Hillside Burrows
Hillside burrows are dens or homes dug into the ground, often within a hillside. Fictional hillside burrows are often depicted as warm, cozy, and inviting. Often located in pastural settings, there may be gardens or farmland nearby with windmills or watermills. Roads and paths may connect them to nearby towns and ferries. Hillside burrows may contain underground tunnels that connect to other burrows or into mines, caves, or secret exits. Hillside burrows are home to halflings, dwarves, and anthropomorphic animals such as moles, badgers, and mice.
| Synonyms: halfling holes, underground dens |
| Example Mythonyms: Underroot Manor, Badger’s Home |
Designing Fictional Hillside Burrows
Overview
Fictional hillside burrows are often depicted warm, cozy, and inviting. They may feature fireplaces with warm hearths, stocked cellars full of good food and wine, and comfortable libraries. Being located beneath the earth and often being inhabited by fictional underground creatures, these locations may also feature extensive subterranean tunnels that lead to mines, cave systems or hidden passageways.
Note! Worldbuilders may wish to avoid the term ‘Hobbit’ to describe a race of short, pastural humanoid creatures as the term is copyrighted. ‘Halfling’ is public domain and can be used as a substitute.
Exterior
Outside the home there may be large gardens. The hill in which the den is dug may be topped by a giant tree. If so, the roots of this fictional plant may feature in the architecture of the home below.
Local Environment
Fictional hillside burrows are often located in pastural settings. While usually a hill is present, so may be woods, a gentle river, and farmland. Windmills and/or watermills may dot the landscape and a town (particularly a fantasy town) may be nearby.
