Living in Sharn [Archive] - Wizards Community

Living in Sharn [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ChronosCrow
08-27-05, 09:40 PM So, my players have gotten to that point where they decided to settle down in Sharn and they are the way back home. I need to create what their house is supposed to have in it furnished from buying it from a retailer in Sharn. House Orien did a little modeling for a PC per the Favored in House feat.

What do you guys think constitutes an "upscale" residence in Highwater? The number of levels, the number of bed rooms, stairs, ect... What does it come with when bought? What does it usually have after a person has lived there for a while? If a PC asked to get their house furnished per Favroed in House what all would they get besides their own fully furnished with magically inclinded items?
Chaotix42
08-27-05, 10:33 PM I'm sure a lot of this is modular. There would be not set standard for rooms and what-not. A few questions stand to be asked:

- How many characters are living in this residence?
- How much did they spend on the residence? (I had a character buy in a store in Sharn in a recent game using the random cost listed, and I decided to describe the stores offered based on what he rolled for the cost)

I'd definitely have a "bed-pan room." No need for personal bed-pans in an upscale residence. Just have the waste sent down a chute that drops into a common chamber, linked to all of the other residences in the tower. Not only is this an interesting addition, but it allows for an clever way to infiltrate the PC's home. I imagine the chute would be small, but with a bit of polymorphing and a nose-plug could be quite accessible. A halfing with Reduce Person might be able to squeeze through as well. :D Whatever safe-guards have been implemented in such a system, I cannot say...

Running water should be available as well. Though I'm not sure of the source, water could be warmed by heat and steam funneled up from the Cogs. If you're not keen on running water, perhaps a set amount of water is provided daily, or they could have access to a fountain with several spickets.

A balcony would be nice, too; a spot to look out into the center of the tower to give the PCs the lay of "their" land. Detailing such a commons area would be nice too. The fountain I mentioned could be down there, surrounded by a quaint garden. It'll be pleasing to look down upon, and such scenery gives the PCs a nice place to wake up, have breakfest, meditate for spells, etc. They can even observe their neighbors or cat call at good-looking lady-types. :D

Oh yeah. Definitely give the PCs a residence that's not on the first floor. First floors are booooring. :P

That's all I have at the moment. Hope it helps!
Kid SixXx
08-27-05, 10:53 PM Running water should be available as well. Though I'm not sure of the source

Sharn has a very long rainy season, so I'd imagine that would probably serve as an adequate supply of water, provided that there were an adequate number of collection reservoirs throughout the city.
Edymnion
08-27-05, 11:53 PM Pick up a copy of the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. Its got everything you could ever want to know for making structures of any kind. Just take the price they paid for the house, and see how nice you can make it via those rules :)
ChronosCrow
08-28-05, 03:36 AM Pick up a copy of the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. Its got everything you could ever want to know for making structures of any kind. Just take the price they paid for the house, and see how nice you can make it via those rules :)

Oh right, momentary lapse.

True, but I still do want Eberron/Sharn flavored things too.
Hair Wax
08-28-05, 08:40 AM The idea I have in my mind for an upscale residence costs a lot more by the stronghold builder's guide than by the guidelines given in S:CoT though. Unless you use the basics of everything and just say that they're lavish.
zambuka
08-28-05, 09:44 PM My group was easy to house.
The Kalashter and the PoL priest bunk down in the PoL dormatory.
The marked artificer has a bedsit hosted by his house.
The Shifter finds comfort curling up in the few gardens of Sharn.
The 2 'forged are happy to just stand about in a corner somewhere.
The Barbarian elf spends most of her nights in a comfy cell at the town watch.

But an upmarket house in sharn wouldn't be that big, relatively speaking. The cost of construction would make every square foot of space a premium.
The following is what I would consider a large seperate residence in the upper regions of Sharn.
Maybe a tower about 30 to 40 foot across with 5 levels.
Bottom level is storage and bathroom.
Entry level has a comfortable social area, somwhere to put sofas, a comfy fireplace a few bookshelfs and a little floor space. A second entry would go out to a balcony with a convenient and private skycoach dock.
next level has a well appointed kitchen, suitable for one or 2 to cook in, and reasonable dining area.
Next 2 levels are split into 2 smaller bedrooms or studies, each with a small balcony.
If they are lucky they will have an open area on the roof.
Access to each area can be by a spiral staircase in another "tower" attached like a limpet to the side to maximise internal space or by a magical lift.
This tower house is accessed by a small bridge, that doubles as another balcony, from a central apartment tower.

This makes for a fairly comfortable (and relatively expensive) upmarket house for Sharn. Any bigger and you are starting to look at mansions.

The alternative is for a penthouse style apartment. This will be much better appointed and will probably be bigger but your PCs wouldn't have the pleasure of actually owning their residence, at least they would have the pleasure of dealing with resident's associations that probably wouldn't be compatible with the adventuring PC's life style.
ekomega
08-28-05, 11:32 PM I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from?

It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different.

As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone.
zambuka
08-28-05, 11:50 PM I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from?

It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different.

As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone.
Sewerage from towers by the edge is probably just redirected by pipes out into the big spaces between plataeus where it falls freely down below (pity the lower Sharn inhabitants on a windy day, but it is supposed to be rather squallid down there) where it fills up ponds of muck and is piped off into the deeper sewers. Towers in the middle of each area would have pipes running from top to bottom.

Running water is easy enough without resorting to magic. It rains sufficiently in sharn that most buildings could have their own water tank that catches run off and pipes it down below. Not to mention there is that big pond in Skyway that probably supplies water (magically filtered and cleansed of course) to the residents there.

A mansion is something different. It depends on how it is built. Was the mansion from one of the priveliged few who build on the tops of the bigger towers? Or was his mansion a tower itself? Or was it a penthouse suite in a tower?
ChronosCrow
08-29-05, 01:56 PM I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from?

It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different.

As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone.

Actually this question is answered in The Dreaming Dark Series book one, "The City of Towers"

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ChronosCrow 08-27-05, 09:40 PM	So, my players have gotten to that point where they decided to settle down in Sharn and they are the way back home. I need to create what their house is supposed to have in it furnished from buying it from a retailer in Sharn. House Orien did a little modeling for a PC per the Favored in House feat. What do you guys think constitutes an "upscale" residence in Highwater? The number of levels, the number of bed rooms, stairs, ect... What does it come with when bought? What does it usually have after a person has lived there for a while? If a PC asked to get their house furnished per Favroed in House what all would they get besides their own fully furnished with magically inclinded items?
Chaotix42 08-27-05, 10:33 PM	I'm sure a lot of this is modular. There would be not set standard for rooms and what-not. A few questions stand to be asked: - How many characters are living in this residence? - How much did they spend on the residence? (I had a character buy in a store in Sharn in a recent game using the random cost listed, and I decided to describe the stores offered based on what he rolled for the cost) I'd definitely have a "bed-pan room." No need for personal bed-pans in an upscale residence. Just have the waste sent down a chute that drops into a common chamber, linked to all of the other residences in the tower. Not only is this an interesting addition, but it allows for an clever way to infiltrate the PC's home. I imagine the chute would be small, but with a bit of polymorphing and a nose-plug could be quite accessible. A halfing with Reduce Person might be able to squeeze through as well. :D Whatever safe-guards have been implemented in such a system, I cannot say... Running water should be available as well. Though I'm not sure of the source, water could be warmed by heat and steam funneled up from the Cogs. If you're not keen on running water, perhaps a set amount of water is provided daily, or they could have access to a fountain with several spickets. A balcony would be nice, too; a spot to look out into the center of the tower to give the PCs the lay of "their" land. Detailing such a commons area would be nice too. The fountain I mentioned could be down there, surrounded by a quaint garden. It'll be pleasing to look down upon, and such scenery gives the PCs a nice place to wake up, have breakfest, meditate for spells, etc. They can even observe their neighbors or cat call at good-looking lady-types. :D Oh yeah. Definitely give the PCs a residence that's not on the first floor. First floors are booooring. :P That's all I have at the moment. Hope it helps!
Kid SixXx 08-27-05, 10:53 PM	Running water should be available as well. Though I'm not sure of the source Sharn has a very long rainy season, so I'd imagine that would probably serve as an adequate supply of water, provided that there were an adequate number of collection reservoirs throughout the city.
Edymnion 08-27-05, 11:53 PM	Pick up a copy of the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. Its got everything you could ever want to know for making structures of any kind. Just take the price they paid for the house, and see how nice you can make it via those rules :)
ChronosCrow 08-28-05, 03:36 AM	Pick up a copy of the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. Its got everything you could ever want to know for making structures of any kind. Just take the price they paid for the house, and see how nice you can make it via those rules :) Oh right, momentary lapse. True, but I still do want Eberron/Sharn flavored things too.
Hair Wax 08-28-05, 08:40 AM	The idea I have in my mind for an upscale residence costs a lot more by the stronghold builder's guide than by the guidelines given in S:CoT though. Unless you use the basics of everything and just say that they're lavish.
zambuka 08-28-05, 09:44 PM	My group was easy to house. The Kalashter and the PoL priest bunk down in the PoL dormatory. The marked artificer has a bedsit hosted by his house. The Shifter finds comfort curling up in the few gardens of Sharn. The 2 'forged are happy to just stand about in a corner somewhere. The Barbarian elf spends most of her nights in a comfy cell at the town watch. But an upmarket house in sharn wouldn't be that big, relatively speaking. The cost of construction would make every square foot of space a premium. The following is what I would consider a large seperate residence in the upper regions of Sharn. Maybe a tower about 30 to 40 foot across with 5 levels. Bottom level is storage and bathroom. Entry level has a comfortable social area, somwhere to put sofas, a comfy fireplace a few bookshelfs and a little floor space. A second entry would go out to a balcony with a convenient and private skycoach dock. next level has a well appointed kitchen, suitable for one or 2 to cook in, and reasonable dining area. Next 2 levels are split into 2 smaller bedrooms or studies, each with a small balcony. If they are lucky they will have an open area on the roof. Access to each area can be by a spiral staircase in another "tower" attached like a limpet to the side to maximise internal space or by a magical lift. This tower house is accessed by a small bridge, that doubles as another balcony, from a central apartment tower. This makes for a fairly comfortable (and relatively expensive) upmarket house for Sharn. Any bigger and you are starting to look at mansions. The alternative is for a penthouse style apartment. This will be much better appointed and will probably be bigger but your PCs wouldn't have the pleasure of actually owning their residence, at least they would have the pleasure of dealing with resident's associations that probably wouldn't be compatible with the adventuring PC's life style.
ekomega 08-28-05, 11:32 PM	I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from? It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different. As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone.
zambuka 08-28-05, 11:50 PM	I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from? It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different. As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone. Sewerage from towers by the edge is probably just redirected by pipes out into the big spaces between plataeus where it falls freely down below (pity the lower Sharn inhabitants on a windy day, but it is supposed to be rather squallid down there) where it fills up ponds of muck and is piped off into the deeper sewers. Towers in the middle of each area would have pipes running from top to bottom. Running water is easy enough without resorting to magic. It rains sufficiently in sharn that most buildings could have their own water tank that catches run off and pipes it down below. Not to mention there is that big pond in Skyway that probably supplies water (magically filtered and cleansed of course) to the residents there. A mansion is something different. It depends on how it is built. Was the mansion from one of the priveliged few who build on the tops of the bigger towers? Or was his mansion a tower itself? Or was it a penthouse suite in a tower?
ChronosCrow 08-29-05, 01:56 PM	I'm pretty sure that Sharn has a sewage system, and therefore running water. I don't remember what book that's in. Probably S:CoT. But I'd bet it's magical based, at least the pumps, if not the water source. If someone flushes a toilet in Skyway, where does it go? And where does the water come from? It could be like a decanter of endless water, but on a mass scale and a little different. As for bedrooms and what-not, I'm not sure. My PCs inherited a rich guy's mansion after he got turned to stone. Actually this question is answered in The Dreaming Dark Series book one, "The City of Towers"