This is an idea that I have told the Captain about per Private Message.
Ageratos is a sword and sorcery setting, so there won't be any Dark Fantasy elements. I am thoroughly tired of dark fantasy in any case so this is a welcome change.
These notes are in a brainstorm format and needs to be fleshed out. I do not have much time nowadays and think it would stink if the idea died. Feel free to use the ideas Cap, if not I will flesh them out in a good while.
have posted this idea for an Ageratos setting in my brainstorm thread. Do you think it has that "Ageratos feel"? I haven't decided which bordering nation of Mysia's I will use. So far it is called "hostile nation".
Can I work on this idea or is it not of the correct substance? Please forgive the fact that it is just fragments of sentences, it is a brainstorm after all and not the finished product
It is a city state on the Mysian and a hostile nation's border. The Patriarchs of the City (Priests of the major Temples) need great political acumen to keep the great powers from annexing the city state. It is built on terraces on the western slope of a hill, overlooking an inland sea.
Features:
-The ziggurat of an arch-Priest of great power and influence (perhaps slightly cliche, but I like them soooooo much)
-a great number of mysians and "other nation's citizens" bickering in the street, often ending in swordplay and duels.
-a famous garden built on several levels of terraces, leaf filled branches often hanging into the streets on the lower terrace.
-the "drowned legion" where hundreds of stone statues are partially submerged in a pool within the terrace gardens. They are bowing down, seemingly worshipping, their heads barely above the waterline.
-"Harlot street" where the smoky wisps of narcotic substances linger, merging with the intense perfume of the Harlots and the smell of sweating men. A place of rowdy tavernas, colourful merchandise and exotic looking harlots and belly dancers in veils and jewelry. (Oooh no! Cleavage again! How dare I!?)
Anyway... if it is overlooking an inland sea, I would suggest that it lies on the border of Mysia and Carmania (who are definitely enemies), probably in the north (because Carmania narrows in the north between Mysia and the Sea of Esh-Eir, which is an inland sea {a very large one} lying between Ageratos and the Virtek Principalities to the east. In addition, the west of Mysia is fairly dry (even arid in places) all the way to the Western Wilderness and the Great Swamp.
Again- I like it a lot. You have the thumbs up from me!
Okay I am working on the idea. I do have an awful lot of work to do, schoolwise, so the build could be slow.
This place could be a cool starting area for PCs! It is between two important nations, near the awesome Sea of Esh-Eir, a political hotbed -full of intrigue, possibly an important trade centre, a major port of Esh-Eir, etc...
Concerning the Atmosphere:
Between the Terrace Garden, the statue pool, the ziggurats and temples and exotic locations like "Harlot Street", this should be a fairly cool city with a vibrant atmosphere. It could easily be expanded. Here are some suggestions:
-The spirit shrine (or even several shrines): This is an open walled shrine (only a roof and four marble pillars) where an altar has been erected. On this altar are hundreds of candles, small bronze and terracotta idols, sacred glyphs written on holy scrolls, small bowls filled with coins, and other offerings to the spirits. The locals might believe that offerings at this altar keeps the evil spirits at bay or offer prayers to their protective spirits. (There might even be angry spirits that are sated by the offerings... Good for those moments when a PC is too sticky fingered for his own good
-The crematorium: A mortuary close to the temple of <death god>(if you have one). Here the (rogue?) Priests of the Death God may perform messy surgery on select corpses, perhaps to seal the internal organ wounds, so that the soul won't return to possess the corpse of an individual who died in great distress. Maybe they are searching for potion ingredients or even the location of the soul, to interrogate or ask questions?
Possibly there are mystical glyphs on the roof floor of the crematorium. This might be where the priests send the souls of the dead to the afterlife in an incense filled ritual complete with temple dancers and chanting acolytes (then the body is carted away, ready to be cast into the ovens).
-Sewer Canal (hmmm... this nearly got deleted. Dunno if I like it much): Perhaps the sewer runs in a narrow, deep canal, instead of below ground, at the lowermost terrace? This could be where the sewer from the upper terraces (which are built in the terrace underground stonework) finally cascades into the canal which runs through the lowermost terrace (divided into the poor and the dock district. The canal runs through the poor district, of course The canal was built before the lowest terrace was used for more than the then small dock and the canal was far away from that place. The city grew and the poor got cheap land around the sewer canal. Since they are poor, no one cares enough to put it below ground. A place of crime, disease and poverty.
Concerning politics:
-The Council of Priests is the perfect environment for political intrigue. I guess Mysia and Carmania would definitely have their agents within the council. There could even be three factions; the Mysianists, the Carmanian Faction and the independents. Possibilities for alot of cloak and dagger stuff. The ruling lord should probably come from the independents (As they are able to play the other two factions against each other). Could result in political manouevers to replace the ruling lord with another of the X faction (Enter the PCs).
-Envoys would probably be commonplace, haughtily approaching the ruling lord with the latest demands of Carmania or Mysia. Would be perfect opportunities for employment for the PCs (Ruling lord: "I have this problem, and your kind of answers is just the answer I am looking for. Now you just have to...")
-Noble Terrace: A neighbourhood just below the uppermost terrace (where the City Council and the Arch-Priest's Ziggurat resides). This is where most council members and priests resides. "Babylonian" homes filled with extravagant carpets, expensive urns, terracotta idols and bronze utilities would serve as the perfect backdrop for some illegit missions to "Poison the Mysian agent's food" and the like.
Don't forget the Night Market, which is the daytime Mercantile Sector taken to incredible black market extremes. Also, a hidden (subterranean) Temple to the Thief God.
This is the dialogue thus far. I have additional ideas. Here they are:
All cool ideas Cap!
Do you think I should post the brainstorm in an Ageratos thread and then we could both develop it? I am kind of short on time you see... (My days of laziness are at an end it seems)
Now I need the following:
An idea for a city name. Names are difficult and relevant to the setting. I have some suggestions, but I am most certainly open to yours too! (Hey! You are the boss)
The City State of...
-Thrakia?
-Melathia?
-Xelandhros?
-Kelios?
-L'haron?
-Inasriya
-I need a religion for the caretakers of the dead... Or they could be ordinary mages!?
Ideas:
-The morning mists are particularly dense in this region of the sea of Esh-Eir. Many mornings the mists come descending on the hill and "rolls" down the city, terrace by terrace. Thus it nearly seems like the mist is cascading down from each level, wrapping the trees and billowing forth, blanketing the city in its embrace. When the mist has reached the poor and dock district near the sea, it has long since cleared from the uppermost tiers of the city, where the spires and the rooftops of the lowest districts of the city can be seen rising above the mist.
-Temples are walled compounds, gardens lush with flowery trees and small ornamental streams, instead of traditional western style churches of Islam, Christianity and Judaism (and ancient roman temples for that matter). The temples often consist of two small and one larger building with roof tilings in glossy black and slightly curved upwards sides of the roof. (Oriental style temple compound)
-Intimate market squares on the third terrace. These are small rectangular markets with perhaps four to six merchant stands, the ground is covered with patterned stones and there are perhaps ten to twenty such markets. Also the shops are nested within narrow alleys, their signs discretely positioned on the wall above stairwells leading up or down into the shop. (Good location for your nightmarket / daytime mercantile sector?)
-The city consists primarily of small dwellings, rectangular and covered with white plaster. There is alot of foliage within the city and there are quote some amount of circular fountains. Often these fountains' walls are made of rounded stones and concrete.
The city theme should be "Mysterious" (morning mists, gardens, drowned legion, walled temple compounds, thief god's temple, spirit shrines), "Impressive" (Terraces, Ziggurats, Marching legionaries, city walls, lots of ships in the docks, etc...), "Deadly" (Quarreling Mysians and Carmanians, Crematorium/Mortuary, Priests seeking new slaves among the poor, Politics, Priest rivalries), and "Idyllic" (upper parts: Pools, gardens, benches, etc...)
"Decadent" could also be a smaller theme (Harlot street, opulent homes of the rich)
So what do you guys say about this?
