Preceding the new year data dump, here are two maps(BW/Color)
of Fenlock with all the numbers for the DM's Key...plus a large original.
More shortly.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
more Fenlock Geography
131-135. Large houses.
136. Johnny Arnoult’s press. Although few olives are
grown in Fenlock proper (the immediate area’s heavy wet clay soil isn’t
friendly to olives, and the regular, if not particularly severe, freeze does
occur in winter), there are extensive farms not far to the south and west, and
the Arnoult family has made a decent living processing olives using equipment
linked to a large undershot waterwheel that uses the steady (but not
particularly rapid) flow of the canal to turn a series of grindstones and power
hydraulic pistons. Olive oil is primarily used in the production of food and
high-end lamp oil, most of the fuel oils in the area are from animal oils, with
a minor use of pitch found in pitch springs north of Arden Vale.
137. Goudeau family house (Renny Goudeau). The Goudeaus are
involved in mineral trades, and this narrow A-frame house was one of the first
structures the family owned in town, before building the much larger Goudeau
Estate (138). The house is largely offices for the family, although Renny, the
family patriarch, lives in the building. If there is gold, coal, silver, iron
ore or the like to be found within 100 miles, the Goudeau clan knows where it
is.
138. Goudeau Estate. (Sebastien Goudeau) One of the thane’s
best acquisitions early in his career as the city’s leader was convincing Renny
Goudeau, a young very successful mineral trader to move from Arden Vale
(where his kids were largely prevented from advancing because of social class)
to Fenlock. Charging the Goudeaus a very modest 5% tax on their earnings (in
addition to the taxes collected by the crown) instead of 25% common in the
capital convinced them to move their operations to ‘the frontier,’ and the
Goudeaus are still the most successful traders in minerals in the country,
owning hundreds of mines throughout the Ardent.
139. Large manor house.
140. Phillipe Goudeau, mapmaker. Trained at his father’s
knee, Phillipe had the skills in finding minerals and acquiring rights to mine
them that made his family wealthy, but never really had the desire to do it for
a living. Instead, he discovered he could make a very lucrative side business
out of the creation of large, multicolored maps. His work hangs in the thane’s
office and is used by the king’s tax assessors. He also does blueprints and
minor engineering work.
141. Home of Jeannine Gobel, designer and occasional seamstress.
Another Fenlock success story, Gobel has turned her magnificent use of fabrics
and colors into a business, designing the stage costumes (and occasionally street
clothes) of Fenlock’s many whores and performers. Her work is in very high
demand, and she is best known for designing the most outrageous dresses and
court apparel used in the capital. She considers herself retired, but still
designs exceptional (if loud) costumes from her attached workshop. The gardens
of her property, which run along the street, are famously lush.
142. The Virgin’s Bodice, an inn. Offering three square
meals a day delivered to three stories of large rooms and a full array of
available services (whores to healers), The Virgin’s Bodice, run by Caressa LaJoie
(a cousin of the trader family) is renown throughout the Ardent for its
attention to detail and respectability. Most of the guests are religious
pilgrims from chivalric (or higher) families, doing a circuit of the temples
and showplaces of the realm.
143- 146. Small manor houses.
147. Vallois Lafosse’s manor: Lafosse owns The Rusty
Pumphandle, The Goat’s Head and The Captain’s Ugly Sister, as well as being a
major investor in a number of other local businesses. His manor house oozes
wealth and bad taste.
148-150. Large houses.
151. The Most Noble Order of the Sisters of the Living Water.
This cloister is associated with the Temple of Ordith complex on the other side
of the city, but this sect of the religion has a mysterious existence even more
restricted from outside eyes. The Sisters also take in a few orphans and have a
girls’ school.
152-153. Large houses.
154. South Cistern Fed by both rainwater and ground
sources, the cistern, which is built of stone and concrete and stands 35 feet,
provides lightly pressurized cold water to a number of the more well-off houses
in the area,.
155. Drydock (barge repair) Another one of the city’s
drydocks used in the service of barges.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
East Fenlock: Everyone knows
106. The Basilica of Palladian. The MacIntyre clan (and a
few other prominent cavalier families) have contributed over the past fifty
years to the creation of this incredible 150ft high marble temple, with
high-peaked terracotta roof and with 30ft high caryatid columns around the
entire edifice, which is planted with enormous oaks on three sides. The rear of
the temple has a large sand ‘pit,’ where there are regularly warriors training
(and showing off.) The temple itself contains three large areas, one with an
enormous statue clad in semi-precious stones, one (in the rear) where rituals
and high-level healing occurs and a third area, accessible by a partially
hidden stairway in the rear area, which is divided into small rooms used by
traveling clergy, as storage and ritual areas and as the offices and homes of
several clerics of Palladian, including Mother Hope, a very old and very high
level priestess who ‘runs’ the temple. (She is a distant relation of the thane’s
as well.) The temple is rumored to also house an extensive catacomb which keeps
many dangerous items (and perhaps creatures) in check. While the items is a
possibility, the religion of Palladian (who is a goddess of justice and also of
fire) is not shy of executing villains, especially demons and undead, although
one of the teachings of her priesthood is that humans (and humanoids) can always
be redeemed. The Basilica (and the 140ft statue of Palladian the Fire-Haired)
is rapidly becoming a tourist attraction, and Mother Hope sells blessed holy
symbols, which are used to fund the temple’s large orphanage.
107. The Temple of Ardentia. The official state religion of
the country of Arden Vale is that of the demi-goddess Ardentia, who outside
of Arden Vale is generally regarded as a variation on the goddess
Palladian, and this temple, made from white marble with pale orange veins, is
very much a reflection of the (much larger) Temple of Palladian that sits
beside it, when viewed from outside. Ardentia is often portrayed as a ‘faceless’
deity, with her followers using iconography (usually of maple trees) that does
not involve humanoid forms. (Old temples of Ardentia sometimes have a statue of
a laughing maple nymph, a figure similar to a dryad but usually portrayed as
younger and having flaming fall maple leaves for hair.) This temple (whose outside
columns are covered in incredibly detailed bas-relief of maple leaves) is much
different on the inside, appearing ‘empty,’ especially compared to the main
room of the Temple of Palladian, (which is designed for observing the statue of
Palladian), a cavernous inside space with five columns made of agate (and
carved to resemble the trunks of trees) with the domed ceiling of the chamber (the
center of which is glass) adorned with hundreds of shining copper leaves which
move and tinkle as the air is stirred in the room. The living area of the five
priests who are in residence (one is a low-level paladin) is above this common
room, and the priests keep a sacred flame which lights the downstairs area.
This light is green in the summer, orange in the fall and very pale and white
in the winter, seeming to change the color of the leaves below. During weddings
(even the devout members of other religions in the city tend to be married in ‘the
maple temple’) the priests bring out many deeply carved maple pews, and one of
the effects of the marriage ceremony when performed by these priests is that
the leaves appear to fall, but vanish just before hitting the heads of the
participants. (Depending on the time of year, this can be falling autumn
leaves, green seed ‘helicopters,’ snow, rain and even gold dust.) Between the
incredible special effects of the ceremonies (including the four ‘seasonal’
ceremonies), the temple’s free-flowing maple mead (made from honey and syrup from
a top-secret grove nearby) and the tacit approval of the king for ceremonies
(Ardentia is the civil religion of the country), the temple does very wel
economically, despite having far less money or members than other faiths.
108. Temple of Ordith complex. This temple and bathhouse
complex consists of two indoor bathing facilities (a, c) a large outdoor pool (d)
at the foot of a spring-fed fan waterfall (it falls about 50 feet, into a steep
valley that the bathhouses stick out into (streams pour over the ‘tops’ of the
main, tepid pools of the bathhouses (each has a large tepid pool and a smaller
hot room and cold room) into the pool as well, through a series of channels,
resulting in a C-shaped fan waterfall that pours over rocks (the waterfall
itself is similar in appearance to Tinago Falls in the Phillipines)), a temple
structure made of huge blocks of limestone that hide the spring-fed source of
the falls and is only allowed to be entered by the faithful (b), a very narrow white
sand beach under a ‘shelf’ of rock with a stone stairway leading to the surface
level (e) surrounded by oak trees (Swamp White Oaks) that nearly completely
shield the plunge basin, leaning slightly inward and having branches that
almost interlace. The plunge basin itself flows into a small system of caves,
but this area (and indeed, the plunge basin itself) is only accessible to the
faithful (or those being healed or cured by the faithful.) Persons attempting
to climb the iron fence surrounding the complex without permission regularly
end up entangled by the moss hanging from the tree, and people have seen dryads
and nymphs in the area. Ordith’s clergy have an incredibly busy schedule of
rites, ceremonies and sacred days, and clerics aligned with this complex spend
(on average) a week per month engaged in religious observance. The bathhouses
themselves are open to the public, and the city’s main social meeting place.
The plunge basin can be viewed (barely) from windows in the bathouses. The
Temple of Ordith here (at what is called ‘hidden falls’ is very, very old and
is assumed to predate the city.
109. Anne Dubois, bookbinder. This lovely two-story wood
house, painted in a bright green and covered in honeysuckle and ivy, is the
home of the city’s premier bookbinder, whose work is primarily sold to the
local temples. She specializes in the creation of very large custom works, and
works with an illuminator and several scribes. Often her work is ‘booked’
months in advance, but she is available as a sage of written works to identify
scrolls, books and the occasional rune. (Her abilities are limited to
identifying low-level spells and books in Eastern, Western and Ancient Common,
Modern Elven, Dwarven (including runes), Gnome, Kobold, Goblin, Angelic and
several ciphers.
110. Enameller’s Shop. Pierre Legrange is one of the city’s
finest enamellers, having done much of the work on the landmark statue of
Palladian and preparing many of the more intricate holy symbols of Palladian
sold there. He regularly will purchase agates and semi-precious stones at their
book values, and is available for custom work. The bulk of his work is in
traditional glass enamels, but he also manufactures pietra dura (multicolored
stone inlay), hardstore carving and cameo work. His enamel portrait miniatures
are particularly exceptional, and nearly photorealistic. He also works in oil
and charcoal, but the durability of enamel in the humid region keeps him very
busy. His 3 inch diameter portrait miniatures, usually set in gold, require a 3
hour sitting and another week to complete. He will also purchase inlaid and enameled
works of art both to resell and to refine his techniques.
111. Mule Barn and Seller. Lamar Babineaux runs this large
operation, which sells barge-mules, donkeys and draft horses.
112. Drydock. Fenlock turns a large trade in barge repair
and barge building. This drydock is owned by Lamar Babineaux, who also owns a
large mule operation.
113. Fenlock Orphanage Run by the temple of Palladian, this
orphanage houses a couple of dozen kids orphaned by war and undead attacks in
the area.
114. Paul Demonde’s House. This two story manor house and
large landscaped land is occupied by the head of the Demon’s Dark Dozen, a
mercenary guild that considers Fenlock its home.
115. The Demon’s Dark Dozen Guildhouse. The DDD are a local
mercenary organization, primarily hired by caravans. Contrary to their name,
there are actually hundreds in the organization, and this army-for-hire can
practically name their price for their services. The DDD was last known to be
helping the town of Green Vale put down a goblin invasion.
116-119. Modest Houses: These large wooden structures with
thatched roofs are owned by the city’s middle class.
120. Temple of Yara. This log cabin, with a porch made of
twisted willow and a mossy slate roof is one of the city’s less traveled
temples, housing two permanent clerics who provide healing services (including
free healing for those in desparate need
121. Fenlock Library This members-only library (50gp/year
membership) is primarily a collection of books on languages, religion and local
history.
122. Fortified Manor House. A large manor house, owned by a
wealthy townsperson.
123. Ship captain’s barn/stable. This large barn and
attached stable/carriage house is owned by the residents of building 124.
124.Ship captain’s house. A large manor house, owned by a
local ship captain. The captain himself is rarely home.
125. Lamar Babineaux’s house: This slate-roofed 2-story house
is constructed from deeply mortared natural limestone, with a white-painted
large porch. An enormous planting of jasmine vine has swamped the side of the
house, hanging over the porch and covering 2/3 of the building in green foliage
and deeply scented white flowers.
126. Rest home. This large complex is maintained by the
Temple of Palladian and is both a place for people to recover from injuries and
a hospice.
127. South Lift Bridge. A drawbridge across the canal (see
89)
128. Fenlock Courthouse. Arden Vale law requires all cities
that receive tax revenue from the government to have a Courthouse, a Public
School and a Temple to Ardentia. The court house, while largely unused (The
Thane is allowed to ‘be’ the law) is a work of art, with a large, green copper
roof.
129. The Pixie Fountain. This small fountain is a source of
civic water, and features a statue that is a steel trellis arch with 10 pixies
hanging from it. The arch is planted thickly with moonflowers and dragonfruit, and
the fountain itself has night-blooming water lilies in the top of its three
tiers. Its fragrant night-blooming garden has earned it the name “the night fountain.”
A faint continuous faerie fire makes the water of the fountain glow deep, pale
purple at night.
130. Large house (Dubois Family estate) The Thane’s recently
retired right hand man (Marcus Dubois) spent a great deal of his wages to make
his gorgeous three-story brick building with a slate roof into a home for his 3rd
level mage wife and his many children. He recently turned the attic from a
storage area into a large peaked room that is a ‘lab’ entered into from a hallway
with bookshelves (these hold Jeanne Delmar Dubois’ spellbooks, and a number of
books on magic technique) that has doorways to large bedrooms with empty bookshelves
and built-in desks and folding beds These two bedrooms, the entrance area and the
workshop take up the while top floor.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
East Fenlock: Stuff Everyone knows
Since the party detoured to Arden Vale and St. Rose, I haven't posted some Fenlock data in a while. So, here you go.
86. Lockmaster’s Office. This small brick building houses the
lockmaster’s home, his office, and the controls for the bells and horns that
raise the bridges or water levels. The
3ft diameter brightly marked viewing hole in his office which allows him to
detect the exact height of the water is also a famously excellent place to fish
for dark water fish, both because he tosses bread down that attracts them and
because the long, cool stone pool, with its still water and deep seaweed, is
much more pleasant for them than the lock’s pool. Hilaire Fabron is the
Lockmaster. He’s known for being of the opinion that animals are better than
people…especially young people. He also never met a problem he didn’t think a
machine could fix.
87. Northern Mule barn. The city’s liftbridges, except in
emergencies, are raised by large coils of chains, which are wound around a
spindle turned by mules. They are lowered by a water-filled device that limits
the speed they can come down with (but they still come down fast enough to
remove a limb or kill a child), and the locking mechanisms stop them from
shifting direction when in motion. This barn holds five to ten mules, and it is
common for two to be in the harness during the day.
88. Southern Mule Barn. The southern bridge is much
lighter, and the spindle may be turned by only one heavy mule. This barn holds
two to seven mules, usually two are harnessed during the day. The counterweights for the bridge are
partially attached to this building.
89. Northern Lift Bridge. The Northern lift bridge is much
heavier than the southern lift bridge. It sits atop the gate for the locks, and
when the heavy chain is passed between them, they are impossible to move or
open. The bridge is a single leaf
bascule bridge (both bridges are this type, but the cut stone and steel
counterweights of the Northern Lift bridge swing above the road when it is
open, whereas the southern lift bridge uses submerged lead weights to keep it
up, so the Northern bridge’s counterweight is a landmark. (also because a much younger Sir Four lifted
the bridge into position with his bare hands (and a magical girdle.) The bridge
is iron grid with a wood panel bed, and if not oiled properly or handled gently
will stick at about 1/3 up. This happens about twice a month.
90. Northern Lift Bridge counterweights. Enormous concrete
filled metal weights are connected by gears and cables and welded to the end of
the Northern Lift Bridge. When the bridge is down, these weights are high in
the air, and the largest must be passed under to access the bridge. There are
only a few inches between the front of the Thane’s house and these weights when
the bridge is closed.
91. The fortified manor house of the Thane. Four stories,
stone with a high pitched slate roof and a large attic and basement, the
thane’s house is part mansion, part city hall and occasional temple to
Palladian. The Thane’s large collection of trophies of various slain evil
beings lines the enormous dining room, where there is nearly always a crowd.
Food is plentiful (if plain), and each of the thane’s children has their own
room in the building. The northernmost third of the building houses a stable on
the lowest that can house as many as 10 enormous horses, and the building also
includes indoor access to a hotspring.
92. The Thane’s Paddock. The stockade fencing of the
paddock gives way to handwoven wire at the northernmost boundary, and barges
coming through are often treated to the disapproving glares of warhorses who
look at the crews as if they might fancy some manflesh in addition to their
oats. It is not uncommon for people training for the Joust to be running around
here. A manmade pond in the center of
the paddock is full of crisp, clean and frigid water even on hot days.
93. The festival stands. Above one of the best jousting
tiltyards in the country stands a stone and steel set of bleachers and a
covered box with more amenities than much larger such yards in much larger
cities. The high stands can fit about 3000 people with space to spare. The
deep, soft sand of the yard is both a benefit and a problem when jousting. It
slows horses down a lot, but has greatly reduced the number of serious injuries
taken when jousters are knocked to the ground. A small group of orphans has the
job of raking this sand daily, in all seasons. It is said the thane had these
built to put an end to the pas d'armes that kept going on at the
Northern Lift Bridge, but the Thane himself was always the worst offender in
that regard. Indeed, people say his house sits inches from the bridge because
he technically still has a challenge to take on anyone who crosses it.
94. The festival grounds. Originally planned as a place to
pitch tents, the grounds (sometimes called the Eastern Commons) is a short,
flat lawn regularly used as a monthly market and sort of mini-fair. It is also
camped upon by several local nomad groups, including the mysterious ‘Caperers’
(so named for their dancing and elaborate goat carts,) Tinkers, and Circuses.
During large tournaments, it is used as additional (and free) seating. Since
tourney participants still need a place to camp, it’s typical for the
town to close off the roads (especially the road along the wall, between
building 95 and 105 on the map; and the road behind the festival grounds from
97 to 103) and use that for the large tourney tents. Horses are often kept at
the Thane’s Paddock
95. The North Armory Another building associated with the
defense of the city, this building is largely used as a storage shed for
weapons and armor. During festivals, the lower floors (which are kept empty) are
used as communal sleeping areas for squires and hirelings. The fireplace on the
lowest floor is large enough for three big men to stand erect within, but it is
very rarely cold enough in sub-tropical Fenlock to justify using it.
96. Thrice in the Sand, a bar: The Thrice (as it is
called) makes most of its money from the prestigious concessions arrangements
with the tiltyard. Its common room is small, crowded and dingy, but the
selection of ales, wines, spirits and snacks (mostly dried fruit and nuts,
popped grains, and fried crunchy things) is extensive, and the storeroom is
known to extend at least two floors beneath the bar.
97. The Virgin’s Fountain: An exceptionally deep pressurized
spring feeds a very old marble fountain here, which takes the form of a young
woman in wet clothing that barely maintains her dignity, pouring an enormous
amphora (from which water falls) which rests on her shoulder into the cold pool
at her feet. Small woodland creatures and birds are perched on and against her,
and she smiles infectiously. The water in the fountain is cold and naturally
sparkling (carbonated), and very high in minerals, including enough calcium and
salt that it’s not ideal for cooking or watering animals, and if bottled it
will develop a very stale flavor very quickly. It both pours from the statue’s
amphora and seeps up from geometric ‘cracks’ in the pool. A 5ft high fence with
many narrow entrances surrounds it to keep horses and other animals out. Just to
the west of the fountain, a deep horse trough is fed by a well and filled by
pumping from the same water source as the city’s other water sources to
keep animals out of the sparkling mineral waters, which are supposed to bring
luck and prevent diseases. Nearly every child in the city is dunked under the
near-freezing shower of water during their naming ceremony, and knights pour
the waters over their head in purification ceremonies in a show of humility.
Throwing money into the fountain is supposed to bring luck, and the coins
deposited within are cleaned out regularly by city staff and placed in the city’s
‘widows and orphans’ fund, which is dispensed to the needy when needed. The
fountain pre-dates the city of Fenlock itself, and the iconography is generally
believed to portray a nymph or minor forgotten goddess.
98. James Diane, glass maker: The brick and slate house
and laboratory of the Diane family is one of the few places locally to get
exceptionally made blown and poured glass, including bottles, small glass
mirrors, flasks, glass panes (especially small colored glass panels) and
similar things. James Diane himself is a low-level (<9th) elementalist
mage, who uses bound low-level fire and air spirits (which have been in his
family for years) in his work, his knowledge of magic that isn’t related to
glassmaking is very limited. The Diane family regularly imports large
quantities of sands from the coast, as well as mining the fossil sand deposit
at 102.
99. LaJoie Stables. The LaJoie family are traveling horse
sellers, specializing in draft horses and trading from farm to farm. Occasionally
they will have war horses or riding horses to sell, but they are primarily
resellers, moving stock twice a year in a caravan that goes in large circles
around and across Ardentia. This stable is not used for stock, but their own mounts
and horses, although it is used to house some of their purchases between
caravans. The LaJoie clan regularly hire clerics or The Demon’s Dark Dozen (a
mercenary group) to help guard the caravan.
100. Lucie and Leon Lupien, Farriers. This small stone
slate-roofed cottage is the home base of a traveling farrier. When he’s at
home, his brightly painted wagon and large draft horse sit to the side,
offering services. Even if he’s not home, Lucie is often manning the forge,
making horseshoes.
101. Horseheart Blake’s House. This 1½ story A frame
cottage has a roof made of lovingly hand-hewn greenish slate, with the log outer
walls of the cottage deeply carved with patterns of leaves and leaf-faces
(green men) and animals. At twilight and when hit with light from torches at
night, the eyes of these figures, which are inset with shell and polished
stones, seem to watch people who pass by. Several enormous wolf-like dogs prowl
the property, but do not bark or growl at normal passers by. It is not uncommon
for there to be very large birds of prey hanging out on the building’s
stovepipe, and a large flock of chickens prowl the grounds around the building,
staying very close to the house and running into a crawlspace beneath it if
there is danger. A precarious-appearing stack of cages holds fat, happy
pigeons, and Blake can send messages to Arden Vale or Carago with them if
needed. The birds of prey never seem to bother the chickens or the pigeons. A
painfully shy woman (she’s called Violet, but no one knows if that’s a nickname
or her name) lives here with Blake, but she’s unlikely to strike up a
conversation. If Blake’s not at home, a sign on the door directs people to the
stable. (103)
102. Fossil Sand deposit/Manmade reservoir. A deposit of exceptionally
pure white silica sand which has been compressed into light sandstone breaks
the surface of the topsoil here, the remains of an ancient beach. It has been
removed over the years in bricks, and the center of the deposit has filled in
with rainwater, which is about 1ft below the level of the topsoil. This
rainwater is used as a water supply for many of the small businesses around it,
although it has been known to dry out during the summer. The LaJoie family and
the tiltyard both use the sand deposit as a source for sand.
103. Blake Desmarais’ Stable. Desmarais is a human ranger
of significant level, nicknamed ‘Horseheart Blake,’ with his talents focused on
animal healing (the man is well known for casting ‘Revitalize Animal,’ a spell
that heals non-humanoid animals at the expense of his own hit points.) His
stable is largely an infirmary for animals, although he also is known to take
in animal ‘boarders.’ (10gp/week for a large war horse or special needs mount.)
There have been several instances of injured animals (bears, deer, moose) and
intelligent monsters (unicorn, Pegasus, centaurs, giant eagles) coming right
through the town gates and right to the stable for healing. Horseheart Blake is
known to be able to speak to these animals. Based on his holy symbol, and the
fact that he originally appeared in town as one of the thane’s henchmen, it’s
assumed Blake is one of the (very rare) human rangers dedicated to Palladian.
104. LaJoie Wagon Works: Not really a shop, although you
can usually purchase ropes, harnesses and wheels here, the Wagon Works is the
LaJoie family’s garage and warehouse for their carts and wagons, used in their
horse selling business. It is not uncommon for them to leave town with horses
and return with goods for sale, and if not sold to businesses directly, they
may have those goods for sale here.
105. LaJoie home. (See 99) This modest stone three story cottage
with a wrap around porch and a slate roof is the place where the LaJoie family
raises its kids and stays between caravans. There are at least seven LaJoies
between the age of 20 and 40 and at least 2 of them are usually here, with a passel
of youngsters.
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