I like it. The tone of the whole thing is very nice. I wish that first History section were a little easier to read, but it does contain some high quality information. Good stuff. Go to Comment
The fantasy globe trekker guide meal recommendation says eat there and sleep there.. I disagree with nocon, I dislike the setup, but not the content that glimmers trough. So all in all I would say that this is a solid piece. Good work. Go to Comment
Here we go, a sub with a presentation that improves the idea. I like the 'information for the discerning traveler' format!
It is recommended that when dining in Crueloar you ask to inspect the animal prior to it being served to you and witness its slaughter Lol, nice! Go to Comment
I would also explain what a firth is, for those that don't like to google or have an insane knowledge of descriptive terms.
Of all people I thought you would known what a firth is.....
A couple of other questions do come to mind.
0) How Big is this island? I don't need exacts. I just need to know it if is the size of a town and a bunch of rocks, is it several miles across, is it dozens of miles across? All we know is "the east side of the island, two miles long, and half a mile wide." This phrase makes no sense. I assume it is the Firth itself.. but..
You are right it refers to the firth. I fixed that for ya.
1) Is there a stigma against "evil undead" "evil mages" etc in the rest of the world? If there isn't then the tenor and themes in the piece are all wrong.
answered your own question
2) If there is, why aren't they doing something about this nest of villian. A holy crusade, especially since the Dark Arts are taught here.. the source of "All (okay most) Evil Magics" comes from here... really seems quite possible if there is anything like an organized religion (with its own magics) and a military arm (paladins). If they don't have their own on tap, they certainly can provide incentives and moral justification for some group to deal with it. Even if it isn't religious, there are practical applications to wiping this place off the face of the planet.
Most certainly the forces of "good" would want wipe this out.
3) Why isn't any nearby state (or other government) seizing said island. It seem strategically advantagous given that a small pirate fleet was based out of here for quite a while. (And still is) They were able to support themselves seeming on piracy only. This is a place I would want under my control to watch over sea lanes and be a forward naval base to protect their own interests. (Okay I see that undead might make the island less than a vacation spot, but enough trauma and the undead could be cleaned out or at least held back with or without the magic shield). Combine this with number two and it leaves unanswered questions.
The shallows provide additional protection, but you are right I don't think anyone envisions places like this lasting forever, internal or external forces direct of indirect, will eventually bring this place down. As I say it has been taken before, so you can imagine it will be taken again.
4) See above, when dealing with slavery. I mean if you take the slaves anywhere else are they still slaves? And nobody is upset by this? Nobody swiped a noble's kid or friend by accident and sold them as a slave, thus providing motivation to go to war or deal with this? Again, good justification for that moral stance that gets people on your side.
If they take them to another lawless place then they are slaves or if they are rich or powerful enough to avoid the laws of their country. I will try to add something about this, but I find this whole line of criticism disingenuous and unlike you. If this was your post you be the first to point out the piracy and slavery exist today and we told about their existance through mass media and all the moral outrage in the world still lets them exist. Are you getting at something else here?
5) The Evil Magic here can't be that overpowered as to protect them completely. Countermagic/ Dispell, a common enough spell in most systems, eliminates some of their edges. Do they have a military or an effective security force? The harbor, as described, isn't a defensible point. Blockage and blockage running could go on. Chaining. I mean there are many things here.
You are right the magic shell may fail and the harbor may be taken. Not a safe place.
6) Is this a lawless zone on the land? How is order enforced, public consent? Do the Captains enforce anything? Do they have a brute squad? Is there any law at all besides what you can enforce with your battle prowess that you can muster?
I add a line about the Captains having small private armies, but I thought I say and said out right there is no rule of law. How should I make that more clear. Go to Comment
"Actually I do know what a firth is, but I bet very few other people do."
I want you imagine yourself in a high school gym class. Now place your hands on your hips, raise your chin slightly, close your eyes and say aloud the line above. Now try and view that scene from outside yourself and ask yourself if vanity or smugness enter in the equation.
As for the Dark Arts thing when it comes to magic, I purposefully tried to not to get into that when it comes to mages. (dislike the dark-mage light-mage distinction) I do say their are dark Clerics and that magic has been made illegal in several of the newer kingdoms. I did want communicate that this place is associated with religions that the expectant reader, the PC, would find unpleasent. Which I take it you didn't get in the post, but I just wanted to imply it so not to make things too narrow.
I think to expand on this piece in the way that you would like I would have to write another section (in a different tone). The sub above is modeled after a travel guide and I had hoped it would suggest that this is just one of many entries. Not that I intended to write more entries, this was just a tact I took for this particular location and I rather enjoyed writing it with the "be warned but see for yourself attitude" for a prospective visitor.
As to defending the merits of the sub. I am not, because I think it is fine as it as. If I seem defensive it because I am dissappointed. You are the harshest and most vocal critic on the board and score boosting vote from you would have meant the most to me (as much as a message board score can mean), I am a little dissappointed with myself for writing something you found unexciting and incomplete. The unfortunate thing is I wouldn't have written this particular post much differently in an effort to please you, and thus the sum result is just a negative response from Moonhunter. Like if you take your friends (friend in the grade school since) to see Krull cause you really like it and they say it is average or bad. You may still like Krull afterwards, but sharing it with them wasn't enjoyable. Go to Comment
I really like this, full of typos, but we aren't supposed to care about that are we? I was just thinking about a plot idea. Th punkcasher had an idea for goblin labor unions, and I think that could apply here. The Orc's seem to be getting the scat end of the stick and then hit with the other end. What if they form a union.
Why don't they write whole DnD books like travel guides anyway? I mean there is a reason travel guides have that format, it makes it easier to use right? You should do submissions like this for your whole world. Or do you just make all that other stuff up to fit with this setting?
To be honest, I found this difficult to read. I like the idea of the overlapping cultures, where they blend and where they buckle against one another. I would like to read more about Ator and Miti-Rangu as their own subs. Go to Comment
Well it could that this is not that great a quest. I have been thinking about this since I typed it up the other day, and I have never been really happy with the way it ran in gameplay. I always chalked that up to the fact that it was run as early "go to" adventure with a new group, but I have noticed so general short comings of the adevnture.
First the PCs take a long journey that ends where they started. This is rather anti-climatic in nature, because the middle part of the quest is essentially a trip the hardware store.
The primary villian is muddled. The Shadow as a villian doesn't have enough personality to make defeating him a real joy.
The moral ambiguity of final conflict can divide the players rather than unite them. The last time I ran this some the PCs killed a number of peasants to stop the undead sheriff. This really pissed off some of the other players, and served to divide the party.
Finally very little is gained at the end of the quest. An old woman gets her house back, but the PCs get very little. Go to Comment
Well I don't mean to say it is bad or useless. But I have run it a few times, and it is a really simple idea stretched out with a lot of filler. There are ideas I may want to transplant into other things, but I still think the long journey in a circle is weak. Go to Comment
Locations (City) (Water)