Chapter #1199: A Stronghold Like No Other

[Thomas]

(published 6 MAR 2026)

This one probably took me more time, for both research and actual writing, than almost any other episode in recent history. There was just a lot to cover.

[Thomas]

Also, it's noteworthy that originally I had the fortress' ASCII maps at a 45-degree angle to match the alignment of hexes in maps...but changed it (this was mentioned in the notes section at the bottom of that episode.)  I designed the layout of the fortress along conventional lines, but also had to make my own modifications since - unlike medieval castles in real life - this one needs to include magical defense methods.  Of course, it's still sitting atop a steep plateau and basically isolated from nearby areas, so if magic got turned off, it would still be easily defensible by conventional means.

I don't ever want to get into the micro-details of this (or of other things like exactly how farmlands grow, or how the economy works, and so on) - in general I feel it's enough to say "it was planned intentionally, here are the core concepts, and it works."  I'll add some details where I feel they are needed for high-level understanding of things.