Penitentiaries of the Realms - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Penitentiaries of the Realms

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
jayren
Sep 01, 2008 1:15:56 Hello people! I'm new and wanna seek help from the masters of realmslore over here

With the release of 4E FR, me and my group wanna start a new campaign...with me DM-ing It's my first experience and I wanna start the campaign off with a bang!

So this is the idea I had:
I didn't want the usual met-in-the-inn-in-a-small-town kinda starting. I wanted my PCs to do a prison break right from the start. Sort of throws them right into combat before their minds can react...heheh.

The problem is, I needed a prison. Not a dungeon, but one that is run by authorities of a nation/city. i.e. Spellhold, which was what I had in mind orginally....until I read the excerpts from FRPG about Amn.

Spellhold is no longer functioning as a prison/asylum for the cowled wizards any longer. It has become a dungeon location! OMG! Suddenly the story/plot/setting I planned smashes into a wall.

So here I am, lost and looking for help. Do any of you learned scholars of Faerun know of any other official prison/gulag/penitentiary locations in the realms? I need something preferably off-shore like Spellhold, cause I originally intend for the PCs to travel to Nelanther Isles to commune with the pirates after the prison break. Any locations near the Pirate Isles would do fine too...just have to tweak the story a bit.

I know it'd be pretty easy to just create one as part of my story but I really wish to adapt to the canon locations out there.

Oh, btw, it's an evil campaign. So all PCs are evil, which is why they start off as prisoners. I know 4E rules aren't exactly evil-friendly, but playing evil would be a refreshing change for my group, so I got along with it.

Thank you in advance!
Jayren :D
#2
naex
Sep 01, 2008 1:22:09 Amn might be using Chult as a penal colony, IIRC they, or Calimshan, did this before. Sort of offshore, and close to Nelanther.
#3
Mr_Miscellany
Sep 01, 2008 1:22:41 Hello Jayren,

The entire city of Wheloon in Cormyr has been turned into a prison city with a population of 3000 people.

The King of Cormyr ordered that the entire city be walled up by brick and magic after the crown discovered that most of the inhabitants of the town were secretly worshipping Shar.

Whenever Cormyr's agents discover Netherise/Shadovar spies, capture agitators looking to weaken Cormyr's hold on its new lands or need a place to put undesirables that threaten the stability of the kingdom, they are all of them sent over the wall.

"Life as a prisoner in Wheloon is brutal and short, unless one is able to join one of the many rival gangs.

To "escape from Wheloon" is a euphemism for accomplishing a difficult task. Those who do so literally are marked by prisoner and gang tattoos imprinted while behind walls. This branding makes continued life in Cormyr one that requires constant disguise. --FR Campaign Guide, page 106

Good luck to you!

-M.
#4
jayren
Sep 01, 2008 1:31:27 Alright thanks! Awesome stuff! Too bad my FRCG still hasn't arrived yet. Amazon to Singapore --> due to arrive on Sept 24th

But what a drastic change to Wheloon after "Cormyr: Tearing of the Weave". I guess the adventurers never did succeed?
#5
suisei
Sep 01, 2008 1:31:34 I don't have any lore to contribute to this thread.. just a interesting thought.

What if there was a prison on a earth mote? Can you imagine (as a prisoner), escaping only to find that you are a 100 or 1,000 ft above Faerun? :D What a cruel joke!
Obviously this doesn't work for the sort of prisoners that can teleport, but you get the idea. :evillaugh
#6
naex
Sep 01, 2008 1:41:39
I don't have any lore to contribute to this thread.. just a interesting thought.

What if there was a prison on a earth mote? Can you imagine (as a prisoner), escaping only to find that you are a 100 or 1,000 ft above Faerun? :D What a cruel joke!
Obviously this doesn't work for the sort of prisoners that can teleport, but you get the idea. :evillaugh

See the name the Ironfell council thread here. Specifically this post, that kind of uses that idea.
#7
suin_bahhar_02
Sep 01, 2008 13:07:42 The Cloister of Saint Ramedar in 2nd ed. Powers and Pantheons is a rehabilitating prison run by Ilmatari preists. Its located near Zazesspur in a cliffside of a bay. Some tough crooks and highranking spies reside there.
#8
johnkretzer
Sep 01, 2008 14:39:58 You could create your own. (I like the earth mote idea). This will enable you to get exactly what you need.
#9
lord_karsus
Sep 01, 2008 17:04:48 -The wizard Sifalir was banished to a small island miles from Evermeet. Because it is not Elven nature to necessarily kill prisoners, those who commit grievous crimes are often banished, or imprisoned. That said, in keeping with this notion, and the clause that you make something up yourself, it'd be fully feasible for Elven prisons to be in this area, to hold Elven criminals from Evermeet, and perhaps others, such as pirates who try to attack Evermeet, for example.
#10
BadCatMan
Sep 01, 2008 20:10:32 Neverwinter Nights 1 has a prison area.
#11
naex
Sep 01, 2008 20:11:28
Neverwinter Nights 1 has the peninsula district prison area.

Unfortunately we don't have Neverwinter in 4e.
#12
sfdragon
Sep 02, 2008 4:04:36 south docks actually.....

and as for neverwinter, it says the same about luskan, ruined.

which can mean two things, abandond and the land reclaimed the city.
which would leave it as an above land dungeon.

OR

the docks are ruined and the city still has habitants within her walls, just not as many.
so take your pick

Luskan is pretty much a penal colony in 4e.
#13
lord_karsus
Sep 03, 2008 12:11:42
Unfortunately we don't have Neverwinter in 4e.

-Which could make the prison colony existing there even creepier.
#14
angelus_obscura
Sep 03, 2008 12:27:20 The Hole in Yhaunn, a coastal city in Sembia. This prison was featured in the new Erevis Cale series, Shadow War. The Hole is ... a hole in the earth, with all of the interior (and some of the exterior) covered by dead magic.

The only successful prison break was when Cale infiltrated, took the target, and jumped down a shaft that lead to the Underdark, falling until they passed out of the dead magic zone and shadowport away b4 hitting the bottom.
#15
lord_karsus
Sep 03, 2008 12:29:58
The Hole in Yhaunn...

-That made me chuckle. Not only does it sound like "Hole in One", but it also sounds like a certain racial epithet in Italian as well.
#16
GreenKnight
Sep 03, 2008 12:30:29 I had an idea about starting my own prison a long while ago, back when I first got Book of Exalted Deeds. In it, it had rules for redeeming villains, through repeated use of the Diplomacy skill (get a certain number of successes in a row, and you shift an individuals alignment from evil to neutral. Another string of successes in a row, and you shift it from neutral to good). So my idea was to get the Leadership Feat, acquire a number of followers with the Diplomacy skill in addition to guards, found a keep/prison, and use it as a place where I could hold any prisoners and possibly redeem some of them along the way. Damn shame I never got to implement it in-game, though, as it might have been fun.
#17
angelus_obscura
Sep 03, 2008 12:34:14
-That made me chuckle. Not only does it sound like "Hole in One", but it also sounds like a certain racial epithet in Italian as well.

;)
#18
jayren
Sep 05, 2008 2:49:09 Cool ideas...but I think I'll just start my own on an Earth Mote. Scaring my PCs would be fun...
#19
lord_karsus
Sep 05, 2008 10:25:24
Cool ideas...but I think I'll just start my own on an Earth Mote. Scaring my PCs would be fun...

-Just make sure that, you have the Earth Mote enchanted with a Reverse Gravity spell, so if they try to escape, and actually get to "the edge", they fall up, and not down.
#20
jayren
Sep 05, 2008 11:02:44 o.O For lvl 1s or at most lvl 2s...I not quite sure how much "surprises" can my PCs take before dying from heart attack.

Anyway, falling up...to where? It's a sky up there.

I was thinking the Prison idea to be like consisting of a couple of earth motes. Each floating motes houses a group of criminals of a lvl range. Since the PCs are nooblets, they are, of course, locked up in the lowest lvl prison facility mote.

And the motes can either be connect by bridges (just like Airspur), or requires teleportation devices to "port" from 1 mote to another.
#21
lord_karsus
Sep 05, 2008 11:34:42
Anyway, falling up...to where? It's a sky up there.

-Exxxxactly.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jayren Sep 01, 2008 1:15:56	Hello people! I'm new and wanna seek help from the masters of realmslore over here With the release of 4E FR, me and my group wanna start a new campaign...with me DM-ing It's my first experience and I wanna start the campaign off with a bang! So this is the idea I had: I didn't want the usual met-in-the-inn-in-a-small-town kinda starting. I wanted my PCs to do a prison break right from the start. Sort of throws them right into combat before their minds can react...heheh. The problem is, I needed a prison. Not a dungeon, but one that is run by authorities of a nation/city. i.e. Spellhold, which was what I had in mind orginally....until I read the excerpts from FRPG about Amn. Spellhold is no longer functioning as a prison/asylum for the cowled wizards any longer. It has become a dungeon location! OMG! Suddenly the story/plot/setting I planned smashes into a wall. So here I am, lost and looking for help. Do any of you learned scholars of Faerun know of any other official prison/gulag/penitentiary locations in the realms? I need something preferably off-shore like Spellhold, cause I originally intend for the PCs to travel to Nelanther Isles to commune with the pirates after the prison break. Any locations near the Pirate Isles would do fine too...just have to tweak the story a bit. I know it'd be pretty easy to just create one as part of my story but I really wish to adapt to the canon locations out there. Oh, btw, it's an evil campaign. So all PCs are evil, which is why they start off as prisoners. I know 4E rules aren't exactly evil-friendly, but playing evil would be a refreshing change for my group, so I got along with it. Thank you in advance! Jayren :D
#2 naex Sep 01, 2008 1:22:09	Amn might be using Chult as a penal colony, IIRC they, or Calimshan, did this before. Sort of offshore, and close to Nelanther.
#3 Mr_Miscellany Sep 01, 2008 1:22:41	Hello Jayren, The entire city of Wheloon in Cormyr has been turned into a prison city with a population of 3000 people. The King of Cormyr ordered that the entire city be walled up by brick and magic after the crown discovered that most of the inhabitants of the town were secretly worshipping Shar. Whenever Cormyr's agents discover Netherise/Shadovar spies, capture agitators looking to weaken Cormyr's hold on its new lands or need a place to put undesirables that threaten the stability of the kingdom, they are all of them sent over the wall. "Life as a prisoner in Wheloon is brutal and short, unless one is able to join one of the many rival gangs. To "escape from Wheloon" is a euphemism for accomplishing a difficult task. Those who do so literally are marked by prisoner and gang tattoos imprinted while behind walls. This branding makes continued life in Cormyr one that requires constant disguise. --FR Campaign Guide, page 106 Good luck to you! -M.
#4 jayren Sep 01, 2008 1:31:27	Alright thanks! Awesome stuff! Too bad my FRCG still hasn't arrived yet. Amazon to Singapore --> due to arrive on Sept 24th But what a drastic change to Wheloon after "Cormyr: Tearing of the Weave". I guess the adventurers never did succeed?
#5 suisei Sep 01, 2008 1:31:34	I don't have any lore to contribute to this thread.. just a interesting thought. What if there was a prison on a earth mote? Can you imagine (as a prisoner), escaping only to find that you are a 100 or 1,000 ft above Faerun? :D What a cruel joke! Obviously this doesn't work for the sort of prisoners that can teleport, but you get the idea. :evillaugh
#6 naex Sep 01, 2008 1:41:39	I don't have any lore to contribute to this thread.. just a interesting thought. What if there was a prison on a earth mote? Can you imagine (as a prisoner), escaping only to find that you are a 100 or 1,000 ft above Faerun? :D What a cruel joke! Obviously this doesn't work for the sort of prisoners that can teleport, but you get the idea. :evillaugh See the name the Ironfell council thread here. Specifically this post, that kind of uses that idea.
#7 suin_bahhar_02 Sep 01, 2008 13:07:42	The Cloister of Saint Ramedar in 2nd ed. Powers and Pantheons is a rehabilitating prison run by Ilmatari preists. Its located near Zazesspur in a cliffside of a bay. Some tough crooks and highranking spies reside there.
#8 johnkretzer Sep 01, 2008 14:39:58	You could create your own. (I like the earth mote idea). This will enable you to get exactly what you need.
#9 lord_karsus Sep 01, 2008 17:04:48	-The wizard Sifalir was banished to a small island miles from Evermeet. Because it is not Elven nature to necessarily kill prisoners, those who commit grievous crimes are often banished, or imprisoned. That said, in keeping with this notion, and the clause that you make something up yourself, it'd be fully feasible for Elven prisons to be in this area, to hold Elven criminals from Evermeet, and perhaps others, such as pirates who try to attack Evermeet, for example.
#10 BadCatMan Sep 01, 2008 20:10:32	Neverwinter Nights 1 has a prison area.
#11 naex Sep 01, 2008 20:11:28	Neverwinter Nights 1 has the peninsula district prison area. Unfortunately we don't have Neverwinter in 4e.
#12 sfdragon Sep 02, 2008 4:04:36	south docks actually..... and as for neverwinter, it says the same about luskan, ruined. which can mean two things, abandond and the land reclaimed the city. which would leave it as an above land dungeon. OR the docks are ruined and the city still has habitants within her walls, just not as many. so take your pick Luskan is pretty much a penal colony in 4e.
#13 lord_karsus Sep 03, 2008 12:11:42	Unfortunately we don't have Neverwinter in 4e. -Which could make the prison colony existing there even creepier.
#14 angelus_obscura Sep 03, 2008 12:27:20	The Hole in Yhaunn, a coastal city in Sembia. This prison was featured in the new Erevis Cale series, Shadow War. The Hole is ... a hole in the earth, with all of the interior (and some of the exterior) covered by dead magic. The only successful prison break was when Cale infiltrated, took the target, and jumped down a shaft that lead to the Underdark, falling until they passed out of the dead magic zone and shadowport away b4 hitting the bottom.
#15 lord_karsus Sep 03, 2008 12:29:58	The Hole in Yhaunn... -That made me chuckle. Not only does it sound like "Hole in One", but it also sounds like a certain racial epithet in Italian as well.
#16 GreenKnight Sep 03, 2008 12:30:29	I had an idea about starting my own prison a long while ago, back when I first got Book of Exalted Deeds. In it, it had rules for redeeming villains, through repeated use of the Diplomacy skill (get a certain number of successes in a row, and you shift an individuals alignment from evil to neutral. Another string of successes in a row, and you shift it from neutral to good). So my idea was to get the Leadership Feat, acquire a number of followers with the Diplomacy skill in addition to guards, found a keep/prison, and use it as a place where I could hold any prisoners and possibly redeem some of them along the way. Damn shame I never got to implement it in-game, though, as it might have been fun.
#17 angelus_obscura Sep 03, 2008 12:34:14	-That made me chuckle. Not only does it sound like "Hole in One", but it also sounds like a certain racial epithet in Italian as well. ;)
#18 jayren Sep 05, 2008 2:49:09	Cool ideas...but I think I'll just start my own on an Earth Mote. Scaring my PCs would be fun...
#19 lord_karsus Sep 05, 2008 10:25:24	Cool ideas...but I think I'll just start my own on an Earth Mote. Scaring my PCs would be fun... -Just make sure that, you have the Earth Mote enchanted with a Reverse Gravity spell, so if they try to escape, and actually get to "the edge", they fall up, and not down.
#20 jayren Sep 05, 2008 11:02:44	o.O For lvl 1s or at most lvl 2s...I not quite sure how much "surprises" can my PCs take before dying from heart attack. Anyway, falling up...to where? It's a sky up there. I was thinking the Prison idea to be like consisting of a couple of earth motes. Each floating motes houses a group of criminals of a lvl range. Since the PCs are nooblets, they are, of course, locked up in the lowest lvl prison facility mote. And the motes can either be connect by bridges (just like Airspur), or requires teleportation devices to "port" from 1 mote to another.
#21 lord_karsus Sep 05, 2008 11:34:42	Anyway, falling up...to where? It's a sky up there. -Exxxxactly.