I have some questions and comments about the atmosphere of Cauldron, both literally and figuratively.
I'm setting this in the Forgotten Realms, in Chult. So, subtropical jungle. I'm wondering how the other people who chose a jungle setting dealt with the weather?
I'm thinking it's pretty warm. Upper 70's in the late fall, upper 90's in the spring and summer. Tanks in full plate are likely to not be happy, but the party should be several adventures down the road by the time they get to summer so they can beg the clerics (if there are any, but that's a whole different matter...) for some spell that protects them from the heat.
I'm also assuming that the town gets fairly cool at night and a heavy fog fills the caldera most nights. The town's only about a quarter-mile across, and it would be weird to be able to spot things happening on the other side of town; elves, on a clear night, could snipe from clear across town (with a hefty minus, but still...). Light, drizzly rain making the cobbles a little slippery at night, also helping to mask some of the sounds from the other side of the lake.
Also, given that this is a trade town which makes perfumes, incense, dyes and spices, I'm figuring that just about every window box in town has some sort of flowers growing in it, so even though the buildings are all a dreary gray-black, there is a riot of colors and smells; a lot of the wood used in town is the more aromatic wood used for some incense... all the people are wearing these colorful native outfits...
I cannot wait to start running this campaign.
The second map on this page should be a good addition to your campaign material:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mw/20051213a
Serpent Kingdoms has some good information on the regions involved here. If you go by what has been suggested by other conversions, I beleive that Cauldron would go in the northern part of the Sanrach Mountains.
Narubel is a city ruled by Yuan-Ti that split off from Thindol, and is a haven for pirates. This would be found to the north of where Cauldron would sit, and provides a precedence for a trade city in the region that split off from a parent nation.
I would assume that Cauldron could have been a Thindolese city that similarly split off from control from Thindar (the capital of Thindol) when Narubel split off.
The Sammarach people to the south are paranoid vassals of Nimbral, and they highly value illusion magic, as well as rarely telling the truth, not so much from malice, but from self preservation. This is relevant because I can see Cauldron being made up of Tashlutans, Thindolese, and Sammarach natives that split off from the control of Thindol because of the diversity of the city.
Sorry, going off on a tangent, but the area is really an underutilized section of the Realms that has a ton of potential.
The second map on this page should be a good addition to your campaign material:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mw/20051213a
Thanks for that map. I'm using SCAP in FR set on the Chultan Peninsula, and I've substituted Tashluta for Sasserine. I have Serpent Kingdoms but didn't realize the map was online.
I do have a bit of a problem. I've been using the larger map that comes with the FR Campaign Scenario book and it's very different from that map. Grrr. I like the added detail, but I'd have to retcon a number of things I've already told my players. Argh.
I do have a bit of a problem. I've been using the larger map that comes with the FR Campaign Scenario book and it's very different from that map. Grrr. I like the added detail, but I'd have to retcon a number of things I've already told my players. Argh.
Depending on what you may have told them, retcon may not be necessary. Confusion caused by differences between the two maps could be explained as faulty cartography. In ages past, it was not unknown to have maps made by people who had never been to the part of the world they were mapping.
Just a possibility to save time, hassle, and to add a possible campaign item. Who knows how much the party might make by providing accurate maps?
I have some questions and comments about the atmosphere of Cauldron, both literally and figuratively.
Also, given that this is a trade town which makes perfumes, incense, dyes and spices, I'm figuring that just about every window box in town has some sort of flowers growing in it, so even though the buildings are all a dreary gray-black, there is a riot of colors and smells; a lot of the wood used in town is the more aromatic wood used for some incense... all the people are wearing these colorful native outfits...
I cannot wait to start running this campaign.
Your imagery here is excellent and the atmosphere you are creating is extremely appropriate.
Cauldron is also a mining town steeped in tradition and history - the Flood Festival plays testament to this. The city would possess it's own 'slang' perhaps derivitive of its past ie 'Descending into the Scar' could be slang for - facing your demons/problems, 'As hard as finding a gnome' - could refer to the vanishing, etc. These little things help add to the atmosphere and 'reality' of the city and seems to be exactly what you are attempting to achieve.
Tropical birds, butterflies and flowers would all be prevalent in the city. Smells of exotic spices would flow into the steets from taverns and small stalls selling rare silks, plants and even animals would be commonplace.
I designed a document on possible Cauldron Coins - there background story, appearance and slang term for the coin which I placed on RPGenius site which was also my attempt at developing the atmosphere of the city if you care to look.
Keep the ideas flowing. You ideas so far are excellent.
Delvesdeep
I don't know how accurate it is to the region, but the altitude of Cauldron would make it significantly cooler than the surrounding jungled aread below.
I also like a darker feel to my campaigns. For me having flower boxes ruins the brooding feel of the city. I would state while they do have these things they are prized. Each house has a courtyard in the middle that is dominated by a garden of herbs, spices and flowers. Perhaps theft of the most valuable strains caused this move.
This way the dark volcanic rock walls and the fog streaming down the slops to the lake below would create a very nice feel for the city after dark. This is particularly the feel I would go for in the beginning portions of both Life's Bazaar and Drakthar's Way.
Sean Mahoney