| Kai_G |
A player of mine has picked up the Marked by Unknown Forces trait, but, in the game we're playing, we've banned the appearences of established setting deities and references to them. I'm trying to brainstorm ways ideas for how to incorporate this trait.
As for the issue of Clerical training, Sferka's Summoning Guild is held responsible for the import of goods from beyond The Sphere and trains aspirants for the Lodge of Horizon Walkers. The group has recently joined the Guild as students and I have plenty of tasks for the Hall of Shadows(Rogue-training hall), Hall of Sages(Wizard-training hall), and Hall of Strength(Fighter-training hall), but the Hall of Service(Cleric-training hall) is giving me trouble. I need ideas for the kinds of increasingly difficult tasks the hall would give to their students to develop their abilities from 2nd level to 6th level. Anyone have any ideas?
Here's the stat blocks for the Plane and City where the game is taking place:
The demiplane known as "The Sphere" is shaped as a hollow sphere with stone architecture and urban sprawl covering the entire interior surface. There are no natural sources of fresh air or water in The Sphere and the only natural sources of light are the tiny motes of twinkling light that float around the city like fireflies.
The Sphere has the following planar traits:
Gravity: Objective directional gravity. The direction of gravity within The Sphere is towards the nearest planar boundary.
Time: Flowing Time. For each hour on the Material Plane, one day passes in The Sphere.
Shape and Size: Finite, Self-Contained Shape. The Sphere is located... It has the shape of a hollow sphere made of impenetrable stone.
Mildly Law-Aligned: Chaotic creatures take a –2 circumstance penalty to all Charisma-based checks.
Enhanced Magic: Spells and spell-like abilities from the Summoning subschool are enhanced.
A small section (~3.5%) of The Sphere is inhabited by a race of native outsiders, the descendants of humans who traveled to the demiplane long ago and bonded with the demiplane's star motes. These descendants call their home, "Sferka". The dark places on the other side of the city walls are known to be dangerous and thus light is a sign of both safety and wealth. The light districts are where the former nobles reside and otherwise affluent natives live, while the dim districts hold the lower classes. The Sacred Plaza exists as a sort of religious market where the faithful and pious seek answers and community amidst the fearful dark.
LN large city
Corruption +0; Crime +0; Economy –2; Law -1; Lore +1; Society –2
Qualities deep traditions, holy site, no questions asked
Danger 30; Disadvantages heavily taxed, hunted
Demographics
Government council
Population ~17,500 (~17,448 Natives, 17 Humans, 35 Other)
Marketplace
Base Value 5,600 gp; Purchase Limit 25,000 gp; Spellcasting 7th
Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6
| Fuzzy-Wuzzy |
The clerics must be serving something, if only a philosophy. Give the character a mark associated with one or more of the somethings. Or just an ancient sigil for Doom, it doesn't have to be deityish at all.
Given Sferka's relationship with light and darkness I might go for Nightfall: a sigil left over from long, long ago, before their ancestors came here, so that no one is sure how to translate it. It is thought to mean something like "the coming of the final darkness" (nobody has figured out Dawn), which makes for a pretty darn ominous Mark. There are sages whose studies cover that obscure area, who will definitely react to it appearing on the character's palm. Or maybe lots of people recognize it and are scared of it, but only the sages have any serious clue what it means.
Weirdo
|
It doesn't matter whether the marked character is the cleric. The presence of clerics implies some form of spiritual or philosophical devotion must exist in the setting.
Have you developed this at all, or is that part of why you're having difficulty visualizing the Hall of Service?
| Kai_G |
What I'm really struggling with are the challenges to present to the Cleric as part of her training.
The Hall of Strength has certain events in an annual tournament, including several physical games, a couple unarmed combat matches, several different styles of wrestling matches, archery, and a handful of armed combat events, that he has to compete in and win to complete his training.
The Hall of Sages has to fill about a dozen spellbooks, which may include magical research and possible mishaps, to complete his training.
The Hall of Shadows has a number of elaborate, criminal acts, including blackmail, kidnapping, breaking and entering, theft, forgery, and assassination, to perform to complete his training.
I've put out a bit of information on the Hall of Service so far, but nothing that has really inspired me further.
F(middle aged, 52) Sferka Native Studious Librarian Street Performer 1/Ancient Guardian 4/Evangelist 3
NG Small Outsider(Half-Construct, Native)
Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
DEFENSE:
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
hp X (8d8+24)
Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +14; +2 racial bonus vs. disease, mind-affecting effects, poison, and effects that cause either exhaustion or fatigue
OFFENSE:
Speed 20 ft.
Bard Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +3)
1st (2/day)-Timely Inspiration, Unseen Servant
0 (at will)-Light, Mending, Prestidigitation, Read Magic
Druid Spells Prepared (CL 6th; concentration +11)
4th-(D) Spell Immunity, 6 other prepared druid spells
3rd-(D) Protection From Energy, 4 other prepared druid spells
2nd-(D) Shield Other, 4 other prepared druid spells
1st-(D) Sanctuary, 3 other prepared druid spells
0 (at will)-Create Water, Detect Poison, Guidance, Stabilize
STATISTICS:
Str 6, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 20, Cha 14
Base Atk +5; CMB +2; CMD 13
Feats;
Deific Obedience,
Leadership,
Magnum Opus,
Natural Spell,
Prodigy (Craft (Alchemy)) and Perform (Oratory)),
Skill Focus (Perception)
Skill Focus (Perform (Oratory))
Skills;
Appraise +9
Bluff +10
Craft (Alchemy) +16
Craft (Other) +6
Diplomacy +12
Disable Device +2
Handle Animal +6
Heal +9
Knowledge (Arcana) +6
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +6
Knowledge (Engineering) +6
Knowledge (Geography) +6
Knowledge (History) +6
Knowledge (Local) +7
Knowledge (Nature) +8
Knowledge (Nobility) +6
Knowledge (Planes) +6
Knowledge (Religion) +8
Linguistics +6
Perception +19
Perform (Oratory) +20
Perform (Other) +6
Sense Motive +15
Sleight of Hand +3
Spellcraft +9
Stealth +2
Survival +11
Use Magic Device +6
Languages; Native, Trade (Planar Common), Druidic, Sylvan
SQ;
Racial - Skilled (Perform (Oratory)), Spell-Like Ability (Cure Light Wounds/At will), Terrain Stride (Urban),
Bard - Bardic performance, cantrips, countersong, fascinate
Studious Librarian - Scribe Scroll
Street Performer - Disappearing act, gladhanding, streetwise
Druid -Nature sense, Wild shape (2/day)
Ancient Guardian - Community bond (Protection), Patience of nature, Ancient ways, dispel hostility, Unimpeachable
Evangelist - Skilled (Disable Device), Aligned class(Druid), protective grace, Divine boon 1 (Fiction Weaver (Sp) silent image 3/day, minor image 2/day, or major image 1/day)
Gear
Tome of Epics, other gear as appropriate
DC 10: (commonly known facts or rumors) Tarina is a small and passive figure, often mistaken for a overgrown, stone, garden statue. Despite that, she is a scholar, a performer, and a passionate acolyte of Edona, Goddess of Beauty. She leads others to her faith by example but, this doesn’t prevent her from guiding others of different faiths. Every day brings its own opportunities, adventures, and challenges, and only by bucking the odds, knowing the most, and being the best might they claim the treasures of each.
DC 15: (uncommonly known facts or rumors) Tarina revere’s nature and, even in a place as barren as the Sphere, she draws power from its divine energies. She has studied long in Sferka’s great libraries and has come to protect the customs, histories, and lore of those who first came to the Sphere. She acts as an ambassador and protector of the old ways, nurturing the culture’s growth and holding back civilization’s corruptive influence.
DC 20: (obscure knowledge) Tarina Salonen has perhaps the greatest talent for oration that Sferka has ever seen. One day, she told a tale, and her raw natural ability captivated everyone who saw her perform. Her early work was marked by extraordinary performances describing epic scenes of glorious combat between ancient heroes and ferocious monsters, tales of valor, defeat, and victory. Words and music have always seemed to come to her effortlessly, as naturally as breathing. Through her talent, and a bit of magic, she worked to unravel the wiles of the world. She became adept in the arts of persuasion, manipulation, and inspiration, and mixed with the masses, busking for lamp light and a place to rest.
The Hall of Service's greenery is more vibrant under the glow of the greenhouse's illuminated glass panes than any citizen of Sferka might have guessed without it. For those unaccustomed to the bloom of life in such a static and nearly lifeless place as the Sphere, spending time among its tender beauty must seem a blissful wonder.
Neveah's welcome to "the Circle of Salt", as the badges came to call it, was filled with chatter and gossip by a dozen students about the goings on of people she was entirely unfamiliar with. As the Circle described it, the pious of the Sacred Plaza were apparently a diverse group in both age and walk of life. One moment, they seemed to be describing the tumultuous relationship of young lovers. The next moment, the controversial nature of a particular cult leader. Next, rumors about a small outbreak representing a possible resurgence of some strange disease brought back by the Lodge of Horizon Walkers more than a century ago.
The conversation seemed to flow like this for nearly an hour until Master Salonen approached, her serene arrival seeming to quiet everyone present. In a kind voice, she spoke, "Alright everyone, today you'll be showing our newest addition how we nurture the life of this Hall and help it come to constant fruition. I'll set to the soil, you all collect the debris and water the gardens."
A bearded man of about 35 wearing a brass badge spoke up, "I'll show the new girl the plots and rotations." With a nod of consent, the statuesque figure began to walk slowly away. The rest of the group moved together to a storage shed where a large chalkboard had a map of all the different sections of the greenhouse, listing where each crop was planted, what part of their cycle they were in, and what tasks would be required for their immediate upkeep. The man handed Neveah a rake. He had a brilliant smile, like he was genuinely glad to see her. "I'm Aulis, by the way. It's nice to meet you. We take care of the fallen leaves first. It makes the watering easier, and less messy." He laughed.
Aulis turned out to be a rather jovial man. He was good-humored and good-natured. His family had run a small restaurant in the dim district, but being relatively close to the bright wall made for good business. He'd spent his childhood serving food and drink, cleaning tables, and washing dishes. He heard stories at the tables and grew up laughing a lot. The dangerous nature of the dark was far enough away that he never gave it much thought. When he came of age, he decided that he want to help keep "the light in people's hearts lit" and that "the ingredients for joy were in the food and drink that provided distraction from everyday woes and concerns." So, he set himself to the task of maintaining the import and growth of those commodities.
Once they had filled raking the numerous plots, the Circle turned their attention towards watering rows of trees, bushes, shrubs, and other crops. Never had Neveah repeated the same prayer so many times, creating one rainy downpour after another, after another, after another... She wasn't the only one to do so either, as the entire Circle dispersed throughout the Hall, systematically water every plant they encountered.
When they had finished the watering, Aulis and the rest of the Circle gather at a large, raised reservoir made of dull grey stone. The reservoir held numerous species of water-borne plants, and she could see through the greenish water to make out small, hard-shelled creatures with pincers crawling along the bottom and the occasional darting movement of something swimming away from her. Then Aulis' prayers continued, "I thank you, oh fecund spirits of the Sphere, and ask that you clean these waters that life may continue to flourish in this place." The Circle worked for hours, praying at the water's edge until the scum that covered its surface was gone. "The pond is built to refill itself with the excess water from the orchards and crops," Aulis said as he dipped his hands in to gather a drink for himself, the rest of the Circle doing much the same. "Drink your fill and refresh yourself. We're not done yet."
Soon, they gathered around a large mound of dark, rich soil. "Alright, grab a shovel and wheelbarrow. Let's get back to work," he chuckled. The rest of their day was spent carrying fresh soil from the mound to this plot and that plot, scattering several handfuls over each until the glass panes dimmed to nothing, one after another. "Workday is done after the lights go out, but we have to finish scattering the soil before we go." He smiled.
A full day's talk, prayer and manual labor in the greenhouse soon became the norm for Neveah. Even on days when the other left for the Sacred Plaza, she was told to stay and tend to the garden Hall.
| Pizza Lord |
The mark can come from any source of suitable power or destiny. It need not be a 'God', it could just as well be a demon (same benefits and penalties, just towards a different group). It could be the sign of an ancient group of heroes or the symbol of a king's lineage or the sign of a sacred animal of the kingdom or country. It could just be the symbol of Sferka, since light is considered a sign of wealth and protection.
For Clerical tasks, they probably start having to create water and light in the plaza. The spells are unlimited casting, but at low-levels light won't last long, so it's a long day for apprentices. Obviously, higher level clerics attending the plaza can place longer ones in more important areas, but that's still only one light available at a time. Even assuming continual flames in the Sacred Plaza, perhaps the clerics roam the Dim District with patrols, where they occasionally fight off vermin or other small creatures that fly or climb over the walls.
Perhaps in certain places in the walls are positive energy gems embedded to hold weak/mindless undead at bay and each cleric is supposed to infuse an amount of positive energy (using up some channeling) into one or more each night to keep them powered. If the cleric is alone or somehow channels too little energy, maybe a weak undead slips through and they (and a nearby patrol) have to fight off one or two until the cleric can infuse enough energy to reactivate it.
| Kai_G |
The mark can come from any source of suitable power or destiny. It need not be a 'God', it could just as well be a demon (same benefits and penalties, just towards a different group). It could be the sign of an ancient group of heroes or the symbol of a king's lineage or the sign of a sacred animal of the kingdom or country. It could just be the symbol of Sferka, since light is considered a sign of wealth and protection.
I was considering having the symbol link him to the fallen nobility or royalty, but the player is still developing his roleplay style and is rather prone to whimsical/ridiculous roleplay at the moment. The ancient heroes bit has some potential though. I'll have to keep thinking on it though.
For Clerical tasks, they probably start having to create water and light in the plaza. The spells are unlimited casting, but at low-levels light won't last long, so it's a long day for apprentices. Obviously, higher level clerics attending the plaza can place longer ones in more important areas, but that's still only one light available at a time. Even assuming continual flames in the Sacred Plaza, perhaps the clerics roam the Dim District with patrols, where they occasionally fight off vermin or other small creatures that fly or climb over the walls.
There actually isn't a significant amount of oxygen in The Sphere. Being half-constructs and outsiders keeps the citizens of Sferka from NEEDING air, food, or water. The placid, yet hostile, environment has really given us food for thought on how a civilization could grow here. The Hall of Service is one of few places that would have a significant concentration of plants due to the availability(and strict control of) of fertile soil (sunsoil in this case). Are there any animal/vermin like outsiders that you know of that I could use as a base line for introducing unusual fauna to The Sphere?
Perhaps in certain places in the walls are positive energy gems embedded to hold weak/mindless undead at bay and each cleric is supposed to infuse an amount of positive energy (using up some channeling) into one or more each night to keep them powered. If the cleric is alone or somehow channels too little energy, maybe a weak undead slips through and they (and a nearby patrol) have to fight off one or two until the cleric can infuse enough energy to reactivate it.
I'd like to stay away from undead roaming The Sphere in any significant way. Developing the maintenance idea may be where I have to go. The entire Hall already maintains a source of life and luxury food as part of their weekly maintenance tasks. It's a good start for the Silver badge student, but I'd like something more...active, for the player to do.
What are some tasks that Clerics are typically responsible for in parties? Healing and...? Instead of the norm for groups, perhaps I should use the salty MMO healer's jobs and attitudes for finding tasks.
| Pizza Lord |
There actually isn't a significant amount of oxygen in The Sphere. Being half-constructs and outsiders keeps the citizens of Sferka from NEEDING air, food, or water. The placid, yet hostile, environment has really given us food for thought on how a civilization could grow here. The Hall of Service is one of few places that would have a significant concentration of plants due to the availability(and strict control of) of fertile soil (sunsoil in this case).
I get that they have to import a lot of things from elsewhere, but if your civilization doesn't need air, food, or water... all they're really importing is luxury items. I mean, without needing food, you don't need gardens or plants except maybe for herbs for medicine and science. You don't need animals for food or clothing, only for goods like leather, feathers, or inks which you can import (which is fine, but that's going to use up more of your money to import the stuff rather than just raising chickens or geese or livestock, which might actually be more costly in The Sphere, with viable space limited). Without actually producing anything, however... what are they giving in return? A holy site vacation/tourist attraction with no air, food, or water?
Even without needing to drink (and that's just the natives) you still use water for cleaning, washing, steam to power engines, maintaining/regulating temperatures, moisturizing/humidifying, etc. Even without needing air to breathe, you need air to speak most language (obviously the natives will have their own way of communicating in an airless environment) and you need it to help with heating as a convection method for moving heat, and of course, you need air for fire, if not for heating and cooking, for forging, smelting, or even laboratory work in science and alchemy.
Sure, you can have little bubble sections (whether actually in a bubble or just a field of magic) that handles this, but then you're restricting what's already a tiny part of your game setting into an even tinier part (for most players who aren't natives) and you've already basically turned the whole setting into a boring, placid but hostile place with no apparent reason to explore it except to explore it.
I'd like to stay away from undead roaming The Sphere in any significant way. Developing the maintenance idea may be where I have to go. The entire Hall already maintains a source of life and luxury food as part of their weekly maintenance tasks. It's a good start for the Silver badge student, but I'd like something more...active, for the player to do.
Maybe some of the city's functions; waste disposal, irrigation and water circulation to the gardens, machines, etc. are steam powered or at least water driven (I mean, you may still need a mill wheel for grinding things up even if you aren't needing wheat for bread and food). Maybe the clerics are the ones who refill the reservoirs with create water and maintain the gears or machines. You still need plants to convert the CO2 from the breathing creatures to oxygen so you aren't maintaining a magical ward constantly (or if it fails briefly everyone but the natives don't asphyxiate immediately). So you want more plants (that's the easiest way).
Are there any animal/vermin like outsiders that you know of that I could use as a base line for introducing unusual fauna to The Sphere?
Sure, you can use anything, just add a cool prefix to it. Like 'vaccuum' or ''hollow' and just assume it can survive in an airless environment. Like 'vaccuum rats' or 'vaccuum slug' or 'hollow jackal' or 'mote-eater'.
Maybe 'vaccuum slugs' are attracted to light and they tend to ooze in seeking food (typically the motes) but once in the city they get in peoples' houses or latch onto them, maybe it's not lethal but it's icky and annoying and they get in your hair... and they have super suction making them hard to get off... and they smell funny in air-filled environments because their metabolisms generate burst of gas that keeps them somewhat warm out in the Sphere.
Maybe 'mote-eaters' are bat-like vermin attracted to the tiny motes all over the city. Maybe the motes are little, free-floating specks of positive energy dust. Normally mote-eaters consume one and then die (like a moth to flame) and they give birth to a few new mote-eaters. That's just how the species exists. The roam about the void, eat some life-giving dust or something and die giving birth to the next generation. Well, that's all well and good, except since the mote concentration is over the city (or the city was built there because of the concentration of motes)... that leads to a lot of dead mote-eaters just plummeting out of the sky into the streets, on the houses and roofs, into peoples' hair, etc. and, because the city probably has some air and environment, the bodies start to stink unlike what normally happens in the rest of the void of the Sphere. And then if they aren't cleans, a bunch of baby mote-eaters hatch out and it starts all over. They aren't dangerous... just annoying. So that's why there's positive-energy beacons/crystals/gems/etc. placed outside the walls, to attract the vermin, who maybe feed, die and give birth "out there instead" and also, because they don't rot and stink so much out there.
Of course, the acolyte clerics are also responsible for carting off mote-eater corpses regularly when they go out to recharge them with positive energy channeling to keep piles from gathering around the crystals. Of course, they have to spread them out, otherwise other predators will congregate in those locations to feed on the corpses or the baby mote-eaters. So then you can have larger scavengers to drive off for slightly more experienced acolytes. Sure, some locations might just burn the bodies instead of letting the mote-eaters hatch, but that's kind of an affront to a species that survives in such a harsh environment (like the natives) and also... hard to use fire without air.
Then maybe you need to send some out to various locations to gather more of the positive-energy maintaining crystals from mines or 'holy locations' (can't just have a normal miner do it, they're sacred) and, of course, there are creatures attracted to such concentrations. So you have the simple stuff, dealing with some vermin attacks and swarms getting in your hair. Then you progress to driving off scavengers from the mote-eater 'birthing pits', then you travel to the sites out away from the city to bring back more energy stones; some of which may be used to trade with other locations for other goods, as well as some other valuable metals or gemstones found around the sites (so normal miners, or the other PCs, might go along, but there's definitely a clerical oversight at such locations).
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Weirdo
|
What are some tasks that Clerics are typically responsible for in parties? Healing and...? Instead of the norm for groups, perhaps I should use the salty MMO healer's jobs and attitudes for finding tasks.
Healing is the most iconic job for clerics, but they can actually cover a lot of roles in a party - including a martial combat, summoning, buffing (blessing the party), debuffing (aka smiting the party's enemies), and handling undead (controlling or countering them).
Thematically, clerics advance their deity's agenda and/or see to the needs of the faithful.
So tasks for a low level cleric might include:
- Spending a certain amount of time working in a place of healing.
- Making contact with an allied outsider and either assisting or requesting assistance from the outsider.
- Defeating an enemy of the church (possibly an undead, not necessarily in combat).
- Protecting an individual of significance to the church.
- Recovering a relic.
- Guiding a member of the community through a crisis of faith.
Given what you've mentioned about the setting, I might also suggest:
- Tending a valuable plant until it matures (and perhaps can be harvested for medicinal purposes).
- Keeping vigil over a sacred lamp and performing associated rituals or services.
| Kai_G |
I get that they have to import a lot of things from elsewhere, but if your civilization doesn't need air, food, or water... all they're really importing is luxury items. I mean, without needing food, you don't need gardens or plants except maybe for herbs for medicine and science. You don't need animals for food or clothing, only for goods like leather, feathers, or inks which you can import (which is fine, but that's going to use up more of your money to import the stuff rather than just raising chickens or geese or livestock, which might actually be more costly in The Sphere, with viable space limited). Without actually producing anything, however... what are they giving in return? A holy site vacation/tourist attraction with no air, food, or water?
Our group's answer to the question, "When a community has no physical needs other than space and safety, what other needs drive the economy?" is that as sentient beings, we need mental stimulation, and as physical beings, we need physical activity.
We've established that the city maintains a massive public library, not a system mind you, just a single set of buildings in one location. Fiction comprises at least half of the library, but there are texts on thousands of subjects, including reference materials. We've established that entertainers and artists would be far more common, replacing the bulk of some professions, such as farmers. Information and culture could be exported to extraplanar creatures.
Though there is a distinct lack of raw material goods, there was an expansive population in The Sphere at one point. As the GM, I've determined that this was many generations ago and the population probably averaged ~485,000 for quite some time before it began declining. With all the remaining architecture though, there are some who value the structures as historical sites, others who want to salvage the buildings as raw materials. Aside from stone, other raw materials would have to be imported. Those raw materials could then be processed and refined into manufactured goods. For those on the material plane, this is done at a significantly increased processing speed since time in The Sphere is 24 times faster than time on the Material plane.
Medicinal herbs are a good point though. The atmosphere in The Sphere is predominantly CO2. As long as the plants have a source of sunlight (or sunsoil) and water, they can grow in The Sphere. Plants mean clothing is possible to produce in The Sphere.
Traditional land animals would need fresh air, so they're not really feasible. Fortunately, ink can be produced from plants and ash. Like I showed in the Hall of Service's greenhouse though, Create Water is a viable source of fresh water and, along with plant-life, can be used to produce fish and crustaceans.
Even without needing to drink (and that's just the natives) you still use water for cleaning, washing, steam to power engines, maintaining/regulating temperatures, moisturizing/humidifying, etc. Even without needing air to breathe, you need air to speak most language (obviously the natives will have their own way of communicating in an airless environment) and you need it to help with heating as a convection method for moving heat, and of course, you need air for fire, if not for heating and cooking, for forging, smelting, or even laboratory work in science and alchemy.
Create Water also provides a viable source of fresh water for hygiene and industry, likely being distributed for personal use at the Sacred Plaza in exchange for nothing more than prayer and tithes. I don't want to push the technology level to steam power (with some gnomish inventions as the exceptions), and water mills could be created through creation of a water reservoir and a narrow channel to propel the mill wheel.
As far speech, CO2 can carry sound and our current earth atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, so people in the Sphere would have slightly lower pitched voices than in a predominantly nitrogen atmosphere (~267 m/s vs. ~349 m/s). For comparison, Helium carries sound at ~1007 m/s.
While open flame it the most common source of heat, it isn't the only way to get it. While I prefer to not use magic items as a crutch, a magic forge imbued with a heat metal effect could be used to allow blacksmithing without oxygen. Certain creatures from other planes can produce heat without oxygen by using "biochemical reactions", ex. Less scrupulous metalworkers could use metal restraints of Hardness 11 or higher to keep a captive Thoqqua that is fed iron ore, which the creature naturally smelts into its armor plates. When the creature sheds its plates, they could then be gathered before the creature has a chance to consume them and the quality iron could be reworked using the Thoqqua's molten body heat. Blacksmiths in The Sphere without such a heat source might have developed a set of tools and techniques specialized for forging cold iron implements.
As for cooking, 10gp of Blackfire Clay(alchemical item) would allow an hour for someone to cook a meal and that time could possibly be stretched out with other heat-retaining materials/designs. Again, while I prefer to not use magic items as a crutch, a Sustaining Spoon combined with Prestidigitation could provide tasty gruel for 4 people a day at a 5,400gp investment. For a 3,000 gp investment plus the daily cost of ingredients (which we've figured out is just above the normal investment to start a small restaurant), a Cauldron of Brewing combined with Create Water and cultivated/imported plants and seafood could be used to make a number of delicious seafood dishes all day long, as the cauldron can heat up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit and maintain it indefinitely. For a 15,000 gp investment and no ingredient costs, a Cauldron of Plenty would feed up to 36 people per day a nourishing, simple fare and would feed up to 12 people a Heroes' Feast once per week. I believe a Cauldron of Brewing would be the best solution, but those with fewer resources would probably rely on the Blackfire Clay.
...you've already basically turned the whole setting into a boring, placid but hostile place with no apparent reason to explore it except to explore it.
I think our definitions of boring are different. The problems facing a civilization in the Sphere are different, but no less engaging than the ones faced on the Material plane. One of my players suggested that there may be some common mental conditions in Sferka stemming from those who do see the Sphere as a boring place, namely apathy, depression, and monomania. I imagine we'd see much the same mental issues we see in prisons due to solitary confinement or the wanderlust that kids and teens get in small cities.
| Pizza Lord |
We've established that the city maintains a massive public library, not a system mind you, just a single set of buildings in one location. Fiction comprises at least half of the library, but there are texts on thousands of subjects, including reference materials. We've established that entertainers and artists would be far more common
This is certainly good to note. I think in a society, like Rome or our own, where peoples' needs were mostly all met (or in yours, where they have no actual needs other than luxury and entertainment), the entertainment also turned to more spectating activities for their stimulation (unfortunately, not as self-improving as studying in a library or exercising themselves) like the gladiator arenas, bestiaries and zoos, and (less common) bacchanals and parties. In ours, people mostly just watch other people doing things on TV or the Internet.
Naturally a library is a good choice and, of course, your native species need not have the same perverse views as historical humans. It also helps that in the game world practically everyone is literate.
You should probably come up with an exciting sport of some kind, based on the uniqueness of the environment that natives created. You should also probably have an underground (or at least, not approved of officially) competition of some kind that the human residents have brought with them. Be that, a gladiatorial fighting ring, or races through the old sewer system or mining warrens under the city that requires jumping, sprinting, occasional encounters with fauna, etc. Maybe some of the junior clerics make a little extra money (which they possibly tithe or use for good deeds) by tending to the participants' injuries. Then of course, something goes wrong, they have to investigate (can't go to the authorities without getting in trouble) and that's an adventure.