Caulderon

[MoonHunter]

Caulderon is a city from another part of the world that has become so famous, it has spawned legends.

Caulderon is a magnificent city, sitting upon a massive cliff, overlooking a sheltering cove.  It is filled with impossibly tall shining spires standing above golden domes.  The sunlight striking it is said to blind those who come to invade the city. The people live in these magnificent in health, wealth, and safety.  They traverse between the buildings on safe bridges made impossibly long.  Caulderon is known for its magic, its alchemy. The Caulderonians are known for it. In the old tongue, the word Caulder means alchemey.  It is from their alchemey that their great wealth and comfort is derieved.  Gold is easy to come by, as any material can be turned into it.  

Then one day, the cliff under Caulderon started to crumbled. The alchemists, unwilling to lose their precious city, created enough 9th metal to lift the city skyward.  Now Caulderon floats through the air, an island in the clouds.  

The Caulderonians create Griffons to ride and defend their floating island.  Arming their riders with alchemical weapons (most notably the thunder staffs), the Riders are honor guard, military, and police force for this paradise. They accompanied traders riding charriots and rafts of 9th metal which floated to the ground.  For a while, the winds carried Caulderon across The Lands. They traded with us, trading magikal marvels for food and wood.  Some day, the winds will bring them to us once again.


And Yes, I will post this in the places section... after it cooks a bit in my head.

 





 The streets clean and easy to traverse, as many are on those bridges.

[MoonHunter]

The small continent that Caulderon sat was a small one to the south and west of The Land.  It was rocky and uninviting for farming, but it had a vast mineral wealth.  The colonists there from the Great Empire, became the greatest sailors of the old world, miners, and alchemists.  As the Great Empire fell, the people of Caulderon managed to maintain themselves, though they lost touch with the rest of the world for a time.

Caulderon is the name of the city, it is also the name of a country. A country of nine city states.  

The small continent that Caulderon stood (whos name has been struck from the records) became a victim of an alchemical accident.  Things that should not be mixed where mixed in a waste area and a corrosive force invaded the rocky foundation of the continent.  

A bold plan was initiated to save their fair cities, the last reminants of the Great Empire.  Underneith every city was a warren of tunnels.  Inside the lowest level of tunnels, vast pours of 9th metal were laid.  Once hardened, it pushed and lifted up, the rock and cities above them.  The cities floated to the sky.  Within a month of the great lifting, the continent was gone.  

The Caulderonians applied their skill with sails to sky sailing their new flying cities.  There were 13 cities that lifted from the sky.  For decades the cities flew in a formation, pushed by the winds.  One fateful night, a terrible super typhoon blew one of the cities far from the others, to be forever lost.  (13 is forever unlucky to them).  

Using Alchemy, they created chimera... Gryphons as mounts. The honor guards of old became actual military and police forces.  Armed with thunder sticks and riding Gryphons, they became the symbol of hope amongs the cities.  

With their mastery of alchemy, they are able to create almost everything they needed.  They only need to augment their supplies with fresh water, food, and wood (the only thing they can not create).  

Centuries after the lifting, they have created alchemical engines that allow them to fly where they will.  They have been spending their time above another continent on the world.  That continent is now ravaged with war. Unable to get what they need easily, they decided to set sail once again... for the first time in centuries.  

Now they are flying to The Land.  The people there are primative when compared to their old trading partners and themselves.

[CaptainPenguin]

That's awesome!
Caulder for the word alchemy...As in using a cauldron for brewing potions?

Just a question: What is 9th Metal?

[MoonHunter]

So what should you do with this background?  It could be applied to any fantasy where they have not discovered the entire world.  

1) This could just be a nice feature to add to your world.  Something to break up the monotomy of your standard fantasy kingdoms.  Eventually these might set up a route they travel, so fairs will be set up to conincide with their coming.

2) They could just stake out a territory and put the cities in "park" there.  Eventually a small city will spring up underneith their city, to support the traders there.  

3) They could decide to take over the country, since their "technology" is so much more advanced, it could almost be a cake walk. They have limited numbers, but they can easily overcome anything but the most adventurous sorts (and their magik items of untold power).  They would need people on the ground to help them maintain control.  

4) They could land a city in an large enough lake, and be a non flying city again.  

Or any combination of the above.  Perhaps the council for the 12 cities is broken... with some deciding to just trade... other deciding to conquer, and one deciding to land.  

So the players could first encounter a friendly city, just passing through.  Then as they travel they could find a "parked" city. Then they could hear tales of floating cities taking over the far reaches.  On the way there, they encounter calderonians in a new mountain lake city.

Think big. Think about the scattered community, each city having its own needs. Thing epic.

I you need to revitalized a tired old campaign, this will do it.  

CP: You win the kwepie doll.  I thought it was clever.

As for your question: 9th metal is part of Western Alchemy.  Every metal corresponds to one of the planets.  The metal that is farthest away, has no attachment to the earth, thus it can float.  To create purified 9th metal to create anti-gravity, is an alchemical greater challange... like the philospher's stone or Golem.  I got most of my info from this from the Golden Age Hawkman comics.

[CaptainPenguin]

Ah-hah!

[MoonHunter]

Skyships.  The Calderonians might have competiton.

They look like multi-masted scooners.  Each "sail" is a large square shaped, rectangular gas bag, that mimics the shape and some of the functionof a sail.  (Skyship lift is created by gas... thrust is augmented by magic).  

Air paddles/ propeller like screws and large steering wedges would propel and control the skyship.  

These ships could easily cross the ocean and visit our hapless known world.  They could be from the continent that the Calderonians were fleeing from OR might be a vassel land that has broken free.  

Not everyone that flies is on the same side.