Dark Elf Civilization

Dark Elves are arcane beings from deep within the earth. They possess a high culture of art and science, but harbor a cruel streak fostered by worship of a dark goddess.

Setup
Draw constructions of the Dark Elf civilization in black. Dark Elves prefer clean tunnels that are straight or curve gently.

In pencil, draw a tunnel that passes all the way across the page from left to right and stays in the bottom two inches of the page.

If you don’t have a gold vein or a good size mithral deposit, create mithral deposits right now as described in the Primordial Age rules.

Dark Elf represent nobles, while  represent slaves. If a city ever has twice as many as, there is a slave revolt.

Pick a spot along this tunnel. Above it draw three 1 bead rooms and put 1 in each. These are Dark Elf noble palaces. Below the spot draw three 1 bead rooms and put 1 in each. These are slave pits. This is the Dark Elf great city. As the population grows, draw more rooms to contain them. When Dark Elves take casualties, remove before removing.

Make up a name for your great city and write it on the map. It is now year zero of the Dark Elven civilization.

If at any time Dark Elf tunnels reach the surface, the great Human-Dark Elf war occurs, and the Dark Elf Age ends. Likewise, if any Dark Elf city reaches 10 total population, the Dark Elf Age ends.

The Dark Elf Year
Any time you move beads from the great city to a colony, you must leave at least 1 and 1  behind. If you can’t do this, don’t move the beads.

Spring
If the great city has more than, add 1. In the spring, Dark Elves scout for new colony sites. If the main Dark Elf city has more than 1, it can found a new city on any site with gold, mithral, or gems within 1 finger of any tunnel that’s connected up to the Dark Elf city.

If there are suitable sites, but they are too far from the great city, the Elves dig a tunnel 1 finger towards the closest site.

Here’s how to found a new city: Take 1 and 1  from the great city. Create new rooms at the colony site for these beads. Give the colony city a snappy, Dark Elf-sounding name. The colony will now mine valuables and grow on its own.

If there are no new colony sites to exploit, add 1 to the Dark Elf city.

Summer
In summer, the Dark Elves mine for goods. Each mining colony can mine out an area of ore or gold 1 thumb in size in a summer. Mark out the area mined. Expand the colony 1. If there are more than, add 1  to the Dark Elf colony.

If the Dark Elves are mining gems instead of gold or ore, each turn remove 1 in gemstones from the board and expand the colony as if they had mined ore.

Fall
In the fall, the Dark Elves build. Tally the population (slaves and nobles) of each colony and the city and draw in any Dark Elf Constructions marked at that population level that have not already been built. You decide what the constructions look like.

Winter
In winter, the City acquires new slaves. Add 1 to the city. If there are any non-Elven in tunnels connected to the great city, take one of them and turn it into a  at the city.

Slave Revolts
When the slaves revolt in a colony or city, all Dark Elves are killed. Remove all the slaves and replace them with 3. These are freed slaves who now act as independent monsters.

Finally add 1 to every Dark Elf city still remaining.

End of the Dark Elf Age
When the Dark Elf Age ends, remove all Dark Elf nobles and slaves from the map. In each city and colony, place 1 in the slave area (leftover slave beasts), and 1  in the noble area (abandoned goods).