Whiterock

[Jengenritz]

Hey Jeff, I'll give a few of those questions a try.

Yes, the caldera lake is intact, but no, it's probably way too small to fit on the Big Map.

Sea caves are less-important than volcanic...err on the side of lava. I'm not really sure where the sea caves even come in, to tell the truth.

Well, the primary entrance to CW is the summit, so there's a mountain to be climbed. I imagine the road is crappy or non-existent.
There's another entrance, a river cave that was expanded to connect to the dungeon proper by some stonebore ants, but no one really knows about that except the mountain trogs who live there.
You can also enter (I think) through the caldera lake, but that's not something normally done.
So 3 ways in, none obvious or easy, and the area is generally considered hostile...enough to deter townsfolk but encourage adventurers.

Another idea...Stoneham was a gnomish city...there could have once been a cool bridge that connected Stoneham to CW...they're on different peaks...but that bridge is gone...now you have to go halfway down one mountain and all the way up another to get there (unless you can fly).

Did you decide on a name for the Morraine-ers?

[Jeff LaSala]

Okay, thanks. More questions/info in a bit.

Morraine-ers?

I went with one of your suggestions: Imorreen.

Here's the quote so far:

The people of Morrain call themselves the Imorreen—in an Elven dialect of the Common tongue, this means “sons of Morro”—though outside of the kingdom they are generally referred to as Morrahim or, less respectfully, Morrainians.

[Jeff LaSala]

Another idea...Stoneham was a gnomish city...there could have once been a cool bridge that connected Stoneham to CW...they're on different peaks...but that bridge is gone...now you have to go halfway down one mountain and all the way up another to get there (unless you can fly).

Wasn't Cillamar once Stonham, and wasn't Stonham a gnomish village? But now you're saying Stonham was a mountain-top city? I wouldn't mind making Stonham/Cillamar a huge place in the past, but our restrictions include that Cillamar is currently just a small town with a population of 1,030 and that, according to the world map, it doesn't look like it's on a mountain. It appears to be an a woody area just south of a big forest (what I've named the Ashwood).

Sea caves are less-important than volcanic...err on the side of lava. I'm not really sure where the sea caves even come in, to tell the truth.

That's cool. So does Castle White's placement on my map work or do you want me to move it eastward closer to the mountains to account for it being entered at a summit. It might be cool to say that the route from Cillamar to Castle Whiterock lies through a network of canyons. Think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, at the end, but in a much colder climate instead. If you know the way (as the PCs will), the smooth canyon floor means you can get there pretty fast, just like a road. But if you don't, you can get lost in the canyons and there's tons of ambushing type monsters who can dwell in the reigion.

Hence, easy for PCs, not easy for everyone else, so it's not the kind of place most locals would brave. Meanwhile, the gnomes who built Stonham could have used the straightest route through the canyon and might even have set up a rail system (or...clockwork-powered carts, eh?) to traverse the distance even faster! But that canyon has long since been collapsed, so it's inaccessible to the PCs.

[Jeff LaSala]

So here's a possibility:



The purple line could represent the route the gnomes used to take between Stonham and Whiterock, the fastest and most direct route, now inaccessible. The blue line is the path the PCs must take through the rocky, lightly-wooded canyons as they venture easteward into the foothills of the Ul Dominor Mountains.

But it still seems strange that Cillamar/Stonham would have been even this far away.

One other alternative is to make Stonham a ruined gnomish village much, much closer to Whiterock. And make Cillamar it's own place, though we'd still find a way to connect it to the history of Whiterock.

Thoughts?

[Jengenritz]

Err...I mis-spoke city/village...I wasn't using the specific, gaming terms...I'll watch that in the future.

Given that map placement, what's the "crow-flies" distance between Cillamar and CW?

My instinct is to continue with Cillamar built on top of Stonham.

CW has a history of volcanic activity...maybe that's why they built Stonham so far away (but easily accessible by Clockwork Academy-built powered-carts that ran on rails...something like Crimblesnifty's Cunning Conveyance (Mk. III) or a Steelrider Cart).
CW needed lumber and stone, and the positioning of Stonham provided for both.

We could throw a ruined cart in at the Temple of Myna in Cillamar.

[Jeff LaSala]

That's an excellent justification, Adrian. Let's go with that. The one downside is...if it's got a history of volcanic activity, why would the gnomes be constructing at Whiterock at all. Especially with the Clockwork Academy. All that research, all those expensive materials...would they want to risk it all getting buried by magma someday? Perhaps you can put something in the castle that protects it from such natural disasters?

But essentially, this works. It's why plenty of research facilities (or nuclear power plants) are remotely located. They may be on the outskirts of the city (like Raccoon City in Resident Evil) but they're kept apart on purpose. Close enough to tap the town's/city's resources but far enough away to keep the curious out.

I just compared the scale to this distance it's roughly 125 miles apart. I think that means by horse it would be about two and a half day's journey, if they were on a road. So if there was an intricate rail system utilized by gnomes, I can see it being in less than a day...or far less, even, since it probably wouldn't require rest.

For the PCs this could be closer to two days, provided they know the way. Does that seem a reasonable distance between the dungeon and Cillamar?

[Jengenritz]

Well, volcanic activity means there would be a lot of rare materials from way down below brought to the surface...gems, ores, etc. Lava flow also creates some interesting materials. It would also be a source of heat for steam-power, and a cheap foundry.

Plus, at the end of the day, lava really isn't all that dangerous for a culture with access to magic.

(like Raccoon City in Resident Evil)

HA! Send in STARS!

I know Chris's original plan called for a day journey...we'd have to ask him how set-in-stone that is. I prefer a greater distance 'cause that means the critters from the dungeon don't have a village to plunder right on their doorstep.

[Jeff LaSala]

HA! Send in STARS!

Can you believe I even read the novels? All of them. And I enjoyed them.

Well, volcanic activity means there would be a lot of rare materials from way down below brought to the surface...gems, ores, etc. Lava flow also creates some interesting materials. It would also be a source of heat for steam-power, and a cheap foundry...... Plus, at the end of the day, lava really isn't all that dangerous for a culture with access to magic.

Good point. But it might make things more believable to put something in place, even if it's small, to suggest that they had such a defensive measure in place. Some device that's broken now but still radiates moderate abjuration magic, perhaps?

[Jengenritz]

Some device that's broken now but still radiates moderate abjuration magic, perhaps?

I'll give it a swing...level 4A was one of mine, so I can drop in some broken device on the assembly room floor or something...maybe that's what the xorn is eating when the party enters the room.

Can you believe I even read the novels? All of them.

I'm a big fan of the games, and I even liked the movies (for what they were).

[Jeff LaSala]

...maybe that's what the xorn is eating when the party enters the room

Awww, I hope he's not a bad guy. I made one as an NPC in my current campaign, a friendly fellow who just wanted his freedom and some crystals to eat. I went for the oldschool look:

[Jengenritz]

He's hungry, and attacks the party if they've got enough metal to attract his interest. He ends up fleeing the party if he gets hurt too bad.

[Jeff LaSala]

What I'd recommend—and what I'd advised a friend of mine to do in his game—was have the xorn rush at them and immediately grapple (even a Medium sized xorn has a grapple of +10) the PC with the most number of metal or stones on his person.

It shouldn't take too long to realize that he's just snatching food, so the PCs can either take it personally and attack the xorn, or let it have a chomp or two before it runs off with no harm done. Perhaps the gnomish device can't be eaten, due to its lingering magic, and this has frustrated the xorn. Hence it's sudden aggression.

I always thought it weird that xorns can speak Common. Maybe it could just shout "Eat! Eat!" as it grapples.

But that's just me. I'm a xorn activist. A xornist.

[arlanni]

Hey guys,

Sorry, I kinda forgot this thread was here on the website. I've just caught up on all the posts (a xornist, huh?).

You guys are doing a great job fleshing out all the minor details. I like the the gnomish rail cart system, now destroyed. It could provide the seed for a related adventure. I also have no problem placing the castle 2-3 days away from Cillamar. The important thing is Cillamar is the closest settled town. The region needs to be volcanically active, and the lake that flowed into the caldera needs to be as big as you can make it, without it needing to be on the original DCC #35 map.

BTW, I love the way you are handling naming of the locals. Perfect, including the addition of the durogatory term!

Jeff, when you finish the manuscript can you e-mail it to both of us? We are in the midst of editing the levels this month, and it would be nice to seed it with your info.

Chris

Chris

[Jeff LaSala]

Hey, guys. I'll be sending to out my rough document probably tomorrow.

[Jeff LaSala]

I sent off the document. Let me know if anyone doesn't get it.

And here's the updated map again. I still need to come up with a name and description of that lake down near the southern border.

[Jengenritz]

I believe that all levels, appendices, and maps have been sent out.

Huzzah!

[Jengenritz]

Oh, and an important note...all my maps are on a 5-ft. scale. Some of them note so, but others don't.

All maps with the standard Adrian stamp = 5 ft. scale.

There is only one exception, and it is noted...level 8's Far Garden is on a 1 mile scale.

[Jeff LaSala]

Adrian, can you send this all along? I haven't received anything, yet.

[Jengenritz]

Yup...I'm checking email between SuperBowl breaks and Coach's Challenges, so give me a bit, and I'll be on it.

[Jengenritz]

Email sent, Jeff. LMK if you don't get it.