The Campaign Builder's Guild

Hey CBG'ers.

I have read threads on the WOTC boards called "Build a city". Where several posters work together to build a city by taking turns describing what happens in a 1, 2 or 3 month span. It was very popular at the WOTC boards.
Is this something you have already heard of or simply tried already?

If people are willing I would love to get one such thread running and see where it leads. This might even be a good opportunity for the "alliance" to create something together.

(I would give some more information, but dinner is ready and I have to run. "I'll be back".)

Sounds like fun, please elaborate!

Okay, I blatantly stole this from another post on the WOTC board.

QuoteThe Build a City (BaC) is a joint venture between posters and gamers at a board such as this with the purpose of creating a completely new city for everyone's free use, complete with all the background, history and stats and secrets needed to DM adventures in it.

From what I have seen so far, it looks very fun and gives a great living city.
The following link is to the first "Build a City Thread" on WOTC's forum. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=12239430
All the chronicles for each year is linked in post number 9, if you wish to read them.

Okay, this is the process in a nutshell.
After geography and other facts has been agreed upon, a prelude is given to set the stage. After that, people take turns describing what happens during one or several months in the hamlet/village/city - this is call a chronicle. You can also make a journal entry, which is basically the thoughts of one or a group of villagers in the city, but which does not carry the city forward. It's layout can be like that of a journal page or simply just a description of the thoughts of an individual, in case you want to give something or someone more depth.

There are a few rules, but nothing big. Those are only in place to make sure that someone suddenly posts something that screws the entire city (and the other posters) over - such as artifacts, undead invasions or the like. If these things has been agreed upon, that is fine then.

A short example for a chronicle with a hamlet called Oakhurst might look like this:
Year 1, Month 3
Two trappers decide to settle down in the outskirts of Oakhurst.
A young missionary, Brother Atil, also arrives and begins preaching about Obad-Hai to the villagers.
Old Egna's house catches fire and all the villagers help putting it out. Not much progress is made until the newly arrived Brother Atil comes running, casting "create water" on the flames.

Oh, ok, I see. This could be very fun! ^_^

I wouldn't mind doing a city that resembles the placement of Vladivostok  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok)

Sounds fine for me (though a fantasy city I suppose?), but we can discuss the specifics if enough people are interested.

Any specific reason you want it to be there?

I just like the idea of a city bing this far off wonderland that no one's heard of, lol. We don't have to place it in a place like Vladivostok, that was just the first thing to come to mind. :)

I would prefer a Fantasy setting, real life stuff is so common, I lead a 'real life' after all. Maybe a Wide Magic type city, rather than a High or Low Magic city. But anything will be fine, lol.

Might want to establish eventual parameters or some outside data, such as racial makeup, involvement of other cultures, game rules (or not), only from a big picture standpoint, but enough so no one gets out of control and ruins it for the rest of the group.  
(Perhaps since I am skill-based and classless, i am a little more sensitive to this)

Yes, I admitted I have no class.  I might as well say it before someone else does.

Racial makeup would be determined through the posts. The city would be built from the ground up, starting out as a hamlet and growing bigger.

It is actually a very fun way to build a city - one which I have thought about doing myself for the cities in my world.

I am aware that everyone has their own world/campaign setting which might make it hard to decide culture, which races exist and even classes.
That is the first thing that should be taken up for discussion. I think either deciding on a setting or simply running with standard D&D rules would be easiest. People wanting to use the city in their own setting would then be able to change names of races and classes if needed.

This sounds good. Standard DnD rules... or we could do Wonders. :P

Sounds like loads of fun to me.  I'm more than willing to play if we get enough people.  Regular D&D sounds solid enough to me.

Yeah, standard D&D is fine with me :)

Glad to hear people are interested!

Before we get started, lets get some of the facts decided upon.

1) Ruleset/setting. This can be a campaign setting on this board, regular D&D or something else. But let's keep it to something that we all can relate to.

2) Geography (this might influence import/export). What should be the dominant terrain in this area and which other types of terrain would be nearby (this is not something that needs to be decided right away, but it might be nice if we are all on the same page in regards to which general terrain the city is built on. This might also affect #3).

3) Why a city? This can happen for many reasons. It might be a place many travelers go through and someone chooses to set up an inn, or it might be "commissioned" by the king. It could also be near a mountain, if a valuable resource has been found there.
On the WOTC boards, a fighter emptied a keep of orcs and settle down in the keep.


My suggestions are:
1) Standard D&D, core rulebooks only (3.5 edition).

2) Plains, but lets keep some woods and possibly mountains nearby.

3) No suggestions yet. I would like to see what you can conjure up.


I'll follow (and join in on) the discussion for a few days so everyone can have their see and see what we decide.
Then I'll make a new thread with the few rules we have to adhere to and a prelude to get us rolling.
Enjoy! :D

1) Standard D&D, core rulebooks only (3.5 edition).

2) I was thinking on the water with woods nearby  

3) Maybe it's an easy spot to land when going to a large city further inland.  Or, maybe it was a thieves camp that turned into a small town when somebody built a tavern (or other building).

In regards to your #2:
On the water, or nearby it? If you mean on, I would like some more details as to how etc :)

"On the water" as much as a house is "On the lake."  The buildings are grounded, it's just next to the water.  I'd love a floating city, but expanding it would be quite difficult I believe.

Ah, alright. I just need more skills in "Speak Language (English)" then :)

And yes, I think it is a good idea to start with something simple at first.

My initial thought was what you siad (plain with woods and perhaps mountains), but then I heard "imports and exports" and my mind jumped to ports.  I'll get Stargate on this too if we need more people.  He'll love the port town idea.

Sure, anyone and everyone are welcome. In fact, the more the merrier :).

Actually, we could try our hand at 4th edition if you all want. I don't know how many of you will be buying the books and updating your campaign settings to that however?
We do have some information about the races and classes already so I think we could make it work.

Anyhow, discuss - I'll head to bed. :)

4th doesn't come out until June, plus none of us will be truly familiar with it until around July/August, IMO. I'd say keep it 3.5 and we can update the city to 4E after that.

As for geography, I like the idea of a wood nearby... Maybe the city is founded near/around a small lake. That lake can have a little creek leading away, into the woods and the world beyond.

I think I'm going to advocate the Vladivostok Port Town idea, in 3.5. Whoever posts the first post can decide on the real beginnings of the place.

I'm up for Port City Vladivostok or a Lake Town... Anything near a large body of water, really.

Just bumping to see if we can get a few more ideas on the table. :)

NEU,
I'm looking down the road to some posts with everything that could happen in a few months in a middle sized town, or even a small one.  I also know that due to mine own 'factionally-based' ideas that I will probably have diferent goals in mind than others might.
Given that, can a poster have the choice of posting different info on the town based on the same time as the last post (but not going back in time) or posting the new month.

Also...we're going to need to decide on a Kalehndir.

I will suggest we post in 1 month intervals (if that feels too slow in the beginning, we can start at something higher).
In regards to your question though: Whether we can go back and add to others chronicles really depends on what all of us want. There are no right or wrong way to do this. The problem with going back and "changing" (or adding to) posts are that the growth of the town is slowed if people spend their time doing that.

A chronicle usually consists of accepted proposals that the writer thinks are appropriate to bring into the town at that time, and smaller events that is more or less filler material.
The goal of the chronicles are to show the highlights of what happened in the last month, which means that many NPC's will not be represented in a month.
If something haven't been added in a chronicle, it is easiest to just add it to the next month. If it is very important that it happens that exact month (due to seasons or similar), I think the best option is to write a post, asking the person doing the chronicle to edit it. I haven't seen it becoming a problem in the other threads however.
And if it is something like sowing the crops (the best example I can give at the moment, this might not even be mentioned in a chronicle), then it can also be explained away in the next chronicle, that the winter lasted longer than usual etc. You get the picture.


What is a Kalehndir?

don't want to go back and edit, I just want the option of writing a post for the current month or advancing to the next month.
As to the Kalehndir...think phonetically.

Alright, I thought as much (guess I have to get used to the crazy slang used here :P). I would suggest a normal year of 12 months (3 months per season), but don't let me talk you into it - discuss!

LV - Can I ask why you want the option, or could you provide me with a simple example? I think I can reply better with an example of yours :)

I propose the following for the calendar:

12 Days Per Week
2 Weeks per Month
16 Months Per Year

There should also be 4 intercalary days, one for each of the Solstices/Equinoxes that occur. With that, each year would have a total of 388 days. I'd also suggest that the New Year begin on the Spring Equinox.

Anyways, that's what I was thinking.

I love it.  

Quote from: Elemental_ElfI propose the following for the calendar:

12 Days Per Week
2 Weeks per Month
16 Months Per Year

There should also be 4 intercalary days, one for each of the Solstices/Equinoxes that occur. With that, each year would have a total of 388 days. I'd also suggest that the New Year begin on the Spring Equinox.

Anyways, that's what I was thinking.

Wow have I been out of the loop for too long.  I'm cool with that calender if you guys are (I like things being out of the ordinary).  Any reason you chose those numbers?  I'd ask about the new year being on Spring Equinox, but that makes way more sense than in the middle of the winter.

OK, here's a quick map created in Xara Xtreme - took me about 20 minutes to create! This has a nice harbor "on the sea" good place for a port city. There's a river, so there's fresh water. I placed to rocky bluffs/mountains along the coast, and pretty much surrounded by forest.

Does this work, or do you want something else. There is no scale, yet, must be decided upon...
(//../../e107_files/public/1206686826_453_FT46292_map_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1206686826_453_FT46292_map.jpg)

Wow! Nice map Gamer Printshop! The map works for me.


 [spoiler=Various reasonings behind the Calendar that will bore most of you to tears]
12 days was chosen because (a) I have never played in/created a setting that had 12 day weeks and (b) I had a cool idea for a Calendar that looked like this:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/RHO1/Calendarbuildacity.jpg)

The short two week Month made sense because the weeks were already rather long. Plus 24 day month is appealing (at least to me).
16 Months was chosen because, in contrast to our calendar, there are less days per month. Plus by having 16 months, we can easily break each year into 4 equal parts consisting of 4 Months each. To me, this makes our job as posters a tad easier because the correlation between month-season is much clearer than, say, our calendar is.

The extra 4 intercalary days seemed a nice way of differentiating the Season's cycle as well as providing an easy and obvious point for festivals or other special occurrences. The New Years day was chosen because, IMO, it makes a whole lot more sense than some arbitrary day in the middle of winter. Plus it helps to emphasize the '˜special-ness' of the Equinoxes/Solstices.

Finally, everything in the calendar is either divisible by 4 or can divide 4. This also provides an interesting point for posters to expand upon and helps spark interesting and fruitful ideas (hopefully, lol).
[/spoiler]

That was just a preliminary map, I could do a hand-drawn version as well. Once geography is decided upon, I'll create close-up view of selected area for hamlet start and the map area could grow with the community's growth. Because the rest of the land is not exposed, I figure individual DMs can place this location anywhere appropriate in their world.

By the way, just call me GP - its less arduous on the keyboard. :)

Wow, very nice! I like it a lot!

I like the map, I like the Kalehndir.
Equitorial Area?  I'd like to do something with seasons.  Something a little northern, but maybe with a gulf-stream like effect.

(GP, tell me the best way to buy Xara Extreme, BTW)

Beautiful map.  I'm good with that geography, being as it's basically what I invisioned in my mind.  The idea for a close up map for the hamlet is a great idea too.

As for everything in the calender being divisible by 4, I like very much.  Perhaps we could integrate that into the city.  Maybe it could affect the religion somehow.  Speaking of which, how does D&D religion work in small hamlets?

Quote from: LordVreeg(GP, tell me the best way to buy Xara Extreme, BTW)

As I PMed Neubert, Xara Xtreme is available as a 14 day trial download, but costs $79. This is a full DTP program and not just a map-maker, (more like CorelDraw than CC3, for example.)

Program exports PDF files too. There's a Pro version, more expensive, but allows you to create multipage PDFs as well as more Word Processing support, but not necessary for map-making.

The program is only $79, if you do think you'd purchase I am an affiliate reseller - so please, use this link for the free download, as well as purchase if you do that!

http://stats.xaraonline.com/ID.859297/redirectid.Xara/affiliate.html

Quote from: HaphazzardMaybe it could affect the religion somehow.  Speaking of which, how does D&D religion work in small hamlets?

DnD religion in small hamlets. Well, uhh.

...

Could we ditch the whole 'Gods-are-real' thing and go for a more 'belief is power' idea? Because, uhm, it seems to make more sense that they'd have their own little pantheon of gods (influenced by surrounding areas) that might later be usurped by international gods (such as Pelor or Ilmater). This doesn't mean we couldn't USE these gods, just that we could use others as well.

Inspirations I see in my map.

No doubt the hamlet would have to be located at the river, probably on the north bank growing towards the harbor. I see a coastal road on the southside of the river, providing land defense using the river as a barrier. Crossing would be by ferry, or barges from one side to the other, some future time there would be one or more bridges here.

The coastal highlands provide some protection from the sea, whether storms, tsunami, or bombardment from ships beyond the harbor. The river valley beyond the coast would be ideal for growing crops. Don't be afraid of cutting down some forest to expand areas, afterall you need wood to construct buildings, at least until stone construction becomes commonplace down the road.

I can see a fishing village on the coast on the other side of the southern highlands, eventually becoming a suburb of the larger port city.

The Port City could eventually cover the entire harborfront. Oh and that small island in the shallows just off the northern point of the harbor mouth looks like a great place for a temple to a sea god/spirit someday.

A canal could be cut to supply fresh water to the northern shore of the harbor as the city grows.

I see fortresses on both sides of the harbor mouth one day providing defense from sea invasions.

Sorry to ramble - just my imagination running wild! :P

Quote from: Wensleydale

Quote from: HaphazzardMaybe it could affect the religion somehow.  Speaking of which, how does D&D religion work in small hamlets?

DnD religion in small hamlets. Well, uhh.

...

Could we ditch the whole 'Gods-are-real' thing and go for a more 'belief is power' idea? Because, uhm, it seems to make more sense that they'd have their own little pantheon of gods (influenced by surrounding areas) that might later be usurped by international gods (such as Pelor or Ilmater). This doesn't mean we couldn't USE these gods, just that we could use others as well.

Our hamlet, our gods, Dammit.

Let's give our thread a chance to survive.  Let's stay original.  Let's use both theories you mention, in that the Gods may be real, but none of them started as Gods.  They all start as spirits (river spirits, air spirits, earth spirits, fire spirits, tree spirits, animal spirits, etc, of which there are a VERY FINITE AMOUNT.  Belief feeds them.  The same thing can happen to demons ans such, but it they cannotr show up on earth without being summoned.  SO when we crash our settlers or whatever, they can be guided by the spirit of the bay, and it can go from there.   Just an idea, but this takes care of our spirit peopleamd our gods people.  Use it or not.

Of course, then like the early Catholic missionaries, the missionaries of the international gods convert local holidays into their own (Samhain/Halloween and All Hallows Day, for example)

Perhaps the international Sea God missionaries try to convince their spirit is actually a local face of Sargos the Sea King and not their own spirit. If they can't break the local faith, then they make the local spirit an angel, or "saint", somehow a lesser avatar of the greater god. Such is the nature of religious conversion vs. "pagan" cults as the missionaries see it.

Or the city could be more cosmopolitan and allow worship of many gods from other locations in the world. If like a remote site as Vladivostok, away from the rest of civilization, the allowance of foreign temples to be erected, being more inviting to foreign merchants to invest in better trade relations.

Just ramblings...

I love that you are already being creative :)

A single question about the "Kalehndir", just to make sure, the 4 days between winter month no. 4 and spring month no. 1 are "outside" of any of the months?

Is everyone fine with using the map and calendar?

Lastly, we need to decide upon a "beginning" and then we can start building our city. You can just "vote" on one of the following ideas or write one yourself.

1) A place where many travelers come through and someone decides to set up an inn or similar. (Mentioned by another poster: It's an easy spot to land when going to a large city further inland).

2) The city was "commissioned" by the ruler or a lord of a kingdom. (For instance: The area used to belong to barbarians or a kind of "nomads" (a group without big cities), the kingdom conquered them and are starting to build cities in the newly conquered area).

3) A valuable resource has been found in the vicinity (possibly in the mountainous area).

4) A combination of 2 & 3.

5) It was a thieves camp that turned into a small town when somebody built a tavern (or other building).


What do you think?

I was thinking about a primmitive ship of lost souls, former devotees to the bronzeAbsolute, Spirit of Meldings, lost at sea and running from a storm.  Prayers to BronzeABsolute go unheard, but one of youngest devotees communes with a local spirit of the Water, the Avator of the Cove, who leads them out of the storm and into the safety of her domain.
Thankful, they turn to the Cove Spirit in worship, which is a surprise to her.  

My vote goes to either numbers 1 or 5.  I think 3 should come after a while, basically and excuse for the hamlet to boom into a larger city.

Should we make a discussion thread for this once we start?  That way we can leave this as a chronicaling of what's happened and decide on what's going to happen on the discussion thread.

LV - The problem with a group of people cut off from anyone is the influx of people. Unless we want this town to grow very slowly, we need some way of getting more people to it.
It could be that the first people lands there and then word is sent back that this place is actually not bad and more people (and supplies perhaps?) are sent there by boat.

Hap - We can do either way. I was planning to start a new thread for us to post both chronicles and suggestions in, but your idea sounds fine. I think we can use this as the discussion thread in that case, as it basically already is.

I vote 1.

I can get by with #1.
( I was looking forward to a few years dealing with just the natives, so that we didnt't have to deal with other countries for as while, but I can get by with #1)

LV, do you mean being the natives, or the town dealing with natives (fighting, diplomacy, etc)?

Forgot who, but someone previously post a Vladilostok-like setting in that it was an out of the way site from the rest of civilization that becomes a city due to natural resources and willing traders going there. In light of that #1 does not work for me either.

Having a religious starting seems appropriate enough, but I think a #3 scenario should happen fairly quick to provide the need for influx of outsiders, trade relations with various seafaring nations.

A protected harbor makes for a great city location, but unless there is a reason for outsiders to want to go to that part of the world it cannot become a city, not under normal circumstance anyway.

As a religious capital it could grow on its own, with influx of barbarian locals long before it establishes relations with the world beyond, then a #3 is not as necessary.

#2 doesn't appeal to me either, I don't really want a higher authority guiding my city, I'd rather see locals becoming prominent so growth is from within, not without.

I see religious startup with #3 soon to follow.

As far as number 4 goes, the functionality of the harbor, makes the first structures to relate to wharfage, ship support, fishing or other sea related industry startup. Inns are better startups on a interior road, not on the coast.

i menat the new settlers dealing with merely natives for a while, before 'civilzation' catches back up to them.  Just a thought.

I like number 5 if and only if the town grew because the local nature spirits sort of set up shop near by and people flocked to the area. Other wise 1 or 2 would be fine.

If #5, how how a pirates cove, instead of a thieves camp? It makes more sense to me. Perhaps the discovery of the goddess of the cove will tame their pirate ways into ruthless merchants instead and give legitimacy to the site. A pirates inn would be one of the first structures, no doubt.

Pirates indeed make more sense than Thieves but what were the Pirates Pirating? Gold Dubloons, spices, slaves? This would really help define what the early town was like (i.e. if Slaves were Pirated, than one would assume a large slave population, or if Gold was Pirated than the town, most likely, would have a larger solvency than a normal town of its size, etc.).

Once that's defined, then the nature of the immigrants would need to be decided upon, as this as well will help define the early town was like and what the tow is likely to become down the road. Meaning if Religious puritans immigrated to the area because of the Goddess/Spirit shrine than the town would look and feel very different than one where the early immigrants came for mining and logging.

Finally, there would, IMO, need to be a second wave of immigrants that came after the town was founded by the first. If the town was founded by Religious Puritans and a whole bunch of smelly Dwarven miners moved in, would be a very different scenario compared to say a wealthy merchant company set up shop in the town.

Ok let me put all this in a list:

1) What were the Pirates/Thieves pirating/Thieving and doing in the area before the town was founded?

2) What was the reason for the initial wave of immigration? Also, who were these people, where (in general terms) did they come from and why did they stay?

3) After the town was founded what caused, if anything, the second wave of immigrants? Also, who are they, where are they from and why did they choose to settle in the town?

i was lookig around and saw this. looks fun. i think that settlers should have come and built a small settlement after leaving a big city due to overpopulation and #3 happens. just my thoughts on this.

It seems there are the most votes for #1.
I'll try to set some time aside tomorrow for writing the beginning.

Thought I'd post this question here, rather than in "Build a City 1.0" thread, to keep things tidy. I may very well participate in the Journal process, but I'd like to see how things go with other particpants first.

I would like to play Cartographer for now, so where on the map is the Tavern located, as well as the proposed site of the Mercantile General Store? If I have time, I can even create some of the interiors of these structures. Eventually I may stick to mapping only the most important structures, but I'll map all for now.

Do you need a road going somewhere on this map - to the interior cities...?

I left it vague on purpose, it will give people more freedom when writing another chronicle later on.
I am fine with you placing both stores and a road wherever you feel like. :)

Just out of curiosity, what season are we starting in?  It sounds easiest to start in Spring (with month 1 being the first month of spring).

Yeah, I was thinking that it is year 1 of the "city" (not much a of a city yet) and month 1 in the calendar - out of 16.

GP - Nice work! Have you thought of a way for people and carts to cross the river? I figured maybe it is a shallow part of the river so it is crossable, but not that fast.

Well, since folk are trading and we said it was going to be in a temperate ares, it should be one of the late spring or early summer months.

(Partially written about a dwarven trader twice, but I haven't played d20/AD&D in a while...having logistical issues)

This ford can easily be changed, but thoughts on this. First I thought of a ferry crossing, but ropes across the river would prevent boats from traveling upstream, then I thought rafters with barges could help one cross. But this was introducing to much civilization to a startup village. The easiest solution was to make it a ford.

But honestly, if the date is Year 1, Month 1, which is Spring. Then you could argue that the river is unfordable at this time, as snowfloods keep the river high and fast at this time of year.

Still, the bringing of supplies and lumber for the tavern and upcoming general store could have been done by sea, instead of by road from inland.

Again, I have only been guessing at map scale. The area needs room to comprise a city eventually, so this why I scaled the structures so small. I need to know how wide and deep the river is, especially this time of year.

We could always have a city that lies on both sides of the river (eventually).  Or we could just have the road run along the north side of the river.

Also, assuming that because we have mountains nearby we're on a higher elevation and that would cause the river to run inland away from the sea.  Would this be a good assumption?

Quote from: HaphazzardAlso, assuming that because we have mountains nearby we're on a higher elevation and that would cause the river to run inland away from the sea.  Would this be a good assumption?

I wouldn't think so. There are many places where mountains and cliffs are right against the ocean. THese mountains are a small coastal range, probably the northern edge of it and are quite low in elevation, comparatively. No reason for the river to flow backwards. I desired a navigable river that allowed direct access to the cove.

I can always put the road to the northside of the river and make things easier... thoughts?

Quote from: GPI wouldn't think so. There are many places where mountains and cliffs are right against the ocean. THese mountains are a small coastal range, probably the northern edge of it and are quite low in elevation, comparatively. No reason for the river to flow backwards. I desired a navigable river that allowed direct access to the cove.

Good point.  It just donned on me that we never established which way the river flowed, and I didn't want to make any large assuptions like that.

I think at this point it would be easier to put the road on the same side of the river as the most popular of landing spots (thus the most likely spot for a town and buildings).

I think that if we agree to put the road on the north side of the river it should be deep enough for small trading boats to travel down, but not large ones.  I also got an idea for some sort of a Nile effect thing where the river floods a lot in the spring and brings nutrients into the soil for farming (thus sustaining a population).

Oh Screw it.  Here come the dwarves.

I'm hoping to post something for month three, but I'm not sure if Jack's store would be done (I'm not sure how long it would take to build something like that with their resources).  Also, how long would it take to get to the Dwarves and back?

I asked in the beginning if we could post the same month.  Not going back in time, mind you, but it will often be useful to post the same month, especially as things get busier.  
Post month 2 again and finish the store.

My dwarves will be back in 24 days, the beginning of the fourth month of 24 days.
(the month of smelting, in the fourth year of the Broken Door)

May I suggest that the priest, currently 1st level expert is changed to 1st level adept? Unless you had a reason for him to be expert? :)

Fixed it! He's now an adept.

Oh, I borrowed from an old campaign setting of mine with the Duchy of Dernallion and the Royal Naval Commander NPC... it was the best I could think of for a "national" warship.

I wanted to possibly add to Brother Mallen's shrine, but had to get around the unfinished warship entry.

And I'll update the corrected maps tomorrow. If I have time, I might create the interior map of the inn. How many floors, how many rooms in back. Will there be a stable onsite. I'll make a helluva outhouse too!

I figure there wont be many donations at the moment. At least not until the city has some more citizens and followers.

Proposal (in a few months perhaps):
Jack leaves for the nearest city to persuade commoners to come live at the bay, paying for a small house in return for them selling their products to him.

I initially started with a small tavern. He is in the process of building rooms now, but he might want to expand it later - possibly even with a stable when it becomes frequented.

Also, was the wharf agreed upon or did you leave that up for the next poster?

Its up to the next poster or consensus in this thread. I thought there might be possibilities of an alliance with a foreign power. The US Navy has ports all over the world, the Duchy of Dernallion should too. It would bring military dollars, sailors on R&R, goods from the Duchy, probably make other sailing merchants feeling safer knowing this is a "pirate free zone" and improve trade all around.

I don't know the village's relationship to the nearest government, or is it completely independant and able to make alliances with foreign powers without a response from a higher secular authority.

In my mind it isn't really considered a village. We have 3 people. :P

But again, that is up to a poster or this thread. :)

Don't know if Eldren (?) necessarily needs "illusions of grandeur" to think himself the self-proclaimed mayor of Para Bay, but most tavern keeps are businessmen and seeing an opportunity like military dollars flowing through his lockbox - I'd think he at least talk with Jack regarding the possibility. If a naval wharf is constructed, word of such an alliance would draw many to want to settle there and thereby increase the population a hundred-fold in just a few months time. At least in my eyes.

Yeah. I had him consult Jack as he is the merchant after all.

Let's keep this 'early in history'.  No real countries in the area, just some city-tates weeks travel away, within a months travel only a few  real towns and villages, nominally under their control.  

So, I think our little hamlet needs some entertainment.  I was thinking about a lvl 1 Bard (Perhaps Halfling?).  If anybody has objections or suggestions feel free, there's no time requirement so I can add him in any time.

I thought the singing children might attract a bard from the region myself.

I was also thinking about having one or more of the Valkalen family men to be skilled at longbow, having to fend of goblin raiders in the lands they previously dwelled. Being 1st - 3rd level commoners might not be appropriate, maybe more like fighters 1-3. Although full time farmers once dwelling in far more remote and dangerous region - forced them to learn skill at arms. Swords were not available, so longbows became their weapons of choice.

I thought to somehow start a militia within the next 6 months of year 1, it would help if some had skills to train others. Besides archers are cheaper to maintain, provide for and useable for shore-to-ship defenses, than armor clad, sword wielders would be - at least at this time.

As far as militia went, I was thinking bows and spears.  Spears aren't hard to make, they already have 4 spears and boiled leather armor, and you don't need tons and tons of metal to make them (you could use flint heads if you really wanted to).  We could have them learn archery from some of the military sailors, as they most likely have skills in that anyway.  The main form of fighting was shoot then board and stab.

Shouldn't the population be 26?
(21 before the Cengs showed up, plus them)

We need more people. Nothing interesting can happen until there is a population base. ;)

Haphazzard - for now the singing children might even make a little money providing entertainment at the inn. Later on Elben can hire a bard to come by once a week or even fulltime.

GP - We could compromise and make them warriors instead of fighters. Fighters have real formal training (so can warriors have actually), and warriors are an NPC class.

In regards to the militia: I am fine with what you have discussed for now. We can also bring in someone that has training at some point. Anyway, in my opinion, let the military stay until there village gets a reason for having people armed and ready.

Sparkle - I think it should be 26, yes. It is true that not as much can happen while the population is low, but we can't have a huge surge of villagers without a reason (and the possible problems it might bring). If that is something you would like, try making a proposal about it :)

I hope you guys don't mind if I get in on this.  I'm introducing Jakob Kynwolf and family.  Jakob is running from the law in Darnellion, but I'm unsure yet what exactly he's done, and if he's even guilty, or if it's just a misunderstanding.

Not at all Ishmayl. Anyone is welcome :)

I usually keep it vague. You could say that someone heard a rumor that he is running from the law or some such. Then it can be true or not, and other posters have a lot of freedom to work with. :)

Yeah, that's kinda the way I left it in the main thread over there - left it nice and vague

Just like Ish to bring in the criminal element...

By the way, LordVreeg - shouldn't we let the dwarves be part of the city, at least while they are at their "summerhome"? Since the story is about the residents of the town. :)

Not yet.  Though that is not far away.  They are still 'summer people'.

Hehe, well, I sort of did propose it. Not formally or anything, but eh, new people are coming in, so whee. :D

I noticed the Cengs' house went from finished back to not finished again, I think someone goofed. ;) :P

I think its time for the hamlet to go official. It needs some type of government, I'd suggest a "town hall" by all residents of Para Bay (?) without the need for a mayor or leader, while its very small. However, as Sparkletwist suggests in the main thread, the hamlet will need a part-time peace officer (right now), paid for with town funds. This also means a tax referendum to cover costs of the hamlet - roads, bridges, docks, town hall, etc.

Maybe Nolan or one of the other farmers will start to grumble about the need for a peace officer and bring some law into this community.

I agree. :)

I've got a proposed big event in mind that will have many reprecussions - it won't happen until the end of the 12th month, just before the winter quarter. I want to give the idea of the worship of Celanta some substance. I won't introduce it, if there is no concensus here...

Because Para Bay sits on the coast, it can only be expected to face severe storms from time to time. Hurricane season on Earth is in the fall, so we could argue that a similar storm cycle could occur here in autumn similarly. The year has been lucky as no major storms have affected this region of the coastline.

A sudden late autumn gale aimed directly at Para Bay comes. When the high winds and horizontal rain hits Para Bay, Celanta will summon a cylone to start over the islet and quickly encompass the entire hamlet, the outer isles, most of the Snarulo Hills, including the dwarf summerhome area, and most of the farms in the river valley. Brother Aval will be on the islet in fervent prayer the entire episode. Para Bay will be spared from the havoc of the storm. This event should occur after the fall harvest and minimize losses in Para Bay.

News will reach Para Bay, that many small communities and independant farms and fisherman suffered greatly from the storm. When the first locals approach Brother Aval to offer thanks to the goddess, he will insist they gather a collection food and necessities, take a boat up and down the coast to offer some relief.

My goal is to give Para Bay a sense of importance more than just as an up-in-coming tiny trade port. The protection offered by Celanta to those who share her sacred cove might create an increase in religious fervor centered at Para Bay, more than just the residents, but all along the coastline surrounding their hamlet.

Providing relief services may generate a feeling that Para Bay is a community to look to for protection and government regionally. This would improve relations with distant partners like the Duchy of Dernallion.

This is just an idea that's been percolating for a few days - shoot me down if you have to...

Thoughts?

I have no problem with it.  We'll need to include some other characters in the storm time, so we might have to write 5-10 posts on the run-up and event.

I agree, that's why I posted the proposed event months before it would occur, so build up could be appropriate and not rush or destroy anyone else's storylines.

Oh, I figure Celanta is a goddess of the coastal regions, not so much the land or the sea. She is the daughter of Mother Earth and Father Sea. Coves, penisulas, shorelines, coastal islands are her domain.

And either incoming crab boats or a certain Dwarven astrologer should first detect the storm and raise the alarm in the hamlet below.

Dig on the astrologer.  that makes sense.
I kind of had Celanta pegged as a spirit of the cove itslef, not a powerful diety or even a middling one yet, but maybe just powerful to lessen the effects within the cove itself...once she gets more worshippers, her sphere will probaly spread...

Sorry guys, busy weekend, I won't have a chance to do any updating until at least tomorrow, possibly Monday.  Hope everything's going well.

Celanta of the Cove, works for me!

Sorry I haven't been able to post much, but I really like the idea of the storm.  I was thinking maybe Celanta lessens the storm enough to minimize damages/casaulties due to Brother Avan's (and perhaps that of other townspeoples) prayer's.

Storm is a good idea. If other villages suffer, then the population of Para Bay might also increase from people seeking shelter now that their own are destroyed.

Quote from: HaphazzardSorry I haven't been able to post much, but I really like the idea of the storm.  I was thinking maybe Celanta lessens the storm enough to minimize damages/casaulties due to Brother Avan's (and perhaps that of other townspeoples) prayer's.

That's exactly how I see it, as well.

Someone originally mentioned making this a world of spririts, and I love Celanta starting just as the spirit of the cove, but with the worship and support of the townsfolk, growing into a more powerful spirit.
[note=spells] what level spell is a waterwalking spell in whatever system is going on here?  or predict weather, etc?  Within the rane of the Bay itself, I would expect (after the storm, at least) them to cost a lot less for adeptrs/priests/miracle workers as long as they are casting within range of the cove.[/note]

I also like the idea of the storm. My vote's in.

BTW, we need to have that next village meeting - it's been over a month since the last one, and I didn't think I should implement it myself.  So maybe the next post (or soon thereafter) could deal with it?

I'm thinking of something that may end up being a big event, so thought I should post here for possible discussion.

Jakob has a mysterious past, and I've decided what it is.  He has been wrongfully accused (he's innocent) of the murder of his wife back on the mainland.  Being friends with Captain Ragnald helped, as he found that Ragnald was coming to Para Bay and hitched a ride on the ship with his daughter, cousin, and brother.

Back on the mainland, the verdict is yet to be reached (since Jakob is unavailable), but his late wife's brothers are very wealthy men, and have hired several bounty hunters to find Jakob.  They believe he is guilty of the crime, and have no interest in him coming back to the mainland to face trial.  

I'm thinking that in about three more months (going into winter), two of the hired bounty hunters will arrive on a ship and decide to take matters into their own hands.  This could lead to a bit of a "real" battle in Para Bay, possibly with at least a couple deaths, but at least will end up with some wounds and some people in the cell of the new jail.

What do you guys think?

Sounds doable to me. And realistic that something of real danger should come to the hamlet. Aside from my storm idea, I've been keeping the hamlet as peaceful as possible to help it grow quickly. But, yes reality needs to step in and give the hamlet a kick or two just so they know their alive...

Midwinter should be a good time for such an event.

That's what I was thinking, GP... let's wake this community up. :)

Also, here's a Para Bay map w/ an X on it for where Jakob has chosen for his house:

(http://www.shadowfell.org/pics/paraBayWithKynwolfHome.png) (http://www.shadowfell.org/pics/paraBayWithKynwolfHome.png)

And here's a VERY rough sketch of Celanta's Shrine:

(http://www.shadowfell.org/pics/CelantaShrine.png)

The large outer ring is the wall, with a door on the north side.  The inner not-whole ring is the pew.  There is a pool in the center with three small benches for kneeling next to it.  Eventually, the pool will (hopefully) have ceramic tiles, but for now, it is stone.  The floor is part stone (near the wall foundations) and polished wood.  The total diameter is 25', the pool is about 7' (or so) to give room for baptisms (if needed) and plenty of space to kneel around it.  Double doors are wood.

ISH, I think the bounty hunter idea is very good.

BTW, I posted some coinage/mintage notes on the actual thread.  If anyone has any issues/gripes, let me know.  I also don't have anyone minting coppers...most of Celtricia is on the electrum standard

I fuind it amusing that due to the collaborative nature of the hamlet, it is alerady fully usable, gaming wise.

That's the important reason I've been constantly updating the main map, as DMs could at anytime take the existing community, no matter the size, with realistic NPC inhabitants and plug-and-play into their existing campaigns.

This thread becomes a resource of dozens of possible communities based on the needs of the DM at the time, whether an 8 person hamlet, or 30,000 inhabitant large city (or whatever size it eventually becomes...) and everything in between!

Just for curiosity's sake, do we have plans on ending this after a certain period of time?  Like say, after the village has been worked for 30 years, that puts it into some sort of arbitrary "current day," or is this indefinite?  And if it's indefinite, what kind of era are we in, and what kinds of technological advancement can we expect to see?

Good questions all, I have no idea, but it should have a defined "ending period" to give a goal. I can't really imagine mapping hundreds of buildings, though... ;)

Lord Vreeg, give me some idea of the layout of Pastavol on the inside, so I can create a map for it.

Notice the structure at the top of the mountain above the entrance - supposed to be the observatory (telescope disappeared on this exported image - I'll fix it.)

It seemed like more of an indefinate project to me.  I figured it would just kinda end its self.  As far as mapping out every building, I think it would eventually become a mesh of streets and houses.  You'd really only have to detail important buildings.

not meant to be sill or listening to the Bordeaux too much, but it will end when it needs to.

I have purposely kept my tools, coinage, religion, and materials as early as possible.  As it seemed that I and others wanted an early start deate.  We decided to have mainly city-stated as other governments, also a sign of early development.

Ish, it if is still fun, it will go on.  When it gets to be too much work, it will, as many threads have, become inactive.

Isle of Celanta map - I posted it here, because this is a BEFORE picture, before I place the shrine on it. I thought you could check out what I can do, when I put an effort using Xara Xtreme for mapping...


(//../../e107_files/public/1207779731_453_FT46292_celanta_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1207779731_453_FT46292_celanta.jpg)

I love your water.  It looks...watery.

Oh no! You killed the drunkard!

This calls for... zombie drunkard!

now that is funny...and a test for our young priest...

Shoot, Sparkletwist, I just remembered that you created that drunkard.  I'm sorry I did anything to him without asking you, I just wasn't thinking. :(

I was a little surprised the drunkard had to die off so quickly, but the real question is... Brother Aval is an Adept 1, at least that's what he started with, as an NPC does his XP go up, so is he an Adept 2 or 3 by now. Also do Adept's have access to Priestly powers of turn undead or spells like speak with dead - I actually didn't think so. However, if allowed (and really should be) Brother Aval will do his damnedest to lay this troubled spirit to rest.

Now I think the drunkard has got to have a drunkard brother some place that will come to Para Bay to investigate his brother's disappearance... pick up on that Sparktwist.

No problem Ishmayl :D
Were it not for that act of seemingly senseless violence, I would not be have had the chance to utter the phrase "zombie drunkard"! And that would have been the real crime!

Hmm, hordes of drunkards descending upon the town...
... or ... hordes of... zombie drunkards!

 :drunk:  :demon:

GP---He's probably an Adept level 2 by now.
his powers are up to us.  I persoanlly think that Celanta's going to want a half druidic priest, being a water spirit.  But that is up to people who understand the game system.  

In my setting, that Drunken Zombie has a 5% chance per 8 days to create more undead, if there are bodies to find.  UNdead begets undead, unless laid to rest very properly....

I think I agree about the druidic aspects of Brother Aval.  And LV, if you have Drunken Zombies in your campaign, then you, sir, WIN.

oH, BETTER THAN THAT, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT.

I have Multiplying Drunken Zombies...

Baffy's a male ;)  He's the patriarch of the family.

I think I'll go edit.  
*Whistles as he works..*

Maybe we should try to update all the NPCs w/ names and such, so we have a bit better idea what's  going on? :)

I also agree that Brother Aval has more of a druidic/nature aspect than a "turn undead" aspect, so options we have to consider:

 [list=type]1. Aval is able to turn undead from training prior to leaving the monastery a year ago*2. A priest capable of combating undead joins Aval on temporary assignment - offering "trade" link with Monastery of St. Ambrathas*3. An undead slayer (outcast wizard) joins Aval and relocates to Para Bay and brings his library and tools[/list]

Which way would the "committee" want to take this?

Number one seems too much like a deus ex machina.  Maybe something like number two.  He get somebody from the monastary who can combat undead efficiently.  Maybe they can arrive at the town just in time (the undead have already started wreaking havoc).

I prefer number two as well, the Monastery of St. Ambrathas has friendly and open relationships with other religions and beliefs, as long as its theology is to a benefit to people's lives without deviant nor evil aspects.

Besides the monastery could offer such things as a teacher to be stationed at Para Bay for basic math, literature, reading/writing, and philosophy to the resident children and adults of the hamlet. Future undead activities, possessions or any other extreme influences have a resource should they become necessary.

Plus the monastery might become a buyer of crab, honey, and other products of Para Bay.

Number 2 for me.

Or maybe a not so temporary assignment.

You cannot keep the drunkards down!

Once the town gets bigger, there will no doubt be hooligans, harlots, rapscallions and other ne'er-do-wells, too, so beware!

OK, Sparketwist - I've introduced an 8th level adept priest with turn undead and other anti-undead tools to work with, so we'll see what he came do with these zombies...

Also, I've hinted at the upcoming storm (tentatively scheduled for the 22nd of the month), next poster might want to bring things closer - I'll do storm post if you don't mind.

Finally, been thinking about Brother Aval and issues regarding celibacy and chasity. As a monk of St. Ambrathas, he swore an oath of chasity/celibacy. As the first priest of Celanta, he must learn what his goddess's requirements are of her priests and followers. After the storm and the surge in true worship by the wider community. His communions will be more powerful and specific.

He will learn that Celanta has no issues with celibacy or chasity of her priesthood, being a nature spirit and that procreation is a part of nature. He may become romantically involved with Perita...

Thoughts?

I'm fine with you doing the storm post for the 22nd.  As for the romantic issue with Perita, I had never really specified when I introduced her, but she's possibly somewhat young - I always pictured her (and attempted to write about her) as though she's about 15 or 16.  However, that may be a perfectly acceptable age.  I could also see, potentially, there being some good drama if Jakob possibly has issues with his daughter being involved with Aval.

Oh, and in my post where I mentioned Captain Ragnald won't be back for several  months - when he returns, I would like the bounty hunters (who are hunting Jakob) to be on the ship.  Of course, Ragnald doesn't know they're hunting Jakob, but whoever writes about Ragnald's return (in case it isn't me), make sure you mention them.

Okay, so I have started bringing in little bits of zombie menace (last paragraph in main thread), and have also brought in some first stirrings of the coming storm.  I also mentioned that the next meeting is planned on the night of the storm - I picture possibly a lot of residents in the Blue Crab Inn when the storm really hits, causing a bit of panic.  We want to let GP have the next post, or are there still a few more things to do before the storm?

The storm has come and gone!  So what, it should take probably 4 - 5 days before refugees show up?

4-8, TRICKLING IN.
a few Veterude dwarvese also caught in the storm.
Some shipwreck, maybe a few trees knowcked over.  And vwery little sign of Celanta...she's  tired.  not used to working against her sisters and brothers.

I've brought in a few more refugees.

Also, since month 13 came and went without us doing an Autumn Equinox, coupled with the fact that we have 13 months, I placed the A.E. on Month 13, Day 15 (6 days from current).  I would the festival to be detailed, but anyone can do it - I just don't want it to be skipped by accident.

I've introduced the relief efforts, so Bros. Aval and Perita should be gone until the end of month 13. I tried to bring some "buttery wholesomeness" into the autumn fest - as a calm before the storm, that is Ish's attack of the bounty hunters. Probably sometime in month 14.

I can't wait for this next excitement. You introduced it, Ish, so I say you should post the attack scenario! :)

Sure thing - I'll do it near the end of the 14th month, so we can get a few posts in before then.  Anyone seen Neubert?  He started this, but hasn't posted in a little while now.

btw, I might have been unclear, but Hull kicked the bucket during the storm.

OK, I'll edit my post.

hey, how many months are in a year anyway? and how many days per month?

[blockquote=The Elf with the Elements]
12 Days Per Week
2 Weeks per Month
16 Months Per Year

There should also be 4 intercalary days, one for each of the Solstices/Equinoxes that occur. With that, each year would have a total of 388 days. I'd also suggest that the New Year begin on the Spring Equinox. [/blockquote]

which I love.

Okay, so each season is 4 months then, which actually gives me a bit of a mistake in the placement of the autumnal equinox, so we may want to fix that possibly?  Also, going into the 13th month now, I'm assuming is autumn. so winter begins between the 16th and 1st month?  If so, I'm really confused about how we started, back in month 1, which would have been the dead of winter, but we didn't really play it like it was winter... I suppose we'll just say it was a very mild winter?

let's play it like the new year starts in spring, do the whole rebirth thing.

So, just go get it straight then, we're in the midst of winter right now, and on Month 1, we'll go into spring?

We are on month 13 out of 16.
We started in the very beginning of spring.  4 months of spring.
then we had 4 months of summer, and 4 months of fall,  We should be going in the foirst of the winter months,
Month 14 and 15 should be the worst of the winter, then month 16 should start to reverse the trend to spring.

I think we should pick an equitorial differential that could help our sorry asses out here.  Say, the equivalent of the District of Columbia?  

I'll let you do that ;)  And when you said "13 out of 24," you meant "13 out of 16," right?  Cuz if not, you've really just messed with my mind...

tHE MAGIC OF EDITING.

And yes, I think that geographic location seems perfect.  

Hey everyone. I have been hugely busy the last 2+ weeks, and I am sorry I suddenly disappeared.
I have finally had time to read up on all the threads and posts I have missed and should be back online regularly.

I also want to say at the same time that I am thrilled to see that this project can and has continued to run by itself.
So far I really like what has been posted and proposed, but I need a little time to get back to speed with everything that has transpired.

Lovely work everyone, and if anyone new would like to join in on the fun, please do so :)

PS. My observation is that the thread will continue until it feels like work, as stated by LV, where it will die. Then a new thread/town with a new location and premise can be started.

I would love to join in. I will have to reread it all (loving how its going by the way) before I feel confident enough to pitch in.

Excellent!  Bring in a character, or start manipulating one that's already made, but don't be afraid to just jump on in

Ishmayl - the date is "Year 1, Month 14, Day 10+" - I think its about time for your bounty hunter attack on Para Bay. Let's see some action!

GP

Hmmm, in the thread itself, I had originally mentioned that Ragnald wouldn't be coming back until the spring (third month of the year), since that is when the pirate season picks up, and he was planning on cruising the area to help protect against pirates.  That was partly because I wasn't sure how our system of months worked, but I do think I want to wait for that for the bounty hunters, since the storm was so recent.

However, I was thinking it may be about time to shed some light on Aerod Plum's mysterious (first) death.  I was thinking we may have a tribe of faeries in the Sharonn woods, who, while not completely malevolent, are not happy about such a strong human presence near their homeland.  Aerod Plum was killed when running from the bear, he came too close to the fey home, which has been able to stay hidden for the last year.

I'm not saying we want to have the humans and fey battle, but there could definitely be some tension, and then maybe some agreements for the humans not to expand in their direction (especially with the lumberjack), and eventually possibly a friendship - but definitely tension first.

I think the presence of fey sounds like a good idea. So I second that motion :P

I agree with the pirates too, lets give that a little bit of time. The storm just happened.

Just a side note, I left the orphans unnamed but feel free to name them (from the looks of things one of them has been so its the two boys without names still).

I'm in for some fey tension. Perhaps Celanta is aware of the fey in the Sharron and could convey a vision through communion with Brother Aval to give the fey an area of protection, following some "incidents" between the fey and the people of Para Bay. I love the idea of a relationship with a community of fey, eventually.

GP

We will have to decide what kind of fey are around in our little world.
Changelings might be a good twist.

Yeah, I was thinking something sprite-like, not elves.  Changelings could definitely be pretty fun.

Yes changelings would be great. On another note, I am wondering how long until we start getting regular snows and how severe they will be (didn't someone say this places climate is similar to washington dc's)

Look at my second to last post - I got snow already coming down, though not heavy yet. I say snow season is here, though.

Your second to last post is why I asked that. Wanted to know how long until that became regular. Also I am wondering about how severe snowfall will get here.

I say we could expect for the next 2 months (the end of month 16) it to be pretty constant, possibly maybe even no green/dry ground until then.  THen for months 1 and 2, light sprinklings.  Something in the neighborhood of 1.5 - 3 feet during these winter months?

We're coastal, and will get some storms, but I would agree for the most part.

Coastal mid-northern latitude likely means that there will be alot of slush. Basically its very wet so the snow is oversaturated with water and comes down in thick wet clumps that stick to the ground and freeze into a sheet of ice over night. I used to live in the Seattle area, it was like that there.

You will still see the occassional fluffy powder but 90% of the stuff is wet and will soak right through any non-waterproof shoes in a matter of minutes. Then the next day the entire area is a giant skating rink of rugged ice... good times...

Sounds like fun, let's do it.

In regards to my most recent post:
Depending on the damage on his arm and if he thinks it is needed, Wynston might want to make someone else temporary peace officer. Also, I am considering that something unusual are caught in his traps. Another person, a wolf.. It could even be one of the fey. Or just the signs of something being caught, but which had escaped (perhaps by breaking the trap in a violent manner?).

Brother Jeredah is an 8th level Priest with access to healing spells. I doubt Wynston would be in much of a bind for too long with the above resource. We might consider a deputy to assist him, howver... thoughts?

I think that we can have wynston stay the night with jeredah so that the priest can properly see to his wounds in whatever way necessary.

I like the idea of a fey getting caught in a trap. Would be a good way to introduce them.

Also a question, how long until the next town meeting?

Rather than a changeling caught in a trap, I was thinking that a child of one of the farm families gets coerced/kidnapped by the changelings in response to all the activity in the formely quite neighborhood.

However, I don't have access to the proper Monster Manual entry for a changeling - what is a DnD changeling? Is it a specific fey being, or a class of beings - knockers, red caps, sidhe. There's also the age old fairy tale, where a human child is stolen and replaced with a changeling in disguise of that child to spy and trick the child's parents and influence the humans around them.

A fey in a trap is a rather violent way to introduce them to setting, I think...

I'm with GP on this one. Though the only changeling I know of is from Eberron, and I believe that is a humanoid..

Yeah, I'm thinking more of the sidhe, more sprite-like than human-like.

we're creators.  We create.

Remember 'fey mounds' from various lore?  I'd like mounds of lawn secluded in groves in the forst, mounds where during certain sidhe days they celebrate.  Perhaps relegated to the Mounds during the day as part of surrender terms to the Elves of the Waking Day, these fey are less friendly with other elves and humans, but know the dwarves more.  Fey cats and Banshees can come from the same grouping.
Hozat sound?

Excellent!  So would your dwarves know of these fey?  Because I like the idea of them coming up as a bit of a surprise.

The Whiskandir dwarves have very few dealings at current with the sidhe, and none in this area.  Totally a surprise.  

I think we should keep the "sidhe" name as well :)  Or, just fantasize it to something like, "the Shee."

The CeeBeeSHee?  
Just kidding.
The Whiskanir name is, 'the Brega', a contraction of the old, 'Brega Kor', which translates as 'rock-elves'.

Humans call them the 'Caleb Shee', the hidden sidhe.  Legends of the human folk say you might catch the young witches of the Caleb Shee by the river at dawn, beating the blood out of the spirit-clothing of the soon to die.

Since we're creating, how about Innis Sidhe or Shee. Innis being "island" and could refer to coastal regions as well. We could call that fey mound "the Rath" as the irish called them. The fey have no gods, as they are magical beings themselves and might practice sorcery, rather than wizardry. The band of fey would be led by a noble born fey, perhaps a lesser princess or fey royal hand-maid, now ostracized from the fey court. Her band would include bards, dancers, crafters and artisans, a champion and band of fey archer scouts, an aged fey oracle, nurses, laborers - a complete hamlet of fey within the rath.

A child from the hamlet could disappear for over 24 hours, a changeling in the form of that child is found near the rath the next day and returned "unharmed but nolonger speaking", Brother Aval might be able to detect the fey presence. While the false child spies on the people of Para Bay, other members are doing mischief at the sawmill site - hiding tools, causing minor accidents, pretending to be a ghost.

If the encounter goes well, and the child is returned unharmed, it could now have an affinity to both the fey and sorcery, becoming the hamlet's first native spellcaster.

I also like the old belief (pre Gary Gygax) that fey sprites did not actually have wings - that's an Elizabethan addition to faerie lore, but more like witches on their broomsticks, tiny fey flew on twings between their legs like broomsticks. Going invisible at will, diminuitie size, at will spell-like abilities, as well as sorcery... this could be fun!

I am not so sure about the twig idea. Perhaps they simply don't fly. It may just be me but I don't see changelings as a flying fey.

The rest though sounds good.

I like everything about that, GP, except the twigs as broomsticks.  However, I think, since we're creators here, let's take that idea and play with it a bit.  Instead of large butterfly/moth/insect-like wings, what if the wings on their back resembled fan-shaped twigs, branches, or vines?  Give them a bit more in line with nature.

Big grape leaves for our little drunken shee
lilly-pad, perpetually wet ones for our march shee

It's a pity Ynys Tylwyth-Teg isn't as catchy...

Anyway, I agree.

Sounds good to me.

I like the idea of wings in the form of leaves - the nobles should have hawthorne or oak leaf wings, nurses mistletoe, grape leafs and lily pads... for the CBG creative twist on sprite fey.

Quote from: Gamer PrintshopI like the idea of wings in the form of leaves - the nobles should have hawthorne or oak leaf wings, nurses mistletoe, grape leafs and lily pads... for the CBG creative twist on sprite fey.

This is indeed taking a good idea and moving with it.  I can see them being very small, from .5 meters to 1.25 meters.


(//../../e107_files/public/1209822283_392_FT46292_leaf.jpg)
what the hell type of sprite gets this monster?  

Yes, and perhaps with more nature styled hair that has the appearance of long grass or vines or something else of that style.