The Trouble With Union

[Toras]

This not the first time I've prefaced this, but I could see Union as written working in one way. If the "Epic" gate guards and their ilk are not in fact employees but rather are symptoms. Say the Union is an experiment by a group of dieties of Strength, Self-Improvement, Growth into the upper limits of mortal capability. No one is told of this, but that is the nature of the city.

Having a level 50 fishmocker or blacksmith, wouldn't seem so out of place if the City were the reason that they were level 50. Other 'epic' characters are drawn to the place like moths to a flame. This of this nature.

 

[Simplicity]

I love Union... After my players save the world a few times, I like to send them to Union where they can become epic-level sandwich artists making epic minimum wage (1 epic piece = 1,000,000,000 gp). Sometimes, I'll have the epic tavern keeper come over and complain about the epic rats in his epic cellar. You should see the stat block on an epic rat. It's three pages long.

 

[Scribble]

The city of Union used to be a great place...

Used to be a city where the people in it joined together for the greater good of the people of the city.

Stength in numbers you know...

But then the city leaders started getting more and more powerful, and it was less about power for the people, and more about more power for the 20th level city guards.

Don't get me wrong... The whole city of union DOES keep things like standard gold payments to stable boys and keeps the jobs from being outsourced into Orcville... But still...

Someone needs to shake the place up a bit, and put it back to its roots.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Instead of kicking around Union again, I'm curious what people would have come up with for a high-level sample setting instead. (And no, Sigil doesn't count.)

 

[Nifft]

Instead of kicking around Union again, I'm curious what people would have come up with for a high-level sample setting instead. (And no, Sigil doesn't count.)

City of Brass -- please!

Crawling Fortress -- you go, 'loths!

Penumbra -- it's not the friendliest environment...

Cheers, -- N

 

[Scribble]

Instead of kicking around Union again, I'm curious what people would have come up with for a high-level sample setting instead. (And no, Sigil doesn't count.)

Personally I think I'd stray from the city idea.. for the same reason others have mentioned... Or if it IS a city, at least have it mostly normal people, but with ultra high level guards and such...

Almost like a country club for the elite high levelers... You need regular peeps to do the dirty work, but you still can't have everyone in the club doing whatever they please to the normals...

 

[Einan]

I second (seventh?) the notion that Union needs to be re-written.

Maybe it's called Union because it literally is the union of every soul who has ever lived there. It's the First City, the original from which all copies come. When you live in Union, a portion of your being becomes part of the zeitgeist of the City. So, when the first creature first conceived of living together with its fellows, Union was born. It will last until the last creature dies and the lights go out. Until then, Union remains.

Now imagine a powerful wizard creating a ritual that awakens the Zeitgeist, and convinces it that the citizens of Union must die. There's an Epic threat. Or imagine if someone figures out how to intentionally sacrifice themself so as to overwhealm the City's spirit and take it over. Imagine a living City Golem.

Thoughts?
Einan

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Personally I think I'd stray from the city idea.. for the same reason others have mentioned... Or if it IS a city, at least have it mostly normal people, but with ultra high level guards and such...

Almost like a country club for the elite high levelers... You need regular peeps to do the dirty work, but you still can't have everyone in the club doing whatever they please to the normals...

That works.

 

[Thanael]

City of Brass -- please!

Crawling Fortress -- you go, 'loths!

Penumbra -- it's not the friendliest environment...

Cheers, -- N

Paragonia

 

[Zeit]

I keep wondering how much better Union would be if it was Rilmani, and not Arcane, who called the shots.

Probably not much, but still...