Points of Light: Locations

Engilbrand

First Post
While there has been plenty of talk about the merits and flaws of a POL setting, I've seen very little on actual locations. As such, I thought that this might be a fun thread for people to put their places in. What areas have you already started creating? What's the area look like? Who lives there?

Mine: Five Point

Five Point is an area of 5 towns in the form of a pentagram. It takes roughly one day to travel from one city to the next, though there is an area in the middle of the towns known as Crossroads. The roads leading to Crossroads are straight lines. It is a large area with only one defining feature; a fountain in the middle. The fountain is pure white and beautifully decorated. There are 5 gargoyle heads at the top of an obelisk in the middle, each head pointing in a different direction. The mouths are open and a constant stream of pure water comes from them. The fountain looks perfect and it is impossible to damage. Crossroads is a big enough area for the towns to get together every year for a festival.

To the south-east is a river touching a town. The northernmost town lies on a lake. The eastern city is the closest to mountains.

North- Bracken- This is a fishing village. It is comprised mostly of humans, and halflings are the largest minority. Its major trade is in food to the other villages.

East- Trin- This village is famous for crafts and works of art. It is predominantly dwarves, though there is a decent number of dragonborn. Most materials come from the mountains nearby. Its major trade is in crafts and tools.

South East- Moor- This town is on the river. It is mostly populated by halflings. This is also the largest and most prosperous town, as most commerce with the outside world goes through Moor.

South West- Kuhn- This town is predominantly elves and dragonborn. It is known for guides and soldiers. It is the main source of protection for the rest of Five Point. Mercenaries and hunters come from here.

West- Litchen- This is the intellectual hub of Five Point. It is mainly Eladrin and Tiefling, though not by much. The town is split between farmers and scholars. It has a "University" for the rich to study at. Wizards come from the university, though it's a simple matter to send a child there if they show enough promise. The farming community provides a large amount of "dirt" (ground-grown) food to the rest of Five Point.

Most of the surrounding areas are overgrown forests. The areas within the pentagram, though, are tamed. These forests are hunted regularly and preserved from destruction. The outskirt forests, though, contain small tribes of goblinoids and the occasional aberration.
 

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If there's a source of clean water that's impervious to damage... why isn't there a significant population center there? Clean drinking water's kind of a big deal. Unless there's some kind of very slow damage curse on the area, there should be a village around such a fountain. Hell, a city!
 

The pentagram seems a bit too civilized for my personal vision of a PoL setting. My initial setting is going to be a small village on a river - fertile farmland means lots of outskirt farms which need defending and a local wizard keeps the peace when major things start acting up. Lots of wild animals, few guards, plenty of ruins in the mountains and forest.
 

Winterwell

A small mining town in the outskirts of a mountain range called the World's Teeth. This town is built in a large alcove in a cliffside, from where a small hot water spring comes up to the surface. The water that doesn't freeze over in winter is the reason this place was chosen for this mining operation.
The miners, overseen by a minor dwarven noble named Lord Graer, are doing exploratory expeditions into the mountain sides looking for certain crystals that produce magical energy and can be used in all manners of machines and rituals. These crystals could make a profound impact on the whole civilization if they found enough of them.
However, the miners are not the only ones looking for things buried in the deep caves of the mountains.
 

For my first setting, the main town will be Blackwall (a heavily modified version of the city from the Cityscape preview. I liked the map). It'll be the capitol of a small barony in a monster infested region, built around a castle dating back to the old empire. Blackwall is supported by several agricultural, mining and logging villages, which are protected by the Baron's guard. It's not a real government per se, but a essentially a symbiotic relationship. Blackwall can't support itself, but the villages lack the resources to properly defend themselves against the hazards of the valley.

I want to give the players the emphasis that while the villages and town are part of the same barony, communication between them is rare, and generally only occurs at tax times and when caravans are sent out to trade.

I'm still fleshing out the setting, but my take on the PoL is that while the villages and town are relatively safe because of the Baron's guard (most of the monsters in the valley wouldn't be able to wipe one out without significant trouble), travel is still dangerous enough that leaving the confines of a village is virtually suicide without numbers and guards (except for plucky and heroic adventurers).
 
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Well my PoL game starts off in the heart of a major city so I shall describe that.

Gerrick:

What history of Gerrick that is released to the public is sparse and neatly edited. All we know is this:

Gerrick was founded on the remains of (black bar). It is said to have fallen from (black bar). As the city rose, the Aristocracy came to find it as their seat of power. Soon great steal monliths pierced the sky and the first trains steamed their its stations.

The Aristocracy choose...


The rest we do not know.

The city and its two million inhabitants are divided into various regions.

The Nest: The Nest is what most would consider the ghetto of Gerrick, it stretches across the entirety of the city, it is also the literal foundation of the city.

Most large, modern buildings are built upon the Nest and its catacombs of tightly packed buildings of ancient architecture turned into squat small structures resting on each other from the immense weight of all that lies above. Sewers and piping runs through the Nest causing an almost organic and festering appearance to be found amongst its architecture.

The most common races of the Nest include; poor-Humans, Caelestis(Eladrin) and Nefas(Tieflings) of low-status.

The Whip: The Whips is the main focus of the city, this is where most higher-status citizens live, within the skyscrapers that line the Whip. It is called the Whip because it flexes and bends as it makes its way across the city and things change in the Whip like a crack of a whip.

This is a place, where most businesses, markets and entertainments reside; from the theatre to the fetish club to the bars and restaurants everything can be bought, exchanged and sold on the Whip.

Given this reputation, the Whip is also the most highly monitored and shows most signs of propaganda. It is common for a new movie poster to be covered in propaganda signs in a matter of hours. The locomotives that rattle above on the raised tracks spewing dust and dirt on those below are randomly stopped and surveyed by the Clergy (the police of the Aristocracy). Dirigibles patrol the skies between the skyscrapers their electric lamps setting the streets below aglow.

The Port:
The docks to the west of the city are a symphony of noise and chaos, as shipments are moved onto steam-liners and cargo is taken off.

Many criminals have taken a liking to the Port using it as a base of operations and a source of money, it is unwise for anyone to delay themselves near the water however awaiting a deal to become complete. It is common for various fey-creatures to patrol the waters snatching up unsuspecting victims.

The Smokes: The Smokes are the various industrial areas that pocket the city. These areas are built around the secret power-conduits that feed straight into the Ley Lines that crisscross the World; this siphoned energy is used to power all manner of industry and the electricity that lights the city.

It is common for the Smokes to develop within the Nest, using heavy machinery and Clergymen Reality-Benders to sweep aside the old and place instead the new machinery and factories to keep the city running.

That is all I have right now, but this is only one small area of the World. There are vast stretches of forest patrolled by the Fey. Secret cults worshipping fallen-angels in the ruins of a fallen floating city, etc.
 


I'm planning on building my PoL aroudn the pregenerated towns in the DM guide and in "keep on the shadowfell". I might tweak them but I figured it would be easy to set these two towns in an area of 50 square miles or so and then add a large town/small city that is nearby/on the edge of the area. As the PC's help these towns a small army of monstrous humanoids rally and the PC's have to become the envoys to this large town/small city to get thier help and become important in the small war than ensues (maybe some kind of strike team). I've always wanted to do a war with some light politcal stuff.

I'm toying with the idea of requiring the PC's to all be long lived races (like elves) and as they live over hundreds of years these towns become the center of a burgeoning civilization. The PC's will be very important historical figures and, I hope, it would really give them a sense of accomplishment and me a sense of creating something lasting.
 

Surgoshan said:
If there's a source of clean water that's impervious to damage... why isn't there a significant population center there? Clean drinking water's kind of a big deal. Unless there's some kind of very slow damage curse on the area, there should be a village around such a fountain. Hell, a city!

I agree. This location reminds me more as the ideal place for a Metropolis or even empire. Rome started this way (several towns which together founded the city Rome). And with only 1 day travel between the cities the area between them can't really be considered wilderness. Depending on the size of the cities most of the area must be cultivated to produce enough food for them.
 

Oh, and I forgot my one original creation for 4e (it's fluff)

The main sport of the area is Chessaning, which is like a mix of polo and football.

two teams on horse back (3 per team) have hooked sticks and try to hook a wicker spere and put it on a spike. You may use your hooked sticks to hit other players, to a certain degree.

Every 2 years all the local towns have a huge festival (which coincides with the harvest)called Coventry, where each town has several teams that all compete to have one winning team. The winning teams town gets some kind of award and really its just a big get together.

My hometown is the site of the blueberry festival, the US's fifth largest festival (over 1 million ppl a year) and it's a blast if your a local (and drunk for most of it). I thought it would be fun to have something similar in D&D. Possibly a good starting point for an adventure
 

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