[Eberron] How is Sharn arranged?

[Henry]

Actually, the Sharn sourcebook mentions rainwater and the use of something that House Ghallandra calls "Stones of Purity" in large cisterns, which are basically magic items that cast Purify Food and Drink on anything that touches it. Remember that Sharn lies in a Monsoon-prone belt of southern coastline, so there are not one, but TWO things that are always present in Sharn - murder victims, and rain.

 

[Rel]

What if you set the decanters at the top of the towers? An option that is not available to us nonmagical earthers?

The trick is that unless you had one at the top of EVERY tower (and there are hundreds if not thousands of them) then you've still got to pump the water up to the tops of the towers that lack them.

Now it could well be that the cost of erecting a tower of any real size at all utterly dwarfs the cost of a Decanter of Endless Water, making the inclusion of one a no-brainer. But at 9K a pop, if there are 1,000 towers in Sharn then you're looking at Nine MILLION GP, just in Decanters.

Like I said, that buys a lot of gutters.

 

[fafhrd]

In my vision and version of Sharn, there are no bridges between the various plateaus. All traffic must between them must be via Skycoach. Does the novel suggest otherwise?

The party travels between High Walls, Deniyas, Sword Point and Hareth's Folly during the course of events, each you might note is on a different plateau. Don't quote me but I think the only transit devices mentioned en route are the lifts. The party is nearly broke for most of the story and Sky Coaches aren't free so I suppose I just concluded that there was some sort of footway.

But 9,000 GP buys a lot of gutters.

Good point.

 

[Rel]

The party travels between High Walls, Deniyas, Sword Point and Hareth's Folly during the course of events, each you might note is on a different plateau. Don't quote me but I think the only transit devices mentioned en route are the lifts. The party is nearly broke for most of the story and Sky Coaches aren't free so I suppose I just concluded that there was some sort of footway.

Hmm. I'll have to think on that one a bit. It just seems to me that the distances involved are pretty amazing (at least half a mile in most cases) and bridging that has GOT to be expensive (look at the cost of a Flying Butress - 48K each!). As a result I would think that such bridges would be very rare and worthy of being marked on the map.

 

[Len]

there are not one, but TWO things that are always present in Sharn - murder victims, and rain.

They're not murder victims! They attacked us with no provocation at all. Never mind what the city Watch says.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Hmm. I'll have to think on that one a bit. It just seems to me that the distances involved are pretty amazing (at least half a mile in most cases) and bridging that has GOT to be expensive (look at the cost of a Flying Butress - 48K each!). As a result I would think that such bridges would be very rare and worthy of being marked on the map.

Shortly after the Sharn supplement came out, Keith Baker posted something about the bridges between the main plateaus/towers. I can't remember if it was a web supplement on the WotC site, or something he posted here on EN World. I know I have it downloaded at home. IIRC, they were supposed to be marked on the maps, but weren't for some reason. Basically, there is one main bridge between each plateau at each ward level (low, middle, high).

 

[Glyfair]

Shortly after the Sharn supplement came out, Keith Baker posted something about the bridges between the main plateaus/towers. I can't remember if it was a web supplement on the WotC site, or something he posted here on EN World. I know I have it downloaded at home. IIRC, they were supposed to be marked on the maps, but weren't for some reason. Basically, there is one main bridge between each plateau at each ward level (low, middle, high).

I know I read something about it, I'm thinking it was on the WotC forums (in the Ask Keith Baker threadk). He said there definitely were bridges and gave his ideas on likely spots for them.

 

[fafhrd]

Well that's one mystery solved. I'm glad someone reads chat transcripts.

 

[shilsen]

I know I read something about it, I'm thinking it was on the WotC forums (in the Ask Keith Baker threadk). He said there definitely were bridges and gave his ideas on likely spots for them.

Yup. Here's what he came up with.

Bridges connecting the districts: This is not official at this time, but I'd envision the following bridges:

The Triangle
Terminus (LTL) to Boldrei's Hearth (LC)
Terminus (LTL) to North Market (LNE)
Boldrei's Hearth (LC) to North Market (LNE)

Tavick's Market (MTL) to Sovereign Towers (MC)
Tavick's Market (MTL) to Holdfast (MNE)
Sovereign Towers (MC) to Holdfast (MNE)

Silvergate (UTL) to Koran-Thiven (UC)
Silvergate (UTL) to Crystal Bridge (UNE)
Koran'Thiven (UC) to Crystal Bridge (UNE)

Center Bridge
Black Arch (LTL) to Center Bridge (LM)
Center Bridge (LM) to Granite Halls (LC)

Little Barrington (MTL) to Everbright (MM)
Everbright (MM) to Dragon Towers (MC)

Ocean View (UTL) to University (UM)
University (UM) to Highest Towers (UC)

Bridge of Lights
Dragoneyes (LTL) to Firelight (LM)
Torchlight (LNE) to Olladra's Kitchen (LC)

Cassan Bridge
Cassan Bridge (MM) to Kenton (MTL)

Griffon's Bridge
Daggerwatch (UD) to Highest Towers (UC)

He also suggested having large horizontal lifts as follows:

Horizontal Lifts: These are similar to the magical lifts that travel up the towers, but move back and forth horizontally; essentially they are large skycoaches that operate on a fixed path. These can be shut down by any of the watch commanders or the Knight-Commander of the Citadel, allowing Central Plateau to be isolated from Dura.

Dava Gate (MC) to The Bazaar (MD)
Tradefair (MC) to Hareth's Folly (MD)
Deniyas (UM) to Twelve Pillars (UTL)
Clifftop (UD) to Shae Lias (UNE)
Crystal Bridge (UNE) to Pinnacle (UTL)
Korranath (UC) to Redstone (UD)

 

[Glyfair]

Horizontal Lifts: These are similar to the magical lifts that travel up the towers, but move back and forth horizontally; essentially they are large skycoaches that operate on a fixed path. These can be shut down by any of the watch commanders or the Knight-Commander of the Citadel, allowing Central Plateau to be isolated from Dura.

Reading this through now, I get visions of Super Mario. How long before we get a side scrolling Sharn game?