I'm reading through the "Rule of Fear" for the first time, and I noticed that on p. 10 it says that the city of Kavapesta "is detailed in Chapter 3," but I don't see a listing for it in Ch. 3. Am I overlooking it, or was this an error?
I'm reading through the "Rule of Fear" for the first time, and I noticed that on p. 10 it says that the city of Kavapesta "is detailed in Chapter 3," but I don't see a listing for it in Ch. 3. Am I overlooking it, or was this an error?
I took it as a subtle hint to build it myself :P
I do believe it's an error. That said, check out THIS POST.
Not sure what Heine Stick's URL was supposed to reference, but this post about Kavapesta would probably come in handy.
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Not sure what Heine Stick's URL was supposed to reference, but this post about Kavapesta would probably come in handy.
It was supposed to link to the exact same post you linked to. I have no clue what happened there.
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To answer the topic question, yes, but not the extent implied. The subsequent posts, largely have this handled, but let me explain this in a bit more detail.
I wrote Rule of Fear like you'd read it, from page 1 to page 64. When I was writing the sections on the counties, Kavapesta was among those I was planning on including in the following settlements chapter, and so I noted it in the description of Amaan. When I got to that chapter, though, the space I had remaining in the book as it related to other priority topics prevented me from spending the pages on that city's write-up, so I didn't write it and never created a map. Sadly, though, I had forgotten about my reference earlier in the book and didn't revise that note into a more thorough write up. Then the reference slipped through in editing, suggesting the existence of text that never existed.
That's lame and my screw up, so I wanted to make sure that readers had, at the minimum, the description that SHOULD appear where the targetless reference to the following chapter currently appears. Actually, this is kind of even more ideal, because there's no way this would have fit in the text.
Kavapesta: The largest city in Amaans and a holy city for Pharasmins, Kavapesta is a somber place possessed by a dour variety of religious fanaticism. The city takes its name from Mother Kavapesta, a Pharasmin missionary and teacher whose sermons on perseverance and suffering laid the foundations for the philosophies today known as the Pharasmin Penitence. After the priestess's death, her followers began the construction of Cryptgate Cathedral, which through centuries of renovations and expansions would become the largest church and monastery of Pharasma in the nation. The effort of constructing this monument and the tombs beneath brought droves of pilgrims to the banks of Lake Divirmis, which the faithful eventually renamed Lake Kavapesta. With the cathedral's completion, the assembled congregation lingered on, hoping to create a community based on the tenets of their faith. This community grew slowly, finally becoming the city known today.
Yet a city needs more than faith to survive, a fact the people of Kavapesta stubbornly defy. The foothills around the city are poorly suited to farming and the lake is tainted by poisonous minerals from the Hungry Mountains. A few mines in the surrounding hills scrape tin and coal out of the earth, though one has to wonder if the coin won from these efforts is worth the lives lost to cave-ins, choking maladies, and more mysterious disappearances. But worst of all are the plagues, the rampant sicknesses that seem to boil up from lake Kavapesta once a generation and burn through the city like a field fire. Scourges like the Whithers, Tol's Voice, and, most fearfully, the Black Breath have killed thousands in their beds, with lesser scares and reemergences occurring every few years. But the people claim that their city is blessed - not cursed like so many visitors say - insisting that each new calamity is a test from Pharasma and an opportunity for the citizens to experience ever greater trials, assuring greater rewards after death.
So what's next for this? Not much, but we'll see. Kavapesta is one of the larger communities in Ustalav and had I two more pages in Rule of Fear it would have probably been what I included... that or more maps in the final chapter. In any case, I still feel it was the right settlement to excise, as losing Cesca, Lepidstadt, or Thrushmoor (especially as Thrushmoor is very similar to Kavapesta an many [non-Lovecraftian] ways) would have been much greater shames. But in any case, there's still plenty of corners in Ustalav that remain undetailed and I have lots, lots more to say about that whole country. So rest assured that while Kavapesta might not be at the top of the "New things for Ustalav" to-do list, it is quite high on there. So we'll get there, all in good time.
Speaking of the Ustalav to-do list, everyone here has obviously read Rule of Fear, so aside from Kavapesta, what settings in that country would you most like to see further explored? Between settlements, dungeons, monster lairs, etc, there's a lot of opportunities to sneak Ustalav set pieces into our books (like how Kalexcourt just got hit on with the Charnel Colossus in the Inner Sea Bestiary). So what do you want to see?
Besides Bastardhall, which I'd very much like to see detailed, I'd love more details on geography and local government in the counties. I know each county has counts (except the Palatinates and Virlych, of course) but I'd like more details about the governments of the local municipalities. I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm running a campaign in Sen's Pass in Amaans, so I'm always looking for more canon detail for Ustalav small towns and geography.
I'd like to see more detailed random encounter tables for all the counties. I know there are a number of random encounter tables in the Bestiary in Carrion Crown, but it only covers a few areas of Ustalav.
I'd like more Ustalav fiction too. I know I've said elsewhere that I'd like to see some of Ailson Kindler's books turned into real books that exist, and I'd still like to see that, particularly Galdyce's Guest, though another one was mentioned in the iconic inquisitor's background (Sorry, I'll butcher her name if I try to spell it from memory). But, well, in addition to Ailson Kindler's books, more Ustalav fiction in general would be good.
I'd like more details on the Hundred Haunted Vales of the Hungry Mountains. I kind of got the impression before that they're so distinct they can support their own ecologies.
OH! I'd also like to know more about the myths of Ustalav. I mean the place is full of actual horror, but what kind of myths and superstitions do the locals have beyond what's really lurking out there? I know I read that the locals of the isolated villages in Amaans don't trust strangers because they fear any strangers may be fey tricksters in disguise, so I've tried to incorporate that myth into Sen's Pass as I'm running it. But what else?
Since many Ustalavs are ethnically Varisians, how much of the Ustalav sedentary culture is influenced by the Varisian nomadic culture? Do Ustalavs still have the Varisian scarf traditions, for instance?
Frankly, I think anybody who read Rule of Fear is interested in knowing more about Bastardhall. Thanks to the Emerald Spire, there's now a precedent for Pathfinder Superdungeons, and I think Bastardhall would make a fine addition to the line, if it is to be a new product line. Unfortunately, I think the hundred-year mark for the next appearance of the Black Carriage is past us, but that wouldn't stop me from playing it.
Now that I think about it, the 'Ultimate' line seems to be winding down. While that's a rules-focused hardcover line, I can't help but think that hardcover Superdungeons would make for a worthy replacement, in the incredibly unlikely event that Paizo finds themselves needing to fill an annual hardcover slot.
More Ustalav fiction would also be welcomed. While I heartily enjoyed Prince of Wolves, there's still so much more Ustalav. I think a web fiction series might be more appropriate than novels, but I prefer gothic fantasy in smaller doses; it helps to keep the flavor fresh. I still have my dreams of noir-style vampire hunter fiction set in Caliphas.
There are a number of cults in Ustalav that have been mentioned, but I feel that there's more that could be done with them. I remember the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye got a write-up in Trial of the Beast, and there was another write-up in Wake of the Watcher, but I'd like to see some of these groups' influence in other products, even outside of Ustalav. The wiki indicates that the Order aided the adventurers who defeated Kazavon, and the fiction from Legacy of Fire had the run-in with a Dark Tapestry cult, and that was pretty awesome. More stuff like that sprinkled throughout the setting would be cool to see.
Speaking of the Ustalav to-do list, everyone here has obviously read Rule of Fear, so aside from Kavapesta, what settings in that country would you most like to see further explored?
The following immediately come to mind--
GhasterhallBastardhall
The Garden of Lead
Galdyce's (sp?) Castle at Grayce
Corvischoir
Can we get some info about the Sleepless Detectives? As far as I know, they weren't really even mentioned until Paths of Prestige, and they're supposedly active in Ustalav.