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Trusty
Acolyte
3 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 01:00:24
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HI All!
I have been runnign my own home brew realm for many years.
The new campaign I am going to run is going to be based exclusivly in a large city with the party consisting of all roguish types. I have quickly come to the conclusion that the amount of time for me to make a city large enough to be capable of the kind of guild/gang warfare I want would leave me little time for working on adventures!
So for the first time in many years If find myself exploring premade material. I have read alot about Eberron and Forgoten realms. I think I have decided to purchuse the FR campaign setting and the the Waterdeep manual. I am hoping you experts on Forgoten Realms can give me your feed back on a dark thieves guild type campaign in Waterdeep and or your thoughts on a campaing run nealry entirely in Waterdeep.
Any thoughts or advice?
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 06:55:47
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First off - a warm and friendly welcome to the Keep, Trusty!
Let me assure you that in your search of Realmslore you have come to the right place, indeed! Manya scribe here know a great deal about the Realms and also about Waterdeep.
BTW, do you use 2nd or 3rd Ed. rules?!
Be that as it my, the lore of either book
2nd. Ed.: Waterdeep has been detailed with books aplenty in the 2nd Ed. There would be the City of Splendors boxed Set, Waterdeep and the North, Skullport, VOlo'sGuide to Waterdeep, City System and not to forget the Undrmountain sets I & II as well as Cloak & Dagger. I still might even have missed somein my list.
As you can see, Waterdeep is one well flashed out place if not THEE most well detailed location in the Realms. It might be a little difficult for you to use all this info.
Also, thecity of Waterdeep is (according to lore) a place where thievery is neither very popular (where is?!) nor very prominent. The laws and their implacement work extrimely well in Waterdeep, with many powerful groups and people around to quench thief-guilds rather quickly. Therefore the crime has founded its own 'city under Watereep' namely Skullport.
Therefore my advice: You might want to move your campaign to some other place whee thievery and gang fights are more present in the streets and the life of the city, like in the city of Calimport. You find a free pdf file of the 2nd Ed. Sourcebook Calimport[/i] detailing the city at the WotC download page.
Hope that helps a bit.
Good luck with your campaign and good gaming always,
Ergdusch |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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Trusty
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 15:04:45
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Thanks you for your informative reply. You have answered my concerns about Waterdeep. It does seem to be a little too law abiding for what I would like to run.
I will check into Calimport. Are there any major cities in the Realms where crime might be rampant?
We are playing 3.5
Also is the Forgoten Realms Campagin book only avaible in 3.0? I checked D&DS home page for a update to 3.5. Am I missing it?
Thanks again!
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 15:35:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Trusty
Thanks you for your informative reply. You have answered my concerns about Waterdeep. It does seem to be a little too law abiding for what I would like to run.
I will check into Calimport. Are there any major cities in the Realms where crime might be rampant?
Indeed there are many other cities aside from Calimport were the art of the shadows is prominent - Memnon, Teflam and Baldurs Gate for instance. But there are many many more but few have been detailed to such an extent.
quote:
We are playing 3.5. Also is the Forgoten Realms Campagin book only avaible in 3.0? I checked D&DS home page for a update to 3.5. Am I missing it?
IIRC there was no update from 3.0 to 3.5 of the FRCS per se. Most changes have been published in various other sourcebooks esp. the Players Guide to Faerun.
Ergdusch |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 15:49:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Trusty
I will check into Calimport. Are there any major cities in the Realms where crime might be rampant?
Westgate. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Snotlord
Senior Scribe
Norway
476 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 16:11:36
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I agree. Westgate. Or Athkatla.
That said, I see no problem running a thieves campaign in Waterdeep. I enjoyed the feeling that the old regime in Waterdeep is slipping (Old Wolf getting... old, and the Khelben thing). The Shadow Thieves are growing in power. Waterdeep is wide open for all kinds of opportunities. Good times. |
Edited by - Snotlord on 25 Jun 2008 16:21:29 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 16:18:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Trusty
I will check into Calimport. Are there any major cities in the Realms where crime might be rampant?
Westgate.
Yeah, I was going to say that, too.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 16:20:28
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| Zhentil Keep could work also..... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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StarBog
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 17:17:28
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+1 for Skullport here.
In the campaign I'm currently running, one of my players is playing a Thief-Catcher (follower of Tyr) working for the Waterdhavian City Guard. He ended up starting a brawl in a tavern in Skullport. Not a good idea. The party just about escaped with their lives due to some creative use of ad-hoc explosive materials.
Oh course, later on, in the campaign, said PC, due to a Portal malfunction entirely of his own making, lost a hand. Ironic. Or apt, given who he worshipped. Or poetic justice really. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 18:54:41
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I'm of the 'Westgate' crowd myself.
I have used the Thieves World material to flesh-out my Westgate (and for the maps), and if you can get that anymore its really good (although non-canon, being from a different world entirely).
Westgate's Thieves guild is secretly run by a Vampire Lord, who is also secretly a Manshoon Clone, which gives you a connection to one of the other cities mentioned here - Zhentil Keep. I don't think that city would work for you, because although it is evil, it is very law-abiding (run by a Tyrant's church!). When I think ZK, I think of Dr. Doom's Latveria - there is no crime, because EVERYTHING is punishable by death.
But thats just my take (on ZK) - go with Westgate; its exactly the kind of den of scum and villainy you are looking for.
P.S. - while Skullport would work, its more of a 'monster locale' - you'd basically be running your campaign INSIDE the world's largest dungeon. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 25 Jun 2008 18:55:28 |
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Trusty
Acolyte
3 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2008 : 20:16:14
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| Wow thanks for all the replies! What a awesome resource this site is. I will be reading up on all of your suggested cities. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2008 : 01:40:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
When I think ZK, I think of Dr. Doom's Latveria - there is no crime, because EVERYTHING is punishable by death.
Well, there is crime... but just don't let Victor von Doom hear you describe his myriad fiendish plots as such.
And I'd imagine the criminal situation would be much the same in Zhentil Keep. There is crime, and it is mostly that which is perpetrated by those in power. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Victor_ograygor
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1075 Posts |
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2008 : 07:49:58
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Well, Westgate is indeed an option. Slipped my mind somehow, though thats odd, as I'm planing to run some thievish side-adventures is this great city myself in the near future.
BTW, @ Markusthay, you have any maps of Westgate?
Also, @ Vic, most your links are to the google-starting-page. Was that intended or merely excidental? |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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StarBog
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2008 : 13:11:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
P.S. - while Skullport would work, its more of a 'monster locale' - you'd basically be running your campaign INSIDE the world's largest dungeon.
I think this is a function of how you approach these things. Remember, monsters have careers as well!
I tend to run Mos Eisley, err, Skullport as a wretched hive of scum and villianry. But with the looming thread of the Skulls everywhere.
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2008 : 08:30:31
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| Westgate. |
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Victor_ograygor
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1075 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2008 : 10:10:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Ergdusch
Well, Westgate is indeed an option. Slipped my mind somehow, though thats odd, as I'm planing to run some thievish side-adventures is this great city myself in the near future.
BTW, @ Markusthay, you have any maps of Westgate?
Also, @ Vic, most your links are to the google-starting-page. Was that intended or merely excidental?
Excidental  |
Victor Ograygor The Assassin and Candel keeps cellar master
Everything I need to know about life I learned from killing smart people.
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NOOB to the realms, requesting advise
