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<blockquote data-quote="El Jefe" data-source="post: 2454208" data-attributes="member: 19990"><p><strong>Discussion - (Adventure) Dwarven Golems and Old Ruins (GaryH Judging)</strong></p><p></p><p>I actually was able to make sense of all that, although it did take some interpetation.</p><p></p><p>The first bit of confusion is the layout of Orussus. We established in the Tower of Koltefineus thread (admittedly short and aborted) that the Street of Merchants lay close to the southwest gate of the city. Now, I don't have a problem with there being a small bazaar very close to the Red Dragon Inn and a much larger Street of Merchants halfway across town, I think that adds flavor to the city. But what throws a monkey wrench into the works is Gregorius's comment, made while looking at a map, that the party had to go north to get to Allimon.</p><p></p><p>Well, there are several possible explanations. Allimon is clearly to the west of Orussus, reached by the road that exits the southwest gate of the city. So, one explanation is that it is just a continuity error, introduced by a player who was trying to add DM-level detail to the game. I, of course, prefer an in-game explanation. Another explanation might be that the character just couldn't read a map very well. Since nobody (including Gur Chuck-Chuck, who knows the area well) corrected his error, I'd prefer yet ANOTHER explanation.</p><p></p><p>I'm thinking that the layout of Orussus is somewhat convoluted. Most old cities are not laid out on organized grids, but sort of look like oversized rat warrens. We still haven't established the layout of the Red Dragon Inn with respect to the harbor or to the River Roars that passes through Orussus and empties into the harbor. So, I'm thinking that because of the twisted layout of the streets, the most direct route from the Red Dragon Inn to the southwest gate goes north (if only for a block or two) before turning sharp left and passing through the Street of Merchants on the way to the gate. Perhaps there would be a turnoff to the right along the way that would lead to harbor, or perhaps the nearest bridge over the River Roars lies to the north of the Red Dragon. There--everything still fits, and it adds yet more flavor to the city.</p><p></p><p>The next thing that seems like an error is the small stream that has to be forded between Orussus and Allimon. I have no trouble with this at all...it's too small to appear on the map (at the narrowest point, only 10 feet wide!), yet if it floods in the spring, most merchants will have a tale of the time they got held up for 3 days waiting for that blasted nameless stream to go down. It stays.</p><p></p><p>I didn't have a problem with anything else until Creamsteak got to describing the tunnel complex. The magical bronze sphere was described as being both "1/4 mile in" and "1/2 mile further in". Again, that might be the NPC Sullivan being vague, obtuse, or deceitful, but I prefer to think of it in terms of layout. I'm placing the bronze doors at 1/4 mile from the entrance to the tunnel at the canyon, and the magical bronze sphere at 1/4 mile past the bronze doors. I know that doesn't fit all the descriptions precisely, but it makes sense to me.</p><p></p><p>The 2.5-foot holes were not described as ventilation shafts, but it was mentioned that they both sloped out of sight, the one on the left sloping down, and the one on the right sloping up and lit with some mysterious, distant gray light. If you know anything about mining or tunnels, that pretty much screams "Air Shaft!", although I don't know if that was Creamsteak's original intent. I'm calling them ventilation shafts until someone corrects me.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the layout isn't too confusing to me. There's a room right behind the bronze doors, with two tunnels sloping down to the left and right (the layout of the room and tunnels isn't symmetrical). The party never went down the right tunnel, so we don't know anything about it. "A few thousand feet" (and 1/4 mile = 1,320 feet) down the left tunnel is a narrow side passage to the left that led to the barrels and slime (now burned) and the control room. It's a dead end -- after visiting the control room, the party returned to the main (left) tunnel. Continuing down the left tunnel, shortly after the side passage to the control room is what I call the "reservoir room", where the magical bronze sphere is buried. One point of confusion is that it is buried in the WALL, where reading Creamsteak's posts up to that point one would have got the impression that it was buried in the FLOOR. Aside from that, the tunnel complex is easy to understand.</p><p></p><p>The last thing is the "small river" that isn't on the map. From the lay of the land, it seems obvious to me that it must flow from south to north, and that it parallels the small stream that the party had to cross earlier in the adventure. The sunken bridge is an interesting detail. Obviously, it was a bridge from somewhere (where? Talley-oh?) to Allimon. I don't have a problem with it being VERY old, like the ruins where Boromir died near the end of the Fellowship of the Ring movie. I also don't have a problem with the river not being on the map, it's just too small to worry about (probably easily forded on the main road from Orussus to Allimon, and possibly less prone to flooding than the little stream that lies further to the east). The locals probably have a name for this river, but I wouldn't be surprised if most of the denizens of Orussus don't know it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="El Jefe, post: 2454208, member: 19990"] [b]Discussion - (Adventure) Dwarven Golems and Old Ruins (GaryH Judging)[/b] I actually was able to make sense of all that, although it did take some interpetation. The first bit of confusion is the layout of Orussus. We established in the Tower of Koltefineus thread (admittedly short and aborted) that the Street of Merchants lay close to the southwest gate of the city. Now, I don't have a problem with there being a small bazaar very close to the Red Dragon Inn and a much larger Street of Merchants halfway across town, I think that adds flavor to the city. But what throws a monkey wrench into the works is Gregorius's comment, made while looking at a map, that the party had to go north to get to Allimon. Well, there are several possible explanations. Allimon is clearly to the west of Orussus, reached by the road that exits the southwest gate of the city. So, one explanation is that it is just a continuity error, introduced by a player who was trying to add DM-level detail to the game. I, of course, prefer an in-game explanation. Another explanation might be that the character just couldn't read a map very well. Since nobody (including Gur Chuck-Chuck, who knows the area well) corrected his error, I'd prefer yet ANOTHER explanation. I'm thinking that the layout of Orussus is somewhat convoluted. Most old cities are not laid out on organized grids, but sort of look like oversized rat warrens. We still haven't established the layout of the Red Dragon Inn with respect to the harbor or to the River Roars that passes through Orussus and empties into the harbor. So, I'm thinking that because of the twisted layout of the streets, the most direct route from the Red Dragon Inn to the southwest gate goes north (if only for a block or two) before turning sharp left and passing through the Street of Merchants on the way to the gate. Perhaps there would be a turnoff to the right along the way that would lead to harbor, or perhaps the nearest bridge over the River Roars lies to the north of the Red Dragon. There--everything still fits, and it adds yet more flavor to the city. The next thing that seems like an error is the small stream that has to be forded between Orussus and Allimon. I have no trouble with this at all...it's too small to appear on the map (at the narrowest point, only 10 feet wide!), yet if it floods in the spring, most merchants will have a tale of the time they got held up for 3 days waiting for that blasted nameless stream to go down. It stays. I didn't have a problem with anything else until Creamsteak got to describing the tunnel complex. The magical bronze sphere was described as being both "1/4 mile in" and "1/2 mile further in". Again, that might be the NPC Sullivan being vague, obtuse, or deceitful, but I prefer to think of it in terms of layout. I'm placing the bronze doors at 1/4 mile from the entrance to the tunnel at the canyon, and the magical bronze sphere at 1/4 mile past the bronze doors. I know that doesn't fit all the descriptions precisely, but it makes sense to me. The 2.5-foot holes were not described as ventilation shafts, but it was mentioned that they both sloped out of sight, the one on the left sloping down, and the one on the right sloping up and lit with some mysterious, distant gray light. If you know anything about mining or tunnels, that pretty much screams "Air Shaft!", although I don't know if that was Creamsteak's original intent. I'm calling them ventilation shafts until someone corrects me. The rest of the layout isn't too confusing to me. There's a room right behind the bronze doors, with two tunnels sloping down to the left and right (the layout of the room and tunnels isn't symmetrical). The party never went down the right tunnel, so we don't know anything about it. "A few thousand feet" (and 1/4 mile = 1,320 feet) down the left tunnel is a narrow side passage to the left that led to the barrels and slime (now burned) and the control room. It's a dead end -- after visiting the control room, the party returned to the main (left) tunnel. Continuing down the left tunnel, shortly after the side passage to the control room is what I call the "reservoir room", where the magical bronze sphere is buried. One point of confusion is that it is buried in the WALL, where reading Creamsteak's posts up to that point one would have got the impression that it was buried in the FLOOR. Aside from that, the tunnel complex is easy to understand. The last thing is the "small river" that isn't on the map. From the lay of the land, it seems obvious to me that it must flow from south to north, and that it parallels the small stream that the party had to cross earlier in the adventure. The sunken bridge is an interesting detail. Obviously, it was a bridge from somewhere (where? Talley-oh?) to Allimon. I don't have a problem with it being VERY old, like the ruins where Boromir died near the end of the Fellowship of the Ring movie. I also don't have a problem with the river not being on the map, it's just too small to worry about (probably easily forded on the main road from Orussus to Allimon, and possibly less prone to flooding than the little stream that lies further to the east). The locals probably have a name for this river, but I wouldn't be surprised if most of the denizens of Orussus don't know it. [/QUOTE]
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