Here's a question. We have finaly kicked off our ROTRL campaign withmy players running a bard, a fighter, a sorcerer and a warlock with necromancer leanings. We finished with the pc's returning from the boar hunt with Aldern, (who now has a facination with the warlock!). Now as we were driving home my player who runs the warlock states that he wants to approach the town council of Sandpoint with an option of moving into the Old Light. What are the connotations involved with this. What exactly lies under the old ruin. Will it cause upset with people i.e the sage. I would really enjoy reading a bit more about the background about this ancient structure and what secrets may be hidden below.
Any ideas?
Uhh...umm...have you gotten Pathfinder #5 yet? I think some of your answers lie therein.
Uhh...umm...have you gotten Pathfinder #5 yet? I think some of your answers lie therein.
Thanks Lilith. Got it but still not got round to reading it yet. I will look forward to this now.
It's a gigantic mega weapon from the ancient days of Thassilon, called the Hellfire Plume. It's not just cutely named, either--when operational, it launches a Yamato Gun style beam of hellfire at targets as well as opening a rift over the target from whence powerful devils are summoned to continue the fun. Eek! The control focus for it is the ring of seven columns in the Sandpoint Cathedral (which correspond to the Seven Sins).
Yeah. Good thing the thing is totally broken down. But it should give you a good idea of the sorts of stuff one might find within. Think of it as an ancient version of the french Magineux (sp?) Line from WWII, a massive seige fortress and superweapon designed to hold off rival Runelords! No doubt there's cool stuff below that!
This post should have a spoiler tag...bit late now.
The Old Light is not for sale. And it isn't hollow.
So even if a low level character had the funds to purchase a historic monument from the town and the Diplomacy skill to convince the town to sell it, the character wouldn't actually get a place to live out of the deal.
From what James Jacobs posted about the Old Light a few months ago, my understanding is that it is not possible to enter the part of the Old Light that projects above ground. James stated that it was about 100 feet tall from ground level at the top of the cliff to the top of what's left.
However, if the PCs find the catacombs and defeat all the monsters there, then they could probably live down there without anyone's permission. But there is still no way to get from the catacombs to the interior of the Old Light.
It sounds like the warlock might not mind living with zombies, a Runewell of Wrath and a shrine to Lamashtu. But I don't think many folks in town would be cool with letting a Necromancer move into the "basement". Especially since the basement also happens to be a shrine to evil.
So really, best not to mention it to the townies at all.
You can only enter the catacombs of wrath prior to RotTL 5. Then the sinkhole provides access to the next part of dungeon. But the sinkhole doesn't open up until the PCs have sufficient levels to cope with the high challenge rating of Xaliasa and his minions.
|
This is the second thread about purchasing someplace in town.
In all honesty I just can't see why the people would allow it. First as a DM one would have to determine who exactly owns the old light. If it is the town's property as a whole then I just don't see them parting with it.
Like I said in the other thread this isn't a modern economy of just popping in and buying businesses or land marks. People are going to refuse unless you talk mega gold and have a long reputable history in town.
BUT it sure would be fun to live there wouldn't it!
It wouldn't be so hard to give it one or two uncollapsed above-ground chambers, though, and I think the idea of living in it is fairly cool--should be a shock to the PCs when they realize what is in "their" basement.
My reading of the Mayor is that with all the bad things going on, she is rapidly going to be starved for cash. (Hemlock sends to Magnimar for more town guards; those aren't free, and it's going to get worse. And part of the tax base--the glassworks--just went bust.) If the PCs have money to wave around, she may figure "What good is it anyway? I need the money, no one cares who 'owns' the Old Light, let's do it."
The one thing you'll need to avoid is PCs with the time and motivation to excavate the blocked staircases in the Catacombs. (Though in fact, I don't think the encounters from #5 are there yet; they are triggered by an event later on.)
Mary
|
My reading of the Mayor is that with all the bad things going on, she is rapidly going to be starved for cash. (Hemlock sends to Magnimar for more town guards; those aren't free, and it's going to get worse. And part of the tax base--the glassworks--just went bust.) If the PCs have money to wave around, she may figure "What good is it anyway? I need the money, no one cares who 'owns' the Old Light, let's do it."
I would have the town set the price extremely high with conditions (IE: preserve the historic nature, don't break it up to sell to tourists, ect.)
but if the pc's are heroes who have saved the town on numerous occasions then they might be grateful enough to let them use the old light as a base of operations.
haven't got P5 yet so cant comment on whats in there.
I don't think our PCs will ever have to pay for a drink in Sandpoint again, having saved the town in #1, #2, #4 and #5. I don't see the town elders as hassling them over permits and taxes.
Why the general hostility to the idea? I've always figured that if the PCs show an interest in the setting and develop ties to it, that's a good thing. Also, #3 expects the PCs to want to own a building: if you teach them in #1 that they shouldn't, the chances that #3 will work as written go down still further. Admittedly they weren't high in the first place....
I think that having the PCs own a building in Sandpoint would make the opening scenario of #4 more exciting--now the PCs have a personal stake in limiting the property damage, especially if their building is in direct danger. (Admittedly this works better with the Kitten than the Old Light--the Old Light's not very flammable.)
I'd say, go for it. My own group's PCs are all culturally Varisian and do not believe in living in buildings, much less owning them, but if they'd been otherwise I'd have been happy to see them as landowners. They were in a great position to become partners in the rebuilt glassworks, for example.
It's not like AoW where after the initial scenarios the PCs have to be forced to leave: this AP keeps coming back to Sandpoint.
Mary
Well, aside from the fact that you have to change canon to put rooms in the Old Light, I think it's a bit crazy to think that the town would "sell" it. It's like someone buying the Statue of Liberty or something. Hero or not, it seems like a stretch, especially given the funky mixed ethnic heritage of the town. The Chelish politicians might think making money on the sale is good idea, but the Varisians probably wouldn't stand for it.
But then again, it is a fantasy game, so whatever floats your boat...
Anyway, if the players are willing to wait until RotRL 3
Thanks for all the feedback. I think I agree that the way to go is to let them rent it for now. What I enjoyed about the first session was how much the players took to Sandpoint. They really cared about the place and the people. I even had one player who is not renowned for his 'characterization' getting a real buzz out of getting caught in the basement of the General Store! Anything that cultivates their links to Sandpoint is OK with me. But I am going to limit what can be done with The Old Light. After all it is from a time when things were different. Perhaps somethings weren't meant for medeling with!