It's The Jump-Off...!

[Mozenwrathe]

Okay, I did ask Ziroc about whether or not it would be a good idea to post up a topic like this. He seemed quite enthused about the concept, so here I go. I have talked with more than a few people about where good places would be for new levels or at least sub-level sections to appear. I actually tried to show Ziroc a few of them, only to discover they've disappeared whie he was reworking and expanding the area they were in. (The sections were inside the original Tradeways map.) Now, I thought what would be interesting instead of weapons and armor to talk about, different areas which have places that a link to a new section would be viable and opportune. I have a not-so-small list of places in my brain so far I wanted to post for example, but as for an in-depth concept that I'll post up later.

I should put up a definition of what I mean by sublevel. In short, any minimap that would take you away from the main region. It could be a 2x2 tile area, or something as large as 7x14 tile section. To be honest, it could even be technically a level unto itself. (An example would be a section that could literally "gate" you between areas which had it's own monsters and NPCs to be dealt with.)

Places that would be suitable for new sublevels to be linked from:

- three of the dead ends within Level Nine. (heck, new sections of that map could just be installed with teleportation gates to bridge them.)
- the ruins of the temple like area within the Lake Of Shadows inside of Level Thirteen
- the portal which is just kind of standing there also within the Lake Of Shadows area inside of Level Thirteen
- the temple ruins within the Tradeways (main area)
- that tower inside of the Trollmoor Swamps
- two of those waterway openings inside of Skullport Southquarter
- a couple of those barns inside of the main Tradeways look ripe for expanding on as well

[robertthebard]

I suspect that the tower in the swamp, as well as the house with a tower in the Tradeway will eventually have stuff tied to them. The fact that the doors are locked, and require keys seems significant to me.

There are several areas with water that have boats parked at them, and it would be kinda fun to have them linked to other sub areas, or even secret paths to other areas. Time will tell.

[Mozenwrathe]

Originally posted by robertthebard, whom as usual makes a valid point here... I suspect that the tower in the swamp, as well as the house with a tower in the Tradeway will eventually have stuff tied to them. The fact that the doors are locked, and require keys seems significant to me. There are several areas with water that have boats parked at them, and it would be kinda fun to have them linked to other sub areas, or even secret paths to other areas. Time will tell.

Okay, to revise my listing, I'll go with two subsections - one with areas that I believe Ziroc is already plotting out for Big Things, and another which has areas that he may have "overlooked" as he's already branching out quite a lot.

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Places I (or others) believe Ziroc is already working on subsections for:

- Level Two where that new StarGate is. (C'mon now, there's no WAY he just put that there for fun!)
- Trollmoor Swamp, with the tower on the hill. (It has a freakin' "Z" flag in front of it.)
- Skullport Southquarter, at the southern most point on the map. (Another "Z" flag and the doors are locked with a key unavailable in the game.)
- that huge tower within Skullport which belongs to some not-so-anonymous mage.
- at least three locations within the main Tradeways area, at least one of which has a stickypin affixed to it
- that teaser portal within the Lake Of Shadows inside of The Drow City (It's been sitting there forever, so he has to have something large set up for it.)
- the sewers underneath Waterdeep (partially confirmed by RTB and Ziroc on January 10th, 2007)

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Places I figure should have branching off points but don't (yet):

- three of the dead ends within Level Nine. (heck, new sections of that map could just be installed with teleportation gates to bridge them. there is enough room to roam around on Level Nine that it could have subquests all its own with the right tinkering...)
- the ruins of the temple like area within the Lake Of Shadows inside of Level Thirteen (where that greater aboleth is currently and the still invisible Elder Eye Tyrant.)
- one major waterway openings inside of Skullport Southquarter, where anyone can just walk in and be assailed by a host of Drow Assassins...
- a couple of those barns inside of the main Tradeways look ripe for expanding on as well

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[ 01-10-2007, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

[Mozenwrathe]

So, what do you all think of this proposition for a subsection?

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Title:

And It's Name Was Pestilence... (revisited)


Author(s):

Unglaublich Verwustung, Dace De'Briago, and Mozenwrathe


Region:

Tradeways, random barn within the main Tradeways area


Levels Required:

starting for server, though up to fifteen levels might not be a bad idea.


Concept:

You are told by a farmer/survivor that something has infested his barn and it has dragged a few of his family members into it. He would have gone after them himself, but he's far too scared and weak to try it. Perhaps a powerful adventurer (such as yourself) could rescue his family for him? Something about this story seems off, especially as there are no signs of a struggle outside of the barn itself. Then again, with everything else hunting for dinner within the Tradeways, you can understand the farmer's terror. You go inside and you find...


Creatures Used:

- rats, dire rats, plague rats (yes, stolen right from Magic: The Gathering)
- weak zombies, zombies, undead rats, skeletons
- swarms of insects, perhaps some other new infected creatures, blighted wights


New Boss Creature(s)/NPC(s):

- priestess of Talona
- two necromancers at her behest
- at least one demonic plague beast, maybe two of them


Size Of Area:

two or three levels down at most. only two should be needed as the second level would literally be underneath the barn and inside the warm earth itself.


Prize Issued:

dunno. I'd leave that up to Ziroc.


Notes Required:

I did make a few minor adjustments on this one. Two levels would be required for this particular event, as the characters shouldn't see exactly what is coming for them. Sure, if Ziroc does include this one there's no guarantee the event would even look the same. I did add a few extra monsters because we don't want to make it too easy for the players to survive and thrive. Still, there should be more than enough XP here to make it worth their while to venture down into the basement.


Secondary Notes (provided by Unglaublich Verwustung):

thoughts around this one, brought on by your mention of there being no signs of struggle and also referring to the demonic plague beast(s) -

Although you manage to clear the area and beat the Priestess of Talona you only find the bodies of the family, you were too late. You return back up to the farm buildings and tell the farmer this, at which stage he transforms (in the style of the waitress in the Alternative Dimension (on Level Twelve, the twisted of Durnan's inn) into the Demonic plague beast as a final boss. This creation should be even harder than the priestess, and in order to acquire the XP you will need to slay it. Would also expect there to be a weapon dropped here and, to fit with the idea of a rural farm, this would have to be a scythe or sickle.

[ 01-17-2007, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

[Garnet FalconDance]

Seems to me that if there can be an underground (underwater?) tunnel from level 4 to the Haunted Isle, there may just be at least one other. Maybe under the deserted barn on the Isle lies a subterranean tunnel somewhere........

[Mozenwrathe]

Garnet FalconDance came up with this lovely beginning... Seems to me that if there can be an underground (underwater?) tunnel from level 4 to the Haunted Isle, there may just be at least one other. Maybe under the deserted barn on the Isle lies a subterranean tunnel somewhere........

Title: First Of The Last...

Author: Garnet FalconDance and Mozenwrathe

Region Found: The Undead Isles

Concept:

Exactly as mentioned above, what if there is at least one more underground tunnel leading from the Haunted Isle? Where would it lead? Should anyone even try to find out? After all, given what is currently ON the Haunted Isle (such as a freakin' DRACOLICH) itself, what would be found further away from civilization? Well, there IS in fact at one new pathway leading out and away from the Haunted Isle, but I don't think you really want to find out where it ends up. However, there are things just DYING to meet you on the other side of that tunnel. And that light that you see there? It's not the Pearly Gates opening up. You may want to bring your own torches, not to mention a cleric (or five)...

Levels Required:
- Well, if you made it THIS far into the Haunted Isle, then you should be fine. That, or you are just nuts. I'd suggest something like fifteen (15) character levels or more. I'd recommend twenty (20) character levels.

Design: Waterlogged labyrinth underneath one of the deserted barns. First you have to break into the barn itself, face whatever is within waiting for you, then find the hidden entrance to the lower level where the tunnel(s) actually begin. And given that this is running underneath the sea itself, I make no guarantee that the entirety of the way will be suitable for airbreathing individuals. There will be traps of numerous sorts, but rest assured that it won't be special for thieves. (Sneaking around is encouraged, especially by things that love to eat faces in shadows.)

Creatures Found (so far):
- skeletons, skeleton warriors, skeleton priests, skeleton warriors, skeleton mages
- drowned warriors, greater zombie pirates, zombie knaves, greater zombies
- sharks of all kinds, UNDEAD sharks of all kinds, GREATER sharks of all kinds
- oozes (which represent the wrath of Umberlee and Velsharoon...

New Boss Creatures:
- I refuse to talk about them. They just threatened my life with demon trout...
- okay, there was one dame there, but she really scared me. REALLY scared me...

New Prizes:
- at least one new trident, if not two of them
- the trident found on the Haunted Isle will come in handy for completing this region
- two new rings, perhaps even three
- new [forge] items for people to discover

[ 01-08-2007, 10:16 PM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

[Mozenwrathe]

robertthebard mirrored my thoughts with this comment, but I had to return to it because of a few issues I have... There are several areas with water that have boats parked at them, and it would be kinda fun to have them linked to other sub areas, or even secret paths to other areas. Time will tell.

To be honest, I would love that too. There is a major problem with that currently, however: most of the boats are effectively boxed in. The way the boats are situated, new openings to the "outside world" would have to be created. Maybe one two per level where there were boats already sitting that could then be developed later at Ziroc's leisure? As there is great potential for Levels One, Eight, and Nine for boats to be used to transport characters to new realms. Not to mention the docks inside of Waterdeep itself and Skullport. So if Ziroc ever got bored with making regular "levels" within the Undermountain itself, he has a lot of space to grow and expand without to go further into the earth itself.

And on that note, here is another possible sublevel to be explored by our intrepid players...

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Title: Where Humans Ought Fear To Tread

Author: RobertTheBard and Mozenwrathe (as I am using a lot of conversations with RTB to come up with this little snippet)

Region Located: Level One - Beginnings Of The Undermountain

Levels Required: starting levels for the server

Concept:

Well, the drow within the Undermountain are obviously well-supplied. Not all of it comes from Skullport, nor could that much stuff be shipped up safely from The Drow City. So, where is it that they get it all from? Maybe it's cached away somewhere? Perhaps they have some kind of portal they gate it all from? And what is with all those boats lurking around that level? With all the rival factions within the Undermountain all jockeying for position, there's got to be a reason why the drow always seem to win out...

Creatures:
- drow, more drow, even more drow, some slaves of the drow, did we mention drow?
- duergar faction working alongside the drow (non-combatants)
- scary lizard things trying to eat your heels and your ankles
- more scary and creepy lizard things that want more than your ankles

New Boss Creatures:
- none really needed, but Ziroc can always make a higher level drow captain who is running the operation

New Prizes: none needed

Special Features:

More than one of these can be set up. With the amount of room that the first level of the Undermountain possesses (as well as the second level), these areas could be simply intersperced and connect Level Two to Level One via one-way intersections. For more fun, these could be connected from Level Nine to Level Two using a one-way connection. (That would have to be from harder level to easier level - no quick jumps down to Level Nine that way...) Of course, if that trick was used, the recommended levels for those encounter areas would go up by quite a bit. Drops wouldn't be necessary for these foes, but they should be better armed than the regular drow encountered within Levels One and Two.

[ 01-08-2007, 10:33 PM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]

[Garnet FalconDance]

How do the boats get in and out of the docks at Skullport? Even if it's a sword secret, perhaps an intrepid adventurer with a high enough persuade skill could find himself or herself on a boat to nowhere........

[Mozenwrathe]

Garnet FalconDance mentioned this ever so casually, and I just had to respond... How do the boats get in and out of the docks at Skullport? Even if it's a sword secret, perhaps an intrepid adventurer with a high enough persuade skill could find himself or herself on a boat to nowhere........

Actually, I have a *.PDF file with the information of Waterdeep, Skullport, and some SpellJammer-related things which explain all of that. Also, I believe if you ask the right people in the docks area of Skullport, one will tell you. I do believe Ziroc's already working on links out from Skullport to parts not-so-well-known, but you'd have to ask him to verify that one. As well, Skullport has plenty of areas still under development which will tie-in to the "port" aspect of Skullport. The "Skull" part, well, I have a feeling Ziroc's got even bigger plans for that. Of course, that's just me and my dreams talking.

[Mozenwrathe]

Title:

Slayers Only Store (We mean it! You ain't a slayer, don't try to come on in!)


Author:

RobertTheBard, Garnet FalconDance, Dace De'Briago, and Mozenwrathe
(RTB for the scripts, Garnet for the characterization, Dace because I know this would be the place he was dreaming about)


Region Located:

perhaps Level Nine in one those little pockets nobody goes to, or even on Level Six far off in a corner that nobody currently explores


Concept:

Everyone has always wanted to go to a store that has nothing but killer gear. That's right, a place where only the premiere and elite know about and can get into. Well, this is one of those places. It's a little hole in the wall, but you'll be damned thrice over if you can find some of these items anywhere else that ISN'T a dragon's personal hoard. In fact, some of those weapons look as if something large has bitten into them, then had it's face shorn clean off... EXCELLENT! Now that you've looked through the door, how the heck do you get IN there?


Storyline:

Inside of Waterdeep, you run into a orc. Yes, an orc. Well-armed, well mannered, and well-spoken. In fact, you've never encountered an orc like him before. And there's a very good reason for that, but he's not going to tell you. What he WILL tell you, however, is that he's looking for a small collection of weapons: a bulette-toothed greatsword, a kama made from a dragon's talon, and another kama made from pure obsidian. Not exactly standard fare, this. And to get them, he's willing to offer you a few tomes he's acquired over his own adventures, not to mention three amulets he claims he has no use for. Still, the only place he can get these items he wants is at the Slayers Only Store. Problem is, he's not willing to venture to where the store is in order to get the weapons - that's where you come in. However, in order to get into the store, you have to have proof that you are indeed a "slayer." You'll need to have at least five of each of the following to get in there - beholder eyes, rakshasha eyes, ichor from the undead, skeletal knuckles, and large bones. What they do with all that material is beyond him, but he doesn't care. Just bring him back the items, and he'll give you your items.

The catch? Getting down there and coming back alive, of course!


The Store Itself:

It's just a regular store setup. The merchant behind the counter is a gnoll. Yes, a gnoll. Her employees are also gnolls. Or they could be flinds. You aren't really sure and you're not brave enough to ask. Upon entry, all of the items listed above are removed from your inventory. In order to get the weapons the orc inside of Waterdeep it looking for, you'll have to trade for them: the Bloody Dragonsword for the Bulette-tooth Greatsword, a Desert Dustmaker for the Dragon's Talon Kama, and a pair of those Dragonbane Reach bastard swords for the Obisidian Kama. (Okay, you could just BUY them all, but they'll cost you twenty (20) million gold each.) You'll probably want to do some shopping for yourself while you are there. After all, with all the work you went through to GET there, might as well, right? Can't say the prices will be fair, but the stuff there's positively top notch! Much better than that bugbear Lat-Lat's up inside of Skullport. You could always ask the merchant why she's not up in Waterdeep, but that might get you ushered out of the store at the end of her favourite pikestaff...

Oh, I just bet you are wondering how she is able to speak Common tongue? It's simple, but she's not going to tell you that. She'll give you a cold stare, point down, and then shrug once. Then she'll go back to pointing out all this incredible merchandise you SHOULD be buying instead of taking up space where PAYING CUSTOMERS could be standing...


The Forge Within The Store:

Yeah, why not have one there? It would NOT be making the same items as the forge on Level Thirteen, however. It would be a completely different collection of items, so it's just a dream of mine. *grins* More than likely it'd be producing brand new cloaks and perhaps bracers and gauntlets for the masses. Weapon making is for those with time and patience. Gnolls (or are they flinds?) don't have the patience when there are other things which they ought be working on! Hey, maintaining all this priceless stock takes work, stupid human! (Yes, her attitude would be very similar to the Drow Merchants within The Drow City on Level Thirteen.)


Creatures Involved:

- just everything you'd normally face anyway within the Undermountain.
- the merchant and her staff are all NPCs and not hireable.
- the orc isn't hireable either, but he may let you know who IS up for a job inside of Waterdeep...


Notes On This Concept:

Yes, before it DID say only ten million dollars for each of those weapons. The problem is that doesn't inspire the characters to go out and actually hunt down the items the store is looking for. The weapons themselves (well, those three) will be completely useless to players as they WILL be listed as "Only Useable By: Orc." The store will, of course, have other weapons within that shall be suitable for them. However (if I have my way), there shall be a couple of items in there listed "Only Useable By: Outsider" and "Only Useable By: Abberation." Don't ask what I've sent in to Ziroc. Only know that half of it is good for you.

[ 01-09-2007, 11:47 PM: Message edited by: Mozenwrathe ]