What would you put in a Tick-Tock town?

[WizarDru]

So I've decided that the next adventure in my game will take place in the Town of Geartooth, a largish village that has grown up around the estate of an entity known as the Clockwork Mage. The famed but generally reclusive wizard known for creating gimgaws and gadgets of every size and shape, including his or her servants.

The current Clockwork Mage is actually the fourth to bear that title, which became inherited from master to apprentice. Most folks don't know or don't care about that fact. During the last great war, the reclusive mage used his creations to shield refugees from the devastation to the West, an uncharacteristic act of charity due to his almost crippling shyness and his eccentricity.

Many of the refugees never left (having no homes to return to) and put down roots close to the mage's manse (but far enough away to prevent causing him discomfort). Over time, the people have come to look at the Clockwork Mage as their Leige Lord, though he holds no noble title and has never been formally recognized by the king. For his part, the Clockwork mage has no interest in leading, but each mage has come to view the people as their responsibility (especially since the last two mages are descendants of the refugees). As such, he has provided the town with some of the benefits of his research. Clockwork donkeys to pull the carts, clockwork guards that run on a track around the town walls and gas-powered lights, lit nightly by clockwork lamplighters.

I'm planning on sending the players there to encounter the town on their way to meet the Clockwork Mage himself, to see if he had a hand in a conspiracy (answer: he didn't, but he might be able to give them info on who did). While there, I intend to have them encounter some of the cult known as the MoonChokers...essentially fanatical cultist ninjas, most likely there to try and silence the Clockwork Mage.

The mage (who I've haven't detailed in 4e yet, being the inheritor from an older game) has the ability to magically enchant machines to do his bidding. The secret to doing so is one that has only passed between the CWM and his apprentices, though many have tried to decipher it. He/She can't be bought with money and is generally reputed to be quite eccentric. The town has plenty of examples of his handiwork, but given out at his/her discretion, often with little rhyme or reason evident to the recipients of the charity.

Pbartender suggested that there may be rejected clockwork horrors dwelling beneath the town in caves or sewers, which is a great idea that I need to think about. How they got there and why they remain there are questions I'd need to answer. How the MoonChokers could threaten the CWM is another.

Any ideas for things I could put in the town? I'm looking for interesting knick-knacks, which may have no other use than to catch the player's eyes...or things that might go haywire and have to be fought.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I'd consider

or

 

[renau1g]

Have you played final fantasy 3 on SNES? Somethiing to look at. That had kind of a techno-town vibe

 

[Yabanjin]

Needs more modrons!

 

[Aeolius]

In all of my online games there is a central NPC, a night hag named Xaetra. In a past campaign she was slain by her granddaughter Tempest, a sea hag. Her ghost, known as the spectral hag, was known to possess a construct made for her use. The iron hag, amalgamation of spirit and steel, became known as Grandmother Clock.

As the iron hag was fashioned from bits of clockwork horrors and a quarut inevitable, it contained sufficient magics for Grandmother Clock to conceive a child. Jaenan, daughter of skin, steel, and sorcery, is a mechanatrix warlock/effigy master.

As for what to add... a massive clockwork cuckoo, clockwork musicians (The Abominable Dr Phibes), and to confuse matters a druid known as the Thyme Lord.

 

[Mistwell]

Pbartender suggested that there may be rejected clockwork horrors dwelling beneath the town in caves or sewers, which is a great idea that I need to think about. How they got there and why they remain there are questions I'd need to answer. How the MoonChokers could threaten the CWM is another.

First, the town and mage are great ideas, and I may stealing them for my campaign!

Second, you might consider having a basement full of both rejects and just machines that are need of repair or forgotten. The Moonchokers, being unable to make their own machines but having enough technical no-how to at least reactive some of the basement cache of previously-shut-down machines, reactive them and send them to assault the mage or the part or both. Or maybe the reactivate them just to cause chaos in the town while they use that distraction to try and get to the mage?

This also gives you the opportunity to have machines hitting people with their own or something else's spare parts.

You might also consider watching a particular episode from the kids show Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, titled Destination: Imagination. I found I got a lot of good ideas from that episode for a planned D&D adventure that is somewhat similar to what you have planned.

You can see a summary of that episode here, but for whatever reason they left out most of the clockwork creatures from the summary video:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHDiNU-3yJM[/ame]

 

[tuxgeo]

< OP snipped>

Harlequins. All unrepentant. Lots of them! (It had to be said -- or Ells.)

 

[Pbartender]

Pbartender suggested that there may be rejected clockwork horrors dwelling beneath the town in caves or sewers, which is a great idea that I need to think about.

Actually, that was mostly Plane Sailing's idea. I was all over automated public works, and household conveniences -- both too practical for such an eccentric personality.

Any ideas for things I could put in the town? I'm looking for interesting knick-knacks, which may have no other use than to catch the player's eyes...or things that might go haywire and have to be fought.

What about decorations? Especially big, public decorations. Like a statue in a square that periodically changes its pose. Or a plaza paved in a mozaic, but each colored tile is on an intricate track, so that the pattern slowly but steadily changes throughout the course of a day... If someone is attentive enough, they can tell the precise time of day by the current pattern.

Imagine a CWM who considers herself an artist.

How they got there and why they remain there are questions I'd need to answer.

Simply put, they were thrown away, and limped their way there of their own accord.

Do you use Warforged in your game? Drawing inspiration from Perdido Street Station, perhaps these throw-aways are beginning to develop their own rudimentary intelligences. They aren't quite sapient yet, but are certainly no longer mindless constructs. They'd be proto-living-constructs... The precursors to fully fledged Warforged.

Thinking of Perdido Street Station, something else comes to mind in the same vein... Clockwork zombies. Tiny "parasitic" clockworks (or maybe just one singular clockwork that is much more intelligent and devious than the rest) that crawl into a freshly dead creature's skull, scrape out most of the brain, and take its place, inserting a few electrodes into key spots, so that it can "drive" the body so that the clockwork can interact with the townsfolk "in disguise". Of course, the body is dead and so only stays fresh for a few days, before it must be discarded.

EDIT:

Something else to think about, if you like the clockwork zombie idea... Technically, it's not an undead, it's a dead body being "puppeteered" by a pseudo-construct. That means the clockwork puppeteer could take over a body that's been hit with a Gentle Repose ritual, and voila, it has a dead body that'll stay fresh for the next four months.

What if this clockwork puppeteer has Frankenstein-like grudge against the CWM, and gets control of a recently deceased, Gently Reposed for a Raise Deading at a later date, high ranking MoonChoker ninja corpse?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAy8YnKvHQ4]YouTube - Westworld - Yul Brynner - Gunslinger[/ame]

or perhaps...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0INpj__GCbI[/ame]

 

[Herobizkit]

The same reasoning for Mecha in SF worlds can be applied to Golems et al for your clockwork town.

Also, from the d20 Urban Arcana SRD:

Gear Golem

Gear golems cannot speak. They typically stand 10 feet tall and weigh 4,000 pounds. A gear golem may be created using the create golem incantation.

Gear golems have the following traits:
Construct: Gear golems are immune to mind-influencing effects as well as poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, disease, necromancy effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless. They are not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, or the effects of massive damage.
Speed: Gear golems are lumbering constructs that can’t take run actions.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the gear golem must hit an opponent smaller than itself with its slam attack. If it gets a hold, it attempts to grind its foe against its spinning gears as a free action (see below).
Gear Grind (Ex): If the gear golem successfully grapples a creature smaller than itself, it grinds the creature with its spinning gears for 4d8 points of slashing damage each round the grapple is maintained (including the round in which the grapple is first achieved).
Detonate (Ex): When a gear golem is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it explodes in a 20-foot-radius burst of serrated gears and shrapnel. The explosion deals 12d8 points of slashing damage to creatures caught in the radius; a successful Reflex save (DC 19) halves the damage.
Magic Immunity (Ex): A gear golem is immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects, except as follows. An electricity effect slows it (as the slow spell) for 3 rounds, with no saving throw. A fire effect breaks any slow effect on the golem and cures 1 point of damage for each 3 points of damage it would otherwise deal. The golem rolls no saving throw against fire effects.
Repairable: Gear golems cannot heal damage on their own but can be repaired using the Repair skill. A successful Repair check (DC 30) heals 1d10 points of damage, and each check represents 1 hour of work. A gear golem cannot repair itself.
Darkvision (Ex): Gear golems can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and gear golems can function with no light at all.

Gear Golem: CR 11; Large construct; HD18d10+20; hp 119; Mas —; Init –1; Spd 20 ft. (can’t run); Defense 30, touch 8, flat-footed 30 (–1 Dex, –1 size, +22 natural); BAB +13; Grap +23; Atk +18 melee (1d8+9, slam); Full Atk +18 melee (1d8+6, 2 slams); FS 10 ft. by 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.; SQ construct, improved grab, gear grind, detonate, magic immunity, darkvision 60 ft.; AL none or master; SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 23, Dex 9, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1.
Skills: Hide –5.
Feats: None.
Advancement: 19–24 HD (Large); 25–54 HD (Huge).

Advanced Gear Golem: CR 13; Huge construct; HD 25d10+40; hp 177; Mas —; Init –2; Spd 30 ft. (can’t run); Defense 31, touch 6, flat-footed 31 (–2 Dex, –2 size, +25 natural); BAB +17; Grap +35; Atk +25 melee (2d6+15, slam); Full Atk +25 melee (2d6+10, 2 slams); FS 15 ft. by 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.; SQ construct, improved grab, gear grind, detonate (30- foot-radius burst; DC 22), magic immunity, darkvision 60 ft.; AL none or master; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +8; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 31, Dex 7, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1.
Skills: Hide –10.
Feats: None.