Well Valoria is approved, so I am ready.
I see many of you have purple names. Did you create additional accounts to use only in the game thread?
Zebulon here.
Yes, I expect we did. It is simple enough and lets one seperate the character from the player to an extent.
Also you get to choose a picture for the character rather than using your more general Icon.
I see from some of you, the character account is an alias to your main account. Can you tell me how to create an character alias account.
I see from some of you, the character account is an alias to your main account. Can you tell me how to create an character alias account.
Go to My account on top of the page. There, in the left column, you'll see a separate block with:
Messageboard Aliases
Create new messageboard alias.
Once you've created that alias, you'll be able to select with which alias you want to post (this is a drop-down menu below the text box as you reply to a thread).
Testing...
Thanx for the advice, I will fill in the profile of character tomorrow.
So now its Ranger, Detective (Bard), Paladin, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard.
Just waiting for our Cleric I think...Terry?
Hey AJD! Can you tell us something about the spire itself. Has it been climed?
Hm I just realized that from the right angle the spire would function as a sundial.
Guess we waiting for the cleric before we begin.
AJ's Dad:
If you have any space left over, I'd love to throw a hat in. Do you have any need of anything? If not, please keep me in mind as an alternate.
Thanks!
James
Hi James. As our Cleric seems to have vanished for the time being, would you be willing to play a cleric?
Hey AJD! Can you tell us something about the spire itself. Has it been climed?
Hm I just realized that from the right angle the spire would function as a sundial.
HA HA. For a second there I thought you said 'claimed'! Its probable that some have attempted to climb the Spire but due to its very nature, I doubt that they got very high. But here is a bit more background anyway.
The Spire reaches three thousand feet into the sky, a pinnacle of dark grey rock that grows darker as it rises; the top is pitch black. It is a wholly unnatural creation and anyone gazing upon it knows it—the Spire is simply too impossibly tall, too incredibly thin. It is very broad and surprisingly flat on its eastern side, making it perfect to
build a fortress and eventually even a city upon. The western side is rougher and more sheer.
Two other fortresses are associated with the Spire, in addition to Dalenguard at its base. Approximately halfway up, built into the side of the Spire and perched on a rocky shelf almost certainly created by magic, lies Goth Gulgamel, a disturbingly featureless castle of twisted black stone.
At the very top of the Spire rests Jabel Shammar, an equally black fastness of stone and iron with three tall, pointed towers surrounding an even taller, daggerlike spike of dark metal.
Most people say they find the Spire disturbing to look upon. Although only a few know its true history, many folks tell fabricated but dire tales of demonic sculptors; angry gods impaled after a war in the heavens; and black spears thrown down from the Lunas moon. One hears equally tall tales of what lies in the fortress at the top of the Spire, whose name is slowly fading from the public consciousness
(people just call it the “fortress at the top of the Spire”) along with its history. Some even doubt there’s a fortress up there at all—they say it’s just a rock formation. Still, no explorer-mages with
fly spells or brave souls with other means of flight have ever returned from a trip there.
Goth Gulgamel people do remember, but only as “the fortress of Ghul.” Given that the threat of Ghul has been over for seven hundred years, even his memory is starting to fade, though. People remember that he was an evil conqueror, and that’s about all.
Over time, new Ptolus residents start to ignore the Spire. For one thing, the skies are often so overcast that dark clouds often obscure most of it. For another, one eventually grows inured to fearing that some supernatural foe will emerge from the Spire to devour the town. People don’t want to think about what might still linger in the Spire fortresses, so they don’t.
A few people have noticed that over the last couple years with growing intensity, strange lights occasionally appear from within Goth Gulgamel.
As for being a sundial...its usualy to cloudy!
Just some helpful information.
I am at timezone GMT +02:00. Posting will usually be between 13:00 to 19:00 work days. Weekends, depending on my outdoor hobbies, can be occur any time.
Edit:
I just thought of Valoria arriving at Ptolus. How are the characters going to discover each other and form the group? After arriving in Ptolus, Valoria would seek out Hissarion, firstly finding directions to the Watch as Ferren would have located Hissarion by scrying magic, then asking for Hissarion, getting directions to him to give the letter.
I am in GMT-8 (Pacific) right now, but some time this summer I will be moving to GMT+8 (China). I will be posting potentially any time.
I am GMT +0 (England). I'm going to post a bit of info about life in Ptolus (kindly supplied by that nice Mr Cooke.) I'll then explain how you all come to be together.
Thanx for organizing the gathering.
Yes Mr Cooke is brilliant game developer. Nice he is also willing to help PF, to keep D20 (3rd edition alive).
Posting from far-to-sunny Seattle. GMT-8 I believe.
I will be away from internet from the morning of Thursday to evening of Sunday.
Hm I just realized that from the right angle the spire would function as a sundial.
As for being a sundial...its usualy to cloudy!
It all depends on the angle. Imagine a 500 foot cloud deck with nice flat white clouds. Now look at the spire fron 5000 or 10000 feet. Nice clear sundial.
Hm I just realized that from the right angle the spire would function as a sundial.
As for being a sundial...its usualy to cloudy!It all depends on the angle. Imagine a 500 foot cloud deck with nice flat white clouds. Now look at the spire fron 5000 or 10000 feet. Nice clear sundial.
Very true, Mr True.
When we begin, which i see as being this weekend, you will all be approaching Ptolus after acting as guards or being part of a merchant caravan that has been traveling south along the Coast Road. Some of you will be familiar with the city, others perhaps not so. Never the less, you will have become aquainted with each other during the journey. (More details to follow)
Thanks for informing us, I be able to post in the adventure thread only on Monday once I am back in the city.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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Hi James. As our Cleric seems to have vanished for the time being, would you be willing to play a cleric?AJ's Dad:
If you have any space left over, I'd love to throw a hat in. Do you have any need of anything? If not, please keep me in mind as an alternate.
Thanks!
James
Love to! A Lothianite coming up!
Sorry not to have responded. I just got back from an improptu road trip to go on two interviews to hopefully get my dream job. I'll usually be much more responsive.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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Might I present Sev Granger, a priest of Lothian?
Sev Granger
NG Human Male Cleric 1
Init +1; Senses Perception +4
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DEFENSE
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AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +1 dex, +1 shield)
hp 10 (1d8+1+1 FC)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +6
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OFFENSE
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Spd 30'
Melee heavy mace +2 (1d8+2)
Ranged sling +1 (1d4+2)
Space 5'; Reach 5'
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STATISTICS
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Str 15, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 14
BAB +0; CMB +2; CMD 13
Feats (2) turn undead, extra channel
Skills (1 skill) Heal +8, Sense Motive +8
Spells/Day (3/2+1, DC 14+level)
0th level: create water, detect magic, light
1st level: bless*, protection from evil, shield of faith
Special Abilities: aura (good), channel energy (1d6, 7/day, DC 12), domains (healing and community); rebuke death (heal 1d4 hp when below 0 hp, 7/day); calming touch (heal 1d6 non-lethal and remove fatigued, shaken or sickened 7/day)
Possessions (240 gp) breastplate (200 gp), heavy mace (12 gp), sling and 10 bullets, wooden holy symbol of Lothian (1 gp), backpack (2 gp), flint and steel (1 gp), waterskin (1 gp), light wooden shield (3 gp), 20 gp
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Stat Math:
Str 15
Dex 12
Con 12
Int 8
Wis 18 (+2 human)
Cha 14
Sev is a young acolyte, whose lack of tact and subtlety have earned him affection with the common people, but the anger of the Church hierarchy. He's put his foot in his mouth a bit too often, but he's too well-liked by the parishioners to fire and too well-born (third son of a minor noble) to exile to a far-flung shrine. So these days he's mostly left to minister to the people, which suits him well and suits the hierarchy so long as he stays out of underfoot and keeps his opinions to himself...
Nice, now we have tactless cleric, so the adventures can begin.
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Ugh sorry guys, Had new people move into my house, also had my birthday (same day as paizocon if that ain't a kick in the balls) didn't mean to disappear, but I'm not online nearly as much anymore, as you seem to have found a new cleric I'll bow out, this is my first month renting out rooms in my house and I don't want a game to suffer from me being a sporadic poster. Thanks for considering me, I was looking forward to the game, but I may have gotten my new tennet hooked on DnD and he seems interested in running Curse of the crimson throne so I may be able to take the character to an in person game.
Ugh sorry guys, Had new people move into my house, also had my birthday (same day as paizocon if that ain't a kick in the balls) didn't mean to disappear, but I'm not online nearly as much anymore, as you seem to have found a new cleric I'll bow out, this is my first month renting out rooms in my house and I don't want a game to suffer from me being a sporadic poster. Thanks for considering me, I was looking forward to the game, but I may have gotten my new tennet hooked on DnD and he seems interested in running Curse of the crimson throne so I may be able to take the character to an in person game.
Thats fine. Thanks for letting me know. Hope it all goes well with the tennent and good luck with the game.
Monte Cook kindly described what life was like for a resident in Ptolus. Hope this helps in fleshing out your characters for those who are 'local'. Please bear in mind that this description is for a 'typical' resident...
WHERE YOU LIVE
You probably live in a two-room flat in a two- or three-story building that contains six or eight such flats. It has at least one glass window that opens on a hinge, with a latch. The door into
your home locks. Your kitchen has a hand-cranked pump that draws
water through a pipe into a basin. The basin has a stoppered hole that drains down into the sewer, as does your garderobe, which also has a cover to keep out unwanted odors and rats.
Your furniture is wooden and handmade. Some of it likely has nice decorative work, while other pieces are crude but functional. Your home
probably has a table or two, at least one chair for everyone in the household, and a bench. You light the place with candles and an oil lamp. You have one, or perhaps two fireplaces for warmth, and you might have a coal-burning stove. At night you sleep in a bed with a mattress stuffed with straw or cloth, and you likely share that
bed with at least one other person—in a family home with three children, it’s common to have two beds: one for the parents and one for
the children.
You decorate your home with a shelf of curios and mementos above the fireplace, and perhaps a few simple decorative cloth hangings on the
walls. You might have a painting, likely a portrait of some elderly relative. Next to the main door is a small shelf for keeping house gifts.
You can read, at least slowly and simply. You own a few books—likely a holy book or two (depending on your religion), a primer for the
children, and maybe a family record book or a book of poetry or love sonnets. Most of your reading skills are used on the various broadsheets published in the city.
You also own a set of ceramic dishes, a number of wooden or ceramic mugs, some kitchen knives and other utensils, some wooden spoons, a few large iron pots, a washtub, two basins, a ewer, a mirror, a comb, a brush, plenty of soap, other miscellaneous toiletries, a wooden chest (maybe with a lock), a wardrobe, many blankets, pillows, a number of barrels and crates (mostly for storing food, kept in a loft), a couple of buckets, a few rugs and tablecloths, some towels
and rags, a quill pen and ink, a few pieces of paper, chalk and a slate, oil for your lamp, and at least a week’s worth of food for the household (and more of certain staple foods, like flour). If you have children, you likely have a few toys and entertainments for them as well.
You might own a musical instrument and a game or two (some dice, Dragonscales, or some cards). You probably own some simple tools,
like a mallet, an awl or chisel, a saw, a good knife or handaxe, and perhaps some tongs. You might own a dagger, but it’s more likely that the only weapon you own is a club.
In the window(s), you keep a box of soil where you grow a few plants—probably for food, but maybe flowers. You use some of the household waste as fertilizer. There’s a hefty fine for throwing your trash and waste out the window, so you dump it down into one of the pipes that leads into the sewer instead (those pipes frequently get clogged, and you are responsible for clearing them).
WHAT YOU WEAR
If you’re a man, you typically wear a linen shirt that ties in the front and some sturdy woolen breeches or trousers. If you work in a shop, you probably wear a colored vest with buttons, or perhaps a laced doublet. If you are a laborer, a coarse woolen tunic probably goes over the shirt. With the rain and wind common in the region, many people wear cloaks outside, but if you’re at all fashion conscious and can afford it, you wear a coat with a lapel and buttons instead. Men wearing cloaks are often assumed to be out-of-towners. Hats are also quite common, likely with a brim to keep the rain off your face. At night you wear a long nightshirt to bed, even in summer. Most likely you own two or three shirts, but only one of everything else.
Most of what you have has been patched more than once. You own a pair of sturdy leather boots, woolen socks, and maybe some soft cloth
slippers.
You wear your hair shoulder length and (if you’re human) you keep your face clean shaven. Since it can be a fairly long time between baths,
you sometimes wear cologne—unless you’re a laborer, in which case you usually don’t bother.
If you’re a woman, you probably wear a long kirtle with an apron and a kerchief on your head. You likely own a single nice dress with a
wide skirt that you save for special occasions. Wearing a hat with a veil in the back is fashionable, although more and more women are going
out with no head covering at all these days.
Outside, a hooded cloak of dyed wool is often needed to keep out the cold and rain. It’s not common for women to wear men’s clothing—a
shirt, tunic and breeches, for example—but it’s not unheard of, either, particularly among women who work at hard physical labor in a
workshop or elsewhere. At night you wear a long linen nightgown. You likely also own a robe, a shawl, and a scarf or two.
You wear cloth slippers inside and woodensoled leather shoes outside.
You wear your hair long but tied, bound, or braided to keep it manageable when you’re working. On special occasions you use cosmetics
and perfumes. These are expensive, though, so you need to be frugal with them.
HOW YOU LIVE
You likely eat most of your meals at home—a light breakfast in the morning and a hefty dinner at night. During the day, you take a break for lunch, but it’s generally only a cup or two of tea or coffee with maybe a hard roll to dunk in it. A mid-day meal is for the rich.
Both men and women smoke tobacco of various types. Cigarillos are held in long, lightly filtered holders, while thick cigars are smoked directly. Pipes are usual among commoners, both men and women, with women’s pipes often being small and ornamental.
You work long hours—usually six days a week, although if you run your own shop you likely work every day. There’s always a great deal of
work at home too: caring for the children, mending clothing, cleaning, and so forth. In your limited free time, you visit with friends and family, play games, or listen to your neighbor play the fiddle, the gittern, the flute, or the hurdy-gurdy. If you’re athletic, you might get together with others for some sport from time to time, like wrestling or a ball game. Only on rare occasions do you go down to the tavern for a drink, although you and the neighbors frequently have homemade ale in the evenings. You almost never eat in a pub or restaurant, but occasionally you buy some sweets, baked goods, or cooked meat on a stick from a street vendor.
On holidays and special festivals (often organized by your church), you enjoy special meals and activities.
When you or someone in your family is sick, you can’t afford to go to a cleric for a healing spell. Instead, you rely on home remedies that
you learned from your own parents, and if that won’t do, you go to a physicker or an herbalist. It might cost you a week’s wages or more, but when you’re sick, you’re sick.
You try to keep yourself fresh and clean, but you only get a real bath once a week, at best.
So now we have seen how a typical citizen lives, what do they think of the city that they live in?
THE CITY IN WHICH YOU LIVE
Although the city is full of all different races, you probably live in a neighborhood made up mostly of residents who share your race. You see members of other races in the market and on the street frequently, however. Some people harbor various prejudices about one race or another, but considering all the differences, the various races live
together in relative harmony.
Most of the time, you stay in your own district of the city, traveling to one of the two markets (if you don’t already live there) perhaps once a week.
You have probably never been to the Nobles’ Quarter unless your job required it. If you did go there, you felt uncomfortable because it seemed as though everyone was watching you, expecting you to do something bad. It seems at times that you have more in common with the folk of other races than with the noble or extremely wealthy members of your own.
Occasionally, the law requires that you go to one of the government buildings in Oldtown to get a license or permit or register for some new tax. Imperial bureaucracy can be trying sometimes. A trip to the Administration Building often requires a full day of standing in lines and filling out forms. On the way there, though, you might make a point of passing through Vock Row, on the chance you’ll see a wizard doing something interesting.
You probably consider magic and spells fascinating but strange. It’s certainly nothing to believe or disbelieve in—magic’s demonstrably as real and true as gravity and the cycle of night and day.
You likely don’t enjoy many of its wonders and advantages, however; it’s just rare enough to be beyond your means. You may know someone
who has a torch in his home that never burns itself out, though, or someone who has spent her life’s savings on a miraculous cure from a priest in the Temple District. And you see the evidence of magic almost every day—a wizard flies overhead, a cleric heals someone hurt, or an adventurer walks down the street carrying a glowing sword or with strange magic bits orbiting his head.
Magic is clearly real—you’d never question that.
It’s just expensive.
MONETARY ISSUES
Speaking of life’s savings, you likely have little or no savings; you earn just enough to pay for what you and your family need to live, with perhaps a bit more to splurge occasionally. Perhaps you buy a nice turkey or goose for dinner on Godsday, or some small gifts for the children on their birthdays. If you’ve got anything approaching
savings, it comes in the form of an old gold ring, locket, or other heirloom handed down by your family.
You receive a visit from the tax collector three times a year, with the visits usually spaced equally apart, although the times differ for everyone.
On each visit, an average citizen pays ten silver coins—that’s ten shinies per adult, not per family. The tax collector can instead choose to assess the value of your current wealth and levy a tax upon
you of 3 percent of the total on each visit, but you don’t own enough to have to worry about that.
Noncitizens do not pay taxes. However, at any time, virtually any government official can demand one silver shield from a noncitizen as an Imperial services levy, if the noncitizen has spent the previous week in the bounds of the Empire (which is, according to the Empire, everywhere).
Technically, a noncitizen only needs to pay this once per week, but since there is no way to prove that one has already paid the levy, someone without citizenship papers could get charged over and over. This isn’t fair, but there’s not much you can do about it, particularly if you’re a noncitizen.
The most common profession is simply “laborer,” which, of course, means many things. A laborer might work the bellows for a blacksmith,
move cargo on the Docks or in a warehouse, deliver goods to homes or businesses, tote construction materials for a master carpenter, dig
foundations, or a hundred other menial tasks that require little training or skill—just a strong arm. If you’re lucky, you might have a job that is less strenuous and pays better, like working as a clerk
in a shop, as a construction worker, or as a real craftsman. You may not belong to a guild, but you know how powerful they are in controlling the economics of the city, the welfare of the workers
(including yourself, most likely), and other issues.
What is the common man's view on religion?
It’s likely that religion plays some role in your life. If you’re a Ptolusite, like most people in the city, you probably attend services on Theoday. Being that you’re not of the higher classes, the service you attend is most likely in the afternoon or evening. No matter what your religion, though, you just don’t have much time in your daily life to think about things like gods, religions, and the afterlife. It’s easier to let the priests worry about that for you, and just do what you’re told as much as you’re able. That said, you have little doubt that the gods exist. It’s comforting to know that there are powers even higher than the nobles and the wealthy. Even the Iron Mage will have to answer to the gods someday, right? There’s talk today of new religions worming their way into the city; although you wouldn’t even try to account for all of them, these new faiths are different, or so folks say. Word on the street is that these chaos cults are
interested in destruction and mayhem. That sounds horrid to you, of course—although you have to admit, things get so frustrating some days that you wouldn’t mind seeing this city in flames. It would serve them right, in fact. You don’t actually want to hurt anyone, but you can see how someone could get pushed just too far. . . .
When others talk of good and evil, those are concepts you can identify with—it all seems pretty obvious. But when someone starts in about law
and chaos, that’s a bit too esoteric for your tastes.
Let the clerics and philosophers worry about that kind of thing
How do you feel about current happenings within the city?
It’s obvious that some things in the city are worse than they used to be. There are manufactories in the Guildsman District that no longer produce anything, for example. Fewer people seem to understand how to make some of the more technical devices work. News from elsewhere in the Empire arrives more slowly than when you were a child. The roads outside of town, you’ve heard, are less safe than in years past.
On the other hand, more gold flows through the city than ever. Those delvers who explore the strange catacombs beneath the city are a dangerous and rough lot, but their activities bring coin into the shops and taverns, which then trickles into everyone’s pockets. Of course, along with that comes inflation—prices are higher than they
were ten, or even five years ago.
You hear all kinds of stories about the strange things delvers find down there in the Dungeon. Ancient treasures and wonders, to be sure, but odd magic and horrible monsters, as well. Is it all linked to the Spire, somehow? Probably. Those unnameable lords that caused so many travails hundreds of years back built their castles up on the Spire, but they burrowed down below it as well. It unnerves you to think about that kind of thing too much. Luckily, the grey clouds so common in the region usually obscure the Spire. Sometimes, you’d rather have a cloudy or rainy day than a clear day with the likes of Jabel Shammar staring down at you from thousands of feet up.
You try to keep up on the news by reading the broadsheets. You don’t trust most noble families, but House Vladaam clearly seems to be the worst, and House Sadar is likely up to no good as well. On the other hand, the knightly orders—the Keepers of the Veil, the Knights of the Pale, the Knights of the Chord—these are people you can look up to.
The city’s far from perfect, that’s for certain. But there’s more good than bad and, more importantly, it’s home.
Now that we have seen what the typical average citizen thinks iof their life, let us now take a look at what its like for an adventurer or 'delver'
“Delver” is a term unique to the city of Ptolus. Nowhere else in the world do they refer to adventurers as such. In fact, outside of Ptolus,
even the word “adventurer” is used only rarely, most often to denote a mercenary or other freelance explorer or rogue. It’s not a complimentary word, and people think poorly of folk such as yourself. To them, you are lawless, uncontrolled, and a danger to society. There are laws to restrict carrying weapons and wearing armor without Imperial permits.
In Ptolus, things are different. Sure, some of the people here don’t trust you, and some steer clear of you when you walk down the street—but in the eyes of others, you’re a brave hero. They wish they could do the exciting things you do and see the wondrous sights you’ve seen. Most folks treat you well enough. At the very least, no worse than any other resident, and in many cases much better, assuming you’ve got more coin than the commoners. And you probably do.
You don’t always help your cause by walking through the city covered in sewage, blood, and grime, but no one’s installed bathhouses next to
all the Dungeon entrances, so what are you going to do?
Plus, there are just more adventurers here than anywhere else. And why not? This is where you come if you want to strike it rich. Surely
there are fortunes enough for you and all your friends below Ptolus. And you’re brave and bold enough to go down there and take them.
Of course, many people in the city don’t fully understand what it is you do. They don’t even really know what lies beneath their own city.
They know about the ratmen, and maybe the goblins. They know there are other monsters down there too, as well as undead—particularly in the Necropolis. But they don’t really understand what they live above day after day. Not like you do.
And it’s likely that, if they did truly understand, most of them would probably want to leave town as fast as possible. So, perhaps it’s
best if nobody tells them.
HOW YOU LIVE
You probably don’t have a family, so you live in a cheap, one-room flat in a two- or three-story building with six or eight such flats. You might share an apartment or small house with friends, as well. You most likely live in Midtown, so you can be close to Delver’s Square.
You likely eat most of your meals in pubs and taverns—a light breakfast in the morning and a hefty dinner at night. Obviously, delvers keep their own schedule. Most go on a mission beneath the city (or elsewhere) for a day or two and then relax for a week, living high on the spoils they’ve brought back with them.
Unless you are a divine spellcaster, you are less likely than the typical citizen to be religious, or at least devout. If you’re a Lothianite, you likely attend services at St. Gustav’s Chapel off
of Delver’s Square. The main temple, St. Valien’s Cathedral, has made it clear that your kind isn’t welcome there.
WHAT YOU WEAR
While you’re exploring beneath the city, you’re likely to wear your full suit of magical plate armor and carry around a large selection of
weapons for all different situations.
When you’re not down in the Dungeon garbed in your delving gear and armor, around town you might wear some tough leather breeches, a cotton
shirt, and a vest or jacket. This apparel is standard for both men and women. On the other hand, you might wear around town exactly what you wear in the Dungeon, not caring what you look like (or even smell
like!). Such adventurers, however, are exactly the people who give their kind a bad name and turn those who dislike delvers even more
against them.
GETTING ALONG IN THE CITY
There are no laws restricting weapon ownership or bearing arms within Ptolus, unlike in other large cities, such as Dohrinthas or Tarsis. (The exception, of course, is that you need a permit to carry a firearm.) That said, if you go into a restaurant for a meal or to a guildhall to talk with the guildmaster, and you’re carrying two different swords, a crossbow, two quivers of bolts, a spear, and two daggers, as well as a full pack of gear, six torches, a ten-foot pole, and a hefty sack of miscellaneous equipment, you’ll get some strange
looks. In fact, you’ll look quite the fool, and other adventurers will mock you. The classy adventurer casually going about town carries a weapon or two, but just his best. Either that, or you get very
good at concealing your weapons and gear.
If you wear armor, you might very well wear it around the city. There’s no prohibition against it, and plenty of people do. However, if you can afford it, you might opt for a chain shirt or a leather coat rather than wearing your heavy armor as you hang about the tavern drinking with your friends or conduct research in the library. It’s more comfortable, and you can get around a lot faster.
Most people who own horses, even knights and paladins, stable them for their entire stay in the city. Only the main roads can easily accommodate people on horseback, and in many places a mount will slow you down rather than improve your speed. Most delvers don’t own horses or other mounts, as they never need them in the city, and have no plans to leave anytime soon. Enough adventurers have animal companions
that people in Ptolus have grown accustomed to them. The sight of a bear or wolf at the side of some capable-looking individual draws attention, but not alarm.
WHAT THE OTHERS THINK
While there are more adventurers in Ptolus than anywhere else, the non-adventurers outnumber you by at least two hundred to one.
COMMON FOLK
Adventurers are not unknown to the people of Ptolus. However, most commoners look upon them as dangerous individuals. Folk who carry
more weapons than a soldier, wield all manner of strange powers, and earn their keep by fighting monsters are best avoided, they must think. Oh, the shopkeepers and tavern owners are usually happy to take your gold, but how many of them are willing to strike up a genial conversation with you? Not many. Of course, you probably prefer it
that way: You don’t bother them, and they don’t bother you. Plus, you know that a lot of delvers aren’t trustworthy and would slit their own
grandmothers’ throats for a couple silver moons.
It’s best not to spook the locals—although you’re constantly surprised at how hard they are to spook. You expect them to blanche at the sight
of a wizard casting spells or a druid talking to her lion in the streets, but they usually don’t. They keep their distance and often watch with interest but in Ptolus, it seems, they’ve probably seen
stranger things.
THE AUTHORITIES
It may go without saying, but it’s best to keep the authorities happy. City Watch guards look at you (and your weapons) suspiciously when they pass by on the street, but you just keep on walking. Relying
on the Watch is a sure way to be disappointed—not because they’re not capable, and not because they’re not trustworthy, but because you frequently get yourself into scrapes that only you or others like you can get out of. The City Watch is there to protect the common folk, not to deal with delverrelated problems. They’re not eager to help you,
and they certainly won’t go under the city to take care of a problem you tell them about. That said, the City Watch and the Commissar’s
Men are not your enemies, either. Even if you could take on a whole Watch patrol in a fair fight and win, what good could that possibly accomplish?
You have learned to use the system, not work against it. Just like you’ve learned that often you’ve got to fight your own battles and solve your own problems.
You know the laws of the city and avoid breaking them, at least obviously so, as often as you can. You know enough not to use enchantment magic on people in the city, particularly not officials, shopkeepers, or figures of importance. You know that when you get into a fight in the city, you need to be able to claim self-defense
when someone gets a blade between his ribs.
There are some things that are technically illegal that you know you can get away with as long as the Watch doesn’t catch you in the act:
breaking and entering, dumping a body into the river, and even murder, if the victim is a known criminal or otherwise obviously dangerous individual. In other words, you know that if you take that sword you wear and use it to deal your own justice now and again, you’re not likely to run afoul of the law. And if you do legitimately beat a foe in combat, particularly if the foe attacked you first, the authorities will not look twice if you rifle through his purse or take his
belongings.
THE ARISTOCRACY AND THE WEALTHY
You have a strange relationship with the wealthy. On one hand, you’re a bit worse than the lowest commoner in their eyes. You’re not only of low birth, but you willingly delve under the ground and into the sewer, living by the might of sword and spell rather than the rule of
law. You’re often dirty, scarred, and even bloody.
Who knows what kind of diseases and afflictions you’re bringing up with you from down in the Dungeon? On the other hand, you’re highly
skilled, competent, smart—even dangerous. You might also have a good deal of money. People like you have their uses, the nobles probably
think.
Thus, you interact with the nobility and the wealthy far more than the average citizen does. Maybe they want to purchase something you’ve
found on your adventures, or maybe they want to hire you to take care of some problem. Maybe they seek to invest in your missions, staking your expenses for a share of the loot you recover. In either case,
the wealthy of the Nobles’ District might send a trusted servant to scour Delver’s Square looking for the adventurers that his master needs. They even employ agents to hang around places that adventurers frequent with standing orders to purchase some of the interesting
treasures that adventurers uncover.
Some delvers even learn what various aristocrats want and venture up to
the Nobles’ Quarter with their valuables to sell.
AFTER THE DELVING’S DONE
The sad truth is that most delvers die in pursuit of their adventuring goals, and you know it. But you also know that some entirely usuccessful delvers just quit—they make a little money by selling off their gear, and then they find regular jobs around town. A few enjoy moderately successful adventuring careers but decide to give it up for one reason or another. They use what money they earned in their missions to start a stake in a business, open up a tavern, and so forth. Such entrepreneurs tend to stay in familiar areas, operating their businesses in the Undercity Market or out of Delver’s Square, where they can interact with other adventurers. You appreciate this; most delvers prefer to do business with those who truly understand them.
The dwarf Ebbert Boltcrafter of Ebbert’s Outfitters is one example—
when his brother took one too many blows to the head, he gave up his adventuring career and opened his shop.
Of course, some do get rich and retire, and that’s what every delver dreams about: living long enough to retire usually very wealthy. Sheva
Callister is one such notable example that you and every other delver in Ptolus knows about.
Somewhere in the Dungeon she found an artifact called the Crown of Ki-Lias and now, although she’s still fairly young, she lives off the proceeds she made from selling it. She never has to adventure or work again. Some retirees use their wealth to live among the rich in the Nobles’ Quarter. But you know that most find it difficult to remove themselves so much from their roots.
Instead they find themselves nice houses in Oldtown or Midtown. Few can handle the quiet lifestyle of Rivergate or the hustle and bustle of the markets and the Guildsman District.
Some delvers never actually retire but simply find other ways to use their adventuring skills. Fighters become bodyguards, the castellans
of noble estates, or even captains of the City Watch. A wizard might not “retire,” but find that she spends less time going on adventures
and more time studying and making magic items, until she is no longer really an adventurer at all.
Thanks for the valuable information on Ptolus. Just read it.
Nice posts.
Thanks. What I want to try and achieve is a feeling that a character can do what they want and 'live' in the city. I will try and go with it so to speak. Even though there will be a campaign thread, I want players to feel that they can go where they like and do what they want. Enjoy yourselves!
Thanks. What I want to try and achieve is a feeling that a character can do what they want and 'live' in the city. I will try and go with it so to speak. Even though there will be a campaign thread, I want players to feel that they can go where they like and do what they want. Enjoy yourselves!
These are very good posts. You are to be commended for taking this on.
One question, has anyone started chartering Delving companies? Get some investors willing to pony up fora share of the loot and a decent party could defray a lot of their expenses. Not to mention the franching and sponsorship deals.
:7)
Thanks. What I want to try and achieve is a feeling that a character can do what they want and 'live' in the city. I will try and go with it so to speak. Even though there will be a campaign thread, I want players to feel that they can go where they like and do what they want. Enjoy yourselves!These are very good posts. You are to be commended for taking this on.
One question, has anyone started chartering Delving companies? Get some investors willing to pony up fora share of the loot and a decent party could defray a lot of their expenses. Not to mention the franching and sponsorship deals.
:7)
There is no reason why a party cant approach an individual or organisation to act as a sponsor. Then there is also the Delvers Guild
that offers its members information about job opportunities and events pertaining to the exploration of regions below Ptolus. The Delver’s Guild also maintains the city’s most extensive collection of maps ofthe underground areas and an impressive library for research.
What I would also like to see is characters sepearting if they want to when there is 'free time' during an adventure, and persuing individual goals such as looking for a job, pursuing a personel quest or finding a place to live / buying a property. Let your imaginations run wild!
I am going to try and get this started on Sunday some time, just so you all have a heads up. Post when you can.
What I would also like to see is characters sepearting if they want to when there is 'free time' during an adventure, and persuing individual goals such as looking for a job, pursuing a personel quest or finding a place to live / buying a property. Let your imaginations run wild!
Well I for one will be looking for an office and clients. I wonder how much a year lease on a couple of rooms off Delvers square would run?
Slight change in starting set up. You will all be already located in Ptolus. I will be posting seperate starting situations for each player a bit later tonight.
I have been re reading your back grounds and I am impressed! I'll try and tie these together if I can.
Cody
Slight change in starting set up. You will all be already located in Ptolus. I will be posting seperate starting situations for each player a bit later tonight.
I have been re reading your back grounds and I am impressed! I'll try and tie these together if I can.
Cody** spoiler omitted **
AJD
sorry about that. I forgot I hadn't expanded it. I'll get to it in the morning first thing
Slight change in starting set up. You will all be already located in Ptolus. I will be posting seperate starting situations for each player a bit later tonight.
I have been re reading your back grounds and I am impressed! I'll try and tie these together if I can.
Cody** spoiler omitted **
AJD
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks for that. Much apreciated:)
MouliniStarting notes (feel free to play around with this)
"Adventures Wanted
To Find Our Missing Daughter
Reward 200 Gold Imperials
See Toman Etherin
at the sign of The Black Swan"
It is early evening on a blustery 1st day of Harvest. Several new patrons have, this evening entered the Swan...
Zebulon Starting notes (feel free to play around with this)
To Find Our Missing Daughter
Reward 200 Gold Imperials
See Toman Etherin
at the sign of The Black Swan"
Sev Starting notes (feel free to play around with this)
ValoriaStarting notes (feel free to play around with this)
Hissarian Starting notes (feel free to play around with this)
LainadanStarting notes (feel free to play around with this)