Stiltshack

In The Aillaisian Marshlands of Chisolm, it can often be a challenge to find dry land upon which to build. There are a great many fruits that grow deep in the swamps that contribute to the primary industry of the region: distilled spirits. In addition, the fish, amphibian, and reptile life thriving in the swamps provide an ample supply of food for the local populace. While some settle for living on the outskirts of the marshlands, many intrepid souls choose to make their homes deep within them; close to the bounty of resources to be found there. A particular architectural design has cropped up over the years as more people have settled here: the stiltshack.

I'd never before seen a people living in such ramshackle squalor, and I've never since seen a people happier with the life they've been dealt.

From Tears of Aillaise: My Time in the Land of the Gilded Lily by Baeleron Marcovici

Also known as a swampshack - or more affectionately a stilty - a stiltshack is a rudimentary one-story home built upon stilts sunk into the mud beneath the waters of the swamp. They are commonly only one-room dwellings, sometimes two a the most. A deck often surrounds the home, as the occupant cannot simply walk out into their front yard without falling into the marsh, and these decks often extend out to the nearest patch of dry land.
Often, entire networks of these walkways connect various stiltshacks into a loose amalgamation of a small community. These stilty villages can number from a mere handful to dozens of interconnected buildings. In some of the larger such settlements, one can walk for miles across the marshlands, crossing rivers, and passing by dozens of homes, workshops, and warehouses without ever stepping off the wood-plank walkways that twist through the swamps.

Swamp by Alex Shatohin

Alternative Names

Stilty, Swampshack

Type

House

Parent Location

The Aillaisian Marshlands

I met her down in the stilty village,
a girl so fair with a demon's soul.
She stole my heart with a simple smile,
and fed the rest o' me to the trolls!

- A common Allaisian folk song.