Discussion Lizardmen Temple-Cities and their Architectural Makeup

[Mr.Crocodile]

I'm too proud of this, and I wasted too much time on it!
But I wrote a sixteen page document about Lizardmen Temple-Cities and what exactly can be found inside and around them and I hope at least a few of you will check it out.


Most of the information in this text comes from the TWW game’s building system, but I have also made sure to include as many locations from other sources as I could find.
When reading descriptions, assume the text within parenthesis is my personal commentary or remarks, and that most other content comes from official sources like the game.

(I will share the different sections of this over a few days so I don't overload it)

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Settlements:

The Lizardmen race is spread throughout the vast swaths of land of all of Lustria and the majority of the Southlands, this great expanse combined with the slow decline of their civilization means that the lizardman population is organized in two vastly different ways:

On the one hand, bands, cohorts and patrols of lizardmen crisscross and continuously move all across the southern hemisphere following a nomadic lifestyle, ensuring that the lizardmen have some kind of presence even in the regions of their continents fathers from their Temple Cities. These groups can range from being as small as a hunting party of a dozen Skinks to a deployed army of thousands. And their temporary encampments and gathering places can be found even outside of regions the lizardmen call home.

On the other hand, there’s the mythical Temple-Cities of the Lizardmen, a few great remaining bastions of what once was a world-spanning empire. These temple cities can only be compared in size and splendor to those of Grand Cathay, and in age to none as they are they predate even the oldest of warmblooded civilizations. Temple Cities are always located in major nodes and conjunction points of the Geomantic Web, and while only five Temple Cities remain fully operational (Four in Lustria and a single one in the Southlands) each boasts enormous populations of more than two hundred thousand lizardmen. There are also a few other Temple Cities, such as Axlotl, Huatl and Oyxl, which have seen recent efforts to be reconsecrated, restored and repopulated. Konquata, founded in 2520 IC by the legendary Kroq-Gar, is the youngest of the Temple Cities, as all others trace the era of their founding back to the times of the Dawn of Creation (Almost thirteen thousand years ago).


These fully established settlements and metropolises can be categorized as follows from smallest and most humble to largest and most ostentatious.

• Coldblood/Lizardmen Comune: A small gathering of cohorts, usually a settlement along the Geomantic Web in thrall to a more prominent temple-city. Many of these communes were born as nomadic communities like those described above, who decided or were ordered to “settle down” on strategic locations.
  
  
• Lizardmen Plaza: A Plaza differentiates itself from a Comune by the fact that they are more developed, possessing the beginning of infrastructure and stone buildings, such as humble places of worship, small industries and permanent housing as opposed to the wood-and-skins huts or caves and nests of Comunes.
  
  
• Temple Precinct: A minor node on a smaller tributary of the Geomantic Web, comprising a lone pyramid or monument, often ruled by a later generation Mage-Priest.
  
  
• Holy Ziggurat: Located on a lesser tributary of the Geomantic Web, comprising a ziggurat and surrounding barrios, and often ruled by a later generation Mage-Priest.
  (Often the only difference between a Precinct and a Holy Ziggurat is the value (strategic or intrinsic) of the location and not the size or population of the location.)

• Temple City: The temple-cities are where the Lizardmen spawn and live. They scatter the Southlands and Lustria, consisting of collections of many great pyramids, swaths of barrios and monumental plazas.
  
  
• Temple Nexus: All temple-cities are nodes in the Geomantic Web, but some are true nexus points - massive cities and major tributaries in power. Zlatlan, Itza and Hexoatl being the greatest examples.

 

[Scalenex]

Ambitious undertaking.

I wrote very comprehensive articles on Lizardmen temple cities and how they function but I didn't really dive into architecture.

Defensive Structures and Strategies for Lizardmen.

Functions of a Temple City

Temples and Religious Practices for Lizardmen

Hopefully your work and mine works in tandem because any fluff that contradicts mine gets the Dr. Cox treatment

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Ambitious undertaking.

I wrote very comprehensive articles on Lizardmen temple cities and how they function but I didn't really dive into architecture.

Defensive Structures and Strategies for Lizardmen.

Functions of a Temple City

Temples and Religious Practices for Lizardmen

Hopefully your work and mine works in tandem because any fluff that contradicts mine gets the Dr. Cox treatment

I mean I'm mostly listing out building types as they are shown in the game. And adding commentary, so the fluff contradictions won't be my fault.

Like, the descriptions of the different spawning pools in the TW game imply that they can be manipulated and triggered to spawn more soldiers in time of need. Which makes sense from a gameplay perspective, because it explains how you can constantly recruit new armies in the game. But it doesn't make sense to classic lizardmen lore.

Similarly, all factions in TWW have access to the same set of resources, which means that the Lizardmen strangely can have stuff like spice trading posts or wineries. Which doesn't make sense because lizardmen neither trade spices nor do they drink European-style wine.

In conclusion, I'm the messenger, please don't shoot me.

 

[Scalenex]

Lizardmen strangely can have stuff like spice trading posts or wineries. Which doesn't make sense because lizardmen neither trade spices nor do they drink European-style wine.

There is plenty of ways to make wine besides grapes. I believe Lizardmen would have fermented beverages, both for recreation and a means of preserving food for long term storage and 5th edition GW fluff partially backs this up though they also give skinks really great alcohol which makes no sense to me, their equivalent of orange juice, a breakfast drink got some Tileans tipsy.


Tequila is something native to the Americas, but I'm biased towards it myself so I have Lizardmen drink tequila for special occasions in my fluff.

I'm sure the Lizardmen would use spices and they probably trade them among different Lizardmen settlements. In one official GW fluff piece they did use spices (along with other stuff) to hire mercenaries.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

There is plenty of ways to make wine besides grapes. I believe Lizardmen would have fermented beverages, both for recreation and a means of preserving food for long term storage and 5th edition GW fluff partially backs this up though they also give skinks really great alcohol which makes no sense to me, their equivalent of orange juice, a breakfast drink got some Tileans tipsy.


Tequila is something native to the Americas, but I'm biased towards it myself so I have Lizardmen drink tequila for special occasions in my fluff.

I'm sure the Lizardmen would use spices and they probably trade them among different Lizardmen settlements. In one official GW fluff piece they did use spices (along with other stuff) to hire mercenaries.

On your idea on the alcohol: Nice, I'll add that to my notes on the resources section. It does make sense. The problem is that in TWW they explicitly produce barrels and kegs of alcohol. And those are really only a thing in the middle east and Europe. In most of the world (including native Americans) alcoholic drinks were prepared in very different containers.

On the spices: Yes, agree, the Lizardmen probably use and trade spices, the problem is that the blur for that building says something along the lines of "traders from all over the world come here to trade spices" and that kinda of trade, intercontinental and interspecies, does feel unlikely for the scaly lads.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Spawning Pools:

Lizardmen do not reproduce, give birth or parent young in any conventional sense. Instead, entire generations - or 'brothers of the same water' (Spawn Brothers) - simply emerge, fully formed from spawning pools in the jungles or in the dank caverns beneath each temple-city, even those otherwise ruined.

These pools have existed since the age of the Old Ones, and contain a weirdly glowing, magical, primordial soup. Many spawnings are predicted in Sacred Plaques, while others occur without warning, and are always treated as holy portents of great significance.

• Spawn-Pools of the Lower Castes: Spawning ponds which are used for lower ranking Skink castes - the ponds themselves are small bodies of water, although many in number.
  
  
• Spawn-Pools of the Braves: The hunter-caste spawning pools hold thousands of eggs that quickly gestate new Skinks, with a subtle temperature rise, at a Slann's command. (It is interesting that the Slann can subtly influence the hatching of Skinks with temperature. The development of irl reptiles before they hatch can also be influenced by temperature.)
  
  
• Spawn-Pools of the Chosen: Elevated pools, closer to the central pyramid, are more likely to gestate specialist Skink castes and their Kroxigor equivalents. (So if one follows this interpretation, which I don’t, specific pools will always hatch specific castes.)
  
  
• Underground Lagoon: In times of war, the large lagoons in the Saurus caverns can be adjusted to gestate many warrior cohorts simultaneously. (This is most likely another change for the game, to explain how in Total War you can always spawn new units.)
  
  
• Sacred Spawning Caverns: Skink caretakers believe that cooler spawning climates found under the ground can produce better quality warriors. (Again using this “influencing” motif, but it is fun to think of Skinks arguing about how to spawn the best warriors.)

(While I personally prefer the older canon explanation of the Spawning Pools not being controlled, there's some interesting ideas here for people who might me interested in an alternate system for them.)

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Infrastructure:

It is obvious that a race like the Lizardmen, with an incredibly contrasting mix of high and low population density regions over such an enormous area of land can only function with the help of infrastructure as formidable as themselves. Thankfully the great majority of these constructions and efforts were carried out long ago during their civilizational apogee, and many of them have survived the ravages of time.

• “Healthcare”

While the Lizardmen have an extremely resilient biology and in-depth knowledge of the medicinal properties of life around them, from plants and fungi to insects and complex brews, they also make use of very ancient and potent substances found only in the safety of their Temple-Cities.

• Pools of Healing: The Wisdom of the Old Ones heals all wounds. (Probably similar origins and properties to the Spawning Pools, but used to heal warriors and not to create them.)
  
• Temple of Revivification: These Sacred Pools heal every wound and make the Lizardmen stronger. (Pools of healing are found under Temples of Revivification and/or the Temples are built over where the individual pools already are).

• In the Temple-Cities

As Massive and sprawling as some Temple-Cities can be in their geometric and monumental architecture, they always present features that can be seen even in the shadow of the mighty pyramids.

• Skink Favelas: The Skink districts are busy areas, where markets thrive, goods are exchanged and reptiles from foreign cities meet to trade.
  
• Grand Plaza: Plazas are critical routes through the temple-cities, the Grand Plaza typically being the main causeway from the gate to the central ziggurat.
  
• Floating Gardens: Drifting glades revolve in an eternal dance, where the Slann contemplate when the glades align in auspicious patterns. (I imagine it would be very respected for a terradon rider’s job to be tending to these.)

• Transportation

From North to South and East to West, the lizardmen often have to travel great distances to fulfill their duties to the Great Plan. Thankfully this need for unhampered movement was not lost to the Old Ones and the First Generation Slann.

• Causeways: Enormous and wide roads made up of perfectly interlocking stone slabs, following the course of both the geomantic web and geography as they connect the vast swaths of the southern hemisphere and the Temple-Cities dotted all over it.
  
• Aqueducts: While many Temple-Cities are built in or near water sources, many others employ vast networks of artificial canals to intake clean water from Lustria’s mountain ranges and to get rid of waste produced in their massive cities. (The book Burning Shore did mention the lizardmen having canals and waterways. And the Aztecs did have some impressive waterworks.)
  
• Pliodon Landing: Pliodons are large, river-going creatures that seldom move onto land. They are used by the Lizardmen to ferry cohorts across bodies of water. (Between Pliodons and turtle-dragons, the concept of Lizardmen naval warfare becomes more and more interesting.)
  
• Ancient Harbor: Natural harbors fashioned long ago by the Old Ones themselves, and now used by their servants. (More cases of the Old Ones directly altering geography are always interesting to hear about.)
  
• Temple-Port: Temple-cities close to the coast or major rivers will have designated port districts, where sea-going vessels of the Lizardmen make anchor. (In TWW Lizardmen vessels are magical floating ships of stone, which makes the concept of Lizardmen navy even more interesting than before.)

• The Geomantic Web:

The Geomantic Web is a name given to a vast matrix of natural earth energy that encompasses the entire world. When the Old Ones ordered the construction of the temple-cities, they were specific about where each city should be built as each one acts as a nexus point in the Geomantic Web. The Old Ones were able to draw on this vast reservoir of power, and through it manipulate and alter the continental plates, the weather patterns, and even the very orbit of the world itself. The Geomantic Web is crucial for stabilizing planetary weather, orbit, and rotation and its anchor points are spread all across the world, although many have fallen into disrepair or been settled by other species.

• Geomantic Pylon: The tall obsidian pylons act as signal boosters, channeling Geomantic energy that might otherwise splice off and fade back into the aether.
  
• Stone Marker: An obsidian turntable inscribed with hieroglyphs; when correctly aligned a new Geomantic pathway can be forged. (Irl stone markers are basically ancient road signs, so the Lizardmen enhancing theirs with the geomantic Web is really cool.)
  
• Geomantic Spire: These needle-like spires are constructed to maintain the flow of Geomantic power. (The Lizardmen both make use of the web and also make sure to keep it in the best shape possible.)
  
• Lodestone: The Lodestone acts like a prism, collecting branching Geomantic power lines and redirecting them at the Mage-Priests' will.
  
• Geomantic Locus: The locus is a prism - a large geometric crystal floating in a constantly revolving state - and a junction where lines of power merge.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Defensive/Military Installations:

The Temple-Cities have not survived as long as they have out of luck. Even those defiled by the craven forces of Chaos of the Vermin offered the unfathomably staunch resistance one expects from their defenders. Even the weakest of the active Temple-Cities could theoretically withstand sieges longer than decades and assaulting forces as large as the World Pond.

• Defenses:

On the one hand there are the mighty defensive structure of the lizardmen, thought of, and realized millenia ago by the architects of cold-blooded civilization and sometimes as large and impenetrable as mountain ranges.

• Mystic Barriers: Skink Priests with defensive lore will manifest mystic barriers used to repel trespassers and other invaders. (So these are probably only active when the city believes itself under attack, otherwise it’s wasting the time and energy of these Priests.)
• Force Walls: Walls of volcanic stone, laced with gold circuitry to better conduct the magic that imbues the walls with repulsive force.
• Energy Dome: Great domes are placed at crucial points in the temple-city's defense, configured to use the raw Geomantic power to repulse invaders.
• Reclaimed Tunnels: Some Lizardmen tunnels date back to an earlier age, predating all the younger races and so are totally unknown to them.
• Temple Citadel: It is only logical that the greatest and most important locations in the Temple-Cities also be their last line of defense. (Much like how a walled city might have a fortress inside of it, a Temple-City’s greatest ziggurats are also great citadels.)
  

• Military Installations:

On the other hand, the defenders of the Great Plan have an unheard of advantage, as their origins signify that in essence the entire population of any settlement is also its defensive army. On top of this, the ready-born Lizardmen do one their skills for decades under the eye of their Spawn Elders to be the masters of defensive and offensive warfare, with many going on to become the full-time garrisoned troops that always stand steadfast in the name of their Mage-Lord.

• Communal Grounds: Spaces such as this are where the Lizardmen train to fulfill their roles in the never-ending struggle of the eternal war.
• Training Hall: This hall is where the most-promising specimens are instructed to ensure that they meet, and preferably exceed, their potential.
• Sacred Arena: In this arena, the very best candidates from each spawning are collected, so that they might realize their latent abilities to best effect.
• Skink Lookouts: Skinks will perch high in the boughs of the jungle terrain in lookout posts, marking enemy trespassers long before the intruders can get close.
• Saurus Garrison: Saurus cohorts on garrison duty are tasked with protecting the temple-cities and the Old Ones' legacy.
• Temple Guard Barracks: The Temple Guard are placed in a dedicated barracks where they train and bask awaiting their sacred duty.

( I imagine the Skink Cohorts and Saurus Warriors also have barracks of their own.)

• Sentinel Hall: This is where the veteran Saurus are gathered, waiting to play their part in the Old Ones' master plan.
  

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Religious Architecture:

Worship of the Old Ones is a highly ritualistic affair, but its exact form depends on the deity in question and the nature of the worshiper who conducts it. The Mage-Priest, for example presides over all manner of ceremonies, from bloody sacrifices to fanciful festivals, that occur within his domain but yet remain impassive throughout the entire experience. The neuralgic centers of this complex system of worship are the Ziggurats or Pyramids, massive temples often consecrated to a single Old One and/or the care of the Slann who dwell within. These monumental buildings also exist ast the political and administrative centers of Lizardmen society.

• Old One Monuments and Shrines: Personifications of the Old Ones are frowned upon in some temple-cities, while others embrace the great statues as a place to focus their reverence. Shrines to certain lesser or forgotten Old Ones are scattered throughout the temple-cities; no matter how insignificant, they are still highly revered.
  
  
• Temples of the Old Ones: Populated by many Skink acolytes and dedicated Mage-Priests are found throughout the temple-cities. Here, the Saurus and the Skinks offer up sacrifices to gain the attention of the Old Ones. The Slann do not participate in the ritual sacrifices to the Old Ones. Instead they ponder the ancient plaques, such as the ones stored within these temples. (I like the concept of the Slann’s for of worship just being doing their jobs.)
  
  
• Ziggurat of the Old Ones: The great pyramids and temples are normally clustered at the end of the grand plazas at the center of the temple-cities.
  
  
• Scrying Pool: In blessed pools will the Slann bathe or stare - often for decades - until enlightenment is found.
  
  
• Meditation Chamber: Figuring out the intricacies of the Great Plan, and how best to execute its instructions, requires serious and secluded contemplation.
  
  
• Star Chamber: Located at the peak of the ziggurats are the Star Chambers, where the prominent Mage-priests ponder in their trance-like slumber.
  
  
• Sacrificial Altar of Sotek: Where Skinks come to show devotion to the serpentine Old One god, and warm-blooded prisoners are put to the sword. (I think it’s interesting that while all the Old Ones are worshiped, Sotek gets most of the blood sacrifices in his worship, now I want to know what specific rituals the different Old Ones get.)
  
  
• Blood Shrines of Sotek: The site of many, many blood sacrifices of Lizardmen foes to satisfy the Serpent God's eternal thirst. (I’m assuming that the altars tend to be inside or around the Shrines.)
  
  
• Crimson Pyramid of Sotek: A great fall crests the top of Sotek's pyramid, but it is not water that cascades down. (I like to think that since Sotek is the newest God in this pantheon, his temples tend to be separate from the older clusters and in the newer areas of Temple Cities.)

 

[Scalenex]

• Spawn-Pools of the Braves: The hunter-caste spawning pools hold thousands of eggs that quickly gestate new Skinks, with a subtle temperature rise, at a Slann's command. (It is interesting that the Slann can subtly influence the hatching of Skinks with temperature. The development of irl reptiles before they hatch can also be influenced by temperature.)
  
  
• Spawn-Pools of the Chosen: Elevated pools, closer to the central pyramid, are more likely to gestate specialist Skink castes and their Kroxigor equivalents. (So if one follows this interpretation, which I don’t, specific pools will always hatch specific castes.)

Boo hiss! Lizardmen never come from eggs. Only dinosaurs come from eggs. Spawning pools sort of create tadpoles from nothing, much like how medieval people believed worms created themselves out of nothing in old cheese.

• Underground Lagoon: In times of war, the large lagoons in the Saurus caverns can be adjusted to gestate many warrior cohorts simultaneously. (This is most likely another change for the game, to explain how in Total War you can always spawn new units.)
  
  
• Sacred Spawning Caverns: Skink caretakers believe that cooler spawning climates found under the ground can produce better quality warriors. (Again using this “influencing” motif, but it is fun to think of Skinks arguing about how to spawn the best warriors.)

(While I personally prefer the older canon explanation of the Spawning Pools not being controlled, there's some interesting ideas here for people who might me interested in an alternate system for them.)

In 5th edition the Lizardmen army book said Skink and Kroxigor pools were always above ground and Saurus spawning pools were always below ground (and they usually built a temple over them).

That fits the part you wrote about underground pools creating great warriors.

(While I personally prefer the older canon explanation of the Spawning Pools not being controlled, there's some interesting ideas here for people who might me interested in an alternate system for them.)

I also prefer the notion that spawning pools cannot be controlled but for a strategy video game, it is necessary that the player can control how new soldiers are produced.

I always liked the idea that spawning pools are semi-random but geomancy and Lizardmen feng she

 

[Scalenex]

Your piece was well written, I dissect it for flaws out of love. If it I didn't like what you were doing I would write nothing at all.

Religious Architecture:

The Mage-Priest, for example presides over all manner of ceremonies, from bloody sacrifices to fanciful festivals, that occur within his domain but yet remain impassive throughout the entire experience.

• Temples of the Old Ones: Populated by many Skink acolytes and dedicated Mage-Priests are found throughout the temple-cities. Here, the Saurus and the Skinks offer up sacrifices to gain the attention of the Old Ones. The Slann do not participate in the ritual sacrifices to the Old Ones. Instead they ponder the ancient plaques, such as the ones stored within these temples. (I like the concept of the Slann’s for of worship just being doing their jobs.)

You just said the Slann preside over everything, than you said they sit out of the worship ceremonies. I don't care either way but you should avoid contradicting yourself on the same page.

I personally think there are ceremonies Slann participate in and ceremonies Slann do not.

More than once in my own fluff (twice in fact), I made a plot point of the fact that Slann can sit out of or participate in any ceremony but it is worrisome to the rank and file if the Slann sit out of too many in a row.

• Scrying Pool: In blessed pools will the Slann bathe or stare - often for decades - until enlightenment is found.

Scrying pools are part and parcel of fantasy fiction but I've never ever heard of someone bathing in such a pool, and I cannot easily picture Slann going for a casual swim at all.

• Meditation Chamber: Figuring out the intricacies of the Great Plan, and how best to execute its instructions, requires serious and secluded contemplation.

I heard some married guys or fathers take long bathroom breaks just for some me-time. I wonder if Slann ever use meditation as an excuse to take a break?

• Sacrificial Altar of Sotek: Where Skinks come to show devotion to the serpentine Old One god, and warm-blooded prisoners are put to the sword. (I think it’s interesting that while all the Old Ones are worshiped, Sotek gets most of the blood sacrifices in his worship, now I want to know what specific rituals the different Old Ones get.)

Shameless self promotion powers activate! I actually cover religious rituals for the Old Ones in great detail here and I've used religious rituals as a backdrop for a great many stories.

• Blood Shrines of Sotek: The site of many, many blood sacrifices of Lizardmen foes to satisfy the Serpent God's eternal thirst. (I’m assuming that the altars tend to be inside or around the Shrines.)

I figure sacrificial altars to Sotek are the Lizardmen equivalent of Starbucks...there's one on every corner. During the peak of the Skaven war, they actually needed multiple altars.

Both in official GW fluff and unofficial L-O fluff, Lizardmen have suffered unwanted consequences bringing sacrifices into the heart of the city resulting in contamination, sabotage or escape attempts.

I think the most commonly used sacrificial altars are outside the Temple Cities (also, I want to be able to justify having an Altar of Sotek as a random terrain piece for the open jungle).

• Crimson Pyramid of Sotek: A great fall crests the top of Sotek's pyramid, but it is not water that cascades down. (I like to think that since Sotek is the newest God in this pantheon, his temples tend to be separate from the older clusters and in the newer areas of Temple Cities.)

I agree. Sadly GW fluff writers didn't think this through as thoroughly as you and I did.

I know that Sotek is the most important god in most Lizardmen's daily life but I thought it was poorly thought out that most of the GW official city maps make the Sotek temple the architecture center of most ancient Temple Cities.

That would take a lot of messy and sacrilegious remodeling though I suppose it's possible if they have a generic giant temple dedicated to the Old Ones in general, they could rechristen it as a Sotek temple later without reconstructing anything. Unlikely but plausible.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Your piece was well written, I dissect it for flaws out of love. If it I didn't like what you were doing I would write nothing at all.



You just said the Slann preside over everything, than you said they sit out of the worship ceremonies. I don't care either way but you should avoid contradicting yourself on the same page.

I personally think there are ceremonies Slann participate in and ceremonies Slann do not.

More than once in my own fluff (twice in fact), I made a plot point of the fact that Slann can sit out of or participate in any ceremony but it is worrisome to the rank and file if the Slann sit out of too many in a row.



Scrying pools are part and parcel of fantasy fiction but I've never ever heard of someone bathing in such a pool, and I cannot easily picture Slann going for a casual swim at all.

I heard some married guys or fathers take long bathroom breaks just for some me-time. I wonder if Slann ever use meditation as an excuse to take a break?



Shameless self promotion powers activate! I actually cover religious rituals for the Old Ones in great detail here and I've used religious rituals as a backdrop for a great many stories.

I figure sacrificial altars to Sotek are the Lizardmen equivalent of Starbucks...there's one on every corner. During the peak of the Skaven war, they actually needed multiple altars.

Both in official GW fluff and unofficial L-O fluff, Lizardmen have suffered unwanted consequences bringing sacrifices into the heart of the city resulting in contamination, sabotage or escape attempts.

I think the most commonly used sacrificial altars are outside the Temple Cities (also, I want to be able to justify having an Altar of Sotek as a random terrain piece for the open jungle).



I agree. Sadly GW fluff writers didn't think this through as thoroughly as you and I did.

I know that Sotek is the most important god in most Lizardmen's daily life but I thought it was poorly thought out that most of the GW official city maps make the Sotek temple the architecture center of most ancient Temple Cities.

That would take a lot of messy and sacrilegious remodeling though I suppose it's possible if they have a generic giant temple dedicated to the Old Ones in general, they could rechristen it as a Sotek temple later without reconstructing anything. Unlikely but plausible.

I'm not really going to respond to most of these because you are commenting on the texts I took from the game unedited and that's exactly what I was hoping for.

But some stuff:

Will check out your link, since soon I'll be featuring some religious ceremonies in Herald of the Old Ones.

On the Slann taking a swim, I imagine it would look more like a pet frog sitting in their water bowl than literal swimming.


And on your first comment, what I wanted to imply was that Slann can participate in Lizardmen prayer/rituals, be present but without participation (letting the Skink priests actually do it) or remain in their chambers.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Husbandry:

From warfare to labor and nourishment, the wildlife of Lustria and the Southlands plays a key role in Lizardmen society. And as such, the management, taming, training and housing of beasts as small as cats or as large as hills is intertwined with the structure of Temple-Cities.

• Chameleon Menagerie: The collecting of Itzl's creations, especially the color changing chameleons, is deigned of use by the Slann. (What would the Lizardmen use chameleon for? Pets? Pest control?)
  
  
• Terradon Cages: Rarer Terradons distinguished by different beaks or patina are caged until tamed. (Maybe getting to pick Terradons of rarer breeds or special colorations is a honor skinks of blessed spawnings or who are veterans get.)
  
  
  • Vivarium: This special, high-ceilinged reptile house is used for rearing large, flying lizards and training their riders in some of the more complex airborne combat tactics.
    
• Grazing Pastures and Livestock Pens: Jungle clearings and water holes are where prey will gather; these are often protected by Lizardmen as a form of husbandry. Lizardmen, especially Saurus, are meat-eaters, and so many animals are bred to slaughter and consume. (This is VERY exciting because it gives support to the idea of Lustra/the Lizardmen having herbivore species other than Stegadon, Bastiladons and Thunder Lizards. In my stories I imagine these extra herbivores the lizardmen use for food as animals like “duck-billed” hadrosaurs or extinct south American mammals.)
  
  
• Dinosaur Reserve: The great paddocks are where creatures are displayed and Skink Priests come with the blessings of Itzl and Conalxa. (Maybe these are the areas outside the cities where already tame animals are allowed to roam in more spacious enclosures.)
  
  
• Taming Pens and Corral-Arena: The cold-blooded brawn of the Lizardmen is augmented by the titanic reptilian beasts whose tread shakes the very earth. It is in the sun-baked arena that the great beasts of the jungle are turned to the service of
  
  
  • Hunting Pack Pen: The wildest, most unpredictable among nature's natural hunters are broken and trained here.
    
    
  • Ancient Salamander or Razordon Enclosure: The really big beasts, who may inadvertently - or advertently - crush smaller creatures or spew flaming bile everywhere, are, naturally, housed separately.
    
    
  • Giant Beast Pit: Only the most focused, disciplined and powerful Saurus can even attempt to control these vicious apex predators.
    
• Pyramid of Itzl: Within the Pyramid of Itzl - the Old One god of cold-blooded beasts - secret lore is enacted, engines are mounted, and bestial loyalty ensured.

(These last two, the Arena and Itzil’s pyramid, make me wonder about what percentage of these animals’ taming training comes from regular training and how much is magical control.)​

• Terradon and Ripperdactyl Hatchery: The hatcheries are tall pylons that nearly match the peak of the central pyramid. Within their tips are nests containing many Terradon eggs. (So the pterosaurs of Lustria seem to naturally like nesting on Temple-Cities, reminds me of how storks have nested on my town’s churches for decades.)
  
  
• Cold One Caves: A Cold One's preferred domain - when not on the hunt - is a cave, where they can better regulate their body temperature.
  
  
• Horned Ones Nest: The Horned Ones are an extremely rare, virtually extinct and preternaturally swift subspecies of Cold One, spawned in the same pool and at the same time as those who will ride them into battle. (Not personally my belief, I’d rather they just be naturally rare animals, but it's interesting to think that the Pools can sometimes hatch creatures which aren’t even Lizardmen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that being proposed outside of here.)

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Resources:

No matter how unique they might be, the Lizardmen, like any other civilization, depend on the extraction and usage of resources around them to survive. Because of this a wide variety of industries and a complex system of working castes exists in each and every Temple-City.

• Crafts-Lizards:
  • Skink Barrios: The barrios are another part of the heavily-populated Skink districts, where many crafts are practiced and artifacts created. (So the Barrios are the part of the Favelas where Skinks work as opposed to housing areas.)
  • Weapon-Crafters' Commune: Certain barrios in the temple-city are where Skink artisans reside, arguably the most important of which are the weapon-crafters. (This implies that Skink Favelas and Barrios are organized into different districts called Communes depending on what the main craft there is.)
  • Kroxigor Labor District: The labor districts are where the Skink handlers farm out Kroxigor labor for favor or a price. (This seems to confirm that the Lizardmen have some sort of barter economy. At least for personal needs.)
• Hunting, Foraging and Agriculture:
  • Skink Foraging Camp: Skink hunters will oft make secret camps on well-trodden routes they know prey will roam. (These are probably on the regions surrounding Temple Cities and strewn about the land as mentioned in the Settlements section.)
  • Hunting Grounds and Hunting Camp: It is not just the meat that is used, animal skins and furs certainly have value also.Lodges are located deep within the forested hunting grounds, where hunters gather and store their prey. (Also probably temporary settlements like those mentioned before. Would the Lizardmen near Temple-Cities have hunting quotas or bans?)
  • Insect Breeding Farm/Hothouse Hatchery: Agriculture is not an alien concept to Lizardmen, they farm many breeds of insects, often in great domes that buzz with the sound of swarms. Insects are a large part of the Lizardmen diet; these jungles have both in abundance.(Entomoculture is the technically correct term for insect farming.)
  • Meat Storage Hall: Cooling halls that shelter meat away from the Chotec's rage, the sun, helps keep the food relatively fresh. (I wonder if this means they like dried meats?)
  • Tannery: Wearing the warmblood's skin is a good way to intimidate warmblood foes. (Lizardmen already use the skulls and bones of both their foes and animals as decorations, so it makes sense that skin would also be made use of.)
  • Glowing Berry Patches/Lotus Gathering Camp: Some Skinks have an innate knowledge of which jungle berries to use to salve bites and other nasty injuries. Jungle lotus is one of the most potent of plants, and only a few know where it grows most regularly. (Skinks can even be born to be foraging experts, interesting.)
  • Mystic Fern Grove: For herbs that prove difficult to acquire, growing them artificially is the answer. (This implies the Lizardmen use some kind of agriculture. Maybe they also grow poisonous plants for weapons like darts or plants used to deal with their animals in different ways?)
  • Fruit Draft Compressors/Fruit Draft Storage: Once the draft is made, it is stored in great vats, where it will ferment, often sending Saurus into a groggy state! When ready, Skink distillers sell the draft in clay pots to others with a taste for it. (While some of the text from the game treats these like european-style vineyards and mention selling the alcohol in barrels, I assume these fruit-base alcohols of the lizardmen are closer to irl mesoamerican drinks like cacao wine or Tequila/Pulque/octli which is mande from the agave plant.)
    
    (Fruit and plants is something they probably collect for reasons other than making alcohol, even if just as treats or fodder for their herbivorous animals.)​

• Raw Materials and Refining:
  • Gem Mine Shaft/Gem Mine: A gem mine shaft is for digging into the mountains in search of precious stones. Gem mines are valuable resources, especially if they have a high yield. (Obviously the lizardmen mine precious stones, would lustria have legendary mines like those of irl Colombian Emerald and South African Diamond.)
  • Gemcutter's Workshop: Skinks gem cutters are always in demand, as powerful crystals are used throughout the Lizardmen realms. (A good example of this would be the Bastiladon Solar Engines. I wonder how much decorative gems are worth in the Lizardmen barter economy, probably nor much.)
  • Gold Mining Pit/Gold Mine: Gold holds a strange value to warmbloods, but for the Lizardmen it is a highly conductive and useful material. On discovering a substantial seam of gold, a small mine gets larger and needs fortifying against other treasure-seekers. (I like how it is mentioned that the lizardmen don’t value gold much more than any other material, but that they are also aware that that’s not how other races see it.)
  • Gold Smelter: Gold is melted down on thermal streams and then fashioned into any image the Mage-Priests desire.
  • Iron Mining Pit/Iron Mines: Iron ore is a necessity in a world that craves weapons and armor. Smaller mines usually comprise a single shaft. Ore is taken from deep pits or mines; Kroxigors perform the labour but Skinks may have to work in smaller shafts. (I take this to mean that they will actually use iron when better options are not available.)
  • Iron Smelter: Using methods described on plaque, the ore is heated and weapons can then be fashioned. (The fact that they need to have the instructions written down reinforces the idea that using iron is a rarity to the lizardmen.)
  • Sawyer/Marble Quarry: Marble is used in some form in certain temple-cities, but is not always the preferred material. A stone cutter fashions large hunks of stone, for ease of transport and in preparation for construction. (Limestone and granite are the rocks used most often in irl Egyptian and Aztec Pyramids, together with other materials stuff like mortar or adobe, so it makes sense that marble wouldn’t be the preferred material for the lizardmen either.)
  • Stone Mason's Workshop: Skink adepts with a proficiency for stone carve images of the Old Ones into the walls of temple-cities. (Stone masons and carvers are probably some of the most common Skink professions inside the Temple Cities.)
  • Cinnabar Mining Pit/Cinnabar Mine: Blood rock a key ingredient in creating dyes for daubing on scales. Blood rock mines are larger excavation sites, made when substantial cinnabar deposits are discovered. (It is nice to learn a new lizardmen name for a material. Cinnabar can also be poisonous due to its high mercury content, but since the lizardmen use it so much in their skin paints, does that imply they are immune to mercurialism?)
  • Dyemaker: Much blood rock is collected, ground with grit and thrown into sandstone vats, to create the dye. (I assume cinnabar red isn’t the only red pigment they use, since cinnabar isn’t rare but also isn’t found everywhere. It is also clear red is far from the only color Lizardmen paint themselves with.)
  • Obsidian Quarry: Volcanic ore is quite rare, and a precious resource for most due to the way it can interact with certain magic lores. (If only this gave an explanation as to how Obsinite is made?)
  • Obsidian Trinket Maker/Obsidian Amulet Carver: Items, such as talismans, made from obsidian often hold arcane power, and so those skilled in its manufacture are widely sought. To be skilled at carving obsidian is to be skilled in sigils and symbols of power, for obsidian soaks in the ensorcelled. (So Obsidian is useful even before it’s used to make Obsinite. Also more berter economy stuff!)
  • Clay Pit: Unsurprisingly, clay pits hold vast amounts of clay, a malleable material that hardens when baked. (Sometimes these blurs from the game are really dumb.)
  • Pottery Maker/Kilns: Skink potters are surprisingly adept, creating not just practical receptacles but often works of art. Kilns are large Geomantic energy-powered ovens capable of mass-production. (I’m a nerd and now I want to see what lizardmen ceramics would look like. Also funny that they power kilns with the Geomantic Web and don’t just use fire.)
  • Brine Mining Pans/Brine Mining Basin/Saltworks: Salt is mined. It’s an unpleasant and hazardous job - send in the Kroxigor. Larger brine deposits need more intensive mining, so more pits delving ever deeper into the ground are dug. These facilities are used for breaking down and grinding brine, as well as extracting salt from bodies of saltwater. (I guess I was right, the Lizardmen do like dried and salted meats. Or at least use them often.)
  • Spice Market: Strange, exotic -even sensuous- smells fill the air at this market. (While this is obviously the game having to give lizardmen access to the spice resource like the rest of the factions, now I’m wondering what spices the Lizardmen might use.)
  • Logging Camp/Foresters' Barrios/Bastiladon Lumber Carriers: When the Lizardmen need wood, the jungle provides. Wood in its natural form is hard to work with, so the timber mills turn it into lumber ready for usage. Found deep in the barrios, lumber from the jungle is bartered across the reptilian realms. (More confirmation of the different Barrio types. Also I wonder what might make Bastiladons especially good at carrying lumber?)

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

Landmarks:

No two Temple-Cities are the same, even if their everpresent geometric grids might fool one into thinking this is the case. No, be it because of their original intended place within the Great Plan or their long histories, every Lizardman settlement has at least a few unique landmarks to its name.

• Chameleon Shrine (Axlotl): In Conalxa's shrine do the Chameleon Skinks give thanks to the Old One who preserves and enhances them. (Which Old One was that agin?)
  
  
• Chamber of Visions (Forbidden Jungle): Those who visit the Chamber of Visions shall see what the Old Ones see: The many threads of the future.
  
  
• Plateau of the Fallen Gates (Forest of Ash): Within the great plateau of this ancient construct is the megalithic stellar engine; the secrets of its construction jealously guarded. (Not to be confused with the Polar Gates)
  
  
• Blessed Incubator (Hexoatl): Within the Blessed Incubator, the beasts of Hexoatl are kept, ready for the Old One Itzl to leave his mark. (My assumption here s that the Blessed Incubator is a specially potent Pyramid of Itzl like those mentioned above).
  
  
• Stellar Pyramids of the Southern Skies (Hexoatl): Upon the southern horizon of Hexoatl, on the eve of the equinox, stellar pyramids rise above the jungle canopy. (Perhaps this is the proper or official name for Hexoatl’s temple complex?)
  
  
• Vaults of the Old Ones (Itza): Under Itza, the Vaults of the Old Ones contain many secrets of the Ancient Enemy, and, some say, how to finally defeat them. (Since Itza is the oldest Temple City, it makes sense that its Old Ones Trove would be the most legendary of them all.)
  
  
• The Emerald Pools (Itza): The shimmering, healing Emerald Pools of Itza are truly a sight to behold; even cold-blooded eyes appreciate their beauty. (So Itza’s Pools of Healing seem to be the most powerful ones in the surviving Temple Cities)
  
  
• Avenue of Lizard Sphinxes (Itza): The main entrance into the First City, a monumental plaza flanked by eight reptilian guardians of stone, each resembling a different cold-blooded beast.
  
  
• Pyramid of Lord Kroak (Itza): Home to the greatest of all Slann, Lord Kroak’s personal chambers are guarded by the elite amongst the elite.
  
  
• Shrine of Birds (Oxyl): The creatures that take flight flock to the Shrine of Birds, the Old One whose essence resides within awarding all creatures that take flight. [Since birds can be connected to various Old Ones, it could be a Temple of Caxautn(predators), Itzl(Beasts), Tepok(depicted as a feathered serpent of the air) or Uxmac(messengers). Maybe even a Temple of more than one of them or even them all. But my bet is on Uxmac.]
  
  
• Corrupted Spawning Pool (Oyxl): Spawning pools defiled by Clan Pestilens; the half-formed creatures that emerge make for easy pickings. (There probably are corrupted pools in most of the fallen cities, but the ones in Oyxl are the best known ones since the city is being retaken.)
  
  
• Serpent Lairs of Sotek (Quetza): It is in Quetza where Sotek's followers are the most fervent. The ratmen should fear the coldbloods that emerge from these lairs. (Just like in other cases, the Serpent Lairs are probably just the greatest of the Crimson Pyramids of Sotek.)
  
  
• Sacrificial Snake Pit of Sotek (Shrine of Sotek, Jungle of Squalls): Blessed slithering beast of the pit, accept this offering in the name of the Serpent-God and his Prophet. (If the Serpent Lairs in Quetza are the main place of worship to Sotek and they are in the middle of Lustria, it is fair to assume that this Shrine is Second to them and the largest temple to Sotek in the Isthmus. Probably analogous to Blood Shrines of Sotek.)
  
  
• Temple of the Eclipse (Tlaxtlan): In the City of the Moon sits the Temple of the Eclipse, its power reverberating whenever the two moons align.
  
  
• Temple of Mists (Xlanhuapec): The Temple of Mists is surrounded by enchanted fog that protects all of Xlanhuapec. (It is fair to assume that the Temple is actually where these preternatural mists have their source.)
  
  
• Beacon of Dawn/Ziggurat of Dawn (Jungles of Pahualaxa): By dawn's early light... does it call to the bosom of the Old Ones for their protection and illumination.
  
  
• Golden Tower of the Gods (The Great Mountains of the Southlands): An ancient tower clad in pure gold, constructed by the Lizardmen at the order of the Old Ones in an age long past
  
  
• Sanctum of Quintex (Quintex): Quintex has stood since before the dawn of recorded history. Within its vaults lie treasures beyond comprehension and deepest chambers within it may very well hold treasures and learnings that unlock the past, and foretell the future.

 

[Mr.Crocodile]

And this is all of them! Hope y'all will find this compendium useful!