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myorke
Acolyte
Canada
16 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Jul 2011 : 20:40:45
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My PCs are currently finishing up the Melvaunt/Thar section of the Mysteries of the Moonsea campaign and since they are all happy to be hunting orcs as much as possible, I think I'm going to keep them in Thar for a bit longer.
Thus, I want to flesh out Vorbyx's portal network and tie it in to a number of "old" orc locations that are now occupied by the various groups in Rich Baker's The Tribes of Thar article http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drrl/20071217a, as well as Xul-Jarak from Sons of Gruumsh. As a result, the PCs will be entering many of these location by a "backdoor" that has been long unused.
Time for you to be creative, scribes: What are some interesting locations that you would use in such a situation?
Here's what I've got so far:
- Not unused at all. The portal opens onto a temple in which the portal is the venerated gateway where the orcs pray for Vorbyx' return.
- A long broken ledge above a fiery rift in the Burning Daggers' stronghold.
- A locked storeroom in the goblin stronghold of Red Claws
I'm looking for some cool locations, not necessarily the groups that would inhabit them, but ideas for that as well are welcome. Also, is there any knowledge on orc settlements in the Underdark or major trade areas that this portal network might connect to?
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31748 Posts |
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MalariaMoon
Learned Scribe
324 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2011 : 15:07:40
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How about the musty corner of a worg whelping den - where the Red Claws goblins breed their terrible lupine steeds? The portal ejects the PCs into the back of the den. Before them is a litter of ever-so-cute worg puppies, but their fearsome mother is not far away. When the PCs escape they discover they're in a whole complex of whelping dens, and several ferocious she-worgs are intent on protecting their young.
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myorke
Acolyte
Canada
16 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2011 : 17:47:29
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Thanks, Sage. That scroll was a good read.
MalariaMoon, you've got what I'm looking for. The material included with Mysteries of the Moonsea said to just flesh out Vorbyx' portal network on our own, so I'm looking to build such a network. Vorbyx was said to have existed centuries or more before the likes of Obould, and was said to be the first king of Thar. I might be lacking a bit of imagination (the planes have always seemed a bit complex and beyond the realm of my adventures), but I envision a portal network built by an orc king at that time to be rather mundane... portals linking his important areas and maybe a few outlying ones that would facilitate trade and preparations for war.
That being said, as my current PC party wanders through these disused portals, conditions will likely have changed on the other side. Locations could be in ruins, inhabited by other tribes or groups. But ultimately, I'm looking to build some interesting entrances to some old places, ones where the current owners might not even know a portal exists.
Since there are some rules for what would constitute a "safe" and functional portal, I'm guessing that there would at least be a ledge for the characters to step out on to. After that, I'm looking for harrowing or dramatic locales.
I'm about half done designing the stronghold for the Burning Daggers tribe. In this one, the characters step into a unused portal chamber which is separated from the rest of the caverns by a clever trap room and a broken bridge across the elemental rift described in the article. In my case, the rift is down a deep chasm that pre-dates the planar rift. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36800 Posts |
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myorke
Acolyte
Canada
16 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2011 : 18:22:37
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| This is great! Lots of ideas here. Thanks! |
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Great Portal Locations
