Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

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!).

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!).

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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

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

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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.

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.

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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

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...

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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)..

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)..

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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

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)..

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Alternatively, ghouls in the slumms.

Gold Roger said:

Alternatively, ghouls in the slumms.

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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...)

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...)

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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

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