Incabulos's page

Take a look at real life prisons for starters. I'd start with Eastern State Penitentary in Pennsylvania and look at how much of a horror show it was. Since that particular place is closed (except for tours) you should be able to get your hands on actual blueprints or at least detailed maps.

As for creating the city, start with why the prison is there in the first place and work outward. Most likely any city/town houses the families of the warden and security staff, they in turn require certain basics like a market, some manner of transportation hub, etc. How much control does the warden exert over the actaul town and it's politics? Maybe the entire population consists of criminals and only after a set period of incarceration are they allowed into a "town" job. If so, then what means of control are in play to safeguard their behavior?

I have more I could add here but I am curious what everyone else has to say...

I'm completely onboard with being involved with this. The notion of a class that dabbles with otherworldly forces is always a treasure trove for a DM and in the hands of a skilled player offers new and innovative ways to interact within the game. This looks to be fun on every level.

Check out the soundtrack for the movie Priest, for the movie Pathfinder (both featuring Karl Urban) and almost anything by Nox Arcana.

Use that moral hesitation to your storytelling advantage. Have the women and children hiding in the last area visited by the invading heroes and have a lone kobold/goblinoid witch sacrificing them as the heroes enter. "Better they die by my hand than yours Longshanks! With their blood I curse you!" You get the idea. Let that image fester in their minds and then develop the nature (if any) of the curse placed upon them for their crimes against the clan. The players imagination will do most of the work for you.

I'm working on something along those lines actually. I am using Eberron as a starting point and introducing elements from the event book When the Sky Falls, the Second Darkness AP (the meteor impact threat mostly), and the concept of the beacons from Mass Effect. Basically, I have these scattered beacons that reveal forces nudging the evolution of Eberron via these impacts (ala 2001) and that Eberron is fated to face oblivion from threats beyond. Aditionally, the Dark Plea are actually the masters behind the daelkyr. What the players have recently discovered is that members from House Lyrandar (unmarked shipwrights and navigators mostly) are being abducted in droves. They are actually working secretly (at the dragons behest) to create an ark of sorts that will bear survivors to the stars.

I have tons written up on this and can happily work parallel with you to help flush out both of our respective games.

Wasn't there something in the AP about the constant sea spray soaking everything thereby making it more difficult to burn?

You may want to consider something like the National Novel Writing Month contest as a way to both get yourself some name recognition as a writer and working on a deadline. It requires you to write a 50,000 word piece over the month of November and can be found here if you're interested. http://www.nanowrimo.org/