Post/Author/DateTime	Post
naturax 01-16-08, 10:38 AM	What does one do for overland transport in Droaam? Say I was in Graywall and I wanted to get to Cazhaak Draal - what are my options? Do I get more options if I'm a medusa? Thanks!
Kinger 01-16-08, 12:55 PM	Can you ride a horse? That's probably your best option. Droaam is one of the "uncivilized" areas of Khorvaire, more like your standard D&D environment. Random encounters with nasty creatures or roaming warbands are a very real threat in Droaam, while wandering the Brelish countryside is considerably safer. Unless you're near Droaam, of course. Or the Mournland. Or that pit to Khyber. Or the King's Forest with all its brigands and revolutionaries. ... Okay, the Brelish countryside isn't that safe either. But you can tell what I'm getting at. Traditional methods of transportation is what you'll need to rely on. Horse, cart, Overland Flight, Teleport + Portable Hole, etc.
naturax 01-16-08, 05:53 PM	Can you ride a horse? That's probably your best option. I was hoping there'd be something different/exciting about getting around in Droaam. Something noteworthy enough to be worth a scene in the game without it just being another random encounter. Shouldn't getting to Cazhaak Draal be a big deal? Or can anyone just prance on in riding a pony?
Kinger 01-16-08, 06:44 PM	If you can get by the various marauding warbands eager to show how tough they are, the assorted horrible creations let loose by the Fleshweaver, the harpy kidnappings, the medusa covey out looking for interesting new sculpture, the ogre-mage warboss looking for a few new contestants for his latest Six Stones game, the last lycanthropes in Khorvaire, and the slave caravans, then yes, you could prance into Cazhaak Draal. And get lynched. Little hoo-mans not really welcome in Droaam, after all. ;) One more thing: If you're a medusa, things are much easier. You CAN turn things to stone, after all, which means said marauding warbands and slave caravans tend to give you a wide birth.
ChaoticGood 01-17-08, 01:26 AM	All things considered, if you want to get around in Droaam without anyone giving you trouble, the most reliable way is to ride a very large dragon. This goes for pretty much any other part of Khorvaire, as well. :)
OctaviusIII 01-17-08, 04:12 PM	Well, you'd have to face the monstrous city guards if you want to get into the city - that alone would be worthy of a scene. However, I don't think there'd be anything special about getting around in Droaam: horse and wagon would be expected; anything fancy would get laughed at. ("Hey, Gishzik, check out this fancy-lookin' human - he thinks he's a 'noble'! Can't bother to walk so he gets in a squishy little carriage to keep his squishy little butt comfy. Bwahahaha!")
Gurv 01-18-08, 05:35 PM	If you're not welcome in Droam, then I imagine getting specialized transportation will be difficult. But I think it might be worth thinking about what kind of transport is used by those who live in Droam: especially those who hold great power there. Surely the agents of the Daughters of Sora Kell do not walk everywhere they go, nor should significant warlords and their entourages. While horses might be in use, I think that something made of sterner stuff might be a better fit for Droam. Worgs or winter wolves might pull wagons or sleds instead of horses. Large enslaved creatures, ranging from ogres to manticore could be forced to draw wagons or carry litters, treated in a manner the rest of Galifar would find shocking. The use of nightmares or howlers might be unseemly in the rest of Khorvaire, but could be a show of power in Droam. One more thing: If you're a medusa, things are much easier. You CAN turn things to stone, after all, which means said marauding warbands and slave caravans tend to give you a wide birth. Those invited into Droam might be given intimidating bodyguards by the patron in question. Then again, they might be expected to prove themselves by making it to their destination alive. Of course, regularly encountering petrified statues along the road sends a message to the players about what kind of place they've gotten themselves into.
naturax 01-18-08, 05:44 PM	If you're not welcome in Droam, then I imagine getting specialized transportation will be difficult. But I think it might be worth thinking about what kind of transport is used by those who live in Droam: especially those who hold great power there. Surely the agents of the Daughters of Sora Kell do not walk everywhere they go, nor should significant warlords and their entourages. While horses might be in use, I think that something made of sterner stuff might be a better fit for Droam. Worgs or winter wolves might pull wagons or sleds instead of horses. Large enslaved creatures, ranging from ogres to manticore could be forced to draw wagons or carry litters, treated in a manner the rest of Galifar would find shocking. The use of nightmares or howlers might be unseemly in the rest of Khorvaire, but could be a show of power in Droam. Those invited into Droam might be given intimidating bodyguards by the patron in question. Then again, they might be expected to prove themselves by making it to their destination alive. Of course, regularly encountering petrified statues along the road sends a message to the players about what kind of place they've gotten themselves into. Now that's what I was looking for! Thanks!
glug 01-22-08, 12:22 PM	Nice! I might go that route. The other option I was toying with for my game this weekend was happening across a fairly-rare Earth Elemental Land Cart, in a bit of disrepair, and operated not by a dragonmarked individual, but rather by a Goblin(?) Sorcerer 8, with Charm Monster to control the Elementals (See Explorer's Handbook, pg. 33) and a few scrolls on him as backup. That's a unique encounter, I'd say. Especially because running across such a thing in Breland, it'd be harder to find a reason for the PC's to hijack it ;)
naturax 01-22-08, 12:37 PM	Nice! I might go that route. The other option I was toying with for my game this weekend was happening across a fairly-rare Earth Elemental Land Cart, in a bit of disrepair, and operated not by a dragonmarked individual, but rather by a Goblin(?) Sorcerer 8, with Charm Monster to control the Elementals (See Explorer's Handbook, pg. 33) and a few scrolls on him as backup. That's a unique encounter, I'd say. Especially because running across such a thing in Breland, it'd be harder to find a reason for the PC's to hijack it ;) How about an exiled gnome artificer named Botch?
glug 01-23-08, 01:04 PM	Wish I came back here earlier, but I like the Goblin sorc I just rolled up :) I'll keep botch in mind, that's a sweet name.
Nerdicus 01-24-08, 01:45 PM	In my Droaam, the main pack and mount animal is the Tribex. Large, mean, and able to ull huge amounts of weight, which is needed given that many of the populous is large sized. Aside from that, there would also be those who use Dire Wolves, but I reserve those for special troops who are specially trained to handle and ride such beasts. Another thing to note is that Droaam is trying to be a nation like the rest. So, while a nondiscript group of travelers are very likely to get attacked by whom ever happens to see them, House Reps would be able to purchase flags of safe travel in any of the major citues on the boarder of Droaam. But yeah, large carts, wagons and chariots pulled by teams of Tribex, carrying ogre warlords leading small warbands of ogres. I would also imagine that some of the more posh warlords might have themselves carried in litters which in turn are being carried by tough ogres and trolls and what not.
naturax 01-24-08, 03:10 PM	In my Droaam, the main pack and mount animal is the Tribex. Large, mean, and able to ull huge amounts of weight, which is needed given that many of the populous is large sized. Aside from that, there would also be those who use Dire Wolves, but I reserve those for special troops who are specially trained to handle and ride such beasts. Another thing to note is that Droaam is trying to be a nation like the rest. So, while a nondiscript group of travelers are very likely to get attacked by whom ever happens to see them, House Reps would be able to purchase flags of safe travel in any of the major citues on the boarder of Droaam. But yeah, large carts, wagons and chariots pulled by teams of Tribex, carrying ogre warlords leading small warbands of ogres. I would also imagine that some of the more posh warlords might have themselves carried in litters which in turn are being carried by tough ogres and trolls and what not. Cool, thanks for this! I decided to go with formians pulling the carts, based on my idea that every ogre-mage is tied to one of the planes (Cavallah is tied to Syrannia) and so Tzar or whoever in Droaam is tied to Daanvi and makes formians available for pulling carts around.
Alex_ 01-25-08, 02:23 PM	There's always hiring body guards/guides. The Gnolls of Droamm are renowned for being neutral agents, so they might be able to negotiate safe passage if you run into any trouble along the way. If you don't like Gnolls, I'm sure that any number of individuals from other monstrous races would find good money in escorting travelers from the Breland's border cities to places within Droamm. Hmmm. When I think about it, I've yet to have a fight actually start while players pass through the region. On the two instances they've done so (both via airship), they've just been stopped by a curious patrol of Harpies. Once it was seen that they posed no threat, they were allowed to go.
naturax 01-25-08, 05:14 PM	There's always hiring body guards/guides. The Gnolls of Droamm are renowned for being neutral agents, so they might be able to negotiate safe passage if you run into any trouble along the way. If you don't like Gnolls, I'm sure that any number of individuals from other monstrous races would find good money in escorting travelers from the Breland's border cities to places within Droamm. Hmmm. When I think about it, I've yet to have a fight actually start while players pass through the region. On the two instances they've done so (both via airship), they've just been stopped by a curious patrol of Harpies. Once it was seen that they posed no threat, they were allowed to go. Right, I forgot about the gnolls. There should be lots of gnolls around too. But it's a moot point because my players have decided to go visit the exiled gnome artificer instead. I'm going to give him a water-elemental powered gyrocopter and they can get chased by angry harpies. It should be fun.
oReiLLZ 02-03-08, 09:57 PM	--Travel within Droaam should be a horrifying experience. You can choose terrifying monsters that will lurk in the darkness at night, feeding on the fear of the travelers. Perhaps an unknown undead presence that gives them nightmares several nights in a row (perhaps about the group being slaughtered while they sleep?) It's a good way to induce paranoia, especially upon NPCs... --There should be monstrous guides and companions, perhaps gnolls or goblinoids (perhaps something more exotic). These NPCs can be caravan guards, mercenaries, spies, or something more sinister, such as a deranged serial killer changeling... --Droaam is a brutal land. Show the aftermath of battles around the travelers, such as a band of enslaved orcs with their throats cut, thrown into a ditch to rot...if several of these scenes are shown, the travelers will have the danger of the land displayed in gruesome form without actually being endangered, it will "harden them"... --Fear and a deep desire to complete the journey should be felt. If the above techniques are used, mixed with stormy weather and illness, the travel can seem more dangerous than it is. --But feel free to drop very dangerous wilderness encounters as well, after all there are more than roving warbands haunting Droaam. It is a land blasted by the Daelkyr invasion, centuries of war, and magical cataclysms. There should be ancient terrors stalking the landscapes, all the better if they can be linked to the battered history of the region. --Have the characters get lost! It would be a scary scene to look out over the landscape from some high point and not see the town you were expecting but instead endless miles of acidic swamps and twisted woods? Decision time, and it enhances all the other stresses as well as prolonging the journey. Some misc encounter ideas... --Have the characters interact with a slave caravan carrying a huge throne and shrine dedicated to a villain. Think Xerxes (300) atop his golden throne surrounded by personal guard, but instead a writhing medusa queen surrounded by minotaurs, petrified statues, and carried by slaves? In what way they interact with this encounter is up to many factors, but potential hooks abound. --A swarm of fiendish vultures of other raptors. It would be scary to see the approaching storm and have to take cover under some form of cavern, only to meet the horrors dwelling within... Considering all of the above, you don't want to overwhelm the PCs with hopelessness. As is discussed in Heroes of Horror, keep it comfortable with gore and horror, and you've got to keep it fun for everyone. So maybe not all of the ideas above will net this, especially if used together. However, I have this image in my mind of Droaam being a seriously dangerous place. If the cities are ruled by hags and mindflayers, what kind of order can possibly exist outside city walls? Craft the landscapes of Droaam as places of true danger and horror, but hey- that's pretty exciting stuff!
naturax 02-03-08, 10:35 PM	--Travel within Droaam should be a horrifying experience... Those are some really great ideas and I thank you for posting them. My current plan is to have the PC meet up with Botch, the exiled gnomish artificer, who is going to have a gyrocopter powered by a water-elemental. I haven't figured out exactly how they are going to convince him to take the PC to Cazhak Draal so if you have any ideas I'd be happy to hear them. The concept for the gnome is that he was working for the Power of Purity and he really wanted to run more experiments but he used up his allotment of Khyber shards, so he made a deal with a helpful fellow who was willing to get him extra shards in exchange for some harmless information about his co-workers. When they started showing up dead and the "helpful fellow" was discovered to have ties to the Cult of the Dragon Below, he left for Graywall where he could resume his work in peace.