Prosperity of Sunstead/East Bight

[Winterwolf]

I am about to flesh out the details of the settlement(s) in the East Bight for my group's adventures.
I know of a fan-made adventure which gives some details.

It seems to me that Ceawin, the leader at Sunstead, has some reasonable revenue available - distributing gifts at the Folkmoot, then later paying for the manufacture and delivery of the Helm to placate the (un)dead nearby.
Has anyone thought up any decent reason how the folk of the East Bight generate wealth, other than trade of agricultural goods presumably? Or sale of pillaged items from Northmen tombs?

[Indur Dawndeath]

I'm thinking that he could be breeding horses as well. It is old Eothraim country

[Otaku-sempai]

There's lumber, though that might not sit well with some of the Wood-elves.

[Falenthal]

There's lumber, though that might not sit well with some of the Wood-elves.

Sunstead is probably too far in the southern part of Mirkwood to be a problem for the elves. In fact, the wood is so near Dol Guldur that it probably is a danger for the Woodmen to chop for wood: they probably do it, but once in a while someone might disappear or return mad.

Being paid in gold and trinkets, probably Ceawin has some direct business with the dwarves in providing them with organic stuff: leathers, meat, vegeteables, wood, etc.

From what I understand from Winterwolf, he would be interested in some kind of "hidden plot", maybe a bit sinister, that explains why such a southern and isolated location (not near any of the trading hubs, like Esgaroth or Dale) has managed to get so prosperous. They can be tomb-raiders, as you say, or it could explain why Ceawin (or some other VIP from the communitiy) has a direct business with the dwarves without going through Dale and Bard. Or one of the Nazgûl, dressed as the Black Messenger, could be offering treasure to the woodmen (maybe not Ceawin, but one of the main merchants of Sunstead), in exchange for some future favour, still to be formulated.

[Otaku-sempai]

Yes, leather, pelts and leather goods as well as rare herbs would be other viable commodities.

[Terisonen]

I can see at least an activity who generate substantials revenues: mine. Either gold, silver, copper, tin, all are valuable asset. Best even, it can explain the creation of the bight, as this kind of activity use huge amount of wood for pillar, for refinery of the ore, etc etc...

[Halbarad]

Contains Minor Spoilers for Heart of the Wild/Darkening of Mirkwood.




I’ve been considering Sunstead and Ceawin from a slightly different perspective. Although it doesn’t say it outright, the chapter about the Folkmoot gave me the impression that Ceawin was just a little desperate for his folk to be accepted into the Woodman folde.

Reading between the lines, i’m not at all certain that they are wealthy folk at all(at least, not yet).

If we consider that they only departed the West Nether Vales only six years before arriving at the Folk Moot of Rhosgobel, then their settlement is five years old at most. The East Bight is isolated and though there might be occasional opportunities for Sunsteaders to trade with wandering merchants, they are hardly a trading hub and I doubt that much wealth could be generated that way.

In my opinion, the trinkets that they passed out as gifts among the Woodmen were more likely to represent a portion of the gathered wealth of their people that they brought with them, rather than wealth that was obtained from the East Bight.

We know that the East Bight of the middle Third Age contained the settled homes of the proto Éotheod, but that they tended to their herds upon the Rhovanic plain. The rich and fertile soil of the East Bight is where I believe that any future wealth for Sunstead would come from. The grain grown here could have fed tens of thousands of Northmen and their herds over the winter months in it’s heyday. Ceawin could probably grow enough grain to feed the folk of the Western Eaves many times over.

Ceawin claims to have many followers, but this is probably only a few thousand at best. (This, of course, might represent a substantial following in later Third Age Rhovanion.) Likewise, not all of his followers are kin to the Woodmen and they previously lived in close proximity to the Leofrings. A few might even be Leofrings and some horses being raised to sell in Dale is certainly not beyond belief.

So, logging, cash crops and a little horse trading would be my bets for the future wealth of Sunstead.

It’s interesting that the paragraphs about Ceawin in HotW(page103) refer to the ‘future’ prosperity of his folk instead of their current and continuing prosperity. If he is accepted by the Woodmen, marries the girl and gets that trade deal for his grain, his Folk will potentially become very wealthy indeed. A couple of years later, he’ll have lots of coin to hire that Dwarf Armourer that he needs. If not, then Sunstead is doomed to fade slowly but inexorably and Ceawin will need to pay for his helmet from a rapidly dwindling treasury.

[Terisonen]

Sound reasonnable and well thinked

[Winterwolf]

Thanks all - some useful ideas there!