Hiya.
Ok, I've read the 1st adventure (Shadow in the Sky) once, and skimmed it a few times...and then it hit me. What kind of government does it actually have?
***SPOILERS***
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I have thought about changing thses two...I'll list my ideas to see what you guys think.
In SitS, there is the Overlord and his 8 Crimelords (re: a Thieves Guild). No problem. But reading the desctiptions of the Crimelords I have questions about two of them...
"Avery Slyeg": ...handles major smuggling.
--Q: The city is ruled, governed, and protected by a Thives Guild. Just who are the people that the 'smugglers' would need to look out for? Wouldn't smuggling be simply "trading" in this city? Being called a smuggler in Riddleport is about the same as being called a merchant from the sound of it.
**My Idea: Avery Slyeg is actually NG or LG relative of Gaston (cousin or half-brother maybe). Avery is pretending to be a 'bad guy', dealing with stolen goods and whatnot (re: his fence aspect). In reality he is supporting a small group of 'rebels' who wish to see Riddleport have a more accountable and decent government system with no (or a lot less) 'evil crap' going on. This way his 'smuggling' moniker would actually refer to him smuggling in things and people that would help his cause. This also gives an NPC tie in for Good aligned PC's.
"Boss Croat": ...trade in illicit substances. (I keep pictureing this guy as the Boss from the movie Cool Hand Luke..."What we have here, is a failure to communicate". ;) ).
--Q: Uh, 'wretched hive of scum and villainy'...I'd think there'd be no such thing as 'illicit substances'? I guess he's just the biggest supplier? Not like it's illegal to sell the stuff though...right?
**My Idea: Boss Croat is actually a doppleganger. He is here 'testing' various drugs on the populace. His goals may be his own, or may be for some greater force. Why? Totally open for suggestions; I'm thinking *maybe* some kind of fertility drug thing so that dopplegangers could reproduce with other races and not just themselves. I actually started the framework for my own campaign that involved dopplegangers as the core villain; in it, they were dying out and needed a quick infusion of new kin and needed to raise an army to fight some other bad guys. Anyway, I'm thinking something about 'drug/medical experimentation' via drugs and alcohol.
Ok. There's my questions and whatnot. Any ideas or thoughts?
^_^
Paul L. Ming
"In reality he is supporting a small group of 'rebels' who wish to see Riddleport have a more accountable and decent government system with no (or a lot less) 'evil crap' going on"
The problem with this idea is that if you want to get rid of evil, crime, villainy, whatever, in Riddleport, you basically have to wall the city in, gas the whole population, and start again from scratch.
Okay, slight exaggeration, but still, if you take the criminal element out of Riddleport, I don't think there will be enough left to make more than a village.
You can handle the characters any way you want, but I suspect they meant that the Crimelords run organizations based in Riddleport. Smuggling things into and out of other countries using the city as a home port, place to fence loot, as well as launder money.
The problem with this idea is that if you want to get rid of evil, crime, villainy, whatever, in Riddleport, you basically have to wall the city in, gas the whole population, and start again from scratch.
Hiya
"In reality he is supporting a small group of 'rebels' who wish to see Riddleport have a more accountable and decent government system with no (or a lot less) 'evil crap' going on"
The problem with this idea is that if you want to get rid of evil, crime, villainy, whatever, in Riddleport, you basically have to wall the city in, gas the whole population, and start again from scratch.
Okay, slight exaggeration, but still, if you take the criminal element out of Riddleport, I don't think there will be enough left to make more than a village.
True, but it would make a rather decent campaign goal. :) I can see it being one of those epic long-term party goals. Save the world first, then go back to Riddleport to try and 'clean it up'. Possible? Sure. Likely? Not really. Perfect for one of those "nigh-unachievable goals" to drive a character for an entier campaign. :)
^_^
Paul L. Ming
You could accidently have one of the starstone rock things fall on the city and start over... ;) That is if you can keep the Drow out :)
But With all of the Caden Cailean and Cypher Mages running around you have a lot of Cyrano and 3 Musketeer types already do gooding to make quite a city :)
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You can handle the characters any way you want, but I suspect they meant that the Crimelords run organizations based in Riddleport. Smuggling things into and out of other countries using the city as a home port, place to fence loot, as well as launder money.
I take it that he finds good buyers for goods that needs to stay hidden from governments and previous owners, and when someone needs something smuggled into another country, they go to him to figure out which smuggler is best suited for this particular job.
I love Riddleport, but I'm wondering where they sell/get all of their pirate loot.
Riddleport is kind of out of the way of any main shipping lanes. Do they fence their goods in Magnimar? do they mostly sack passing Linnorm Raiding Ships?
I'm kind of interested in what makes Riddleport actually "work" as a city...
I should mention that I'm running SD online right now (well, actually, a campaign set DURING SD, but not necessarily following the whole plot. The heroes have been running around because I'm doing this a little Sandboxy, so they ended up fighting the wererats in the Boneyard and then tracking down and killing Zipheras well before they ever went to the goblin. (One of the characters was tracking down some information that had "Old Stumpy" looking to get rid of some of them as soon as they arrived in town...)
So, the characters are mostly following their own stories and only bumping up against the metaplot. But they've following their own leads and are slowly tracking down the mystery of the Golden Goblin and the Shadow../
So Riddleport is a legitimate port - remember Riddleport pirates aren't allowed to operate in Velashtu Bay. (Those that do run afoul of the Riddleport Navy, more or less). The Overlord wants the goods and money to flow.
Also, there are things illegal in Riddleport (slaves) and things that the Overlord would tax the bejeezus out of or just seize (thus smuggling).
Riddleport is a proper city. It's not just a "pirate den," though it has a reputation for being pirate friendly. Merchants that aren't of too delicate of a temperament can make loads of $$ by going there. Plus, they deal overland with Roderick's Cove, which is more welcoming to the wusses. And it's pretty much the one major port between Ulfen ports and the rest of the civilized world (Korvosa/Magnimar).