Completed Application Thread: House Varner Redo by Jakethesnake

[Jakethesnake8_8]

happy with the results, just need a mod to approve

 

[Emoticone11]

Go for it!

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

is there a way to ping ppl on the forums? because i'd like to start work on the forest this weekend because I have a break

 

[Aino]

Plots are now open, /warp Lesbos because we're cool

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

this is a reminder for veg and/or emot, Nicodemus' cidery is still in need of a post-approval

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

so the projects moving, and i keep finding myself unhappy with the main village and the placement of the castle. the village is just a mess, I wouldn't redo the whole thing, but keep the buildings and fiddle around with the placement. the castle is not in a defensive spot, but at a very weak spot, with significantly higher ground right next to it, and the fact that its at one of the lowest points of the project just doesn't make sense to me. so I'm not really sure what to do with the village and castle bc I've changed them both so many times. :I

 

[Renly_Baratheon_]

hey, as somebody who's just been wandering around on the server a lot I quite like how varner feels somewhat different because it is more spread out than most other villages in the Reach Maybe what it needs is just a bit more density in the middle/near the sept so it looks more like the spread out bits of the village just grew over time.

 

[StanateeManatee]

Another idea here, if you want to keep the location of the family and since, knowing you, you're probably not attached to the castle itself:

Perhaps you could just have some sort of manor at the current location and put the (recent) ruins of a castle elsewhere in a more defensive spot?

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

*sigh* you shady bitch lol. ur right tho, i probably will hate it soon enough. I like the idea, but it wont work, given the fact that varner borders the westerlands it makes sense to be more defensive

 

[Azulejo]

Have you considered any of this two hills? They're some of the highest spots of the surroundings, and they're facing the Westernlands. Also, the seem to protect the access to the river/stream valley, where most of the population lives. As said before, you can have a manor or a minor branch/landed knight where the castle sits right know. If you struggle with the castle design or location, look for structures in France, Northern Germany, Northern Italy or Central Spain (Castille), where the terrain is mostly flat, and defensive structures have to take advantage of the smallest of elevations.​

Spoiler: Proposed hills

Spoiler: Flat land castle

This is Arevalo's Castle, in the province of Ávila, Spain. It's build on the confluence of two rivers that carve a gorge that allows 2 sides of the complex to be defended from external atacks. It takes advantage of this feature, as it lacks height.

What you have done until now looks great, I'm sure you will find a solution!

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

ty for the help! i have considered those locations, however, the hill on the right is where the hunting lodge is going to be, and that area is already a little crowded. luk suggested that I could swap the septry's location with the current castle, which may work.

 

[StanateeManatee]

True, but perhaps with the long peace under the Targaryens (and the alliance between the Rock and the Reach before that), sometime in the past 350 years, the Varners decided to stop maintaining a costly castle and downsized. Perhaps the dilapidated castle could be on one of the hills NNE or E of the Hunting Lodge? (the ones Azulejo also suggested). Just spitballing ideas here that might motivate you. Them moving from one location could also justify why the village had such an expansion.

So while I was working on stuff, y'all've posted more. anyway... here's just some mock-up maps to guide some thinking.


_______________Varner (0AC)_____________________________Varner (~100AC)__________________________Varner (~200 AC)____________________________Varner (297AC)_____________

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

nice maps! that could absolutely work. I could also put the derelict castle on this hill in the north. I'll look into the manor idea.

 

[DutchGuard]

nice maps! that could absolutely work. I could also put the derelict castle on this hill in the north. I'll look into the manor idea.
View attachment 7554

I really like this idea and agree with Stan that Varner may have (relatively quickly) shifted gears from poor border fort to wealthy trading hub during peacetime. The new money could have been used to scrap the old castle for parts to be used by locals and maybe even recycled for the new manor which could make for some interesting builds.

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

yeah sounds reasonable. i also could do w some advice on the current main village, which i think could be more urbanized than it is, but i know people are a fan of the spaced out feel the villages and hamlets have

 

[Margaery_Tyrell]

Another idea here, if you want to keep the location of the family and since, knowing you, you're probably not attached to the castle itself:

Perhaps you could just have some sort of manor at the current location and put the (recent) ruins of a castle elsewhere in a more defensive spot?

We are not having another Leygood.

Between the Blackfyre Rebellions, The Faith Militant uprisings, and the Dance of Dragons the Reach has been drenched in blood from inter-region battles

 

[Aino]

yeah sounds reasonable. i also could do w some advice on the current main village, which i think could be more urbanized than it is, but i know people are a fan of the spaced out feel the villages and hamlets have

Maybe this is obvious advice but maybe just adjusting the existing town square and making it/the immediate area more urbanized would address this issue. You get to have a section that feels more like a proper town without removing the unique elements of varners style.

 

[AerioOndos]

and have one of the townhouses under construction or having works done to give it an extension?

 

[Veggie]

I think the castle doesn't feel embedded in the landscape, because it isn't.


I think you should concentrate efforts to terraform and place a castle you are content with. Otherwise these issues will continue to snowball-- once you get the village looking right, you'll need to alter it to terraform the castle properly for example. Then when you've got the castle looking right it might mean the village needs changing.

Just because you don't feel it's in a defensible position doesn't mean it can't be made into one. You've got the lake/river one side and land the other, which can easily be made to look more defensive with earthworks and structures.



As Marge says above, the Reach's history is one of blood and battle, so I wouldn't be keen to see a move to a more manorial build-- I've built manors in the Reach and do think they have their place, but not as a primary seat for a lordly house (especially one on the borders of the Reach)



It may be useful for you to draft a few bulletpoints into an action plan against which you can hold yourself loosely accountable, I find that helps in keeping focus on progress within a project.

V

 

[Jakethesnake8_8]

project on hold