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Riverspan is a small-ish dwarven stronghold on the edge of the mountains, where they slope down to form a river channel that plunges over a high cliff some few miles downstream. The stronghold is built on both sides of the river, with great towers on either slope, and a bridge spanning the distance between them. From each tower, tunnels and halls descend into the earth, rumored to go down just deep enough to join together in another, more secure passage.
Are we allowed to add our own ramblings? If so, I have an interesting idea about Cixyron, daemon harbinger of electricity, gunpowder, and poisonous metals, and the only deity with a firearm as his favored weapon, said firearm being the musket. Anyway, I wonder, did he take the musket as his favored weapon when the dwarves invented it, or did the dwarves get the idea from him? If they did, I love the concept on a dwarven stronghold secretly worshiping daemons.
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A city with a river running through it. On either side of the river, at the point in the city where it is the deepest, sit two noble houses. Once bitter rivals, a generation back saw the two heirs fall in love and help the families reconcile.
They then worked together, using their fortunes to build a grand bridge across the river, one they could both control. Control of this bridge (and much of the property on either side of it) has allowed the conjoined family to grow immensely in prosperity.
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Carved into the side of a great hill, the Stone Ram Brewery endeavors to bring the joy of dwarven beer craft to all those poor, deprived bastards of the other races. The brewery was established some 600 years ago by the third son of the Copperwort Clan, Orgo. His family had long been honored brewers and distillers in their home kingdom, but from an early age Orgo had a strong desire to share the fruits of his family’s labor with others. So, knowing the “family business” would be left to his eldest brother anyway, Orgo gained permission from his father to depart their homeland and establish his own brewery
The brewery itself seems a simple affair, a rectangular, two-story, stone building carved into the side of a great hill. Outside the front door stands the large statue of a ram, the brewery’s symbol. A balcony on the second floor holds tables for guests, as does a tap room on the ground level. There is a modest kitchen serving various stews, cheeses, breads, meats, and other simple foods to guests. Delving deeper into the hills, the dwarves have carved out existing caves into a primary and secondary brewery, a distillery, and far deeper, storage and cold areas (especially needed for fermenting lagers). More recently, (over the last 50 years) three out buildings have been added to house travelers who wish to stop for the night (or those wishing to hold a private meeting).
Orgo’s descendants have expanded the craftsmanship. Originally producing more traditional dwarven beers and liquors, they have adopted and adapted various recipes from other races (particularly some elven mead recipes and at least one halfling’s recipe for a delicious potato wine).
Mmmm po-TA-toe wine!
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The Spider Pit - an abandoned dwarven mine outpost located in a small, wooded mountain valley. On the surface, it's a bit circular opening, surrounded by a short stone wall and a few ruined buildings. The shaft descends into the earth, with stairs carved into the rock at various points around the perimeter. The first level or two from the surface are balconies leading to carved tunnels and chambers (the support and living facilities for the mine). Deeper still, there are ledges and cave openings leading to various side mine tunnels and smaller shafts. There are also bridges and beams crossing the shaft at various points.
The entire mine is infested with monstrous spiders and ettercaps. Unknown to most, these creatures are all slaves to a Leng Spider, which crossed into this world when the dwarves uncovered (and accidentally activated) a portal to Leng (since sealed by a heroic dwarf's sacrifice).
I'm toying with working up a few maps for this.
The Spider Pit - an abandoned dwarven mine outpost located in a small, wooded mountain valley. On the surface, it's a bit circular opening, surrounded by a short stone wall and a few ruined buildings. The shaft descends into the earth, with stairs carved into the rock at various points around the perimeter. The first level or two from the surface are balconies leading to carved tunnels and chambers (the support and living facilities for the mine). Deeper still, there are ledges and cave openings leading to various side mine tunnels and smaller shafts. There are also bridges and beams crossing the shaft at various points.
The entire mine is infested with monstrous spiders and ettercaps. Unknown to most, these creatures are all slaves to a Leng Spider, which crossed into this world when the dwarves uncovered (and accidentally activated) a portal to Leng (since sealed by a heroic dwarf's sacrifice).
I'm toying with working up a few maps for this.
If you ever make this, you should run a PbP through it
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The Spider Pit - an abandoned dwarven mine outpost located in a small, wooded mountain valley. On the surface, it's a bit circular opening, surrounded by a short stone wall and a few ruined buildings. The shaft descends into the earth, with stairs carved into the rock at various points around the perimeter. The first level or two from the surface are balconies leading to carved tunnels and chambers (the support and living facilities for the mine). Deeper still, there are ledges and cave openings leading to various side mine tunnels and smaller shafts. There are also bridges and beams crossing the shaft at various points.
The entire mine is infested with monstrous spiders and ettercaps. Unknown to most, these creatures are all slaves to a Leng Spider, which crossed into this world when the dwarves uncovered (and accidentally activated) a portal to Leng (since sealed by a heroic dwarf's sacrifice).
I'm toying with working up a few maps for this.
I have been fleshing out this idea in my head a bit more, and especially experimenting with variations to the origin story. Turns out that Jacobs fella is an awesome resource.
I've also upgraded my mapping capabilities - whereas I used to have CC3, I now have CC3+. Alas, I am rusty, so am having trouble brining myself to seriously started. So far I've only rudimentary efforts.
We'll see. I've never been a big fan of the idea of play by post.
I've got a new desktop to set up (probably today), then I might get around to making some maps.
Well, let me at it and I'll run a party through it
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The Skeleton Tree of Bristal
Many years back, the isolated town of Bristal was ruled over by a tyrannical necromanacer. He would punish those who opposed him by stripping the flesh from their bones, then animating their skeletons. He would then hang these skeletons from a large tree just outside his tower. The evil wizard was eventually slain by a powerful Pharasmin priest, and his undead monstrosities were put down to their eternal rest.
Now, decades later, the town has an annual celebration marking the necromancers defeat. Though his tower is long since fallen, the Skeleton Tree (as it came to be called) still stands. In the month leading up to the party, the tree is decorated with life-sized, wooden puppet skeletons, which are then animated. On the day of the celebration, the local priest of Pharasma "battles" the skeletons and their "master", reenacting the famous battle for the entertainment of the townfolk.
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Had this idea while I was out for my morning constitutional. As soon as I got back, I had to type it all out. Influenced by the DC villain Solaris and the concept of a Dyson Sphere. VERY rough draft....
Realm of the God-Sun
General
Centuries ago, a cabal of powerful magic-users created their own demiplane world, seeding it with races, monsters, and animals from a multitude of other places. The demiplane was in the shape of a sphere, with the inner shell covered in a vast, endless sea broken by numerous large landmasses and smaller islands.
At the center of their world, contained within a second sphere of purest crystal, the wizards bound several powerful fire elementals to serve as a sun. Most of the crystal was covered in a cloud of magical darkness, casting much of the lands in a sort of twilight. One side, however, was always uncovered, allowing light and warmth to shine down upon the lands. As the central sphere rotated, so day and time were given to all the lands of the outer sphere.
Surrounding this inner sphere, floating between the lands and the sun, were the castle homes of the various spell casters. From these homes they could watch over their people and control the happenings in their world. To safeguard themselves against any potential uprising from the surface lands, the wizards made is so the darkness around the sphere could be briefly collapsed, while the elementals within would surge, causing a massive wave of fire to sweep outwards and burn all. This would, as a side effect exhaust much of the elemental energy within, necessitating a replenishment which might leave the demiplane in twilight for weeks, months, or even years.
The Fall
Eventually, one of the wizards betrayed and murdered the rest, seizing control of the entire demiplane for himself and using the threat of annihilation to keep the masses in line. As a further testament to his power, he sent the homes of his former associates hurling into the lands and seas of the outer sphere, causing mass death and destruction. His own home he kept hidden, always just within the darkness, so that it became known as the Tower in Twilight.
The Scorching
However, one of the dark wizard’s former colleagues had been a powerful oracle, and had foreseen his treachery. Although she knew she couldn’t avoid her fate, the oracle did take steps to ensure her betrayer’s eventual downfall, seeding powerful weapons and knowledge throughout the lands. In time, heroes rose to battle wizard. They caused an uprising throughout the world, forcing their enemy to trigger the sun weapon, lighting the entire sphere and temporarily revealing the location of his fortress. With this information in hand, the heroes were able to raid the wizard’s lair and slay him, shattering the magical crystal he had used to control the sun, and scattering its pieces throughout the land.
Rise of the God-Sun
Although the world had been freed from the dread wizard’s grasp, much had been lost and the world had been cast in darkness. The heroes responsible were soon turned on and slain by those they had freed. Life became hazard and death. Much was lost, but the strong survived, even if reduced to barbarism. Over time, the inner crystal slowly replenished itself, using its magic to reach out and capture powerful elementals to fuel its fire. The light returned, but with it came a new threat: The God-Sun.
Unbeknownst to even the wizards who had created it, over the centuries of its existence, the sun they had created had been gaining in power. The combined elementals had, for a time, fought against each other, but eventually had merged into a single, powerful entity. After The Scorching, the entities power was vastly depleted. As it was fed, however, it subsumed the new elementals into its being and finally awoke. It looked out on the world surrounding it. It heard the whispers of shamans and priests, transmitted through the shattered pieces of its control crystal, which the people had come to consider holy relics. Then it learned it could speak back to them. Thus was the God-Sun born.
Centuries have passed. Now, the God-sun holds this world in its grip. So long as it is satisfied with their worship, it has promised never to punish the people with a Second Scorching. The people often use the phrase “Until the Sun shines on all lands” as a reference to a mythical end time for their world, because (as their ancient writings tell) it would end in fire, then darkness.
Pretty cool world. I like it
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Pretty cool world. I like it
Yeah, the initial concept was spawned from just the idea of Solaris, the Tyrant Sun from DC Comics.
At first, I was going to have it orbiting the demiplane world, with everything inside a giant crystal sphere (as a nice homage to Spelljammer), but then the idea of a Dyson Sphere hit me.
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Seaspire is a formerly elven port town that now hosts a mixed elf/human/half-elf population. The town is so named for the beautiful fountain constructed in the middle of its small harbor. The fountain, these days just called "The Spire" consists of a cluster of stone cylinders. A central shaft runs the full height of each cylinder, with smaller channels and shafts emerging from different sides and heights.
A permanent portal to the Elemental Plane of Water exists beneath The Spire, and friendly elementals can almost always be found in the lake, where they help safeguard the town by aiding the Waveguard. This special militia is formed mostly of sorcerers with the water elemental bloodline, whose elven ancestors first founded the town.
The special construction of The Spire and its channels allow the elementals to surge through the columns, emerging at various points to spray across the lake. Specially shaped channels and imbedded materials allow the elementals to create beautiful music as they flow through the fountain.
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Sandforge - built upon and within a large rock formation deep in the desert, this isolated community is home to Brenlaw, an ancient (some say immortal) and legendary cyclops, renowned for his skills as a smith and craftsman. He is a known to be a devout worshipper of Bharnarol, The Tempered Inventor, Empyreal Lord of creativity, invention, and persistence. There are even rumors Brenlaw is the son of the powerful outsider. The cyclops has been known to craft powerful tools, weapons, or armor for worthy heroes and champions of good.
Others live in Sandforge as well. The elven wizard Holross has been a long-time resident, helping his friend in his work. There is also a small family of dwarves who serve Brenlaw as both assistants and guards. Brenlaw is also known to welcome students, but is very selective.
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The House of the Spider
In an isolated cavern, deep underground, stands The House of the Spider – a massive stone arachnid whose carved interior serves as home to a powerful drow lich named Ver’ath Kaal. He is also known as Kaal the Slaver, due to his penchant for enslaving the souls of his enemies.
The House itself was once a living creature, bred and enchanted by one of Kaal’s enemies as a weapon against the spellcaster. Ver’ath defeated the monster (and later its creator), but at the cost of seeing his own home demolished, the ruins of which can still be found in cavern. Kaal used his magic to petrify the giant spider corpse, then had his slaves carve out his new home within its body.
In appearance, the house is an immense spider (the abdomen alone being some 50 feet long by 40 feet wide) with its two front legs raised as if in warning. The second leg on the left side has steps carved into it, which lead up to a massive door in the body. From that point, a series of chambers spread throughout the abdomen and cephalothorax.
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The Golden Skull of Kahmrin Zor is a purportedly haunted relic. In life, it belonged to a powerful merchant-priest of Abadar, whose love of (bording on obsession, some said) gold was renowned. When he passed away, his will contained detailed instructions to coat his entire skeleton in gold and inscribe it with mysterious runes. Sometime after the orders were carried out, most of his skeleton went missing, reportedly stolen by thieves. Only his skull was left behind.
Today, decades later, the church holds his skull in a private vault. There are rumors that his spirit can manifest from the skull and answer questions or provide advice/information. In payment for his services, the ghost usually requests information in return, usually regarding leads on where the rest of his skeleton might be found.
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Stirge's Hollow is a small agricultural town, located near a vast stretch of swamp. Decades ago, the town was plagued by swarms of stirges from the marsh, and waged a small war against the blood-sucking creatures. Eventually, a local ranger allied with a druid from the swamp to end the people's attempts to wipe the stirges out.
The pair worked together with some of the local farmers to begin supplying livestock specifically for the stirges to feed from. Over time, this practice became more refined, and the town's folk learned to harvest fresh blood for the stirges, without providing an actual living being.
Since that time, the stirges have adopted the human town, and have even helped protect it from bandit attacks. A few of the more enterprising citizens even seek teaching from druids and rangers on how to better interact with the blood-suckers.
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Al Hakan's Emporium of Broken Hearts is a small, out-of-the-way shop filled with all manner of exceptionally crafted items, from furniture to fine jewelry, kitchen equipment to weapons. No one knows if the proprietor is the Al Hakan referred to in the shop's name, as the man only ever refers to himself as "your most humble servant".
Each and every item for sale in the emporium is purported to be tied in some way to a tragic love story. Some are even said to have powerful connections to the subjects of these stories, many of whom are deceased. The store is very popular with eccentric collectors, mediums, and other spiritualists.
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The Curse of the First Play
A burned-out old theater in a small town. It was once owned by a now famous playwright. A fire long ago destroyed the theater on the eve of the performance of his first ever play, killing the lead actor and actress. Afterwards, the playwright moved on, achieving great success and fame, but he never allowed the First Play to be performed.
Now, the playwright's descendent has returned to his ancestors home town, a newly discovered copy of the First Play in hand. He is determined to restore the old theater and finally see the play performed.
However, unexplained disruptions keep happening, halting the restoration work. There are rumors of spirits. Could it be the vengeful ghosts of the dead actors, seeking justice? Or is it the spirit of the playwright, determined to stop production of the play that brought such tragedy to his early life?
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The Old Man in the Bay is said to be a spirit that haunts the bay, but in a non-threatening way. He has been seen late at night, always appearing on ships at anchor, usually only to one person (such as a watchman). The Old Man will speak with that person briefly, sometimes offering a warning if an accident (or attack) is imminent, before disappearing.
Unlike with most spirits, an appearance by the Old Man is said to bring good fortune to whomever sees and speaks with him.
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So I've been collecting the new Rom comic book series from IDW, and had an idea to create an analog to the Dire Wraiths in Pathfinder. I'd probably make it a group of Dopplegangers, maybe with a template and sorcerers with either the Infernal/Abyssal/Lovecraftian bloodline. And maybe they've found a way to "infect" people and turn them into some kind of drone soldiers (with the occasional person becoming something more powerful).
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Captain Sed's is a tavern located on the docks and specializing in a seafood menu. The dwarf owner, the eponymous Captain Sed, has a trade relationship with a nearby community of undines, in order to obtain the fish and shellfish on his menu. Sed is a gruff, but friendly, fellow. In addition to being renowned for his cooking skills, he is also considered a master brewer.
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In considering a recent comic book purchase, the Kamandi Challenge book, I think it would be neat to structure a series of adventures the same way. Have the first adventure written by one author, ending it with a sort of cliff hanger. The next part picks up with a different writer and goes in whatever direction he decides. And so on, and so forth.
In other words, not previously laid-out storyline, just a sort of freeform adventure path.
Could be a cool, one-time thing. I'd never do it in an actual AP though.
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The Order of the Solemn Eye is a brotherhood of mystic, warrior monks. Each member has been blind since birth, given by there families to be trained in the martial arts. They are renowned as guardians and protectors. Those who know and respect them colloquially refer to them as Sightless Ones or Sightless Brothers. Those who do not particularly like them derisively refer to them as Blind Ones, "blind" being a term the monks find particularly insulting, as they feel it implies an unawareness they distinctly lack.
Due to the intensive training they receive practically from birth, each member of the order develops blindsight (typically to a range of 60ft, but some have greater range). A typical monk of the order spends 20 years training before being allowed to leave the monastery, or being given an assignment. The order hire out as guards for places or objects, or (more often) as bodyguards for the wealthy or powerful. One noted exception is when each monk is first sent from the monastery, he is required to find some innocent in need of help, and to aid them for no other reason than it is a good thing to do.
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The Irondeath Hills
Once known as the Red Steel Hills, and home to a thriving and powerful dwarven kingdom, the region gained it's name for its predominant red dirt and clay, as well as an overabundance of iron. Decades ago, enemies of the dwarves devised a brutal plan - an alchemical plague of rust that wiped out every depost of iron, along with everything forged from that metal (weapons, armor, tools, etc), which soon became known as the Iron Death.
A series of vicious attacks soon followed, nearly wiping out the entire dwarven population. The survivors rallied, however, finding new strength in earth magic (both arcane and divine) and the more "hands on" martial skills such as those of monks. They were ultimately victorious, but the kingdom itself was broken.
Since then, the dwarves have slowly recovered. Although nowhere near as populous or powerful as they once were, they have found new purpose and industry in the magic that saved them. Their sculptures and wood carvings are renowned throughout the lands. As well, they have learned to grow and harvest crystals, which they then treat alchemically for a variety of uses.
Curiously, though the Iron Death is still active (the dwarves warn visitors to not bring any iron into their lands), it has never spread beyond the hills. Some speculate that the plague was a much a powerful curse as it was vile alchemy. The creator was supposedly hunted down and killed, and all notes or instructions on how to duplicate his efforts were destroyed.
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The Crooked Spear
Crafted for the druid Elsyn Oakfriend, this spear is formed from a seven foot legnth of knotted oak branch, sharpened at one end. The spear was created for Elsyn by a dryad whose tree the druid nearly died defending from a vicious band of orcs. Oakfriend carried the spear for years, defending the forest he called home from many threats.
The weapon is a +2 seeking spear. Although it is not intelligent, the spear seems to always find its way into the hands of a druid, ranger, or other such wilderness-friendly person. Many dryads know the legacy of the spear, and tend to look with favor on those wielding it.
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The Seawind Festival is an annual maritime festival, held by the crews of various passenger and trade ships, occasional with naval ships of the host community also participating. The festival moves from port to port, the next location being voted on by the various captains of the ships at a special banquet.
During the festival, the ships will anchor near each other, sometimes even pulling along side to make small islands. There is sharing of foods, beverages, trade goods, and local customs from each ships prior ports of call. One of the more anticipated and favored occurrences each year is the Kite Competition, where each ship builds and decorates their own kite, flying them on display for members of the host community to judge. The winning ship is usually gifted some prize by the port rulers.
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I was going through a recently found flash drive and came across a word file detailing an evil organization I had once worked up. I think it might have been for a Wayfinder, but I have no idea if I ever actually submitted it.
The Disciples of Al-Harad are fanatical Jann-supremacists whose goal is to unite the four elemental planes into a single plane, then use that power to elevate themselves to ruling over all existence.
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Theall - City of Statues
The original portion of the city was once just a large, walled town. Long ago, a large portion of the population was drawn away to fight in a war. When they returned, they discovered the entire population had been mysteriously turned to stone. There were other survivors, to be sure. Some had been away on trade missions. Others had been travelling to visit other locations or relatives.
Although they sought help from wizards and wise men, no one was able to reverse what had happened. Some eventually moved on. Others, filled with hope that The Curse (as they came to call it) would one day be lifted, settled outside the original town.
Over time, New Theall has grown to border and partially encompass Old Theall. The walls of the old town are kept in good repair, and the gates are usually kept shut. Once a year, the residents gather to honor those lost to The Curse. The statues themselves still stand within Old Theall, oddly resistant to the ravages of time. There are those who claim to have seen statues moving, or in different positions, but these happenings have never been confirmed.
Many scultpers have made New Theall their home. They have taken some inspiration from the occurences in Old Theall, and created many statues to put up around New Theall.
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Bragnar's Tombs and Crypts
This company of dwarves sells itself as a designer and builder of secure places of final rest. Lead by Bragnar Stonesleep, the company hires itself out to wealthy patrons, designing and building the tombs wherein their remains will eventually come to rest. The company has many expert stone masons, engineers, and (most importantly) trap makers. The company even employs a handfull of clerics and wizards, to add further layers of protection.
Does Golarion have its own version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? And, if so, does Pestilence look like a toddler?
Yes, they have! Cool-
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The Crystal Hall/Hall of Memory/Hall of Legends (or something like that)
Massive hall inside a dwarven kingdom. Throughout the day, it is lit by shafts of light from the surface. As the sun moves across the sky, crystals in the shafts direct the beams of light over different stories carved into the walls and floors. The stories are illuminated in chronological order throughout the day.