Location idea resource

[kiznit]

I've seen this done before for d20 Modern, but I don't know if anyone's done it here. It's a great way to generate quick campaign ideas.

The idea is that someone names a place, guild, organization, tavern, city, bridge, artifact, what-have-you, and then the next person writes up a description, and plot ideas to go with it.

Nod to Agelsboi, who, I believe, came up with this sort of thread idea first.

For example:

Poster 1 - The Thraxin Blades

Poster 2 - *fills in information about the Thraxin Blades, a thieve's guild* Next name: The Plastered Ogre

Poster 3 - *fills in information about the Plastered Ogre, which would probably be an adventurer's tavern* Next name: the Bridge of Durin's Fall

...And so on. I'll start.

Nyos Festra

A barren city on the edge of the Blood Dune sea, Nyos Festra was once the crown city of the conquering armies of a great barbarian tyrant a short generation ago. The armies are gone, and the city is now fat and bloated, resembling it's aging king, a once-great warrior known only as "the Thessian", who now whiles away his time with dancing girls and watching the gladiator pits. The slave markets are full, as orcish caravans ply their trade routinely, and a sinister force has begun to rise in the bowels of the Hextorian temples, as rogue clerics seek to make contant with hideous otherworldly forces.

Next Name:

The Arkanis StoneBridge

 

[yennico]

The Arkanis StoneBridge
The Arkanis StoneBridge is a bridge over a very deep and wide canyon in the Black Rock Mountain Range . At the bottom of the canyon runs the river Ressaris. This bridge was built several hundred years ago by dwarves and is still one major route through the Black Rock Mountains and is used as trading route between several cities north and south of the Black Rock Mountain range.

But the dwarves abandoned this region of mountains a long time ago and nowadays no dwarven stettlements can be found in that region of mountains.

Several years ago trolls, orcs and goblins moved in the Black Rock Mountain range. One small orc tribe with several goblins slaves lead by an intelligent orc chief learned quickly that caravans which want to cross the mountain range must use the Stonebridge. So this orc tribe claimed the Arkanis Stonebridge as their own. They demand a toll for crossing the bridge and they claim their right to demand the toll from the fact that they repaired the bridge or will repair the bridge, if the bridge needs a repair. These orcs really repaired the bridge once, but their repairing skill are at most average, nothing compared to if a dwarven professional has done the repair.
These sturdy bridge seldoms needs a repair, so the lazy orcs get money for doing nothing.

How does the bridge got her name ?
One of first travelers over this bridge was a mischievous gnome. During one long night he carved big runic letters in the bridge. As a riddel or kind of joke he had chosen a random forename, so every curious aventurer or other person who investigates who Arkanis was, will find nothing important.

BTW the name of the bridge depends from which side of you travel: from south to north the bridge is called Arkanis, from north to south you read Sinakra

Just my 2 cents
yennico

Next Name:
White Stallion

 

[kiznit]

The White Stallion

The White Stallion is a large, fieldstone inn on the road to the GambleWood fairgrounds on the edge of the BriarWoods. Every two years, the fairgrounds hold court to some of the greatest knights and nobles of the Five Kingdoms, who travel here to tourney each other for honour, lands, and the eyes of fair ladies. At this time, the Inn is packed, usually with lesser nobles or younger knights who do not have the equipment or the guards to set up their own tent estates. Nonetheless, a veritable who's-who of country heroes, aspiring ex-brigands, and fallen dignitaries eye each other and try to out-story the crowd with tales of conquest and might.

Oaken GambleWood (whose name probably owes more to marketing than hereditary) keeps his room and drink prices high and his serving girls comely, though his ear and favor are worth seeking thanks to the far and wide connections he's made over the years. If one visits the White Stallion in the off-season more often than not you will find it closed, as Oaken is off on one of his basement stocking caravans, but if you find it open, his food is fresh and his interest keen.

Rumors abound that when the great unchallenged Blue Boar knight was unhorsed by a young unknown last tourney, it was in fact Oaken's homebrew that had shifted his balance. The proprietor swears this is false, however, and assures that the great Boar's behavior the night before was entirely self-fulfilling.

Next Name:
MireGully Coven

 

[Tonguez]

MireGully Coven

MireGully, now exactly why would anybody want to be asking about that damn foul place? Its down the end of the Black Rock Ranges where the river suddenly opens up and creates a swamp filled with every kind of creepy crawly vermin, ooze and lizard you can think of.

Now some say that hidden somewhere in the Gully is a door that will take you down into a Dwarfs treasury. Only problem is that Old Fat Nelly lives there too with her three daughters and their brats - Cannibals the lot of them. Even the trolls leave Fat Nelly alone because shes got some strange juju, some says shes just a witch, but the stories suggest that shes more than that. Some say shes a priestess of some long forgotten cult and one rumour even says that she's the goddess herself!

Don't know myself, all I can say is if your going down to Mire Gully than you better go prepared...

NEXT The Golden Teeth of Mahuluhulu

 

[thol]

The Golden Teeth of Mahuluhulu

Deep in the heart of the Southwind Sea, lies a vast island chain known as the Infinite Archipelago. The largest and most well known of these, but not the most visited, is the island of Mahuluhulu.

Piercing the water like two earthen spears, are the Golden Teeth. Ages ago they erupted from the sea, in a violent fury, but now they are but long dormant volcanos. The natives would say they are the teeth of their sea god, Mahuluhulu, and those who make him angry will be consumed in his fiery maw.

The natives of the islands give wide berth to this island, but recently a group of dwarves could not be kept away by the risk of Mahuluhulu's wrath. They have set up a mining operation on the island to harvest the vast amount of peridot buried across the island. This has made the natives quite scared and angry, as they fear the Teeth will swallow all the islands in his unforgiving rage.

Next: The Cerulian Fire

 

[Tsyr]

The Twin Cities of Northpass and Southpass

Northpass and Southpass sit at the northern and southern edge of a particularly dangerous mountain chain. Each city consists of a walled inner city, and the outlying city area that has sprung up around it. Each city's walls are shaped like a "D", with the flat edge of Southhaven facing north, and the flat edge of Northhaven facing south. The only gate is opposite the flat edge, on the tip of the curve.

No one knows who founded these two cities; they have either been there as long as history records, or were found as ruins and taken over after some cataclysmic event, or something similar. Nothing seems particularly remarkable about them, except that the walls are very very strong, and repair themselves of damage, given time.

The true miracle of these towns is only evident from within the walls of the city; within the walls of the city, there does not appear to be a city area shaped like a "D", but rather a city area shaped like a "O", and twice as big as the exterior walls would suggest. If one were to enter the northern gate in Northaven, and walk through the city, they would come to a gate on the opposite wall. That gate would lead out of Southhaven, though there is likely no sign that anything strange has happend to the person who walked through the city; the city seems to be one unbroken entity. The cities are mysticly connected in some fashion that no one has been able to figure out, and serve as a bridge between two distant places. In the very heart of the city is a palace; it's not on either side, however, it exists in it's own little gap of space.

On days where the weather is vastly different between the two sides, there is actualy a sharp line right down the center of the city in weather... It could be raining on one side of the street, and dry as a bone on another.

If one tries to climb over the flat wall of the D shape, as soon as one reaches the top and stands on the wall, one will fall the 30 foot hight of the wall, and land in the middle of the street at the center of the city.

Anti-magic fields, dispells, and even disjunctions have no lasting effect on the city; the wall will, at most, simply revert temporarily to a real, solid stone wall; no attempt to disrupt the spell has ever succeeded for more than a few hours. This is all part of the same magic that causes the city walls and palace to repair themselves, though no one has figured out what or where those magics come from.






There. That's the single highest-magic area in my world, a relic from a long-lost time. I left out some of the particular setting details to make it easily slotable into any world.

I would caution you against using it as Easthaven and Westhaven, as if the distance is very far at all, the two halves will actualy have different hours of daylight.

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

The Cerulean Fire

Beyond the white sand shores of Gambis is the mountain home of The Keepers of The Cerulean Fire. These priests dwell in the caves near the peak of the mountain known as Kolcho. It is their belief that the blue flame that issues from the cavern floors is the breath of their god. The gouts of blue flame come and go, but the priests believe they must always keep the fire burning. Thus they light bonfires with the blue flames which they keep burning round the clock.
Occasionally they will make large balls out of woven vines and let them dry. These giant wicker balls are set alight and rolled down the mountain at the villages around the base of Kolcho. This is their way of giving the breath of their god to the people below.
The Keepers also “bathe” in the Cerulean Fire. Naked, they dance quickly through the flames, burning away dirt and sins. Being totally hairless, but unharmed by the flames is a sign of piety and purity.
Sometimes, when a spout of fire goes out, gases come forth in its place. The priests inhale these vapors to induce visions. Weapons forged in The Cerulean Fire are said to have special properties, but strangers are not usually welcomed to find out.

Next: The Forsian Clock Stones

 

[carpedavid]

The Forsian Clock Stones

Deep in the heart of the Forsian desert stand twelve impossibly tall, red sandstone megaliths, arranged like a clockface. While they appear to be natural in composition, they've been around longer than most dragons can remember, and they've never shown signs of weathering.

Near the very top of the stones are engraved symbols that have defied any interpretation. Even magical divinations won't reveal their significance. Some sages have concluded that they simply have no meaning, while others point out that whoever took the trouble to carve the symbols at the top of these stones must have had some reason to do so.

The natives of the area believe that the stones are the sundial used by the gods to determine how fast to move the sun across the sky. They say that, if you stand inside the circle as the sun crosses the horizon, you will be transported to the land of the gods, though they know of no one that has been brave or foolish enough to try.

Next up: The Temple of Thunder and Lightning

 

[thol]

The Temple of Thunder and Lightning

Amongst the snowy, wind-battered Corgul Mountain range lies a hidden valley, lush with vegetation. Known as the Vale of Echoes, this rainswept locale is filled with exotic flora and fauna, unknown to the outside world. Here, a small group of devoted priests and patrons have made their home for centuries.

Brought there long ago by a heavy storm, the elven airship Narcissus crashed into the forest canopy, stranding a group of elves fleeing the war and bound for distant Korvo. Looking for passage through the mountains, they found none, but soon stumbled upon an enormous temple on an exposed plateau overlooking the valley. Runic carvings told of the great thunder goddess Arcalane, and how her seat of power in the mortal world lay there, the Temple of Thunder and Lightning.

The temple sheltered them for many storm filled nights until proper dwellings had been constructed. They quickly found they were never wanting for fresh water or food, and they began to see their misfortune as great luck.

Presently, the Order of Arcalane as they are called, numbers almost 150 strong. Some are priests, but most are humble servants and patrons of their goddess. They have a very organized society, and magic is strong among most. They live happily, unknown to the outside world, and will do almost anything to protect what they have created. What they do not realize is that a genetic disease exists amongst them, and their numbers will be threatened in the next generation or two.

Next: The Brimstone Forge

 

[Micar Sin]

The Brimstone Forge

Located deep in the heart of the God's Teeth mountain range, the Brimstone Forge is a monumental cavern deep within the heart of Calphas Peak, tallest of the mountains in the range.
The cavern is illuminated by the dull red glow of magma streams and the walls are floor bear the unnatural smoothness of being burned from the very hear tof the earth. Rising from the lava lake in the center of the cavern is a titanic anvil of elemental iron, a nearly unworkable metal, which bears the scars of heavy use.

The Forge was once the lair and work place of the great Dragonsmith Vennulkyl, who forged mighty artifacts for his brethren in exchange for priceless artworks. Though the forge has lain silent for untold centuries, many of his creations can be found lurking in forgotten corners of the cavern, their purpose often incomprehensible to members of the lesser races....

Next Up: The World Scar