Something Wicked This Way Comes!


Play-by-Post


Riddleport.

Once a secret pirate haven, Riddleport has grown
over the last three centuries into a port city in
its own right.At first it served as a secure base
from which to conduct raids against Chelish merchant
vessels bound for Korvosa, but over time the city has
expanded into a true settlement, the frontier’s frontier,
the northernmost outpost on the lonely strip known as the
Lost Coast. Yet while Riddleport has grown into a proper
city, it remains true to its roots—you can get rich quick in
Riddleport if you’ve got skill and a bit of luck, though for
every Riddleport success story there are a dozen nameless
bodies buried in potters’ fields or tossed to the hungry
denizens of the sea.

Riddleport is located in a secluded, rocky harbor
situated at the easternmost reaches of the Calphiak
Mountains, where the meandering Velashu River meets
the sea. Although the site was partially chosen for ease of
defense (either from Chelish privateers or raiders from
the Lands of the Linnorm Kings), the original settlers
picked the site as much for its singular Thassilonian
monument: the mysterious and intriguing arch known
as the Cyphergate.

The city proper is tucked in between two rocky ridges,
the easternmost rising just over 300 feet in elevation
and blocking the city from a tidal swamp of hillocks and
mires that serves today as a dumping ground for refuse,
derelict ships, bodies, and undesirables. The western
ridge ascends swiftly into the Calphiak Mountains
themselves. To the north, the Velashu River threads its
way between these ridges, leading up into the Velashu
Uplands. While roads from the east and north exist, they
are not well-maintained—the most notable access to
the city is its harbor. No one who sails into Riddleport
by sea can avoid passing beneath the Cyphergate.

Many sailors have favorite private signs or rituals for good
luck they perform as their ships pass under the storied
arch, for one can never be too careful around Varisia’s
storied monuments.

Riddleport today bears an air of legitimacy that eluded
it in earlier times when it was little more than a haven
for those seeking shelter but not necessarily law. This
legitimacy arises from a growing influx of scholars and
experts, for of all Varisia’s monuments, the Cyphergate
may be the best preserved. It’s certainly one of the most
enigmatic. An entire tradition of arcane study has risen in
the Cyphergate’s shadow—the growing Order of Cyphers
has become one of Riddleport’s most powerful factions—
quite the feat in a settlement known for traditional
values of piracy and bullying. This newest faction of
Riddleport’s already complicated administration may
just be what it takes to force the growing city into a stable
government—or it may be the final load that causes it all
to come crumbling down!

It is to Riddleport that you have all come, for many different reasons.
Specifically, on this afternoon, you find yourselves in the Wharf district of the city.
This raucous district lies hard on the edge of the very docks
of the city and is where much of the city’s day-to-day action
of commerce and thievery occurs. Nearest the docks are a
series of warehouses and cheap grog shops where merchant
and pirate crews mingle in a haze of rum-soaked debauchery
and blood. Once the most commercially successful portion
of the city, its aged facade and Riddleport’s slow slide toward
legitimacy have seen much of the action move northward to
the Free-Coin District, leaving the Wharf District a tattered
shadow of its former self. Inns and shops have grimed
windows and peeling paint hinting at a prosperity that
no longer exists, which is just fine for the run-of-the-mill
pirate crew.

For whatever reason today each of you find yourself drawn to the Golden Goblin gambling hall, where the grand gambling event “Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold” looks set to be poised to bring the game
hall back in business after a long decline.

Yet the gambling tournament is not the only thing going on in Riddleport at the moment, for a strange atmospheric phenomenon lately manifested in the sky above the city. The strange blot has hung in the
air for several weeks, moving slowly in what appears to be
a random pattern in the sky. At first assumed to be a dark
cloud, it soon became evident that it often moved at odds
with the wind. The blot itself resembles nothing so much
as a shadow floating in the sky, almost as if some large but
unseen object were partially blocking the sun’s rays.

As you turn a corner of the street in this run down area you finaly set eyes upon the Golden Goblin.
This grand establishment has seen better days. A wide
veranda runs along the front between two short wings of
the building. A massive, brass half-dome tops the building,
but it is now tarnished and marred by the impact of years
of weathering and bears a patina of greenish brown.

Standing before the main doors of the building is an
8-foot-tall statue cast in shining gold to resemble a largerthan-
life goblin. It balances a golden dogslicer on a pile of
gold as it smiles smugly down on all customers who pass
beneath its gaze.

The doors themselves are of a strong dark wood imported
from southern lands and are decorated with multiple panels
depicting signs of luck and good fortune (four-leaf clovers,
crossed fingers, and so on).

Upon entering you discover that just inside the main doors, two sultry beauties scantily clad and wearing faux bat wings, devil horns, and tails play the part of alluring succubi. Both appear to be employees of the Gold Goblin, and they cheerfully register you as contestants for the tournament and process your entry fee (1 gp). Armed guards stand nearby to either side of an immense treasure chest into which each patron’s entry fee is added. The guards are obviously on hand to not only protect the money, but to prevent any overzealous admirers from trying to dare the infamous touch of a succubus. The make no attempt to relieve you of any weapons you may carry

Beyond the registration table is the hall’s game floor. Dozens
of gamblers, waitresses dressed as succubi, and bouncers mill
about the room, wandering amid tables offering various games
while dealers shuffle cards, roll dice, and spin wheels. Moving
through this throng are a dozen more of the barely clad, batwinged
vixens serving drinks and batting coal-black eyelashes
flirtatiously for tips. In the center of the chamber is a short
podium atop which sits a massive gold chest affixed to the floor
by similarly gaudy chains. On either side of it stands a barechested
bouncer in the exotic garb of some foreign sultan’s
court. Each stands with muscled arms crossed over his chest
and with a naked scimitar of prodigious size tucked through
his waistband. High above them, from the hall’s cloth-draped
ceiling, hangs a brass birdcage within which crouches a small,
bat-winged, pointy-tailed devilish creature that sulks as it gazes
over the room and occasionally rattles the bars threateningly.

Silken banners hang from floor to ceiling along the
walls, and wide vertical blinds are drawn over the windows
when morning light begins to peer in from the east. The
chamber has a ceiling 20 feet above, draped in layers
of horizontally hung, gauzy beige curtains.

Light is provided by numerous chandeliers hanging
below the ceiling as well as several large copper
braziers spaced around the room with live coals to give
the chamber a more hellish light for the tournament. At
the back of the chamber between the kitchen doors is a
small dais bearing a bust of Desna, goddess of luck.

As you move though the crowded hall you bump into a buxom human woman , who can just about be described as being clothed.

"Welcome to the Gold Goblin, gorgeous, the hot spot for turning fortunes and winning wagers
beneath the arch. I'm Mirri Salassa and I guess your looking for the squarest games, most honest dealers, and prettiest blamed
barmaids anywhere in the port? Well, you found ’em, sugar! Ready to be rich ? Hope so,
’cause tonight’s your night. Belly up to a table and get to winnin’; we’ve got the gold to make
your dreams glitter. Good drink, fine food, and warm company’s extra, but we’ve got all that
too—at prices so cheap we might as well be giving it away. So find a spot, honey, order a pint,
and leave it all to us, ’cause here, even a goblin could win his weight in gold! Just one thing first though sweetie; I need you to fill in this registration form for me..."

Registration Form. PC must be literate to read it!

Spoiler:

I, , do hereby sacrifice my immortal soul and the worldly sum of10 pieces of silver to the Devil to hold in escrow against his own stake of 10,000 silver coins in the gambling tournament being held at the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall of Riddleport on this Oathday, 14th day of Arodus, 4708 ar.
I understand that my soul will be placed on deposit in the Hells’ deepest pit of Nessus. Furthermore, I understand that all winnings shall be catalogued in concordance of souls, to be represented by teeth, eyes, and hearts of the damned. By participating in the gambling tournament and beginning in the first pit of Avernus, my winnings shall earn my way deeper through the Hells on the following schedule:
Dis—1 gold eye
Erebus—3 gold eyes and a Badge of Dis
Phlegethon—5 gold eyes and a Badge of Erebus
Stygia—10 gold eyes and a Badge of Phlegethon
Malebolge—25 gold eyes and a Badge of Stygia
Cocytus—50 gold eyes and a Badge of Malbolge
Caina—75 gold eyes and a Badge of Cocytus
Nessus—100 gold eyes and a Badge of Caina
I understand that if I should lose my stake in the tournament I shall receive the Devil’s Mark and my soul shall be cast upon the rocks on the shore of the River Styx.
I understand that if I elect to cash in my winnings before reaching the pit of Nessus I shall forfeit my soul and 50% of the cash value of my winnings for said early departure.
If I am the first player to reach Nessus, then I am granted the redemption of my soul and the right to Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold in addition to collecting my winnings. In such a circumstance,
all other players shall receive the Devil’s Mark and forfeit their souls.
This is I do swear.
Witnessed by: Old Scratch


Taking a long moment to read it before leaning back Angus breaths an air of shocked disbelief.
~Its almost good enough to pass for the real thing, however this is Riddleport...~ he mentally mutters to himself.

Angus will let the others he accompanied here to the Gold Goblin sign first before signing himself since even a fool needs company.

Community / Forums / Online Campaigns / Play-by-Post / Something Wicked This Way Comes! All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.