Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

[RichGreen]

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]

[quote=RichGreen]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]

Originally Posted by phy00x

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[RichGreen]

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

[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

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Sigurd

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

[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.

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Sigurd

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

[RichGreen]

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

[RichGreen]

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.