[URBIS] Garden of Delights

[Jürgen Hubert]

Just to prove that I'm still updating Urbis, here's something I've added today:

"Garden of Delights: Feeding the masses of a city-state is a logistical challenge in the most fertile of regions. In the Desert of Thunder, possibly the most parched wasteland in the known lands, this challenge would become overwhelming to anyone of lesser power. Even magically created water often evaporates before it hits the ground here.
Yet the desert's dragon overlords have met this challenge. With the aid of nexus towers from several city-states and lengthy rituals sustained over many years, they have created a magical protective dome more than 30 miles in diameter over a part of the desert. This dome keeps the moisture inside, and allows the ground to support crop yields that would be the pride of any Flannish city.
The slaves here are worked as hard as elsewhere within the region, yet most slaves consider themselves lucky to be transferred here, as the ready supply of food and the more forgiving climate allows them to live longer and more comfortably. The Garden's administrators, on the other hand, wage subtle wars of intrigue and sabotage against their colleagues to ensure that their district of the garden grows more bountiful than that of others, and thus gives them greater prestige. The dragons tolerate this, as long as it does not get out of hand."

I like this one because it shows that the rulers of Urbis will think big when faced with equally big problems...

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Oren the awakener]

Nice setting, needs a problem though, something that prompts a campagin, also, what are it's enteractions with other nearby cities, if any, u need to flesh this place out, give it more details.

 

[Jeph]

Oh, you need a problem?

The Garden's administrators, on the other hand, wage subtle wars of intrigue and sabotage against their colleagues to ensure that their district of the garden grows more bountiful than that of others, and thus gives them greater prestige. The dragons tolerate this, as long as it does not get out of hand.

Okay, there are soooo many living plants in the MM that never get used, it's upsetting. So, what if it did get out of hand? What if the dragons didn't notice, or it took time, or they had more pressing needs (well, I don't really know what could be more pressing than sustaining the food supply for thousands of citizens, but . . )?

What if one of the Administratorsgets a bit more power hungry? Gets seriously wacked by a fungi that thrives in the environment? Gets mind controlled, bribed, or threatened, or is and Illithid? I.E., starts to raise an army of genetically mutated plants.

All out war in this place would be a fun little adventure. Best for level 4-7 characters. Phantum Phungai stealth-strike teams, Shambler and Assasin Vine gardians, Tendriculos lurkers . . . the list goes on.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Nice setting, needs a problem though, something that prompts a campagin, also, what are it's enteractions with other nearby cities, if any, u need to flesh this place out, give it more details.

Well, to be honest... the cities that contribute to the Garden aren't detailed as of yet. Pretty much the only thing known about them is that they are within one of the driest desert regions of the world, and that they are ruled by an extended clan of blue dragons...

This is because I am still in the "brainstorming" phase of creating Urbis. Whenever I get a cool idea, I take notes, and add a writeup to my home page as soon as possible. At the level of detail I am currently working at, I don't have to worry too much about inter-city relations. And so far, the Garden of Delights is only one of literally dozens of interesting (I hope) locations the PCs could visit, and in only one out of (so far) twenty regions which I intend to detail fully (the Siebenbund and the Flannish Cities regions have the most details so far, but even they aren't what I'd consider "complete" writeups...).

That being said, I have bookmarked this thread, and will certainly keep all comments in mind when I return to the Desert of Thunder...).

 

[ajanders]

All I can think of right now is a giant Awakened Venus' Flytrap and a gardener named Seymour.
If you wanted to get uncomfortably realistic, you might set up some issues with mono-cropping and plant disease, but I suspect it's more fun just to have a tendriculos or fourteen.