Indagare Nogitsune
Adventurer
Yes.
D&D General A Setting! A Setting!
- Thread starter Indagare Nogitsune
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Indagare Nogitsune
Adventurer
While I didn't include the El lines yet, I did update the map based on your suggestion. The concentric circles made me think: "what if they went really creative with that?" So there's now the Hackwark Rose. I wasn't sure what to do in Cynelsa other than the Target.
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Stormonu
NeoGrognard
My thoughts on Cynelsa:
Mount Cynelsa: Simply called "The Cynelsa", this towering mound hosts the Ars Rex Magnifica (ARM) at its peak. The only access to it is a switchback road approached from the southeast. The switchback serves two purposes: defense against a straight push up the mound, and a stunning view to those glimpse the approach to the ARM from the side windows of their carriage, with each sweep bringing the magnificent view of the towering ARM looming larger and more detailed with each pass.
Surrounding the base and partway up the sides of the Cynelsa are a series of concentrically ringed roads. The rings form 3/4 of a circle, with the gap where the switchback leads up to the ARM. Within each circle are side roads leading to the various estates of the 76 noble/landed families of this quarter. Each estate is itself a series of concentric rings. The central area of these rings house the primary family estate and its well-tended grounds. The innermost circle consists of lesser houses occupied by various family members, relatives or reserved as guest houses. The next circle comprises housing for the skilled members attached to the household - including personal playwrights, advisors, accountants, master butlers and the like. The outermost circle on older estates are actual defensive stone walls that separate the estate from the outer world. Build against the interior side of these walls are servant quarters, storage facilities, barracks, workshops and all of the estates needs that likewise would like to be kept out of sight beyond the decorative gardens dividing this section from the inner courts. In newer estates, the outer circle is generally actually built of connected buildings that convey a sense of a wall but are actually functioning buildings. Many of these buildings lack windows or doors facing the outside world, but the most modern often have multi-dwelling apartments that do have windows and doors to the outside world to allow servants to visit and shop in the outer area without their coming and goings to be monitored at gate accesses. Of course, some of these estates are skiles, though they are kept anchored to keep from intruding into other land-bound estates.
There is at least one major road to each adjacent borough from this central hub (one to Robinford, Wavesmith and a bridge to Lambeth and Circle Isle), but most of the outer country area is sparsely populated - with gardens, crop fields and rustic get-aways dotting the borough. Footpaths are common throughout the borough, many of which have rest stations and covered walkways in more well-travelled sections to protect walkers from times of extreme heat or cold. The most undeveloped area is the arm along the Cynelsa up towards Lake Ellendam, which gives the ARM a gorgeous unspoiled view towards the lake and spectacular sunset vistas.
A low barrier wall has been erected along the borough lines in the north at Robinford and south at Waveswith. In ancient times, before the Great Burning, they demarcated the old outer edge of the most ancient part of the old city (though even by that time, the city had grown well beyond those borders). The foundations of those old walls still exist, though they are now more of a decorative border between the boroughs meant to signify the transition into the "hallowed" ground of the city's masters, and in Robinford's case, to hide the industrial bleakness of that borough.
Mount Cynelsa: Simply called "The Cynelsa", this towering mound hosts the Ars Rex Magnifica (ARM) at its peak. The only access to it is a switchback road approached from the southeast. The switchback serves two purposes: defense against a straight push up the mound, and a stunning view to those glimpse the approach to the ARM from the side windows of their carriage, with each sweep bringing the magnificent view of the towering ARM looming larger and more detailed with each pass.
Surrounding the base and partway up the sides of the Cynelsa are a series of concentrically ringed roads. The rings form 3/4 of a circle, with the gap where the switchback leads up to the ARM. Within each circle are side roads leading to the various estates of the 76 noble/landed families of this quarter. Each estate is itself a series of concentric rings. The central area of these rings house the primary family estate and its well-tended grounds. The innermost circle consists of lesser houses occupied by various family members, relatives or reserved as guest houses. The next circle comprises housing for the skilled members attached to the household - including personal playwrights, advisors, accountants, master butlers and the like. The outermost circle on older estates are actual defensive stone walls that separate the estate from the outer world. Build against the interior side of these walls are servant quarters, storage facilities, barracks, workshops and all of the estates needs that likewise would like to be kept out of sight beyond the decorative gardens dividing this section from the inner courts. In newer estates, the outer circle is generally actually built of connected buildings that convey a sense of a wall but are actually functioning buildings. Many of these buildings lack windows or doors facing the outside world, but the most modern often have multi-dwelling apartments that do have windows and doors to the outside world to allow servants to visit and shop in the outer area without their coming and goings to be monitored at gate accesses. Of course, some of these estates are skiles, though they are kept anchored to keep from intruding into other land-bound estates.
There is at least one major road to each adjacent borough from this central hub (one to Robinford, Wavesmith and a bridge to Lambeth and Circle Isle), but most of the outer country area is sparsely populated - with gardens, crop fields and rustic get-aways dotting the borough. Footpaths are common throughout the borough, many of which have rest stations and covered walkways in more well-travelled sections to protect walkers from times of extreme heat or cold. The most undeveloped area is the arm along the Cynelsa up towards Lake Ellendam, which gives the ARM a gorgeous unspoiled view towards the lake and spectacular sunset vistas.
A low barrier wall has been erected along the borough lines in the north at Robinford and south at Waveswith. In ancient times, before the Great Burning, they demarcated the old outer edge of the most ancient part of the old city (though even by that time, the city had grown well beyond those borders). The foundations of those old walls still exist, though they are now more of a decorative border between the boroughs meant to signify the transition into the "hallowed" ground of the city's masters, and in Robinford's case, to hide the industrial bleakness of that borough.
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TwoSix
Programs in KOBOLD
Out of curiosity, is this setting intended to be system-neutral, or is there a lean towards a particular system or type of system?
Also, not a ton of specific demographic information, like races and cultures...is that intentional to allow the city to be system-neutral? Or just haven't gotten there yet?
Also, not a ton of specific demographic information, like races and cultures...is that intentional to allow the city to be system-neutral? Or just haven't gotten there yet?
TwoSix
Programs in KOBOLD
Fun thread, BTW. I remember you participating a lot in the setting thread I made last year, I'm thinking of some ideas right now to attempt to return the favor.
Indagare Nogitsune
Adventurer
Right now there's nothing very specifically D&D other than the elemental planar rifts (Air, Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, and Wood) and even those are only nebulously D&D. The city itself might not fit very well in something like Shadowrun or Call of Cthulhu but probably wouldn't have issues fitting in with GURPS or such. If you mean more D&D worlds, this is very much supposed to be its own world. I'm not sure it'd fit very well on any other world other than, maybe, Eberron or Mystara.
It's mostly stuff that still needs filled in eventually. The Standard Races/Species are definitely present and, here, include Kobolds, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Bugbears, and Orcs (I think these are included more often lately, but I want to be explicit about it). Ellindam is the type of city where very nearly any sort of race can be found just because it's very large and very influential. Much like London and New York, there has been a lot of immigration over the years.
A couple of things floating in my head on this (and a bit beyond the city proper):
1) The Fey are responsible for a lot of weird things. One of them is possibly changing Humans ala Changling: The Lost. If they aren't directly responsible for all the races/species there are certainly ones that used to be Human and were changed by them. This is also why a lot of the Humanoids can successfully interbreed even though RL genetics would not likely allow such progeny.
2) I'm currently uncertain as to the actual cosmology just yet beyond the elemental rifts and that there are real deities or beings powerful enough to pass for such to merit a temple being built for them.
One recurring thought is that the Fey play quite a bit larger roll than usual, bossibly the more powerful ones posing as deities (Disney's Gargoyles being inspiration for that).
Undead can, in fact, simply be Fey (Banshees and Dullahans being cases in point). Other types of spirits like daimons and even souls exist to explain more elemental-type beings or even talking animals akin to the animal yokai from Japan. There's a pretty good Tumbler on how the lines between Fey and Undead can be very blurry indeed.
Given the above, if there are anything like Aasimar and Tiefling they could be descended from Fey (Seelie and Unseelie, respectively) or been experiments to "improve the looks" of Humans (Fairest and Darkling Seemings, respectively).
3) The Goblins have very malleable DNA (or whatever passes for it). That said, it's a bit harder for such traits to remain consistently over the course of generations (this is also partly inspired by the Gremlin films). Hobgoblins and Bugbears are two notable exceptions, though why is unclear. Kobolds might also be subject to some interesting variations too, though I like to think they have better luck retaining features.
