# Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium



## RichGreen

Hi, 

I’ve been doing some thinking recently about running my next (possibly 4e) campaign set in a homebrew world, rather than using the World of Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms as I’ve done for most of my games in the last 20 years. So far I’ve written a few notes on the city of Parsantium which would be where the campaign would be based and thought it would be fun to post these here and maybe get some feedback from ENWorlders. 

The idea behind the city is that it’s a cultural crossroads, a melting pot. Elements have been ripped shamelessly from history, fantasy fiction and D&D settings.  Some of the names are placeholders until I come up with something better; others have been stolen from various sources and might change too. 

*Parsantium*
_The City at the Crossroads_

Metropolis, Conventional, AL LN, 100,000 gp limit, Assets 380,000,000 gp, Population 76,267 (racial mix tbc but includes dwarves,  half-orcs, halflings, gnolls; few elves or gnomes)

The Free City of Parsantium stands astride the wide and slow-moving Dolphin Strait where the Griffin Water joins with the Corsairs’ Sea, and is thus at the crossroads of two continents and more importantly, four trade routes. Parsantium and its surrounding countryside and farms is ruled by Basileus (“sovereign”) Corandias XVIII the Lion-Blooded, direct descendent of the famous Batiaran conqueror and mighty general, Corandias I the Magnificent. Corandias’ wife, Thecia, is often referred to by disgruntled citizens as “that scheming enchantress”. The Basilieus is advised by his loyal vizier and wizard Arridaeus, himself a descendent of Corandias the Magnificent’s vizier. The day-to-day administration of the city is delegated to a Prefect, the coldly efficient and uncharismatic Bardas. 

The city is divided into three quarters, each governed by a tribune and reporting to Bardas the prefect. The Imperial Quarter is on the north-west side of the strait, the Mercantile Quarter is on a central island, and the Old Quarter is on the southeast side. These quarters are further divided into wards: eleven in total. The layout of the city and the fact that the Batiaran rich tend to live on the northwest side of the strait while the poor (many of Sahasran or Akhrani origin) live on the southeast side makes Parsantium a divided city. This is made worse by restrictions on commoners from the Old Quarter visiting the Imperial Quarter – they need a pass which is only issued for those on “special business”. Unsurprisingly, there is a thriving black market dealing in stolen or forged passes, and many would-be burglars disguise themselves as nobility to sneak into the Imperial Quarter. However, since many of the residents of the Old Quarter are Sahasran in ancestry and therefore darker-skinned than the Batiarans of the Imperial Quarter, some of the guards are known to make racist assumptions about who is a commoner and needs to show a pass.

The basileus’ palace and the Holy Basilica of Pelor are located on the north-west side of the city (the Imperial Quarter) which is also home to the decadent  and wealthy noble class. A large coliseum stages chariot races and gladiatorial contests which are very popular amongst rich and poor alike. This part of the city also houses the Great Library and the dwarven district.

The central island (Mercantile Quarter) is home to one of the world’s largest markets: goods arrive here by sea from the Caliphate of Akhran to the south west,  from Tiangao to the east overland on the Silk Road, from the city-states of the now-fallen Batiaran Empire to the northwest and from the kingdom of Sahasra across the Pillars of Heaven mountains to the southeast. As you might imagine, almost anything can be obtained here as long as the buyer can afford it. A bronze colossus, 100 feet high, depicting Corandias the Magnificent stands in the centre of the marketplace.

The southeastern part of the city (the Old Quarter) is nearly as cosmopolitan as the market: here there are temples to gods of Sahasra, Akhran and Tiangao, as well as coffee shops and teahouses. Also located here are dojos teaching the fighting traditions of the mountain temples, and the mysterious Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus (an arcanists’ guild with wu jen and sha’irs as well as wizards and sorcerers as members). This is also where most of the poorer districts and slums can be found, including the homes of the Sahasran poor, half-orcs and gnolls.


Some History
Parsantium was founded in the distant past by Sahasran refugees fleeing through the snow-filled passes of the Pillars of Heaven Mountains to escape the dark empire of Kadar and its fell sorcerors and geomancers.  About a thousand years ago it was conquered by Corandias the Magnificent and subsequently grew in importance,  becoming a powerful city and trading hub for the region. With Corandias’ death in battle with the fearsome striped centaurs of the Great Grass Sea, his empire was divided up by his opportunistic generals since his son and heir was only three years old.  In the centuries that followed, repeated invasions by orcs, hobgoblins and gnolls led to the break up of the Empire. Parsantium itself was sacked several times during this period, before being recaptured from the hands of an infidel humanoid "king" 100 years ago by Corandias XVI the Stubborn. New, very thick, city walls were built, trade opened up to the east with Tingao along the Silk Road and the city’s prosperity increased again.

Architecture
The city, like its inhabitants,  is a mixture of styles. In the northwest district, [Batiaran]  architecture dominates: there is a lot of marble,  and buildings have columned entrances,  with pediments and friezes along the top decorated with sculptures. Others are topped with domes and decorated inside with beautiful mosaics. To the southeast,  there are shining gold-domed mosques and exotic-looking Sahasran temples covered in colourful painted carvings of gods and heroes. Throughout the city,  however,  inns tend to be built around courtyards  with a cool fountain in the centre and filled with shady palm trees.

Adventure  Hooks
Still need come up with these! There will be several dungeons under the city itself, including some ghoul tunnels under the cemetery.  The Feyshore Forest is a couple of days travel outside of Parsantium near the Griffin Water and contains some ancient Sahasran ruins… In addition, I am hoping to come up with a bunch of urban adventures tied in to the city and its diverse inhabitants. 

Any comments or ideas much appreciated!

Cheers


Richard


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## Piratecat

Okay, I walk into Parsantium. What are the food vendors selling? What does it look like? What's my first impression going to be, good or bad, and what tourist site am I going to want to go see?

(And this is really good. I'm wrestling with some of these issues for my next campaign, so it's fun to see what you've done.)


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## Leif

*just a thought*

Scotley and I called the districts in our city of Lauralie Summerhome "Wards" for some reason.  I guess because that's what they are called in my home city.  Anyway, I've never been truly happy with that, but the only term I could think of to replace "wards" is "precincts", which I like even less.  "District" or "quarter" are good choices, and, I guess "ward" is good, too.  Maybe there's a term out there that's better suited to a fantasy setting, though.  But when it's all said and done, it's not the names that you use for the districts, it's the quality of the setting and the vibrancy of the npcs that will make it come to life.  Good luck, and Happy Designing!


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## RichGreen

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Okay, I walk into Parsantium. What are the food vendors selling? What does it look like? What's my first impression going to be, good or bad, and what tourist site am I going to want to go see?
> 
> (And this is really good. I'm wrestling with some of these issues for my next campaign, so it's fun to see what you've done.)




These are great questions and I need to do some thinking about the answers! Certainly, there will be a noticeable difference in feel if you enter through the south-east  rather than the north-west gates. Will have a go at writing some flavour text for each.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> Scotley and I called the districts in our city of Lauralie Summerhome "Wards" for some reason.  I guess because that's what they are called in my home city.  Anyway, I've never been truly happy with that, but the only term I could think of to replace "wards" is "precincts", which I like even less.  "District" or "quarter" are good choices, and, I guess "ward" is good, too.  Maybe there's a term out there that's better suited to a fantasy setting, though.  But when it's all said and done, it's not the names that you use for the districts, it's the quality of the setting and the vibrancy of the npcs that will make it come to life.  Good luck, and Happy Designing!




Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?

Cheers


Richard


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## Leif

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?
> Cheers
> Richard



Yeah, I used to struggle with that same idea.  I mean, would that mean that you only have three-fourths of a city??  But then, I changed the definition of "quarter" that I was mentally using,  and began to think of a "Quarter" in the sense of "living space" instead of a finite fraction of a whole city.  [See, Webster's definition #8a:  [a quarter is] "a division or district of a town or city."]  On Star Trek, when someone is "confined to quarters", does that mean that they must immediately separate into four pieces of equal size? hehe


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## RichGreen

*Quarters*



			
				Leif said:
			
		

> Yeah, I used to struggle with that same idea.  I mean, would that mean that you only have three-fourths of a city??  But then, I changed the definition of "quarter" that I was mentally using,  and began to think of a "Quarter" in the sense of "living space" instead of a finite fraction of a whole city.  [See, Webster's definition #8a:  [a quarter is] "a division or district of a town or city."]  On Star Trek, when someone is "confined to quarters", does that mean that they must immediately separate into four pieces of equal size? hehe




LOL! In that case, the northwest is the Imperial Quarter, the central marketplace is the Mercantile Quarter and the southeast part is the Old Quarter as this was founded first by the Sahasrans fleeing the sorcerors of Kadar. I also need to name the two city gates - these could be named after heroes of the city.

Some other thoughts:
- the inhabitants of each quarter of the city support their own chariot-racing team: the Blues, Greens & Whites. This is a bit like Celtic & Rangers in Glasgow or AS Roma & Lazio in Rome - each team's supporters share religious, political and/or cultural affiliations.
- street food includes kebabs on skewers, squab-on-a-stick, cheese pastres, thick hunks of bread smeared with tomato paste and olive oil and stuffed vine leaves
- the south-east gate is a chaotic jumble of camels, bullock-drawn carts, crippled beggars, snake charmers and eunuch/transvestite hustlers. By contrast, the north-west gate is much more peaceful and organised. What few beggars (mostly kids) are chased away by the guards whenever a noble is carried past on her palanquin. 
- outside the coffee shops, old men sit grumbling about business, smoking sheeshah and playing backgammon.
- one of the most popular spots in the Old Quarter with both visitors and resident young lovers is the white marble Garden Mausoleum of Hulieman -- a beautiful domed building set in tree-lined grounds which survived several attacks on the city and now serves as a public park.

More later.


Cheers


Richard


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## Tonguez

Don't forget the Caravanserai

Merchants visiting the city invariably make their way to the Caravanserai a low stone wall enclosing an extensive courtyard where merchants and visitors can raise their tents and pavilions. Here the smell of coffee and spices mingles with the dung  of camels, horses and even bullocks being housed, feed and watered for the night. Picking your way towards the large guest house at the far end of the courtyard you ...


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## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Don't forget the Caravanserai
> 
> Merchants visiting the city invariably make their way to the Caravanserai a low stone wall enclosing an extensive courtyard where merchants and visitors can raise their tents and pavilions. Here the smell of coffee and spices mingles with the dung  of camels, horses and even bullocks being housed, feed and watered for the night. Picking your way towards the large guest house at the far end of the courtyard you ...




Good point - I'll incorporate a caravanserai near the SE gate in the Old Quarter.

Cheers


Richard


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## Piratecat

RichGreen said:
			
		

> - the inhabitants of each quarter of the city support their own chariot-racing team: the Blues, Greens & Whites. This is a bit like Celtic & Rangers in Glasgow or AS Roma & Lazio in Rome - each team's supporters share religious, political and/or cultural affiliations.



To be more realistic, you'll want more teams than just 3. A good example is the famous Palio in Siena, Italy.

One option is to split each neighborhood up into three sections, giving you nine teams. Another option is to have each deity's temple sponsor a team. But intra- and inter-neighborhood rivalries are a GREAT source of adventures.

Either way, this is really fun. I did something similar in Eversink, where each merchant house sponsored a boat in a race through the canals.


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## Piratecat

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?



My rule? Don't have more than the players can remember, and have them all be noticeably different. I wouldn't go higher than five.


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## Knightfall

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?



You could come up with something unique to the city. And if you have just three "wards" you could try using a word like "triad" to describe each distinct area. This would work well if each triad is also divided into three distinct subdivisions, as suggested by P'Cat.

If Parsantium has any planar connections then I'd suggest having portals that lead directly to Sigil. IMO, a city with three "wards" with three "subdivisions" would gain some planar notoriety with Planars who hold true to the ideals of the "Rule of Threes" (a Planescape concept).

Just some suggestions...


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## Knightfall

*Note*

If you're not into Planescape but like the triad concept you could also use the Wiccan Rule of Three.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Three_(Wiccan)

"The *Rule of Three* (also *threefold law* or *law of return*) is a tenet of Wicca. claiming that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times."

The city could be a "mecca" for witches, both good and evil. A place where magical energies converge.


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## Leif

And while you're discussing "Threes," don't forget the "Power of Three" from the "Charmed" tv series!   hahahaha


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## RichGreen

Piratecat said:
			
		

> To be more realistic, you'll want more teams than just 3. A good example is the famous Palio in Siena, Italy.
> 
> One option is to split each neighborhood up into three sections, giving you nine teams. Another option is to have each deity's temple sponsor a team. But intra- and inter-neighborhood rivalries are a GREAT source of adventures.
> 
> Either way, this is really fun. I did something similar in Eversink, where each merchant house sponsored a boat in a race through the canals.




Fair point about the number of teams. I think the sponsors should be a mixture of temples and important individuals (nobles, merchant leaders). Not all temples and faiths would be interested in sports and gambling. I'm definitely looking for this rivalry to lead to an adventure or two.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Knightfall1972 said:
			
		

> You could come up with something unique to the city. And if you have just three "wards" you could try using a word like "triad" to describe each distinct area. This would work well if each triad is also divided into three distinct subdivisions, as suggested by P'Cat.
> 
> If Parsantium has any planar connections then I'd suggest having portals that lead directly to Sigil. IMO, a city with three "wards" with three "subdivisions" would gain some planar notoriety with Planars who hold true to the ideals of the "Rule of Threes" (a Planescape concept).
> 
> Just some suggestions...




Thanks for your ideas! I might go with something like triads if I end up with less than four quarters, but I'm thinking I will probably have four or five distinct areas: two on each side of the river with the Mercantile Quarter in the centre. 

I love Planescape and Sigil but I'm not thinking about planar connections at this stage. There might end up being a connection to the City of Brass though.... I have that boxed set and it's really good.

Cheers


Richard


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## Tonguez

IMC Bishnagar is the Trade crossroads and is ruled by a Dragon

It is made up of 3 Circles
*The Low Circle* is divided into the 5 Low Districts including the Docks,  Rivergate, High gate, The Judges Gate and the Lows (a slum technically outside the city walls via Rivergate),
*The Second Circle* includes the Merchants District and Guild holdings(overlooking Judges Gate), the Verdancy (Public Parks & Gardens overlooking Rivergate) and the Temples District (overlooking High gate) 
*The Judges District * is the top circle and includes the Royal Palace, the Manors of nobles (called High Judges in Bishnagar) and the Grand Library and Academy. The Judges Circle is enclosed by a wall and its gates are guarded

Merchants enter via the Judges Gate where authorised Low Judges (ie Sheriffs) take account of their goods and apply the appropriate tarrifs (from here most then head to a Caravanserai or a Guild house as appropriate). Market Judges are also stationed in the Markets to witness any agreements, sign Credit Notes (called Dragon Marks)and adjudicate any disagreements and generally to apply 'the Dragons Law'


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## Robbs

Couple of quick thoughts.  Since you have the two major bridges linking the center to the two shores have you thought of whether they are simply conveyances/choke points or if they have houses and such built into them?  Also, how fast moving is the river at this point?  Something I've used in the past is a floating 'Sanctuary-type' area.  Basically old boats and unused docks with more and more added until it becomes its own portion of the town.  In my game it arose because of space considerations in the city and due to a quirk in the zoning laws you dodged certain taxes by not being 'on land'.  Gave the poor area of town a different feel (and made PCs very nervous about wearing metal armor!).


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## RichGreen

Robbs said:
			
		

> Couple of quick thoughts.  Since you have the two major bridges linking the center to the two shores have you thought of whether they are simply conveyances/choke points or if they have houses and such built into them?  Also, how fast moving is the river at this point?  Something I've used in the past is a floating 'Sanctuary-type' area.  Basically old boats and unused docks with more and more added until it becomes its own portion of the town.  In my game it arose because of space considerations in the city and due to a quirk in the zoning laws you dodged certain taxes by not being 'on land'.  Gave the poor area of town a different feel (and made PCs very nervous about wearing metal armor!).




Good question about the bridges: there will probably be food stalls and such-like along each bridge but I didn't imagine houses built into them. There could be apartment blocks lining each side with an arcade and small shops beneath? Maybe this is only on the southeast bridge and the northwest one is grander and lined with sculptures of past rulers? Made out of copper, these have turned green with age.

The river is actually the Dolphin Strait, a bit like the Bosphorus  so wide and slow-moving. There would be a fair amount of river traffic though and I like the idea about disused docks and houseboats. Should be room for somewhere like this in the Old Quarter, near the poor district. Maybe new docks were built in the Imperial Quarter and merchants arriving by sea from [Zakhara] started to use these instead, making the divide between two halves of the city even worse?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> IMC Bishnagar is the Trade crossroads and is ruled by a Dragon
> 
> It is made up of 3 Circles
> *The Low Circle* is divided into the 5 Low Districts including the Docks,  Rivergate, High gate, The Judges Gate and the Lows (a slum technically outside the city walls via Rivergate),
> *The Second Circle* includes the Merchants District and Guild holdings(overlooking Judges Gate), the Verdancy (Public Parks & Gardens overlooking Rivergate) and the Temples District (overlooking High gate)
> *The Judges District * is the top circle and includes the Royal Palace, the Manors of nobles (called High Judges in Bishnagar) and the Grand Library and Academy. The Judges Circle is enclosed by a wall and its gates are guarded
> 
> Merchants enter via the Judges Gate where authorised Low Judges (ie Sheriffs) take account of their goods and apply the appropriate tarrifs (from here most then head to a Caravanserai or a Guild house as appropriate). Market Judges are also stationed in the Markets to witness any agreements, sign Credit Notes (called Dragon Marks)and adjudicate any disagreements and generally to apply 'the Dragons Law'




Thanks for this -- need to think about tariffs and so on. I like your judges.


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Images of Parsantium*

Hi,

I've posted some cool images I found on the internet on my livejournal. These link to a small gallery where I'm going to put any other suitable pictures.

Cheers


Richard


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## Tonguez

Here's a picture of Old London Bridge circa 1600 showing the gates and buildings which covered it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 these might be appropriate on either or both of your bridges (especially I think the Imperial city side.

Also if you really want to make the divide between the two cities an issue you could restrict access across the Imperial Bridge. ie the Imperial Quarter is usually off limits to the commoners unless they have 'special business'. However the gates are opened during the Chariot races as the whole city comes into the Imperial Quarter to celebrate itis during this time that lots of intribue is possible.

I also like the idea of the old docks being used by smugglers, pirates and other conspirators...


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## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Also if you really want to make the divide between the two cities an issue you could restrict access across the Imperial Bridge. ie the Imperial Quarter is usually off limits to the commoners unless they have 'special business'. However the gates are opened during the Chariot races as the whole city comes into the Imperial Quarter to celebrate itis during this time that lots of intribue is possible.
> 
> I also like the idea of the old docks being used by smugglers, pirates and other conspirators...




I like both of these ideas -- maybe some kind of pass is needed for the Old Quarter residents to come to the Imperial Quarter, but not vice versa. The Old Docks could be quite an atmospheric location and there are obviously pirates and other vagabonds sailing in the Corsairs' Sea.

Happy New Year!


Richard


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## Leif

RichGreen said:
			
		

> I like both of these ideas -- maybe some kind of pass is needed for the Old Quarter residents to come to the Imperial Quarter, but not vice versa.  Richard



To pull that off well, you'll obviously need a way for the guards to recognize, at the merest glance, who "belongs" to what quarter.  Perhaps they just make a quick assumption based upon a person's cleanliness and manner of dress?  That could lead to some clever burglar-types getting all "duded up" and infiltrating the Streets of the Rich and Famous, which might lead to all manner of useful scenarios.


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## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> To pull that off well, you'll obviously need a way for the guards to recognize, at the merest glance, who "belongs" to what quarter.  Perhaps they just make a quick assumption based upon a person's cleanliness and manner of dress?  That could lead to some clever burglar-types getting all "duded up" and infiltrating the Streets of the Rich and Famous, which might lead to all manner of useful scenarios.




Since many of the residents of the Old Quarter will be Sahasran in ancestry and therefore darker-skinned than the Batiarans of the Imperial Quarter, some of the guards may well make some racist assumptions about who lives where. 


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Updated overview of the city*

Hi,

Here's an update to the city overview. More to follow:

*Parsantium*
Metropolis, Conventional, AL LN, 100,000 gp limit, Assets 380,000,000 gp, Population 76,267 (racial mix tbc but includes dwarves,  half-orcs, halflings, gnolls; few elves or gnomes)

The Free City of Parsantium stands astride the wide and slow-moving Dolphin Strait where the Griffin Water joins with the Corsairs’ Sea, and is thus at the crossroads of two continents and more importantly, four trade routes. Parsantium and its surrounding countryside and farms is ruled by Basileus (“sovereign”) Corandias XVIII the Lion-Blooded, direct descendent of the famous Batiaran conqueror and mighty general, Corandias I the Magnificent. Corandias’ wife, Thecia, is often referred to by disgruntled citizens as “that scheming enchantress”. The Basilieus is advised by his loyal vizier and wizard Arridaeus, himself a descendent of Corandias the Magnificent’s vizier. The day-to-day administration of the city is delegated to a Prefect, the coldly efficient and uncharismatic Bardas. 

The city is divided into three quarters, each governed by a tribune and reporting to Bardas the prefect. The Imperial Quarter is on the north-west side of the strait, the Mercantile Quarter is on a central island, and the Old Quarter is on the southeast side. These quarters are further divided into wards: eleven in total. The layout of the city and the fact that the Batiaran rich tend to live on the northwest side of the strait while the poor (many of Sahasran or Akhrani origin) live on the southeast side makes Parsantium a divided city. This is made worse by restrictions on commoners from the Old Quarter visiting the Imperial Quarter – they need a pass which is only issued for those on “special business”. Unsurprisingly, there is a thriving black market dealing in stolen or forged passes, and many would-be burglars disguise themselves as nobility to sneak into the Imperial Quarter. However, since many of the residents of the Old Quarter are Sahasran in ancestry and therefore darker-skinned than the Batiarans of the Imperial Quarter, some of the guards are known to make racist assumptions about who is a commoner and needs to show a pass.

The three sections of Parsantium are joined by two vast stone bridges, built many centuries ago in the Sahasran style. The southeast bridge has apartment blocks lining each side with an arcade and small shops beneath. The northwest bridge is grander and lined with sculptures of past rulers. Made out of copper, these have turned green with age. Both bridges are crowded from dawn to dusk; street food stalls have sprung up along each to take advantage of the passing trade. Parsantians can enjoy kebabs on skewers, squab-on-a-stick, cheese pastries, thick hunks of bread smeared with tomato paste and olive oil and stuffed vine leaves.


*Life in the City*
- Each city ward is walled with arches and gates (locked at night) separating it from its neighbours and contains a communal well, at least one khanduq (walled marketplace) or market, and a watchtower. The ward’s mark (a symbol) is set high on the walls, facing in. 
- The south-east gate is a chaotic jumble of camels, bullock-drawn carts, crippled beggars, snake charmers and eunuch/transvestite hustlers. By contrast, the Victory (north-west) Gate is much more peaceful and organised. What few beggars (mostly kids) are chased away by the guards whenever a noble is carried past on her palanquin.
- Outside the coffee shops, old men sit grumbling about the state of business, smoking sheeshah and playing backgammon.
- Throughout the city are numerous bathhouses where men and women can bathe and exercise. The grandest of these are in the Imperial Quarter and are decorated with beautiful mosaics and sculptures of poets and mythical heroes.
- Currency is the gold piece, known as the bezant.

Any comments or suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


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## Leif

Your city sounds GREAT!! I wanna spend my next vacation there, pllllleeeeeease????  Seriously, if you have an open slot for a player, please consider this my application.

What races will be permissible for pcs besides human, dwarf, and halfling?  The reason I ask is that a Gnoll fighter or rogue sounds very intriguing to me...  If that won't fit then my second choice would be either a human or dwarf rogue, preferably multi-classing with a touch of fighter here and there.


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## Evilhalfling

hmm if your using three quarters where is the last one? 
is it hidden? perhaps underground? or shunted to another plane?  Is the fourth quarter only social affiliation, like prostitutes or a secret guild that protects some dark secret, from the cites past? Or a class affiliated quarter? mages, psions and thieves are all good candidates. 
Or quietly controlled by monsters such as Rakastas, a dragon or a lich?

Endless possibilities really.


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## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> Your city sounds GREAT!! I wanna spend my next vacation there, pllllleeeeeease????  Seriously, if you have an open slot for a player, please consider this my application.
> 
> What races will be permissible for pcs besides human, dwarf, and halfling?  The reason I ask is that a Gnoll fighter or rogue sounds very intriguing to me...  If that won't fit then my second choice would be either a human or dwarf rogue, preferably multi-classing with a touch of fighter here and there.




Thanks! I would be delighted to have you as a player but geography is going to be the issue here - I'm in London! I haven't really got any experience of pbem but maybe this is something to think about?

Need to think about races. This might end up being my first 4e campaign so I'd like to make all the 4e Player's Handbook races available but I don't see why a gnoll wouldn't be possible. There are some in the city although there would be a fair amount of prejudice, particularly in the Imperial Quarter.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Evilhalfling said:
			
		

> hmm if your using three quarters where is the last one?
> is it hidden? perhaps underground? or shunted to another plane?  Is the fourth quarter only social affiliation, like prostitutes or a secret guild that protects some dark secret, from the cites past? Or a class affiliated quarter? mages, psions and thieves are all good candidates.
> Or quietly controlled by monsters such as Rakastas, a dragon or a lich?
> 
> Endless possibilities really.




Thanks! Some really good ideas here. There could well be a Hidden Quarter and having a connection to the city's past would work with one or two of the ideas I've had about the Sahasran refugees who founded Parsantium centuries ago. There are going to be rakshasas in the campaign, definitely.

Cheers


Richard


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## Leif

*See Richard?  This is what I was talking about*



			
				Evilhalfling said:
			
		

> hmm if your using three quarters where is the last one?
> is it hidden? perhaps underground? or shunted to another plane?  Is the fourth quarter only social affiliation, like prostitutes or a secret guild that protects some dark secret, from the cites past? Or a class affiliated quarter? mages, psions and thieves are all good candidates.
> Or quietly controlled by monsters such as Rakastas, a dragon or a lich?



This is an example of exactly what I meant about the definintion of "quarter."  But I agree that there are some great ideas here!  I've always loved Raksashas! (as a DM, not a player!)


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## Leif

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Thanks! I would be delighted to have you as a player but geography is going to be the issue here - I'm in London! I haven't really got any experience of pbem but maybe this is something to think about?
> Need to think about races. This might end up being my first 4e campaign so I'd like to make all the 4e Player's Handbook races available but I don't see why a gnoll wouldn't be possible. There are some in the city although there would be a fair amount of prejudice, particularly in the Imperial Quarter.



I had been thinking all along that this would be a play-by-post game here at ENWorld, so  I didn't think geography was an issue at all.  If it is, then I guess I'm out of luck, huh?  Oh, well, thanks for sharing the ideas anyway.  4e would be ok, but 3.5e would be, too.  What I was thinking about was a gnoll tough-guy, rogue type, but another possibility that now occurs to me is a c/n gnoll snitch who is pretty much on the outs with gnollish society, and prefers to operate around the fringes of low-class human society where he has found some rare human outcasts who don't mind his gnoll heritage.  Maybe he even knows a cleric or two who can tolerate him because, hey, a convert is a convert!  He'd be very careful not to commit fully to any one deity, though, at least not yet.  He's more interested in maintaining good relationships with several priestly types until he's totally convinced that one can offer him more than the others.

Listen to me!  Am I carried away here, or what?  Please forgive my presumption.  I'll wait until you're ready to move forward and decide who is going to be in the game for sure.  If you need to reach me: [sblock=drop me a line]leif_hamman@yahoo.com[/sblock]


----------



## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> I had been thinking all along that this would be a play-by-post game here at ENWorld, so  I didn't think geography was an issue at all.  If it is, then I guess I'm out of luck, huh?  Oh, well, thanks for sharing the ideas anyway.
> 
> Listen to me!  Am I carried away here, or what?  Please forgive my presumption.  I'll wait until you're ready to move forward and decide who is going to be in the game for sure




Hey Leif, I'm flattered you want to play in a pbem game in this setting! I'll have a look at some of the others running on ENWorld and think about whether this is something I'd like to do -- I'm running three regular tabletop D&D games at the moment (one weekly, two monthly-ish) so finding the time will be the issue. In the meantime, I'm going to keep posting stuff here and would value your feedback and anyone else's.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Three Quarters*

Here's some info on Parsantium's three main districts:

*Imperial Quarter*
The basileus’ Great Palace and the Holy Basilica of Pelor are located in this quarter on the north-west side of the city which is also home to the decadent and wealthy noble class, many of whom claim to be descended from the Batiaran emperors of old.

The impressive *Hippodrome* stages gladiatorial contests and chariot races which are very popular amongst rich and poor alike. An obelisk recovered from the desert ruins of Khemit to the southwest by a previous basileus stands in the centre of the 300m long U-shaped track. The chariot races are a city-wide obsession and fanatical support amongst the citizens for the Blues, Greens, Reds and Whites has been known to lead to rioting. Residents of the Imperial Quarter tend to support the Blues while Old Quarter inhabitants favour the Greens. Eight chariots, two per team, take part in each race. On race days, the restrictions on movement from the Old Quarter to the Imperial Quarter are lifted and the supporters of the Greens and Reds pour across the bridges to the Hippodrome.

The Royal Docks were built here by Corandias XVII thirty years ago to encourage wealthy traders from the Caliphate of Akhran to sail into this part of the city. The basileus succeeded in his aim and the Old Docks across the other side of the Dolphin Strait are in decline. The Imperial Quarter also houses the Great Library and the dwarven district.


*Mercantile Quarter*
The Mercantile Quarter is home to one of the world’s largest markets: goods arrive here by sea from Akhran to the south west, from Tingao to the east overland on the Silk Road, from the city-states of the now-fallen [Batiaran Empire] to the northwest and from the kingdom of Sahasra across the Pillars of Heaven mountains to the southeast. As you might imagine, almost anything can be obtained here as long as the buyer can afford it. A bronze colossus, 100 feet high, depicting Corandias the Magnificent stands in the centre of the marketplace.


*Old Quarter*
The southeastern quarter of the city is nearly as cosmopolitan as the market: here there are temples to gods of Sahasra, Akhran and Tiangao, as well as coffee shops and teahouses. Also located here are dojos teaching the fighting traditions of the mountain temples, and the mysterious Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus (an arcanists’ guild with wu jen and sha’irs as well as wizards and sorcerers as members). This is also where most of the poorer districts and slums can be found, including the homes of the Sahasran poor, half-orcs and gnolls.

Seven Chalices Caravanserai 
Merchants visiting the city invariably make their way to this welcoming caravanserai near the south-east gate. In this walled compound, built around an extensive courtyard with , weary merchants and visitors can raise their tents and pavilions. Here the smell of coffee and spices mingles with the dung of camels, horses and even bullocks being housed, fed and watered for the night. In addition to the large guest house, traders can store their goods in the warehouse before taking them to the market.

Old Docks
Once the main docks for the city, the Old Docks are mostly used by fishermen and by smugglers, pirates and other shady characters these days. The section of the docks bordering the poorest ward of the quarter has become an extension of it: shacks have been built on the wharves while others live on stationary houseboats joined to the piers and each other by rope bridges and planks. Here crime is common and life is cheap. The decline of the docks is another reason for the rift between the northwest and the southeast quarters of the city.

One of the most popular spots in the Old Quarter with both visitors and resident young lovers is the white marble Garden Mausoleum of Hulieman -- a beautiful domed building set in tree-lined grounds which survived several attacks on the city and now serves as a public park.


Any comments?


Richard


----------



## Leif

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Hey Leif, I'm flattered you want to play in a pbem game in this setting! I'll have a look at some of the others running on ENWorld and think about whether this is something I'd like to do -- I'm running three regular tabletop D&D games at the moment (one weekly, two monthly-ish) so finding the time will be the issue. In the meantime, I'm going to keep posting stuff here and would value your feedback and anyone else's.



Now, listen, Rich, if you're trying to get sympathy because THREE D&D GAMES take up too much of your time, you're looking in the wrong place!      I can count on ONE FINGER the number of live-action games I've been invited to play in the last year!  (And even that wasn't D&D, it was HERO System, but, hey, I was just happy to be playing.) (That game is ordinarily played here at enWorld -- Mowgli's *Domhani Bardeir * game.)  If you want to see the kind of game I'm involved with, check out the *Constables of the 14th Ward * thread here that I run with Scotley, or *Whirtlestaffs Wizards Academy * that is my newest baby.  Also check Scotley's *Island Empire * game.  At one time, I used to know how to put links to other threads in my messages, but I've slept since then, so the knowledge has left me!

I'll look over your latest, long post when I get a chance.  I'm sure much praise will be forthcoming.


----------



## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> Now, listen, Rich, if you're trying to get sympathy because THREE D&D GAMES take up too much of your time, you're looking in the wrong place!      I can count on ONE FINGER the number of live-action games I've been invited to play in the last year!  (And even that wasn't D&D, it was HERO System, but, hey, I was just happy to be playing.) (That game is ordinarily played here at enWorld -- Mowgli's *Domhani Bardeir * game.)  If you want to see the kind of game I'm involved with, check out the *Constables of the 14th Ward * thread here that I run with Scotley, or *Whirtlestaffs Wizards Academy * that is my newest baby.  Also check Scotley's *Island Empire * game.  At one time, I used to know how to put links to other threads in my messages, but I've slept since then, so the knowledge has left me!




LOL! Found your play-by-post threads -- I'll have a proper read through when I've got more time. 

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Alternative name*

Hi,

I'm happy to stick with all the country and other place names I've stolen from various sources apart from Zakhara which is the setting used in _Al-Qadim_. Any suggestions what to call the Arabian land to the south west of Parsantium?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Piratecat

Man, you just KNOW that obelisk is going to cause all manner of problems, probably right in the middle of a fully packed chariot race...


----------



## Tonguez

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Hi,
> 
> I'm happy to stick with all the country and other place names I've stolen from various sources apart from Zakhara which is the setting used in _Al-Qadim_. Any suggestions what to call the Arabian land to the south west of Parsantium?




Al-S'hra  (a contraction of Sahara)
Qahira    (Arabic form of Cairo)
Indehan
Tukiye  
Kem


----------



## Leif

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Al-S'hra  (a contraction of Sahara)
> Qahira    (Arabic form of Cairo)
> Indehan
> Tukiye
> Kem



Wow!  All of these are great names!  Are a few of these original?  If they are, may I swipe them, too?


----------



## Tonguez

Leif said:
			
		

> Wow!  All of these are great names!  Are a few of these original?  If they are, may I swipe them, too?




Of course. Most of them are historic (Kem is an old name for Egypt and Turkiye is the Turkish name for Turkey (*I dropped the r to make it less recognisable). I can't remember where Indehan came from but they are all places in my homebrew


----------



## Evilhalfling

Now you've got me inspired to design _In Detail _ a new city for my world. 
Is it allright if I post it here for comments, or should I start a new thread? 



Orginal paragraph (from pbp game) 
 [sblock]
Laviner is an ancient city built by humans, but sacked by the goblin hordes in the years following 0 AC.  It was retaken from the goblin hordes in 320 AC by a race of sandy-skinned humans called the Cricks.  They are supposed to avoid alcohol, sensuality and displays of wealth, but this gets more lip service than practice.  It has strong new walls and good river trade, but controls little territory.  Their homeland is far to the east, and there is little contact with it. 
[addtional info]  In 400 AC the South Denumbrians [europeans, core gods] arrived. They drove the goblin hordes completely from the area and allied with the Criks.  In the years from 400-608 they have created a low-density feudal kingdom directly east of the city of Laviner.
[/sblock]

So far I have about 2 pages of stuff, and 3 photos for insperation. 
I was also inspired by a suggestion to write up a list of base classes roll 8 times, and choose a few extra to fill gaps, then only allow those classes.  In my case I decided to allow any class, but make the random classes the key players in the city. 
Classes: Cloistered Cleric(UA var.), Paladin, Psi-warrior, Ranger, Rogue, Thug (UA var.) Wizard, Warlock.


----------



## RichGreen

Evilhalfling said:
			
		

> Now you've got me inspired to design _In Detail _ a new city for my world.
> Is it allright if I post it here for comments, or should I start a new thread?




Do you mind starting a new thread? I'd like to keep this for Parsantium or I'll get confused! Glad you've been inspired though!


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Al-S'hra  (a contraction of Sahara)
> Qahira    (Arabic form of Cairo)
> Indehan
> Tukiye
> Kem




Hi,

Thanks for these suggestions. I like Qahira, but my wife (who will be playing in the campaign) thinks it's too recognisable as Cairo which we've been to. I might try playing around with the syllables.

*UPDATE:* I've decided on the Caliphate of Akhran - name stolen from a old novel by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Man, you just KNOW that obelisk is going to cause all manner of problems, probably right in the middle of a fully packed chariot race...




Surely not? 


Richard


----------



## Evilhalfling

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Do you mind starting a new thread? I'd like to keep this for Parsantium or I'll get confused! Glad you've been inspired though!
> Richard




Okay, ill post a link to it when it gets going.
Back to Parsantium: 

What are your dwarves like? do they have their own ward? why are they living here? 
Do the half-orcs and gnolls get along or compete for the Dock/Bully work? 

Does the city have any regular celebrations? Feast days, carnivals, Holy weeks? 
If so, are any not marked by chariot races? 
How do the other gods fair in the shadow of Pelor's basillica?


----------



## Leif

*Half-Orcs*



			
				Evilhalfling said:
			
		

> What are your dwarves like? do they have their own ward? why are they living here?
> Do the half-orcs and gnolls get along or compete for the Dock/Bully work?



Say, that brings up an interesting question regarding half-orcs:  Since half-orcs, by definition have one parent who's an orc and one who is something else (presumably many of these are humans, but I guess there's no guarantee of that, is there?) how do they even have their own racial identity?  It seems like 99.9% of half-orcs would be trying to live and get along in either orc society or human society.  Some might even travel back and forth between the two with relative ease.  This is someting that I've also been using in my campaign with Scotley, and we've created a very interesting npc half-orc.  Our party acts like they almost even like him sometimes.


----------



## RichGreen

*Non-humans & festivals*

Hi,

Good questions from Evilhalfling and Leif! Some notes on the non-humans:

*Dwarves*
Parsantium' dwarves are going to be like the dwarves of Eberron (a setting I've never used but own). They are natural miners and smiths as in core D&D, but mint coinage, operate banks, issue letters of credit, hold loans and collect debts. Their homeland is a mountainous area several hundred miles to the west of Parsantium but they live throughout the city-states and towns of the fallen Batiaran Empire. There is a dwarven district in the Imperial Quarter.

*
Half-Orcs*
Definitely third-class citizens, forming an underclass. However, Parsantium's half-orcs have formed their own community and are trying their hardest to become accepted by the rest of the city. Unlike their warlike orcish ancestors, they are typically honest, clean-living, hard-working and peaceful. They perform manual labour and do the "unclean" jobs that the Sahasrans can't do. Orcish is never spoken (although most know the language) and orcish writings are kept out of half-orc homes. Half-orcs worship the gods of the Akhrani Pantheon.

*Gnolls*
Gnolls are also part of the city's underclass but whereas the half-orcs strive to become respectable, the gnolls stay true to their savage heritage, finding employment as hired enforcers, bodyguards, bouncers and thugs, becoming involved in crime or both. Parsantium's gnolls are neutral evil, rather than chaotic evil in alignment.

As for festivals, I need to come up with some so any suggestions gratefully received! There will definitely be a celebration on the anniversary of Corandias the Stubborn's successful Crusade and this will be marked with the biggest chariot race of the year, but I think some of the other festivals should be different.

Haven't nailed down the gods yet either. Pelor is the dominant Batiaran god, but Bahamut is also worshipped widely, particularly among knights and paladins. Which other 3.5 core/4e gods would fit?

In the Old Quarter, the Sahasrans follow the Indian/Vedic gods. The Akhrani (Arabian) Pantheon will also have adherents here -- I'm planning on using the Al-Qadim gods for these. There will also be one or two temples to the god(s) of Tingao. What do you think?


Richard


----------



## Leif

Good racial information!


----------



## RichGreen

*Parsantium map*

Hi,

I've posted a crude map of the city here. Let me know what you think.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Robbs

*Re:Quarters and Thirds*

While I think the term Quarters refering to zones (and connecting more with the quarters as rooms vs. icky math concepts) is fine, if you feel you must have a fourth and you want a spiritual element (not to mention copious undead and necromantic opportunities!) then the fourth quarter can be the cemetery or such.  Thus the reference is generally unspoken, i.e. everyone (locals that is) knows when you speak of the fourth quarter you are talking about death and such.  Bad puns about people dying to get in are springing up as I type but I'll attempt to resist.    Anyway, this would give you a fourth quarter without disturbing your current balance too much (unless I missed something in the posts that is!).


----------



## RichGreen

*Hidden Quarter*



			
				Robbs said:
			
		

> While I think the term Quarters refering to zones (and connecting more with the quarters as rooms vs. icky math concepts) is fine, if you feel you must have a fourth and you want a spiritual element (not to mention copious undead and necromantic opportunities!) then the fourth quarter can be the cemetery or such.  Thus the reference is generally unspoken, i.e. everyone (locals that is) knows when you speak of the fourth quarter you are talking about death and such.  Bad puns about people dying to get in are springing up as I type but I'll attempt to resist.    Anyway, this would give you a fourth quarter without disturbing your current balance too much (unless I missed something in the posts that is!).




I've decided several posts back (as suggested by Evilhalfling) to have a fourth, Hidden Quarter. This is going to be an undercity of some sort where forbidden cults (eg the Black Mother), criminals and monsters are rumoured to hang out. However, your point about a cemetery is a good one as I'd forgotten about this and I shouldn't have done! It's a great opportunity to introduce undead etc as you say; I guess this would be outside the city walls to the south-east. 

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gold Roger

RichGreen said:
			
		

> I've decided several posts back (as suggested by Evilhalfling) to have a fourth, Hidden Quarter. This is going to be an undercity of some sort where forbidden cults (eg the Black Mother), criminals and monsters are rumoured to hang out. However, your point about a cemetery is a good one as I'd forgotten about this and I shouldn't have done! It's a great opportunity to introduce undead etc as you say; I guess this would be outside the city walls to the south-east.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> Richard




You can, of course, combine the two. Honestly, I personaly am tired of the cemetery always being the undead infested part of town. It should be the first part of town warded against such.

However, your average D&D cemetery gives lots of great opportuities to the criminal element/undercity. Extended crypts and dungeons are a must and the ideal homebase for monsters, thieves and assassins. Add some tunnels (dug by umberhulks that are prominent in the undercity perhaps?) and you've got your undercity right in the fourth ward.


----------



## RichGreen

Gold Roger said:
			
		

> You can, of course, combine the two. Honestly, I personaly am tired of the cemetery always being the undead infested part of town. It should be the first part of town warded against such.
> 
> However, your average D&D cemetery gives lots of great opportuities to the criminal element/undercity. Extended crypts and dungeons are a must and the ideal homebase for monsters, thieves and assassins. Add some tunnels (dug by umberhulks that are prominent in the undercity perhaps?) and you've got your undercity right in the fourth ward.




Thanks for the suggestion. This would work pretty well, I think. Considering this is outside the oldest part of the city, the crypts and tunnels could be very old indeed. I may still have some ghouls living underneath the necropolis although I take your point about this being a D&D cliche that doesn't make much sense. It's just that ghouls are such a good fit with the flavour of the setting...

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Tonguez

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Thanks for the suggestion. This would work pretty well, I think. Considering this is outside the oldest part of the city, the crypts and tunnels could be very old indeed. I may still have some ghouls living underneath the necropolis although I take your point about this being a D&D cliche that doesn't make much sense. It's just that ghouls are such a good fit with the flavour of the setting...




You could make the Ghouls not-undead and instead cast them as denigerate humans who infest the catacombs and survive by eating the corpses of the dead (and the living)..


----------



## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> You could make the Ghouls not-undead and instead cast them as denigerate humans who infest the catacombs and survive by eating the corpses of the dead (and the living)..




That's true. There was a thread on this in General Discussion -- i don't think Lovecraft/Clark Ashton Smith's ghouls were undead. 


Richard


----------



## Gold Roger

Tonguez said:
			
		

> You could make the Ghouls not-undead and instead cast them as denigerate humans who infest the catacombs and survive by eating the corpses of the dead (and the living)..




Alternatively, ghouls in the slumms.


----------



## Tonguez

Gold Roger said:
			
		

> Alternatively, ghouls in the slumms.




Of course. I once ran an urban adventure which featured goblin gangs living in the slums and no less thant three Ghoul 'serial killers' stalking the streets (one of them was named 'Ripper Jack'). 
Another of the Ghouls named Rotten Eddy was a fagan-like figure followed by a gang of goblin who became a major NPC and was a regular informer consulted by the PCs (I use to love describing the PCs descent into the sewers where Rotten Eddy lived and where they would come across goblins waifs chewing on human arms and others playing with the pink frilly dresses and blood-stained dolls...)


----------



## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> Of course. I once ran an urban adventure which featured goblin gangs living in the slums and no less thant three Ghoul 'serial killers' stalking the streets (one of them was named 'Ripper Jack').
> Another of the Ghouls named Rotten Eddy was a fagan-like figure followed by a gang of goblin who became a major NPC and was a regular informer consulted by the PCs (I use to love describing the PCs descent into the sewers where Rotten Eddy lived and where they would come across goblins waifs chewing on human arms and others playing with the pink frilly dresses and blood-stained dolls...)




Nice and creepy! I think I'm going to have to steal Rotten Eddy for the Old Quarter slums and give him an Akhrani name.

Any views on the city map? Have I forgotten anything (apart from the necropolis)? Does anything look weird or in the wrong place?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Updated History*

Not much changed, but I've updated this based on suggestions on my LJ:

*Some History*
Parsantium was originally founded in the distant past by Sahasran refugees fleeing through the snow-filled passes of the Pillars of Heaven Mountains to escape the dark empire of Kadar and its fell sorcerors and geomancers. Several centuries later, traders arrived from the Caliphate of Akhran, many of whom settled in the city, building mosques and khanduqs in what is now the Old Quarter.  About a thousand years ago it was conquered by the Corandias the Magnificent and subsequently grew in importance, becoming a powerful city and trading hub for the region. With Corandias’ death in battle with the fearsome striped centaurs of the Great Grass Sea to the east, his empire was divided up by his opportunistic generals since his son and heir was only three years old. In the centuries that followed, repeated invasions by orcs, hobgoblins and gnolls led to the break up of the Batiaran Empire. Parsantium itself was sacked several times during this period, before being recaptured 100 years ago from a hobgoblin "king" by Corandias XVI the Stubborn in the Great Crusade. He couldn’t have done this without support from the Platinum Order of the Knights of Bahamut. New city walls, 60’ high and very thick, were built, trade opened up to the east with Tingao along the Silk Road and the city’s prosperity increased again.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Vishnu Temple*

Here's a location in the Old Quarter:

*Vishnu Mandira*
Situated in the temple district of the Old Quarter, this huge building is the biggest temple to a Sahasran god this side of the Pillars of Heaven mountains. Dedicated to Vishnu, the most-widely worshipped god in the Vedic pantheon, the mandira has four ornate pyramid-like towers: the tallest is over 200 feet high with the others progressively smaller. The outside of the structure is covered in intricate brightly-coloured carvings of the Sahasran gods, folk heroes, animals and monsters. Inside, the garbhagriha (“holy of holies”) forms the central focus, housing an idol of Vishnu reclining on a great serpent. There are also subsidiary shrines to the other gods, including Mitra (“Light of Blessings”), Surya (the sun god) and Varuna (deity of the cosmic order). It is customary for visitors to remove their footwear before entering the temple, and to make offerings of flowers, rice or sweets at the shrine of the god they are beseeching for help or guidance. 

Several sacred cows, painted virulent shades of blue or purple, wander the temple grounds. One of these cows, Amaravati, has become _awakened_ through proximity to the god and has been known to give spiritual advice to visitors at the temple in return for sweets (treat as an _augury_ spell with a 70% chance of accuracy in answer to questions about the next 7 days)


Any comments?


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Two More Old Quarter Temples*

*Temple of Niu Dahan*
Like many of the gods of Tiangao, Niu Dahan was once human, a Tiangaon merchant during the Seven Kingdoms era who made his fortune running caravans throughout Tiangao and beyond during what was a particularly dangerous period in the empire’s history. He was always ready with a crafty scheme to make money and is renowned for his daring escapades, once evading capture by bakemono bandits by riding away on the back of a tiger. He was the first merchant to cross the deserts and the Great Grass Sea from Tiangao to Parsantium centuries ago, and is now worshipped as “City God” of Parsantium  in addition to his status as God of Wealth by the city’s Tiangaon residents. 

The roof of the Temple of Niu Dahan is its dominant feature: this is green and decorated with figures of the Tiangaon gods and lucky symbols such as dragons and carp. Stone lions guard the temple entrance. Inside is a small courtyard with a large bowl where incense and paper offerings are burnt. Beyond is the main hall which contains an intricately carved altar and a great statue of Niu Dahan riding his tiger. There are gongs, side altars and adjoining rooms with shrines to other gods, chapels for prayers to the dead and displays of funerary plaques. Red (representing joy), gold (heavenly glory) and green (harmony) are the dominant colours and Niu Dahan’s symbol, a set of scales, is everywhere. There is no set time for prayer and no communal service except for funerals. Worshippers enter the temple whenever they want to make offerings, pray for help or give thanks.

*Golden Mosque of Jisan the Bountiful*
Also called Jisan of the Floods, this goddess symbolizes fertility and productivity and is the most-widely worshipped Akhrani deity. There are several mosques in the Old Quarter, but Jisan’s is the largest and most splendid. The mosque has a shining gold dome situated over the prayer hall,  a vast courtyard with a large fountain for ablutions before prayer, and four beautiful minarets over 300 feet tall from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer five times per day. There is no furniture in the prayer hall: this allows for as many worshippers as possible to pray inside. 

Niu Dahan is from Dragon Fist; Jisan is from Al-Qadim.

Any other ideas for Old Quarter locations?



Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Book of the Righteous pantheon*

Hi,

I've been thinking that the gods featured in Green Ronin's excellent Book of the Righteous could become the gods of the Batiaran citizens of Parsantium, replacing the D&D pantheon (3e or 4e version). The Holy Basilica would be dedicated to the Great Church (ie the whole pantheon) rather than Pelor and there would be temples to individual gods around the Imperial Quarter. 

Do any of you have any experience of this book in play?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*New Location: The Theatre of Aymara*

*The Theatre of Aymara, Mercantile Quarter*

Parsantium’s huge theatre was built five hundred years ago during the reign of Florian I and is constructed in the semi-circular Batiaran style and holds an audience of up to 5,000 citizens. The theatre has exceptional acoustics, so good that even a whisper from an actor on stage can be clearly heard by someone sitting right at the back of the audience. 

The audience sit on tiered rows of limestone seats, directly facing the stage which is raised several feet above the front row. In front of the stage is a large archway, known as the proscenium arch which acts as a window through which the theatregoers view the play; this arch also has a curtain which can be lowered or drawn closed. At the back of the stage is the skene, a building with doors that serves as the backdrop in Batiaran theatre. Since the Theatre of Aymara is situated near the shore of the island, the view behind the stage is of the Corsairs’ Sea.

The Aymaran Festivites are held twice per year, taking place in early winter and late spring. This consists of a week-long drama competition in honour of the goddess in which seven playwrights much each enter three plays: two tragedies and one comedy. For the last three years, the talented but very conservative dramatist Dulcitius won five out of six times, but the winner at the most recent festival was the iconoclastic and charismatic young bard, Iancu Petronas.

Traditional Batiaran drama  involves two or three actors wearing simple white robes and different masks to depict the various characters they are playing, plus a chorus of half a dozen others, dressed in black who provide commentary on the action. No women appear on the stage; female roles are always played by men. Violence is also never shown: when somebody is about to die in a play, that person is taken to the back and offstage to be "killed" and is then brought back "dead." 

Iancu Petronas and his friends and contemporaries are determined to change all this. Their modern plays feature a bigger cast, colourful costumes, female performers playing women characters, comic relief in serious plays to keep the mob happy, and above all, sublime use of language and poetry. Swordfights and violent deaths take place on stage and there is an attempt to create realistic scenery by hanging painted backdrops on cloth from the roof of the skene. Unsurprisingly, Petronas and his “new drama” is popular with many theatregoers and disliked by Dulicitus, Vetranis and other traditional playwrights. Iancu and his friends are also habitual drunks, carousers and womanizers, frequenting raucous festhalls and taverns such as the Winking Vixen and the Fallen Angel in the red light district in the Old Quarter. This has made them even more despised by the establishment.

Aymara is the goddess of love & the arts <see Book of the Righteous>

Any comments?


Richard


----------



## Tonguez

RichGreen said:
			
		

> *Iancu Petronas and his friends and contemporaries are determined to change all this. Their modern plays feature a bigger cast, colourful costumes, female performers playing women characters, comic relief in serious plays to keep the mob happy, and above all, sublime use of language and poetry. Swordfights and violent deaths take place on stage and there is an attempt to create realistic scenery by hanging painted backdrops on cloth from the roof of the skene. Unsurprisingly, Petronas and his “new drama” is popular with many theatregoers and disliked by Dulicitus, Vetranis and other traditional playwrights. Iancu and his friends are also habitual drunks, carousers and womanizers, frequenting raucous festhalls and taverns such as the Winking Vixen and the Fallen Angel in the red light district in the Old Quarter. This has made them even more despised by the establishment
> Any comments?*



*

This is awesomeness, especially as it gives Bards a purpose beyond fascinate and a bit of intrigue and tension in the world of fine arts is just too juicy for words 

I was going to suggest a brothel for the old quarter so I'd love to see the Winking Vixen and the Fallen Angel write ups*


----------



## RichGreen

Tonguez said:
			
		

> This is awesomeness, especially as it gives Bards a purpose beyond fascinate and a bit of intrigue and tension in the world of fine arts is just too juicy for words
> 
> I was going to suggest a brothel for the old quarter so I'd love to see the Winking Vixen and the Fallen Angel write ups




Glad you like the theatre! Will have a think about the brothels (!) What are the essential elements of a fantasy city brothel, do you think?   

Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Two Old Quarter Brothels*

As requested by Tonguez, here are two of the Old Quarter's most famous brothels:

*The Winking Vixen*
The Winking Vixen is a typical Old Quarter bordello (or “stew”) on the waterfront, and like many of Parsantium’s brothels has a stylized lyre, the symbol of Aymara, Goddess of Love and Desire, carved into the lintel above the front door. The interior is decorated with erotic murals and sculptures depicting priapic satyrs and buxom maidens indulging in various acts of congress. Patrons are served expensive drinks and food by bare bosomed waitresses as they recline on silk cushions, smoking sheeshah, and watching a succession of sensual and bored erotic dancers remove their seven diaphanous veils. The performers offer private dances in curtained booths or company for the rest of the night in the scruffy rooms upstairs.

The owner of the Winking Vixen is Zeno Meverel who owns a dozen taverns, inns and brothels in the Old Quarter’s red-light district and is connected to the criminal elements of the Hidden Quarter. He is a greedy, grasping man who takes a huge percentage of his girls’ wages. The madam is Eusebia, a retired whore who does her best to look after the welfare of the girls, fiddling the books to allow them to keep most of their tips. If Meverel finds out, he is likely to take a terrible revenge on her.

*The Fallen Angel*
Altogether more sophisticated and attracting a richer clientele from across the Strait as well as decadent poets, artists and actors, the Fallen Angel caters for those with a penchant for pain alongside their pleasure and other specialist tastes. Located off the main drag, the brothel is dark, lit only by sputtering candles, and is hung with black and purple drapes and curtains. Clients are shown up to a private room where they can indulge their fantasies with the woman or man of their choice. Because it caters for the darker side of human sexuality, the brothel attracts its fair share of debauched individuals, some of whom like the actor Marcus Hape <Elder Evils p.70> have an interest in the “forces of darkness”. The Fallen Angel’s red leather-clad madam, Firmina, is rumoured to be a priestess of Malcanthet, Queen of the Succubi – this could be nonsense but, if so, she has done nothing to set the record straight.

Prostitution is legal, but was banned under a previous (female) basilea who disapproved on moral grounds. This only drove prostitution underground, leading to control by criminal gangs, so it was legalized again.

Clients at any brothel need to beware the “crossbiting” con, where the con man would storm in at the critical moment, pretending to be an aggrieved husband. The victim would then have to pay extravagant amounts of money to be allowed to leave the premises, his reputation and person unharmed.

Any comments or suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*The Fourth Quarter!*

Hi,

Up-thread, we discussed having a fourth quarter to the city -- the Hidden Quarter. I'd like this to be an undercity, beneath the Old Quarter and the cemetery (not yet marked on the map!) which lies outside the city walls to the south east.

The Hidden Quarter is going to be the home of much of the city's criminal element as well as forbidden cults and monsters. It's a network of ancient tunnels, sewers, abandoned basements and so on, dating back to the city's foundation by Sahasran refugees fleeing the empire of Kadar. 

Ideas so far include:
- a rakshasa crime baron (who is likely to be connected to the campaign's major villain - an ancient rakshasa imprisoned in the ice at the top of the Pillars of Heaven mountains)
- a cult of the Black Mother (Kali) that dates back to the original refugees from Sahasra
- ghouls beneath the slums (but not the graveyard)
- an abandoned temple, partially flooded with muddy water (occupied by blind fish and maybe worse). Its columns are strange and malformed, made from mismatched blocks piled on top of each other, held together by the weight of the city pressing down on them from above. Some of the pillars are carved with monstrous faces. The air is close, fetid and swampy.

Who/what else lives beneath the city? What are they up to? 

I need suggestions for NPCs, factions and monsters that would be fun as this part of the city will be a major focus for adventures.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Nellisir

Tonguez said:
			
		

> You could make the Ghouls not-undead and instead cast them as denigerate humans who infest the catacombs and survive by eating the corpses of the dead (and the living)..



Skulks (from Tome of Horrors) might be fitted into this niche.


----------



## Nellisir

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Who/what else lives beneath the city? What are they up to?



Don't forget; you've got a major city straddling a strait between two seas.

What's going on underwater?  Are there local communities of merfolk?  Kuo-toa in the Hidden Quarter?


----------



## RichGreen

Nellisir said:
			
		

> Don't forget; you've got a major city straddling a strait between two seas.
> 
> What's going on underwater?  Are there local communities of merfolk?  Kuo-toa in the Hidden Quarter?




Good point, and I've always liked kuo-toa.....


Richard


----------



## Nellisir

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Good point, and I've always liked kuo-toa.....




And the kuo-toa like you too...lightly browned, with a little garlic and melted butter.


----------



## RichGreen

Nellisir said:
			
		

> And the kuo-toa like you too...lightly browned, with a little garlic and melted butter.




Surely they prefer their food raw? 

Since I'm unlikely to run the Shackled City adventure path in its entirety, I could steal the kuo-toa dungeon in Zenith Trajectory (I think) and use this somewhere in the Hidden Quarter. I like the idea of having kuo-toa creeping around the Old Docks at night, preying on the poor souls living in their houseboats and ramshackle huts.

Any other ideas?


Richard


----------



## Leif

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Who/what else lives beneath the city? What are they up to?
> I need suggestions for NPCs, factions and monsters that would be fun as this part of the city will be a major focus for adventures.
> Richard



Have you thought about a family or two of otyughs that live in the UnderCity and dine in the city dump?
(Gosh, I may be showing my age:  I'm not even sure that said monster made it into 3.5 ed.!)


----------



## RichGreen

Leif said:
			
		

> Have you thought about a family or two of otyughs that live in the UnderCity and dine in the city dump?
> (Gosh, I may be showing my age:  I'm not even sure that said monster made it into 3.5 ed.!)




Classic D&D monsters! Yes, they're in the 3.5 MM. How about this 
great picture from Pathfinder?


Richard


----------



## Nellisir

One thing I'd be careful to do (and this is more of a general comment and reminder than a criticism) is always put some kind of hook or mystery in every description.  You did it with the brothels, but not the temple & the mosque.  The theatre is ambigious.


----------



## RichGreen

Nellisir said:
			
		

> One thing I'd be careful to do (and this is more of a general comment and reminder than a criticism) is always put some kind of hook or mystery in every description.  You did it with the brothels, but not the temple & the mosque.  The theatre is ambigious.




Good point -- you're right. Funnily enough, I was thinking this myself earlier today -- I was reminded of the original Dungeoncraft columns Ray Winniger did in Dragon. One of his "rules of Dungeoncraft" was that whenever you designed something, you should attach a secret to it, which is a cool principle to stick to.

Will bear this in mind for future location write-ups and I'll see if I can think of any hooks to add to the temples -- feel free to suggest any! I guess an NPC or two for each wouldn't hurt either....

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Nellisir

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Will bear this in mind for future location write-ups and I'll see if I can think of any hooks to add to the temples -- feel free to suggest any! I guess an NPC or two for each wouldn't hurt either....




I don't have a really organized scheme or anything, but when I'm writing descriptions I just try to throw in something that I (if I were an adventurer), would be curious about.  Usually just a single line or quick aside; one doesn't need a whole outline, just a seed.

I guess the pertinent question is:

What is weird, odd, unusual, interesting, or unexplained about the item being described?


----------



## RichGreen

Nellisir said:
			
		

> I don't have a really organized scheme or anything, but when I'm writing descriptions I just try to throw in something that I (if I were an adventurer), would be curious about.  Usually just a single line or quick aside; one doesn't need a whole outline, just a seed.
> 
> I guess the pertinent question is:
> 
> What is weird, odd, unusual, interesting, or unexplained about the item being described?




Good advice, thanks! If you do that, a throwaway line of description could interest the players and become part of the adventure.


----------



## RichGreen

*The Boat Town of Flotsam*

Here's a new location with a couple of adventure hooks:

*Flotsam*

_Boats of every size and shape bob on the water, connected by a baffling web of piers, gangplanks, and rope bridges.
_
Part of the Old Docks, the “boat town” of Flotsam consists of around 70 boats, and is inhabited by some of the city’s poorest citizens, those who cannot afford to live in a tenement building. Most of these are Sahasrans belonging to the artisan caste (Shudras), although many halflings live here too. Flotsam is completely afloat;  the residents live in houseboats and do their shopping at other boats. Even longtime Flotsam-dwellers must relearn their way around the neighborhood if they leave for a time, since it constantly rearranges itself.

As well as houseboats, there is a temple to the seven river gods, the Sapta Sindhu, a shrine to Anwyn (goddess of the hearth, home and small folk),  and a number of trades and services including a bait and tackle shop, a basket weaver,  a netmaker,  several carpenters and boatmakers, and a very basic boat- tavern called the Fat Grouper, run by a truly miserable halfling called Glyn Merryfield who constantly complains at the injustice of him ending up in Flotsam. Most of the people living here work as longshoremen, in warehouses,  or on the fishing boats. Fish naturally forms a big part of the Flotsam diet and the smell of grilling fish pervades the evening air.

Once a year, in late summer, the Festival of Flowers is celebrated by the people of Flotsam. For a month,  all the boats, even the Fat Grouper, are decorated with hanging baskets full of beautiful red, orange and yellow flowers. On the last day of the festival, the flowers are all cut and cast into the Dolphin Strait to honour the Sapta Sindhu. If a pod of dolphin appears, the people of Flotsam are going to have a lucky year. No dolphins have been seen for the last seven years… 

*Adventure Hooks*
Recently there have been a number of disappearances from the inhabitants of Flotsam, mostly longshoremen and dockworkers. The City Watch aren't really interested, claiming that the missing men have probably left town. A gang of gnolls led by the tattooed Orloch Scragmane is to blame; these gnolls are selling their captives to kuo-toa living in water-logged caverns deep beneath the Old Quarter. 

Mangesh, a dock-worker, is really pissed off. His boat keeps springing a leak because someone or something is pulling the nails out holding it together. The culprit is a nail stealer _<Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary>_, a tiny rust-coloured woodpecker  with a very strong beak that it uses to obtain pieces of rusty metal as part of its courtship ritual. Its partner has built her nest at the top of the mast of the nearby Fat Grouper.

Any comments or suggestions? I'm keen to develop the gnoll gang and kuo-toa some more. I have a nice kuo-toa temple from Zenith Trajectory (Shackled City adventure path) that I can use if the PCs go beneath the city into their territory.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Guardian Dragon*

An important city personality and adventure patron:

*Naelere* is a Very Old Bronze Dragon who has lived in a sea cave along the coast from Parsantium for 700 years or so. These days, she acts as an unofficial guardian of the city against its enemies both internal and external, rarely intervening directly. Instead, she advises the basileus of the day from time to time, and often points adventurers in the right direction to make sure the city does not come to serious harm. Naelere can be found in various places and several guises in Parsantium. 

In the Old Quarter she poses as Jarwyn, an old male dwarf with a knack for carpentry, repairing ships and making sea chests, rudders and other wooden objects used on boats. While in this guise, she is able to keep an eye on some of the criminal gangs operating around the Old Docks and in the red-light district. 

In the Mercantile Quarter, she appears as an elderly Batiaran woman, calls herself Irene, and runs a small shop dealing in antiquities and art objects called The Curio Cabinet. Naturally, this brings her into contact with adventurers wanting to sell loot whom she is then often able to steer towards somewhere she wants them to go, for example, by offering them an old treasure map for sale at a bargain price.  

In the Imperial Quarter she is the young and very fashionable, air-headed Lady Viviana who lives near the park and is rumoured to have caught the basileus' eye as a potential mistress. Certainly, Thecia, Corandias' beautiful, cold and calculating wife, is prone to giving her filthy looks at the Hippodrome and when they cross paths at other public functions. In fact, Corandias’ interest is in what Lady Viviana can tell him about the goings-on in the city and their relationship is purely platonic. Since Thecia does not know this or that Viviana is really a dragon, she is busy plotting her rival's downfall.

Thoughts?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## phy00x

RichGreen said:
			
		

> Here's a new location with a couple of adventure hooks:
> 
> *Flotsam*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Once a year, in late summer, the Festival of Flowers is celebrated by the people of Flotsam. For a month,  all the boats, even the Fat Grouper, are decorated with hanging baskets full of beautiful red, orange and yellow flowers. On the last day of the festival, the flowers are all cut and cast into the Dolphin Strait to honour the Sapta Sindhu. If a pod of dolphin appears, the people of Flotsam are going to have a lucky year. No dolphins have been seen for the last seven years…
> 
> [
> 
> 
> This is a really good place for if the party gets really down and out. They accept anyone, so long as they go with the flow. Whatever that flow may be...
> 
> The dolphins really love these tasty flowers. They have been coming here every year and it has become a festival of their own. Yummy treats! But the Koa Toas have figured out there schedule and lay in wait to ambush them. Koa Toas think dolphin meat is yummy and like to eat it on their own feast day.


----------



## RichGreen

phy00x said:
			
		

> This is a really good place for if the party gets really down and out. They accept anyone, so long as they go with the flow. Whatever that flow may be...
> 
> The dolphins really love these tasty flowers. They have been coming here every year and it has become a festival of their own. Yummy treats! But the Koa Toas have figured out there schedule and lay in wait to ambush them. Koa Toas think dolphin meat is yummy and like to eat it on their own feast day.



Thanks for the feedback. It would be cool to have a PC to come from Flotsam but I'm not sure any of my potential players would go for it! In which case, having this as somewhere where the PCs or someone they're looking for is hiding out is a great idea.

If the dolphins aren't coming because they know they're going to get attacked by the kuo-toa, is this the reason why the people of Flotsam have experienced seven bad years in a row?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Power Groups & Key NPCs*

Hi,

Previous posts have been a general overview of the city and some (hopefully) interesting locations, but I think I need to develop some power groups, key NPCs and the conflicts between them next. 

So far, we have:

- Corandias & Thecia
- Bardas the Prefect & three tribunes
- The Church of Pelor/Great Church
- Platinum Knights of Bahamut
- Other temples: Jisan, Vishnu, Niu Dahan, Anwyn
- Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus
- Rakshasa crime lord in the Hidden Quarter
- Black Mother (Kali) Cult
- Kuo-Toa slavers & their gnoll alllies
- Imperial Quarter vs Old Quarter rivalry
- Blues & Whites vs Greens & Reds (chariot teams)
- Traditional Batiaran theatre vs Iancu Petronas

Any suggestions from ENWorlders in fleshing out these or for new power groups and/or conflicts would be much appreciated. I'm looking for things that will drive some adventures.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Tonguez

*Thecia* "_the scheming enchantress_” is the daughter of a lesser noble family. Her father was an officer but was killed early and her mother Ciceria survived as a courtesan soon introducing her daughter to the scheming and intricacies of the Imperial Court. 
Eventually Ciceria was able to position her daughter as the lead contender for bride to the future Basilieus much to the consternation of higher ranking families.
Initially Thecia was able to use her feminine wiles to influence The Basilieus and she used that to gain position for her family and to punish her 'enemies' in court. One of her major coups was to have members of her own family appointed to all three tribune position of the city essentially allowing her to control the flow of people across the city.
 Of late however The Basilieus has come to depend more and more upon his vizier and wizard Arridaeus. Corandias listens to no other voice and this means that Thecia is unable to influence things to her own advantage. She has grown jealous of the vizier and is schming to have him removed, permanently

Thecia has thus shifted her attention to the Prefect and is plotting with the Tribune of the Imperial Quarter (a distant relative named Aurius) to have Bardas removed and himself appointed as Prefect. With Bardas being so uncharismatic it should not be difficult to 'prove' his disloyalty. Once Aurius is appointed as Prefect Thecia intends moving against Arridaeus so that she alone will have the ear of The Basilieus.


----------



## Tonguez

*Ciceria* (mother of Thecia) was secretly a priestess in the Cult of The Black Mother having been initiated by the Sahasran witch Jagadamba. Thecia is aware of this and is not above resorting to the cult for assistance, it is even rumored that Thecia might herself be an initiate.

Moreover it has become something of a fashion statement amongst the Batiaran elite to be associated with the witch Jagadamba and many travel in disguise into the old quarter to consult with Jagadamba as fortune teller and apothecary.


----------



## RichGreen

Hi Tonguez,

Great posts! Thanks, will definitely incorporate your suggestions.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Power Group: The Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus*

*Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus*

Based in tall, slender tower in the Old Quarter, the Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus is the foremost arcanists’ guild in the world. Parsantium is the headquarters of the whole order, but there are smaller branches in several other major cities. Its foundation dates back to the conquest of Parsantium by Corandias the Magnificent; his vizier Marcus Servius was intrigued by the Sahasran and Akhrani magical traditions being taught in the city and set up the order to share magical knowledge across cultural boundaries. The Order takes its name from the rare blue lotus plant, renowned for its magical properties, that still grows along the banks of the Dolphin Strait.

The Order’s tower, known as the Marjani Minar, looks like a minaret crossed with the tower of a fairy castle. Topped with a golden dome, it stands nearly 500 feet tall and towers over the Old Quarter; tiny balconies jut out at several different heights. Inside, is a much bigger, extradimensional space; the entrance on the ground floor opens into a beautiful courtyard with sparkling fountains and fine topiary depicting various creatures such as dragons and griffons. Each floor of the tower can be reached by a flight of stairs or by a series of large, slow-moving flying carpets that drift constantly up and down the central shaft.

The Esoteric Order is ruled by a council of four arcanists, each representing a different magical tradition: 
- The Master of Western Magic is Sabir Al-Falasifa, a male human sha’ir from the Caliphate of Akhran
- The Master of Northern Magic is Calahir a male eladrin wizard from the city of Charouse in Arbonne
- The Master of Eastern Magic is Mingzhu (Bright Pearl), a female river spirit folk wu jen from Tiangao
- The Master of Southern Magic is Tapasranjan, a male vanara* mantrika (sorcerer) from Sahasra

Each Master serves as Grand Master for two years in rotation; the current Grand Master is Tapasranjan.

The organization’s goal is to advance magical knowledge through ongoing research and the recovery and study of lost magical treasures such as those of the fallen desert civilization of Khemit. Traditionally, the Esoteric Order stays out of city politics but will act to defend Parsantium when it is threatened. However, in recent months, with Tapasranjan becoming Grand Master and a larger percentage of Sahasrans and Akhrani among its members these days, the Order has been speaking out against the prejudice faced by the citizens of the Old Quarter. Arridaeus, the Basileus’ vizier, is a member of the Order but does not participate in guild politics and rarely visits the tower. He is, however, an old friend of Calahir, and the two wizards frequently discuss magical matters and current events in the city over a glass of wine.

Membership is open to arcane spellcasters capable of casting 3rd level spells and costs 1,000 gp per year. To join, the prospective member must donate a scroll of an obscure spell (ie not in the Player’s Handbook) or an unusual arcane magic item to the Order.

Members gain access to the Order’s library for research  (Knowledge checks made within the library by a
character who takes at least 1d4+1 hours to research gain a +5 circumstance bonus) and for the purposes of learning new spells. They are also able to purchase magical items at 20% less than the market price. 

[*monkey-like humanoid race from Oriental Adventures]

Any comments? As well as being an organization for PCs to join, the Order could easily be used as a patron for the PCs, hiring them to retrieve a particular item from a dangerous location, or as rivals with members of the Order and the PCs both after the same macguffin.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*City Ward names*

Hi,

Some possible ward names, many of which I've stolen from FR's Calimport:

*Old Quarter*
Caravans Ward - first ward you come to at the Camel Gate
Garden Ward - contains the Garden Mausoleum of Hulieman
Dock Ward - Flotsam, the Old Docks and the slums
Faiths Ward - temples to the Sahasran, Tiangaon and Akhrani gods
Trades Ward - guilds, taverns
Poor Ward - half orc neighbourhood, tanneries, red light district

*
Imperial Quarter*
Jewel Ward - dwarven district
Grand Ward - wealthy residential area, park
Palace Ward - the basileus' palace, garrison, noble district
Emerald Ward - magic district, fine shops, upmarket inns
Civic Ward - basilica, financial district, university

How do these sound? You can see a map of the city here

Also, each ward needs a mark or symbol which is carved high on the walls, facing inwards. Any suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

These are the ward names I've settled on, plus the mark for each. In the Old Quarter these are carved into the walls; in the Imperial Quarter, these are small mosaics:

*Old Quarter*
Caravans Ward - camel
Garden Ward - elephant
Dock Ward - leaping dolphin
Faiths Ward - sacred cow
Maker's Ward - tools
Poor Ward - bowl


*Imperial Quarter*
Jewel Ward - three wavy lines
Grand Ward - sphinx
Palace Ward - crown
Emerald Ward - five coins
Civic Ward - horse

I've also attached a map showing each ward. Since I like the idea of starting the campaign in & around Flotsam, I think the next thing to tackle is the Dock Ward and some of the NPCs and conflicts going on there. Any ideas gratefully received!

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Flotsam factions*

The *Water Boys* are a group of around 20 orphaned human children of mixed (but mostly Sahasran) origin, aged between seven and fourteen that live on a large ex-fishing boat in Flotsam. These kids get by begging, running errands and messages, pulling stuff out of the water to sell, and by the odd bit of pickpocketing and petty theft. Their informal leader is Girish, the oldest at 16 at the most responsible; he makes sure that everyone gets something to eat and that any disputes among his charges are resolved either peacefully or at least after a brief bout of fisticuffs.
- Ashna, a nine-year old girl in the Water Boys, goes missing and then turns up dead in the water shortly afterwards; her throat has been cut. The Watch won’t be interested so Girish asks the PCs to find out what happened to her. Normally a happy go lucky kid, Girish said Ashna had been very quiet and subdued in the days leading up to her death.
- Ashna witnessed something she shouldn’t: a murder or a particular shipment (slaves? drugs?) arriving on the docks. The PCs need to track down her killer and uncover the criminal plot she stumbled into.
- Possible that a pirate ship arrived in the dead of night to sell captives to Orloch Scragmane’s gnolls or to human go-betweens from the Golden Scimitars. This connects to the disappearing dockworkers adventure hook. 

The *Golden Scimitars* are a Hidden Quarter guild of criminals specializing in smuggling, fencing, gambling and prostitution. They own or control many of the inns, taverns, brothels and gambling houses in the Old Quarter’s Dock Ward and Poor Ward.
- Their leader is a rakshasa crime baron based beneath the city; his master is a rakshasa lord imprisoned in the ice at the top of the Pillars of Heaven mountains.
- Zeno Meverel (The Winking Vixen) is associated with this guild.

Any suggestions? This could be the adventure that kicks off the campaign.


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

It just occurred to me after making that last post that (a) the PCs should witness Ashna's death and (b) the killer should be a strangle-sash wielding thuggee hired by the Golden Scimitars (or whoever).


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Back to Flotsam*

Hi,

I've been busy with current campaigns and real-life stuff so haven't posted for a while but I'm keen to get going again, particularly in developing Flotsam and the Dock Ward into a starting location for the campaign. 

So far, we have:
- The Fat Grouper (tavern)
- Temple to the Sapta Sindhu (Seven River Gods)
- Shrine to Anwyn (goddess of the hearth & small folk)
- Bait & tackle shop
- Basketweavers
- Netmakers
- Carpenters & boat-makers including Jarwyn (actually Naelere, a disguised bronze dragon)
- The Water Boys (gang of orphans living together on a house-boat)
- Homes of fishermen, longshoremen & dock workers
- Smugglers

This could also be the home of the Sahasran witch-woman and fortune-teller, Jagadamba, mentioned in Tonguez' post. It would be quite interesting to have disguised nobles (including the basileus' mother-in-law!) visiting one of the scuzziest parts of town. I like the idea of Naelere keeping an eye on who comes to see Jagadamba since the witch is a member of the Cult of the Black Mother.

If Flotsam is to be the start point for the campaign, I think a few basic shops catering to down at heel adventurers and wannabe gangland enforcers might be a good idea but perhaps these are located on a Docks Ward street on dry land. There would need to be a weapons and armour shop and somewhere for general gear. Also, there needs to be somewhere to fence stolen loot.

What else do we need here? 

Can anyone think of any examples of boat-town communities in D&D/RPG products that would provide me with some inspiration? 

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Flotsam Map*

I had a few goes at this but ended up colouring nearly all of it by hand using my trusty Caran D'Ache pencils.

Here's the key:

1. The Fat Grouper, tavern
2. Temple to the Sapta Sindhu
3. Shrine to Anwyn
4. Fishermen's market
5. Bait & tackle shop
6. Netmaker's shop
7. Baskerweaver's shop
8. Mendel Stormrite, halfling carpenter & shipwright
9. Ropemaker's shop
10. Jarwyn, old dwarf carpenter & shipwright
11. The Water Boys, orphan gang
12. Jagadamba, Sahsaran wise woman and fortune teller
13. Home of Mangesh, dockworker
14. The Black Dolphin's Wake, tavern
15. Bilal's Blades, arms & armour shop
16. Harold's Hole, adventuring equipment & other gear


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## Sigurd

I like your map but current and wind would tear apart flotsam in a week.

I think

1 you have to start with the dominant current and build a pattern that will resist it
2 you need regular reinforcements in the pattern to separate the boats and stop them from crushing each other
3 you really should plan this for a shallows or a silted up region where the boats aren't going anywhere anyway. Silting and shallowing are the bane of ports. Grounding old ships to take advantage of this would be the last resort of people who could afford no less. In the end they are very bad for the port as they increase silting and stop dredging.


sigurd


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## RichGreen

Sigurd said:
			
		

> 1 you have to start with the dominant current and build a pattern that will resist it
> 2 you need regular reinforcements in the pattern to separate the boats and stop them from crushing each other
> 3 you really should plan this for a shallows or a silted up region where the boats aren't going anywhere anyway. Silting and shallowing are the bane of ports. Grounding old ships to take advantage of this would be the last resort of people who could afford no less. In the end they are very bad for the port as they increase silting and stop dredging.




Thanks for this - you make some very good points! I must admit I hadn't thought about current at all! Can you help me by answering a few questions?

Flotsam is located off the north bank of the Dolphin Strait (a bit like the Bosphorus) so the sea proper is to the south-west. At the north-east end of the strait is the Griffin Water (an inland sea) so I envisaged the water moving fairly slowly to the southwest. I'd imagine there would be a tide (like the Thames) too.

- If this is the case, what's the best pattern for the boats to resist it? All the boats facing into the direction of the current? 
- Since the Old Docks don't see as much use, how about if Flotsam is built entirely between the piers shown on the map so it's more sheltered? These could be made longer if necessary.
- The Old Docks have been superseded by the Royal Docks on the northern (Imperial Quarter) side of the city as the Basileus wanted to divert the wealthy trade ships to that side of the river. Could the neglect of the southern docks lead to silting up? Maybe there are one or two abandoned caravels or similar in the configuration?

Thanks!


Richard


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## Sigurd

The currents will be what you envisage them to be.

That said, the most realistic thing would be to put flotsam around a natural island, too wet to be settled or put it in a natural bay that is silting up.

The island is the path of least conflict (unless your world has magic that can make it useful).
The natural bay might belong to a discredited or dead family. An old dock might be the core of the development. Maybe there is a messaging service run as a legitimate function for the central dock. Maybe a cheap food market?

Assuming human nature, the edges of flotsam will still be navigable by small boats but the core will have hulks that are no longer floating - they're rotting as they sink into the silt. Be careful with the land space this takes up - at some stage the city would probably burn them out or try to reclaim the harbor.

Only the fact that the flotsam 'harbor' might be 1-2' deep keeps the city from acting. The water in flotsam would be full of the sewage from the residents. With little or no current the dirt, bodies, rotted wood, wouldnt go anywhere and it would greatly increase the silting. The city doesn't have much to gain unless they can use the land for something else.

Periodic storms etc... and natural rot should occaisionally claim lives in Flotsam. There's little space to keep things dry on the deck of a ship whose hold is filled with sand.


I had great fun in one campaign with a Shoal Halfling who was part of a community like this.

If you have aquatic races in your world this is the region where they would have spies and seek informers. They can stay below water and approach places in Flotsam with little notice - though they will detest the dirt.

 If you want to collaborate on campaigns, send me an email.





Sigurd

I like the project.


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## RichGreen

Sigurd said:
			
		

> That said, the most realistic thing would be to put flotsam around a natural island, too wet to be settled or put it in a natural bay that is silting up.
> 
> The island is the path of least conflict (unless your world has magic that can make it useful).
> The natural bay might belong to a discredited or dead family. An old dock might be the core of the development. Maybe there is a messaging service run as a legitimate function for the central dock. Maybe a cheap food market?
> 
> Assuming human nature, the edges of flotsam will still be navigable by small boats but the core will have hulks that are no longer floating - they're rotting as they sink into the silt. Be careful with the land space this takes up - at some stage the city would probably burn them out or try to reclaim the harbor.
> 
> Only the fact that the flotsam 'harbor' might be 1-2' deep keeps the city from acting. The water in flotsam would be full of the sewage from the residents. With little or no current the dirt, bodies, rotted wood, wouldnt go anywhere and it would greatly increase the silting. The city doesn't have much to gain unless they can use the land for something else.
> 
> Periodic storms etc... and natural rot should occaisionally claim lives in Flotsam. There's little space to keep things dry on the deck of a ship whose hold is filled with sand.




These are good suggestions. I could add a central island or spit of land to the map to provide shelter for the Old Docks and Flotsam, and will probably pack all the boats closer to each other and the piers. 

I imagined the water around Flotsam being full of sewage anyway as the city's sewer system empties into the strait near here. I'm not sure I'm going to have the water this shallow though -- there might be some big ships that have sunk into the sand and silt, but I like the idea that Flotsam constantly rearranges itself as new boats turn up and others leave.

Storms would undoubtedly inflict terrible devastation on Flotsam -- fortunately, these will be relatively rare.

The main underwater race in the area are the kuo-toa who are making trips to the city to deal in slaves with Orloch Scragmane’s gnolls, although there are probably sahuagin or merfolk out in the Corsair's Sea. Adventure hooks based around the visit of someone from an undersea race are certainly possible.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*New map*

I've redrawn the Flotsam map with a spit of land providing some shelter and hopefully stopping the whole place from getting washed away. The lines between the little piers are meant to represent rubbish and other debris; the water here would be much shallower.

What  do you think?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Residents of Flotsam: Tew Pennyfeather*

Pathfinder has some great art and I'm going to start nicking some of these pictures and using them for my new campaign.

Tew Pennyfeather, a halfling, is the semi-resident musician at The Fat Grouper in Flotsam. He plays the flute very well and is tolerated by the never-cheerful landlord of the Grouper, Glyn Merryfield, because Tew's tunes tend toward sadness and melancholy. To talk to, however, Tew is cheerful and a good source of gossip and information about what's going on in Flotsam and the Dock Ward. 

Tew is a real night owl, sleeping all day, and often out and about in the early hours of the morning, sometimes sitting on one of the piers, playing softly as he works on a new tune. The bard's dream is to appear on stage in the Theatre of Aymara so he's currently thinking about how he might persuade the fashionable Iancu Petronas to give him his big break in one of his plays.

Secret: Tew killed his brother in a fight over a woman and fled to Parsantium to escape the consequences. His cheerful demeanour is a front; the real Tew is revealed in his music.

As a night owl, Tew is a potential witness and/or suspect in the murder of Ashna.


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## RichGreen

*The Fat Grouper*

The Fat Grouper is likely to be the home base (or touchstone as Monte Cook calls it) for the campaign, at least initially, so I thought I'd better write some stuff about it!

The ‘Grouper is the centre of Flotsam, physically but also almost spiritually, for it’s here that many of the boat-town’s residents (particularly its fishermen) come to sink a few jars at the end of a tough day’s work. The tavern was formerly a caravel; the bar is situated below decks, although on sunny days, the cooking is taken outside and excellent grilled fish is served from a barbeque on the sterncastle.

The landlord of the ‘Grouper is *Glyn Merryfield*, a miserable and greedy halfling who constantly complains about how life has dealt him a bad hand. Glyn is fat, balding and pale from spending most of his time indoors. As well as the tavern, he also owns several decrepit houseboats nearby which he rents out for 10 sp per week. Glyn’s wife, *Sarla*, is younger and much more attractive but she's also a nagging shrew who bemoans the fact that they live in Flotsam on a boat. She will tell anyone who will listen to her shrill complaints that Glyn will never amount to anything unless he earns enough money to move their tavern to the Makers Ward. Even the Poor Ward would be an improvement!

Because this is Flotsam, the taproom isn’t fancy. The furniture is basic and built from rough wood, making splinters in the backside an occupational hazard of drinking here. The only décor is a stuffed five-foot long purple grouper hanging over the bar and a few other fisherman’s trophies: a shark’s jaw, a narwhal horn and a couple of fishing spears. The beer is a watered-down but cheap pale ale called Marlin Brew. The only other drinks on offer are rotgut (a nasty potato-based spirit) and a vinegary red wine known as Sahasran Ruby. Apple-flavoured sheeshah is also available and is popular with the regulars but it’s the food on offer which is the tavern’s saving grace. Sarla is actually a great cook so the food, almost always locally-caught fish (grilled or served as fish stew, chowder or curry) is very good indeed. 

_Secret:_ Sarla’s disappointment in Glyn has driven him to try and improve their situation by gambling at *Fahil’s Floating Palace*, a gambling “hall” (actually a large ship moored off a pier in the Poor Ward’s red-light district). Predictably enough, Glyn has been losing heavily at dice and now owes a small fortune to the house and its owner Zeno Meverel. If he doesn’t pay back what he owes soon, Meverel will call in the loans and Glyn will lose anything. His increasingly desperate situation means he is on the lookout for any kind of “get rich quick” scheme, however ludicrous, that might come his way.

Any comments? I'd love to have some suggestions for "get rich quick" schemes!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Fahil's Floating Palace*

Another location. This one is adapted from Fahil's Flotilla of Fun in Thunderhead Games' excellent Bluffside supplement.

*Fahil’s Floating Palace
*
This gaudily-furnished gambling “hall” is on board a huge two-storey barge moored at a pier in the Poor Ward’s red-light district. Gambling and drinking go on at all hours and music (usually accompanied by belly dancers) blares out across the strait. The Floating Palace is lit with colourful magical lights that pulse and dance to the beat of the Akhrani and Sahasran tunes from within. Various dice and card games are played here, with high stakes games taking place in a VIP area in what was the captain’s cabin. 

The Floating Palace is owned by *Zeno Meverel *and run on his behalf by Fahil , a fat, jovial Sahasran with a well-groomed moustache. Fahil stands a little over five feet tall and is nearly as wide. He dresses in the most colourful silk clothes and enjoys wearing a bejewelled turban and pointed slippers. He says “if they don’t come to my place for the music, the dancing and the drinking, they come to see a fat man swim!”. 

The typical clientele are sailors, merchants and other Old Quarter residents who consider themselves gamblers. The actor, Iancu Petronas, can also be found here with his pals, as can members of the Golden Scimitars. The Palace is seen as too brash and tacky for any sophisticates from the Imperial Quarter, even those who like to rough it occasionally. 
From time to time, Fahil runs a contest to see who is the fastest swimmer in the Old Quarter. The winner claims the prize: a cup plated in gold bearing the inscription “Faster Than the Rest O’ The Fishes”.

_Secrets: _
- Fahil has instructions to make sure the house always comes out on top; loaded dice and marked cards are used where necessary.
- Fahil is actually a changeling <Eberron, MMIII> out for revenge. His sister worked for the Golden Scimitars as a spy and thief but was killed by one of their Thugee assassins after a mission went awry. Fahil is waiting until he is trusted enough to get close to the criminal organization’s shadowy leader so he can kill him.


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## RichGreen

*First adventure outline*

Hi,

Haven't posted for quite a while as I've been busy with other things but I have worked out an outline and some detail for the first adventure. Here's the adventure background & synopsis:

*Adventure Background *

Night, 3 Maius: Ashna, a nine-year old girl in the Water Boys, has a row with Girish and can’t sleep. She creeps out of bed, rows to the pier, and ends up witnessing something she shouldn’t while wandering around the docks late that night: the arrival of a pirate ship, The Howling Raider, at the Old Docks and the unloading of several human-sized sacks, one of which is wriggling.

The sacks are loaded into a cart by members of the Dockside Crew (a gang linked to the Golden Scimitars) and taken to a nearby safehouse as the ship sails away. Ashna, curious, follows the cart, and watches the men go into a building distinguished by a pelican painted over the doorway. She is spotted but she runs away and manages to escape the chasing rogues.

What Ashna witnesses is part of a larger plot: Captain Gnash of The Howling Raider is bringing in captives taken at sea and selling them to the Dockside Crew who are acting as intermediaries between the pirates and Orloch Scragmane, a gnoll gangster based in the Dock Ward’s slums. Orloch is obtaining slaves for kuo-toa based beneath the Old Quarter. Orloch Scragmane’s gnolls are also kidnapping drunk dock workers and selling them to the fishmen.

4 Maius: 
Orloch Scragmane's gnolls enter the safehouse via a tunnel from the Hidden Quarter and take the slaves back to their tenement building. The Dockside Crew return to their base, the Old Fishery.
Elias Wang, leader of the Dockside Crew decides they need to get rid of Ashna or their slaving will be exposed, putting their other activities (protection rackets  & debt collecting) at risk and bringing trouble down from their superiors in the Golden Scimitars. Elias sends Jagadish, a thuggee killer-for-hire after her. 
Jagadish disguises himself as a dockworker and starts asking around about Ashna in Flotsam and the dockside taverns.

Night, 5 Maius: Jagadish tracks down Ashna, follows her and kills her with his strangle-cord. He throws her body in the river which turns up in a fisherman’s net the next day (6 Maius). 


*Adventure Synopsis*

The PCs drive off a debt collector and his enforcers while hanging out on the deck of the Fat Grouper (first 4e fight encounter to get everyone going). Afterwards, they witness Ashna’s body being pulled out of the water by a fisherman and taken to the Water Boys houseboat. They are approached by Girish and hired to investigate what happened to her.

Various clues (nothing too tricky) lead them to Tew Pennyfeather (a friend of Ashna's), the “pelican safehouse”, Hidden Quarter tunnels beneath the city,  the HQ of the Dockside Crew gang in the Old Fishery and Orloch Scragmane’s tenement building in the slums. During their investigation they are spied on by Jagadish and later attacked by him and a gang of thuggees including a warlock.

The PCs will have one or two encounters in the tunnels plus the Old Fishery (probably using the map in Pathfinder #7) and the slum tenement are full of gang members - Dockside Crew in the Old Fishery and gnolls in the tenement. There will be slaves to rescue in the tenement.

They can solve the murder and break up the slave ring but also find evidence connecting Orloch Scragmane to the water-logged caverns of the kuo-toa and their sinister underground temple to Blibdoolpoop.

Any suggestions on cool stuff to add in to the adventure, encounters, descriptions of gang members, what the slum tenement is like etc greatly appreciated!


Then, there will be an opportunity to explore the kuo-toa caverns (probably using the temple map in the Shackled City AP) and put a stop to whatever they're doing with the captives (sacrifice? slave labour on some nefarious project?)

This adventure is to kick off the campaign, but in future adventures I'd like to tie in with some of the locations and other stuff we've talked about in this thread: the hippodrome, the theatre, the brothels, temples etc. I'm not sure whether to treat the campaign as a sandbox setting or not - the players I'm running for probably need quite a bit of prompting. 

Again, it would be great to hear some suggestions from anyone reading this thread about what could come next, or any other ideas for locations , NPCs, plots etc.


Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Symbol & City Watch*

Two little snippets of info:

The *symbol* of the city is a leaping horse over a crescent moon. On shields and flags, the horse and moon are white against an imperial purple background. On the tabards of the City Watch, the colours are reversed.

*Law and order* is kept by the City Watch. There is one watchhouse in each ward run by a Watch Captain who reports directly to the Prefect. 
- Bells are mounted throughout the city – concerned citizens can ring these bells to summon the Watch, with a typical response time of 1-10 minutes (although it can take up to half an hour). *
- The quality of the Watch varies by ward but typically the best guards are in the Imperial Quarter and the worst in the Dock Ward. Attalus, Watch Captain of the Poor Ward is said to be in the pocket of the Golden Scimitars criminal organization.
- Watchmen wear chain shirts and Parsantine helmets; they are armed with halberds, longswords and light crossbows.


Richard


_*cool idea "borrowed" from Ptolus_


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## RichGreen

*City Symbol*

Not marvellous but given my basic Photoshop skills, I'm reasonably happy with this represenation of Parsantium's emblem.

Will write up some more NPCs & locations around Flotsam next. I'm getting a bit worried it's beginning to read a bit like "just another fantasy dock district" so any suggestions for unique elements or interesting twists would be helpful.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Jagadamba, Sahasran fortune-teller and wise woman*

*Jagadamba* is renowned throughout Flotsam and beyond as an excellent fortune teller, reading palms (the art of _samudrika sastra_), an apothecary and, some say, a witch. It has become something of a fashion statement amongst the Batiaran elite to be associated with Jagadamba and many women travel in disguise across the Dolphin Strait in a boat and into Flotsam to consult with her on her houseboat. 

Despite its decrepit appearance, Jagadamba’s boat somehow survives out in the exposed part of the Strait. Inside, it’s cosily furnished with many Sahasran hangings, some old but nicely patterned Akhrani rugs and carved wooden statues of the Vedic gods. Joss sticks burn, filling the room with a thick smell of incense. Shelves line one wall filled with bottles of potions for sale and jars of bizarre ingredients such as basilisk’s tears. As well as reading palms and selling magical potions and elixirs, Jagadamba identifies strange magical items for her clients.

Jagadamba is a very old Sahasran woman, tiny and stooped, with a very wrinkly face and with thinning, mad white hair. She wears plain black robes and a lot of gold jewellery, including some decorated with snake or skull motifs (both symbols of Kali, her patron goddess). She keeps her cobra familiar in a basket, out of sight of her customers.

_Secret:_ Jagadamba is an important member of the Cult of the Black Mother and can call upon thuggee killers to defend her from would-be attackers or other enemies. Ciceria (mother of Thecia, the Basileus’ wife) was initiated into the Cult of the Black Mother by Jagadamba.


Until I get the 4e rules, I don't know what character class Jagadamba will be. In 3.x, she's a sorcerer (as I think this fits better than wizard) or maybe an OA shaman. She might even be a disguised hag rather than a human.

Any comments welcome!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Two New Locations*

One location is the Forest of the Dead, a cemetery outside the walls; the other is an arms & armour shop on the dockside near Flotsam.

*The Forest of the Dead*
Known as the Forest of the Dead, Parsantium's walled cemetery is situated to the south east of the city and is filled with cypress trees under whose branches stand thousands of tombstones and mausoleums. The oldest part of the cemetery is the Sahasran part, but there is an Akhrani section and a Batiaran section too, as well as a small Tiangaon area; each with its own style of tomb architecture. For example, white marble Akhrani tombstones are typically surmounted with a curved turban if the deceased is a man but ornamented with a palm branch for a woman. Some Batiaran graves (from a custom dating back to a period several hundred years ago) depict the manner of death of whoever is buried below. Visitors can come across tombstones with bas-reliefs depicting men being decapitated in battle or crucified or hanged from the gallows for a capital crime.

Because it was traditional to plant a cypress tree beside the grave, the Forest of the Dead lives up to its name: hundreds of turtle doves are on the wing or perching in the numerous trees by day; by night, bats and owls fill the skies undisturbed.  In the day time, the Forest of the Dead is a favourite resort of Akhrani women of the Old Quarter; some of them can often be seen praying at the narrow opening to the tomb of a parent, husband or brother. The cemetery is patrolled by the City Watch during the daytime but at dusk, it becomes off-limits and the gates are locked. Nevertheless, many individuals hold clandestine meetings at night within its walls.

Beneath the cemetery are endless catacombs and tunnels, which have been expanded over the years to accomodate the bones of the dead, and also by monsters such as ghouls and umber hulks. The catacombs are a major part of the Hidden Quarter and are used as meeting places, bases and homes by criminal gangs (including the Golden Scimitars, assassins and thuggee), monsters, and necromancers <see _The Dead Warrens, Pathfinder #7 p.49_ and its derro necromancer>. The tunnels connect with those under the Old Quarter.


*Bilal’s Blades*
Bilal's Blades is an arms and armour shop on the north side of the Fish Market. Bilal is a somewhat weasley-looking Akhrani with thinning oiled hair and a scar running down from his cheek to his neck – a souvenir of a nearly fatal fight Bilal was involved in several years ago with a thuggee who tried to rob him as he was walking back to his home after a night gambling at Fahil’s. Bilal sells new and second-hand weapons and armour of various types, with scimitars and kukris a particular speciality. Local enforcers, rogues and thieves make up the majority of his customers. He sometimes has a few masterwork and magic items to sell.
_
Hook: _one of the weapons Bilal has for sale is a strong-willed intelligent blade which has a special purpose to kill the enemies of its creator. This weapon might end up in the hands of a PC.


Any comments?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Customs*

A few bits of cultural info below, adapted from Avalanche Press' _Last Days of Constantinople_:

*Superstitions *
Parsantines are terrified of what they call “the evil eye,” and many carry amulets to protect against it, worn under the clothes against the bare skin of their chest for maximum security. Arcane magic, as an earthly manifestation of evil, is often feared by superstitious citizens, particularly Batiarans from the Imperial Quarter. If Parsantines see someone casting a spell, they are likely to flee in terror, calling for the Watch.
A cat crossing your path while walking down the street is thought to bring bad luck; dreaming of a white cat signifies good fortune, as does seeing a one-eyed cat. If the latter occurs, a Parsantine will spit on his thumbs, press it into the palm of his hand and make a wish (which is bound to come true).

*Food and Drink*
Eating at home is an important ritual to the Parsantines. Meals are typically served in a separate dining room with everyone removing their boots or sandals before entering. Diners sit around a T-shaped table on benches or chairs; food is brought in on plates and in bowls. Forks and spoons - devices largely unknown in the barbarous lands to the west - are used to eat with, and afterwards the diners clean their faces and hands with cloth napkins. Spiced meat, especially pork, is a favourite dish, usually served with grilled tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and other vegetables.

Parsantines drink wine heartily, usually watered and drunk from bowls. Those who are so drunk they can’t lift the bowl simply rest their heads on the table and lap from the bowl until they become totally insensible. It is not unknown, though generally a form of urban legend, for especially heavy drinkers to drown themselves in their wine.

*Clothing*
The women of Parsantium prefer a hip-length robe draped over a long, flared skirt. Social class varies the quality of the clothing, but not the standard pattern. All Parsantine women wear hair adornments, usually a metal circlet, but sometimes a cloth headband is worn in its place. Heavy makeup is the order of the day, with bright red lips and dark black eyebrows.

Men wear far more elaborate clothing, with heavy influence from Batiaran and Akhrani customs. Long, ankle-length tunics are common, often ornately decorated with gold thread. Parsantine men see long hair and beards as signs of devotion to the gods, and also like to be distinguished from eunuchs and criminals (who have their heads and beards shaved). Citizens of both genders also like jewelry, and usually wear pendants with religious symbols (the sun symbol of Pelor being the most popular of these) as well as rings. Sandals, the standard footwear of earlier centuries, are now uncommon, as both men and women wear Akhrani shoes (often with pointy tips) or soft, knee-high boots. 

Any comments?


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## RichGreen

*The Varangian Guard*

Here's an organization in Parsantium, based on a historical (Byzantine) one. I've kept the name the same but am open to suggestions:

The Varangian Guard are Corandias the Lion-Blooded’s elite bodyguard (or Hetaireia). Originally northern mercenaries from Urskovia, the Guards have served the Basileus of Parsantium for a century, going back to the time of Corandias the Stubborn and the Great Crusade. 

The name Varangian comes from a old northern word relating to sharers in an oath - it is thought it originally referred to traders on the Urskovian rivers, bound together by an oath to co-operate and share profits. 

Urskovians had served in the Parsantine army in previous centuries, but in the year of the Great Crusade, Corandias XVI was sent 2,000 warriors by Tsar Vladin of Urskovia to help him take Parsantium from the humanoid hordes. After the city was in his hands, the Basileus made these troops his Imperial bodyguard. Also called the Axe-bearing Guard, from the enormous two-handed axes they carried, the Varangian Guard took part in many great battles with hobgoblin and orc raiders in the years following.

The Varangian Guard is the best-paid military forces in the lands of the former Batiaran Empire - so well paid that membership had to be purchased. After the Crusade, mercenaries came from Urskovia and other lands to the north and west of Parsantium to spend time in the Varangian Guard with the aim of returning home wealthy. 

Now, the Guard are renowned for their loyalty to the Basileus, an unusual thing in a society as riddled with intrigue as Parsantium, but they regard their duty to protect the Imperial Person as a pledge and ancestral tradition which they keep inviolate. It is said they will not listen to the slightest word about treachery.

They are barracked in the Great Palace and their uniform consists of red silk tunics, blue cloaks, and gilded axes. Their normal armament features large, single-bitted axes, man-high and terrifying in battle.

The duties of the Varangians, in addition to safeguarding the person of the Basileus and his family, include accompanying the Basileus to festivals and celebrations, accompanying the Imperial family to temple services at the Holy Basilica of Pelor, serving as door guards in the palace, and acting to provide crowd control when the Basileus was present. The Varangian Guard have important ceremonial duties during the crowning of a new Basileus, during religious festivals, as well as serving roles during Imperial weddings, the coronation of Empresses, and at the funerals of deceased rulers.

Any comments?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Messenger Snakes*

Hi, 

I read an old issue (2e) of Dungeon recently and it had an adventure featuring a *messenger snake* in it - a magical winged snake that can seek out a particular person and deliver them a message. I think this is cool so messenger snakes will be the principle means of communication amongst the wealthy citizens of Parsantium. 

More details on these creatures here. Thanks to Shade, freyar and demiurge1138 for converting them to 3.5!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*A Parsantium Tale*

*A very short story*

Glyn Merryfield shook the wyvernbone dice together, bouncing them around in his pudgy, sweaty hand. He was one throw away, just one throw, from solving all his problems. For months Sarla had been talking about owning a “proper” tavern, somewhere on dry land, in the Makers Ward perhaps. Even the Poor Ward would be better than a floating hulk in the middle of the boat-town of Flotsam. The Fat Grouper wasn’t good enough for her. She deserved better. They both did. He'd spent enough time serving drinks to the fishermen, dockworkers and other losers that lived in Flotsam, and renting out his leaky houseboats to those who couldn't afford a proper roof over their heads. He was standing at the threshold of a bright new future.

He rattled the dice again. The twinkling magical lights inside Fahil’s made the faces of the other players glow in strange colours – giving them a greenish, reddish or purple tinge. Just one throw and his shrewish wife would be happy. Well, maybe not truly happy he supposed, but he would have some brief respite from the constant nagging as she planned where they would move to. How about The Blue Wolf? It was a lot better than the Grouper.

“Get on with it, halfling! Make your bloody throw!” slurred a nearby sailor. Glyn shook again and then let go. The dice tumbled on to the dark blue baize, rolling over and over, before striking the back of the table and settling into place.

“Naga’s Eyes!” called the stickman as his wooden rake gathered in all the coins on the table and swept away Glyn’s hopes and dreams. This can’t be happening, he thought, as he trudged away from the table, down the gangplank of Fahil’s Floating Palace and into the cold night air. I’ve lost everything. How in Anwyn’s name do I stop my wife finding out?


----------



## RichGreen

*The World of Parsantium*

Here's a map showing some of the lands surrounding Parsantium. I adapted this map from the one by Martin Springett in Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantine Mosaic books.

Any suggestions for what to call the lands to the West that make up the fallen Batiaran Empire? I'm trying to avoid anything sounding like Europe.


----------



## RichGreen

A few brief notes on the places on the world map, such as it is. All of these need lots of expansion but the campaign is likely to stay in the city and neighbouring countryside for the first few adventures (Heroic tier?) before venturing to some of these exotic locations.

*Caliphate of Akhran*
Arabian-style lands, very much like Al-Qadim. Siwal, City of Gardens, from Open Design's Six Arabian Nights is situated on the edge of the desert.

*Khemit*
desert land of lost tombs, crumbling pyramids, nomads & dervishes and marruspawn <Sandstorm>

*Tiangao*
Oriental lands at the end of the Silk Road, borrowing from Kara-Tur and Dragonfist (where the name is stolen from)

*Sahasra*
Indian lands, vanara, rakshasas, nagas, blackstone gigants, jungle-covered ruined temples, the awesome cover of AQ's Ruined Kingdoms, legacy of the evil geomancers

*Pillars of Heaven Mountains*
the Himalayas of this world where the Rakshasa Overlord is imprisoned in ice, yikaria (yakfolk), monasteries and temples perched perilously on sheer cliffs, yeti, snow spirirts, lost Shangri-La type kingdom (warm, tropical valley where it should be cold).

*Batiara*
former centre of the Batiaran Empire, now a collection of feuding city states. The space between Batiara and Parsantium is a blank canvas for now.

*Corsair's Sea *
pirates preying on trade, island controlled by order of crusading knights, undersea kingdoms.


Plenty of room to add stuff as I come up with it or get suggestions here or on my LJ.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gilladian

Rich - no specific comments, but I've really enjoyed your thread over the last couple of weeks. Great reading!

Gillian


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:
			
		

> Rich - no specific comments, but I've really enjoyed your thread over the last couple of weeks. Great reading!
> 
> Gillian



Thank you! I enjoy writing all this stuff and am going to use it in my next campaign but it's good to know others are enjoying it too!

Cheers


Richard


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## Ebonyr

I've been really following this thread as well. A lot of detailed work, it gets the creative juices flowing.


----------



## RichGreen

*4e Angst*

Now that people are getting their hands on the 4e books and stuff is leaking on to the 'net, I've seen stats for some of the creatures I was planning on using in the early Flotsam-based Parsantium adventures. These aren't necessarily what I was expecting. For example, *Orloch Scragmane* and his gnolls were going to appear quite early on in the campaign but the lowest level gnoll in 4e is 5th level! 

On the plus side, these stats might work for *Jagadamba*:

*Howling Hag*
Level 7 Controller
Medium fey humanoi
XP 300

Initiative +7
Senses Perception +10; low-light vision

Baleful Whispers (Psychic) aura 5; an enemy that ends its turn in the aura takes 1d6 psychic damage.

HP 83; Bloodied 41; see also shriek of pain
AC 21; Fortitude 20, Reflex 19, Will 18
Resist 10 thunder
Speed 6; see also fey step

m Quarterstaff (standard; at-will) * Weapon
+9 vs. AC; 1d8 + 4 damage
C Howl (standard; at-will) * Thunder
Close blast 5; +10 vs. Fortitude; 1d6 + 4 thunder damage and the target is pushed 3 squares.
C Shriek of Pain (standard; recharges when first bloodied) * Thunder
Close blast 5; +8 vs. Fortitue; 3d6 + 4 thunder damage, or 3d6 + 9 thunder damage if the howling hag is bloodied. Miss: Half damage.
Change Shape (minor; at-will) * Polymorph
A howling hag can alter its physical form to appear as an old crone of any Medium humanoid race (see Change Shape, page 280).
Fey Step (move; encounter) * Teleportation
The howling hag can teleport 10 squares.

Alignment Evil
Languages Common, Elven
Skills Bluff +11, Insight +10, Intimidate +11, Nature +10
Str 18 (+7) Dex 18 (+7) Wis 15 (+5)
Con 19 (+7) Int 12 (+4) Cha 16 (+6)
Equipment quarterstaff

Any advice?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*The Sunset Lands*

I had a good suggestion on my LJ about what to call the lands of the former Batiaran Empire to the west of Parsantium. 

I've decided on *The Sunset Lands*, which fits in well with the etymology of the name Europe, as well as tying in with the Points of Light concept in 4e and the idea that this part of the world is in the Dark Ages after the Empire's fall while the eastern lands are much more cultured and civilized (relatively speaking at least). In Akhran and other places, the Sunset Lands are sometimes known as Erebu, meaning the Land of Darkness.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Hi,

Not posted on this thread for a while as I've been absorbing 4e and thinking how I am going to fit the system and Parsantium together. So far, I haven't worried about tieflings and dragonborn, but I have been doing some thinking about the first two or three adventures set in Flotsam. 

Originally, the PCs were going to investigate the murder of *Ashna*, a girl in the *Water Boys* orphan gang, which would lead them to the human toughs of the *Dockside Crew*, then on to *Orloch Scragmane's* gnoll slavers and ultimately to a kuo-toan temple of Blibdoolpoop (based on the one in the Shackled City AP) under the city. However, gnolls in 4e are level 5+, kuo-toa are level 12+ so I've needed to have a rethink.

As before, Ashna is murdered by the thuggee *Jagadish*, sent after her by the Dockside Crew, when she witnesses slaves being unloaded from a pirate ship. The Dockside Crew are acquiring slaves for Orloch who is still a gnoll but his lackeys will be humans, halflings and possibly goblins. Orloch is also obtaining other slaves by having the Crew kidnap drunk longshoremen walking home late at night etc. The PCs meet the wife of one of these missing dockworkers while on the trail of Ashna's killer.

Orloch is selling slaves at the "Night Market", a shady marketplace beneath the city in the Hidden Quarter. PCs following the clues will end up here, having had run-ins with thuggee killers and the Dockside Crew. At the Night Market, Orloch's customers include:
- the Kali cult who are looking for sacrifices
- brothels looking for sex slaves
- a shadar-kai and his dark one servants
- a visitor from the Underdark (could still be a kuo-toa)
- a mad derro necromancer looking for victims to experiment on

The PCs aren't going to be able to confront everyone here, but perhaps they are able to rescue one or two slaves, including the missing dockworker whose wife they met. There should also be a final showdown with Orloch and his men - perhaps once the Night Market disperses, they take the unsold slaves back to his slum tenement?

Thoughts?



Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Hi,

I'm going to try and do some work on a first 4e adventure set in Flotsam this weekend. Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

I've been thinking of kicking off with a short adventure set in the Black Dolphin's Wake before running the investigation into Ashna's murder. This place is a renamed version of the Dead Pelican in Freeport (featured in the _Freeport City of Adventure_ hardcover and in _Pirates Guide to Freeport_). Basically, the tavern is infested with rats which are coming up from the sewers and the landlord wants the PCs to get rid of them. However, the rats are there because of the tavern's dark past.

About ten years ago the Black Dolphin's Wake was opened by a retired adventurer named Mikulas who came to Parsantium after years of wandering and decided to settle down. The tavern offered cheap ale, cheap food and tall tales for the dockworkers and sailors who drank there. But Mikulas had a terrible secret: he had become stranded in the snows of the Pillars of Heaven mountains.  When supplies ran out he made a pact with a demonic spirit (or daeva), murdered his companions one by one, and lived off their flesh until rescued. 

Mikulas tried to live a normal life in Parsantium but the daeva wouldn’t let him. To appease it, he founded a small secretive cult operating from the Black Dolphin’s Wake. The cultists would abduct and sacrifice people to the demon, eating the organs of their victims to gain a small measure of supernatural power. The rest of the body would end up in the dolma (stuffed vine leaves) served at the tavern. Mikulas and his fellow cultists were cautious, preying on the poor and on sailors, people who wouldn’t be missed. However, their caution meant the daeva didn’t receive as many sacrifices as it desired or needed. To get what it wanted, the demonic spirit increased its hold over Mikulas and the others, driving them insane and sending them on a killing (and eating) spree, only for them to be discovered by the horrified patrons of the tavern who turned on them and tore them to pieces. 

Now Riyad, an Akhrani sailor, owns the tavern but he has a big rat problem - they're everywhere. This is because Mikulas dug down into the sewer tunnel that runs beneath the building. Before he was killed by the mob, he hid the worst evidence of the cult’s crimes down there – skeletons, the victim’s belongings, his carving knives and the bloodstained four-armed idol housing the daeva itself – in this tunnel and boarded up the entrance. The spirit is still down there, still angry, and surrounded by a teeming horde of rats. The rats have eaten the remains of the cult’s victims and are warped by unnatural power; these rats have grown human-like faces (like Lovecraft's rat things) resembling the dead cultists and worship the daeva in their own bestial way – and they hunger for human flesh.

The PCs need to go down into the sewers, defeat dire rats (some of them rat-things with faces), rat swarms, spellcasting rats and the daeva itself.

Any thoughts?


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Hi,

Did some work on the rat-infestation adventure today, putting together some 4e encounters for the first time. The adventure is planned for 1st-level PCs so there's actually quite a limited set of monsters to choose from and I really didn't want to feature any kobolds for this as they play such a big role in _Keep on the Shadowfell_. 

The first encounter is outside the Black Dolphin's Wake and gives the PCs a chance to try out 4e combat against some dockside thugs (human bandits, human rabble and a halfling thief). Once they get down in the tunnels beneath the tavern they run into:

Encounter 1: 
2 rat swarms
2 dire rats

Encounter 2: 
3 rat-things (giant rat minions but with human faces)
1 rat-thing hexer (as above, using stats for goblin hexer)

Encounter 3, takes place in the main sewer tunnels: 
2 wererats with crossbows
1 visejaw crocodile (how could I resist having a crocodile in the sewers? I couldn't!)
5 rat-thing minions

Encounter 4:
2 cavern chokers

Encounter 5:
The daeva statue
2 wererats with crossbows
2 zombie brutes
3 zombie rotters 

Here are the stats for the 3' high now six-armed evil idol brought back by Mikulas from the Pillars of Heaven:

*Hidimba, Daeva Statue *
Level 4 Controller, 175xp
Initiative +0, Perception +12
AC 20
HP 60 Bloodied 30
Immune disease, petrification, poison
Speed 0
Enslave (standard, recharge   ) Charm
Ranged 5; +6 vs Will; the target is dominated (save ends). Hidimba can only enslave one creature at a time.
Alignment Chaotic Evil

I only really did the bare minimum stats for the idol as it's not really a monster. The Enslave power is a weakened version of the mind flayer's; apart from that it has no attacks and the PCs just need to smash it. I toned down the attacks bonus for the Enslave power; it should be +8 according to the DMG but I think that might be too much.

What do you think?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gilladian

I love it! I can't answer your question about the Idol's enslavement power, as I don't "do"  4e, but I can certainly say the adventure sounds like a real winner. The chance that the PCs will have to fight/subdue one of their own is fun. Just make sure there's some clear reason for them to realize smashing the statue is the "answer" to stopping it. They might fear that doing so will simply release the demon and make things worse.

In fact, I may steal it, and with a few changes to make it appropriate to my  setting, use it in an Egyptian-style adventure I'm about to run. It would make a perfect early adventure for my group!


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:
			
		

> I love it! I can't answer your question about the Idol's enslavement power, as I don't "do"  4e, but I can certainly say the adventure sounds like a real winner. The chance that the PCs will have to fight/subdue one of their own is fun. Just make sure there's some clear reason for them to realize smashing the statue is the "answer" to stopping it. They might fear that doing so will simply release the demon and make things worse.
> 
> In fact, I may steal it, and with a few changes to make it appropriate to my  setting, use it in an Egyptian-style adventure I'm about to run. It would make a perfect early adventure for my group!




Cool, glad you like it! 

I'm hoping that a sense of palpable evil coming from the idol might give them a clue that they need to smash it, but it's certainly possible that they might think this would make things worse. It'll be obvious to anyone that the statue fails to control that it was trying to dominate him/her.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Jagadamba again*

Still can't think what class works best for Jagadamba in 4e. I've been thinking about making her a warlock with the Ritual Caster feat and Brew Potion ritual. There just aren't that many potions in 4e yet!

Oh well, it'll be some time before the PCs need to fight her.


Richard


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## RichGreen

*New Flotsam Location: Shrine to Anwyn*

_N.B. Anwyn is featured in Green Ronin's excellent Book of the Righteous_

*Shrine to Anwyn*
Anwyn is known as the Homely, the Blessed, Goodlady, the Firekeeper and the Lady of the Feast among other names. Her shrine (or hearth, as her temples are called) in Flotsam is on a boat and is a popular meeting place for the wives, daughters and young children of the local fishermen. The deck of the boat is dominated by a communal kitchen and dining area where naan bread and chapatis are baked and fragrant lentil soup simmers away on the stove. The women of Flotsam gather round, chatting about life in Parsantium, politics, the latest gossip and other matters, great and small. This is obviously great place for a female PC to find out information. 

In the centre of the deck is the hearth-fire itself; in front of it is an altar arrayed with food, candles and wine. The manciple (priestess) is Goodmother Bree Eleri, a rotund, matronly halfling with rosy red cheeks. Kind and gentle, the Goodmother is a 9th-level cleric and knows the gentle repose, cure disease, raise dead and remove affliction rituals. 

She is assisted by a young petitioner (1st-level cleric) called Hannah Megaris, also a halfling, from a village to the northwest of Parsantium named Nicasia. 

_Secret:_ Hannah is more powerful than she seems. More importantly she belongs to a secret doctrine within the church of Anwyn which secretly worships the King of Hell, Asmodeus. Corrupted by her (human) village priestess, Hannah was sent to the city to destabilise and destroy the good works of the hearth here from within.

This is likely to be the temple the PCs go to when in need of healing (eg Cure Disease after the first adventure vs the rats beneath the Black Dolphin's Wake) so quite an important location.

Any comments?


----------



## RichGreen

*University District*

Hi,

I thought it was about time I detailed a few of the important buildings in the Imperial Quarter:

The *University of Parsantium* is situated in the Civic Ward and is renowned as the foremost centre of mundane learning in the former Batiaran Empire. Consisting of several buildings, the biggest, an impressive marble edifice known as the Ivory Towers, houses the 300-seater Auditorium where lectures take place, classrooms, and the offices of the tutors and academic staff. The University Library and the Imperial Museum of Antiquities, as well as halls of residence and for the students and academic staff, kitchens and a grand dining hall make up the rest of the buildings.

The *Imperial Museum of Antiquities* houses a collection of artifacts from the former lands of the Batiaran Empire, the deserts of Khemit, and beyond. Its collection would be more impressive if the University did not need to sell its most valuable artifacts rather than putting them on display, not to mention the steady stream of items routinely stolen from the museum. More interesting perhaps is the stuff not on display stored in the vaults beneath the building: some is awaiting cataloguing, some has been deemed too uninteresting to show and some too dangerous...

The university is also home to an enigmatic sphinx named *Flamewind* who came to the city after being met by adventurers in a ruined temple deep in the jungles of Sahasra. Flamewind has the body of a giant lion but with orange stripes on deep black fur. Her great falcon wings are jet black; she has the face of a beautiful elf or eladrin maiden, though her features are very feline and her hair is the same black and orange as her coat. She wears a few jewelled chains of platinum and gold around her neck and forelimbs and a silver diadem rests on her brow.
Flamewind spends much of her time in the Great Libary and around the university and has a great deal to offer adventurers and scholars seeking to know more about the Ruined Kingdoms and other remote parts of Sahasra. She possesses oracular powers and has been known to summon a band of adventurers, sending them on strange missions after uttering a cryptic prophecy identifying them by name.


The *Great Library of Parsantium* is situated in the university district in the Civic Ward and serves as the centre of the worship of the god of knowledge, Tinel. 

This is the most complete and inclusive library in the former Batiaran Empire, housing many literary, artistic and scholarly works of the people of the Empire and beyond. This huge collection has grown over the centuries of Parsantium's existence, although many valuable works were destroyed or lost when the city fell into the hands of the humanoids prior to the Great Crusade. 

To keep the library's Hall of Records current, the Inceptors (priests) of Tinel who look after the library hire adventurers to travel to remote locations and document their journeys. Sometimes, they are asked to find out the truth of a particular legend; at others, to verify a rumour or reported event. These adventurers are instructed to keep a journal of their travels; these journals are then purchased by the Great Library. Typically, adventurers return to Parsantium from their travels in the months of September and October hoping to sell their journals to the library.

The library is open to researchers and visiting scholars at a cost of 20 gp per day which includes assistance from the librarians, scribes and research scholars. 

_Sources: _
- Flamewind is stolen from Eberron and appears in the Sharn, City of Towers book.
- The Great Library is based on the Great Library of Throal in Earthdawn -- I always liked the setting but never got to play the game. 
- Tinel is from Green Ronin's excellent Book of the Righteous from which much of the Batiaran pantheon has been taken.

Any comments or suggestions? With these locations I wanted to give the PCs a places where they could do research as needed for their adventures,  and also give them some potential patrons. 

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

BTW, if anyone can think of some more interesting names for the university, museum and library, let me know! They're very vanilla at the moment.

Cheers


Richard


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## Ebonyr

What about the Scholasticia for the university?


----------



## RichGreen

Ebonyr said:


> What about the Scholasticia for the university?




I like it. The Scholasticia or did you mean University of Scholasticia? Or something else?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Flotsam location: Sapta Sindhu temple*

*The Temple of the Sapta Sindhu*

This large houseboat serves as the religious centre for the Sahasran community of Flotsam although these days many of the women pay their respects to the Batiaran/halfling goddess Anwyn instead. 

On the deck stand colourfully painted statues of the Sapta Sindhu, the seven river gods and goddesses, as well as one of Varuna, god of oceans and rivers, astride his makara (a sea creature resembling a cross between a dolphin and a crocodile). Worshippers at the temple will make offerings of rice, flowers and sweets at the foot of the statue they want to bless their endeavours: praying to Kunar for a bigger catch before going out fishing for the day, asking one of the goddesses (often Sarayu) to help find the perfect wife or husband or beseeching Yamuna to provide a healthy son and heir. Vibrant flags and pennants run on strings from the mast down to the front, back and sides of the boat adding to its colour appearance. This increases tenfold during the Festival of Flowers in the month of Sextilis when the temple is covered in bright yellow, orange and red flowers.

The priestess, Chandipati , is a 5th-level cleric; she knows the brew potion and hand of fate rituals. Chandipati is a tall, thin woman in her late 30s. She is short-sighted and has a tendency to squint at anyone approaching in an attempt to recognise them. A strict vegetarian who hates the idea of harming any living thing, she sometimes can’t help showing her disapproval of catching and eating fish to her congregation of mostly fishermen.

_Secret: _Chandipati’s husband walked out on her a few years ago after an argument and is now mixed up with the Golden Scimitars.


----------



## RichGreen

*The Founding of Parsantium*

Here's something a bit different. This is the story of the founding of the city and also of the campaign's ultimate BBEG. 

*The Founding of Parsantium*
In the distant past, long before the time of the Batiaran Empire, a number of Sahasran refugees fled the Kingdom of Kadar and its evil geomancer rulers. On the other side of the Pillars of Heaven Mountains they arrived at the Dolphin Strait where the Griffin Water joins the Corsair’s Sea and founded the town of Dhak Janjua that would later become Parsantium. 

Vrishabha, a young rakshasa _adhura_ (novice), was among those who fled from Sahasra, sent there by his _hakima_ master Nataraj to insinuate himself in the new city. In time, Vrishabha’s power and wealth grew as he became first a _darshaka_ (servant), serving the interests of his distant lord and then a hakima himself as he took control of the fledgling city as its rajah. Vrishabha acquired powerful servants including other rakshasas and human sorcerors and warlocks, as well as infernal allies. As his influence spread, he was able to become independent of his former master, becoming a _samrata_, the highest rakshasa caste. As rajah, Vrishabha sought to expand the influence of the city, strengthening trade links with the pharoahs of the  desert kingdom of Khemit and with the Sunset Lands to the West. He started a programme of public works to make Dhak Janjua even greater: the huge stone bridges crossing the Dolphin Strait were built during this time, at the height of Vrishabha’s power. 

But Vrishabha’s rule over the people of Dhak Janjua was cruel and tyrannical, and the people, led by the priests and followers of the ancient spirit Bauhei, the Black Leopard, champion of the oppressed rebelled against him. The revolt was brutally crushed with those directly involved, their families and their acquaintances tortured viciously before being put to death. The temples of the Black Leopard  were razed and the god’s priests rounded up and killed. 

However, one young priest, named Srivatsa, escaped into the forest outside the city. Praying to Bauhei for help, he was sent a messenger in the form of a black leopard, who brought with him the means to bring down Vrishabha: a bow made from a rainbow that fired magical arrows. Lumbering behind the black leopard was an enormous white elephant – a mount fit to serve the avenger of the god. 

Srivasta rode into Dhak Janjua astride the elephant, unopposed by the guards on the city gate and cheered by the people. Arriving at the palace, the hero fought his way through the rajah’s soldiers and sorcerors, before confronting Vrishabha himself in his throne room. Srivasta shot the rakshasa through the heart, slaying him, and thus, the city of Dhak Janjua was saved from tyranny and evil. 


*Notes*

The story of Srivasta and Vrishabha is still remembered today among the Sahasran community of Parsantium and is retold in an epic poem.

It is said that as fiendish spirits veiled in flesh, a rakshasa is reincarnated somewhere in the world after days, months or years of tormented wandering as a bodiless spirit. It often seeks vengeance against those who killed it in its previous incarnation.

Vrishabha was reincarnated encased in ice high in the Pillars of Heaven mountains. Trapped for now, he seeks to escape his prison and regain the throne of his city and is working through lamia, yikaria and of course rakshasa agents to do this. 

There are ruins in the Feyshore Forest dating back to this period – possible clues, foreshadowing of the main plot?

The rakshasa caste names come from a great article in _Pathfinder #9_.

The Black Leopard cult first appeared in the classic 1e OA modules. Later, they were corrupted by evil so may exist in Parsantium today as a cult plotting to overthrow the basileus.

Srivasta resembles the god Indra (rainbow-bow, riding a white elephant) - I'm toying with the idea that he becomes a god. 

Any comments or suggestions?


Richard


----------



## arcanaman

Prehaps he ascended after the gods corruption


----------



## Ebonyr

RichGreen said:


> I like it. The Scholasticia or did you mean University of Scholasticia? Or something else?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> Richard




I think the Scholasticia is just about right


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## arcanaman

Why are all the temples boats is different I like but I still don't....


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## RichGreen

Ebonyr said:


> I think the Scholasticia is just about right



 Cool. That's what I thought!


----------



## RichGreen

arcanaman said:


> Why are all the temples boats is different I like but I still don't....



 Sorry, I don't understand what you mean! Are you asking why there are two different boats with shrines/ temples on them?


----------



## arcanaman

yes


----------



## RichGreen

arcanaman said:


> yes



OK, there are two temples because Flotsam has a mixed population of halflings and (mostly) Sahasran humans. The Sapta Sindhu temple is dedicated to the Sahasran river gods; Anwyn is a Batiaran/halfling goddess. 

From a metagame point of view, I wanted to have a bit of variety in the temples in the PCs' starting location. 

Hope this makes (some) sense!


Richard


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## arcanaman

the second part of my question though is why are they on boats?


----------



## RichGreen

arcanaman said:


> the second part of my question though is why are they on boats?



Ah, that's because they're part of Flotsam which is a boat-town which sprung up around the Old Docks in the Old Quarter. People who had no money for a house ended up living on boats tied to each other and the docks. See this post, this one and the map.

Cheers


Richard


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## arcanaman

thankyou for clearing that up


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## RichGreen

*Water Boys skill challenge encounter*

Hi,

The second adventure for the Flotsam-based PCs will be the investigation into the murder of the orphan girl, Ashna, which I've written about before on this thread. 

I've done this encounter as a skill challenge and am looking for feedback on this thread. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Jagadish stats*

Here's some 4e stats for Jagadish, thuggee killer of Ashna:

*Jagadish
Level 4 Skirmisher*
Medium natural humanoid XP 175

Initiative +6 Senses Perception +2
HP 50; Bloodied 25
AC 18; Fortitude 16, Reflex 18, Will 17
Speed 6

m Scimitar (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+8 vs. AC; 1d8 + 4 damage

R Dagger(standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
Ranged 5/10; +9 vs. AC; 1d4 + 4 damage.

M Strangle (standard; sustain standard; at-will)
Requires combat advantage; +7 vs Reflex; 1d10+3 dmg and target is grabbed (until escape). A target trying to escape the grab at -4 penalty to the check. Jagadish can sustain the power as a standard action, dealing 1d10+3 dmg and maintaining the grab.

Combat Advantage
Jagadish deals an extra 1d6 dmg on melee attacks on any targets he has combat advantage against.

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Batiaran, Sahasran
Skills Acrobatics +10, Stealth +10, Thievery +10
Str 12 (+3) Dex 16 (+5) Wis 11 (+2)
Con 10 (+2) Int 10 (+2) Cha 12 (+3)
Equipment leather armor, scimitar, 4 daggers, strangle cord, thieves tools

Jagadish has a black skull (the symbol of Kali) tattooed on the base of his spine. He wears red robes over his armour and a black turban. With a DC 15 Perception check, a PC can notice scratches on his arm – these were made by Ashna as she struggled to escape from him.

This guy is based on the Halfling Thief in the MM with the strangle power stolen from the Bugbear Strangler.

Any comments?


Richard


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## arcanaman

I really like your description of him it is not what I first  imagined thought he would look like your average joe but I like this to


----------



## RichGreen

arcanaman said:


> I really like your description of him it is not what I first  imagined thought he would look like your average joe but I like this to



Thanks. I might tone his appearance down a bit - a turban is a common sight in the Old Quarter, but I think I'll make his robes into a dark red tunic. He's still meant to be a striking-looking figure so he would have needed to don an "average joe" disguise while asking around the docks after Ashna!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Thuggee stats*

Hi,

Here are the stats for the Thuggee cultists. For a tough level 3 encounter worth 799xp, the PCs will have to fight four of these guys, Jagadish and four human rabble (minions). Too much for five 1st-2nd level PCs? I'm expecting them to use daily powers as they're in the city but the Thuggees will probably get surprise.

*Thuggees, human cultists (4)*
Level 2 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid XP 125 each
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +1
HP37; Bloodied 18
AC 16; Fortitude 12, Reflex 14, Will 12
Speed 6

*m War Pick* (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon 
+4 vs. AC; 1d8 + 1 damage, and the Thuggee shifts 1 square (crit 1d8+9).

*r Dagger* (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon 
Ranged 5/10; +6 vs. AC; 1d4 + 3 damage.

*M Steel Serpent Strike* (standard; encounter) ✦ Weapon 
+4 vs. AC; 2d8 + 1 damage, the target is slowed and cannot shift until end of your next turn, and the Thuggee shifts 1 square

*Coordinated Strike*
When two Thuggee are in adjacent squares and attack the same enemy, they gain combat advantage against him.

*Combat Advantage *
The Thuggee deals an extra 1d6 damage on melee and ranged attacks against any target it has combat advantage against.

Alignment Chaotic Evil Languages Batiaran, Sahasran, Thuggee cant.
Skills Stealth +9, Streetwise +7, Thievery +9
Str 12 (+2) Dex 17 (+4) Wis 11 (+1)
Con 13 (+2) Int 10 (+1) Cha 10 (+2)

Equipment leather armor under normal clothes, war pick,  4 daggers. 

I will add Coordinated Strike to Jagadish's stats too.

Let me know what you think!


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

I've spent some time today working on the second adventure in which the PCs investigate the death of Ashna, one of the Water Boys, after she witnesses the Dockside Crew unloading slaves from a pirate ship.

I've written up the Old Fishery where the Dockside Crew are based. For this location, I'm using the map and some of the descriptions from Pathfinder #7 Edge of Anarchy. However, there are no orphans here -- just gang members -- and sleazeball Gaedren Lamm is replaced by Elias Wang, a Fu Manchu moustachioed evil warlock:
*
Elias Wang, Dockside Crew leader & human warlock*
Level 3 Elite Skirmisher, 300 xp
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +1
HP 84; Bloodied  42
AC 18; Fortitude 15, Reflex 17, Will 17
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1

m Dagger (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+7 vs. AC; 1d4 + 2 damage.

R Spiteful Glamour (standard; at-will) ✦ Psychic
Ranged 10; +9 vs. Will; 1d8 + 4 psychic damage, or 1d12 + 3 psychic damage against targets at full hit points.

C Cursebite (standard; encounter) ✦ Necrotic
Close burst 20; +9 vs. Fortitude; 2d8 + 4 necrotic damage; affects all creatures suffering from warlock’s curse.

Warlock’s Curse (minor; at-will, 1/round)
Closest enemy; Elias designates target as cursed. His attacks deal an extra 1d6 damage. A target can have only
one curse at a time.

Darkspiral Aura (free; at-will) ✦ Necrotic, Psychic
Whenever an enemy Elias has cursed is reduced to 0 hit points, he adds 1 point to his darkspiral aura. Once per
round as a free action, when an enemy makes a melee or ranged attack against him, he can use his darkspiral aura
to deal 1d6 necrotic and psychic damage per point in the aura and reset the aura to 0. If his aura deals at least 12
damage, he can reset the aura to 1 instead, but the attack deals half damage.

Alignment Evil Languages Common
Skills Acrobatics +5, Bluff +9, Insight +6, Intimidate +9, Stealth +5
Str 10 (+1) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 11 (+1) Con 13 (+2) Int 16 (+4) Cha 16 (+4)
Equipment leather armor, dagger, +1 magic rod (+1d6 extra dmg on critical hits)

Now I need to track down (or come up with) some 4e stats for a shark and tiny monstrous spiders!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Next things to write:* Orloch Scragmane's HQ in a slum tenement and the Night Market in the Hidden Quarter where the PCs must rescue the slaves before they're sold off to sinister villains.

Any suggestions? 


Richard


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## RichGreen

*The Slums*

South west of Flotsam, the Dock Ward gets even more run-down as you enter the slums.

Here, wooden shacks have been built on top of other wooden shacks in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, creating tall and rickety-looking apartment blocks and tenements in which a family of 12 is often crammed into a single room with a simple stove to cook on and no sanitation.  The streets and alleys are close together, with the top storeys of buildings on opposite sides often leaning in and nearly touching, making those walking below feel claustrophobic.

Beggars, many of whom are missing limbs or eyes, sit on street corners, their bowls stretched out to passers-by, and cheap prostitutes offer their bodies for copper coins. Gangs of desperate men skulk in the alleyways at night, looking for people less fortunate than themselves to rob.
Disease is common, and the streets are full of flea-ridden cats and troops of mangy blue-bottomed monkeys hunting for something to eat. The whole district is smoky due to the fires, but the smells of food cooking (usually lentils or rice with some scraps of meat, fish or vegetables and a pinch of spice) does little to mask the stench of unwashed bodies and waste. 
This part of the Old Quarter is under the control of the Bosses, greedy independent crime lords, who own the tenements and shacks and prey on the weak. Orloch Scragmane is just one of half a dozen or so of these scumbags. The gnoll gangster is based in a rundown tenement building next door to a small chapel dedicated to Pelor run by Brother Jerome, a kindly cleric trying to do some good by running a soup kitchen for the needy.

Any comments?


Richard


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## arcanaman

very real


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## RichGreen

*Races: Dragonborn & Gnolls*

I'd been wondering about how to fit the dragonborn into Parsantium and really wasn't sure if I wanted to include them despite thinking all the 4e PH races should be available. Then I read the excellent Ecology of the Dragonborn article in Dragon #365 and decided they would fit in very well indeed.

*Parsantium's Dragonborn*
The dragonborn and the tieflings originate in the southern lands, far from Parsantium. Here their two ancient empires clashed and ultimately fell into ruin. The clan (a federation of allied families) is important to dragonborn; many living in Parsantium are members of the Moonscale clan and live in the same residential district in the Emerald Ward near the Victory Gate. At the heart of this community is the clan hall – a tradition carried on from their ancient homeland.

Some of Parsantium’s dragonborn are paladins serving in the Platinum Knights of Bahamut, others are wizards and sorcerers (some belonging to the Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus). Many more are jewellers, gemcutters, smiths or minters; there are several fine shops selling dragonborn-made jewellery in the ward.

*Gnolls *have been part of the city from the start. For some reason, I've always thought they were cool. Imagine my joy at seeing Playing Gnolls in Dragon #367. This is a great article containing lots of background stuff as well as rules of playing a gnoll including feats. I'm hoping someone is going to play a gnoll when the campaign gets going.....


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## RichGreen

*Orloch Scragmane's HQ*

Hi,

I'm toying with using the Beggar-King's base in Sellswords of Punjar from Goodman Games for this. It's almost too good a fit! There are even low-level gnolls in the adventure!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

I haven't posted on here for ages so I thought I'd put a few snippets up. The campaign is due to start in a couple of months so I need to start thinking about adventures!

*Religion & Festivals*

The Gods of Batiara include:
•	Anwyn (hearth, home, housewives, small folk, peasants) Good
•	Aymara (love, music, passion, romance, the arts) Good 
•	Bahamut (justice, protection, nobility, honor) Lawful Good
•	Darmon (travellers, tricksters, rogues, joy, trade, merchants) Unaligned 
•	Korak (the forge, skill, artisans) Good 
•	Mormekar (death, rebirth) Unaligned 
•	Pelor (sun, summer, agriculture, harvest) Good
•	Shalimyr (water, sailors, fishermen) Unaligned 
•	Terak (war, valor, struggle, battle, soldiers) Unaligned 
•	Thellyne (woodcraft, nature, the hunt) Good 
•	Tinel (knowledge, magic, secrets, truth, science) Unaligned 
•	Asmodeus (tyranny, domination, patron of devils) Evil

Of these, Pelor is the dominant god, but Bahamut is worshipped widely among knights and nobles in the Imperial Quarter.

The eight Great Gods of Akhran are:
•	Hajama, God of bravery
•	Hakiyah, God of honesty
•	Haku, God of freedom
•	Jisan, Goddess of bounty
•	Kor, God of wisdom
•	Najm, God of courage
•	Selan, Goddess of beauty
•	Zann, God of knowledge 

The Gods of Sahasra include:
•	Vishnu, the Preserver
•	Surya, the Sun
•	Mitra, Light of Blessings 
•	The Sapta Sindhu, the seven river gods 
•	Kali, the Black Mother

The Gods of Tiangao include:
•	Diao Zu’en, God of loyalty
•	Ying Weihan, God of war
•	Niu Dahan, God of wealth
•	Li Baibin, Goddess of magic 
•	Qishi, Protector of Temples


*Festivals*
The most popular annual festival is a huge celebration on the anniversary of Corandias XVI the Stubborn's successful Great Crusade, marked with the biggest of the year's chariot races

The Festival of Flowers takes place in Flotsam and is dedicated to the Sapta Sindhu

*Calendar*
Parsantium still uses the Batiaran calendar, with the years counted from the founding of Rhodias. The current year is 1745. The names of the months are:

Ianuarius
Februarius
Martius
Aprilis
Maius
Iunius
Quintilis
Sextilis
September
October
November
December 

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Races of Parsantium*

I've posted some of this before, but this is what I'm putting in the campaign handout on the various PC races:

•	The population of Parsantium is mostly human. Human characters are most likely to be Batiaran, Akhrani (Arabian), Sahasran (Indian) or Tiangaon (Chinese) in origin. 

•	Dwarves are found all over the city. Their homeland is a mountainous area several hundred miles to the west of Parsantium but they are found in many towns in the former Batiaran Empire. As well as being natural miners and smiths, dwarves mint coinage, operate banks, issue letters of credit, hold loans and collect debts.

•	Halflings are common throughout the city, often arriving as part of a caravan and staying for a year or two before heading off again. They tend to live close to the city gates or the waterfront. 

•	Elves and eladrin are uncommon; those that do live in the city often make their homes in the leafy Garden Ward and the park district of the Grand Ward. The Feyshore Forest to the east of Parsantium is home to both races. 

•	Half-elves are more numerous than elves; they favour the busy streets of the Jewel and Caravans Wards and the Mercantile Quarter, but can be found anywhere where the different races and cultures mingle and network with each other.

•	The dragonborn and the tieflings originate in southern lands, far from Parsantium, where their two ancient empires clashed and ultimately fell into ruin. Many Dragonborn belong to the Moonscale clan which has its clan hall in the Emerald Ward. Some are paladins and wizards but many more are jewellers. Tieflings tend to be found in the Old Quarter living in homes that once belonged to Akhrani or Sahasran citizens. Many are merchants; few are trusted.

•	Parantium’s half-orcs are part of the city’s underclass but have formed their own community and are trying their hardest to become accepted by the rest of the city. Unlike their warlike orcish ancestors, they are typically honest, clean-living, hard-working and peaceful.
Half-orcs perform manual labour and do the "unclean" jobs that the Sahasran poor can't do. 

•	Gnolls are the other half of the city's underclass but this race stays more true to its savage heritage. Gnolls often find employment as hired enforcers, bodyguards and bouncers and sometimes become involved in crime. 

•	The few genasi in Parsantium originate in the deserts and mountains of the Caliphate of Akhran. Firesoul genasi are the most prevalent.


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## RichGreen

Hi,

The next thing I think I need to do some work on are the Platinum Knights of Bahamut. 

This organization helped Corandias XVI the Stubborn recapture Parsantium from a hobgoblin "king" in the Great Crusade 100 years ago. Some of its members are dragonborn; many are paladins. 

Its headquarters is on an island in the Corsair's Sea but it has a chapterhouse in the Grand Ward in the Imperial Quarter. I like the idea that either the whole island where the HQ is is floating or that the order is based in a floating fortress hovering above the island. The head of the order (needs a name and a title) has a gold or silver dragon as a companion and mount.  There may be trouble between the Platinum Knights and other order of ex-crusaders who have fallen on hard times and taken to harassing Akhrani shipping.

What else? Some suggestions would be great!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

After our current DM told us he wasn't going to be available for the next few weeks, it looks like I'm going to start running Parsantium from next Monday. 

I'll post updates here but I'm kicking off with the rat problem at the Black Dolphin's Wake and then moving on to investigating Ashna's murder. 

PCs mooted so far include an elf ranger, a human cleric from Tiangao, a stormsoul genasi wizard and a watersoul/firesoul genasi swordmage.


Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*El'em Character Background*

The first session is tomorrow night! 

Here's the background of El'em, stormsoul genasi wizard:

-------------------------------------
Below is a brief version of my characters background which should do for now. Re the NPCs, we could have encountered Mangesh when we entered the town and he gave us directions to the boathouse where we are staying. He used the opportunity to complain about the mischief being done on this boat and we promised to come back and help.

 We probably pumped Pennyweather with questions when we first arrived mistaking him for a bard, (or perhaps he is!). During tomorrows session Ell'em will be looking to hire a local urchin both as a guide around the city and to run errands. He will also have some poster made up and placed around the area advertising his magical services to 'Fix any object at a fraction of its price in just a few hours' Basically I'm going to use the 'Make Whole' ritual to fix things. Hopefully earning a bit of living cash and as a way of making new contacts in the city.

*Background*
Brought up in the town of Siwal, City of Gardens El’em was known as an impetuous trouble maker who often tested his parent’s limited patience. In order to try and channel his energies and learn some self discipline they hired a mage to tutor their son in magic. 

This had some success in keeping him occupied but caused even greater problems when his temper flared since he now had magic at his fingertips. 

A few months ago a sacred book of rituals was stolen from the Mosque of Zann. El’em’s tutor offered his apprentices services to track down the book and as a final ‘test’ of his skills. El’em leapt at the chance to prove himself and to the great relief of his family, his tutor, and the general population of Siwal, left of his first adventure!

El’em expected his first adventure to be wrapped up in a few days, before moving on to something more worthy and exciting. But tracking the book has proved difficult and he is having his develop self control, patience and diplomacy in order to find leads as to its whereabouts. But his still tempestuous and abrasive nature has got him in a few scrapes and was during one of these that the Swordmage (????) came to his aid. Since then they have struck up a friendship and have joined forces to track the book.
* 
Goals*
As is typical of Genasi, El’em has great ambitions and a great impatience to achieve them. Quite simply he aims to become the greatest Genasi wizard that has ever lived!

*Personality*
Like many of his Stormsoul bretheren, El’em is inclined to great rages that often end in violence.  He often struggles against his nature but secretly revels in unleashing power and destruction.

Neither good, nor evil, El’em is so focussed on his own ambitions that he often fails to see the consequences of his actions, or chooses not to. 

El’em has little respect for nobility since in Genasi culture a person is judged solely on their own achievements, not those of their ancestors. He acknowledges law and order as a necessary evil but is loathed to have control exerted over him. He is by nature rebellious and will contest the status quo. 

*Appearance*
El’em is naturally proud of his Szuldar, (birth patterns) and wears clothing that exposes these. As is normal for a Stormsoul he has purple skin and his Szuldar glow with an electrical brightness. 

Since travelling along the coast of the Corsairs Sea he has developed a strong affinity for the sea and its stormy and unpredictable nature. He senses this taps into basic inner urge, perhaps the first signs of another manifestation he will develop.

----------------------------------

Looking forward to it!


Richard


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## Ebonyr

You've got some great in depth information on your city here. Keep it going!


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## RichGreen

Here's what happened in the first ever Parsantium game on Monday night:

*Cast of Characters*

Gong Sun, male human cleric of Niu Dahan. Arrived in Parsantium from the deserts of western Tiangao, having lost touch with his mentor Wang Jin We. Wang has not been seen at the temple of Niu Dahan for several weeks.

El’em Terazz, male stormsoul genasi wizard. Arrived in the city from the Caliphate of Akhran with his watersoul swordmage companion, looking for a book of rituals stolen from the Mosque of Zann in Siwal, City of Gardens by a man with a tattoo of two crossed scimitars.

Ella, female elf ranger. Last survivor of a massacre of of woodwardens (clerics) and hallowed hunters (rangers) of the nature goddess Thellyne as they celebrated the Spring Equinox at a woodland shrine in the Feyshore Forest. She hunts the leader of the killers, a man named Heinsoo, who made off with a book of sacred prayers to the Golden Sister.

An as-yet nameless male halfling rogue and long-time Flotsam resident


*6th Maius 1745*

The PCs are drinking in the Fat Grouper, Flotsam’s inn, in the afternoon. El’em hires Ashna, an urchin, to be his guide for one silver solidus per day and gives her three gold bezants to take to a scribe to have posters made up advertising his services as a magical repairman. Ashna tells the PCs that a robed Sahasran is looking for a band of bold adventurers and will meet them at the Black Dolphin’s Wake that evening. The details of her story seem a bit vague.

The party also talk to Glyn Merryfield, the pub’s miserable halfling landlord, and Tew Pennyfeather, its resident musician (another halfling). They learn that the witch Jagadamba sells rituals and potions, and that the Black Dolphin’s Wake is infested with rats, but neither halfling can tell them much about tattoos with two crossed scimitars.

An hour before dusk, Girish and Shivji, Ashna’s friends, arrive in two rowboats to ferry the PCs to the dockside. There, a netmaker they know, Sethos, is being beaten up by a gang of enforcers from the Dockside Crew led by an oily-looking halfling named Cyrus. The PCs intervene, killing most of the thugs but Cyrus manages to escape. Sethos is very grateful and Riyad, the landlord of the Black Dolphin’s Wake, who has seen the whole thing, is also impressed. The PCs, he says, seem just like the type of bold adventurers he’s looking for.....


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## RichGreen

Ebonyr said:


> You've got some great in depth information on your city here. Keep it going!




Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying reading this stuff!


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## RichGreen

*The Platinum Knights of Bahamut*

The Platinum Knights of Bahamut is a fighting order of  knights and paladins acting as the "sword and shield" of the Church of Bahamut, sworn to protect his clerics and followers from harm. Throughout the Sunset Lands, the Knights build chapter houses in cities and towns; from these bases, they defend the local inhabitants from orcs, goblins and other warlike humanoids. Many of its members are dragonborn; nearly all are paladins.

A hundred years ago, the organization helped Corandias XVI the Stubborn recapture Parsantium from a hobgoblin "king" in the Great Crusade. Since that time, the Platinum Knights have maintained  a chapter house in the Grand Ward in the city's Imperial Quarter and can be counted on to support the Basileus in the event of war.

The order's headquarters is in a floating fortress which hovers several thousand feet above the island of Cervenna in the Corsair's Sea to the south west of Parsantium. The island was given to the Knights by the Batiaran Emperor Josephus 300 years ago for saving Rhodias (the Empire's capital) from a savage orcish attack. No one knows if the fortress is fixed in place; the rumour is that the castle can fly into battle, as Ustraternes, the dragonborn City of Flying Stone once did in ages past,  dropping its elite warriors into the action from above.

Grand Master Baragarr,  the dragonborn head of the Platinum Knights, has a female adult silver dragon named Kastrandethilian ("Shimmerscales") as his companion and mount. Much of his energy and the Knights' resources are spent on making the Corsairs' Sea safe for merchant traffic by dealing with piracy. Surprisingly, another knightly order are the prime culprits. The Crusading Brothers of the Sword, a fighting order dedicated to Terak which has fallen on hard times in recent years, has taken to attacking Akhrani shipping and sometimes even merchants from Loranto heading from Batiara to Parsantium. The Platinum Knights of Bahamut thus find themselves fighting their erstwhile allies to keep the sea free from pirates.

Any comments or suggestions?


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #2*

Here's what happened in the second session on Monday:
*
6th Maius* (contd)

Ella, El’em and Gong are joined by Krivinn (dragonborn paladin of Bahamut). The four agree to help Riyad with his rat problem for 100gp. The buck-toothed landlord shows the PCs into the private room off the bar where he stores his barrels of Marlin Brew. There is a bad smell in here, coming from one corner. Krivinn smashes open the barrel of beer standing here, flooding the room and washing away a few rats but there are no dead bodies inside. However, Gong is able to determine there’s a trap door beneath the remains of the barrel.

Ella climbs down the rickety spiral staircase  leading into the room below; when she spots two rat swarms and a pair of dire rats, she climbs back up sharpish. Krivinn, though, is much braver and rushes downstairs where he is overwhelmed by the rat swarms and ends up unconscious. The others try and help, killing the two dire rats but El’em manages to fall off the staircase into the swarms in the process. Eventually area-effect powers win the day and all the rats are killed. Both Gong and Krivinn were bitten by dire rats; the cleric contracts filth fever. Worn out by the combat, the PCs withdraw to their houseboats to rest after searching the room, finding some rusty knives and cleavers and a silver ring set with a red garnet worth 180 gp 

*
7th Maius	*

The PCs return to the Black Dolphin’s Wake and head back down the stairs. In the next room, the PCs encounter four large rats with evil-looking human faces. One of these is a spellcaster who fills the room with a vexing cloud which helps conceal the rats from the party. The PCs still manage to kill them all, despite triggering a spear trap and being hit by stinging hexes by the rat-sorcerer. Krivinn puts on the +1 cloak of resistance as the PCs head through a couple of doors into the sewers beyond. There, a big battle ensues with wererats, more rat-things and a large visejaw crocodile which manages to grab Krivinn. After a long, tough fight, the PCs are victorious.


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## RichGreen

*The Curio Cabinet, Mercantile Quarter*

_I love putting this kind of location in my games! The stuffed beholder is stolen shamelessly from the Old Xoblob Shop from the FR sourcebook Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. _

*The Curio Cabinet*

The Curio Cabinet is tucked away down a backstreet a few blocks from the Colossus called Tinker’s Alley, and is an unassuming stone and timber building with a faded sign, hanging half off its hinges. The glass windows are thick with grime and hard to see through. Inside, the shop is one room with exposed ceiling beams supported by a number of pillars. Crammed into this space is a vast, untidy and dust-covered assortment of items from plundered tombs, dungeons and ruins across the world, brought here by adventurers. Dominating the space is a huge, eyeless stuffed beholder which hangs from the ceiling. The other contents are less dramatic but still exotic – erotic drow scupltures, old treasure maps, statuettes of many-headed and –limbed Sahasran gods, canopic jars from Khemit, bronze prayer wheels from a monastery high in the Pillars of Heaven Mountains, lizardfolk tribal boundary marking poles, and so on. 

Irene comes across as a sweet, friendly old lady who always offers her visitors a cup of tea, keen to see what they have for sale. However, rudeness or, even worse, mean-spririted remarks will cause her to give the offending PC a sharp slap on the wrist!

Occasionally, PCs will be able to buy magic items here of their level or lower but Irene does not typically deal in weapons or armour. There is a 20% chance Irene might have a specific in stock that a PC is looking for.  

Of course, there is more to Irene than meets the eye. The elderly Batiaran woman is actually Naelere, an Elder Bronze Dragon who acts as an unofficial guardian of the city against its enemies both internal and external, rarely intervening directly.  As the owner of The Curio Cabinet she comes into frequent contact with adventurers wanting to sell loot whom she is then often able to steer towards somewhere she wants them to go, for example, by offering them an old treasure map for sale at a bargain price.  

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## Jack7

Rich, this is a very long thread that so far I have only had time to briefly skim. I read the first page completely and some of the other entries, including the last page.

In my campaign world my players operate out of the City of Constantinople, circa 800 AD.
Your city description, based upon what I have read thus far, greatly resembles Constantinople (down to the wards, or districts, or quarters, which in Constantinople were called Demes, from the same root as demos, or people, as in democracy) in the way it is arranged, basic geographic positioning, naming contrivances, etc.  

I mention this since yours is an entirely invented city (we use the real one of that era) and could incorporate, assuming you have not already done so, elements from Constantinople (and there are many fascinating and even secret and not generally well known ones, such as the Cistern system) of any era, creating a sort of super, or idealized, Constantinople. Indeed you could incorporate elements from practically any city in history, of any era, to color your urban domains and it seems your last page description does just that by reminding me of private collector shops in London during the Victorian age.

Anyways I thought you had a good idea for a campaign setting, and especially for an "adventuring base of operations." A good, interesting, consistent, and fascinating base of operations makes the entire difference between an ordinary set of Campaigns, and an ordinary milieu, and a truly terrific and fascinating milieu and campaign background. Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire of that era has been a superb base of operations for my players, indeed it has been the most successful and interesting setting I have ever DMed and I've been playing for over 30 years now. Where the characters live and how they operate (sanctioned by both the Emperor and the Orthodox church) adds elements of realism and interest that could not be achieved by looser, less directly emphatic home associations. In other words the land and city and peoples of the game are in many respects just as engaging as real world peoples (indeed one reason I started using Constantinople was precisely because I wanted to inject elements of historical virtual reality into the game, so that the religious, political, social, cultural, and military backgrounds of the game became as important to the players as the adventures and missions themselves) and are as important to explore in that respect as any mission the players are sent on, or any ruin they infiltrate.

The background you are developing reminds me in many ways of a setting of this type, where background and milieu are integral to the game itself, and in my experience, renders a far more satisfying game to play. My players are as often eager to undertake a spying mission against the Persians, or to fight Viking raiders out of Russia as they are to explore deserted ruins and kill monsters. 

You develop opportunities like that (so that every aspect of the world the players explore is interesting) and I think your setting will succeed admirably.


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## RichGreen

Hi Jack7,

Great post!  I've just finished reading Judith Herrin's book Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire which is going to help me add a bit more realism to the city. There are other, non-Byzantine elements to Parsantium too but it certainly owes a lot to that city.

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #3*

_Here's what happened in last night's game, in which the PCs finished the first adventure. Session xp was 522xp each - enough to level up Ella, El'em and Gong._

*7th Maius* (contd)
After a short rest, Ella takes the lead and opens the door to the south-east. Inside are four giant rats. She shoots at them while the others move up to support her. Krivinn moves into the doorway and engages the dire rats in melee but when he steps further into the room he’s attacked by the two cavern chokers lurking above the entrance and is grabbed. Gong goes to help and ends up with a rat stuck to his leg and also grabbed by a choker. The hapless Krivinn falls unconscious yet again after being bitten by rats and hit by the choker. Bravely, Ella dives into the room to help, using her split the tree power and El’em casts thunderwave to attack the chokers. Eventually the PCs’ enemies lie dead and Krivinn comes round. Needing to rest but suspicious of Riyad, the PCs leave by the ladder leading up to a manhole and return to their houseboats.


*8th Maius   *
Ashna appears with El’em’s posters. She’s delighted when he gives her 20 silver solidi to put them up around the Old Quarter and promises to post some near the Camel Gate in the Caravans Ward where rich merchants arrive in the city.

Return to the sewers under the Black Dolphin’s Wake. Ella manages to find a secret door which she opens, revealing a room beyond with a sinister looking demonic statue standing on a bloodstained altar. The chamber is occupied by zombies and wererats but these don’t worry our heroine who boldly charges in and shoots at the wererat on the stairs. The wererats shoot back and the zombies close in, reducing her to 4hp. El’em casts flaming sphere, moving it round the room to great effect as the other PCs come in to help. Ella is dominated by the statue and shoots at Gong. She soon snaps out of it, however, and Gong attacks the statue with lance of faith while Krivinn fights the wererats. Once all the monsters are dead, the PCs gang up on the statue, smashing it to smithereens. They don’t like the look of the still-beating human heart and Kali statuette on the altar and throw these into El’em’s flaming sphere to burn.

With the statue destroyed, the PCs head back up to the tavern where Riyad explains that when he bought the Black Dolphin’s Wake he had to get it blessed by three different priests to remove the taint of evil left by the previous owner Mikulas, a cannibalistic murderer. Obviously, Gong points out, a priest of Niu Dahan, would have done a better job! Riyad pays the PCs 100 gp between them for dealing with the rats.

Any comments?


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Selling Loot in Flotsam*

Here are three locations near Flotsam where PCs can sell their ill-gotten gains and also buy new gear. For anything else, a trip to the Mercantile Quarter is in order:

*Bilal’s Blades *
An arms and armour shop on the north side of the Fish Market. Bilal is a somewhat weasley-looking Akhrani with thinning oiled hair and a scar running down from his cheek to his neck – a souvenir of a nearly fatal fight Bilal was involved in several years ago with a thuggee who tried to rob him as he was walking back to his home after a night gambling at Fahil’s. Bilal sells new and second-hand weapons and armour of various types, with scimitars and kukris a particular speciality. Local enforcers, rogues and thieves make up the majority of his customers. He sometimes has a few masterwork and magic items to sell.
_Hook: _one of the weapons Bilal has for sale is a strong-willed intelligent blade which has a special purpose to kill the enemies of its creator. This weapon might end up in the hands of a PC.


*Harold’s Hole *
Located on the south side of the square where the Fish Market is held. A plaque above the door reads “Welcome to Harold’s Hole!”; underneath is a plaque reading “Thieves: I have a loaded crossbow and I know how to use it – Harold.” The shop is crowded with tables and shelves lined with all sorts of adventuring gear. Even more hangs from the ceiling on hooks or dangling from harnesses and straps. Harold, a well-groomed half-orc with very short hair, a young face and a huge girth, runs the place. Nearly everything can be bought here, except for magical items, and is of good quality at standard prices. He pays one fifth listed value for weapons and equipment with no questions asked. He keeps a record of all transactions, including the seller’s name and residence.
_Hook: _a customer notices that one of the finely tooled leather backpacks for sale is actually a nobleman’s riding pack – belonging to a nobleman that’s been missing for more than a month. Harold is now in trouble with the Watch and he needs help finding the people who sold him the pack.

*Girik’s Three Gold Coins*
Girik is a gnarly old, one-eyed dwarf pawnbroker and fence operating from a small, shabby shop on the south-west corner of the Fish Market square. He wears red and gold silk robes in the Sahasran style and has a very long braided beard. The Three Gold Coins consists of a small office with a desk and table. Girik works behind the desk most days, and customers can lay their wares on the table so he can inspect them. The items he has for sale are displayed in a locked glass case and on shelves around the room.
Girik will lend four-fifths of the value on gems and jewellery; two thirds on other items with the loan running for six months. Interest is 10% per annum and is charged monthly. He also buys jewellery and other valuables (although nothing too esoteric or pricey) from thieves and adventurers. He sells some in his shop but he takes anything worth over 50gp or so to a stall he has in the Mercantile Quarter’s huge market.

Any comments? Any suggestions for a hook for Girik's Three Gold Coins?

Cheers


Richard

_*Harold's Hole comes from Bluffside by Thunderhead Games_


----------



## Loonook

RichGreen said:


> Here are three locations near Flotsam where PCs can sell their ill-gotten gains and also buy new gear. For anything else, a trip to the Mercantile Quarter is in order:
> 
> *Bilal’s Blades *
> An arms and armour shop on the north side of the Fish Market. Bilal is a somewhat weasley-looking Akhrani with thinning oiled hair and a scar running down from his cheek to his neck – a souvenir of a nearly fatal fight Bilal was involved in several years ago with a thuggee who tried to rob him as he was walking back to his home after a night gambling at Fahil’s. Bilal sells new and second-hand weapons and armour of various types, with scimitars and kukris a particular speciality. Local enforcers, rogues and thieves make up the majority of his customers. He sometimes has a few masterwork and magic items to sell.
> _Hook: _one of the weapons Bilal has for sale is a strong-willed intelligent blade which has a special purpose to kill the enemies of its creator. This weapon might end up in the hands of a PC.
> 
> 
> *Harold’s Hole *
> Located on the south side of the square where the Fish Market is held. A plaque above the door reads “Welcome to Harold’s Hole!”; underneath is a plaque reading “Thieves: I have a loaded crossbow and I know how to use it – Harold.” The shop is crowded with tables and shelves lined with all sorts of adventuring gear. Even more hangs from the ceiling on hooks or dangling from harnesses and straps. Harold, a well-groomed half-orc with very short hair, a young face and a huge girth, runs the place. Nearly everything can be bought here, except for magical items, and is of good quality at standard prices. He pays one fifth listed value for weapons and equipment with no questions asked. He keeps a record of all transactions, including the seller’s name and residence.
> _Hook: _a customer notices that one of the finely tooled leather backpacks for sale is actually a nobleman’s riding pack – belonging to a nobleman that’s been missing for more than a month. Harold is now in trouble with the Watch and he needs help finding the people who sold him the pack.
> 
> *Girik’s Three Gold Coins*
> Girik is a gnarly old, one-eyed dwarf pawnbroker and fence operating from a small, shabby shop on the south-west corner of the Fish Market square. He wears red and gold silk robes in the Sahasran style and has a very long braided beard. The Three Gold Coins consists of a small office with a desk and table. Girik works behind the desk most days, and customers can lay their wares on the table so he can inspect them. The items he has for sale are displayed in a locked glass case and on shelves around the room.
> Girik will lend four-fifths of the value on gems and jewellery; two thirds on other items with the loan running for six months. Interest is 10% per annum and is charged monthly. He also buys jewellery and other valuables (although nothing too esoteric or pricey) from thieves and adventurers. He sells some in his shop but he takes anything worth over 50gp or so to a stall he has in the Mercantile Quarter’s huge market.
> 
> Any comments? Any suggestions for a hook for Girik's Three Gold Coins?
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> Richard
> 
> _*Harold's Hole comes from Bluffside by Thunderhead Games_




I wish I could give you rep. for every single post here... good stuff man.  But right now you look like you're going to reach Ptolus level of detail in no time at all .

Slainte,

-Loonook.


----------



## arcanaman

Wow love the constanople idea the byzantines are my favorite culture in history


----------



## RichGreen

Loonook said:


> I wish I could give you rep. for every single post here... good stuff man.  But right now you look like you're going to reach Ptolus level of detail in no time at all .
> 
> Slainte,
> 
> -Loonook.



I'm not sure I'll get anywhere near Ptolus level, but thanks!


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #4*

Hi,

We played our fourth session on Monday - the first part of the adventure featuring the investigation into the murder of Ashna. Here's what happened: 

*14th Maius  * 
El’em makes a 5gp donation to Brother Jerome’s chapel of Pelor and mission in the slums. Krivinn and Ella visit the witch Jagadamba and buy potions of healing. Ella pays her 5gp for a consultation in which she learns that the evil statue they smashed represented a daeva called Hidimba.
*
16th Maius*
The PCs chat to Mangesh in the Fat Grouper about his leaky boat but their conversation is interrupted when they spot a fisherman pulling the body of a child out of the water. The fisherman takes the body to the Water Boys houseboat; the PCs follow along and soon find out the dead child is Ashna. Ella examines the corpse – she’s been strangled – the mark of the thuggee! They are allowed to look through Ashna’s meagre belongings which include a charcoal sketch of a pelican and a greenstone carving of a hippo which Krivinn buys from Girish. The party also learns that something was troubling Ashna in the days leading up to her death. Girish offers 300 gp in Water Boys loot if the PCs can track down her killer.

Ella and Krivinn go to see Jagadamba again to ask about the thuggee while El’em and Sorgrim the Stiff track down the building near the Black Dolphin’s Wake which has a painting of a pelican on the wall. For a minute Sorgrim thinks they are being watched but the feeling passes. After they scout around the house, El’em heads back to Flotsam to get the other two while Sorgrim stakes out the building.

As El’em, Krivinn and Ella head through a market to find Sorgrim, the PCs are ambushed by a gang of nine thuggee armed with war picks, daggers and strangle cords. Ella is strangled while El’em casts flaming sphere which he uses to attack the thuggee with the unfortunate side effect of setting fire to some of the tents. Krivinn is in the thick of the action as two other thuggee move in to attack Sorgrim. The halfling manages to leap over their heads but falls victim to their coordinated attacks and goes unconscious. Brave Ella kills the leader with her bow, then heads past the burning tents to try and save the rogue. The two thuggee try to finish Sorgrim off, then run away but the halfling survives. The PCs get rid of the others and make themselves scarce before the City Watch arrive.

The PCs break into the pelican building; Ella sets off the pendulum trap but is able to dive out of the way unharmed. Inside the party finds a cryptic note and signs that prisoners have been kept here. A trapdoor leads down into the Hidden Quarter. El’em casts light on a goblet tied to a piece of cord and the PCs head down the slimy stone steps. At the bottom there are two sets of tracks, heading south and north-east. Led by Ella, the PCs follow the southern tracks made by a group of men and a cart. As the party comes round a corner, they run into two dark creepers and their shadowhunter bat allies. El’em attacks with thunderwave, blinding the monsters, but one of the dark ones kills the unlucky Sorgrim. The PCs slay both bats and one ‘creeper; the second one escapes.

Any comments?


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #5*

Hi,

Here’s what happened in last night’s game. 

*16th Maius *(contd)
After some discussion, El’em, Ella and Krivinn loot Sorgrim’s body and then return to the surface. At the Fat Grouper, they are reunited with Gong who introduces them to a new acquaintance: a dwarven invoker called Sharden. Talk to Tew Pennyfeather about Ashna and learn about smugglers (“the Gentlemen”) coming in to the Old Docks at night. Tew seems to be holding something back but Gong is able to persuade him to talk: the bugbear pirate Captain Gnash and his ship the Howling Raider were at the docks a few nights ago.

Before returning to the tunnels in the Hidden Quarter, most of the PCs decide to ask around town and try and find out more about what’s going on. Meanwhile, Krivinn decides to go shopping instead, buying a suit of plate armour from Bilal’s Blades before heading off to the Maker’s Ward to get the silver dragon on his shield altered to look like Bahamut.

Ella goes to the Black Dolphin’s Wake and chats to a drunk fisherman called Arktaros, finding out that a big bearded man wearing a turban had been asking questions about Ashna and that the Dockside Crew, based in the Old Fishery, were the main contacts for the smugglers.

El’em and Sharden go to see Brother Jerome in the slums. The genasi grills the priest about criminal activity in the neighbourhood and is disappointed that he doesn’t seem to know much, ending up getting rude and stroppy with them. However, Sharden does a bit better and learns that Orloch, King of the Slums and gnoll leader of the Mangy Curs, is based next door to Brother Jerome’s chapel and soup kitchen. Gong chats to merchants in the Fish Market. Despite mending their scorched stalls (damaged by El’em’s flaming sphere) at cost, he learns little.

Later that evening, the PCs get back together at the Fat Grouper and compare notes. Ella decides to stay up and keep an eye on the docks. She doesn’t see any suspicious ships but does spot a woodpecker-like bird (a nail stealer) pull a shiny nail out of Mangesh’s houseboat before flying back to its nest in the Fat Grouper’s crows nest.


*17th Maius  * 
The PCs return to the pelican house and head back down into the tunnels. Sorgrim’s body is gone so at Krivinn’s urging they head down a side tunnel in pursuit of whoever or whatever dragging his corpse away. When they reach a five-way intersection and lose the trail, the party return to the main tunnel and start following the cart tracks again.

Arrive at a door. After several failed attempts to bash it down and pick the lock, Gong eventually manages to kick it in. Krivinn heads inside and is attacked by a gelatinous cube. The others rush in to help, but El’em’s thunderwave unfortunately pushes the cube on top of Krivinn, engulfing him. Gong gets engulfed too and El’em is paralyzed by the ooze’s pseudopods. Eventually the PCs are able to kill the cube and Ella heads up the ladder and through the trapdoor above. She finds herself in a warehouse and under attack by beggars and lowlife scum. The rest of the party come up the ladder to her aid and defeat the ruffians pretty easily. Eight are killed but two are knocked unconscious for questioning.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Ebonyr

I salute your attention to detail!!!


----------



## RichGreen

Ebonyr said:


> I salute your attention to detail!!!



Thanks!

It was a bit of a funny session on Monday night, actually. I'd written up asking around the docks about Ashna's murder as a skill challenge but the PCs all went off in different directions so I ended up running each PC's fact-finding session separately and not bothering with the skill challenge mechanics. To be honest, I think they enjoyed the fight with the gelatinous cube most!

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #6*

Hi,

Here's what happened in last night's game - contains SPOILERS for _Sellswords of Punjar:_

*17th Maius *(contd)

The PCs revive and interrogate their two captives, Barius & Theus, slapping them about a bit when they don’t get the answers they’re looking for. Both are beggars and petty thieves working for Orloch Scragmane – the PCs realise they’ve come up inside the gnoll gang boss’ slum tenement. After tying up the pair, Brave Ella climbs the ladder to the loft above where she sees what appears to be a sleeping gnoll protected by three hooded guards. Looking closer, she realises the “guards” are mannequins, there is something wrong with the floor, and that a man in leather armour is hiding up in the rafters. The man, Black Shet, opens fire on Ella who shoots back. The others rush up the ladder to help their elven companion and Shet is soon despatched. With the fighting over, a little girl emerges from under a furry rug in the bed. This is Bhuvi, an orphan who had been told to hide there by Black Shet. The PCs tie her up too and then toss the room, triggering a hail of darts trap on a coffer full of worthless coins, and finding a trapdoor in the floor. They also find a +1 duelist’s dagger (“Felis”) on Shet’s body.

Ella climbs down through the trapdoor into the cave below, followed by the others. The slave pens in here hold four prisoners: Gong’s master Wang Jin We, and a noblewoman, Lady Patricia, and her handmaidens. Three hobgoblin slavers appear and attack the PCs as Sharden leaps onto the hanging cage above the river. The giant gorilla starts hauling on the windlass, pulling the cage towards him. Sharden tries to cast a spell and loses his grip on the cage, falling into the river. Meanwhile, one of the hobgoblins releases the gorilla who climbs on top of the slave pens and attacks Krivinn who is already in combat with a gorilla. El’em rescues Sharden from the river while the others kill the gorilla and hobgoblins – Ella chases one out of the room and shoots him down. With their enemies dead, the PCs get Wang and the three women out of the cages. Lady Patricia is very grateful at being rescued but is a bit taken aback by the unsympathetic PCs’ unwillingness to take her home. After some discussion, they leave all four prisoners where they are and head through the archway to the north. 

Not-so-brave Ella checks out the room straight ahead – a temple with a desiccated human corpse and a portal painted on the wall - but decides it’s too creepy. Instead, Krivinn and Gong go inside and loot the body, taking three scrolls, silver bracers and a fancy clay pipe. Heading west up the stairs, the PCs are nervous about the raised portcullis they can see so Ella stacks the hobgoblin corpses underneath it. However, when El’em and Sharden approach the double doors, the hobgoblins in the room beyond still manage to drop  the portcullis between the pair and the rest of the party. The doors open and Orliss the Goat, dragonborn warlord, four hobgoblins and six goblins attack the PCs. Krivinn and Ella lift up the portcullis as El’em casts flaming sphere and Sharden goes unconscious under attack from Orliss. Gong is able to revive the dwarf and the PCs defeat their enemies, although one particularly annoying goblin keeps hitting Krivinn with his bow before he’s brought down. Search the bodies and find a secret panel in the west wall. 

------------------------------------------

I need to work out what happens at the slave market downriver where the PCs are likely to confront Orloch Scragmane. Any suggestions on who might be attending the underground slave market? I'm looking for a mixture of evil races and NPCs including kuo-toa, a derro necromancer and others.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Jack7

> Any comments?





Rich, I haven't had a lot of time to comment to many things lately due to my work schedule and other matters. But I like your city design and I like the way your adventures play out in it. As a matter of fact it sounds like something I'd enjoy playing myself because of the diverse plot elements.

And I like the persistent criminal elements and influences that seem to shadow and foreshadow the background.




> I need to work out what happens at the slave market downriver where the PCs are likely to confront Orloch Scragmane. Any suggestions on who might be attending the underground slave market? I'm looking for a mixture of evil races and NPCs including kuo-toa, a derro necromancer and others.




Well, I'd have to know exactly what you're shooting for in relation to the larger plot/adventure elements, but I can tell you a little bit about what real slave markets and human trafficking networks are like. They are filled with children, easy to control, manipulate and abuse, women, often starved, beaten and used as primary or secondary sex slaves, and therefore also easy to control, orphans and unprotected people, and people taken in fights or conquest.

Therefore you'd want slaves and victims who are easy to prey upon and control and who would make weak defense against their captors, but also you want people who are very much like "human fences, " that is they fence in people or other creatures in the same way a normal fence might fence in stolen guns. And one thing fences are usually pretty good at is associating themselves with interesting trafficking, and other types of networks, not to mention individual criminals (though they probably don't often overtly run in the same social circles, for obvious security and legal reasons.)

That being the case then you might include some fences, or their agents, who are hanging about the periphery looking for deals. But slave-traders and the fences supplying or operating with them are also going to know secrets. They will be looting and pimping their prospects, meaning they will often discover things "in background."

So if you have plot elements that need to show up, or items that need to appear, tied to the plot, but with no obvious means of exposure you might think about the rings that would operate in such markets, how they tie together, and how to exploit them usefully for purposes of your game. And information is often the most important tool and asset a fence can possess, both to protect himself from the authorizes, and to protect himself from other criminals. So information rings will thrive as well.

Finally, don't forget that the authorities might well place, depending on how your city operates, both informants and undercover operatives in such places to both track criminal activity, like let's say, coin clipping, and to observe trouble-making elements to see if they pose a threat of insurrection, or if any foreign spies are operating in such markets. Historically speaking both general markets and caravan centers, and slave-markets are excellent places for espionage rings to thrive, also for obvious reasons. Many slaves are foreigners, and their dealers and agents naturally congregate in such places, meaning other foreigners can operate there with relative ease and lack of suspicion.

Anywho, good luck.
I like the atmosphere of your adventure(s).


----------



## RichGreen

Jack7 said:


> Well, I'd have to know exactly what you're shooting for in relation to the larger plot/adventure elements, but I can tell you a little bit about what real slave markets and human trafficking networks are like.



Thanks for the kind words and for all these suggestions - really good stuff. 

For this bit of the adventure I'm going to use a map from the 3.x FR adventure book Mysteries of the Moonsea which has a Slave Auction map on p.138 that I think will work well for my purposes. It shows a small underground complex, including Delivery Entrance, Processing Room, Holding Cells, Staging Room and Amphitheatre. In my campaign, the delivery entrance will be a dock from the underground river from Orloch's slum tenement HQ (see Sellswords of Punjar) and I'm anticipating a nice big fight in the amphitheatre. Who knows what the players will do though? They might decide to infiltrate the crowd or charge in and attack everyone! I think some of your suggestions about fences, undercover cops etc could fit in here really well. 

I've also been thinking about an encounter while the PCs are in their boats heading here but there's a real shortage of low-level aquatic monsters in the 4e MM. I've already used one visejaw crocodile so I'd rather not have another one and I'm leaning towards a young black dragon (4th level). I'm picturing the river bringing the PCs  into a vast underground cave, spooky and hung with stalactites which serves as the dragon's lair. Maybe Orloch's slavers pay a tribute to get past? Anyway, the PCs end up having a hopefully memorable dragon fight here before they can get to the dock at the other side and confront the slavers.

Thoughts?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

RichGreen said:


> I'm leaning towards a young black dragon (4th level)



I do really like the idea of introducing a dragon this early. I didn't run Forge of Fury but thought it was cool how there was a black dragon in a 3rd level adventure. And in my adventure, they'll be in boats which is always entertaining!


Richard


----------



## Jack7

> It shows a small underground complex, including Delivery Entrance, Processing Room, Holding Cells, Staging Room and Amphitheatre. In my campaign, the delivery entrance will be a dock from the underground river from Orloch's slum tenement HQ (see Sellswords of Punjar) and I'm anticipating a nice big fight in the amphitheatre.




_*I just really like the idea of a fight in an amphitheatre. *_And/or a running one through a slave market, narrow areas, etc. _then bursting into an amphitheatre._

Also imagine such a fight going on while undercover operatives, fences, and others with vested interests are milling through the place.




> I've also been thinking about an encounter while the PCs are in their boats heading here but there's a real shortage of low-level aquatic monsters in the 4e MM.




Maybe use men (NPCs) in another boat who are adversaries (boat fights are dangerous, especially in small craft) and once that fight is underway have both parties ambushed by a single, higher-level aquatic monster. Then both groups have to decide if immediate survival issues don't really make them more cooperative. At least for the moment.


----------



## RichGreen

Jack7 said:


> _*I just really like the idea of a fight in an amphitheatre. *_And/or a running one through a slave market, narrow areas, etc. _then bursting into an amphitheatre._
> 
> Also imagine such a fight going on while undercover operatives, fences, and others with vested interests are milling through the place.




I'm going to make the amphitheatre bigger than it is on the map for just this reason. Some of the dodgy characters at the market will attack the PCs, others will only interfere if attacked themselves. I'm hoping for a nice, chaotic scene here.



Jack7 said:


> Maybe use men (NPCs) in another boat who are adversaries (boat fights are dangerous, especially in small craft) and once that fight is underway have both parties ambushed by a single, higher-level aquatic monster. Then both groups have to decide if immediate survival issues don't really make them more cooperative. At least for the moment.




Good idea, maybe some gnolls belonging to the Mangy Curs.


Richard


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## RichGreen

*The Underground River*

I thought it would be fun to post my notes on the perilous trip down the underground river from the dungeons beneath Orloch Scragmane's tenement building <see Sellswords of Punjar> to the slave market. 

The PCs can head down the underground river in the dungeons below the slum tenement [Sellswords, Area 2-6, p.27]. Controlling the slavers’ skiff is tricky but the PCs are unlikely to go wrong as the fast-moving river will take them straight to their destination – the underground slave market.  
•	Check what light source the PCs are using

*The Underground River*
(Skill challenge: 175 xp)

Level: 4th 
Complexity: 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures). 
Primary Skills: Dungeoneering, Nature, Acrobatics

Dungeoneering (DC 12): You are able to keep the boat on course in the dark tunnels despite the fast-flowing nature of the river. As you head north, the river widens as more water joins it from side passages.

Nature (DC 17): as Dungeoneering, this skill is less relevant so the DC is higher. 

Acrobatics (DC 17): by leaning over in the right direction as the skiff hurtles through the darkness, you can keep yourselves afloat.

Success: Just before the PCs reach the underground lake, they must go over a waterfall. If they succeed on the challenge, they fly over it, landing safely with everyone still in the skiff!

Failure: The skiff shoots through the air, tipping the PCs out in all directions. Each PC loses a healing surge, must make a swim check (Athletics DC 10), climb back into the boat (another Athletics check DC 10) and is going to be at a disadvantage in the lake encounter.

Optional Encounter (600xp) - takes place during the skill challenge
•	Stirges (6)

Moving around the skiff requires a balance check (DC 15), as does taking damage (see below). PCs fighting in the boat grant combat advantage to their enemies.  

Balance: Part of a move action.

✦ DC: See the table.
✦ Success: You can move one-half your speed across a narrow or 
unstable surface.
✦ Fail by 4 or Less: You stay in the square you started in and lose the rest of your move action, but you don’t fall. You can try again as part of a move action.
✦ Fail by 5 or More: You fall off the surface (see “Falling,” page 284) and lose the rest of your move action. If you are trying to move across an unstable surface that isn’t narrow, you instead fall prone in the square you started in. You can try again as part of a move action if you’re still on the surface.
✦ Grant Combat Advantage: While you are balancing, enemies have combat advantage against you.
✦ Taking Damage: If you take damage, you must make a new Acrobatics check to remain standing.

PCs failing their Acrobatics check by 5 or more have a 50% chance of falling prone in the boat and a 50% chance of falling into the river.
•	PCs falling into the river need to make an Athletics check (DC 15) to swim <PH p.183>. They will continue to move downstream roughly in line with the skiff if they don’t do anything

While fighting the stirges, one PC (“the pilot”) should try and keep control of the skiff. If the boat goes out of control, balance checks increase to Acrobatics DC 20.  If the PC uses two move actions to pilot the boat, he can try and outrun any stirges not attached, moving the skiff 12 squares (Speed 6)

Any suggestions gratefully received!


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Need some suggestions!*

Hi,

I'm about to start my second Parsantium campaign tomorrow, kicking off with the same adventure (the rat problem under the Black Dolphin's Wake), but I'm expecting the campaign to go into some different directions to the first one.

One of the PCs is an eladrin from the Feyshore Forest which is currently little more than a place name. It obviously touches the Feywild, is a short distance from Parsantium, running alongside the Griffin Water. There are some ancient Sahasran ruins in it. 

What else? Any suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


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## Jack7

Well Rich, how exactly do you want it to be different from the first campaign?

More character development?
Do you wanna tie in the Eladrin specifically?
His people?

What are you shootin for? Or at?


----------



## RichGreen

Jack7 said:


> Well Rich, how exactly do you want it to be different from the first campaign?
> 
> More character development?
> Do you wanna tie in the Eladrin specifically?
> His people?
> 
> What are you shootin for? Or at?



Oops, didn't make myself clear. I'm looking for suggestions on what the Feyshore Forest might be like, rather than for this campaign vs the one that's already underway.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

I ran the first session in the second campaign this afternoon: you can read what happened here, but it's pretty similar to what happened when I ran this adventure the first time. This group has a very diverse set of player characters though and the players are a different set of personalities At one point, I was pretty convinced they were going to go after the Dockside Crew at the Old Fishery which would have been interesting but in the end they went after the rats instead.

Cheers


Richard


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## Jack7

> I'm looking for suggestions on what the Feyshore Forest might be like




I think I got ya now Rich.

Okay, I don't know if this will help you or not, but here goes.

I do a lot of star-gazing and moon-watching. I've got a pretty good telescope and as a matter of fact I was out watching the full moon tonight. So this is how I got these ideas, years ago, although a new one even occurred to me tonight.

My setting has two worlds, our world, and a different world, geographically identical to ours but the life on it is completely different. It is inhabited by elves, and dwarves and giants and so forth.

In that world things also operate differently and in many ways it is a world with very unusual properties. 

Such as, there are areas which glow at night, the stones, and plants, whole mountain ranges. 
Areas where magic is amplified, or suppressed, or where it fluctuates wildly, or rapidly.
Liquids can turn into gases almost immediately and solids can transform shape or become liquids.

Areas of terrain will change and shift, sometimes while people are looking at it.

There are "telescopic areas" where things become magnified, and elongated, drawn out. And in these areas one can often see for miles and miles, even over or beyond the horizon.

There are "microscopic areas" (I don't call them that, but I'm saying it that way so it can be easily understood) where invisible things can be perceived, and impossibly small things can be seen.

There are corresponding areas where auditory and olfactory senses are microscoped and/or telescoped, and places where tactile senses and even a sort of heightened danger sense can become apparent.

There are areas where different stars or starlight spectra will have different visual and perceptual effects.

And tonight the idea occurred to me, since the moon was so bright, that a bright, full moon, a harvest moon, or a "blue moon" would have completely different effects on what can be perceived, and how things operate.

There are areas where the water is potent and healing, or will give the drinker temporary magical or even psychic powers.

Areas where magic will drain from objects into the surrounding environment. Animals will mutate or alter.

In other words that world itself is alive, and like any living organism has different capabilities.

I don't know if that helps you or not but that is also always how I've felt about the "elven world."

Or I guess you could say the Fey world.


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## RichGreen

RichGreen said:


> I thought it would be fun to post my notes on the perilous trip down the underground river from the dungeons beneath Orloch Scragmane's tenement building <see Sellswords of Punjar> to the slave market.



I ran this last night and it worked pretty well, although I think the Dungeoneering DC 12 was a bit too low as they made it through the skill challenge easily. They also dealt with the stirges pretty handily and no one fell out of a rowboat! 

I have high hopes for the next encounter with the black dragon.....


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #7*

Here's what happened in last night's exciting episode. Each PC gets 395 xp.

*17th Maius* (contd)

While Krivinn sets to work bashing down the secret panel, Sharden looks through the archway to the right. Below, he can see two gnolls loading chests and coffers into a rowboat holding a hooded eladrin. The villains spot the dwarf and battle is joined. El’em tries to leap down in amongst them but screws up and falls off the wooden ledge, landing at the feet of the gnolls. Gong enters the room, only to be shot at by a drow elf who had been skulking in the chamber beyond. Sharden’s prayer sends the eladrin mage into the river and he’s promptly swept away by the current. One gnoll is killed; the other is shoved into the water by El’em’s thunderwave and also disappears downstream. The drow, Drazen, is knocked unconscious and the PCs tie him up. The room he appeared from is dominated by a creepy-looking statue of the Rat God Nirumath; its eyes are rubies and it’s surrounded by treasure but there is something about it that gives the PCs pause (even El’em). Instead, the genasi opens a couple of the treasure chests, triggering an arrow trap, then sets off the caustic spear trap in the secret room and gets impaled.

After El’em has been rescued, the PCs interrogate Drazen, learning that he works for Orloch Scragmane but little else. Krivinn opens the door in the statue room, only to run into a skeleton which gives off a burst of bone shards when bloodied and explodes when it’s killed. Meanwhile, El’em tries to roll the trussed-up drow into the Rat God statue. Drazen takes umbrage, slips his bonds and makes a run for the boats. Sharden takes him down as he escapes with thunder of judgement.

With everyone somewhat the worse for wear, the PCs return through the Hidden Quarter tunnels to the surface and then on to the Temple of Niu Dahan, taking Wang Jin We, Lady Patricia and her handmaidens, and the little girl Bhuvi with them. (Barius and Theus are locked in the slave cages). Wang Jin We tells the PCs that a man named Sreedhar who had been looking to hire adventurers was among the slaves taken to the slave market. He urges them to rescue all the captives. The PCs get the rest of the chests and coffers open and then rest.

*Evening *
Return to the dungeons beneath the slum tenement and head downstream in the rowboats. Krivinn pilots the first one with Sharden and El’em as passengers; Gong and Brave Ella are in the second. Despite a few hairy moments when the PCs at the helm struggle to control the boats in the current, the party are able to guide their vessels through the network of underground tunnels. An attack by half a dozen stirges is successfully repelled and the two “captains” even manage to keep the rowboats upright as they fly over a waterfall and into a large underground cavern. At the far side are some wooden docks; on the water is another boat with two gnolls….


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## RichGreen

Jack7 said:


> I think I got ya now Rich.
> 
> I don't know if that helps you or not but that is also always how I've felt about the "elven world."
> 
> Or I guess you could say the Fey world.




Thanks Jack! I like your post. I'll give this some more thought and try and write something in the next few days....

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Slave Market encounter*

Hi,

Here's some notes on the big climactic fight at the slave market. I need to add some more descriptive/flavour text, but I've worked out who the villains are. Bit worried about running a combat with 12 enemies, but I didn't really want to miss any of these guys out! Originally, there was going to be some derro too...


*The Amphitheatre (Level 7, 1,514 xp)*
•	Assumes 5 PCs, Party Level 3

*Setup*
On the other side of the curtain, a slave auction is in progress. Orloch Scragmane stands on the stage, taking bids on Sreedhar, a handsome Sahasran who's obviously been beaten up. Standing nearby are two gnoll guards.

The audience is composed of a variety of sinister characters. There are three goggle-eyed fish-men, a dark-robed man accompanied by a pair of zombies, a human woman dressed in bright red fetish gear, a grey-skinned couple covered in tattoos and piercings,  and several other human men (hooded priests of Kali, decadent nobles, sleazy brothel-keepers etc)

This encounter includes the following: 
•	Orloch Scragmane
•	2 Mangy Curs
•	Laskaris, Crazed Necromancer
•	2 Zombie Rotters 
•	Myrissa, Shadar-Kai Dark Warlock
•	Dalimyr, Shadar-kai Chainfighter (Level 3)
•	Kuo-Toa Priest (reskinned sahuagin with slimy maneuver instead of blood frenzy)
•	2 Kuo-Toa Guards (ditto)
•	Sreedhar 

*Tactics*
If combat occurs, all the humans except the necromancer leave hurriedly through the double doors, heading for the Hidden Quarter tunnels to the left. Those leaving include Zeno Meverel and Firmina (madam of the Fallen Angel)

•	The gnolls stand next to Orloch so they can use pack tactics
•	The kuo-toa use slick maneuver to flank enemies; the priest keeps his distance
•	The necromancer keeps his distance and relies on his zombies to defend him from the PCs. If anyone comes close, he uses horrific visage.
•	Myrissa uses spiteful glamour, cursing a different target each round. When she’s cursed three different PCs, she uses cursebite. The chainfighter uses his reach to stay out of the PCs’ way.
•	Sreedhar is chained to the stage but will make a fist attack at Orloch if he gets the chance.

*Treasure:* in addition to the money and gems some of the monsters are carrying, there is a chest next to Orloch on the stage. This contains 2 pp, 310 gp, 239 sp and a silver necklace decorated with seven pieces of turquoise (worth 250 gp).

*Development:* The rescue of Sreedhar can lead the PCs on to an adventure outside the city, perhaps exploring some ancient ruins in the Feyshore Forest (dating back to the early years of Parsantium when it was Dhak Janjua)

Any comments?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #8*

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. They survived the dragon but only just:

*17th Maius (contd)*

The PCs steer their boats towards the gnolls as the feral humanoids fire arrows at them, howling loudly. As the PCs pull alongside, they are taken aback when a large black dragon rears out of the water. It stuns Brave Ella with its frightful presence and then breathes acid on the party, not caring that the two gnolls are also caught in the blast. As the PCs try to strike back, the dragon surrounds itself with a cloud of inky darkness. Sharden has been badly wounded so Krivinn steers their boat to the docks, lays hands on the dwarf and then goes into melee with the dragon. However, the shroud of darkness makes the dragon hard to hit and the dragonborn is unable to land any effective blows. The beast retaliates with its bite and a couple of tail slaps before breathing on Gong and Ella who are still battling the gnolls. Meanwhile, Sharden climbs on to the dockside and flees up the stairs leading into the wall of the cave. The gnolls are killed, so Ella and Gong try to get away from the dragon which is now coming after them. They fall over as they try to cross from one boat to the next but manage to scramble on to the docks, helped by Krivinn who uses his lay on hands power to heal their wounds. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, the PCs follow Sharden up the stairs and into the corridor beyond, leaving the dragon behind.


After a short rest and some healing, the PCs open the door to the left. Beyond is a guard room with two gnolls inside. Krivinn and Brave Ella go in – the dragonborn tries to flip over a table while Ella shoots at the gnoll overseer at close range. Out in the corridor the gnolls are reinforced by four others as the doors on the other side open, bringing Gong and Sharden under attack. Worried about being hit if he uses a ranged prayer, Sharden attacks with his trusty quarterstaff as the other gnolls use pack tactics and gang up on Gong. Eventually, the PCs finish off the humanoids and are able to release the five slaves in the cells opposite. These are Florian (a cloth merchant from Batiara), Agnellus (a sailor), Divakar (a dock-worker) and Heera and Pallavi (two pretty Sahasran sisters). They’re all grateful for being rescued and tell the PCs that Orloch and his henchmen have taken Sreedhar beyond the door at the end of the corridor, presumably to be auctioned.


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## RichGreen

*NPC: Sergeant Saurish of the Dock Ward*

Here's an NPC that's likely to make things a little tricky for the PCs:

Sergeant Saurish of the Dock Ward City Watch is a dedicated, intelligent Sahasran watchman. Unlike his jaded Watch Captain Nisai, who has almost given up on trying to prevent crime in the Dock Ward, Saurish is keen to maintain as much law and order as is practically possible without getting himself murdered by the criminal gangs prevalent in the area. He frequently gets frustrated with his colleagues who are often lazy, cowardly or corrupt and don’t understand why Saurish bothers to investigate some of the bodies that turn up floating off the dockside. 

Saurish is about thirty and well-turned out with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He wears a turban rather than a helm, fastened with a clasp depicting the leaping dolphin symbol of the Dock Ward. Like all watchmen, he wears a white tabard with the city’s crest in purple over his chainmail. He has a Sahasran straight sword – a khanda – instead of a longsword hanging at his hip. Saurish is invariably polite to those citizens he comes across in the course of his duties but is an excellent judge of character and isn’t easily fooled by the typical flim-flam of adventurers on the wrong side of the law.

Any comments?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Sahasran ruins in the Feyshore Forest*

Hi,

I'm looking for some interesting monster encounters to take place in these ruins. The PCs will be 3rd - 4th level.

My shortlist from the 4e MM:  carrion crawler, fey panther, grell, grick, harpy, howling hag, mummy, ogre, oni, owlbear, vine horror.

Any other suggestions? The ruins are Indian in flavour. The gateway is flanked by two large stone elephants and there will be a temple dedicated to the Monkey God Hanuman. Naturally, there will be plenty of monkeys climbing over everything.

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.

A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.
> 
> A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.




Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try and do a bit of work on this today if I get time and will have another look at the MM. I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.


Richard


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## RichGreen

RichGreen said:


> I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.




And here he is.


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## Loonook

One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning... 

Okay, the basics can be found on Wikipedia.  They live in caves, temples, and other abandoned places seeking release and enlightenment... and the Aghori sect could be seen as one of the more interesting groups for an abandoned corrupt temple.

A man who walks about in the ashes of the dead, seeking the secrets of liberation from a constant cycle of death and rebirth through understanding of the forces of destruction... I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.

Slainte,

-Loonook.


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## RichGreen

Loonook said:


> One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning...
> 
> I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.



Great idea! Thank you!


Richard


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## RichGreen

Last Monday I ran the big fight in the slave market amphitheatre. One player was missing so they were down to four PCs for a tough 7th level encounter intended for 5 3rd level PCs. I had to give them a break by having the kuo-toa and shadar-kai leave once the party had killed Orloch Scragmane. 

Here's what happened:
*
17th Maius (contd)*

Leaving Sharden to look after the freed slaves, the others head through the door into the staging room beyond. From here, they go through the next door into a narrow corridor. Ella sneaks ahead and peers round the curtain – behind it she can see the red-maned figure of Orloch and his two guards, as well as the chained Sreedhar. The PCs get ready and Gong sweeps back the curtains to reveal an amphitheatre filled with auction-goers, some human and some not. The “nots” are two shadar-kai, three kuo-toa and the two zombies guarding their robed master. 

As El’em attacks with burning hands, blasting the gnolls and one of the zombies, Ella shoots her bow and Krivinn moves in to attack in melee, all but one of the human attendees leaves by the double doors ahead. Then, the two shadar-kai attack the PCs: the male chain-fighter rushes across the room to attack from a distance while the female warlock curses El’em. The kuo-toa priest acts next, casting spectral jaws which bite Gong. Orloch and his two Mangy Curs attack the party in melee with their axes but El'em is able to send the gnoll slaver flying with his magic. Pinned in the corridor by the gnolls, the PCs are unable to defend themselves that well against the grave bolts of the dark-robed necromancer or the spiteful glamours of the shadar-kai warlock. Gong continues to suffer attacks from the spectral jaws and goes unconscious, as does Krivinn when he is struck first by the shadar-kai chain-fighter (as he dances across the room) and then by a 30 hp critical hit from Orloch’s execution axe. 

El’em uses a couple of healing potions to revive the pair as Ella takes down Orloch with her bow. The shadar-kai warlock unleashes her cursebite which knocks Gong and Krivinn unconscious again – this time first aid is needed to revive the two healers. The two other gnolls are killed and all four PCs are now back up on their feet. When this happens the shadar-kai and kuo-toa leave. The party finishes off the necromancer and his one surviving zombie after deterring El’em from going after the kuo-toa. With the battle over, the PCs lock the doors using Orloch’s keys and rest. Krivinn takes Orloch’s axe; Ella takes the necromancer’s _+1 gloaming shroud_. 

After wandering aimlessly in the tunnels of the Hidden Quarter for a while, the PCs find their way back to the Dock Ward streets via the sewers – by this time it’s late at night. Arranging to meet Sreedhar tomorrow, the PCs head back to the Fat Grouper after Gong fails to persuade Heera and Pallavi (the two pretty Sahasran girls) to come with him.


*18th Maius*

The PCs escort Lady Patricia back to her home in the Imperial Quarter’s Grand Ward. Her husband, Didymus, doesn’t seem that thrilled to see her but gives the PCs a small bag of gold bezants as a reward. Back in Flotsam, the PCs buy potions of healing from Jagadamba before meeting up with Sreedhar. The Sahasran scholar tells the party about the ruins in the Feyshore Forest but he doesn’t seem to know much about Ashna or her murder. He does tell Ella that the tattoos she’s seen belong to the Golden Scimitars, a powerful thieves’ guild. 

That evening, the PCs head to Orloch’s slum tenement* base. Gong opens the lock on the gate after disabling the trap and the party heads inside, killing the five sentries who were guarding the alley without too much trouble.

*this is the slum tenement in _Sellswords of Punjar_. Although the colour map sheet is very nice, the rooms and alleyways are just too small to have a good tactical battle.


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## RichGreen

*Session #10 Cutpurse Alley*

Hi,

Here's what happened in last Monday night's game as the PCs continue to explore the ground floor of Orloch Scragmane's base in the slums (see _ Sellswords of Punjar)_:

El’em and Sharden guard the entrance to Cutpurse Alley while the others move down towards the mold-encrusted fountain at the far end. When movement is spotted at the window above, Krivinn kicks in the door to the left. Inside are two toughs who attack the dragonborn with their maces, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, two bowmen fire at Ella and Gong from the first floor. Ella returns fire while Gong goes to help Krivinn. The two ruffians are joined by Arturo the fence who the paladin kills. When Ella enters the room she goes near the curtain at one end and is grabbed by the tentacle of an otyugh in the cesspit beyond. Fortunately she manages to get out of the grab as the others finish off their enemies.

The PCs decide to leave searching the room – a treasury of miscellaneous purloined junk – and Arturo’s office and bedroom until later. Krivinn heads upstairs, triggering a tripwire which sets a load of pots and pans crashing to alert the occupants of the room above. Here the PCs, now joined by Sharden, battle five “Dog Brothers”, human members of the Mangy Curs who wear scruffy furs to appear as gnoll-like as possible, and their plate armour clad captain who fires his massive longbow down from the floor above. The Dog Brothers surround Krivinn, knocking him unconscious, but Gong brings him round and the party wins the day. The captain flees through a secret door after Sharden sets him on fire, leaving the PCs to interrogate their captive, a wretched man named Cosmas who tells them that Madame Zeboltha now runs the place following Orloch’s tragic death.

The PCs leave Cosmas tied up and search the captain’s quarters, finding treasure hidden inside the chimney (after Sharden triggers a painful spear trap) and discovering a secret door they can’t open. They head downstairs, outside, through the door opposite and up the stairs into a large, smelly common room. The party opens a door to a storeroom full of rats. Two swarms attack – although they clamber all over the PCs, the rats are destroyed in short order.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #11 The Floating Head*

Latest session was on Monday:

*18th Maius (contd)*

After listening at the door to Madame Zeboltha’s chamber, the PCs decide to see if they can attack from two flanks. Sharden and El’em head outside into the courtyard and climb the stairs. Unfortunately the dwarf is too noisy while trying to put Orloch’s keys into the lock, alerting the occupants of the room. Both doors fly open and Madame Zeboltha’s two Tiangaon bodyguards attack Sharden and Krivinn with their kusari-gamas. Inside the room, the PCs can see the two warrior-monks, Madame Zeboltha (a tiefling warlock, scantily clad and wielding a skull-topped rod) and the captain, Irocar. The walls are adorned with occult symbols and strange alchemical equipment sits on a table in one corner. Creepiest of all, a human head floats in a jar of glowing blue liquid. 

The PCs attack the villains, killing the two Tiangaons (although they do get to trip Sharden and Krivinn first), then slaying Madame Zeboltha before ganging up on Irocar who gets in a vicious brute strike on Krivinn before going down to an arrow from Brave Ella. El’em uses his magic to pull a crumpled note from the mouth of the head in the jar – this is from Elias Wang of the Dockside Crew to Madame Zeboltha. The others loot the bodies: Ella takes Irocar’s bow and Sharden grabs the tiefling’s rod. After the head in the jar winks at Gong, the PCs get freaked out and Krivinn cleaves it in twain. Sharden uses a ritual to conjure Tenser’s floating disk to carry all their treasure (including a red egg nestling on a bed of hot coals in a bronze bowl and a unicorn’s horn) and the party head downstairs. They search the rooms on the ground floor, finding many interesting items – a silver filigree lantern with the corpse of a pixie inside, a mud-encrusted idol of the Gorilla King, and the hide of a white wolf among others. After a thorough search, El’em uses his flaming sphere spell to attack the otyugh in the cesspit behind the curtain. The hapless gulguthra is soon killed as an “anti-plague measure” by the PCs. Out in the alley, Krivinn smashes the mould-covered fountain depicting Ravana, king of the rakshasas. 

Having plundered the whole tenement, the PCs return to their houseboat with their treasure and go to bed. Ella leaves a note for Mangesh, telling him a nail stealer bird is causing his boat to leak before she retires.

*19th Maius	*
In the morning, Sergeant Saurish of the City Watch knocks on the PCs’ door, keen to question them about their role in two recent incidents: one involving the Dockside Crew, the other thuggee. Gong admits they helped rescue Sethos from the Dockside Crew but denies involvement in the second fight. The watchman leaves, but not pointing the PCs in the direction of the Old Fishery – headquarters of the Dockside Crew.

Next week I think they'll go to the Old Fishery but they have a few quests outstanding:

Dealing with the Dockside Crew
Finding out who killed Ashna and reporting back to Girish
Mangesh’s leaky boat
Slaying the black dragon
Finding a new place to stay
Exploring the forest ruins with Sreedhar

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*The Maker's Ward*

Here's some notes on the Maker's Ward, adapted from the excellent FR accessory, _Calimport_:

The Maker's Ward contains many of the skilled trade guilds and some of the newest khanduqs in the city. While not a socially prestigious address, Maker's Ward is home to many tradesmen on the rise, and their close proximity to the Caravans Ward aids them in their businesses. Sadly, the various businesses do not work together to improve their community; rather, they work against each other in near-constant vendettas and street brawls (if not full guild wars) in order for one guild or family to dominate particular trades, costers, or business deals. 

Many of the these fights are carried out in the taverns and coffee houses of the *tavern district *in the northern half of the ward. This area is renowned for the *White Palm*, a large, elaborate tavern with a minaret and beautiful shady courtyard. This tavern was the original home of the very successful Desert Sands brewery. From here, the business grew as it became the most popular light beer in the Old Quarter, then Parsantium, and then in the inns and taverns of the Caliphate of Akhran and beyond. Once they outgrew the facilities, the Desert Sands company moved the brewery itself but retained this site as a tavern. It is still owned directly by company head Talib al-Effid; these days his son-in-law Kaham al-Vizhon is its proprietor and barkeep.
	•	_Secret:_ Kaham is cheating on his wife, Fatima, with a handsome young male actor named Beatus (a friend of Iancu Petronas). Not only that, he has showered Beatus with expensive jewellery that he can ill afford and has been borrowing from the tavern's reserves to do so. If Talib finds out, his vengeance will be swift and terrible.

Within the ward's *guildhall district *are three distinct neighbourhoods, known as sabbans (an Akhrani term):

*Builder's Sabban*
In the SW corner of the ward, this sabban encompasses much of the dirty, noisy, and thoroughly necessary builder's trades of carpentry, masonry, and the like. Tucked away against the walls of the Poor Ward and the Faiths Ward, the Builder's Sabban always seems full of work and activity, providing fresh building materials for the city that never seems to run out of demand for them.

*Weaver's Sabban*
The bulk of the businesses in this central neighbourhood produce rugs, carpets, clothing and tapestries but there are also places that deal in luxuries, amenities to soften life, and rare items to indulge anything, from a taste for sweets, to a passion for antiquities. 

*Aymara's Sabban*
With many artists operating and competing within this sabban, named for the Goddess of the Arts, courtyards become impromptu sculpting competitions, walls become inadvertent canvasses of the latest masterpiece (designed only to outdo a rival, less so for art's sake), and around it all wander the romantics, the poets, and the lovers of Parsantium. Located in the northeastern comer of the ward, near the parks of the Garden Ward,  many temperamental artists, creators, and bards flock to this neighborhood looking for and often finding kindred souls and old friends.

Any comments?


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #12 The Old Fishery*

Hi,

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. This part of the adventure used the map and description of the Old Fishery (part of the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path, Pathfinder #7).


*19th Maius (contd)*

Ella and El’em go to Mangesh’s houseboat to see him but he’s gone fishing. Head for the Old Fishery with Ella and El’em leading the way. Initial scouting doesn’t reveal any obvious signs of criminal activity – just the stench of fish gone bad and the sound of people working inside. Krivinn tries (unsuccesfully) to sneak up to the delivery entrance and gets shot with a crossbow bolt for his trouble by Hookshanks, an ugly scarred dwarf. Ella covers the front door while the other PCs move in to support the paladin inside the fishery workfloor. Meanwhile, the bad guys get reinforcements too – Cyrus the halfling and a guard drake come through one door and Giggles the half-orc and some more chummers enter through another and battle is joined! 

Ella realises no one is coming out the front door so picks the lock and charges in to attack Cyrus from behind. The craven halfling flees to his office and escapes. Krivinn, bitten savagely by the drake, decapitates Hookshanks with a righteous smite from his execution axe, as Giggles attacks Gong. El’em casts shock sphere and finishes off the remaining chummers, leaving the others to deal with the half-orc. The genasi then casts thunderwave to launch the drake into the vat of spoiled fish, killing it. The PCs search the bodies and then the whole of this floor, finding some copper and silver coins and a lot of disorganised business records. For reasons best known to himself, Krivinn throws quite a few of these into the fish slurry. 

Brave Ella heads round the boardwalk to the rotting old barge lashed to the fishery, followed by Gong and Krivinn who use slates from the office as stepping stones to avoid slipping off the deck and into the water where a jigsaw shark awaits. Ella leaps on to the boat but realises the deck looks likely to give way at any point. Returning to the lower workfloor of the fishery, Krivinn opens one of the shutters and smashes a hole through the side of the ship. Ella goes inside but is attacked by a drain spider. Once it’s been killed and nothing of any use is found in the cabin, the PCs decide to give the hold a miss and figure out how to get to the hidden underpier. Brute force seems the best option: Krivinn smashes a whole in the boardwalk and lowers Ella down. 

Ella opens the door to Elias Wang’s office – a large room with a hole in the floor open to the waters of the Dolphin Strait. Inside are Elias Wang, leader of the Dockside Crew, and his aging Tiangaon bodyguard, Lo Chong. As Ella moves into the room, the third occupant reveals itself – Wang’s pet crocodile – who bites the elf’s legs. The ranger falls unconcscious and the others rush down through the hole to help. Lo Chong goes into melee as Elias Wang, clearly a warlock, curses the PCs and casts fiery bolts and eldritch blasts at them. The PCs kill the crocodile first, then Lo Chong, but Elias Wang teleports away as the party close in on him. 

Any comments?


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Monkey Temple skill challenge*

Hi,

I've posted a draft version of a skill challenge set in the Feyshore Forest ruins here. 

Any thoughts gratefully received!

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gilladian

Good use of the source adventure! I'm thinking of using this same adventure in my upcoming campaign, but shifting it to a tannery on the edge of a cliff, instead of the fish-processing plant. I'll have to seriously modify the maps, but it should be fun! A long fall replaces the jigsaw shark danger, and the alligator will have to be subbed in with something else... 

I'm going to leave the orphans in the mix; I want my PCs to feel that the Warrens are a truly horrid and tragic place - I'm hoping they'll decide to clean them out.


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> Good use of the source adventure! I'm thinking of using this same adventure in my upcoming campaign, but shifting it to a tannery on the edge of a cliff, instead of the fish-processing plant. I'll have to seriously modify the maps, but it should be fun! A long fall replaces the jigsaw shark danger, and the alligator will have to be subbed in with something else...
> 
> I'm going to leave the orphans in the mix; I want my PCs to feel that the Warrens are a truly horrid and tragic place - I'm hoping they'll decide to clean them out.



You'll have to let me know how it turns out! Coincidentally, on Monday night, when we played this at the London Gamers club, another group had just finished the whole Curse of the Crimson Throne that evening. One or two of them came over to ask how we were getting on and were a bit disappointed when I explained I was only really using the Old Fishery map and encounters.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*The Khanduq of the Nightingale's Song*

This location is somewhere the PCs might end up hanging out if they move to the Maker's Ward from Flotsam:

A khanduq is an Akhrani-style bazaar on two levels situated around a courtyard, typically with a few private guards to keep out the riff-raff. The Khanduq of the Nightingale’s Song is situated in the Aymara Sabban (neighbourhood) of the Maker’s Ward and is frequented by artists, musicians and their wealthy patrons. Four minarets topped with glazed blue domes adorn the corners of the building, and in the centre of the courtyard stands a beautiful fountain, depicting the winged figure of Aymara the Golden with a silver lyre under her arm, in the shade of several palm trees. During the day, the area around the fountain is crowded with the stalls and tents of local artists and craftsmen.  Shoppers in the khanduq can buy icons, ceramics, carvings, pieces of sculpture and many other art objects from the stalls and from various shops situated along the sides of the courtyard. The khanduq is also home to two places of refreshment and relaxation:

The Golden Bean Tree is a coffee shop run by an attractive Akhrani woman named Yasmina and is frequented by painters, mosaicists and sculptors who gather here to drink coffee, smoke sheeshah and boast about their work, all the while on the look out for a patron to commission their next project. The Golden Bean Tree offers simple Akhrani dishes accompanied by fresh fruits and honeyed bread and has an excellent selection of coffee beans. Yasmina has a exquisite singing voice which she sometimes shows off on stage at the Blue Monkey. She ignores the doting attentions of the artists who hang out here, preferring the company of (usually older) rich merchants and nobles. 

The Blue Monkey is a tavern where customers can hear some of the very best music in Parsantium, performed by local bards and singers, free of charge. The landlord, Hatim the Fat, is blind but has a great ear for music and knows a lot of interesting gossip. His pet monkey, Abu, does indeed have blue fur. The Blue Monkey has a fine wine cellar, and serves decent food as well as a wide variety of ales and lagers.

The streets surrounding the khanduq serve the needs of the local artists and musicians: the Street of Sitars is full of shops selling musical instruments; the Street of Tesserae is crammed with stalls and shops peddling artist’s materials – paints, brushes and scupltor’s tools as well as tesserae for mosaics.

An apartment near to the khanduq costs around 30 gold bezants per month.

Any comments or suggestions for adventure hooks here?


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #13*

Hi,

Here's what happened in Monday night's game which got the PCs to 4th level (mostly) and brought the second adventure, Witness!, to a close. Next, the PCs are going out of the city with Sreedhar to the forest ruins of Gopura, then on to Open Design's Wrath of the River King. This longish interlude will hopefully give me some time to make some sense of the tangled web I've woven of the Parsantine underworld - likely the subject of its own post.


*19th Maius (contd)*

The PCs search Elias Wang’s bedroom using El’em’s mage hand. They find several incriminating papers and some treasure inside his footlocker. The papers include Captain Gnash’s schedule, a price list for slaves, details of businesses paying protection money to the Dockside Crew and a letter from someone called Zeno. Under a rug, the party find a trapdoor leading down into the Hidden Quarter. Having searched the Fishery, Krivinn and El’em decide to set it on fire. 

Afterwards, Gong and Ella go to see the Water Boys. Gong explains what he thinks happened to Ashna and that the PCs have brought her killer to justice. Girish gives the party a silver necklace bearing the symbol of Bahamut as a reward.  

Meanwhile, Krivinn and El’em go to the Dock Ward’s City Watch station in search of Sgt Saurish. He’s not there but the disinterested watchman on duty points them in the direction of Orloch’s slum tenement. Here they find Saurish and Krivinn explains that the PCs were the ones who dealt with Orloch and his organization “in self defence”. The sergeant tells them members of the Golden Scimitars are known to frequent Fahil’s Floating Palace in the Poor Ward. 

Next, the PCs go to see Jagadamba – she doesn’t really know anything useful about the criminal gangs of the Old Quarter but she does sell the PCs some potions and buys the gold bowl inscribed with demons for 100 gold bezants.  Krivinn and Sharden argue about Madame Zeboltha’s Orcus-topped rod until the old witch asks them to leave. 

The PCs gather their belongings from their houseboat and get ready to leave the city, with a Tenser’s floating disk on hand to carry their gear. Ella buys a net on a pole for Mangesh to catch the nail stealer and leaves him a “helpful” note. As they head for an inn away from Flotsam, they are attacked by the Golden Scimitars. There are six armed attackers and a spitting drake. El’em and Sharden are able to deal with three of the men pretty handily with their spells and prayers. Meanwhile, Mehmed the swashbuckler and Ziper the berserker move in to flank Krivinn, while the drake spits at Gong and Ella and the leader of the gang directs his men’s attacks. Towards the end of the battle, Mehmed switches his attentions to Gong while under Krivinn’s divine challenge and collapses dead as a result! When the PCs kill Ziper and the drake, the Golden Scimitars leader runs away, but not before El’em lands a hefty blow with his quarterstaff.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gilladian

It will be a long time before I actually run my version - we're halfway through Rise of the Runelords, and I contemplate that taking until at least August to conclude. Then we'll start the campaign where I'll be placing some of the Crimson Throne adventures

(oops, helps not to click send too soon)... 

I will certainly try to remember to tell you what happens!


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> It will be a long time before I actually run my version - we're halfway through Rise of the Runelords, and I contemplate that taking until at least August to conclude. Then we'll start the campaign where I'll be placing some of the Crimson Throne adventures
> 
> (oops, helps not to click send too soon)...
> 
> I will certainly try to remember to tell you what happens!




Cool! How did the Hambly Farm encounter with the ghoul scarecrows (Pathfinder #2) go? If I run Scions of Punjar, I thought I'd switch the scarecrow golems in that adventure for the much scarier ghouls.


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

Got back from our holiday in Istanbul last week. Photos here of some of the locations that have ended up in Parsantium.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #14*

Hi,

Here's what happened in our game on Monday night, first session for about a month due to holidays, bank holidays etc. This session took our brave heroes outside the city where they ran into the Hunting Bugbears from Open Design's Wrath of the River King and entered the forest ruins of Gopura. A new PC, Margarita the watersoul genasi warlord, was also introduced. Looking back on it now, Orthas should have sent Krivinn packing and penniless.....


*20th Maius   *
While some of the PCs spend the day shopping for magic items in the Mercantile Quarter, Krivinn heads over the bridge to the Imperial Quarter to visit the Celestial Bastion, the temple of Bahamut in the Grand Ward. Here, he apologises to Orthas, the soylana (master) of the Platinum Knights, for not paying his respects sooner, and presents him with the “Orcus rod” (confiscated from Sharden) and a +1 bastard sword, tripping over his words as he does so. Orthas rewards Krivinn with 100 gp for handing in the rod to be safely locked away or destroyed but isn’t forthcoming with the other 200 gp the dragonborn was looking for. He tells the paladin to come back to the temple when he’s finished questing and is ready to join the Order.
Stay a second night at the Jacinth Harp inn in Aymara Sabban, Maker’s Ward.

*21st Maius * 
Ella, Gong and Krivinn meet Sreedhar at the Seven Chalices Caravanserai near the Camel Gate. The scholar has bought himself a donkey to ride on but has no camping equipment and neither do the PCs. While Gong and Krivinn buy tents and another donkey, a female watersoul genasi approaches Ella and confesses that she is the real culprit behind the sabotage to Mangesh’s houseboat rather than the nail-stealer. Driven out of Flotsam by the furious Mangesh and his friends, she came to find the PCs here. Ella decides it’s better Margarita comes along with the party so she can keep an eye on her. Before leaving Parsantium, she sends an errand boy to Flotsam with a note to Mangesh explaining she had no part in the genasi’s actions.
Set off for the Feyshore Forest with Sreedhar, passing through farmland on the outskirts of the city.

*22nd Maius*
Towards the end of the day, the PCs reach the edge of the forest. Here, they are attacked by seven irritating mossy-coloured forest imps which dive bomb the party. As the PCs fight back, arrows fly out of the trees on the south side of the road, fired by three bugbear hunters hiding in the undergrowth. Sreedhar flees down the trail but Krivinn advances on their positions, but blunders straight into a net trap – fortunately he’s able to escape fairly easily. Margarita also moves into melee, using swiftcurrent to get up the ridge where the bugbears are positioned without hassle. Gong dodges a second trap and the PCs are able to finish off imps and bugbears in a hard fought battle.

*23rd Maius   *
The PCs reach the ruins of Gopura and head through the Elephant Gate into the city. On the other side of the walls, they are attacked by two harpies and four goblins. The harpies use their alluring songs to pull the PCs towards them so they can be attacked with their sharp claws, and their deadly screeches which blast the party with thunder and dazing them. The goblin skullcleaver goes into melee with Krivinn while the warriors throw javelins and the sharpshooter fire arrows from behind the party. Eventually, the PCs take down the harpies and three of the goblins but the archer manages to flee into the trees. Plunder the harpies’ nest.   

Comments?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session 15*

Hi,

Here's what happened in Monday night's session. Suspicious of the monkey-covered temple, the players went in a different direction so I haven't got to run the monkey chase skill challenge yet . It was a fun session nonetheless with the grell and two gricks proving _very_ challenging for six 3rd-4th level PCs.

*23rd Maius*
The party are joined by Sharden and El’em. Sreedhar gives an impromptu lecture on Vrishabha, Srivasta and the early history of Parsantium, then the PCs head through the narrow archway through the walls ahead in single file. Ahead are three stupas, and to the left a temple covered in monkeys and another structure that resembles a chariot. Fearing the monkeys, the party decide to head to the right, towards a series of four rathas (shrines). Krivinn and El’em head into the first ratha, dedicated to the goddess Durga, and search among the debris inside, finding a peridot but no secret doors. 

Next, the PCs head into the second ratha, dedicated to Agni (god of fire). Inside the garhabgriha, the statue of the god is missing – a dark pit is in its place. As Krivinn enters the inner sanctum, a grell flies up out of the pit and strikes the paladin with its poisonous tentacles. Meanwhile, two gricks appear to attack Gong and Margarita. El’em, Ella and Sharden attack the aberrations at range as the gricks move to flank Gong and Margarita and the grell grabs Krivinn, stuns him, and then drops him down the shaft. Margarita goes unconscious under attack from the gricks as Sharden sets one on fire and Ella shoots at them with her bow. El’em goes to help Krivinn who is climbing up the pit but also gets grabbed by the grell and also ends up being dropped down there, unconscious on -13hp. Sharden goes to help but misses. Eventually, El’em uses the gorilla idol he found in Orloch’s lair to heal himself by draining life energy from the grell, killing it. With the two gricks also dead, the PCs decide to take an extended rest in the shrine.

Recovered and rested, the PCs continue east towards the large temple they can see through the trees. Before they can get there, the party are attacked again – this time, by a band of goblins led by a bugbear and a goblin warrior mounted on a carrion crawler. Krivinn challenges the bugbear while El’em pushes the crawler and its rider away from him with thunderwave. Krivinn and the bugbear are both inept in combat and keep missing each other but after a few rounds the PCs are able to finish off their opponents, capturing one goblin warrior who surrenders. 

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Forest Ruins of Gopura & next adventure thoughts*

Hi,

I've been finishing off writing the Forest Ruins adventure this afternoon and I think it's looking in pretty good shape. 

I've added the sadhu (suggested by Loonook) inside the temple of Shiva - he'll point the PCs in the direction of a long series of carvings which tell the story of the founding of Parsantium and warn of the return of the reincarnated Vrishabha (the rakshasa rajah) as soon as his minions can get him freed from the glacier he's imprisoned in. I toyed with the idea of depicting the PCs in the carvings fighting the rajah but I thought this might be going too far in terms of foreshadowing, and might well derail my plans to run them through Wrath of the River King before they return to the city. I also resisted the urge to have the temple collapse a la Indiana Jones after they'd spoken to the sadhu.

There's a faerie dragon for them to run into who can provide some information and light relief, a young maiden to rescue from a nasty ogre in a big cave (complete with fey tigers and water feature) and a howling hag accompanied by goblins, barghests and bugbears. Hopefully all this will make for some memorable encounters!

After Wrath of the River King, it's back to Parsantium for adventures against the rakshasa-controlled Golden Scimitars and the realization that the criminal underworld has something to do with Vrishabha's potential return. They'll be stuff in the Imperial Quarter too - including a chariot race and a trip to the baths - as well as a performance in the Theatre of Aymara.

Comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

I've switched the temple from Shiva to Bauhei (the Black Leopard) to better tie in with the story of the founding of Parsantium.

Adventure nearly finished!


Richard


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## Gilladian

The scarecrows went really well. The paladin felt terrible when he shot two "scarecrows" thinking they were ghouls, and they turned out to be the half-transformed farmfolk...

The party was really kinda sickened by that whole episode, even though I kept the gore down to limits acceptable to a 12 year old.


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> The scarecrows went really well. The paladin felt terrible when he shot two "scarecrows" thinking they were ghouls, and they turned out to be the half-transformed farmfolk...
> 
> The party was really kinda sickened by that whole episode, even though I kept the gore down to limits acceptable to a 12 year old.



Sounds like it worked pretty well! I'll definitely use this encounter if I run Scions of Punjar.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #16*

Hi,

Here's what happened in this Monday's game. The first encounter was pretty straight forward but the second one worked out tougher than I expected!


*23rd Maius (contd)*
As the PCs get ready to move on, Brave Ella spots a movement in the trees. From out of the woods flies a small dragon with iridescent rainbow scales and beautiful butterly wings which flutter so fast that they become a shimmer of multicoloured light.  The dragon introduces himself as Ranjeet Wind-Dancer and chats to the party, telling them about Induma the Moon Hag and Turgesh the ogre (who captured a couple of villagers from Riverbend a few days ago).  Ella takes a bit of a shine to him, as does Krivinn. Ranjeet agrees to act as lookout while the PCs check out two more rathas – one dedicated to Rudra the Archer, the other to Yama (god of the dead). Neither contain treasure or monsters.

Next the PCs head for the Great Temple to the Solar Gods. Krivinn strides straight up the steps to the front entrance and into the Chamber of Ushas (goddess of the dawn) where a bunch of goblins are ready for them.  
Several goblin cutters are wiped out quickly by Sharden and El’em’s prayers and spells and Krivinn and Margarita are able to deal with the barghest savager without too much trouble. However, they have more difficulty with a particularly annoying goblin who throws alchemist’s fire and jars of other stuff at the spellcasters from his backpack, and with the bugbear strangler who manages to grab Krivinn and start throttling him. Ella shoots the big goblin but to her horror, the bugbear swings Krivinn into the path of her arrow!

After searching the chamber and finding nothing of interest apart from the bugbear’s morningstar which Margarita picks up as a second weapon, the party heads through the double doors. Ella checks for traps and listens intently in the corridor beyond, finding and hearing nothing. Krivinn shoves open the doors at the far end which lead into the Chamber of Surya (god of the rising and setting sun). There is nothing in here apart from goblin bedding and vandalised statues of the god so the PCs press on.

At the end of the next corridor are some more double doors behind which Ella can hear voices. Krivinn flings open the doors which lead into the Hall of Savitri (god of the day long sun) and throne room of Induma the Moon Hag. The hag’s court includes a pair of dusk hag archers, a bugbear wardancer, two barghest savagers and a barghest lord. The PCs attack Induma first: Ella uses her splintering shot, bloodying the hag and causing her to teleport away. Unluckily, her minions are not so easy to deal with. The two archers fire at the party from both flanks while the barghest savagers charge into combat and the barghest lord runs round to attack Sharden from the side. Krivinn is soon bloodied and Margarita goes unconscious, is revived, then falls unconscious again under the attacks of the barghests.  Sharden sets one on fire with purging flame while El’em casts flaming sphere and moves it around to harry the wolf-like beasts. Then, one barghest turns Krivinn’s righteous smite back on the paladin, seriously wounding him. As the battle continues one of the hag archers makes a run for it as the PCs down plenty of healing potions to keep going. Finally, only the barghest lord remains – after using its life feed to injure the party and heal itself it too flees and the party breathe a collective sigh of relief!

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #17 Temple of the Black Leopard*

Hi,

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. I got to reveal who the BBEG will be, using the carvings in a temple in the ruins of Gopura. Probably one more session in the ruins before moving on to Wrath of the River King.
*
23rd Maius (contd)*
Pausing only to loot the room and retrieve the +2 homing bow from the dead hag, the PCs head off to the first ratha they explored to rest for the night and recover from their wounds.
*
24th Maius*
El’em, Brave Ella, Margarita and Krivinn return to the Great Temple. Heading back through the first three chambers, they proceed cautiously through the doors they saw the other archer and the barghest battle lord flee through. At the end of the corridor is another room – the Cosmic Chamber of Order and living quarters of Induma the Moon Hag. Inside, Induma, her coven sister-lover and the barghest are waiting. The PCs attack but are beaten back by Induma’s shriek of pain and the barghest’s life feed power. Krivinn slams the doors behind the party and holds them closed with his flail. After a brief rest and a team tactics talk, the PCs return to the fray. This time they concentrate their attacks on the barghest which falls to a killing blow from the dragonborn paladin. Induma howls, pushing everyone away but the adventurers fight back and Krivinn again is the one to deliver the fatal strike. Ella shoots the hag archer twice and then El’em finishes her off with magic missile. The PCs search the room, finding some treasure, as well as a pile of human and humanoid skulls which Krivinn blesses before burying outside. The paladin also takes pains to smash up the evil, occult trappings inside the room.

Next, the PCs head to the impressive temple of the Black Leopard. When they enter, the four-armed statue in the centre of the prayer room and the two cobras draped around over its shoulders come to life and attack. As Krivinn is poisoned and Margarita is bloodied, the PCs decide to withdraw from the fray and rest again. Outside, Ella upsets Ranjeet the faerie dragon who flies off in a huff.

After an extended rest, the party return to the temple and lure the statue into combat with El’em’s flaming sphere. This time, they are victorious – Ella destroys the statue and the others finish off the two snakes. With the guardians disposed of, the PCs are able to open the doors to the garhabgriha (inner sanctum) which holds an enormous statue of Bauhei, the Black Leopard. At the foot of the statue is a sadhu – an ancient mystic named Shankara, who invites the party to walk round the temple and study the carvings to learn the history of Dhak Janjua. The first three storeys of the tower tell the story of Vrishabha’s rise to power and his defeat by Srivatsa but the third floor carvings are more interesting, showing Vrishabha’s imprisonment in a glacier high in the Pillars of Heaven Mountains, rakshasas in modern-day Parsantium, and then yakfolk sorcerers performing a ritual from an ancient book to free the rakshasa rajah, allowing him to take his revenge on the city. Ella rushes down the stairs to talk to the sadhu, who utters a few words about what the PCs have seen just being one possible future before returning to his deep trance.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Suggestions wanted!*

Hi,

After Wrath of the River King (or Scions of Punjar in the second campaign), the PCs will be back in the city, ready to renew their emnity with the Golden Scimitars. Ideally, they will learn of a nefarious plot by the criminal gang and put a stop to it. But what kind of plot?

I'm hoping to incorporate the following locations and scenes into the adventure:

- Fahil's Floating Palace
- a chariot race at the hippodrome
- a performance by Iancu Petronas at the Theatre of Aymara
- the Khanduq of the Nightingale's Song - maybe a big fight here?
- a trip to the baths
- a secret Golden Scimitars base in the Hidden Quarter, maybe underneath the Forest of the Dead.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

Is it possible the Golden Scimitars are trying to put pressure on the Kanduq to pay protection money? They may also be trying to indulge in a bit of blackmail...

If they either had a hostage held to ransom, or they threatened to burn the place, hang around outside and drive off clientele, or otherwise make themselves troublesome, the PCs might be called upon to help out.

Especially if there was a bit of blackmail involved, they might have to make a raid on the Scimitars' hideout...


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #18*

Monday night's shenanigans, in which I learned that vine horrors are tough opponents:


*24th Maius (contd)*

The PCs make their way outside where Sreedhar, Gong and Ranjeet are waiting. Sreedhar is keen to examine the carvings inside but is disappointed that the party smashed the four-armed warrior statue. After their patron has had a good look round and sketched some of the carvings, the PCs decide to head towards the cave in the side of the hill. Here, Brave Ella scouts around the entrance but the adventurers still aren’t sure whether to proceed so Sharden performs the Hand of Fate ritual. The ghostly blue hand is clear, pointing into the cave. Ella fashions a crude torch and the PCs head inside the dark tunnel. 

Ella, Sharden, Krivinn and Margarita head down into the darkness, past crude ogre graffitti and the dead body of a peasant to reach a large cave with an underground stream flowing through the middle. Margarita lights a sunrod, revealing a human woman asleep on a pile of dirty rags and chained to the floor. Looming out of the darkness at the far side of the cavern comes an ogre and his two pet tigers. The two tigers swim across the water to attack Krivinn and Margarita, followed by the ogre – the PCs take down the first tiger but the second one continues to attack the warlord. The ogre smashes Ella for 25 hp damage but she manages to kill it in retaliation, then kicks its corpse in the head several times for good measure. Margarita uses swiftcurrent to cross the stream and charges the tiger, followed by Krivinn. The party finishes off the beast and rescues Mahadevi, the captured peasant woman. Krivinn breaks the news (not that gently!) that her husband Palash is dead and lays hands on her to heal her wounds. Meanwhile, Ella has finished kicking the ogre’s head and cuts it off. The PCs search the cave and find some treasure including a +2 master’s wand of thunderwave and skin the tigers, somewhat inexpertly.

Outside, the party buries Palash’s body and Krivinn says a few appropriate words. Afterwards, the PCs take another extended rest. They promise Mahadevi they will take her back to her village, Riverbend, about ten miles away through the forest. 


*25th Maius*

The PCs head to the ratha at the top of the hill above the ogre’s cave. Unfortunately, the ceiling inside is unstable and Krivinn is only just able to get out before it collapses on his head! 

Next the party heads for the last ratha – this one is overgrown with vines and dedicated to Brihaspati. A few skeletons lie among the twisted vines. Unsurprisingly, the skeletons come to life as the PCs enter. What they didn’t expect were the three vine horrors who appear from behind the garhabgriha to attack the PCs, blinding them with caustic clouds and grabbing them with vicious vines. After a very tough fight the party win the day, with Krivinn delivering the killing blow to the spellfiend. 


We're almost done with the forest ruins adventure - just the monkey skill challenge to go (if they don't bottle it)

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> Is it possible the Golden Scimitars are trying to put pressure on the Kanduq to pay protection money? They may also be trying to indulge in a bit of blackmail...
> 
> If they either had a hostage held to ransom, or they threatened to burn the place, hang around outside and drive off clientele, or otherwise make themselves troublesome, the PCs might be called upon to help out.
> 
> Especially if there was a bit of blackmail involved, they might have to make a raid on the Scimitars' hideout...




Thanks for the suggestions!

Protection rackets and blackmail are definite possibilities. I like the blackmail angle - what kind of things could be at the centre of the blackmail threat?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## Gilladian

It could be that one of the Kanduq's shopkeepers has an illicit past, which if revealed would ruin his current life. Perhaps evidence of this has fallen into the hands of the bad guys, and now he's being blackmailed into performing actions that harm the Kanduq.

Or one of the shopkeepers is carrying out illegal activities in his shop (selling drugs? running a gambling hall? acting as a message drop for some illegal group?). Again, pick what works best for your storyline. That person is open to pressure from the bad guys.

I can't think of anything else right now!


----------



## Jack7

I like Gill's ideas Rich. Perhaps they could be involved in a number of different criminal activities because criminals, especially organized ones, often are.

For instance any individual, group, or organization that would involve themselves in a  protection racket and/or a blackmail scheme would be likely involved in a whole host of criminal activities, anything profitable enough to warrant interest.

A related set of activities might include smuggling, extortion (not just for blackmail in the typical sense, but for favors, influence, etc.), shell companies (merchant activities and shipping companies) and fronting schemes, etc.

Another thing they might be involved in would be allowing or covering for an espionage or spy ring. Something that would be dangerous to the authorities but that an organization like the GS might have ties with. For instance a bazaar would naturally both attract and give cover to (foreign merchants would abound) spies. The GS might have ties with such spies, or even spy groups, maybe even cover them, and then use "fake extortion rackets" so that both groups, the GS, and the spies, tend to benefit in order to finance their operations.

A spy becomes involved with a Khanduq merchant which the GS then says they know about. (They know about it cause they secretly helped plant the initial contacts through a third party or a disguised member of their own party.)

The spy pays money to the merchant to let him operate but the GS then blackmails the merchant threatening to send him up to the authorities. The GS uses the blackmail to recover the money the spy has paid, thus reimbursing the spy while still allowing him to operate, and they blackmail for more than the spy paid in order to cover their own cut of the racket. the merchant is out money for both but is unaware of the relationship between the spy or spies and the GS.

This could lead to a lot of interesting role play opportunities. For instance the merchant or merchants could hire their own "protection" or even spies or undercover operatives to track their enemies and discover what is really going on.

Very nice pics of Istanbul by the way, especially the Hippodrome, the Cistern, and the Blue Mosque.

My own setting is very *Constantinople* oriented (on our world anyway) and so I liked your photos.


----------



## RichGreen

Hi Gilladian & Jack7 -- thanks for the cool suggestions! I've just started running Wrath of the River King (session write up to follow) so I've got a bit of time to develop a Golden Scimitars adventure for when the PCs return and can incorporate your ideas.



Jack7 said:


> Very nice pics of Istanbul by the way, especially the Hippodrome, the Cistern, and the Blue Mosque.
> 
> My own setting is very *Constantinople* oriented (on our world anyway) and so I liked your photos.




Thanks! Just checked out your setting - very cool stuff. 

Totally agree on the Byzantium 1200 website - really useful stuff. I bought a great book done by the people who did the site when I was in Istanbul which I'm going to use to help describe some of the key locations in the Imperial Quarter.

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Session #19 Wrath of the River King Part 1*

Here's what happened in Monday night's session when we kicked off Wrath of the River King:

*25th Maius contd*
The party takes an extended rest after the exhausting battle with the vine horrors. Refreshed, the PCs decide, at last, to brave the Monkey Temple where the little feyshore monkeys gather round the party, climbing all over them. One grabs Sharden’s wand and runs off with it; another snatches Krivinn’s necklace with Bahamut’s symbol  (the one he was given by the Water Boys as a reward). Sharden blasts the two culprits with grasping shards but three others jump on his arm and throw off his aim. Krivinn breathes on a group of monkeys, killing four and horrifying Sreedhar who shouts out that the creatures are sacred to Hanuman. The dragonborn decides to try a different tack and heads for the temple door as Sharden runs after the two thieves who have leapt into the trees. Margarita and Brave Ella follow the dwarf. 

Krivinn goes inside the temple and addresses Hanuman’s statue, explaining his anger at having his precious necklace stolen. The god doesn’t reply but Krivinn leaves him several offerings nonetheless: Ashna’s greenstone hippo, a silver shuriken and a blessed sling. As he kneels down before the idol he spots a loose flagstone – lifting it up he finds a pair of red leather gloves emblazoned with Hanuman’s face.

Meanwhile, the others are chasing the two monkeys. Dashing after them, Sharden blasts the little animals with grasping shards, killing them both. Krivinn’s necklace gets caught on a branch but the invoker’s wand falls out the tree and into the arms of another feyshore monkey who runs off with it! Margarita climbs the tree and manages to retrieve the necklace while Ella and Sharden chase after the wand. Eventually, they catch up with the monkey and Ella is able to coax it down from the treetops. It drops the wand at the PCs’ feet, holding its hands out for food.

Back at the temple, Krivinn carries all the dead monkeys inside but soon brings them back out again when the other monkeys start screeching at him. Instead, he buries the little bodies in the ground. With the burial complete and their items recovered, the PCs beat a hasty retreat from the immediate vicinity and rest for the night. 


*26th Maius*
The PCs divide up the treasure and give Sreedhar his cut – the scholar takes the gold and gems and leaves the party with the magic items they’ve found. Saying farewell to Sreedhar as he returns to Parsantium, the PCs head for the village of Riverbend to take Mahadevi home. 

Towards the end of the day, the PCs arrive at the village mill – across the other side of the dam, two beautiful horses drink from the pond watched by an eladrin knight in green armour and his squire. As the party approach, the knight leaps into his saddle and shouts “Which of you dares cross water guarded by the servants of the River King? None shall pass the river without defeating me first.” He rides on to the dam and challenges Krivinn. Sharden casts offer of justice and then the knight charges the dragonborn paladin. The others ignore (or just don’t get) the principles of single combat and get stuck in. Margarita leads the attack, cutting off the Green Knight’s head and is somewhat surprised when it grows back! Sharden then pushes Sir Oberest into the stream with thunder of judgement. Illisfan the squire uses fey step to appear behind Ella and Sharden as the Green Knight uses his entangling blade to restrain Krivinn after fey stepping back on to the dam. Margarita bull rushes the knight into the water for a second time but the squire is able to knock Sharden in too with his bashing shield. Ella shoots Illisfan, killing him, as the Green Knight flees, chased by Krivinn who takes him down. Sir Oberest’s horse runs off but Margarita manages to grab hold of the squire’s so that Ella can leap on its back. The elf ranger rides round on it for a while but the horse is just lulling her into a false sense of security. While the others search the two eladrin’s bodies, the fey horse steps through the mists and then runs off. Margarita takes the squire’s bashing shield which is decorated with a golden bee on a green field.

The PCs carry on into the village, unimpressed by the welcome they’ve received so far from the people of Riverbend. Outside the Golden Knight Tavern, a crowd is gathered. The PCs talk to the men and women, learning that a talking bear and a gang of satyrs are running riot inside the bar. There is also some talk about Hamid the miller murdering his eladrin wife but the party decide to deal with one issue at a time. Krivinn strides inside the tavern and starts trying to reason with the satyrs. He does well initially but ends up antagonizing the fey who attack. The bear’s fierce roar causes Krivinn and Margarita a lot of trouble, making it hard for them to attack the beast in melee. The satyrs taunt the party, whirling around the taproom and jabbing with their spears. It’s a very tough battle which spills outside into the street. Both Krivinn and Margarita end up bloodied but the PCs are eventually able to kill four of the satyrs and to drive off the fifth one and Redcoat the feyborn bear. 

Any comments?


Richard


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## Garthanos

The Dragonborns actions really made the monkey scene come to life for me... amid the semi standard kill the monkey D&D response


----------



## Gilladian

I really like the fairytale/legendary elements you worked in. I'm running a city campaign right now, and I'm trying to imagine working a "green knight's challenge" in; I can't imagine how I'd do that in an urban setting....


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## RichGreen

Garthanos said:


> The Dragonborns actions really made the monkey scene come to life for me... amid the semi standard kill the monkey D&D response



Thanks - it was a lot of fun to play.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> I really like the fairytale/legendary elements you worked in. I'm running a city campaign right now, and I'm trying to imagine working a "green knight's challenge" in; I can't imagine how I'd do that in an urban setting....




Thanks - I wrote all the forest ruins stuff but the Green Knight and talking bears/satyr encounter are from Wrath of the River King by Wolfgang Baur. Maybe you could look at a trip outside your city? My campaign will be back within Parsantium's walls after this adventure.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*The next adventure!*

Hi,

Been thinking about this while I've been away for a few days.

I'd like to start the adventure with the PCs being hired by Dulicitus the playwright to look into the activities of Iancu Petronas, his avant-garde arch-rival.  Dulicitus will take the PCs to the theatre to see one of Petronas' (excellent) plays and get them interested by implying that Iancu is "connected" to the Old Quarter's criminal fraternity. Hopefully the PCs will be able to find enough dirt on the young upstart to discredit him ahead of the winter Aymaran Festivities.

During the course of the adventure, the PCs will spy on Iancu Petronas and his friends as they carouse their way throughout the Old Quarter, drinking, gambling and whoring. It will become apparent that the playwright himself just likes a good time, but that one or two members of his entourage are involved with the Golden Scimitars. At a meeting at the bathhouse, the PCs gain a few leads into the current activities of the criminal gang and are able to follow these in order to put a spanner in the works - these activities could be as per Gilladian's or Jack7's suggestions.

That's as far as I've got so far. Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*More thoughts on the next adventure*

Hi,

A few more ideas on the Golden Scimitars adventure - what the organization is up to, and some possible encounters for the PCs to get mixed up in using suggestions from Gilladian and Jack7. I need to work out how to get to these from the initial set up though...

*Background*

The Golden Scimitars are planning on expanding their territory from the Old Quarter’s Dock and Poor Wards into the Makers Ward. By siding with different guilds and families against their rivals, the organization is able to gain influence over some important factions in the Old Quarter. Their activities include supporting their allies in the ward’s frequent street fights, blackmail and extortion. Zeno Meverel as Avishandu’s respectable faceman (and owner of numerous businesses in the Poor Ward) is leading the charge on this initiative.

*Events*

1.	At the bathhouse, the PCs witness a murder or something else they shouldn’t – perhaps a secret meeting in the steam room. 

2.	The PCs need to report in regularly to Dulicitus and co. at the Golden Bean Tree coffee house in the Khanduq of the Nightingale’s Song. While meeting their patron, the PCs are witness to a visit from heavies seeking to extort protection money from Yasmina. The Golden Scimitars have already got the Blue Monkey and many of the artists running stalls in the khaduq on their list of “clients”. 

3.	The PCs get caught up in a street fight between two rival guilds or families. They can intervene on one side or the other, help the City Watch break up the fight or keep well clear

4.	Kaham al-Vizhon, proprietor at the White Palm tavern – a popular meeting place for influential Old Quarter merchants – is having an affair with Beatus, an actor and friend of Iancu Petronas, behind his wife’s back¬. The Golden Scimitars have found out and are blackmailing Kaham. The hapless barkeep has been forced to install a pair of Golden Scimitar spies on the staff so they can keep an eye on guild goings-on.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

All of them sound interesting. How are the PCs going to get mixed up in Kaham's trouble? Will they maybe dine at the White Palm and recognize an enemy on the staff? Or Kaham might ask his "old friend" Dulicitis to recommend someone that can help him "with a problem"?


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> All of them sound interesting. How are the PCs going to get mixed up in Kaham's trouble? Will they maybe dine at the White Palm and recognize an enemy on the staff? Or Kaham might ask his "old friend" Dulicitis to recommend someone that can help him "with a problem"?



Both good ideas - thanks! I had been thinking the PCs might spot Kaham arguing with someone from the Golden Scimitars over installing their spies on the staff but either of these would work better. 

I'll post the outline I've done so far later.

Cheers


Richard


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## Jack7

I like a lot of your ideas Rich, and I like what Gill suggested.

Some thoughts that occurred to me.




> 1.	At the bathhouse, the PCs witness a murder or something else they shouldn’t – perhaps a secret meeting in the steam room.




At the bathhouse they might view events which seem perfectly innocuous, though somewhat strange or out of the ordinary. Only later do they find a body, or the appearance of a murder without the corpus or corpora delicti, but with plenty of supporting evidence that something very bad, maybe even brutal happened. Then they would have to figure out what exactly occurred based upon their own observations and some investigative work. The crime might have been real and would then lead them to a suspect or suspects (involving the wider storyline), or it might have been a plant or a set-up in order to lure them into a trap or along a false trail.

Another thing I thought of regarding the bathhouse. Suppose there is the common or public bath and smaller areas for private patrons or clients. The PCs may have been allowed access to the private areas only to discover that the water they are bathing in is full of small but poisonous serpents, toads, fish, perhaps even water insects or arachnids. (Which they only discover after disrobing and entering the water, which might be cloudy from mineral or warm springs.)

Then again they might find that the water they bathe in is filled with a powerful contact drug or hallucinogen, which they can absorb through their skin.




> 2.	The PCs need to report in regularly to Dulicitus and co. at the Golden Bean Tree coffee house in the Khanduq of the Nightingale’s Song. While meeting their patron, the PCs are witness to a visit from heavies seeking to extort protection money from Yasmina. The Golden Scimitars have already got the Blue Monkey and many of the artists running stalls in the khaduq on their list of “clients”.




The PCs might discover that there is a split among the Scimitars. That there is a young, brash, popular fellow in the group who is peeling away work from the main group, and that he had originally done so clandestinely, but is now working openly. It could lead to an interesting role play situation, and an opportunity for the PCs to insert a man into the break-always, or to somehow work the two groups against each other. As the group seeks to expand operations into new areas this would be a perfect time for a split as one faction seeks to expand cautiously and without stirring up a lot of new enemies, but the younger or more ambitious man seeks to his old leaders, grab power for himself, or maybe even start his own rival criminal organization.




> 3.	The PCs get caught up in a street fight between two rival guilds or families. They can intervene on one side or the other, help the City Watch break up the fight or keep well clear




This situation reminded me of a device I often use called the Counterparty. I'm gonna write up a thread about it in another forum but basically the idea is a party who are rivals to the party you are running in your game (the party of your players). It doesn't have to be a direct one to one correspondence, but the rival party does have to be either adversaries or in direct competition with the PCs. For instance here is a *Party* (of my players), and here is that party's *Counterparty*. If the counterparty is filled with generally friendly competitors, then they are Rivals. If they are dangerous rivals then they are Adversaries. If they are sworn or blood enemies then I call them Nemeses. Of course these categories of competition can change or alter over time.

I'm not speaking of the Scimitars though they could potentially employ the Counterparty or the counterparty could even be enemies of the Scimitars. To the PCs the counterparty could be potential rivals, adversaries, nemeses, or even unlikely allies.

In any case I think this situation is perfect for the counterparty. 




> 4.	Kaham al-Vizhon, proprietor at the White Palm tavern – a popular meeting place for influential Old Quarter merchants – is having an affair with Beatus, an actor and friend of Iancu Petronas, behind his wife’s back¬. The Golden Scimitars have found out and are blackmailing Kaham. The hapless barkeep has been forced to install a pair of Golden Scimitar spies on the staff so they can keep an eye on guild goings-on.




You know the party could be victims of the same basic tactic. The Scimitars find out about the party, how they operate, who they normally protect and like, work with, etc. Then they plant a person, maybe an orphan or girl who needs help, and the party seeks to help them. All of the time the scimitars are using the plant to spy upon the party so as to anticipate their moves, etc. Another interesting role play opportunity and another set of mysteries as the PCs try and figure out who is leaking info or how they are being anticipated or thwarted.


Get luck Rich. You've got a really interesting and well developed world and setting. Your players probably have an awful lot of fun when you guys play.


----------



## RichGreen

Jack,

Thanks for all your suggestions!


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

Here's what happened in this week's session - second part of _Wrath of the River King._

*26th Maius*

With the bear and satyrs dealt with the PCs demand that the tavern-keeper, Nikola, takes them to the barn where the miller is being held prisoner. Pellham the guard won’t let them inside so the party go to see Kemal, the village muhtar (headman) who is convinced of Hamid’s guilt despite a lack of any real evidence. Margarita, Ella and Sharden go to the mill pond to see if they can find a body while Krivinn goes to talk to Hamid. 

At the mill pond, the PCs run into a strangely-dressed tiefling who introduces himself as “the god-king Koh-Bar”; he claims to be searching for clues leading to a sect with a twisted draconic symbol – Sharden recognises his as the mark of the Twisted Rune. The dwarf goes off to tell Krivinn of the new arrival while Margarita dives into the pond. The genasi can’t find the missing miller’s wife but she does spot a millstone marked with elven runes on the bottom. Krivinn, meanwhile, has been speaking to the confused Hamid who begs for help from the party in finding his missing wife whom he believes has been dragged back to the Feywild by goblins after the two of them argued. 

The dragonborn goes to the mill with Sharden where Ella and Koh-Bar are continuing to argue. Koh-Bar heads into the village and goes to the Golden Knight where he frightens one of the villagers. The others go inside the mill and meet a young boy with blond hair who calls himself Flax and says he’s the miller’s son. His story is confusing and the PCs don’t think he’s telling them the (whole) truth. Krivinn goes back to see Kemal again and gets the muhtar to agree to let the PCs investigate Ellessandra’s disappearance thoroughly over the next couple of days before trying Hamid. 

By this time it’s starting to get dark so all the PCs go back to the mill. Koh-Bar stays outside, lights a bonfire and declares that the mill and the surrounding area are safe from monsters and evil. Then he goes to sleep. Inside, Sharden fails to pick the lock to the counting room and triggers the magic mouth so Ella kicks the door in. Rest for the night –Margarita falls asleep while she’s meant to be on watch. When she wakes up, Flax is nowhere to be seen.


*27th Maius*

First Margarita, then Ella and Krivinn swim down into the millpond and pass into the Feywild. After some dithering, Sharden and Koh-Bar tie themselves together and jump in afterwards. 

The PCs find themselves under the waters of a rushing river in the Feywild. All five manage to get their heads above water but struggle to get out of the current and lose various bits of their gear. Ella loses a boot and Margarita loses her waterskin in the churning waters but Sharden suffers the most, losing his ritual scroll of eye of alarm, his quarterstaff, his boot (with concealed thieves tools) and his hat. Koh-Bar loses his backpack but more importantly, his “gold” crown. Krivinn and Ella grab hold of a log and Margarita who has made it to the bank helps them out by throwing a rope. However, Sharden and Koh-Bar, both poor swimmers, are still floundering in the water and look to be heading over a waterfall. Desperate situations sometimes call for desperate solutions. Brave Ella uses split the tree to fire arrows with ropes tied to the ends into both PCs – Koh-Bar makes a salmon leap out of the water to make sure she hits him. The two hapless PCs take 19 hp damage each (which drops Koh-Bar to 2 hp!) but they are able to grab hold of the ropes and are dragged to safety just in time to avoid going over the falls. 

The damp and gravely injured PCs are tended to by Margarita’s inspiring words of healing but as they rest briefly, the waters start to churn – over a dozen large eel-like creatures are slithering towards the river bank!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

Here's my write up of Monday night's game :

*27th Maius (contd)*
Confronted by the baying pack of eel hounds, Brave Ella climbs up the grassy bank where she can take potshots at them, but Krivinn, Koh-Bar and Margarita soon find themselves surrounded by frenzied eels and slipping all over the place on the muddy shore. Koh-Bar goes unconscious from multiple slithering bites. To rescue the tiefling, Krivinn lays hands on him, then throws him up the bank. Meanwhile, the pack leader has eel-spat at Ella twice and then closes to attack her at close quarters. Koh-Bar uses his thunder leap to jump back into the action, misses three out of four eel hounds, ends up unconscious again and then fails two death saves before being healed by Krivinn. Margarita revives Ella who is being attacked by the leader and then slays the beast after it’s bloodied by Krivinn. Weary from their travails, the PCs head up the creek to find somewhere to rest for the night as it’s getting dark.

The party set up camp – Ella talks about building a fire but using this word seems to freak out Koh-Bar who runs off into the woods, ranting and raving. While he’s gone, Ella makes her small fire. Koh-Bar spots a man of leaves in the trees and returns to the others but Krivinn says the word “fire” again, causing the sorcerer to run off again. When he comes back for a second time, Krivinn sets him off for a third time, then Sharden does. Eventually the PCs stop tormenting the tiefling as twigs in their campfire start screaming and writhing around as if in agony! Krivinn grabs several twigs out of the flames, burning himself in the process,  and then lays hands on the sticks in an effort to heal them. The party don’t light another fire and Sharden uses a scroll to cast magic mouth to guard the campsite.

The PCs settle down to rest but Ella’s watch is disturbed by a flock of owls swooping and diving through the camp. Fortunately the others get back to sleep and the party manages to take an extended rest.

*
Feywild, Day 2*

The PCs continue to follow the creek upstream, running into a group of fey and their two hunting boars. They refuse to bow down and swear fealty to the eladrin so battle ensues. The Black Fey runners turn invisible and blind the PCs with their feyshot wands while the boars charge Krivinn and Margarita and the witch surrounds herself in a shadowy aura. After a tough battle where the PCs don’t know where to target with their powers, the PCs are victorious but two of the Black Fey runners manage to escape.

Any comments? Koh-Bar the sorcerer is played by someone who likes changing characters regularly and playing flawed PCs. In Red Hand of Doom, he playing a blind monk with a talking guide dog!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Golden Scimitars Adventure Outline*

Hi,

This is long overdue to be posted, but I've had no time to work on this recently. This outline doesn't yet incorporate most of the cool suggestions from Gilladian and Jack7.

*Day 1*
1.	The PCs are back in Parsantium and receive a messenger snake with tickets for the theatre
2.	Meet Dulicitus & friends at the play, adventure briefing
3.	Follow Iancu & friends after the play to the Winking Vixen -- some kind of skill challenge to do this? Need to make it so all PCs are involved if possible.
•	Need names & descriptions for the actors – Iancu, Beatus, Francio plus three or four others.
•	Chance to hear/see Zeno arguing with Eusebia over the accounts
4.	Follow Iancu & friends home to their lodgings in the Aymara Sabban in the early hours of the morning

*Day 2*
5.	Iancu & friends meet for late breakfast/lunch at the Golden Bean Tree. 
•	Yasmina is threatened by thugs from the Golden Scimitars – PCs get the chance to run these thugs off
•	Chance to notice that Francio and thugs seem to recognise each other
6.	After the play, Iancu and friends go to Fahil’s – Beatus goes to meet Kaham.
•	Spot Francio first meeting XXX of the Golden Scimitars to get instructions, and then buying drugs
•	Fahil may take an interest in the PCs (especially if they’ve been here before or have a reputation)
•	Might see Glyn Merryfield losing money
•	Chance to spot Zeno?

*Day 3*
7.	Iancu & friends meet for late breakfast/lunch at the Golden Bean Tree. Francio isn’t present, Beatus is showing off a new piece of jewellery (a gift from Kaham)
8.	Street fight encounter
•	Masons vs potters
•	Masons seem to have extra back-up – they do, from the Golden Scimitars – and the potters are getting thrashed
•	The bells ring for the City Watch
•	PCs have a chance to recognise Francio in a hood, and also one or two NPCs from the City Attack encounter (2b)
•	What can the PCs find out here by interrogating Francio, potters or masons?
9.	The PCs need to report in to Dulicitus and are to meet him at the White Palm <use map in KQ #10> 
•	Chance to spot Kaham arguing with Golden Scimitars thugs over installing spies on the staff
•	Maybe Zeno is present, meeting with a guild head (perhaps even Bahram Peroz but probably best not)
10.	After the play, Iancu and friends head to the Flaming Vixen
•	May recognise Firmina from Orloch’s slave market
•	Chance to encounter the sinister Marcus Hape <Elder Evils>?
•	Francio looks beaten up a bit

*Day 4*
11.	Iancu & friends meet for late breakfast/lunch at the Golden Bean Tree. 
•	Possible return of GS extortion crew?
12.	Bathhouse
•	Iancu and his friends go to the baths <use map in Backdrops>
•	Thuggee/GS killers attempt to murder Bahram Peroz, Speaker of the Guild of Weavers and Dyers. PCs should try and stop the killers.
•	If they succeed, Bahram will be able to explain quite a bit of what’s been going on – he turned down an offer of “help” from Zeno Meverel and his “organization”, that the Golden Scimitars are trying to gain control of the Ward etc
•	If Bahram is killed, the PCs will need to get the information from elsewhere!
13.	Eusebia is murdered – how do the PCs find out? 

By this stage, the PCs have probably sussed out the following:
-	Iancu isn’t really involved in any crime but Francio and, indirectly, Beatus are.
-	Zeno & the Golden Scimitars are trying to take control of the Makers Ward
-	Zeno owns the Winking Vixen and Fahil’s Floating Palace so someone in these locations can probably point them in the right direction. 
-	Hints from Naelere if required – maybe in a different guise here. Deva?
-	His legitimate office above the Winking Vixen is abandoned but the PCs can find a secret door and hidden staircase leading down into the Hidden Quarter.

The climax of the adventure would take place in Zeno Meverel's Hidden Quarter hideout:

This is in the tunnels of the Hidden Quarter and is accessible from the Winking Vixen. The PCs can make their way there and deal with Zeno and his crew. 
•	One encounter en route, using sewer tiles. 
•	Hideout is located in well-preserved building(s) of former old city? Bits of old Dhak Janjua architecture?
•	Three or four encounters (?) in hideout – traps and NPCs/monsters
•	Clues in the underground hideout will drop more obscure hints about Avishandu. 


Any comments?

Cheers


Richard


----------



## RichGreen

*Wrath of the River King Session #4*

Hi,

Write up of Monday night's game below:

*Day 2, contd
*
Sharden and Krivinn don’t return from their pursuit of the two fleeing Black Fey runners. Unsure of what to do, Brave Ella, Margarita and Koh-Bar the God King head back down the creek. After a while, Ella spots a colourfully-painted wagon through the trees. She creeps up to investigate only to be attacked and mocked by a speeding fey (a quickling). Near the wagon is a large bare tree, full of roosting dire crows; another quickling whizzes round. Ella calls on the others to help as the quicklings and crows attack. Since the fey are trying to goad the PCs into speaking, Koh-Bar tries (and fails) to impress them with a tiefling poem but Margarita manages to show off her knowledge of fey history, Ella demonstrates her affinity for nature and the sorcerer does manage to spin an entertaining yarn about his favourite topic – himself. The quicklings reveal some important information* but ultimately, the PCs’ words fail to win them over and all out battle ensues. Koh-Bar gets rid of all but one crow with thunder leap and Margarita manages to bull rush one fey into the ravine. The tiefling is soon unconscious, falling to a quickling's strike, but both fey run for it shortly afterwards once bloodied. They dash inside the tree and don’t reappear. Inside, there is no sign of them – just a ring of toadstools growing amongst dead leaves. Wounded after the fight, the PCs decide to sleep in the wagon for the night.

*
Day 3*

The PCs wake up and go outside to find their surroundings have changed – they are clearly somewhere else entirely! Hearing running water, they head towards it to find themselves on the bank of a slow-moving river. Standing on lily pads are two giant frogs and their goblin riders. The PCs try to negotiate but this doesn’t get them very far as the frogs charge across the lily pads to engage the party. Koh-Bar uses his thunder leap to get amongst them and the PCs win the day. In one of the saddlebags they find a scroll containing an invite to the Birch Queen’s Fair.

Crossing the river, the PCs head along a trail, finding a folded up piece of parchment ahead of them on the ground. Koh-Bar’s “reversed earthquake surge” doesn’t manage to lift it up so he bends down and picks it up. “Leave!” is all it says (in Elvish).

Carrying on along the road, the party come out of the forest and into hilly countryside where they spot a gaily coloured tent. Here, they join three eladrin at a picnic: Lady Sorreminx, Sir Yngress the Red and Lord Chelessfield, Master of the Alpine Marches. The PCs try to amuse the fey with their witty repartee and interesting anecdotes while deflecting some of Lord Chelessfield’s more tricky questions (such as where Margarita got her shield). They do pretty well but then Margarita talks of a challenge. Sir Yngress seizes on her words and challenges the genasi to a duel, giving the warlord no choice but to accept. The fey don’t play fair though – Margarita gets ready to face the eladrin but is surprised when he leaps onto his riding boar. Sir Yngress’ charge bloodies the genasi with his first strike, winning the challenge. This means that each PC has to give Lady Sorreminx a gift and swear fealty to her. Koh-Bar tries to resist but his refusal comes out as an oath of loyalty to the lady. Each PCs is given a badge with her symbol – a cricket - to wear.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Theatrical NPCs*

Hi,

Here's a few notes on some of the NPCs who will appear in the Theatre of Aymara/Golden Scimitars adventure. Please feel free to suggest some additional actors to hang round with Iancu Petronas or help me expand on these guys:

*The Three Traditional Dramatists*

*Dulicitus* is bald with a bushy beard and bushy grey hair sticking out. He is pompous and dismissive of Iancu’s “new-fangled and vulgar” plays. His best known play is The Fall of the Dragon King.

*Vetranis* is also bald with a craggy face (a bit like Alun Armstrong) and big eyes. He writes witty comedies but is morose and humourless to meet.

*Gerontius *is red-faced and has a deep, booming voice. He often doesn’t realise how loud he is talking (or rather, shouting).


*Iancu & Company*

*Iancu Petronas:* Iancu has olive skin, striking green eyes, a neat beard, and long hair tied back with a silver circlet decorated with Aymara’s symbol (a lyre). Charismatic, talented and eloquent, Iancu is brilliant with words but is also a capable musician and singer. He loves women, drinking and bantering with friends and enemies alike.

*Beatus: *Attractive, vain, and more than a bit dim, Beatus is nevertheless capable of reciting his lines with great passion and is frequently cast by Iancu in the leading role in his plays, much to Francio’s disgust. Beatus is gay and loves to wear plenty of bling. He has a succession of wealthy admirers around the Old Quarter who shower him with jewellery in return for his affections. 

*Francio: *Francio is a jealous man, resentful of Beatus getting the best parts when he, Francio, is a better actor. He has an expensive pesh habit and has got himself in debt to a dangerous loan shark. To avoid being beaten up for not keeping up with his payments, he is now doing some work for the Golden Scimitars on the side. Although he is good at putting on an air of confidence (he’s a great actor!), Francio knows things never seem to work out for him and is a man on the edge. He is likely to come across as edgy and nervous (made worse by the pesh) when not playing to the crowd.


*Marcus Hape:* handsome, wavy black hair, neat beard but dark tastes, frequent visitor to the Fallen Angel, coming under the thrall of the demon lord Malcanthet, Queen of Succubi. Comes across as creepy – intense, penetrating stare.

*Salman:* balding, bearded, furrowed brow from worrying

*Ediz:* thick mop of untidy dark hair, always injects a laugh into conversation, likes a drink
*
Diti:* a pretty Sahasran actress with striking almond eyes. Diti will meet the others for breakfast but doesn’t go carousing. She is focused on breaking through as a successful actor and has made it clear she’s not interested in romantic involvement with any of the others.


Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

Hi,

I've been neglecting this thread, mostly because I've been on holiday! There are two more sessions of Wrath of the River King to update on, but more importantly, I need to get going on the Golden Scimitars/Theatre adventure.

Any suggestions on the above gratefully received and I'll try and post an update on what I've come up with as soon as I have something new!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Wrath of the River King Session #5*

Hi,

A few sessions of Wrath to catch up on. I was in two minds about posting these as the adventure is a big tangent as far as the main campaign narrative is concerned, but what the hell!

*Day 3 (contd.)*
The PCs leave the eladrin, following their directions to the Birch Queen’s Fair. Margarita and Koh-Bar manage to lose Brave Ella who is scouting ahead in the forest. Koh-Bar realises Margarita is standing inside a giant footprint – more head into the trees. Not sure what else to do, the pair follow the colossal tracks, ending up in a clearing with a standing stone and a trussed-up Sharden hanging upside-down in a tree. They rescue the dwarf who is pleased to see them but can’t remember how he got there.

Venturing on, the trio come towards an enormous fallen tree as storm clouds gather overhead and it begins to rain. Standing on the tree trunk is a red-cap wearing dwarf – the Nain Rouge, lightning crackling from his fingertips. He blasts the PCs with strong winds, knocking them over and shooting them with electric ray attacks. As the PCs move to escape the zone of empathic weather, the Nain Rouge attacks Koh-Bar with his sharp claws, knocking the tiefling unconscious. Meanwhile, Sharden has found the unconscious Ellessandra behind the trunk and manages to wake her up. Margarita chases the bloodied Nain Rouge along the top of the log but the fey retaliates with a fog cloud which blinds the party as Sharden summons his onyx dog. By the time the PCs get out of the cloud, the redcap is nowhere to be seen.

The PCs talk to Ellessandra who explains she came to the Feywild to bring up her son, Flax. When the party tell her about Hamid being arrested for murder, the eladrin gives the PCs her wedding ring and a note saying she is alive and well. She also gives them the correct directions to the Birch Queen’s Fair. Rest.

*Day 4*
The PCs talk their way into the Fair past the ettin, Garag-Naran. In return, the party must bring him an amphora of feywine from Ambertan the Warlock and a loaf of bread with honey.

The party wander the stalls. Koh-Bar is put off by the price of a “house goblin” and Margarita asks Voyland the Smith about trading in his longsword for a bastard sword. The eladrin smith is willing to do a deal – he’ll swap the sword if the PCs drive the horrible little gnome weapons dealer, Mudflick, from the Fair. At Mudflick’s tent, Margarita provokes an attack from the spriggan and his four friends but the gnomes defeat the party pretty handily – Margarita is knocked unconscious and Sharden has to drag the genasi’s body out of harm’s way. The PCs beat a hasty retreat from the tent, nursing their wounds.


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## RichGreen

*Wrath of the River King Session #6*

With Margarita conscious again, she and Koh-Bar head over to a market stall manned by a trio of leprechauns chanting annoying rhymes. The fey introduce themselves as Seamus, Patrick and Michael and offer for sale some of the gear the PCs lost in the river. To win their stuff back, the pair have to answer riddles – Koh-Bar recovers his crown and Margarita wins Sharden’s boot before the tiefling gives a wrong answer and loses both items again! To get his crown back again, the sorcerer gives up two points of intelligence (Gift of the Mind) for a day.

As they leave the stall, the two PCs are approached by a shifter named Rami, a shaman, who explains he has a score to settle with Mudflick – the gnome has stolen a spear from his tribe. While they chat to Rami, a goblin approaches with a tray of sugared plums. All three PCs eat one (Rami has two) and end up tripping, imagining themselves as mice and the fey stallholders as feral cats! The party head for a tree away from the market and wait for the plums to wear off.

Next, the PCs visit the tent of Ambertan the Black Fey Warlock – here Koh-Bar gives up a Memory of Great Prowess (100 xp) in exchange for directions to someone who can help them get home – Tatzel the Green whose lair lies to the east. Margarita trades her history skill (Gift of Learning) for two days for an amphora of feywine. Then, the PCs leave the tent before giving up anything else!

They buy a loaf of bread at a baker’s stall and talk to the wolfen Rhorlief who has rituals for sale including the Fey Road ritual. Deciding that they don’t want to pay his price of their memories of their masters, the PCs say they’ll come back later. Margarita takes up the challenge of an ogre boxer after Koh-Bar declines. Unfortunately her biggest blows aren’t enough to hurt her opponent and she ends up yielding after the ogre hits her very hard indeed. The PCs study the next bout but can’t figure out what’s going on. As they stand there, a robed eladrin calls out to them, offering moments in time for sale. This mage, Orelliar, trades one of Koh-Bar’s future moments of success for the memory of Lady Wickerbell’s wedding to Lord Apicus in the Great Rippling Hall of the River Court.

Under a giant mushroom, the PCs run into two goblins, Splug and Nobby who are selling more of the party’s missing equipment. Brave Ella turns up while the others talk to the goblins and buys back her boot. After this, Ella heads to Mudflick’s shop and threatens the gnome which kicks off a second battle with the party. Rami uses his shielding fire to damage anyone who attacks Margarita – this kills Moppsy. Koh-Bar kills Maggle and then Mudflick with thunderleap; Ella slays Modred. Rami recovers his tribe’s longspear but the Birch Queen’s arrival stops wholesale looting by the others in the party. The PCs drag Mayhem, the one surviving gnome, to see Voyland as evidence they’ve driven off the spriggans. The eladrin smith exchanges Margarita’s +1 magic longsword for a +1 lightning bastard sword.

The gnomes dealt with, the PCs head to the Herald’s Field where Brave Ella shoots in the archery contest and manages to get through to the next round of the competition to become the Birch Queen’s Consort. She wins a honeycomb.


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## RichGreen

*Wrath of the River King Session #7*

In the second round of the contest to become the Birch Queen’s contest, Ella is up against Oiglas the centaur’s nature stories, Sir Arnovar’s poetry, Harrowdin the Black Fey’s grim anecdotes and Sir Yngress the Red’s hunting stories. She makes it through to the third and final round with a virtuoso display of acrobatics.

Round three is an audience with the Birch Queen at her table on the Lords and Ladies Mount. The other PCs are invited too and do their best to support Ella in her conversation with the Queen but in the end the ranger balks at the one year term as consort and the Queen, perhaps fortunately, favours the charming Eagle Knight, Sir Arnovar, who has the added advantage of being male. Ella is offered and accepts the Queen’s badge.

As the PCs make their way off to bed – well, bedroll under the stars – they run into Ellessandra. More time has passed than they thought as the eladrin talks as if she and the PCs met a long time ago rather than yesterday. She warns the PCs that the River King is likely to raid Riverbend for not making the agreed offerings.


*Day 5
*
Ella trades her woodcraft skills to the lone wolf, Rhorlief for the Fey Roads ritual (-1 to attack rolls, skill checks, saving throws and ability checks). The PCs then decide to leave the fair. As they head towards the exit and the ettin, they witness the arrival of Lord Flax – recognised by Margarita as the grown-up version of the young lad they met inside the mill in Riverbend. Lord Flax is recruiting fey for a raid on Riverbend and won’t be persuaded otherwise by Krivinn. Ambertan the Warlock and the Black Fey are the first to join up. As Lord Flax makes ready to petition the River King for permission to attack the village, the PCs head past Garag-Nagan and out of the fair.

Heading east along the Straight Road, the PCs turn off to visit the clearing of Tatzel the wyrm. The area is full of mist, making it hard to see. Krivinn, Sharden and Ella are attacked by the dragon’s dragonborn protectors as Koh-Bar and Margarita face off against Tatzel who attacks with bite, claws and dragon breath. Koh-bar, who gave up a future moment of success at the Fair, fails a saving throw to shake off the dragon’s poison.

As the battle goes on, the PCs realise that fire can clear the mist, making things easier. Once Brave Ella has killed the dragonborn attacking her, she shoots Tatzel which bloodies the dragon – a dozen kobolds spring up from his blood but luckily Sharden is able to take most of them out with taste the star’s fall. Unluckily, this fills the area up with smoke, making it hard to see again! Eventually, the PCs force Tatzel to yield and he gives up the secret of returning to the natural world – the PCs must travel to the False Mill, following the river towards the Cedar Mountains. By swimming down to touch the millstone at the bottom of the pond, they can return to Riverbend. Koh-bar also asks how he can learn more about his godly origins – Tatzel says the Oak King might be able to answer this question.


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## RichGreen

*Wrath of the River King Session #8*

To bring everything right up to date:

*Feywild Day 5, contd.*
After the battle with Tatzel, the PCs head to a safe distance down the Straight Road and then camp. While Koh-Bar is on watch, hundreds of moths gather around the campfire, forming into alluring female shapes. Koh-Bar is suspicious, blasting the moths with burning spray, but they soon return and reform. He wakes the others and in the end gives in and dances with one of the “moth women”. After a while, they disperse and the PCs go back to sleep.

*Day 6*
The next morning the Straight Road fizzles out as the woods around the PCs grow darker and more foreboding. Sharden harvests some sickly green mushrooms before the party follow Koh-Bar into the trees. The forest starts to look familiar – reminiscent of the lands of the Black Fey the adventurers were in before going to the fair. Bits of chainmail fall from the trees above – looking up the PCs see severed limbs and mummified heads hanging from the branches. Then, having lost track of the others in the dingy woods, Sharden, Koh-Bar and Margarita enter a clearing draped in spider webs – they can hear raspy voices speaking in Elvish.

As the PCs move forward, Sharden summons Rover, his onyx dog. The trees are inhabited by a pair of ettercaps led by Ariabelina the Lady Clatterspin; the ground is crawling with spiders. Margarita advances to the tree which the ettercap guards are standing in – Lady Clatterspin throws a web at the genasi trapping her. To make things worse, she’s poisoned by one of the guards which stuns her and then bitten by a spider and knocked prone. Sharden blasts the webs with taste the star’s fall but this does 9 hp to Margarita and also fills the area with smoke (again!) As the dwarf goes to help Margarita, Koh-Bar is killing spiders with thunder leap and burning spray and Rover manages to kill one of the ettercap guards. However, the tiefling is surrounded by more arachnids – he goes unconscious and fails two death saves. Margarita and Sharden get out of the smoke and webs and fight the last guard, the spiders and Lady Clatterspin. Sharden tries to parlay as poor Koh-Bar breathes his last, failing his final death save. The ettercap lady agrees to let the PCs withdraw if they leave Koh-Bar’s body behind as suggested by the dwarf.

The two PCs back away, heading along a gorge. As they leave the area, they spot bright blue, green and orange “death butterflies” feeding on a dead owlbear.


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## RichGreen

*Golden Sciimtars adventure: skill challenge*

Hi,

Back on the Golden Scimitars adventure, here's what I've got so far for the skill challenge where the PCs need to shadow Iancu Petronas and his actor pals as they go out carousing. I used one from The Temple Between in Dungeon #161 as a starting point.

_You file out of the theatre with the rest of the crowd and head around the side to the stage door where a small group of admirers is waiting for a glimpse of the actors.  After chatting to their fans for a few minutes, Iancu and companions head off._


*Skill Challenge*
_You make your way through the dark streets of Parsantium, trying to keep Iancu and friends within your sight without alerting them to your presence._

Level 7, XP 300
Complexity 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills
Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, Stealth, Streetwise.

Acrobatics (DC 14)
Any given character can attempt Acrobatics only once in this fashion, whether he or she succeeds or fails, and a failure costs the PC a healing surge as well as counting as a failure. A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.
•	The PC darts around a corner, tumbles over a gap between rooftops, or otherwise stays near the quarry at an angle that makes the PC harder to detect.

Athletics (DC 14)
Any given character can attempt Athletics only once in this fashion, whether the PC succeeds or fails, and a failure costs the PC a healing surge as well as counting as a failure. A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.
•	Much like Acrobatics, the PC climbs walls, leaps between roofs or balconies, and otherwise follows by staying out of direct line of sight.

Perception (DC 18)
This does not qualify as a success, but succeeding on this check grants the party a +2 bonus to all further checks in this challenge until someone fails a check.
•	The PC carefully watches the targets to keep them in view even from a distance or behind other people on the street.

Stealth (DC 14)
A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.  
•	Darting behind pedestrians, into doorways, and through shadows, you move street to street without being seen. 

Streetwise (DC 22)
A successful check counts as two successes. Once made, the characters cannot use Streetwise again for this skill challenge
•	By using knowledge of Parsantium’s Old Quarter, the PC can anticipate where the actors are going.

Success:
The PCs follow Iancu & his friends across Srivasta’s Bridge* into the Makers Ward (where Diti leaves the group), through the lively tavern district and into the Poor Ward’s dockside red-light district without being spotted. The group heads inside a Southside waterfront establishment called the Winking Vixen on Grape Lane.

Failure:
If the PCs fail the challenge, they lose sight of their quarry somewhere in the red-light district, take a wrong turn and run into the Grape Lane Bashers – a gang of enforcers and criminals, loosely affiliated (paying tribute to) the Golden Scimitars. The Bashers decide to drive the PCs off their turf with violence (7th level encounter, 1,675 xp)

Once they have dealt with the encounter, the PCs get a lucky break as the actors come out of a pub before heading into the Vixen.

The Grape Lane Bashers 
Encounter Level Difficulty: Standard (1675 xp)
This encounter includes the following: 
•	1 Gnoll Mercenary
•	1 Half-Elf Bandit Captain
•	1 Human Ambusher
•	1 Human Knife Fighter
•	1 Human Slaver

Any comments? One thing I'm worried about is that the PCs are going to need to follow these guys night after night so keeping this interesting is going to be challenging. Maybe it can be much simplified after this first challenge?

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

I would simplify after the first night, and then every once in a while throw in a side-encounter, maybe related like the alley bashers, or maybe just a random person/happening on the street to bring the city to life. And to throw out more adventure possibilities, of course...

Sometimes the (nearly) random stuff is what is the most fun.


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> I would simplify after the first night, and then every once in a while throw in a side-encounter, maybe related like the alley bashers, or maybe just a random person/happening on the street to bring the city to life. And to throw out more adventure possibilities, of course...
> 
> Sometimes the (nearly) random stuff is what is the most fun.




Yeah, I think that's the best thing to do. I'm probably going to use group stealth checks (as per DMG2?) after this first skill challenge.

I ran the last full session of Wrath of the River King on Monday so I need to get working on this adventure for next week!

Any encounter ideas?

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Short Old Quarter encounter*

1.	Two arcanists from the Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus have an argument/magic pissing contest in the street. They are both a bit drunk and are demonstrating their respective powers to each other. 
•	Himaghna is a vanara mantrika (sorcerer) – a monkey-like humanoid with light blue fur and a prehensile tail. 
•	Fazil Al-Zarqa is an Akhrani fire mage, bearded and wearing a red turban.
•	Both are wearing bright blue djellabas decorated with lotus flowers.
The contest starts off good-naturedly and safely enough with the two mages shooting magic missiles and jets of fire into the air and a small crowd gathers to watch. However, as they get more and more into it, they start to get a bit slapdash. Fazil launches a fiery arrow which accidentally sets fire to some hanging washing, then Himaghna splashes a donkey with an acid spray. To cap it all off, Fazil goes too far and summons a fiery elemental which runs amok! The elemental appears in between both mages and successfully knocks them both out with its double attack. It’s down to the PCs to save the day.

*Angry Elemental* 
Large elemental beast (earth, fire)
Level 8 Solo Brute XP 1750

Initiative +7 Senses Perception +12
HP 240; Bloodied 120
AC 23; Fortitude 24, Reflex 19, Will 19
Resist 10 fire
Saving Throws +4
Speed 8
Action Points 2

M Slam (standard, at-will)
Reach 2; +11 vs AC; 1d10+6 fire damage, or 2d10+6 fire damage if the elemental is bloodied.

M Double Attack (standard, at-will)
The fiery elemental makes two slam attacks.; +9 vs ; 2d8+5 fire damage.

Elemental Frenzy (immediate reaction, when attacked by an adjacent enemy while bloodied, at-will)
The elemental makes a frenzied slam attack against the enemy; +14 vs AC; 1d10+8 damage.

Death Burst (when reduced to 0 hit points, ) Fire
The elemental explodes in a burst of flame and brimstone; close burst 10; +10 vs Reflex; 2d8+5 fire damage. 
Miss: Half damage. The elemental is destroyed.

Brimstone Bellow (minor; encounter)
All enemies within 5 squares of the elemental take a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of its next turn.

Bloodied Torment (immediate reaction, when first bloodied; encounter)
The fiery elemental recharges and uses brimstone bellow.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Primordial
Str 22 (+10) Dex 16 (+7) Wis 16 (+7) 
Con 18 (+8) Int 6 (+2) Cha 12 (+5)

After a few rounds, the two mages stagger to their feet and Fazil is able to dismiss the monster, sending it back to the Elemental Chaos. In gratitude, he gives the PCs 3 x 100 gp garnets (treasure parcel #10)


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## Gilladian

Sounds marvelous! The PCs should have a fun time with that one.

One street encounter that I always enjoy is a runaway/stampeding animal. It can be a fairly easy encounter, or quite challenging, depending on the circumstances. A rampaging mule with a load of firewood is quite a different problem than a warhorse that a small child has taken an illicit ride upon and lost control of.

A burning building is another possible, and quite dangerous, random encounter. I've used it a couple of times; once when the PCs were dining in a restaurant, and there was a fire in the kitchen, and once when the Inn the PCs were sleeping in was set afire (by arson). I think I also once ran the classic "you hear a person screaming at the window above you; smoke and fire are erupting around them" scenario.

A lost child is another fun encounter. Is the child really lost? Are they bait for some theivish trap? Or a lure for a con? Is the child sick? Does someone want the child dead? There are a lot of simple scenarios, and lots that could lead to a whole adventure in themselves.


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## RichGreen

Hi Gilladian,

Thanks for the suggestions!


Richard


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## RichGreen

*two more Old Quarter encounter ideas*

2. Godilas of the Cooper’s Guild and Farouk of the Guild of Salters, Packers and Joiners both try to drive their bullock carts carrying barrels down narrow Carpenter’s Row at the same time but in opposite directions. A ridiculous row: “You back up!”, No! You back up!” ensues, followed up by a mild scuffle in which Godilas comes out on top. 

3. Vaman, a short, fat Sahasran carpet-maker and member of the Guild of Weavers & Dyers has problem that should be familiar to the PCs! According to the weaver, ratmen are coming out of the sewers near his carpet shop, breaking in and stealing his carpets. The Guild is sympathetic but hasn’t really been able to help and Vaman doesn’t really want to get mixed up with the Golden Scimitars – members of his guild aren’t targeted for protection money. He can offer the PCs a carpet worth 400 gp (treasure parcel #9) if they will deal with the problem and get back his stolen property.
If the PCs are up for it, Vaman will show them the manhole in the alleyway behind his shop. If the PCs climb down the ladder, they run into a gang of Ratfolk <Creature Collection p.110>

Level 7 Encounter (1,502 xp)
•	2 ratfolk chuckers (level 3 artillery)
•	4 ratfolk gnawers (level 6 minion)
•	1 ratfolk tailfighter (level 6 soldier)
•	1 ratfolk oracle (level 8 controller)


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## RichGreen

*Catch up on session logs*

I've got a bit behind with copying these across from my LJ but here are the links to the last few sessions of Wrath of the River King for anyone who's interested:

The Fey River Road

The Court of the River King

The Siege of the False Mill

After this last one, we wrapped up the adventure and moved the action back to Parsantium and kicked off the Golden Scimitars plot we've been discussing here:


*28th Maius*
After resting in the false mill, the PCs wake up to find themselves inside the real mill in Riverbend. Krivinn heads to the barn where Hamid the miller is being held to check he hasn’t been executed. He hasn’t – it’s morning on the day after the party entered the Feywild. The PCs go to see Kemal the muhtar and show him the note from Ellessandra and her wedding ring. The headman orders Hamid’s release and the grateful miller rewards each PC with 100 gp and a fey acorn (a one-use item that allows the PC to fey step 5 squares as a minor action). As the PCs go to leave Riverbend, they meet Ellessandra one last time – the eladrin is mourning Flax, her son.


*30th Maius*
The PCs arrive back in Parsantium.


*31st Maius – 1st Iunius*
Rent an apartment in Aymara Sabban in the Maker’s Ward for 30 gp per month, situated above a courtyard and over a workshop which Krivinn rents (20 gp per month). Ella hangs tokens in the palm tree in the courtyard as a shrine to Thellyne while Krivinn arranges for local labourers to whitewash the walls of his workshop so it can become a shrine to Bahamut. The paladin also heads over to the Celestial Bastion in the Imperial Quarter again to pay his tithe. This time, he makes a better impression on Orthas.

On the second night, Ella has a bad dream – the subject is the massacre at Thellyne’s shrine in the Feyshore Forest perpetrated by Heinsoo and his men. She wakes up in a cold sweat.


*2nd Iunius*
The PCs are shopping for potions and magic items in the Mercantile Quarter when a messenger snake appears and delivers them tickets to the Theatre of Aymara that evening. The party are to be the guests of Dulicitus, noted dramatist. Ella buys herself a pretty dress and Krivinn polishes his armour.

That evening, at the performance of Iancu Petronas’ play, The Fey King of Darkwood, the PCs meet Dulicitus, Vetranis and Gerontius – three conservative dramatists who want to hire the PCs to find out what Petronas is up to. The prize-winning playwright is rumoured to be connected to the Golden Scimitars. The PCs agree to take the job.

After the play, the PCs follow Iancu and his acting troupe to the red-light district in the Poor Ward. When the actors go inside a brothel called the Winking Vixen on Grape (aka Gropec**t Lane, Sharden volunteers to go in and find out what they’re up to. Ella warns the dwarf “you’re not going to get your end away on party funds!” as he heads inside. Sharden has a coffee and something to eat but manages to fend off the offers of private dances and more while keeping an eye on Iancu and his friends. Deciding to go for the direct approach, he goes up to the playwright and chats to him, getting an autograph and offering to buy him a drink. Meanwhile, Ella has snuck up to a window on the ground floor – peering in she can see the brothel’s madam arguing with a large, intimidating-looking man over a ledger.

Sharden heads outside to report but before he can tell the others much, the Grape Lane Bashers attack. There are two humans, a half-elf and a gnoll in the band and their tactics seem to involve ganging up on one opponent – in this case, Krivinn. Despite this, the dragonborn is able to kill Taras the tumbling knife-fighter, and then Ella shoots Danilo with two critical hits as he comes towards her, scourge flailing. The gnoll, Yegor, is killed, causing Danilo and Ekrem (the half-elf) to run for it. Krivinn brings down Danilo as he runs past – only Ekrem escapes with his life!

Cheers 


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #31*

This brings everything right up to date with the last session before Christmas:

Meanwhile.... Bolval visits the temple of Ninkash in the Jewel Ward and delivers the sealed message he’s carried from the Ironcrags. He’s told he’ll have a message to take back there “in due course”. Since he’ll be staying in Parsantium for a while, the cleric visits the White Palm in the Makers Ward, original home of the Desert Sands brewing company, making friends with its proprietor, Kaham al-Vizhon in the hope of picking up some new brewing tips.

2nd Iunius (contd)
Someone has run the bell for the Watch. Perhaps because of his lawful nature, Krivinn starts lining up the bodies of the Grape Lane Bashers in a row before Ella asks him what the hell he’s playing at. Instead, they talk to Tamrin, the Winking Vixen’s gruff dwarf bouncer, bribing him not to say anything to the Watch about the PCs’ presence. Attempts to get him to talk about the Golden Scimitars don’t work though.

Head down the street to the Sultry Siren where they meet Bolval who’s having a drink; Sharden goes home. From here, the PCs can see the Winking Vixen – they see the Watch arrive and the bodies removed, then Iancu Petronas and his friends leave. They follow the actors back to Aymara Sabban.

3rd Iunius
The PCs go to the Golden Bean Tree in the Khanduq of the Nightingale’s Song in the morning. Iancu and his friends arrive to have breakfast. After a while, Ashraf (member of the Golden Scimitars) and his two bodyguards enter as two gnolls take up position outside the café. Ashraf tries to extort money from Yasmina the owner; the PCs leap to her defence and a fight kicks off! Ella kills Ashraf, shooting him through the neck and spraying blood all over the walls. Krivinn is surrounded by the two bodyguards and the two gnolls who use pack tactics to inflict extra damage on him. He goes unconscious and fails a death save but is revived by Bolval who is a great healer. Brave Ella kills one gnoll but is most upset when Seref, balding bodyguard, has the gall to throw a dagger at her, wounding her for 5 hp. Furious, the elf takes him down, knocking him unconscious. The second gnoll and the other bodyguard run for it. Before the Watch arrive, the PCs wrap Seref in a borrowed carpet and take him back to their apartment for interrogation.

Ella leads the questioning but Bolval and Krivinn stand guard to make sure she doesn’t torture her prisoner – learn that Ashraf reports in to someone called Vadim (a “big guy with dark hair”) and that the bodyguard who ran off is called Berreff. Apparently, Vadim can sometimes be found at Fahil’s Floating Palace. Once the interrogation dries up, Ella knocks Seref out again, they wrap him back up in the carpet and leave him outside the Watch station.

That evening, the PCs send a messenger snake to Iancu Petronas (costs 10 gp, can do from khanduq), inviting him to Fahil’s that evening to discuss a career opportunity and saying the message is from Vadim. The PCs head to the floating casino and meet the jovial Fahil. Bolval plays Three Dragon Ante, Ella plays Bounder and Krivinn tries his hand at Bounce It! The elf ranger chats to a camp water genasi called Juma (of the Juma Gang) and tries (unsuccessfully) to get into the VIP area. She recognises a man who appears briefly from the VIP cabin to have a chat with Fahil - this is Zeno Meverel, the adventure's villain.

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

It sounds like things are going splendidly!

This afternoon, my PCs are going to be questioning a goblin prisoner. I can only hope things go as well for him as they did for your captive...


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> It sounds like things are going splendidly!
> 
> This afternoon, my PCs are going to be questioning a goblin prisoner. I can only hope things go as well for him as they did for your captive...



Good luck - let me know how it goes!

The Golden Scimitars adventure is going pretty well so far but I'm now doing some thinking about the overall campaign plot and how to follow things up once this one is finished. As a reminder, the plot is this:

Vrishabha, rakshasa lord and former rajah of Dhak Janjua (which became Parsantium) is currently imprisoned in ice at the top of the Pillars of Heaven mountains. His servants - rakshasas, yakfolk, lamias and others - seek to free him so he might reclaim his throne. Vrishabha is an Epic level threat and the campaign's climax will be dealing with him once/if he escapes the ice.

Vrishabha is served by a number of rakshasas who have infiltrated Parsantium. One is a very important government official - haven't decided which one yet - in the Imperial Quarter; another is Avishandu, head of the Old Quarter's criminal underworld. 

Avishandu is using wealth gained through criminal activity by the Golden Scimitars to fund expeditions in search of ritual books and sacred texts all over the world which may contain the secret of freeing Vrishabha. One of the PCs, Brave Ella, witnessed a massacre of clerics and rangers of Thellyne by Avishandu's agent, Heinsoo (yes, he is named after the 4e designer!) in which a valuable prayer book was stolen. The PCs have come into contact with the Golden Scimitars  through their early adventures against the Dockside Crew. During these encounters, Ella recognised their tattoos from the woodland kililngs.

At the end of the Golden Scimitars adventure, the PCs will likely kill Zeno Meverel and deal a hammer blow to the organization by rampaging through his headquarters, but I'm thinking the Golden Scimitars is just one of the gangs under Avishandu's control or Zeno just runs part of it. Avishandu will plant a "raktarvarna" - a snake that can disguise itself as a sword or valuable item to spy on the PCs by leaving one among Zeno's treasure. 

That's as far as I've got. I need to decide what happens next. One possibility is that the PCs gain a clue to the whereabouts of Heinsoo in the lair and/or a hint about the sacred books quest and go after him as he seeks to steal another religious book. This could take them to an exotic location such as the Egyptian-style desert kingdom of Khemit or somewhere in the city. I favour the city again at first with part of the adventure involving a trip to the Hippodrome, then doing the exotic trip as the next adventure.

During the paragon tier, my thoughts are to have some adventures that explore the dark past of Dhak Janjua and get the PCs mixed up with things like the Kali Cult. These could be quite dark dungeon crawls deep beneath the city - think the undeground temple of Kali in the second Indiana Jones film, as well as blackstone gigants, yuan-ti etc

I also have the Open Design adventure _Halls of the Mountain King_, spanning levels 8-11, which would be an unrelated story (like _Wrath of the River King_) but would fit well with the party as it includes two dwarves.

Any suggestions or advice gratefully received!

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #32*

Hi,

We played again on Monday following a break for Christmas and continued with the Golden Scimitars/Iancu Petronas plot. The players threw me a few curve balls (as per usual) but so far it's going well. Here's what happened:

*3rd Iunius (contd)*
Iancu Petronas and friends arrive at Fahil’s Floating Palace. Krivinn and Bolval are recognised as the heroes who defended Yasmina from the Golden Scimitars racketeers. Iancu congratulates them for their bravery, buys them drinks and gives them free tickets to see his play at the theatre. The PCs notice Francio, one of the actors, has slipped away and is talking to a tall Akhrani with a birthmark on his face. The dragonborn and the dwarf buy Francio a drink and insist on talking to him. After a short while, he makes his excuses and leaves, followed by the PCs who spot him buying pesh in an alleyway. Krivinn confronts the actor, taking his drugs and intimidating him into revealing that he owes a lot of money to a loan shark. Because he’s not been keeping up with his payments, Francio is having to do jobs for the Golden Scimitars on the orders of Vadim (the man he met at Fahil’s). Tomorrow, he is due to participate in a street fight between the Most Excellent Order of Stonecutters and Masons and the rival Guild of Potters and Tile-Makers. The two PCs promise to help Francio if he stays away from the street battle.

*4th Iunius*
Bolval goes to the temple of Ninkash in the Jewel Ward to seek guidance on the Remove Affliction ritual. Meanwhile, Krivinn goes to the Celestial Bastion to see if the soylana is able to help the dragonborn deal with the upcoming street fight. Orthas tells Krivinn he’s on his own; the only other paladin of Bahamut he knows of in the Old Quarter is a female dragonborn called Sora who is out of the city at the moment. Returning to the Makers Ward, Bolval and Krivinn meet up with Sharden and head to the Dock Ward to try and speak to Sgt Saurish of the City Watch. On the way there, they run into two arguing arcanists from the Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus – a vanara mantrika (sorcerer) and an Akhrani fire mage. Their row goes out of control when the fire mage summons an angry elemental. The PCs intervene, killing the elemental which explodes in a brimstone death burst. When the mages come round, Krivinn lectures them on how to behave responsibly and insists they pay for the damage they caused. Afterwards, their trip to the Dock Ward is wasted – Sgt Saurish is not at the Watch station.

Later in the afternoon, the PCs arrive in the Builders Sabban as the Masons vs Potters street fight is about to start. The party spot Cyrus (halfling rogue, ex-Dockside Crew) and a band of Golden Scimitars led by Yorgi Bin Kosta dressed as Masons in the alleys off the main drag. The PCs move in to attack the Golden Scimitars as the two mobs of guild members clash further down the street. Bolval casts spirit of healing which keeps Krivinn fit and healthy as he is attacked by two knife fighters and several of Yorgi’s lackeys. The paladin strikes Yorgi with a 66 hp critical and Sharden finally manages to use his avenging light to maximum effect as the bloodied dragonborn is standing next to his target! The invoker’s grasping shards slow down Cyrus and Krivinn kills him before he can escape from the PCs for a third time, but they are unable to stop Yorgi getting away. The last surviving knife fighter is brought down by Sharden’s onyx dog just as the Watch arrive on the scene.


Next session, they will be invited to the White Palm to report to Dulicitus and the tavern-keeper Kaham will offer them a job getting rid of the two Golden Scimitars planted on his staff.

Any comments or suggestions?

Cheers


Richard


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## Gilladian

I just wish I could play in your game! It might make me understand what people like about 4th edition 

My game has too many threads right now. I need to decide what options the PCs are really interested in pursuing. Hmmm... they really won't tell me!


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## RichGreen

Gilladian said:


> I just wish I could play in your game! It might make me understand what people like about 4th edition
> 
> My game has too many threads right now. I need to decide what options the PCs are really interested in pursuing. Hmmm... they really won't tell me!




Thanks for the compliment! Having said that, although 4e is quite a different system as far as combat encounters go, the rest of the game runs exactly the same as earlier editions of D&D I've run, whether 1e, 2e or 3.x. I think we're all just enjoying exploring a new games system.

If your players won't tell you which thread they want to pursue, you'll just have to choose one or two for them 

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #33*

_Here's what happened in Monday night's session in which we introduced a new PC, Saethus, an eladrin wizard from the Summer Kingdom and member of the Estoteric Order of the Blue Lotus:_

*4th Iunius*
Krivinn talks to Watch patrol leader, Innocentius, giving him his unasked-for views on law enforcement in Parsantium. Meanwhile, an eladrin wizard named Saethus has been watching the party from across the street – he recognises Brave Ella from the Birch Queen’s Fair. Ella goes over to talk to him. Then, a messenger snake arrives – Dulicitus wants to see the PCs that evening at the White Palm for a progress report. As the party discuss what to do, Brave Ella offends Krivinn by calling him a tiefling. In response to this “racial abuse”, the paladin snaps the ranger’s arrows and stomps off to the headquarters of the Most Excellent Order of Stonecutters and Masons. Ella, Bolval and Saethus go there separately and find the dragonborn waiting in the lobby. Krivinn and Bolval are shown in to see Master Agapetus who tells the PCs that the Masons have had backing from some muscle from the Poor Ward in their dispute with the Potters. When the paladin tries to make a citizen’s arrest, the guildsman has them all thrown out of the Masonic Hall. 

To make it up with Krivinn, Brave Ella buys the dragonborn a fragrant candle and sends him a messenger snake to say sorry. She buys some beer for Bolval who she also insulted. Next, she heads over to the Guild of Potters and Tile-Makers where Master Plutinus explains that the Potters used to be backed by a gang called the Lamplighters but these guys have now vanished from the scene, giving the Masons and the Golden Scimitars the upper hand. Back at their apartment, Ella and Krivinn make up after their row – the paladin has bought the elf some new arrows and a quiver.

In the evening, the PCs go to the White Palm and meet with Dulicitus. They give their report to the grumpy playwright, telling him that they haven’t yet been able to pin anything serious on Iancu Petronas. Dulicitus pays them their first three days’ money – 450 gp. After the meeting, the party are invited to sample some beers in the White Palm’s yakhchal (cellar) by the landlord, Kaham. The tavern-owner explains that the Golden Scimitars are trying to take over the Makers Ward and have forced him to place two spies on his staff – a half orc and a fire genasi, both useless waiters. Promising to help Kaham, the PCs go to catch the second half of the play. They meet Iancu and friends afterwards and go with them to the Tankard and Gull in the Poor Ward’s red light district, and then on to the Fallen Angel, a kinky brothel. Here, the PCs recognise Firmina, the red leather-clad brothel-keeper from Orloch’s slave auction. Meanwhile, Ella has returned to the White Palm to find out the names of the two Golden Scimitars spies; while she’s there she spots the same man she’s seen before at both the slave auction and Fahil’s Floating Palace. This mysterious guy has just had an argument with Bahram Peroz, Speaker of the Guild of Weavers and Dyers. She rejoins the others afterwards and the party agree to escort Francio home. As they walk through the narrow streets, they are attacked from two sides by Ikar the half-orc, Sufyan the fire genasi and three knife fighters. Saethus fey steps to the roof of a buiding and attacks with Bigby’s Icy Grasp and Ella uses evasive strike to lead the Sufyan and one of the knife fighters away from the others. However, this means Krivinn and Bolval are being attacked from both sides as Francio ducks into the nearest house. Bolval’s healing powers are enough to keep the dragonborn alive and the Golden Scimitars withdraw after the Saethus’ icy hand kills Ikar. On his body, the PCs find a note reading _“Hippocampus Bathhouse, 2nd hour after midday”_.


*Next session*, we should get to play through the events at the baths where the Golden Scimitars attempt to assassinate Bahram Peroz. From there, clues will lead the PCs back to the Winking Vixen and the entrance to the Hidden Quarter where Zeno Meverel's underground lair awaits!

My plans for the Golden Scimitars base is an old crumbling building dating back to the founding of Parsantium when it was known as Dhak Janjua which has been built over in the intervening centuries. Sahasran in origin, there will be lots of Indian-style features to the building. Encounters will be with the thieves and thugs of the criminal gang and maybe some underground dwelling humanoid allies. Troglodytes perhaps?

I am planning on a ghoul encounter on the way there. This ghoul pack, led by Rotten Mursel, an Abyssal ghoul, has a non-aggression pack with the Golden Scimitars. The gangsters pass unmolested past the ghoul lair but the PCs won't be so lucky.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #34*

Hi,

Got a bit behind with posting here! Here's what happened in the first session at the Hippocampus Baths.


*4th Iunius*
After the battle with the Golden Scimitars, the PCs escort Francio back to Aymara Sabban and go to bed.

*5th Iunius*
Keep an eye on Francio’s apartment building in the morning and then collect him, taking the actor to the Golden Bean Tree at midday to meet Iancu. Iancu invites the PCs to come with his troupe to the Hippocampus Bathhouse.

Ella and Saethus go to the bathhouse ahead of the others. Here they are greeted by Hildvin (the square-bodied female dwarf owner) and admitted to the baths. Soon afterwards Krivinn and Bolval arrive with Iancu, Francio and the other actors. Reluctantly, the PCs head inside the baths without their armour and weapons, get undressed and don fluffy white towels. Saethus and Bolval head to the Natatio, and Krivinn and Ella go to the Caldarium. Nothing much happens although Ella does spot Bahram Peroz – the guildmaster has a massage and then heads towards the private baths.

Suddenly, the alarm is raised by Hildvin – one of her attendants has been murdered in the Atrium and his body hidden under an ornamental shrub. The PCs grab their weapons from the cloakroom, lock the front gates and then go to find the killer(s), locking the doors to the baths behind them. The party head into the Tepidarium, sending the bathers to the swimming pool. Here, Ella and Krivinn spot Yorgi and a knife fighter with a Golden Scimitars tattoo. A second knife fighter appears through the steam as the PCs attack, cheered on by Francio. Ella kills one of the knife fighters (bravely) and Krivinn kills Yorgi as a clothed assassin appears from one of the private baths and throws a poisoned knife at Saethus, blinding him. Next, he blinds Bolval and then follows up with a devastating attack which bloodies the dwarf cleric. Ella kills the second knife fighter and the assassin flees into the hypocaust below the baths. Chasing him into the staff area, the PCs find another dead member of staff – the half-orc tellak (masseur) Umit. Krivinn lets the bathers leave the bathhouse and blocks the unlocked door to the furnace room with several benches from the Atrium. The party take a short rest before heading down the stairs to the hypocaust.

Down below, the assassin is waiting in the shadows along with a third knife fighter. Krivinn is blinded and bloodied but the PCs are able to finish off the knife fighter pretty easily. The assassin flees into the furnace room.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Session #35*

_Second session at the baths:_

*5th Iunius (contd)*
The PCs decide to pursue the assassin into the furnace room. Krivinn opens the door but to his surprise sees two gnolls and a human wizard in the room as well as the assassin. Said wizard blasts the dragonborn with a lightning bolt which arcs to attack Bolval and Ella. Saethus throws a fireball into the room in retaliation but it’s pretty ineffectual. Krivinn goes in but gets beaten up badly by the gnolls who shove him backwards, knock him prone and then shut the door! When the PCs open the door again, the wizard blasts the party again with his lightning bolts and lightning serpent and the gnolls attack anyone in the doorway with their greatswords. After a while, the assassin reappears and attacks Ella but this is his undoing as the not-so-brave elf backs away and shoots him dead. Meanwhile, Krivinn has fallen unconscious to the wizard’s spells and gnoll blades, prompting Bolval to heal him. The wizard and gnolls run for it as the PCs give chase – Ella and Saethus dash upstairs while the other two pursue through the furnace room door into the Atrium. Here, the wizard is brought down but both gnolls climb over the locked gate and escape.

With the fight over, the PCs help Hildvin search the baths, looking for the assassin’s victim. They hear moaning from behind the door to a private bath and burst in, only to find two elderly gentlemen having sex with a pretty young masseuse. Krivinn tries to intervene but is told to “get out!” in no uncertain terms.

More moaning from behind a different door turns out to be coming from the real victim, Bahram Peroz, Speaker of the Guild of Weavers and Dyers, who has been poisoned. The PCs are able to stabilize the dying guildmaster and take him to the Temple of Niu Dahan where Gong and Wang Jin We tend to him, performing a ritual to get rid of the poison.

Coming round, Bahram explains that Zeno Meverel of the Golden Scimitars is trying to move in on the Makers Ward by gaining influence over the guilds. The gang boss is based at the Winking Vixen brothel.

Later, Saethus visits Marjani Minar, headquarters of the Esoteric Order of the Blue Lotus, to find out if any of his colleagues have heard of Varazes – the wizard who attacked the PCs in the baths. They haven’t.

Later still, the PCs meet Francio at the stage door of the Theatre of Aymara after the play and ask him a few questions before heading home to bed.


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## RichGreen

*Session #36*

_And last Monday's session, bringing us up to date! In this session I finally got to use a suggestion by Tonguez in this early post on this mammoth thread!_


*6th Iunius (contd)*
Bolval disappears to fetch Sharden while Brave Ella, Krivinn and Saethus head through the secret door and down the spiral staircase into the Hidden Quarter. At the bottom of the stairs they are fortunate to find three potions of healing as they don’t have a cleric with them. From here, the party enters a wide corridor heading from the north east to the south west. Most tracks in the muddy floor are to the south west so the PCs go that way.

After three hundred yards, they hear crying coming from a side passage: a little girl in a red dress is sitting hunched against the wall. When the noble Krivinn goes to help, she gets to her feet and races round the corner. The PCs follow only to find they have been lured by the “little girl” (actually a goblin) into an ambush by a pack of meeping ghouls led by the fearsome Rotten Mursel. The PCs go into combat but Krivinn and Saethus soon find themselves immobilized by the ghouls’ paralyzing attacks. Saethus uses his fey step to get out of trouble and scores a double critical with his shock sphere! Krivinn, meanwhile, is in trouble – flanked by Rotten Mursel and one of his lackeys, the paladin is reduced to 2 hp, stunned and immobilized. Ella and Saethus finish off the three regular ghouls which causes Mursel to withdraw, allowing the pair to attend to the dragonborn and take a short rest.

The party open the door to the ghoul lair. Inside are Rotten Mursel, a stench ghoul, and three goblins dressed in children’s clothes, holding toys and gnawing on human bones. Krivinn attacks the ghouls from the doorway as Saethus throws a shock sphere into the room which annihilates the goblins. Mursel moves round to attack Ella and Saethus from the rear while Krivinn battles the ghast, killing him. Eventually the PCs manage to finish off the abyssal ghoul leader and plunder the ghouls’ treasure hoard.

Next session: the PCs should get inside the Golden Scimitars lair. I ended up going for a more conventional dungeon for this but the final encounter will take place in an ancient temple of Ravana, god of the rakshasas.

Cheers


Richard


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## RichGreen

*Long overdue update*

Oh dear! I've not been on this thread for ages!

Anyway, I've still got two Parsantium campaigns running. The first one is weekly and is up to its 48th session - the PCs are now 9th level (mostly) and are currently outside Parsantium on their way to the Ironcrags (as seen in Halls of the Mountain King). The second campaign is monthly-ish and we've played 16 sessions - the PCs are 6th level and we're playing Goodman Games' Scions of Punjar.

Both campaigns are going well - you can check out what's going on in the session logs on my LJ, At the Sign of the Green Man (see sig)

I'll pop back here when I start work on the next proper Parsantium adventure which will most likely involve the Hippodrome.

Cheers


Richard


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