Aquerria Gazetteer - The Undercrofts

So, I decided in my original scribbles outlining my campaign world that there was a place under the City-State of Anzagort called the Undercrofts ... and I've been thinking about what kind of place it would be.  Not a friendly, cozy hobbit hole, because that's not very DCC.  But what about a warren of tunnels and caves, a suburb of the city that's exclusive to halflings, and a source for mystery and adventure?  Here's what I doodled out today ...

Got some ideas how to expand this?  Drop me a note at archadethered@gmail.com.  

Undercrofts

     The undercrofts are a series of subterranean burrows and natural caves below the City-State of Anzagort, where halfling Croftmasters oversee the growing of mushrooms, which are used for food, furniture, and other goods that are carried up to the Gibbet Row markets, and from there beyond to the Market Grove, Peln, and other far flung lands.

     Halflings had always dwelt in the city of Anzagort, eking out a living in burrows on the edge of town, but in the year 5626 the Rat-Things rose up against the people of Anazort, spilling forth from the sewers and crumbling tunnels beneath the city.  The first line of defense was the Croftcleaner Guild, halflings that cleaned gutters, chimneys, cellars, spaces under homes, and the like.  They were the only ones who could mount a defense of Anzagort’s crawl spaces and small passageways.  After two months of warfare, an informal truce is called, and the Rat-Things retreated to the sewers, and the Croftcleaners were declared the heroes of Anzagort.

     After the Rat-Thing War, the halflings pushed the Overlord of Anzagort for rights to the tunnels and sewers beneath the city for years – Overlord Ganderwick Ironfist was a greedy, shortsighted man and was loathe to give an inch of land without taxing it, but Croftmaster Wilen Silverbrock managed to bring the popular support of the people and have some of the guildmasters of Anzagort throw their political clout behind the halfling community, the Overlord relented, and in 5741 the Undercroft Accords were signed by the Overlord and Croftmaster, granting full rights to all dwellable areas at least 20 feet below the city.

     Halflings started immigrating to Anzagort after word was put out of their own governable realm, and Anzagort’s population today boasts 1 in 10 being halflings.  With the growth of the halfling community to over 1,000 souls, there are now several Croftmasters responsible for various enterprises – one for mushroom farming, one for ‘woodworking’ of the stalks, one for fishing, one for trade, and one for dwellings and the wellbeing of the community – these Croftmasters rule as a council, and the halfling community defers great respect to them.

     The Undercrofts consist of several areas – the Gantries, Gamstock Vale, Pembledown, Ambletown, and the Shalepit.

     The Gantries are the most accessible area directly below Anzagort, and the passageways and burrows are able to accommodate full sized humans, as long as they watch their heads.  Here, thick moist soil grows Redcap mushrooms, and Gamwood gantries are affixed from the ceiling to allow halflings to easily make their way across the fields to harvest and fertilize.  Croftmaster Billen Broketoe oversees the farming, and ensures the Undercrofts have plenty to eat, and that the excess are carted up to the Anzagort markets.  Billen is a soft spoken, friendly fellow with a weakness for good ale.

     Gamstock Vale is a vast natural cavern, accessible from winding tunnels that descent from the Gantries, Pembledown and Ambletown.  Here, great Gamstock mushrooms grow, pale white and towering to nearly 12 feet tall – they could be edible, but moreso their stalks are sturdy, fibrous, and if harvested and dried properly, serve like wood for furnishings and structures.  Gamwood does not burn well, and can polish to a fine shine, so it is valued as a rare wood in foreign markets.  Croftmaster Argentyle Passfellow is a humorless, bitter fellow that drives his halfling teams harshly to harvest the Gamstocks, drive away centipedes and graelwasps from their ‘orchards’, and herd the albino swine that graze amongst the stalks.  It is considered unlucky in the Undercrofts to serve under him.

     Pembledown is much like a village below Anzagort, where halflings live and the community is much like any other settlement – there are a few taverns, a market square, tailors, cobblers, and houses all dug into the sides of winding wide earthen tunnels.  Croftmaster Immergil Whitelock serves as mayor of Pembledown and is a non-confrontational, shy fellow.

     Ambletown is another settlement, but deeper in the tunnels below Anzagort, and humans are not invited here.  It is rumored that halflings and Rat-Things dwell together in harmony here, and make commerce with other creatures even further below.  Croftmaster Arwick Langlock is elderly, and has not been seen for many years aboveground, and rumors abound he is of poor health.

     The Shalepit is a wide, deep sloped pit that descends into the earth.  A few halflings quarry the rock for things such as hearths and fireplaces, cobblestones and such, but they dare not venture too deep, for who knows what lies at the bottom of the Shalepit.  Croftmaster Glendale Salverwick guards the Shalepit with a troop of decently armed halfling watchmen, overseeing the postern passage to the Undercrofts.