army

Personally, I'd have the main duty of the army be patrolling and guarding that mountain border, since, according to the map in the FtA Atlas of the Flanaess, the part of the Lortmils controlled by the humanoids does border on the Duchy of Ulek. IIRC, Celene Pass (linking the Duchy of Ulek with Celene) marks the northern border of the Pomarj's lands.

> promoting trust and morale among the army. And rather than maintaining expensive (and unnecessary) fortresses throughout the Duchy, patrols

In the area where the Duchy's and Pomarj's borders meet, those fortresses may not be so useless.

> Since the Greyhawk Wars, there has been an additional military burden taken
> up by the Duchy: forwarding a force to assist in patrolling and maintaining
> the Principality of Ulek's border with the Pomarj. This force is typically

Err...I think this'll need revision...since they have their own border with the Pomarj, too. Remember, the Pomarj owns the Lortmils south of Celene Pass.

> piece, has a square hole in the center of the coin. The unicorn sigil of an
> old Suel noble house (also evident on the County's coat of arms) is repeated
> around the periphery of the coin five times, and the obverse bears the motto
> "Peace in Strength" in ancient Suel.

Probabily House Rhola or Neheli, since they're the prominent Suel nobles who settled in the Sheldomar Valley.

Whew. That was, umm, long. It's good, but I don't quite agree with everything dealing with the government and such, but, overall, it works. You just might want to do something with those lists...espically that list of trees...it doesn't read very well.

==
Taras Guarhoth, Sage of House Cranden
http://www.bestweb.net/~guarhoth/