The Campaign Builder's Guild

[blockquote=sTEALTHY aUDIO nINJA][blockquote=LordVreeg]
I have a number of places that have 'layered' histories. I love the idea, and some interesting machinery pieces is always a cool touch.[/blockquote]

DO you know who could have done it?
I like it, too. I have always like post-apoc stories and this kind of thing really comes from that. At this point I don't know anything about the history of the place. I may eventually, or I may just leave it a total mystery.[/blockquote]
I have a few areas like this.  SO ancient and strange that the PCs start talking in hushed tones when they run into one of these strange areas.
The Largest city in Celtricia, Stenron, has sewer area like that, since it has actually always been a settlement, it was[note] no pc knows this...they have not figured this one out.[/note] Winterloo, Winterlou (over almost four thousand years ago), the Winterlo Temple Complex (over five thousand years before), and this was built on the "Vale of Silence" from 9000 years before, the original temple-dwellings of the Planars on the 'Waking Dream'.  So there are levels and sub levels in the old sewers.  Once the PC's were down there, and found an old sub-basement of the old original chapter house of the Collegium Arcarna, and it was guarded my a Machman, an ancient golemoid undead servant of the Arch Lich Arbor, made of black bones in almost a trenchcoat wielding a double sided-scythe where the blades only appeared right before contact...
Nothing is so cool as when the players start speaking in hushed tones and whispering just due to the 'weight-of-ages' atmosphere...

Obviously, by my last post, I love your idea about having a sect of the Necromancers involved with biogolems.  I think this could also tie into one of the older cultures...


I also echo Llum (the Mad)'s reverse necromancy.  SOme people use violence to stop violence, I preach using necromantic powers to destroy the undead...

Quote from: LordVreegObviously, by my last post, I love your idea about having a sect of the Necromancers involved with biogolems.  I think this could also tie into one of the older cultures...

Thanks.  I like it, too, especially as something mysterious taken from an old culture but not fully understood.  Really, I think that is the key of it here.  It allows something like this to exist in my setting, and to even be scary, but it doesn't make the magic level of the setting any higher.  There are some of these golems that existed when the necromancers moved in and they probably learned how to work with some of them.  From there, I suppose they could have learned how to modify them in some ways.  After a long time, it stands to reason that they could figure out how to make more, even if they don't fully understand how they work.  This lack of understanding would also cause the ones that they make to be inferior to the older ones.

BUMP. I'm debating coming back to this setting now that the major planning for my GURPS campaign is out of the way. Would there be any interest in that?

Its certainly an interesting setting, I for one wouldn't mind if you continued to add a bit to it.

I have one more barony to outline. There is where we will find the city state and university of the Babbas. They are fortune tellers and magicians. They're usually female and often called witches by those who don't understand them (and those who do and fear them because of it.)

Then I will move into the deep desert to find a race of lizard people with lightly colored scales. They live because of something in their body that creates a cooling fluid out of something that they eat. They consider being lighter colored being closer to their god. The rare albino is considered a gift/messenger from their god. On the other hand, the rare few that are born with dark scales are considered evil and impure and shunned.

I'm with Llum, this setting seems to be nicely quirky.
Looking forward to your treatment of witches.

Architecture in Natu
While nomads in the deep desert and even some stable settlements will probably use mostly tents for shelter, there will be many places that stable long term structures are built. For these places, I am thinking there will be two main kinds of buildings.

The first would be rounded buildings that are kind of like stone domes. They are built that way so that sand can blow over them and can be easily removed. A hazard of this kind of building would be that they could be completely buried and lost if left unattended for any length of time.

The other kind of building that I would see as being common would be your typical square or rectangular structure, built kind of like a box. In Natu, though, I think it would be very common for these buildings to have material coming off of them like a ramp on all sides but the one with the main entrance so that sand can pass over them. The area between this material ramp and the building would then be used for storage of things out in the open. (As a side note, I don't see people being too concerned about the stuff stored there being stolen. In an environment has hostile as Natu, people have to work together to survive. Because of this, there are fewer thieves and people of that mindset.)

Does it seem like I missed anything in the reasoning behind the architecture of Natu? I didn't really discuss very large buildings in detail because I didn't think of it at the time. Now that I have, I would have this to say:

For practical reasons, most buildings in Natu are small or moderate in size. There is often limited space for a settlement to spread as the ground is sometimes covered entirely by soft, shifting sand. Also, construction in such a harsh environment can be quite difficult and dangerous, making it very costly. The few structures that are large are usually quite extravagant and not solidly bound to the pragmatic guidelines of construction that their smaller counterparts are. Those who can afford to build such a structure (City Barons, water merchants, Babba) can also usually afford whatever maintenance would be later required on the building because of the elements. /end

I have written up three cities of the barony of Sha-Rai since the other night but I'm holding off on posting those until I have all of them. I'm still in the stage of very loosely going over everything. I was wondering about how I should right up the settlements in detail. Is there a certain template that anyone likes to follow? Or are there some settings / source books that do it very well and I may want to steal ideas from?  

Sha-Rai
Sha-Rai is by far the most populous and prosperous barony in Natu.  It is bordered by Ara in the west and south west and by Lhen in the south.  The barony of Sha-Rai is also home to the only large body of water found anywhere in Natu.  Because of this, the majority of the land is well irrigated and is the center of nearly all agriculture in the land of Natu. It is also the source of much commerce and political intrigue. The barony of Sha-Rai is also the only place that the Babba have any official influence.

Banha -  The city state of Banha is located in the southernmost reaches of the barony of Sha-Rai, not far from the poorly-defined border with Lhen. While Banha is known for very little on its own, it is nonetheless a very successful settlement as nearly all of Sha-Rai's trade to and from the south must pass through. Many complain about high taxes on trade within the city but these taxes are largely responsible for the success of Banha, financially. The City Baron of this city state is known for not taking these complaints seriously from outsiders, though the same taxes apply to permanent residents.

Dandarah - Dandarah is located in the westernmost part of Sha-Rai, in the territory that would otherwise be part of the barony of Ara. This is not the case since Dandarah has been allied with some of the city states that now make up Sha-Rai since long before the founding of the Council of Barons. Similar to Banha in many respects, Dadarah is successful mostly because of taxes collected from all traders passing through on their way to or from baronies to the west. The City Baron here, however, is known to be more forgiving than his counterpart in Banha by allowing permanent residents to pay lower taxes and by waiving taxes on traveling traders (though he will only do so under special circumstances.)

Imbabah - Located in the northern part of Sha-Rai, near the south wall of the mountains and on the western shore or Natu's only lake, many regard Imbabah as the most prosperous city state in the barony. Others will not even accept it as a real part of the barony at all. The people of Imbabah are under the governance of the Babba, a secretive order that also operate their only training center and school in the city. The Council Baron of Sha-Rai comes from here, is the only female City Baron or Council Baron, and is openly a Babba. Imbabah is very small considering its high population. This is because many of the citizens are Babba and live together in large buildings.

Taba - The city state called Taba is located along the eastern edge of Natu, near the mountains and along the southern shore of the land's one and only lake. In size, Taba is the second largest settlement in Sha-Rai, after Tanta and before Imbabah. In population, however, it is third behind both Tanta and Imbabah. The City Baron of Taba is an outspoken enemy of the Babba and refuses to have any official dealings with the settlement under their control, even going as far as to openly say he believes they should be exiled from the nation of Natu and not allowed any political or social power (in other words, that they should receive the same treatment as necromancers.) These feelings are shared by much, but not all, of the population of Taba.

Tanta - In both size and population, Tanta is the largest city in Sha-Rai and in all of Natu. It is located on the southwestern shore of Natu's only lake, between Imbabah and Taba, going around that body of water. It is a center of trade for much of the land and is home to the most (as well as the finest and the largest) temples. It is here that the Council of Barons meets in a large domed building, designed, built,  and donated by the Babba over a hundred years ago. The City Baron of Tanta is very supportive of the Council of Barons and while many have wanted him to be Sha-Rai's Council Baron, he insists (as have all his predecessors) that running a city as large as Tanta requires all of his time and he could not possibly do it and give the council his best at the same time. There are many conspiracy theories related to this, though, with most of them coloring the Babba as villians.

Quote from: Ninja D!Does it seem like I missed anything in the reasoning behind the architecture of Natu? I didn't really discuss very large buildings in detail because I didn't think of it at the time. Now that I have, I would have this to say:

For practical reasons, most buildings in Natu are small or moderate in size. There is often limited space for a settlement to spread as the ground is sometimes covered entirely by soft, shifting sand. Also, construction in such a harsh environment can be quite difficult and dangerous, making it very costly. The few structures that are large are usually quite extravagant and not solidly bound to the pragmatic guidelines of construction that their smaller counterparts are. Those who can afford to build such a structure (City Barons, water merchants, Babba) can also usually afford whatever maintenance would be later required on the building because of the elements. /end

I have written up three cities of the barony of Sha-Rai since the other night but I'm holding off on posting those until I have all of them. I'm still in the stage of very loosely going over everything. I was wondering about how I should right up the settlements in detail. Is there a certain template that anyone likes to follow? Or are there some settings / source books that do it very well and I may want to steal ideas from?  

A few things.  In a desert setting, many permanent buildings are created with most of the space below ground.  It is less affected by wind and sand, and is more insulated from the drastic temperature changes.  If the sands shift quire a bit, there will probably be high, supported chimnets, partially for fire, but also for air during a huge storm.  There will also be the equiv of a mud room, a sort of airlock area where a person can close the door behind them and then open the outside door without exposing the other inhabitants to the harsher conditions.
Settlements will often be built around water, obviously, but also around areas where a solid rock foundation is found under the sand.  It is not a coincendence that so many of our ancient cities, even those built in desert areass, have huge underworlds.

Quote from: VreegIn a desert setting, many permanent buildings are created with most of the space below ground. It is less affected by wind and sand, and is more insulated from the drastic temperature changes.

There will also be the equiv of a mud room, a sort of airlock area where a person can close the door behind them and then open the outside door without exposing the other inhabitants to the harsher conditions.[/quote]It is not a coincendence that so many of our ancient cities, even those built in desert areass, have huge underworlds.[/quote]actual[/i] under cities. They could be entered in much the way subway tunnels are now and have anything down there that could possibly be above. In the least, I could really see this being the case for the city of the Babba.

I think in my more detailed write ups of the city states, I will include a section about water for each one.
[spoiler=Updated Map]
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[blockquote=Stealthy dude]About fire; I've considered the place of fire in this setting before. Since there are not forests, there would not be trees to cut down and burn. The people are also less likely to be willing to burn scraps of animals and the like in such a harsh environment. I was thinking that in this setting there would be a special sand-like substance that would come from something that is mined (adding to the importance of that industry) and then alchemically treated in a pretty simple and inexpensive way (thus created another, smaller industry) and would function like those compact logs that we have now that can burn for hours with very little material and can also put off very little smoke. [/blockquote]
you are forgetting what was really used to burn by the desert folk.
Some animal feces, especially those of the camel, bison and cow, is used as fuel when dried out.[7] Animal dung, besides being used as fuel, is occasionally used as a cement to make adobe mudbrick huts[8]
Both of these lines apply to your setting.  Built like a brick shit-house, indeed.

Quote from: Vreeg's Bordeauxyou are forgetting what was really used to burn by the desert folk.
Some animal feces, especially those of the camel, bison and cow, is used as fuel when dried out.[7] Animal dung, besides being used as fuel, is occasionally used as a cement to make adobe mudbrick huts[8]
Both of these lines apply to your setting.  Built like a brick shit-house, indeed.

I didn't know what was used. Hadn't come across that in my research yet. Still, burning animal waste seems like a lower-class thing. I could see the fire sand stuff being for those who could afford it. The smell would be much better and it would be easier to transport...just more expensive.

Dry burning feces doesn't smell all that much.